-C4-
Member
I am looking at getting a scope from either one of them for my 24" AR-10. I have also looked at USO and S&B, but that is a little more than I want to spend. Does anyone have any thoughts on these two companies?
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IOR vs. Nightforce
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Gordon
Member
Night force has become much the better product. Made in US by those that know and CARE!
Don't Tread On Me
Member
I have the I.O.R. M2. The version for .308 is the M1. Mine is for .223. They are a fixed 4x
I like it. It seems built tough. It's not light, but it isn't very heavy either. Has 7 brightness settings for the illuminated reticle. The lower ones aren't very visable, I guess they'd be useful with nightvision. The brighter ones can be seen well, but after the sun has gone down.
The optics are very clear. Nice glass. It could be brighter, but it is a 24mm objective after all. For the size of objective, it is pretty bright. Just don't expect it to be as bright as a 40mm objective made by Leupold or Burris.
FOV is better than my Burris on 4x. They've done away with that yellowish tint. That was due to the coatings they used to use. The clicks are very positive, very nice. The windage adjustment is in 1/2 mil clicks out to 10mils either direction. The bullet drop compensator is marked from 1 for 100 to 8 for 800 meters.
I have the dragunov reticle. I'm a big fan of this reticle. It has the range finding slope for a 1.7m (5'8") tall target out to 1,000 yards. Has windage marks spaced 1 mil apart. They have the close quarters combat reticle, as well as that NATO reticle. The NATO one is more crosshair like, but still has the range finding.
Some people love them, some people hate them. So far, I really like it. But I have not yet had the chance to test the BDC at various long ranges to see if it is really what it says it is. Other people have posted that said the BDC is right on. So, I'm hopeful. It is calibrated for NATO loads. So mine is calibrated for the 62gr NATO. The .308 is calibrated for the 7.62x51mm NATO load, which if I remember correclty, is 147gr?
IOR also makes the "super 30" which is a 30mm objective lense. It looks more like a tube. It is a fixed 6x, and is calibrated for .308. It costs more, but should be better. Only problem is, due to the 30mm lense, the body is 35mm. So you must use the custom IOR rings that comes with the scope.
I like it. It seems built tough. It's not light, but it isn't very heavy either. Has 7 brightness settings for the illuminated reticle. The lower ones aren't very visable, I guess they'd be useful with nightvision. The brighter ones can be seen well, but after the sun has gone down.
The optics are very clear. Nice glass. It could be brighter, but it is a 24mm objective after all. For the size of objective, it is pretty bright. Just don't expect it to be as bright as a 40mm objective made by Leupold or Burris.
FOV is better than my Burris on 4x. They've done away with that yellowish tint. That was due to the coatings they used to use. The clicks are very positive, very nice. The windage adjustment is in 1/2 mil clicks out to 10mils either direction. The bullet drop compensator is marked from 1 for 100 to 8 for 800 meters.
I have the dragunov reticle. I'm a big fan of this reticle. It has the range finding slope for a 1.7m (5'8") tall target out to 1,000 yards. Has windage marks spaced 1 mil apart. They have the close quarters combat reticle, as well as that NATO reticle. The NATO one is more crosshair like, but still has the range finding.
Some people love them, some people hate them. So far, I really like it. But I have not yet had the chance to test the BDC at various long ranges to see if it is really what it says it is. Other people have posted that said the BDC is right on. So, I'm hopeful. It is calibrated for NATO loads. So mine is calibrated for the 62gr NATO. The .308 is calibrated for the 7.62x51mm NATO load, which if I remember correclty, is 147gr?
IOR also makes the "super 30" which is a 30mm objective lense. It looks more like a tube. It is a fixed 6x, and is calibrated for .308. It costs more, but should be better. Only problem is, due to the 30mm lense, the body is 35mm. So you must use the custom IOR rings that comes with the scope.
I can't comment on the nightforce, but have seen/handled a few IORs.
The latest ones have very good glass, and have mostly done away with that light yellowish tint they used to have (some people used to report blue around the edges) that was part of some lens coating system they used to use.
The illuminated models have very sharp reticles, but the ones that were originally designed for use with tritium didn't seem as sharp (but my eyesight isn't the best). The ones I looked through were Dragunov reticled, quite nice, had nice crisp clicks, and were built to last.
If you're looking for a scope in their price range, I don't think you could go wrong.
The latest ones have very good glass, and have mostly done away with that light yellowish tint they used to have (some people used to report blue around the edges) that was part of some lens coating system they used to use.
The illuminated models have very sharp reticles, but the ones that were originally designed for use with tritium didn't seem as sharp (but my eyesight isn't the best). The ones I looked through were Dragunov reticled, quite nice, had nice crisp clicks, and were built to last.
If you're looking for a scope in their price range, I don't think you could go wrong.
-C4-
Member
I was actually looking at the variable magnification scopes. From IOR I was looking at getting either 4-14x50 Illum, 3-18x42 35mm, or 6-24x50 35mm. From Nightforce I was looking at getting the 3.5-15 or 5.5-22. I am looking to spend around $1000.
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Don't Tread On Me
Member
Ah I see. I've handled those IOR's also. I don't own one though (too much $$ for me)
The glass on those IOR's reminded me of Zeiss. They don't have that vividness that domestic scopes try to achieve with coatings. You just get to see "reality" as it is. You don't get artificial coloring (lol, like junk food) They are super-clear, very bright, very nice. I was impressed.
Many of their reticles are too busy for me, but some people love them. They have the V-match I think it is called? Which is a dragunov style reticle for their larger scopes.
I spent time looking through all of them at a gunshow. The large ones are quite large, and a bit heavy - but they are serious scopes. Their FOV was large, and the eye relief was very long. Again, the glass was clear. The detail I could see was great. Best part was, there was no distortion that I could see anywhere in the view, not near the edges either.
Hard to go wrong with a company whose job it was to build optics for military use.
The glass on those IOR's reminded me of Zeiss. They don't have that vividness that domestic scopes try to achieve with coatings. You just get to see "reality" as it is. You don't get artificial coloring (lol, like junk food) They are super-clear, very bright, very nice. I was impressed.
Many of their reticles are too busy for me, but some people love them. They have the V-match I think it is called? Which is a dragunov style reticle for their larger scopes.
I spent time looking through all of them at a gunshow. The large ones are quite large, and a bit heavy - but they are serious scopes. Their FOV was large, and the eye relief was very long. Again, the glass was clear. The detail I could see was great. Best part was, there was no distortion that I could see anywhere in the view, not near the edges either.
Hard to go wrong with a company whose job it was to build optics for military use.
I have the 2.5-10x42 on my Savage 10FP in .308 which is mounted to a SharpShooterSupply Varmint-Tactical stock.
When I was *very* careful with seating the bullets for proper jump, I was getting .25 to .33 MOA at 100 yards.
Glass is sharp. Clicks are returnable but don't quite correspond to MOA per click. The IOR is 1/2 MOA per click. The higher mag IORs are 1/4 MOA per click, correct?
Good scope for the money, when compared to Nightforce which is, what, nearly double?
Rick
When I was *very* careful with seating the bullets for proper jump, I was getting .25 to .33 MOA at 100 yards.
Glass is sharp. Clicks are returnable but don't quite correspond to MOA per click. The IOR is 1/2 MOA per click. The higher mag IORs are 1/4 MOA per click, correct?
Good scope for the money, when compared to Nightforce which is, what, nearly double?
Rick
rangerruck
Member
theior is made in chech by the same folks who make the likes of cz, meopta, etc. so they almost have to be great.
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Member
So far as I can tell they are around the same price.
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-C4-
Member
JP lists the 5.5-22 Nightforce NXS for $1299....
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CDignition
Member
IOR is made in Romania... I have had several, and currently have a 6x24-50 MM, 35MM tube, lighted reticle, side focus..it is ultra clear, bright and tracks real nice. I have it on a 338 Lapua bag custom rifle. PRice is about $1200 plus depending on where u buy it..I thinlk this IOR is better than the comparable NF model
UmisseditIdidn'tRick
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Can you email me at [email protected] I would like to know about a NF and who JP is so I can get one.
Maverick223
Member
The IOR is a really nice scope (except for some of the FFP models)...I very nearly bought one a while back, but got a deal on a PR instead, and am glad that I did. IOR and Zeiss makes the best scopes to fit your budget. I would actually lean towards Zeiss due to the better features and magnification that you can get for about $1k, but you can't go wrong with either. In short if you want great glass get the IOR (or Zeiss)...and if you want to runs your scope over with a tank get the NF...I am a bit "weird" and chose not to attempt to destroy any scope that cost $1k+...crazy I know. 
I was looking at IOR and Nightforce for a rifle I had just built. Both make fantastic scopes but the thing that sealed the deal for me on the Nightforce is if you do happen to have a problem with the IOR it has to be sent back to Romania. Would be looking at 3 to 6 months to get it back. That's not a knock on IOR just the facts of dealing with an overseas based company, customs, red tape, paper work and so on and so forth.
Maverick223
Member
That explains a lot...like the IOR for sub $1k and the NF for $1300...I was assuming that they were used...didn't check the age.
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