Yeah, JLA, my Buddies have been Leupold snobs for years, but both have bought Nikons recently and (begrudgingly
) say they are as good.
I have shot both on their rifles and see little difference, at least in the high end ones.
But the knock on Nikon was they also sell "lower end" stuff too which compares to Bushnell, etc.
But now that Leupold bought Redfield they too are making lower end scopes, about which I have yet to hear bad things!
Like I said, I have had good luck with mid-range Bushnells in the past, and someday would like to try maybe one of their 4200 Elites which I like when I see them in a shop, which are supposed to be just like the old Bausch and Lombs since Bushnell bought them. But at that price, you can have a nice Leupold so I don't know if I ever will.
Oh yeah, and Weaver. My buddy bought a new Savage .17 HMR with a Weaver scope, and he couldn't get it to shoot worth a damm, until he figured out he had a bad scope.
Coincidentally he put an old 4x Tasco my other buddy had bouncing around in his box that he said he could "have" until he found out the rifle was making one hole at 50 yds, then he said he could have the scope for $25 since it actually WORKED.
But He sent the weaver back, and Weaver promptly sent him a new scope with their apologies, He said it was as good customer service as he's got from Leupold.