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458 Lott vs. Nikon Monarch African |
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Texas
Optics Apprentice Joined: February/11/2008 Location: Texas, USA Status: Offline Points: 211 |
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Posted: September/03/2009 at 15:23 |
Howdy all. I recently acquired a new CZ 550 American Safari Classic 458 Lott (walnut stock), and have been performing the ritual new rifle scope search. This has been as much fun as usual, because I love this stuff! I decided on and have purchased a Nikon Monarch African 1" 1-4x20 scope for trials, that I will mount on the rifle this weekend in Talley QR rings. I selected the Monarch African because of the combination of OT 2009 scope scale rating on the Monarch, price, specs and (importantly) lifetime warranty. Price and warranty were particularly pertinent to me because of the Lott's reputation as a scope-wrecker. Also, no one seems to know much about the field performance of this scope, so I'm going to give it what should be significant recoil test (but no lead sled). If it doesn't hold up to Lott recoil, I can always send it back to Nikon and upgrade my rifle, right? And, I will tell the board how it goes.
I had never seen one of these scopes in other than pictures until FedEx delivered mine. It is mostly pleasing to me in appearance, compact but long enough to mount on a magnum-length action. I think Leupold turret caps and the Leupold (smaller) occular assembly are more attractive but maybe not $200+ worth. The gold bas-relief cape buffalo head and logo marking on the Nikon windage-adjust turret cap appears sort of cheesy to me. The view through the Nikon is very clear, just a small bit of distortion around the edges of the image when set on 4x. Eye relief distance and eye box size work well for my eyes and the 4-inch eye relief rating seems about right. I hope enough eye relief for a 458 Lott! Subjectively, the view seems very close/identical to the view through my VX-3 1.75-6 with both set at 2.5x, at twilight, when looking at a dark brick wall in shadow. At 250 feet distance I can count the brick courses with both scopes. Two eyes open shooting should be no problem with the scope set on 1x: Nikon's website states this is a true 1x scope, where the 30mm tube versions are 1.1x. If I can find my optic test charts I'll attempt a real resolution test. Weight of the Nikon is a little more than a comparable VX-3 at 12.16 oz. vs. 9.3 oz for the Leupold, inconsequential when mounting on a 10 lbs.+ 458 Lott. Finally, it came with Nikon flip-open lense covers. I will post a picture of the rig once I get the scope mounted. More specs are at:
and
I hope to get to the range Saturday morning to test the scope/rifle/shooter combination and some handloads I am putting together, as well as some commercial (Hornady) full-house (2300 FPS) 500-grain DGX ammunition I got on sale. I'll report back next week how the scope performs, if the Lott doesn't hurt me too badly to type... Humph!
Good shooting, y'all!
Texas
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"There are some things which cannot be learned quickly and time, which is all we have, must be paid heavily for their acquiring. They are the very simplest things..." Ernest Hemingway
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danjojoUSMC
Optics Journeyman Joined: August/20/2009 Location: NE Ohio Status: Offline Points: 329 |
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Look forward to seeing how it does. Seems like a really good deal.
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lucytuma
Optics Jedi Knight Joined: November/25/2007 Location: Wisconsin Status: Offline Points: 5389 |
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Hope she holds up, please keep us informed.
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"The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not." - Thomas Jefferson
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boliodogs
Optics Apprentice Joined: June/20/2009 Status: Offline Points: 212 |
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I have the same scope and I love it. It is not on a rifle yet so I hope your African holds up on your 458 Lott. I agree the eye relief is 4 inches and more than almost any other scope of this type. I think the 1 power is a true 1 power.
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Chris Farris
TEAM SWFA - Admin swfa.com Joined: October/01/2003 Location: Texas Status: Offline Points: 8024 |
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When I read the title of this thread I thought Kickboxer shot another scope.
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pyro6999
Optics Retard OT TITAN Joined: December/22/2006 Location: North Dakota Status: Offline Points: 22034 |
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i wanna see how it does too, if you have good luck i may have to get one for my .375 |
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They call me "Boots"
375H&H Mag: Yeah, it kills stuff "extra dead" 343 we will never forget God Bless Chris Ledoux "good ride cowboy" |
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martin3175
Optics Master Extraordinaire Joined: January/19/2005 Location: Maryland Status: Offline Points: 3773 |
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Interested in seeing how it holds up ... photos????
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Texas
Optics Apprentice Joined: February/11/2008 Location: Texas, USA Status: Offline Points: 211 |
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Howdy boys and girls,
Well, I most likely have destroyed this Nikon "African" scope with the Lott. I was at the range last Friday testing a new load for whitetails (hah! 350 TSX @ about 2800 fps mv - yeah, hang on tight - you may feel a little pressure!) and the scope started refusing to respond to adjustments. As soon as I can, I am gonna put the boresighter on the rifle and see if the reticle will move back to the center of the adjustments. The reticle didn't fall down or anything, though.
This rifle is a really accurate rifle. It easily shoots one (big) ragged hole groups with the 350 TSXs at 100 yards. I just need to get the hole closer to the point of aim.
Guess I shoulda bought a Zeiss. If the Nikon is destroyed I am going after my VX-3 1.75-6 next. And I'll be testing Nikon CS.
I have no pics of this rig yet, been to busy reloading and shooting, getting ready for rifle season.
Good shooting!
Texas
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"There are some things which cannot be learned quickly and time, which is all we have, must be paid heavily for their acquiring. They are the very simplest things..." Ernest Hemingway
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brodeur272
Optics Journeyman Joined: September/23/2007 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 609 |
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Be curious to hear how the bore sighting test comes out...
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Black n Tan
Optics GrassHopper Joined: January/21/2009 Location: WI Status: Offline Points: 18 |
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I am curious how the VX-3 holds up. The CZ Lott is next on my list purchase, so you have my attention. I am kinda surprised the Nikon African didnt seem to hold up. |
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mike650
Optics God Joined: May/14/2006 Location: West of Rockies Status: Offline Points: 14569 |
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“A hunt based only on trophies taken falls far short of what the ultimate goal should be.” – Fred Bear
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danjojoUSMC
Optics Journeyman Joined: August/20/2009 Location: NE Ohio Status: Offline Points: 329 |
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Hope they take care of you Texas, I saw a couple posts recently around the web where Nikon completely replaced scopes within a couple weeks even when it was blatantly owner-mishandling. Sounds 100x better than what the word was on past Nikon customer service.
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"When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be"
"Every part of life comes into focus just as you are about to pull the trigger." |
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Kickboxer
MODERATOR Moderator Joined: February/13/2008 Status: Offline Points: 23679 |
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Texas, you compared it to Leupold. When I called Leupold and asked about a low power variable for .458 Lott, the CS rep said , "we don't have a variable scope that we recommend for .458 Lott". I took that to mean just about every scope maker out there. There are a couple of variables I would try, but they are not currently in production.
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Opinion,untempered by fact,is ignorance.
There are some who do not fear death... for they are more afraid of not really living |
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John Barsness
Optics Optimist Joined: January/27/2009 Status: Offline Points: 785 |
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I have heard, through a compamy that can measure the recoil of rifles pretty scientifically, that the .458 Lott has a higher "moment of recoil" than just about any other cartridge they've tested. This means they are scope eaters.
I have also heard from Leupold that they do not recommend any variable scope on a .458 Lott. Which just shows once again that despite great progress, variables are not as tough as fixed power scopes.
I have shot a well-designed .458 Lott quite a bit with iron sights and full-power 500-grain loads and didn't find it all that obnoxious, though it did weigh 10 pounds. My own notion (based on some experience with various other .40+ calibers) is that if I ever owned a Lott I would just use it with irons. After all, it's meant for shooting really big stuff close up....
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Texas
Optics Apprentice Joined: February/11/2008 Location: Texas, USA Status: Offline Points: 211 |
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JB, I think you, Kickboxer and Leupold are probably correct about the Lott being a scope eater. Dang it. I may touch base with AHR and see what they have to say, too. The recoil with full-on 500 grain loads is pretty major. Although (like they all say), the scope was working fine until it quit... A shame, too, because the 350 TSX bullets really want to shoot!
I don't know, I have to mess around with it a little before I really know if the Nikon is done. If it is, I guess I won't kill the VX-3 after all because it is all zeroed in and mounted up in Talley rings as a backup for the 375 H&H. And deer rifle opener is just ahead. Do y'all think an FX-3 6x would survive on the 458 Lott? That could be an option for deer and elk, but I don't want to buy one just to kill it! Good shooting, Texas |
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"There are some things which cannot be learned quickly and time, which is all we have, must be paid heavily for their acquiring. They are the very simplest things..." Ernest Hemingway
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Kickboxer
MODERATOR Moderator Joined: February/13/2008 Status: Offline Points: 23679 |
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I'll say again... I have a 4x Pentax Gameseeker, currently on my .458 WinMag, that was on the Lott for a couple hundred rounds... NO PROBLEMS. I would probably suggest an IOR 4x hunting scope over the Pentax, but it has performed superbly. "takes a kickin' and keep on tickin'...
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Opinion,untempered by fact,is ignorance.
There are some who do not fear death... for they are more afraid of not really living |
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Ed Connelly
Optics Retard God of no Chihuahua Joined: December/16/2007 Location: USA Status: Offline Points: 24225 |
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I LOVE THIS sh*t!!! I think ALL scopes should be tested by..........umm.....Kickboxer..and the 458 Lott........
try the 50 year old Weavers...........
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Kickboxer
MODERATOR Moderator Joined: February/13/2008 Status: Offline Points: 23679 |
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They will probably be left standing long after I am gone...
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Opinion,untempered by fact,is ignorance.
There are some who do not fear death... for they are more afraid of not really living |
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Kickboxer
MODERATOR Moderator Joined: February/13/2008 Status: Offline Points: 23679 |
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You just convinced me... I am sticking with iron sights on my Lott. It deserves it...
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Opinion,untempered by fact,is ignorance.
There are some who do not fear death... for they are more afraid of not really living |
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Ed Connelly
Optics Retard God of no Chihuahua Joined: December/16/2007 Location: USA Status: Offline Points: 24225 |
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" Absolutely..."
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