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Nikon Monarch 3 vs Monarch 7 |
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dsgraham1
Optics GrassHopper Joined: October/07/2015 Location: TN Status: Offline Points: 3 |
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Posted: October/07/2015 at 15:15 |
I am researching rifle scopes and am having a hard time discerning any major difference between Nikon Monarch 3 and Monarch 7 scopes that justify the significant price difference. I assume that the 7 has better glass, but I don't see that described in anything I have read. Can anyone explain exactly what makes the 7 cost almost twice as much as a comparable 3?
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cheaptrick
MODERATOR Joined: September/27/2004 Location: South Carolina Status: Offline Points: 20844 |
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I've never seen a Monarch 7.
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If at first you don't secede...try..try again.
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dsgraham1
Optics GrassHopper Joined: October/07/2015 Location: TN Status: Offline Points: 3 |
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Here are Nikon's spec pages for similar Monarch 3 and 7 scopes:
http://www.nikonsportoptics.com/en/nikon-products/riflescopes/monarch-3-2.5-10x50-matte-bdc.html#tab-ProductDetail-ProductTabs-TechSpecs http://www.nikonsportoptics.com/en/nikon-products/riflescopes/monarch-7-2.5-10x50-sf-bdc-xr-turret.html#tab-ProductDetail-ProductTabs-TechSpecs |
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saltydog235
Optics Apprentice Joined: January/07/2013 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 172 |
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The 7 will take 2X longer to fail than the 3. At least from my experience with Nikon optics it would. Usually about a week or two.
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JimFromTN
Optics Apprentice Joined: February/05/2010 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 191 |
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Monarch 7 comes with a 30mm tube and the Monarch 3 has a 1 in tube. I believe they use the same glass. The Monarch 7 looks basically like the old Monarch X's. The Monarch 3 looks like the previous Monarchs. I had a Monarch Gold which was the non-tactical version of the Monarch X. It was an awesome scope especially for a scope I paid $500 on clearance probably 12 to 15 years ago. It was comparable to a VX III at the time. I doubt the glass is as good as the new VX3's. I traded it in on samplelist a couple of years ago and got $400 on a trade.
That being said, I think there are better scopes out there in the $850 to $1000 range especially out on the samplelist which is why I chose a different scope when I needed one recently.
Edited by JimFromTN - October/07/2015 at 23:11 |
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budperm
Optics Retard show me your sheep!! Joined: January/01/2009 Location: Pennsylvania Status: Offline Points: 31710 |
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If anyone knows, Ilya will! He's been crazy busy in his new job, but he last job was professionally evaluating Scopes as an Optics Engineer and he's been doing so here for years!.
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"Peace is that brief glorious moment in history when everybody stands around reloading".
--Thomas Jefferson |
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budperm
Optics Retard show me your sheep!! Joined: January/01/2009 Location: Pennsylvania Status: Offline Points: 31710 |
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He also runs this site, www.opticsthoughts.com
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"Peace is that brief glorious moment in history when everybody stands around reloading".
--Thomas Jefferson |
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silvrjeepr
Optics GrassHopper Joined: January/04/2013 Location: Tennessee Status: Offline Points: 40 |
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I usually skim over forum posts, but when I see one from Ilya, I slow down and read carefully. The man knows his optics. I'd like to send him congrats on the new job, but hate that it keeps him away from us lowly optics newbs.
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Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please. -- Mark Twain
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cheaptrick
MODERATOR Joined: September/27/2004 Location: South Carolina Status: Offline Points: 20844 |
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Who is this Koshkin person you speak so highly of?
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If at first you don't secede...try..try again.
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Son of Ed
Chuck Norris Joined: June/18/2011 Location: TEXAS Status: Online Points: 122213 |
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Visit the Ed Show
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budperm
Optics Retard show me your sheep!! Joined: January/01/2009 Location: Pennsylvania Status: Offline Points: 31710 |
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Yep unfortunately for us his new job as VP keeping him too busy to do what he and we LOVE!
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"Peace is that brief glorious moment in history when everybody stands around reloading".
--Thomas Jefferson |
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JimFromTN
Optics Apprentice Joined: February/05/2010 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 191 |
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I can't speak for Koshkin, but I have never seen any write ups by him on the Monarch 7 and I have searched the internet thoroughly. I can't find any reviews of the monarch 7 at all, anywhere. If you look at the specs of each, you will see that the only basic difference is the tube dimensions. They claim 95% light transmission which has not changed since the monarch line originally came out. The previous monarchs which have been relabeled Monarch 3 with some slight upgrades replaced the monarch gold. The monarch X's were relabeled monarch 7 with some upgrades like a bdc reticle instead of a mildot reticle and the XR turret instead of their old target turrets. It looks like they are trying to attract hunters more than tactical shooters with the monarch 7 now. When the monarchs replaced the monarch golds, the came out with a monarch dg scope which came in both a 1 inch tube and a 30 mm tube. The price difference was the same as the monarch 3 and monarch 7. As long as nikon did not skimp on quality to save a few bucks, I think the monarch 7 is probably a slightly better scope than the monarch x and the monarch gold which I had on a 300 win mag and never had any issues with. It survived the recoil of at least 1000 rds before I traded it in. The only reason I traded it in was because it came with standard hunting turrets and a german reticle and I could not get replacement target turrets for it and I wanted to start shooting longer ranges with it. If I could have gotten replacement turrets or a new reticle, I would still have it. Based on complaints that I have seen about the previous monarchs and my own experiences with the monarch gold, I would trust the monarch 7 allot more than the monarch 3.
If you notice, nikon did the same thing with the prostaff. They now have a prostaff 7 which has a 30mm tube.
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notorious
Optics GrassHopper Joined: January/25/2015 Location: B.F.E. Status: Offline Points: 27 |
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I have owned a couple Monarchs the past 6 years, and I am not been impressed by them when compared to other scopes.
One thing they do have going, though, is since they have the name, they hold their value extremely well. When I sold the scopes (used but perfect), I only lost about 15% after years of use. |
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urbaneruralite
Optics Journeyman Joined: January/03/2008 Status: Offline Points: 479 |
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fella told me recently that he was less than impressed with his new VX-3. Reason was it didn't seem significantly better than his Monarch. I asked about low light. Said the Monarch held up to the VX-3 there, too. Seems once you get in the range of good enough glass, you have to look at other things to tell what the extra money goes for.
So, what features, other than glass, makes the 7 better than the 3? |
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