Toughest Rifle Scope

What your opinion for the most dependable and toughest rifle scope on the market right now ?
Trying decide on one for my next rifle and want one that will not hurt to get banged around a little .
I have about $1500 to spend so i think i can find one that will be that way but not had a lot of dealings with higher end scopes .

NightForce has one if not the most noted reputation for reliability.

Burris with the posi-lock if you're not a dialing kind of guy

Think Steiner is using the posi lock feature now also

You might be able to find a nightforce F1 for close to 1500$. They're reputation was built on being tough.

Used vortex Razors are going for about 1500 as well and mine have held up through many competitions perfectly.

Burris and Steiner are one in the same these days.

Never been a big fan Of buris I all ways thought they was lower end
I really want one that I will never have to worry about oh dang I bumped it now have to shoot it an see if it's still on

Vortex has a lifetime warranty so no matter what you will be set.

I have had nothing but Leupolds and cheap simmons for years and bought a vortex about 3 months ago. I always check a gun after bumping it/slamed the barrel in the truck door etc. and never had it knock the site off. Don't matter what scope you put on it im still gonna check it if I hit it or something.

Yes i know that you need to check it often but i am guess saying that i want the best of both worlds ya know
I have three vortex that i have bought this year and love them but was just looking at others to see if there others that i would like better .

When I first started hunting I was given a Leupold Vari X II 3x9x40 for my birthday. I was really hard on that scope!!! It suffered plenty of bumps and bangs along the way but every time I checked it the thing was always still dead on. That scope left an impression on me.

Leupold

The sig. series had good glass. Burris been bought and sold few times but none the less the posi lock system is best at keeping zero. if it moves won't be the scope. I do have one Burris scope, great glass just itty bitty crosshairs

Personally I'm Swarovski or vortex in all my optics now

I slipped and fell right on my rifle on the windage knob of my Viper pst and when I checked zero, it was like nothing happened. I am 100 percent confident in them.

I've tortured my SS 5-20X HD. Shooting my style of competition is hell on rifles, scopes and everything attached to them including the shooter. Never a hickup.

I'll +1 to the rep Night Force has but the F-1 is the only one I would have. The Vortex Viper and Bushy Elite have not had a terribly hard life, but neither have given one bit of trouble losing zero or failing to track properly.

I've brutalized a few Leupolds over the years and have not killed one yet. Fell on one when a deer stand ladder broke. Landed on some rocks, with the rifle and scope under me. Hurt me, but scope kept it's zero. Also dropped my 220 out of my Kubota a few years ago, and it fell in a gravel road after bouncing off everything in the Kubota. No, wasn't loaded. Scope was fine, but the zero was off an inch or so at 100.

But I guess if the OP wants absolutely the toughest scope available, it'd have to be one of the USMC issue scopes. That should be mil spec tough. And mighty darn heavy. I wonder what the Corps is using these days.

Last I saw/heard was Schmidt and Bender. No idea on model or power...

story

Oh and nightforce

Last I heard, the USMC trains with the Leupold Mark 4 LR/T 10X40, then once deployed uses Schmidt & Bender 3-20x50 Police Marksman LP 34mm Riflescope with P4 Fine Reticle

Easy answer- Nightforce! S&B is also up there. There is a reason why they are more expensive.

It's funny on the Leupold comments. I've seen numerous Leupy's go down. Usually the internals fail.

I've seen many scopes put through their paces in competitions. I've talked to many shooters about scopes. US Optics seem to fail the most out of the high end models. Seen several shooters out of commission with these. To this day, I've never seen a NF fail. I own 4 of them, and all are rock solid and the best scopes I've found. Vortex has the same technology of the internals as NF. So they should be very durable. I'm just not a fan of their glass or the reticles they use. The reticles are too thick, and the glass is very grainy to me.

I have beat the crap out of Leupold's and never had an issue. I think they have kind of gotten overlooked in today's market with so many high end manufacturers, but used to be they were the only game in town as far as go to hunting scopes.

If you "use" the scope to dial and shoot often, this is where the scopes will break. Leupold makes a great scope, and I run a VX-7 on my 270, and love it. But it's not in the same ball park for durability as others.

I have one Leupold and would own another one and i didnt buy it it was given to me , i am more than likley going to go with a vortex at this time seeing how i cant really find a NF dealer around me close and i am not ordering one of the net either i want to look at one and hold it in my hands.
the S and B look tough but they just dont have many options it looks like to me .

Go visit swfa

They dont have NF there or at least i haven't seen them there i get easily distracted in that store so i may have over looked them .

They aren't a dealer for NF. Cabelas had some and is a stocking dealer. Remember all scopes look similar in a store. NF is know for superb tracking with a couple other big names that cost double. Their glass is pretty good too but the main items the price draws is the accuracy of the adjustments and robust build.

I thought they picked them up . Sorry man

In the last two weeks I've had two friends out both zeroing rifles. One wearing a Nikon and one wearing a Leupold. Both would not track worth a darn. See a bullet hole 3 MOA high and 1MOA left, dial the correction and it may come down half or it may come down twice as much as it should, same with the windage.

One was a 7 Weatherby Mag and one was a 30-06. Those get expensive chasing a scope that won't zero.

TacPro in Mingus was a dealer last time I was there.


Chupa

Cabelas carries nightforce....

I am not the person to ask for target shooting or hunting past 300 yards. But, if your purpose is to hunt, you can not beat Leupold for durability. At $1500, you can get a VX6 or a Swarovski Z3. To me it depends on how good your eyesight is, especially at low light. The Leupold is the toughest and stays on zero the best IMO. The Swarvo has the best viewing glass. I have both and keep going back and forth on which is better. What I can say is that I own 2 Vortex scopes and they aren't even close to the quality of Leupold, Swarvo or Nikon for that matter. Vortex has the best warranty and they will even over night you a loaner scope if yours breaks while on a hunt out of state.....but, that doesn't help if you can't see as clear or bump your scope and it is off by 12" at 100 yards.

A friend of mine has a Nikon monarch that was having issues returning to zero after dialing out the last few times we shot all while my Elite Tac and NF had no issues.

Yup. There's significant step in quality when you move up to the above $500 scope category.

I do love my old leupold and it has been a great scope, but I don't believe it was made for "dialing". They say a click is a 1/4 inch at 100 yards... well sometimes it takes 4 clicks to move an inch and sometimes it takes 8 to go an inch, but once its dialed in ive never had it come off.

I have one and like i was saying it it pretty good heck i have a old .243 that has an old simmons 44 mag that i put on when i was about 20 and that thing still is on and never had a problem with it but i think thats back when they was made better than now .

I use the old blued steel Weaver scopes. Included in a discussion of scope toughness should be the bases and rings.

I've seen a simmons that the reticle turned in during a hard off season in the safe. I might still have it but it's not likely. That being said it was awesome for the 10 years prior.

The two I mentioned were capped, scopes, not turrets. Guess I'm spoiled to be able to zero in 3 shots. A scope that tracks where ever it wants to with no predictability as to where the next correction is going to cause an impact is rediculous IMHO. The Nikon got sent in. I have not asked the outcome. I think he was trying for a refund and was going tk get a Vortex Viper after watching me ping steel at the end of the range. Bout to create another monster I bet.

Which vortex viper ya got ?

For me, any of the higher end scopes would be tough enough.
I find weight too important a factor and it's directly related
to toughness. You want a tough as nails high end scope, bring
your muscles, I seemed to have misplaced mine over the years

18-20oz is the very top of where I want to be on a hunting rifle.

Yes the thing about the higher end scopes that are good for longer range it that they are to long for my liking
I am not really worried about the weight after toting my AR10 around

6-24X 50 Mil/ Mil FFP.

It may be the longest scope I have and somehow the lightest weight. Bushnell Elites seem to be a bit shorter but I don't know what they weigh. SWFA should have all the measurements and weights of the scopes you're considering.

Older (late 90's) Leupold Mark 4 10x. Occasionally they pop up for sale on the used market in the $800-$1000 range (the military version that does not have the gold ring). If you ever ran out of ammo, you cold take the scope off the rifle, beat someone to death with it, steal their ammo, put the scope back, and still have zero Seriously heavy-duty (and heavy). The optics are decent but not to the level of a Nighforce but pretty sure it could take considerably more abuse. Leupold seemed seemed to have "updated" the Mark 4 around 2001 or so and those don't seem to be quite as rugged.

Mil reticle, 1/4 MOA turrets.

All MK4 are solid black without the gold ring. Even the old school VX III tactical that pre dated the mk 4 lacked the hold ring. The original military Leupold were also conversion done by premier.

So whats your thoughts on this one
http://swfa.com/US-Optics-10x37-ST-10-TPAL-30mm-Riflescope-P74714.aspx

Honestly, the last high end scope I would buy is a US Optics. I've seen many go down during a class or shooting comp. Sure, they have great customer service, but I'd rather not have to use them.

I have a Leupold VX1 3 by 9 I bought at a pawn shop 30 years ago and stuck on a Wby 22-250.Sighted it in and have not had to take the caps off since.I check it every year and it stays zeroed.I have not been kind to it either.I love the old Leupolds

I liked my USO 3.2-17, no issues with it but it got replaced with a Kahles K312II

Even with less magnification the glass was so much better, even out to 1k.

Nightforce NXS.

I want one of the newer Kahles but the price tag is a bit hard to swallow.

The new Kahles are impressive, the older ones are some great scopes as well especially before them and Swaro combined for several years.

The old Kahles scopes were some tough ones

http://www.kahles.at/eng/company/success-stories/