ORIGINAL: Dan in Alaska
I have had three Nikons over the years, but I had never had a Monarch. I have a 3-9x and a 2-7x that were purchased in the early 90's, when Nikon only offered one "grade" of scope. I also have a new Buckmaster 3-9x; it seems to be as nice as the others, but I admit I haven't used it much.
I like my Nikons, but they do not seem to have the generous & forgiving eye relief that the Leupold scopes do. My Nikons are a little more picky about where my eye is. I have no complaints with brightness or clarity with the Nikon scopes I have.
For the money, I think the VX-II is hard to beat. There are many scopes in that price range that are as clear and as bright as the Leupold, but the Leupold's eye relief qualities are their strength.
That is my major complaintwith the Elite 3200. It is so picky about exactly where my eye is....especially when compared to my Leupolds.For me its not a problem when shooting off a bench but in a hunting situation I'm afraid it might cost me a shot at an animal.