Nikon monarch vs leupold vx2

[russm]

Just wondering whos tried out a nikon monarch, i need a new scope for an xbolt in .270 win and I'm leaning towards a vx2 or a monarch in 3-9x40, i know theres the leupold band wagon but have also heard good things about the nikon. Input is appreciated.

[358jess]

Save up for VX-3 you won't regret it.

[Squire]

The Monarch is a great scope for the money. I have several Leupolds and a few Nikons. The Nikon has good glass with a sharp, bright picture. I would only recommend the Monarch out of their line-up along with the BDC reticle. The small circles that represent hold-over points for distances are a great tool IMO. You enter the specifics of the round you are shooting along with your zero distance into their ballistic calculator and it will give you a print-out of the distance each circle represents.

[plumberjustin]

I was in the same dilema this time last year. I was leaning towards the Nikon, but had trouble finding one locally. I settled on the leupold, which was on sale at reliable. I couldn't be happier after a full season of heavy use. zero complaints so far.

[.264winmag]

Can't go wrong with either, sorry I'm not much help lol. The older vx11 is inferior to the monarch imo, but the new vx2 is on par optically. I would have to say Leu has the edge in durability and service, but the few monarchs I've been around are still going strong and optically a good buy. The Monarch does have a hunting style turret if you want to play around further out, I had a buckmasters 4.5-14x40 that actually tracked quite well. Nikon has the edge in features with the side focus and capped turrets, imo...

[nicktrehearne]

Having owned several of each brand, I would go with Nikon (which is what I ended up switching all mine over to). I just found that when you compared scopes from each brand, and similar price range, the Nikon had a much brighter and sharper image when looking through them.

[RackStar]

Interesting thread. I have vx2 but nikons seem good for money and they have been making camera lenses for many years. You can get a 4-16 bdc for 519. Not bad price.

[lowball]

To my eyes the VX-2 is my choice. You need to check them out for yourself. Compare with your eyes, not others.LOL

[russm]

Ive used my buddies leupold, and checked out the monarch in store, to me the nikon had brighter/sharper glass and i think the price is a litttle better on the nikon.

[Salty]

Used to have a Buckmaster 3-9x40 my buddy owns it still going strong. I compared it side by side to my vx2 3-9x40 shooting groups at the range and the Nikon was noticeably clearer. Not saying that the vx2 was inhibited hunting wise by its image but dialing in on that little spot on the paper was quite a bit easier. Neither of those two I'd say are particularly stellar at tracking but they stay put OK once you find your zero. I've got a Monarch 2.5-10, recent purchase, its on my 350 mag and the bit I've used it so far it seems good including tracking accurately. Having said all that my vx2 seems to be my go to for hunting in the timber. WTF?? Just confident in it I guess..

[bard]

I own a Nikon buck master and a vx2. Nothing wrong with the Nikon but I am forever a believer in the vx2 after watching my buddies horse stomp on his rifle last year on a sheep hunt. Old rifle with a new xv2. Happened right after a big wreck on the trail. Long story short his rifle was laying on the trail and took 2 direct stomps on the scope and rifle. Looked like the whole thing should of been done for. It didn't loose it's zero. I couldn't believe it.

[chilko]

Quality glass comes at a price in terms of weight. For bino's and spotting scope optical clarity is critical but for a hunting rifle scope other features such as weight, eye relief, moa's of adjustment etc are more important. Have always favored leupold because of this as well as frankly they look better.

[Rupert Retired]

Both are great scopes. I have had a Nikon Monarch 3-9 on my Browning .25-06 since I bought them both new in 1993. I have packed and camped with this rifle / scope combination in all kinds of hunting situations, up mountains, in sub-zero temps, as well as warmer climates like Wyoming for pronghorn, and it has always treated me well, never had a problem with zeros etc. and has killed its fair share of game. I have also owned many Leupolds, and have usually liked them as well. The one feature I like on the Nikon is the ease that the power ring rotates from 3 to 9, it is smooth and steady. On the other hand, I have had problems with my Leupolds, some have been stiff and sometimes need to be taken down from my eye to actually turn the darn ring. I sent one Leupold back to the factory to be fixed, because the power ring was so stiff I basically had to put it between my knees and adjust, and they sent it back (said it was fixed) and had fixed it somewhat, but it is still very stiff. Pretty hard to do with cold hands! That scope is a Vari-X III 3.5 - 10.

[375shooter]

Quality glass comes at a price in terms of weight. For bino's and spotting scope optical clarity is critical but for a hunting rifle scope other features such as weight, eye relief, moa's of adjustment etc are more important. Have always favored leupold because of this as well as frankly they look better.

Agreed. And durability is important as well. Leupold are known for it, as demonstrated by the 2 horse stomps.:shock:

I'm not saying Nikon is bad, though. Just no personal experience with them.

[RiverOtter]

I own a Nikon buck master and a vx2. Nothing wrong with the Nikon but I am forever a believer in the vx2 after watching my buddies horse stomp on his rifle last year on a sheep hunt. Old rifle with a new xv2. Happened right after a big wreck on the trail. Long story short his rifle was laying on the trail and took 2 direct stomps on the scope and rifle. Looked like the whole thing should of been done for. It didn't loose it's zero. I couldn't believe it.
Hahaha......That reminds me, of my first Leupold, an 80's vintage Vari-X II.

Had an old weaver K4 shit the bed and cost me a nice whitey. The next weekend I got a ride into town and spent $360 on a brand new 3-9x40 vari-x II, which was a fair chunk for me, as I was still in school and working part time for a whopping $4/hr:???:. Fall hunting season was over for that year, so all I got accomplished was mounting and sighting the scope in, then waited for spring bear. Fast forward to May and me and a buddy borrowed a pair of quads and headed out for a weekend trip. Got camp set up, quads loaded and off we went. The quad I borrowed already had an open ended gun scabbard that looked skookum, so I had my rifle tucked in as we took off. Apparently "skookum" only applied to the scabbard itself and not the mounting bracket, as somewhere around 40 km/h it pivoted down and "set" my rifle and brand new scope gently down on the gravel road. I made a grab for the barrel, as it disappeared out of the corner of my eye, but it was to late.....as I swung my head around while braking hard, I managed to see it endo once, barrel roll several times and then skid on its side for the remaining 20 or so yards until it finally stopped. I spun the bike around and as I approached the accident scene, I could aready see deep gouges in the stock, but the scope was so covered in dust I had to wipe it off to see the actual damage, and then I cried.......Well not actually, but I did seriously contemplate it... :mrgreen:

That poor scope had most of the paint missing off the ocular and objective on one side, countless scratches, a half dozen or so gouges and dent in the ocular....Rough shape wouldn't have given it justice. At that point, I figured a best case scenario would have been a scope that shot patterns, followed by a mail out to Leopold, to see just what "lifetime warranty" actually meant, given the appearance of their once nice product. Needless to say, I set a target up at 25 yards, as I thought anything further would be a waste of a bullet. First shot center punched the target, which I couldn't believe, so I hurried out to a hundred before my luck changed. Second shot, dead center 2" high, exactly where it was set before the crash...It was almost enough good news to make me forget the cosmetic damage.

That same scope still rides aboard the same rifle, in the same mounts as it did back then. Still tracks and holds zero as good as ever too. Example of 1 I know, but still a good example....:-D

[Zedbra]

I bought a Monarch a few seasons ago as my Zeiss had died and I was told to expect an 8 month wait for warranty return. I am very impressed with the clarity and low light performance of my Monarch. So much so, that I bought another for my new .270. Nikon just came out with FFP as an option for the Monarch - so a FFP with amazing glass for $600ish is probably the best bang for your buck. Prophet River has all Nikons on sale right now - great prices and no PST. In the Lower Mainland, Tiger Arms in Poco has many Nikon scopes at good prices.

My Monarch toughness anecdote - my rifle slipped out of my gun boot on a really bumpy area last season, I was going about 35kph at the time. I circled back, picked up my rifle expecting the worse, and sure enough, the scope was scraped up pretty bad. Got back to camp and set up some targets - it held zero perfect. Nikon now offers a No Fault lifetime warranty as well, if you ever need it. They are claiming a low 1% warranty rate on all their scopes, not sure what the Monarch % is of that overall.

[russm]

Shes finally together, the final package is a xbolt hunter in .270 win, leaupold dual dove tail rings and bases and a zeiss terra 3-9x42.

I did quite a bit of back and forth between a vortex viper, vx2, and the monarch and when it came time to buy the zeiss ended up winning haha, to my eye the glass is the clearest out of what i was looking at and i prefered how well the reticle shows up in it, for $150 bucks off I couldn't really go wrong. Now to get it sighted in, unfortunately i dont have a range membership:s