Do I get a Schmidt or 2 Nikon Monarch Tacticals?

[iKonic Status]

Hi everyone

I want to upgrade my glasswear but can't decide the direction to go.

I was thinking about a Schmid & Bender 4-16x50 Variable (with side focus) for my .308 as I do long range targets and some Stalking soon.

Or

I could get 2 Nikon Monarch X 4-16 x50 Tactical with sidefocus for my .308 and .223.

Reason for choice is £1100 for the Schmidt or £700ish for the Nikons.
Do I upgrade the .308 and upgrade the .223 later or would I be happy with 2 Nikons (no experience with Nikons so please advise)

Any help would be great!

Thanks

K

[okbob51]

Nikon is....99 percent of the the glass of the S&B and 50 percent of the price. Unless you are a guide and spend 6 hours a day glassing you probably don't need the extra 1%.

[Ahab]

Nikon is....99 percent of the the glass of the S&B and 50 percent of the price. Unless you are a guide and spend 6 hours a day glassing you probably don't need the extra 1%.

I have to agree.

[Wrangler John]

To my aging eye, I found the Bushnell 4200 Elites to be a tad sharper and clearer than both my Nikon Monarchs. The Monarch tube is a bit shorter, so there can be a problem with mount spacing on some rifles - my Sako L461 (the little Vixen action) is too short to get the correct eye relief. However, the Nikon Monarchs are excellent scopes, my last one was the 6-24x with side focus purchased earlier this year that has accounted for many varmints. You will not be disappointed with a Nikon.

[iKonic Status]

Thanks for the advice

You are quite right, my standard of shooting probably doesn't require a Schmidt, however they are bloody nice and i'll get one at some point

To my aging eye, I found the Bushnell 4200 Elites to be a tad sharper and clearer than both my Nikon Monarchs. The Monarch tube is a bit shorter, so there can be a problem with mount spacing on some rifles - my Sako L461 (the little Vixen action) is too short to get the correct eye relief. However, the Nikon Monarchs are excellent scopes, my last one was the 6-24x with side focus purchased earlier this year that has accounted for many varmints. You will not be disappointed with a Nikon.

Wrangler John
Thanks for the heads up on the eye relief issue. I have not tried either the Nikon's or the Bushnell's but i appreciate the suggestion. I shall try to try them both (kinda limited with US imports where I am).

P.S. - I recently purchased a secondhand Browning B425 12G, O/U....I think glasswear might have to wait another month or so but a big thanks to everyone who passed on your advice!!!!

[TONK]

I must agree with Wrangler John on this subject matter! I looked at a lot of rifle scopes and compared dollars and cents to what I needed and what I was actually getting. I found those Nikon's hard to beat in glass!
I just very well could have brought 2 of them home myself the day the wife and I were shopping at the big mall but Cabela's didn't have any in stock to sell. I will only utter these words: NIKON-Bushnell-NIKON-Bushnell.

[giterdone]

Go with the Nikon's they not only make excellent camera's, their scopes are a bargin for what you pay for them. You can spend a lot more money but 2 for the price of one sounds good to me. I own a NEW #8428 Monarch 6-24x50SF M FCD and it is clear out to the very edges; and very repeatable adjustments, mounted on a .22-250 Win. 1885 Highwall..great glass and great gun.

[Jim White]

Never looked thru a Nikon Tactical or a Schmidt & Bender but I have looked thru a Nikon Monarch (6.5-20x44/AO and 6-24x50/SF) both with fine cross hair dots.

I would ask, do you need the light gathering capability? For me, the answer is no if its for varmints and target work. If you don't need the light gathering capability, the Nikon Monarch is hard to beat for the money, and although my 6-24x50/SF starts to get hazy above 18x its still clear enough to see 20 cal holes at 200 yards. Above 18x, its not near as sharp as my Zeiss Conquest or Leupold VX-3 scope. On low power it's light gathering ability suffers too. Never looked thru a Bushnell although my brother in Virginia swears by his Elite 6500 2.5-16x50.

HTH

[acloco]

Better check how much MOA adjustment is available on any scope that you purchase.

Any scope purchased MUST have fully multi coated lenses (no exceptions - all three words are necessary for quality coatings on the glass).


Personally, I don't care for the Nikon scopes. The reticles tend to be too thick and the actual objective lense diameter is less than others sold as the same size.

[Jim White]

I like the Monarchs but the Buckmasters are a different story. I have one of the older AO models (4.5-14x40) and one day I compared it to the new SF model at the range, In comparision, the newer model looked like I was looking through a smaller objective and it definietly did-not have the same field of vision as mine.

HTH,