March durability? Zero retention? How bad is that eyebox?

[SDHNTR]

Looking at March. For hunting alone. I couldn’t care less about F class or PRS. I don’t even know or care what the difference is. I want to know how usable and reliable the optic is in the field. SFP. Compact 2.5-25x52 to be exact. Durability wise, how’s it stack up to say a NF NXS? Price difference aside, can it compare at 6 oz less, or more? How bad is that eyebox? Compared to say an NX8? What else to consider?

 

[eoperator]

Not an exact comparison but I had an 2.5-25x42 March,
-glass was comparable to nxs
-parallax was very picky
-higher magnification was completely unusable in lower light
-tracking, size, weight and overall package was very nice

I would like to see Form drop test a March scope.

 

[Bones]

Not an exact comparison but I had an 2.5-25x42 March,
-glass was comparable to nxs
-parallax was very picky
-higher magnification was completely unusable in lower light
-tracking, size, weight and overall package was very nice

I would like to see Form drop test a March scope.

I have a FFP 42mm, so also not direct comparison. I haven’t had the heart to drop test it yet, but I may bring myself to at least hit it with a rubber mallet. Hope we see Form test one.

I agree overall package is great. I would be fine with 18x on the top end. It does get to be tunneled on high power. Glass is good.

Parallax is different. Not sure if parallax is picky or it is due to a shallow depth of field. What I have found is that I don’t mind this. The reason is that when the reticle and target is in focus, I know that parallax is out of the system.

I have not had an issue with the eye box, I am sure it is “tighter” than others, and I haven’t spent a bunch of time shooting sharp angles, but I haven’t had any issues with it.

 

[PNWGATOR]

Pull that thing off and send it to Ryan and let’s find out.

 

[Bones]

Pull that thing off and send it to Ryan and let’s find out.

I can agree to that, only because my name is Ryan……… haha

 

[SDHNTR]

I don’t understand the craze towards such a high zoom range. The juice isn’t worth the squeeze imo. As a hunter, rapid target acquisition is very important. The high zoom range starts to hamper that ability. And that top end is not needed for hunting. Yet, the compact size and light weight sure is nice!

So why isn’t March (or Nightforce) making a 5 or 6x in that same compact, lightweight package? Give me a bomber, rock solid, 3-18x, that weighs 23 oz (like the March) and I’d be thrilled! All the upside and no downside!

 

[Bones]

I don’t understand the craze towards such a high zoom range. The juice isn’t worth the squeeze imo. As a hunter, rapid target acquisition is very important. The high zoom range starts to hamper that ability. And that top end is not needed for hunting. Yet, the compact size and light weight sure is nice!

So why isn’t March (or Nightforce) making a 5 or 6x in that same compact, lightweight package? Give me a bomber, rock solid, 3-18x, that weighs 23 oz and I’d be thrilled! All the upside and no downside!

All I really need is a FFP mils NXS 2-10. I would love 3-15 instead or even 12x on the high side. I had high hopes for the Nx8 release when it came out, but it ended up being heavy and huge soon range.

 

[Dos XX]

I have 2 March scopes on my F Class rifles. One of them has 1000's, probably over 10,000, rounds of .308 200 gr on it. No problems. Tracks dead on. Holds zero. Killer scope. I replaced NF Competition scopes with these scopes. The glass on these scopes is amazing but is a different, higher end glass than on the 2.5 -25. When you get the focus / parallax adjusted on these scopes, the reticle looks like it jumps out at you, almost 3D like or something.

I have a 2.5-25 on a .260 hunting rifle. While the glass isn't as nice as the scopes on my F class rifle, it is comparable to the NXS, which I have a couple of. It tracks, holds zero so far, and is a great scope. I have no problem with the parallax adjustment, and in fact, I like it. I think someone on here wrote up a review of it and really liked it, but it eventually did lose zero. I can't remember the details.

All that said, my most recent scope purchases for hunting rifles have been NXS 5.5-22. I am considering a 3-15 as well. To me, the March isn't worth the price difference over the NXS, even for the weight savings. I can easily build a rifle with an NXS at 10 to 10 1/2 lbs, all in, scope, bipod, everything. This with a steel barrel. I may try a carbon barrel, eventually. The 5 oz difference between the March and NXS just isn't important to me for the way I use the rifles. I am in good enough shape to handle that weight difference. If I were doing 7 day backpack hunts, I might be looking at it differently.

 

[BBob]

I have a FFP 42mm, so also not direct comparison. I haven’t had the heart to drop test it yet, but I may bring myself to at least hit it with a rubber mallet. Hope we see Form test one.

I agree overall package is great. I would be fine with 18x on the top end. It does get to be tunneled on high power. Glass is good.

Parallax is different. Not sure if parallax is picky or it is due to a shallow depth of field. What I have found is that I don’t mind this. The reason is that when the reticle and target is in focus, I know that parallax is out of the system.

I have not had an issue with the eye box, I am sure it is “tighter” than others, and I haven’t spent a bunch of time shooting sharp angles, but I haven’t had any issues with it.

I have two of these (Edit: I have the March-F 3x-24x42mm FFP’s) and feel just about the same way. The 24x is nice and I use it often at the range but in the field I generally end up at 18-20 max.

I don’t understand the craze towards such a high zoom range. The juice isn’t worth the squeeze imo. As a hunter, rapid target acquisition is very important. The high zoom range starts to hamper that ability. And that top end is not needed for hunting. Yet, the compact size and light weight sure is nice!

So why isn’t March (or Nightforce) making a 5 or 6x in that same compact, lightweight package? Give me a bomber, rock solid, 3-18x, that weighs 23 oz and I’d be thrilled! All the upside and no downside!

Again same here. I certainly don’t need 2.5 on the bottom as well as I don’t need 25 at the top. Give me a solid 3-18 or even something like 4-20 and I’d be fine.

 

[roosiebull]

I don’t understand the craze towards such a high zoom range. The juice isn’t worth the squeeze imo. As a hunter, rapid target acquisition is very important. The high zoom range starts to hamper that ability. And that top end is not needed for hunting. Yet, the compact size and light weight sure is nice!

So why isn’t March (or Nightforce) making a 5 or 6x in that same compact, lightweight package? Give me a bomber, rock solid, 3-18x, that weighs 23 oz (like the March) and I’d be thrilled! All the upside and no downside!

I’m with ya! I don’t care to have a super high zoom range if it compromises usability. A simple reliable 4-6x zoom range with a decent reticle and good enough glass and I’m happy.

I don’t need anything higher than 10-15x on the upper side of magnification for hunting… crazy how hard it is to find a scope that fits my needs considering I’m not very picky

I just got a swfa 3-9X and think I’ll like it, but if not, the only other scope that’s attractive to me is the nxs 2.5-10X42 for my current needs

 

[Balderdash]

Looking at March. For hunting alone. I couldn’t care less about F class or PRS. I don’t even know or care what the difference is. I want to know how usable and reliable the optic is in the field. SFP. Compact 2.5-25x52 to be exact. Durability wise, how’s it stack up to say a NF NXS? Price difference aside, can it compare at 6 oz less, or more? How bad is that eyebox? Compared to say an NX8? What else to consider?

Can't comment on the March, but a few of their models are on my radar as well.

I have an NX8 2.5-20 mil FFP sitting in my safe right now. I personally think it's fantastic for an 8x scope. Sure you compromise on some things optically, but from an overall view of it's attributes, it's an awesome aiming device.

Only issue I really found with it is that I haven't found a good fit for it. For big game hunting I don't need anywhere near 20x and I'm still happy with a 20 ounce SWFA 3-9 or the smaller 3-10 NF's. For messing around at smaller targets or way off targets, weight's not an issue, and I already have heavier scopes that I like. So, I'm still trying to find the niche for it. Maybe a walking varmint rig? Don't get me wrong, it can certainly do it all, but it's not as good a fit in any one category. To me, other than the 1-8 LVPO's, the 8x scopes are sort of an answer in need of a question. But I'm sure someone has found a perfect fit for one.

 

[SDHNTR]

I have 2 March scopes on my F Class rifles. One of them has 1000's, probably over 10,000, rounds of .308 200 gr on it. No problems. Tracks dead on. Holds zero. Killer scope. I replaced NF Competition scopes with these scopes. The glass on these scopes is amazing but is a different, higher end glass than on the 2.5 -25. When you get the focus / parallax adjusted on these scopes, the reticle looks like it jumps out at you, almost 3D like or something. I have seen an IOR scope that does this as well.

I have a 2.5-25 on a .260 hunting rifle. While the glass isn't as nice as the scopes on my F class rifle, it is comparable to the NXS, which I have a couple of. It tracks, holds zero so far, and is a great scope. I have no problem with the parallax adjustment, and in fact, I like it. I think someone on here wrote up a review of it and really liked it, but it eventually did lose zero. I can't remember the details.

All that said, my most recent scope purchases for hunting rifles have been NXS 5.5-22. I am considering a 3-15 as well. To me, the March isn't worth the price difference over the NXS, even for the weight savings. I can easily build a rifle with an NXS at 10 to 10 1/2 lbs, all in, scope, bipod, everything. This with a steel barrel. I may try a carbon barrel, eventually. The 5 oz difference between the March and NXS just isn't important to me for the way I use the rifles. I am in good enough shape to handle that weight difference. If I were doing 7 day backpack hunts, I might be looking at it differently.

I have a NXS 3-15. It’s OK. But I like the March reticle options much better and the weight savings would be nice.

 

[762 ULTRAMAGA]

March makes some of the best calibrated and durable scopes on the market.
I have a 4.5-28 and it's the best scoped I've ever used, glass is way better than the NX8
Most reports of optical issues that I see come from guys running a 42mm objective.
Get the 52mm version of whichever model and you'll love it

 

[Dos XX]

The reason manufacturers make 8x or even 10x zoom scopes is marketing. It looks good in ad copy. That, and the fact that they sell. The perfect high end hunting scope probably doesn't really have that big of a market. Most hunter just use $200 -$400 scopes. How big is the high end, light weight, mountain hunting scope market? It probably is a fraction of the high end tactical safe queen scope.

Even the competition scopes are high zoom. The March I use on my comp rifle is 10-50. The NF Comp is 15-55. No one uses them down to 10 or 15. A better niche scope would be 25-50, a 2x zoom.

 

[Bones]

I have 2 March scopes on my F Class rifles. One of them has 1000's, probably over 10,000, rounds of .308 200 gr on it. No problems. Tracks dead on. Holds zero. Killer scope. I replaced NF Competition scopes with these scopes. The glass on these scopes is amazing but is a different, higher end glass than on the 2.5 -25. When you get the focus / parallax adjusted on these scopes, the reticle looks like it jumps out at you, almost 3D like or something.

I have a 2.5-25 on a .260 hunting rifle. While the glass isn't as nice as the scopes on my F class rifle, it is comparable to the NXS, which I have a couple of. It tracks, holds zero so far, and is a great scope. I have no problem with the parallax adjustment, and in fact, I like it. I think someone on here wrote up a review of it and really liked it, but it eventually did lose zero. I can't remember the details.

All that said, my most recent scope purchases for hunting rifles have been NXS 5.5-22. I am considering a 3-15 as well. To me, the March isn't worth the price difference over the NXS, even for the weight savings. I can easily build a rifle with an NXS at 10 to 10 1/2 lbs, all in, scope, bipod, everything. This with a steel barrel. I may try a carbon barrel, eventually. The 5 oz difference between the March and NXS just isn't important to me for the way I use the rifles. I am in good enough shape to handle that weight difference. If I were doing 7 day backpack hunts, I might be looking at it differently.

If the NXS was FFP and had a reticle that I liked, I would agree with you. The half pound from Nx8 to the March is significant and the price is a lot closer when you look at Nx8 to the March.

 

[Dos XX]

If the NXS was FFP and had a reticle that I liked, I would agree with you. The half pound from Nx8 to the March is significant and the price is a lot closer when you look at Nx8 to the March.

The March 2.5-25 is second focal plane. They do make some 1st focal plane scopes. I think they have a 3-24?

EDIT:
Here it is. 22.57 oz.

March F Tactical 3-24x42mm FML-1 Reticle 0.1MIL Illuminated FFP Riflescope D24V42FIML-FML-1-800020 For Sale | SHIPS FREE - EuroOptic

FREE SHIPPING on March F Tactical 3-24x42mm FML-1 Reticle 0.1MIL Illuminated FFP Riflescope D24V42FIML-FML-1-800020

www.eurooptic.com

 

[Dos XX]

March makes some of the best calibrated and durable scopes on the market.
I have a 4.5-28 and it's the best scoped I've ever used, glass is way better than the NX8
Most reports of optical issues that I see come from guys running a 42mm objective.
Get the 52mm version of whichever model and you'll love it

I need to see one of those 4.5-28's. I am not familiar with it. Is it a new model?

 

[SDHNTR]

March makes some of the best calibrated and durable scopes on the market.
I have a 4.5-28 and it's the best scoped I've ever used, glass is way better than the NX8
Most reports of optical issues that I see come from guys running a 42mm objective.
Get the 52mm version of whichever model and you'll love it

Good info. I’d love to read a comprehensive review from a mountain hunter’s perspective. Especially before taking a $2500 risk.

 

[SDHNTR]

The reason manufacturers make 8x or even 10x zoom scopes is marketing. It looks good in ad copy. That, and the fact that they sell. The perfect high end hunting scope probably doesn't really have that big of a market. Most hunter just use $200 -$400 scopes. How big is the high end, light weight, mountain hunting scope market? It probably is a fraction of the high end tactical safe queen scope.

Even the competition scopes are high zoom. The March I use on my comp rifle is 10-50. The NF Comp is 15-55. No one uses them down to 10 or 15. A better niche scope would be 25-50, a 2x zoom.

You’re probably right about that cheaper end of the hunting scope market.

But are there more serious recreational tactical shooters out there than there are mountain hunters? At least ones willing to spend this kind of money? That’s hard for me to grasp, but expensive tactical scopes do sure seem to have plenty of buyers. Why are more people willing to spend $2k+ on a scope used to drive down the road and punch paper than on a hunting scope when years of preference points, hard work, travel, horses, bush planes, backpacks, boot leather and all kinds of higher stakes are on the line? That makes no sense to me. Hard for me to understand how there are more people interested in shooting at targets than actually mountain hunting. Sure, I shoot some targets too, to practice, but I spend my real time and resources on what’s more enjoyable and rewarding to me. And why do tactical shooters need lightweight? They aren’t hiking up mountains. If manufacturers are making lightweight scopes and marketing them as such, aren’t they marketing to mountain hunter types? Then why the 8-10x zoom stuff in lightweight packages instead of 4-6x zoom, which are inherently more useful? Doesn’t make much sense when you break it all down.

 

[Dos XX]

Good info. I’d love to read a comprehensive review from a mountain hunter’s perspective. Especially before taking a $2500 risk.

I just looked up the 4.5 - 28. I am seeing $3400.00. Did you see one for $2500.00? Or were you referring to the 2.5-25?