March Scopes

[Huck]

Hello folks'

I'm new on here and this is my first question. Has anyone who owns a March scope had any issues with them so far? I need a new top end scope for my F/TR rifle and the March is a very obvious contender! The very low weight of the one I'm interested in is a major factor in my interest in them.

 

If all else is equal, IE optical quality and reliability, then the weight factor will clinch it for me.

 

I've read other posts on here about these scopes and in particular Elwoods unfortunate experiance at Bisley. That was accidental but it is etremely reasuring to see that Gary stepped in the way he did to help out! This scores very high for the company in my book!

 

Can I also ask anyone who might answer; What other top end scopes have you personally had experiance of that you can compare the March with?

 

Thanks

 

Huck

[Elwood]

Hi Huck, firstly welcome to the forum.

 

My experience with other top end high magnification scopes has been with the 12-50x56 S&B and the 12-42x56 NF NXS. I compared these against the March 8-80 and 10-60 at Bisley with Gary. The March and the S&B were side by side in optical clarity, the Night force as I expected was lacking, the test was to spot a fellow shooters shots at 600 yards on Century.

 

I did a 8 shot box test, on the second time around I hit my previous aiming points 3 out of 4 times, so it's fair to say they track, the eye relief is enormous, the 1/8th MOA clicks are crisp, the return to zero is another big bonus as is of course is the weight, and lets not forget the superb MTR2 reticle

 

I'm starting to see more and more on the firing point, I would say that possibly 40-50% of F open shooters are using them now, and I have yet to hear of any problems.

[1967spud]

i am using a high mag pm2 and love it a lot i ve no expseerince with the march but i do hear a lot of good things about them and the back up service from gary is awesome as welll

[gun nut]

+1 for the fact that Gary gives excellent customer service. I've owned nightforce nxt's and S&B PMII'S and the March beats either hands down on optical performance

versus weight. Only had mine for a month but wouldn't see myself buying another PM11 cause of the bulk and the nightforce isn't in the same optical league as either of the

other two.

 

Mike

[Danpd]

For F/Class or Benchrest they are excellent if your budget will stretch. As a Stalking/Varminting scope in lower light i'm afraid to say they were somewhat disappointing. The build quality is excellent and the reticles are superb.

[Hatzi]

I was very impressed with the two i tested, especially the 2.5-25x42. The mechanics and spec are peerless and the glass is superb in daylight but just didnt quite have the edge at dusk that german/austrian glass does. Gary tells me they are introducing a 56mm version of that scope which will be very interesting.

 

The downside to ultra high mag is a very small, hence critical exit pupil i found on the 5-50 but thats not a problem for slow fire precision shooting.

 

The reticles are superb.

[Elwood]

I was very impressed with the two i tested, especially the 2.5-25x42. The mechanics and spec are peerless and the glass is superb in daylight but just didnt quite have the edge at dusk that german/austrian glass does. Gary tells me they are introducing a 56mm version of that scope which will be very interesting

 

The reticles are superb.

 

If they can produce a 56mm version of the 2.5-25x42 for the same price then I would think they will be in direct competition with Nightforce scopes for lamping.

[Hatzi]

Note, i never mentioned price lol

[Huck]

Note, i never mentioned price lol

 

Thank you for the usefull comments lads. On the basis of what you've said and glowing reports from other F Class shooters I'm going to go with the 10 - 60.

I did get a chance to look through and inspect Gary's own scopes at Bisley a week or so back and was impressed! All the top end scopes are expensive but in our game we can't afford not to have the best available! Thanks for taking the time to help me out.

 

Huck

[baldie]

I shot a rifle with the tactical scope fitted at the weekend. Cant remember the spec exactly, think it was 2.5 -25 or something like that. I couldn,t fault the scope...apart from one thing. The reticule was too fine for practical rifle, and was difficult to see against a figure 11. I was pig sick at that, because i fully intended buying one. I will be looking at the other rets however.

 

I,ve owned both big schmidts, and was not impressed by either of them.

 

The march beats them hands down as a target scope.

 

I have 6 nightforces and love them. The march has all their best qualities, but better glass, and a lot lighter weight.

[Huck]

Evening All,

Just a note to say the new March arrived today and my first impressions are WOW! Incredible clarity right through the magnification ranges.

If the weather improves I'll get it onto the rifle at the weekend and get it zeroed and tested. I'll let you know how it goes.

 

Thanks to all for your help, advice and oppinions.

 

Huck

[terryh]

Dave,

 

As a guess your were looking thru' an MTR-2 ret. If you want a thicker ret. then the MTR-3 is the same ret but all the lines and markings are twice the size/thickness/subtension.

 

Just a thought if you are after a nice scope

 

Terry

[baldie]

Thanks Terry, i will check that out. I loved the scope otherwise, it was perfect for PR.

[walkabout]

Thanks Terry, i will check that out. I loved the scope otherwise, it was perfect for PR.

 

G'day Dave,

I have a March 5-50x56 it has a MTR-3 ret, it's really good against PR type targets and I have found it okay also for target work.

I have had 4 S&B scopes including 2 PMII's and the March is smaller, lighter, as good if not better clarity, maybe not so good in the dusk?

I will honestly never buy another S&B after the crap "Service" I experinenced on a PMII, from Germany.

My next scope... another March.

 

Mark

[Ronin]

Have to say I am seriously considering a March Tactical as my next scope, the .05 Mil sub tension ajustments, fine reticule, zero stop and truly excellent optical clarity and superb customer service offered by Gary have to make these scopes serious contenders to anyone looking for a high end optic.

[The Gun Pimp]

Have to say I am seriously considering a March Tactical as my next scope, the .05 Mil sub tension ajustments, fine reticule, zero stop and truly excellent optical clarity and superb customer service offered by Gary have to make these scopes serious contenders to anyone looking for a high end optic.

 

Can't believe how many March scopes I saw at the Diggle GBFCA League shoot last weekend. After Nightforce, i would say March were the most popular.

Vince

[Alycidon]

Had a go with a 50x ( ish !!) fixed BR scope a while ago at Bisley, full daylight, nice crisp image, fine crosshair which was fine for 100BR. Certainly as good as the NSX I was using and arguably as good as the Swaro on the rifle my daughter had borrowed from me for the day.

 

I have found NSX lacking at night in marginal light situations and was thinking of maybe changing it but in any sort of half decent light its fine although there have been occasions in the late evening when the dot (NP2DD) is invisible lit or unlit so had to use the stadia to bracket the chest.

 

A

[ChrisF]

IF it was ME , nope , I would get a Bender 12.5-50 , Opps , that NOT what YOU want too hear is it .

 

My mate has quite a few March scopes & other high end gear , & is a amazing shot , BUT instead of his March scopes , his current F-Class gun , is in 7mm SAUM and has a big Bender on it , and I would say its HIS choice , as he actually has both , and now choses a Bender ?

 

BUT thats also NOT what any one wants to hear about the IN scope .

 

Later Chris

 

P.S. The only scope that I would maybe take over any of my Benders , would be one of the NEW Zeiss 3.5-26x56mm FFP jobies , thats a seroius piece of Glass .

[6mmBR]

Every one has their opinions and if we all had the same thing life would be dull.

There's nothing wrong with S&Bs

However their very short eye relief in comparison to other scopes is a pain literally!

It'xs fine in F class with the smaller calibers but put an S&B on a WSM and more than likely you will get scoped if you shoot free recoil like most F class shooters do.

Cheers

Dave.

[Danpd]

The other issue is that civilian shooters have in effect been "dumped" by S&B, whilst they beaver away on military contracts. There is definitely an opening for March to gain ground in the market, especially with excellent backup and customer service from Gary. I purchased a 2.5-25x42 MTR2 Illuminated for a customer this week, and it is a thing of beauty. We did a head to head comparison with a 5-25x56 PMII, 6-24 Zeiss, 5.5-22x56 Nightforce, 8x56 Swarovski, and a Leupold. After reading reviews about poor performance in low light we were expecting the worse, but we all agreed that whilst it was not in the same league as the high end scopes for light gathering, it was still very usable. Looking forward to trying some more scopes from the range.

[brown dog]

The other issue is that civilian shooters have in effect been "dumped" by S&B, whilst they beaver away on military contracts. There is definitely an opening for March to gain ground in the market, especially with excellent backup and customer service from Gary. I purchased a 2.5-25x42 MTR2 Illuminated for a customer this week, and it is a thing of beauty. We did a head to head comparison with a 5-25x56 PMII, 6-24 Zeiss, 5.5-22x56 Nightforce, 8x56 Swarovski, and a Leupold. After reading reviews about poor performance in low light we were expecting the worse, but we all agreed that whilst it was not in the same league as the high end scopes for light gathering, it was still very usable. Looking forward to trying some more scopes from the range.

 

The 42mm obj is bound to get less light than a 56mm; not sure that it's a comparison of quality though, it's just physics; the 56mm objective has 77% more surface area

[Danpd]

The 42mm obj is bound to get less light than a 56mm; not sure that it's a comparison of quality though, it's just physics; the 56mm objective has 77% more surface area

 

Agreed, I lost my train of thought whilst typing.

 

It wasn't really a fair comparison, but what i meant to say is that despite only being a 42mm OBJ it was still perfectly usable for low light stalking purposes, If they brought out a 50-56mm OBJ i think they would sell a lot.

[Elwood]

IF it was ME , nope , I would get a Bender 12.5-50 , Opps , that NOT what YOU want too hear is it .

 

My mate has quite a few March scopes & other high end gear , & is a amazing shot , BUT instead of his March scopes , his current F-Class gun , is in 7mm SAUM and has a big Bender on it , and I would say its HIS choice , as he actually has both , and now choses a Bender ?

 

BUT thats also NOT what any one wants to hear about the IN scope .

 

Later Chris

 

P.S. The only scope that I would maybe take over any of my Benders , would be one of the NEW Zeiss 3.5-26x56mm FFP jobies , thats a seroius piece of Glass .

 

As already stated, it's down to the individual users eye, but my side by side comparisons and use in F class are the big S&B and the March are equal in glass quality but the March is superior in every other way.

[terryh]

Gents,

 

Bit off topic here re. size of objective that's always bugged me.

 

To my mind just taking the size of the objective lens as the litmus of performance does not 'feel' right?

 

Or putting at it another way, if I was looking thru' a 1m square peice of frosted glass and a 10mm square piece of clear glass at an object 20m away, which one would resolve the better detail?

 

Quality of the glass and coatings must play some part, surely, or am I being too simplistic?

 

Terry

[brown dog]

No, you're right Terry; but we were just agreeing that expecting a top-quality 42mm scope to be as bright as a top quality 56mm scope is an unrealistic expectation. ie if someone's buying a 42mm March but then saying it dims out compared to a.n.other top brand 56mm; that's a bit of a 'no sh1t sherlock' rather than a measure of quality.