I'll take the Monarch every time. I have 4 of them and love them. They are crystal clear and awesome in low light. A buddy of mine used my Encore with a Monarch on it last season, he's a die hard Leupold guy. He was so impressed with the Monarch he sold his Leupold and replaced it with a Monarch. I'm not saying Leupolds are junk, they are nice optics. I just prefer the Monarch much better. Another thing you'll save yourself some money with the Monarch. You can get them new on the internetfor $220 to $250 new for a 3-9x40. SWFA had them the cheapest, but they are probably sold out by now. Midway USA had them for $230 I think. I plan on buying a Monarch with the new BDC reticle before next season.
If cost doesn't matter go with Leupold. I have the Nikon and I'm very pleased with it, but the leupold is a better quality of scope. JMHO
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Quit whinin' or quit huntin', they don't go together!! Reese
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"IN GOD WE TRUST"
I recently made this same decision. I have always believed in Leupold but found it hard to pass on the Monarch form SWFA at $230 shipped. I just received it today and plan on mounting and bringing to the range within the next week.
i love the vari x ii-s. got my last one 3x9x40 off www.gunbroker.com for 200$ new in a box so there are deals out there. i love the nikon binos but dont know much abut the scopes. i did have a simmons i think it was a whitetail model and it was brighter but i do know that the eye relief is forgiving and bang around ability is great with the leupold. ive dropped a few scopes in the last coule years and not one leupold has gone back for repair. with the life time warranty i have no worries. ive just about replaced all of my cheapo scopes with leupolds mostly ii-s and couldnt be happier.
In all my years of mounting/using scopes,this has numbered in hundreds if not thousands. I have chosen leupold and see no reason to change. There are several reasons for this such as leupold being american made,unmatched warranty/customer service,etc.
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Sometimes you earthlings REALLY amaze me!
I would too flip a coin. Only thing, I can say is the sight picture seems to go away easier with Nikons. In other words, its more critical that its mounted to fit an individual. And leupolds customer service is better I find. If price is the same, I would go with Leupold. I just got a 6.5-20 monarch and very happy with it.
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thats what im tryin to say...
