Help with a new LR scope

[319]

I am looking for a new scope to switch between my Rem 700 .308 and my Savage .260(when the new barrel arrives). I already have a IOR 4-14X50 with the MP-8 Ill Ret. It is by far the best scope I own, and is the brightest most clear scope I have ever looked through.

I am looking at either the Nightforce 5.5-22X50mm(not sure on a reticle yet, possibly the NP-2DD) and the IOR 3-18X42 with MP-8 Ill Ret.

I really like the MP-8 reticle and I think(just my opinion nothing to back it up) it is superior to any thing Nightforce has. On the other hand the Nightforce....well, it's a Nightforce, and I don't have one. Nightforce has much more internal elevation 100MOA max vs. only 60MOA on the "fleascope" but with a 20 MOA base is 100 really needed? Free shipping on both and no tax, both come with sun shades and covers, but the IOR also comes with pretty good rings, the Nightforce does not. The IOR is a 35mm tube with 42mm objective, the Nightforce is a 30mm tube with 50mm objective. Which is better? I can get the IOR for about $200 less than the Nightforce.

With these things in mind what info can you all give me to help with my decision? Please keep in mind that I am a shooter very new to the LR game. I will be punching paper at 500-1000yds max until I get good or find out I am horrible and give it up. If it works out I will be using the .260 for hunting to what ever range I feel comfortable. I don't see myself using the .308 for hunting, but you never can tell.

Thanks for any info or advice!!

[pdog06]

I know you didnt mention it, but did you look at the Sightron SIII 6-24x50 or 8-32x56? The reviews on their glass are rated very comparable to a NF, and you could almost buy 2 of these for the cost of 1 NF. Then you would have one for each gun and not have to swap scopes. And I dont think you'd be sacrificing anything cause I have had both SIII's and the glass is VERY clear and bright. Both have around 70moa of adjustment. Your 308 should only need about 35 moa or so to 1000, and the 260 needs around 25moa, so you would have more than enough to cover it even with a 0moa base.

Just a thought.

[319]

pdog06, any idea where they are made and where they get their glass. I just read a few reviews on them and they seem pretty good. They don't look as robust as the Nightforce or IOR though, and choice of reticles is almost non existant. I will have to do some more checking on them. Thanks for the info!

[Don - LongRangeSupply]

Sightrons are not in the same class as the Nightforce but they are close. Optical clarity of the Sightron is almost as good as Nightforce. The optical clarity in the IOR Valdada is equal to and some say better than Nightforce. All three are very good optics.

With the Sightron you will be giving up some in the durability, you won't have reticle illumination, plus you lose the wider choice in reticles. The Sightron 8-32 also has 1/4 MOA clicks. Too coarse for my liking. The Nightforce Benchrest has 1/8 MOA clicks. Nightforce is introducing 1/8 MOA clicks in the NXS line soon.

Valdada doesn't offer 1/8 MOA clicks but they do have some very wide zoom range models such as the 4-28x and the MP8 reticle is very good for long range shooting although the center dot should be smaller than 1/4 MOA for precision shooting.

The Sightron Mil Dot reticle stinks (as do ALL mil dot reticles in my view - Too wide of spacing between the dots, almost 4 MOA and the dots are way too big, OVER 1/2 MOA Thick at 32x, 2.x MOA at 8x).

The Vortex Viper also should work well on a long range rifle, as would their new Razor with 125 MOA of travel.

The new 10-50x60mm Sightron has 1/8 MOA clicks. Hopefully they will put the 1/8 MOA clicks on the 8-32x. It is a great scope for the money. It has 55 MOA of travel which with a sloped base is more than enough for 1K yards plus with most long range rounds. The 10-50x Sightron with a reticle like the MP8 or NP-R1 would be the ultimate long range scope in its price range allowing shooting out well past one mile using holdover points on the reticle.

They both have lifetime warranties.

[Senderofan]

I would say the SIII compares very favorably to the NightForce...got two of each ( NF's and S III's.) The IOR is a step up...due to it having Schott glass and the Zeiss coatings. I think under normal use conditions, the Sightron is a very strong value. If one also needs a higher level of robustness and / or reticle options...then NightForce is the choice. IOR has some pretty amazing glass...but they're very large and heavy scopes....my only problem was sticking turret adjustments in cold weather..otherwise they are built to be very rugged scopes.

In the end...It's nice to have so many choices. Down side is money and time to experience them all.

Wayne

[319]

I did see that IOR does have a 1/10 mil click model in the 3-18X42 "snipershide" version. This also has a modified MP-8 reticle. I didn't like the reticle as well as the straight MP-8. Also the 6-24X50mm model which makes things a little more even against the Nightforce 5.5-22X50. I did read some things about the reliability of the IOR on a few sites. Not sure if they are a thing of the past or not. I would hate to drop $1400 or more on a scope only to see if the warranty service is good! I am pretty set on either Nightforce or IOR, but thanks for the info on the Sightron.

[Don - LongRangeSupply]

I did see that IOR does have a 1/10 mil click model in the 3-18X42 "snipershide" version. This also has a modified MP-8 reticle. I didn't like the reticle as well as the straight MP-8. Also the 6-24X50mm model which makes things a little more even against the Nightforce 5.5-22X50. I did read some things about the reliability of the IOR on a few sites. Not sure if they are a thing of the past or not. I would hate to drop $1400 or more on a scope only to see if the warranty service is good! I am pretty set on either Nightforce or IOR, but thanks for the info on the Sightron.


Unfortunately, 1/10 Mil is LARGER than the 1/4 MOA they use in their other scopes, it is a step in the WRONG direction for click value. 0.36 MOA for 1/10 Mil vs. 0.25 for 1/40 MOA. Far too large of a movement for serious long range use.

They should have gone 1/20th Mil.

[319]

There I go getting MOA and MIL mixed up, as you can tell I am new at this! :-[

[jrmy_1]

I'm looking at a Vortex Viper PST 6-24x Front Focal Plane w/ illumination. They are a new model and not out yet, but I here good reviews and the MSRP is $899. Some places are taking backorders on them right now. Basically, a knock-off of the Nightforce NXS.

I'm waiting until others review them, hopefully, someone that already has a Nightforce NXS 5.5-22...

[319]

I was leaning toward the IOR all the way, but just ordered a NF 5.5-22X50 with the NP-2DD. I hope it is as good as every one says. Every little bit helps!!! Thanks for the info everyone!

[319]

I ordered my NF with the zero stop feature. I read a bit about this, but does any one have first hand experience. Is it really worth the extra $$??

[GatewayShepherd]

Sorry I didn't see this post earlier....Nightforce was an excellent choice but......

NP-2DD....What????

I think you just lost all of us with that choice. If you already have an IOR with MP-8 it would have made it easier on yourself to stick with the same type ranging reticule...The MP-8 is a MIL scope where as the similar Nightforce NP-R2 is a MOA ranging scope. I have the 5.5x22 NXS and love the **** out of it. It's built like a tank and will last a lifetime. I don't have a military background and was more familiar with using, calculating and guessing MOA's then switching to MIL type scope so I went with the NP-R2... But the NP-2DD?? You lost your ranging, holdover and bracketing ability with that one.

I purposefully set my rig up to run the reticule. Here is mine.

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii42/GatewayShepherd/MOUT.jpg
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii42/GatewayShepherd/DSC02001.jpg

[319]

Gateway, some thing happened to your pic, I think the last [IMG] got taken off and it isn't showing up. I want to see it!

This scope won't be for hunting, and I use a laser for all my ranging, so there is no need for a ranging reticle to clutter up my view. The NP-2DD is perfect for what I want. If I do take it out for LR prairie dogs I will have my range finder on a tripod with me so I will have a great field of view, plus that really small dot sitting there!

[GatewayShepherd]

OK, got the pic fixed....

I understand about the rangefinder...it's that you were talking about a ranging reticule then all of a sudden did an about face...Had me confused.

It's sitting on a Nightforce 20moa base and Nighforce rings.