I want a Nightforce Scope, but do I NEED a Nightforce Scope at that cost??????

Rockrivr1

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From my Long Range Platform thread replies I'm heavily leaning towards a new Tikka rifles to start putting together a new rifle. I'm still going back and forth about building one up or just buying the T3x Tac A1 rifle that's all put together. Either way I'm going to need glass. As the title suggests, I want a Nightforce scope. I've always wanted a Nightforce scope and someday I'll have a Nightforce scope. The question is, do I REALLY need a Nightforce scope.....

To answer that the answer is no, I don't. I hit the 1000 yard gong at Granby using a Gen I Vortex Viper. I currently have a couple of Gen II Vortex Vipers and Leopold MK 5 on existing rifles and they work great at a cheaper price against the cost of a Nightforce. I could get the latest Vortex Razor or even another Leopold Mk 5 for this new rifle and save $1000 over the Nightforce.

So for those that have Nightforce glass, are they really worth the premium? Also, what model did you go with? The ATACR level looks awesome, but the pricetag is, well, breathtaking. Maybe the SHV's are the way to go there.

Damn first world money quandaries.
 
From my Long Range Platform thread replies I'm heavily leaning towards a new Tikka rifles to start putting together a new rifle. I'm still going back and forth about building one up or just buying the T3x Tac A1 rifle that's all put together. Either way I'm going to need glass. As the title suggests, I want a Nightforce scope. I've always wanted a Nightforce scope and someday I'll have a Nightforce scope. The question is, do I REALLY need a Nightforce scope.....

To answer that the answer is no, I don't. I hit the 1000 yard gong at Granby using a Gen I Vortex Viper. I currently have a couple of Gen II Vortex Vipers and Leopold MK 5 on existing rifles and they work great at a cheaper price against the cost of a Nightforce. I could get the latest Vortex Razor or even another Leopold Mk 5 for this new rifle and save $1000 over the Nightforce.

So for those that have Nightforce glass, are they really worth the premium? Also, what model did you go with? The ATACR level looks awesome, but the pricetag is, well, breathtaking. Maybe the SHV's are the way to go there.

Damn first world money quandaries.
Waiting for @frenchman to tell you to buy once; cry once.

If you really want and can afford it, you'll find a way.
 
ATACR is dope. Mil-XT reticle does everything you want it to do. Also worth looking at the ZCO line if you're up in the 3600+ range.

sub $2200 price point I'd be looking at the nx8 4-32 mil-xt, xrs3, xtr3/pro, mk5, etc.

You won't ever regret buying better glass, but you also won't be missing shots because you bought another mk5 instead of an ATACR. Buy whatever is within budget and start shooting.
 
By one used off the guys on Sniper's Hide. I haven't been over there in a while but in the past you often could get like new glass of a few hundred off new b/c so many of those guys are constantly buying and selling guns 'n glass. I've bought and sold there and never had a problem.
 
I've never looked through NF glass and I'm not sure I want to because then I'll have to buy one.

I don't think I've ever heard anyone say that they bought it and didn't like it and then went back to something else.
 
I've never looked through the higher-powered NF scopes, but I know shooters that have them think very highly of them. Of course, there's always the theory that after spending $2K+ on a new scope, somebody isn't going to say "meh: I don't think it was worth the money".

I have shot a match with the NF 4.5x scope (whatever model they sell that Service Rifle shooters buy), it was fine. It was clear and tracked perfectly.......Just like my $800 scope from WOA.

Funny thing about scopes no matter how much money they cost; pull the trigger when the dot is on the 8 ring, it's still going to be an 8.
 
Vortex razor gen 2 and Leupold mk5 are probably the best value. Diminishing returns kick in hard after that price point. And think about how often you’ll actually use the rifle. I got a ZCO scope and it mostly just sits unused.
 
I just switched to the ATACR 7-35 Mil XT on my comp gun. Previously was running the Razor Gen 2 and I can see it’s got a tad better glass. From my understanding the Razor Gen 3 glass is being said to be on par if not better than the 7-35 but than they are having some issues with the new turrets.

I’d say the ATACR 7-35 is a good optic for around 3k. If I was going to drop 3600 I’d definately go with the ZCO. Another thing to note is that the ATACR 5-25 does not have the same glass quality as the 7-35 so that would be a hard pass for me at its price.

If your going to be at Granby this weekend your more than welcome to check out the NF. I’d also recommend going over to Snipershide there is a lot of great information over there on high end glass and there’s also a few ATACRs listed in the classified lol.
 
From my Long Range Platform thread replies I'm heavily leaning towards a new Tikka rifles to start putting together a new rifle. I'm still going back and forth about building one up or just buying the T3x Tac A1 rifle that's all put together. Either way I'm going to need glass. As the title suggests, I want a Nightforce scope. I've always wanted a Nightforce scope and someday I'll have a Nightforce scope. The question is, do I REALLY need a Nightforce scope.....

To answer that the answer is no, I don't. I hit the 1000 yard gong at Granby using a Gen I Vortex Viper. I currently have a couple of Gen II Vortex Vipers and Leopold MK 5 on existing rifles and they work great at a cheaper price against the cost of a Nightforce. I could get the latest Vortex Razor or even another Leopold Mk 5 for this new rifle and save $1000 over the Nightforce.

So for those that have Nightforce glass, are they really worth the premium? Also, what model did you go with? The ATACR level looks awesome, but the pricetag is, well, breathtaking. Maybe the SHV's are the way to go there.

Damn first world money quandaries.

Best to make a list of "must have" features and nice to have features and go from there

But its true....buy once/cry once and the scope is gonna last years.....so how much are you actually paying per year for a good piece of glass?

Not a lot.....

Whats important to you?

For me its FFP, reticle and a low enough power to find shit.....then a high enough power to reach out and touch it.........capped turrets are a nice feature...

The ATACR scopes appear to have great top end but all the ones I've see start at 7x which is higher than I want.....so I'm not prone to sobbing uncontrollably over it and biting the bullet

The NX8 has options that start at 4x and go up to 32x iirc and check all the other important boxes......so....time to save up on my end and just weep a little over purchase price.

Making a list of features/needs always helps me with purchases like this....ymmv
 
Another thing to note is that the ATACR 5-25 does not have the same glass quality as the 7-35 so that would be a hard pass for me at its price.

Would you be able to elaborate on this comment a little bit more? I was actually considering the 5-25x56 ATACR scope as the one I would look to get. At that price point I would expect the glass to be exceptional, but from your comment that doesn't sound like the case.
 
Rock, it doesn’t have to be the latest and greatest. The NXS line is fine, so is the SHV line. When you buy NF, a lot of the money goes into ruggedness.

I am looking into the NX8 line right now. Seems solid middle ground. Trust me, with NF scopes, you pay SOME for the name. But it’s mostly justified. Do your due diligence and check reviews. I doubt you’ll find a whole lot of complaints.

Oh, and before I forget… Buy once, cry once.😁
 
To paraphrase William Munny (Clint Eastwood) in Unforgiven, needs got nothing to do with it.

Seriously, I think very few of us are good enough to actually “need” any of the really high end scopes (certainly not me). The most import thing in my mind is that the better scopes offer consistency in their windage and elevation adjustments. As long as the scope passes the “Box Test” (most decent scope reviews will include a box test), you're primarily paying for better glass at the higher end and possibly a bit more ruggedness. Whether you can actually make use of that better glass is mostly up to you. I can see the difference in glass quality between my $95 UTG BugBuster (actually a great scope for a 10/22 Takedown) and my Vortex Razor HD Gen II 4.5-27x56, but I doubt if moving up to a Nightforce or a Schmidt Bender would make any difference for me. As far as ruggedness, if a scope comes with an unconditional lifetime guarantee, that’s good enough for me.
 
Never, ever look through a mega dollar scope for that matter never ever even look at a mega dollar scope.
 
If I had the dough I'd buy one whether I needed it or not..LOL but if your current rig is getting it done why change? Put the money into ammo/reloading components or something else you need or want. Most of my scopes are in the 1K - 1.5K range, Burris, Trijicon and the like but I also don't have access to a 1000 yard range. I do need to upgrade my spotter soon.
 
Vortex makes some good scopes. As long as it has the right features for your intended purpose who cares what brand it comes from.
 
are they really worth the premium
is a ferrari worth the premium? i guess, it depends. even if a tricked out 40 yr old supra can outrun it.
bang per buck the pst2 vortexes are the best, at $670 eurooptic sale. but if you want a top of the crop brand name item as a cherry on top - why not?

i personally think those top level trijicons are ridiculously overpriced. razors are same (if not more) reliable. talking about those brands is like talking about religions.

to answer your question - if you want it - you need it. i do not want it, so i do not need it. :)
i am playing with new arken ep-5 right now - fraction of the price of those big names, and a great clarity, to each his own.
 
You are talking about building a new long range rifle (that you probably don't need) and want to save $1K?

In the words of the great NES warrior poet DrGrant "that is a skinflint move".

In this game, $1K is nothing and a scope you are not happy with will end up being sold at a loss and you will end up spending the additional money anyway. So buy it now.

Since we are in the topic... pair it with a Masterpiece Arms rifle. Do it right.

Or ...

If you already have the other scopes, you know their quality. Use one of those. But still buy a Masterpiece rifle.
 
Would you be able to elaborate on this comment a little bit more? I was actually considering the 5-25x56 ATACR scope as the one I would look to get. At that price point I would expect the glass to be exceptional, but from your comment that doesn't sound like the case.
Not first hand experience but from my research and the boys over on SH the glass quality of the 5-25 doesn’t seem to be on par with the 7-35.

The most important thing is reliability if your going to dable in prs at all this is pretty important. Your gonna be spinning those turrets ALOT. I don’t care how good the glass is if it doesn’t track repeatable it ain’t worth shit.

Nightforce doesn’t have the best glass by a long shot but they are rugged, repeatable, and proven.

What’s your price range your looking to spend? I’m really good at spending other peoples money😉

Edit: I’m in no way saying the 5-25 glass is junk but not all NF glass is the same. SHV line isnt even in same category as the rest of NF optics IMO. Glass quality is really subjective and what might be good for one not the other.
 
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I'm trying to decide if I want another lpvo or get a 4-16 and finally build an ar10
 
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