At one time or another I have bought every thing from Tasco to Zeiss, inlcuding Leupolds and Nikons. To date I have had to send one Leupold and one Nikon back for repairs. The Leupold, a Vari-X II 4-12x40, I beleive it was, would not stay zeroed. The rubber locking gromet would back off the adjustments something terrible. You could zero it today, tomorrow it would be off by as much as 3" . The Nikon, was a Buckmaster 3-9x50, had a broken crosshair, which broke after the 5th shot on a lighweight 6.5x284.

The Leupold service was quick and the problem was fixed correctly (I sent it to Dick Thomas at Precision Reticles) as it was modified to a poistive click adjustments. The Nikon service is still to be determined, as I just sent the scope back to Nikon on 11 SEP 03.

My observations, is that the optics and clearity of the Nkon are superior to Leupolds, but the Nikons may not be as durable and rugged as the Leupold. As of this date I have 10 Leupolds and 14 Nikons, and in my opinion $ for $ you get the most scope with Nikon.

Nikon may by made in the Phillipines, but they are the best thing to come out of the Phillipines since LBFM' s. Some of you ex-military guys that have spent time the Phillipines know exactly what I am talking about!!!!!!![][>:]