Leupold Vs. Nightforce for .300 Win Mag

[LIbow31]

Just Purchased a new .300 Win Mag X-bolt Hells Canyon and am looking to top it off with some glass. I was almost buying the Leupold VX5HD 3-15x44, as my brother has one and loves it, and him and my dad have a few leupolds they really like. I am now hesitant to drop that kind of money after seeing a whole bunch of issues with tracking and having to rezero after tracking. Now I will say, this is a hunting rifle, but also a western hunting rifle, so while I won't be Long range precision shooting, I will be dialing up to 500 or so yards if needed. I have seen a lot of good stuff on the Nightforce SHV, but before now, have never heard of them or seen them in person. How do these compare? feature wise, glass quality and brightness wise, etc. Would I be better off and happier with the Night force? I want to stay within the $1000 range

 

[ReddingArcher]

I can’t comment on the VX5 but do have the VX3i and loved the scope until my last shooting session a couple weeks ago. It had been dialed in perfectly at 100 and I get it out and my first shot is 6-8” low and 5-6” right. I thought it must have been me so I shot again and same spot. I adjusted and shoot and I’m a little high left now. Make a couple more adjustments and it’s still off. It did finally settle back into where it should be after doing the old tap on the tube with a screwdriver trick lol.

Basically I’ve lost confidence in the scope and will be moving to Nightforce, probably this week I’ll get in and buy the scope and get it mounted. This was on a Tikka 300 WM. I’ve got the same scope on a Tikka 7-08 and it’s been great with the cds out to 500 but it’s still gonna get replaced with a Nightforce.

 

[CApighunter]

My 300 win wears a 3-10 SHV. At 20 oz it’s not the lightest but you won’t have any concerns about durability. The MOAR reticle is great for hold overs and if you need to dial you can unscrew the cap.

 

[wind gypsy]

Glass quality and brightness wise - any differences between the two are non-material.

Leupold is going to have a higher zoom range, more magnification (compared to a 3-10 SHV) and more eye relief.

Nightforce is less likely to lose zero or fail to track correctly.

If the purpose of the scope is to aid you in hitting animals where you want to it's pretty easy to choose between those attributes.

 

[JakeSCH]

I'm giving the new Razor HD LHT a try. I usually avoid vortex, but have heard good things so i decided to get it a try on my new 300 WM.

 

[sndmn11]

My 300 win wears a 3-10 SHV. At 20 oz it’s not the lightest but you won’t have any concerns about durability. The MOAR reticle is great for hold overs and if you need to dial you can unscrew the cap.

BUT it is a 30mm tube, and with that in mind, it is on the lighter end. Compared to a 1" it is heavy.

I have enjoyed my SHV, but personally never had any issues with our VX3i scopes. It might be worth considering the Meopta Optika 6 that a thread on here seems to show it to be functionally sound.

 

[coues craze]

Those little 3-10 SHVs are great scopes. I have a few and am very pleased. I saw one of the older ones used with side focus and moar reticle listed for $750 the other day. The new ones have illumination instead of side focus, but if only shooting 500 yards it’s not really a big deal.

 

[OSUsmokey]

Not trying to add misery to the equation. I was pretty set on Leupold for my new 300 WM, until I recently discovered TRACT Optics. I could not find anything bad about them. More like Maven where they offer direct to consumer pricing model. For the features and amazing glass you get its hard to beat their price point. Two turret styles are included. One standard and another dial turret which adds a zero stop function. Locking paralax knob so you cannot bump it. Great low light optic quality at 15x.
Warranty is like the others. No paperwork needed return and exchange for a new one basically.

 

[Spoonman]

I’ve had the VX5HD and the VX6HD, now all my rifles have Nightforce optics. Much happier. Glass is about the same to me but the reliability of the Nightforce has been far superior !

 

[LIbow31]

seems like between the 2 the nightforce is the way to go. but looking at TRACT does peek my interest. anyone else able to speak for them? will have to take a look Meopta as well

 

[thinhorn_AK]

Nightforce makes a better scope than leupold IMO.

 

[LIbow31]

Nightforce makes a better scope than leupold IMO.

Any particular reason why?

 

[thinhorn_AK]

Any particular reason why?

nightforce just makes a more robust scope, leupold has a track record of failure. I have had 2 vx5s, several vx3i and Vx2 scopes and they work but if I’m going to that 1000 dollar price range I won’t even look at leupold, that being said I still have one vx3i 2.5-8 and a vx1 rimfire but I also have a vx2 3-9x40 that I havnt even gotten to use yet because it people and got sent back to leupold a few months ago.

move had a few of the shv 3-10s and an nxs2.5-10 and they have been awesome scopes with zero issues, they dial better and are just more robust in general.

 

[1shotgear]

Both scopes will more than likely track fine, but Nightforce makes their scopes absolutely bullet proof. If you want to be sure that your scope is going to track and hold zero no matter the conditions then get the Nightforce and don't look back!

 

[Rodéo]

seems like between the 2 the nightforce is the way to go. but looking at TRACT does peek my interest. anyone else able to speak for them? will have to take a look Meopta as well

Tract makes solid scopes. I have a 2.5-10x42 tekoa on a .308 and I have no complaints. Great scopes & binos for the price point imo. Hard to beat.

 

[WyoWrangler]

I had the same scopes on my list for my 300 WM a few weeks ago and spent alot of time looking at the VX5 and SHV, ultimately the NF was way too heavy for my liking when I got it in my hands. I wanted to still keep a good weight to it, and I narrowed my choices to the VX5 and a Maven RS.1. I got a lot of good feedback about the Maven RS.1 and decided to go with it. Apparently from the reviewers on the same quality of the VX6 for glass quality, minus the features I didn’t want such as the illuminated retical, has capped windage and elevation turrets, with the ability to add a elevation turret which I did. Also is a FFP, which is a debate for a lot of people. Doesn’t have the bad comments about tracking ability like I’ve seen with the Leupold s, and a great warranty program. Might be something you want to take a look at. Mine just came in today and I’m really excited about the quality I was getting with them for the price.

 

[OSUsmokey]

TRACT Toric Scopes

Im down the rabbit hole and falling quickly in a search for a new scope. Started looking at Leupold VX-3i 3.5-10 and comparing to the Maven rs2. In my search I've now stumbled upon the TRACT optics line. Their Toric scope in that same magnification range looks very appealing for features and...

www.rokslide.com

There is the link I started last week about the scope search. A few more comments on the Tract. They came on the scene in '16 from a couple guys involved in the Nikon sports optics division at that time. Here is a review Outdoor life did a few years back where they compared them all and a few others

The Best Rifle Scopes of 2024, Tested and Reviewed

We tested this year's best rifle scopes for their features, optical performance, and tracking and made our top picks.

www.outdoorlife.com

The Genius of TRACT Optics

The TORIC line is Tract Optics' top-of-the-line riflescopes. These scopes offer high-end features

www.rifleshootermag.com

An Official Journal Of The NRA | Review: Tract Optics Toric UHD 4-20x50 mm Riflescope

A newcomer to the long-range, tactical-optics market, Tract’s latest offering, the Toric UHD 4-20x50 mm, provides a tremendous amount of quality for a price less than half of what comparable riflescopes cost.

www.shootingillustrated.com

Basically what made me go with the Tract over the others costing significantly more.

 

[270quest]

None of my NF scopes (atacr, 2.5-10 NXS, or 3-10 SHV) have ever been off on tracking and return to zero....I have 100 % confidence in them at all times. 6 miles into the idaho backcountry when that 180” buck steps out at 462 yards - confidence in your scopes ability to perform is crucial.

 

[SneakyThunderCat]

Another SHV vote here. Taken mine out to a mile so far. Tracks very reliably and I have zero complaints besides its a little heavy for a hunting rifle. Tbh if I hadn't already bought it before the new Vortex razor hd lh came out, I would probably went that route. Can't say much about the Leupold. Buddy has a vx6 that I've peaked through, and it's a super nice scope. Definitely has better glass in it, but it's quite a bit more expensive.

Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk

 

[Don Qui Puncher]

SHV here also on my 300WM its track record speaks for itself, I have the Optika 6 on another gun and it’s great also