My Zeiss scope died - thinking of a Nikon Monarch 3 for hunting

[Zedbra]

I had a Zeiss Terra on my K31 and it would not keep a zero - so I sent it off for warranty and was told to expect to wait 6-8 months for Zeiss to return it. So, when I get that back in 2016 I'm not sure I want to rely on it (I had intentions of putting it on my 7mm MAG). I've been looking at the Nikon Monarch 3 4-16 x 50mm for my 7mm MAG hunting rifle. People using them seem to say they have as good or better light/glass as Leupold and the price is right.

Does anyone have experience using a Monarch 3 for hunting big game in northern BC? My shots are under 400 yards typically and my old 3-9 wasn't quite enough magnification last time I was out.

No - I don't want a Vortex. I know their warranty is awesome, because everyone needs to use it and then they always tell you about it. :razz:

[BgBlkDg]

"People" can SAY anything about scopes, mounts and rifles, however, I tend to go with what those with decades of experience use and recommend. I have B&L, Lyman, Zeiss, both German and Conquest 3s, Swaro Z3, had many other brands and have about 20 Leupolds, must have owned 50 since 1967ish.

I have one that is over 40 years old, used on my .458Win,, several .375H&Hs, my 9.3x74R-12 ga. Merkel and 45-70 Marlin using heavy loads. I have several about 20 years old and have had ONE minor issue in the almost half century of using them.

I prefer the VX3 series, had an LPS and use a VX2 compact 2x7 on my U/L Mod. 7 in 7-08; Leupys are just damned good scopes.

[srupp]

Hmmm only know of 1 leupold to break in 35 years...was my twin brother and his 7mm..
So very reliable...However if something happens..under 5 days from Alberta to fix and return..
Seems remarkably simple?
Have a new .22lr in the works? The scope leupold..of course..
Cheers
Steven

[Zedbra]

I know, Leupold owners are very loyal. I'm curious about the new Nikons.

I emailed the Nikon rep and he says that there is less than 1% return and there are two centers in Canada - one in Richmond and the other in Ontario. 7-10 day returns and starting January of this year and retroactive on all their rifle scopes, they are offering a No Fault warranty - I'm intrigued to try one.

[TSW]

Interesting to hear of the warranty changes. I have Friends that absolutely love their Nikons but their warranty has always been sub par in my understanding so I've stayed with the old faithful Leupold. The warranty issue may start to sway people.

[BgBlkDg]

Nikon, has HAD a rather poor rep. for warrantee issues and some other makers do as well, I have a few Leica products and will NOT buy any others, their superb quality notwithstanding, due to my experiences with their warrantee depot and one total a**hole at one of the spring hunting shows at Tradex.

Swaro, has had an excellent rep. in this respect, but, I much prefer Zeiss and Leica optics, for several reasons, so, have only a Z3 3x9 scope so far, like it and may buy more.

Leupy, in my experience, just rocks where service is concerned, I like Korths, just spoke with them to get details on my new Kimber Mt. Ascent .280AI in transit this week and this is one of my major reasons for buying Leupy, plus the light weight, cost and "eyebox".

[Zedbra]

Interesting to hear of the warranty changes. I have Friends that absolutely love their Nikons but their warranty has always been sub par in my understanding so I've stayed with the old faithful Leupold. The warranty issue may start to sway people.

Yeah, the good communication and the clarity of the glass I have looked through has me thinking that I really want to try one. Here is a note from Nikon regarding their scopes:

Just a quick update, Nikon Canada effective January 1st, 2015 has gone to a "No Fault" warranty. This means that beyond intentional damage or mis-use Nikon Canada will cover drops, spills or accidents to our gear. This will also backdate to all Canadian product in the marketplace. All products carry a lifetime warranty with the exception of those with electronic parts. Electronics feature a two year warranty period while the optic itself retains the full lifetime.

[BgBlkDg]

Hmmm, that IS very good news, I will buy a Nikon scope or two as their actual optical quality is not and has never been the issue.

[Everett]

I have had a few older Nikon Monarch scopes still have one 3x9x40 sitting on the shelf and I would say it compares nicely with a leupold vx3

[rcar]

I have owned Bushnell, Zeiss, Vortex, Nikon and Swarovski scopes from $200 to $2000.....here is my .02

First off....you get what you pay for most often. I tried to get a great scope under $500 and just wasn't happy with any of them.

Bushnell 3000 series. Not very good. Vortex for the same $$ was way better. (Also 6 months for service at that time...I hear it is better now though).

Vortex Viper - Quite a decent scope for the money....would probably buy one again if I absolutely needed an entry scope for something.

Nikon Monarch 3 - Hated it! I found the optics very poor for the $$

Zeiss Conquest - Probably the best scope I have ever owned. I LOVED the clarity of that scope...unfortunately it was stolen.

When I went to replace the Zeiss Conquest is was discontinued and I looked at the Terra line. My opinion....this is an embarrassment for Zeiss and not worthy of the name.

I ended up buying a Swarovski Z5 instead of an Zeiss HD5 at the time because of inventory and the fact that the HD5 was just released and not in stock. I do love this scope but probaby not as much as my Conquest.

If I were in you shoes I would find a way to buy a new Conquest. You can still find them on Camofire for pretty damn cheap. (They still have some 4.5-14x50 for under $600). Even with the exchange that is a great bang for your buck. When I called about them they said they would still ship them to Canada. Honestly not sure how that would work with all of the US laws but someithing to look into. Otherwise keep an eye out for a used one. They pop up on the hunting forums fairly often.

I tried for years to find a great scope under $500 and tried plenty. It just isn't out there unless you can find a used one. I know a lot of guys that swear by ther Leupolds but only the V3 and up. Although I haven't owned one I trust the opinion of all the guys who have.

I would suggest you buy 1 of these 3:

1 - Zeiss Conquest or new HD series
2 - Swarovski Z3 or Z5
3 - Leupold V3

You will never have to buy another scope for your gun if you do.

[rcar]

Oh...

1 more I forgot to mention.

When I had my Nikon Monarch 3 I was having trouble getting my rifle to group so I loaned it to a friend who reloads so he could try to help with a load that the gun liked. He hated the Nikon scope and talked to me about the Minox that he uses. I tried a few shots and was also really impressed with this scope. Really clear and great eye relief. They are in the $600 range in Canada.

[Mulehahn]

I currently have three Nikons. 2 Monarchs and a 1 prostaff. The Monarchs on are on a Ruger 7-08 and a Tikka 30-06. The Prostaff is on a Stevens 25-06 that I got for dirt cheap so I didn't want to spend a lot on it. I love all of them. I find the glass better than any Leupold and Vortex I have tried. My Prostaff has the Spot on (which I love better than any other BDC reticle out there and is dead on out to 600yds at any magnification. Just print a cheat sheet. Is it a Swaro, no but for half the price I am more than happy. Look through a few and see. As for the warranty, I am glad to see the updates, but I have never had to use.

[itsy bitsy xj]

- so I sent it off for warranty and was told to expect to wait 6-8 months for Zeiss to return it.
. :razz:


I just bought a Zeiss Conquest I`m not expecting any problems but if I do have any I don`t want to have to wait this long for service

[sheephunterab]

Where did you send it for warranty that they said it would take that long?

[Ferenc]

Gentec international ... Is the warranty depot for them.. And it can take upwards to a year for anything to happen..

[Zedbra]

rcar - I appreciate your feedback and experience, I really do. I do not subscribe to the commercialism that more money is always better; I'm sorry, I don't. My hunting partner has a $5000 Seiko 7mm STW and a $100 illuminated scope that he prefers for his eyes and he can put a round through a fly's arse free-standing. Interesting how your Monarch wouldn't keep zero and my Zeiss wouldn't keep zero. There's good and bad in everything.

Mulehahn - thank you for your first-hand experiences with the Monarchs!

Sheephunterab - I had Italian send my scope to Gentec for me and I was told that they then wait to export a bunch of scopes to the US, where they actually repair their scopes. I was told 6 months if I was lucky, but it could be 9 months to next year.

[sheephunterab]

Gentec international ... Is the warranty depot for them.. And it can take upwards to a year for anything to happen..

The couple people that I know of that required warranty work recently had their scope either replaced or fixed in 2-8 weeks. I understand the Euro scopes can take a bit longer as they must be shipped back too Germany.

[Rocko]

I have a Zeiss Diavari scope and two Pro Staff. Of course the Zeiss is better.It cost 10 times more than the Nikon but I wouldn´t say that it also 10 times better quality. I´m quite content with the Nikons price/ performance ratio. They do their intended job without problem. That experience left me wondering if I would ever buy another Zeiss or high end producer.

[The Hermit]

I have and can sell you Quigley-Ford Long Range Scopes... I like it better than the Vortex and Leupolds that I've owned. The only drawback is that you need to specify the caliber, FPS, Ballistic Coefficient, Type, and bullet weight... So you need to get your rifle all set up and know that you aren't going to be changing loads and bullets but once you get it sight it in at two hundred yards and the rest is pure simplicity. Range, Aim and Fire with excellent accuracy out to 800 yards. Great pricing too!

[swampthing]

I love the zeiss but hate the warranty service. I have had a couple conquests and they are an awesome value. I bought 2 new zeiss HD5 3x15x42s. One of them has a seized windage turret!!! I bought them new/used so I couldn't just go back to the retailer. I shipped mine back to zeiss about a month ago. I am sure I will probably forget I even own this scope before the mailman surprises me with a new one! I would be super pissed if I was a one gun/scope guy.

[416]

I have a Zeiss Diavari scope and two Pro Staff. Of course the Zeiss is better.It cost 10 times more than the Nikon but I wouldn´t say that it also 10 times better quality. I´m quite content with the Nikons price/ performance ratio. They do their intended job without problem. That experience left me wondering if I would ever buy another Zeiss or high end producer.

When l was younger, it didn't matter.........as l enter my golden years, l appreciate and notice the difference. Over the years l have collected a variety of scopes but my all time favorite is my Zeiss conquest.....great scope. Sucks to hear about the turn around on repair if ever required, so far mine has been flawless.

[rcar]

rcar - I appreciate your feedback and experience, I really do. I do not subscribe to the commercialism that more money is always better; I'm sorry, I don't. My hunting partner has a $5000 Seiko 7mm STW and a $100 illuminated scope that he prefers for his eyes and he can put a round through a fly's arse free-standing. Interesting how your Monarch wouldn't keep zero and my Zeiss wouldn't keep zero. There's good and bad in everything.

Hey Zedbra.

Couple of things. I didn't say my Monarch wouldn't keep zero....I just hated it. At that time I was having a problem finding a load my rifle liked. Also I wasn't tring to imply that commercialism and money was the key to better product. I agree that often that is not the case. However when you are talking optics, price is MOST often and indication of what you are buying. Once I put the Conquest on my rifle I couldn't believe the difference compared to my other scopes.....sold them all.

I still stand by my suggestion that for not a lot more money than you are looking to spend, you can do WAY better than the Nikon. By no means do you need to spend $1500, but there seems to be a sweet spot where you get a big step up from entry level optics...probably starting in the $600-$700 range. From there you get small improvements.

[Sunzuki]

I am really starting to appreciate the Leupold brand.
Buy them used to take some of the hurt out of the price.
One rifle I bought and a VarX on it and the windage was stripped.
Sent it away and a new VX showed up.
Hard to argue this sort of warranty.

[Zedbra]

Hey Zedbra.

Couple of things. I didn't say my Monarch wouldn't keep zero....I just hated it. At that time I was having a problem finding a load my rifle liked. Also I wasn't tring to imply that commercialism and money was the key to better product. I agree that often that is not the case. However when you are talking optics, price is MOST often and indication of what you are buying. Once I put the Conquest on my rifle I couldn't believe the difference compared to my other scopes.....sold them all.

I still stand by my suggestion that for not a lot more money than you are looking to spend, you can do WAY better than the Nikon. By no means do you need to spend $1500, but there seems to be a sweet spot where you get a big step up from entry level optics...probably starting in the $600-$700 range. From there you get small improvements.

Yours and others' feedback has had me looking at other brands and stepping up my budget - but I can guarantee you that I won't be buying another Zeiss anytime soon. Now, if my Zeiss comes back within the month I may change that tune but I don't have high hopes of that happening.

[RambleOn]

Zeiss scopes don't die. They just get sent away for extended periods of time. Total pain in the butt, although mine returned a much better model than it left. Very nice upgrade indeed. Great quality, crappy warrantee turnaround. FYI- I called and had them put a note on my file expressing my dissatisfaction. Might have helped with the upgrade, maybe not.

[280 77]

If you want great warranty service and don't want a vortex get a Leupold . Have a pair of binocs from them and I screwed them up . I sent them to Korth's with a letter explaining that it was my own fault and could they please repair them at my cost if necessary . 10 days later I had a brand new pair of binocs delivered to my doorstep , no cost. That is service .

[Zedbra]

Seeing as there are not many threads on Nikon scopes I thought I would update this one. I did receive a replacement scope from Zeiss within three months, they didn't even bother to repair my old one. However, I neither like the poor eye relief and the minimal clearance next to my bolt, nor do I hold much confidence that it will handle the recoil of my 7MM Mag. So, I did look at other scopes including Leupolds, Burris, and a few others. However, my mind kept coming back to the Nikon Monarch 3, so that is what I picked up. I only managed about 12 rounds through the scope thus far on my rifle and the clarity was great but time will tell when I get it out hunting. I'll do a follow-up in a year or so.

2015 Nikon Monarch 3 in 4-16x50mm BDC mounted on an old 1974 Parker Hale 1200c in 7mm MAG. I think they match well.

http://i459.photobucket.com/albums/qq314/Zedbra/MIsc/Private/20150820_185441_zpsg06yx4tr.jpg (http://s459.photobucket.com/user/Zedbra/media/MIsc/Private/20150820_185441_zpsg06yx4tr.jpg.html)

[swampthing]

My zeiss just came back from warranty. Came by purolater. It was a 7 month turn around. I understand it was shipped all the way to Germany before they decided to send me a new replacement unit. I love their products but you cant be in a hurry if you need their warranty.