Gangly

Im very soory if this has been posted before, but what are the main differences between these three? There is a tremendous amount of information but the moreI read about the three the more I confuse myself. Can anybody give me a basic rundown of the main differences between the three scopes?

srwshooter

prostaff is nikons lowest priced scope,i've heard its junk

buckmasters scopes are pretty nice ,i do know a few people that had problems

monarchs are about as nice as anything out,but you gota pay for it.

Folically Challenged

I'll have to dissent. I have 2 ProStaffs, both of which I'm quite pleased with. They're very clear, have repeatable adjustments, and are a great scope for the money.

The Monarchs have a tremendous reputation, and the older models are on closeout at many online retailers, sometimes for only $25 to $50 more than the ProStaffs. These Monarchs will go toe-to-toe with the Leupold VXIII line, at up to ½ the cost.

I would never confuse a ProStaff with my Zeiss Conquest, but theyalso costabout $250 to $300 less than the Zeiss. You'd also never confuse a ProStaff with a Tasco or BSA, and they're not all that much more $$$.

Like anything else,use your OWN eyes to make your OWN decisions!

FC

Doe Dumper

The Pro Staffs are very very nice scopes for the money. I have 3 of them and have never been sorry for buying them. I also have a Monarch which is a sweetheart as well. Im sold on the Nikons...no complaints whatsoever...

Hunting the North

The Prostaff is a very good scope for the price, just be aware that the windage adjustments cannot be done with fingertips, you need a coin or screw driver, other than that it is a good scope. The other models only get better as you climb the price range.

I once compared my $129.00 Prostaff with a $400.00 Burris Signature Select, and the Prostaff was much clearer and sharper the the Burris.

MichaelT.

You heard wrong...

I don't own a Prostaff, but I have looked through them, they are great for the money. 90 % light transmission. They are multicoated but not sure if they are fully multicoated.

I own 5 Buckmasters , and have never had a problem with them. They are finger adjustable and very clear. 92 % light transmission. Fully Multicoated.

I own 3 Monarchs. The clearest. 95 % light transmission. Finger adjustable. Fully Multicoated.

$ for $ , you will not beat the value of the Nikon line. The new Nikons , just recently released, have side focus adjustment for the parallax adjustment.

The Nikons also have the fast focus eyepiece, and they have good eye relief. I have seen other scopes with a slightly more forgiving eyebox, but there is certainly nothing prohibitative about the Nikon eyebox. It is one of the better in the industry. The elevation and windage adjustments are positive click adjustments. They are very reproducable.

Hope this helps.

Gangly

Thank you all very much for the replies. I am sold on the Nikon now. Where is a good place to get them fora reasonable price?

Thanx again for all the help.

mouthcaller

Gangly,

I own both a Prostaff and Buckmaster, and have looked through the Monarchs.

The Prostaff represents a good value. Thought not fully multicoated, the optics are brighter than all other $100.00 scopes I've seen. I worry about the quality of the reticle assembly and how it might hold up to recoil over time. A gun store owner I know told me that of all the Nikon scopes he sells the Prostaffs come back for repair far more often than the other lines.

The Buckmaster 3X9X40 that I have on my Omega is possibly the brightest scope I own (comparing it to a Burris Fullfield II 3X9X40, an "older" Redfield Illuminator 3X9X42, and a Bushnell Elite 3200 4X12X40). It has functioned flawlessly and the adjustments are spot on. After two seasons on a relatively hard-kicking muzzloader (I use 120 gr. loose 777 with 300 gr bullets) it still holds zero. I can strongly recommend the Buckmaster as providing excellent optical performance at the $200.00 price point.

If you can afford the Monarch by all means buy it. It is head and shoulders above the other two in optical performance.

It comes down to what you want to spend and the application. For the muzzleloader, 200 yard shots are my maximum and the Buckmaster provides all the scope I need for that rifle. If I were buying a varmit scope or needed higher magnification and resolution I would lean toward the Monarch. If I were on a very tight budget and could only afford to spend 100 bucks then I would get the Prostaff.

In my opinion one reaches a point of diminishing returns in scopes at roughly the $200.00 price point. For this price one can get (in 3X9X40) the Burris Fullfield II, Bushnell Elite 3200, Nikon Buckmaster, Sightron SII, and some others. If you can find one of the "older" (Nikon recently redesigned the Monarch line) Monarchs at this price grab it. Occasionally you can find one on ebay and SWFA had some on clearance.

Another point: I've read mixed reports about the warranty service for Nikons. For this reason my recent scope purchases have been Burris and Bushnell Elite. I think the Burris Fullfield II is a great scope from an American company that stands firmly behind their products. This scope has fully multicoated optics and the reticle assembly is built tougher than the competition at this price point (double springs, steel-on-steel turrent adjustments). The Bushnell Elite 3200 is also a very nice scope and the rainguard feature is amazing. I recently bought the 4X12X40 on Ebay with the ballistic plex reticle new for $240.00(retail priceis $399.00)

If you can afford the Bushnell Elite 4200 I've read several reviews that claim it to be the best scope you can buy under $400.00

Good luck this season,

Mouthcaller

Doe Dumper

Gangly..I have gotten most of my Nikons off EBAY..you can get some very good prices at times on there. I guess my best deal off there would be a toss up between the 199 after shipping Monarch 3x9x40 or the $30 4x32 prostaff...lol.

MichaelT.

Here are some links where I have bought...

Duraham has some decent prices and are good folks... Though the listed scopes do not contain any of the newest Nikon Production released about two months ago.

http://www.durhamoutdoorsupply.com/brand/nikon/rscopes.html

--------------------------

theopticzone has some good prices and I have bought about 5 scopes from them. Jon and Tammi are realnice peopleto do business with. The do have the newer scopes listed, BUT Nikon is not getting a bunch out yet, so the available scopes may be limited. But the do have last years model line still , also.
I also saw where they are offering free shipping on orders over 300.00.

http://theopticzone.com/nikonscopes.aspx

----------------------------------

SWFA has an extensive line, and they say they will match prices ... but I have only bought scopes from them 2x. But it was a smooth deal each time. Most folks there are quite knowledgable, but not all folks.

http://www.swfa.com/c-10-nikon-riflescopes.aspx

Hope this helps you out. I have had the lowest prices and best service at these three, but take a look and compare for yourself.

God Bless