Since They Have Been Out a While, What is the Scoop on the March Scopes

jackie schmidt

jackie schmidt

New member
Enough time has passed, and enough top shooters have now used them, to get some real life performance reports fromThe March Scope.

Aside from the few failures that were reported in the begining, has anybody had any problems??. If so, was the problem addressed quickly.

There still is a little question about the warranty. It appears to be the same as Nightforce, in that the warranty applies to the originol owner only, only it is not lifetime. I have heard that some shooters are not registering the scopes warranty card, so if the decide to sell, the new owner can register it, and would be considered the "originol owner".

The main thing I would be concerned with is not warranty work, but work that would be paid for. Will March repair a scope at a reasonable price, and in a quick manner??. I don't think anyone has addressed this.

I see nothing wrong with paying for a service, as long as the service is rendered at a fair price, and in a timely manner.

And yes, before you ask, I am planning on getting a March. I built a new Rifle based on a Stiller Diamonback specifically to mount a March. I would buy one of the numerous used ones out there if I was sure March would address any problems that might crop up in the years to come, (for a fee), even though I was not the initial buyer.

I have had great success with the Jewell Rings and my own frozen 36 Leupolds for going on four years now. But, keep in mind, we developed all of this back when we were sure that there were problems with existing scopes. If the March has finally given us what we wanted, a internal adjustable scope that will hold POA 100 percent, then that is a viable choice, regardless of the cost.

Let's don't start a "scope war", just good info for the Forum to discuss.......jackie
 
jackie schmidt said:
And yes, before you ask, I am planning on getting a March. I built a new Rifle based on a Stiller Diamonback specifically to mount a March. I would buy one of the numerous used ones out there if I was sure March would address any problems that might crop up in the years to come, (for a fee), even though I was not the initial buyer.

Let's don't start a "scope war", just good info for the Forum to discuss.......jackie
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I think Jackie is just looking for an excuse to open up one of those Marchs' to see what is inside and find out how it stacks up, design wise, to the competition.

I say, go for it Jackie..........................Don
 
shot mine for a full season now on a 30br & no problems yet,if you got the money i'd say go for it
 
Jackie

I received both my 60x and 50x fixed March scopes in early May. I have begun testing them for a planned post. But for now let me say they are AWESOME!! Preliminary test results include:

Image quality is fantastic - sharp and clear to edge of field with near perfect color correction.

Resolution - slightly beats calculated Dawes Limit on AF resolution target - easily resolves 6mm and .224 bullet holes on both white and blue portions of IBS target at 600 yards (even with light mirage) - will resolve 50% overlap pair of 6mm and 30% overlap pair of .224 holes at 600 yards with no to low mirage.

Brightness - even with small exit pupils (1.04mm for 50x and 0.87mm for 60x) - the perceived brightness is as good for the 50x and just slightly less for the 60x as my Weaver T36s (1.11mm at 36x) in side by side comparison - the Marches will both provide useful target images to about 30 minutes past sunset.

Parallax/focus - even though I favor objective focus, both show backlash free and solid settings and are remarkably accurate relative to the turret markings.

POA adjustments - 72 MOA elevation and 50 MOA windage - 1/8 MOA actual and no perceptible linearity drop off to within 5 MOA of limits - repeatability is as perfect as I can measure - no detectable shift under recoil or handling.

For bad mirage I used the “Modifier Disc” (a 35mm aperture that screws into the objective). That reduces the resolution limit by 33% and the brightness by 55%. This greatly reduces some of the fine detail (shimmer and flash) in the mirage but retains the high magnification which helps get past the real bad mirage in afternoon (late relays). Note that the loss of image brightness is not a problem since the bad mirage is almost always during very bright conditions.
 
All those functions are admirable, and they well should for $2000+. The main point is does it hold POA better than any of the others??
 
$2200 for a scope and no transferrable warranty and limited warranty for the original buyer? That is not exactly what I would call "standing behind your product".

Give me a Leupy any day. Lock it if need be and put the other $800+ into some more powder!

BTW, where did the name "March" come from anyway?
 
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it holds point of impact,i can run it up from 100 to 300 to 500 & back & still retains zero,that's something my leupolds wouldn't do,as for shifting during shooting groups i've had no problem,expensive yes but a great scope so far
 
I've had mine for over 2 years and it is a thing of beauty. The few early you mentioned I believe were not POI issues. I have yet to hear of any POI issues, If so the input would be usefull.
 
The name " March"

goodgrouper said:
$2200 for a scope and no transferrable warranty and limited warranty for the original buyer? That is not exactly what I would call "standing behind your product".

Give me a Leupy any day. Lock it if need be and put the other $800+ into some more powder!

BTW, where did the name "March" come from anyway?
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As Mr. Murdica was/is a major player the the March scope coming to the USA he was asked what month he was born in............answer
MARCH, henceforth the name March Scope. So I was told by a reliable source.!........... Jan
 
Jackie,

I know diddle about this but I did have the pleasure of picking Eric Stanton's brain a little about the March. I'll add my piece in hope that someone who DOES know diddle will correct my misstatements.

As I recall, Eric stated that the reason the March's aren't "warrantied" like others is that they can't be disassembled. It seems that in studying the weak points of various scopes there were something like 23 identifiable "areas of movement", some of which were the lens retaining systems. As I understand it the lenses are glued in such that to remove them the entire scope tube is trashed, the lenses must be machined free.

Eric was very free with his information and his clear explanations served to convince me that the March is indeed in a league of its own. I'm selling stuff to buy a March, "warranty" be hanged :)


al
 
Your assesment-

alinwa said:
Jackie,

I know diddle about this but I did have the pleasure of picking Eric Stanton's brain a little about the March. I'll add my piece in hope that someone who DOES know diddle will correct my misstatements.

As I recall, Eric stated that the reason the March's aren't "warrantied" like others is that they can't be disassembled. It seems that in studying the weak points of various scopes there were something like 23 identifiable "areas of movement", some of which were the lens retaining systems. As I understand it the lenses are glued in such that to remove them the entire scope tube is trashed, the lenses must be machined free.

Eric was very free with his information and his clear explanations served to convince me that the March is indeed in a league of its own. I'm selling stuff to buy a March, "warranty" be hanged :)


al
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I believe your assesment from Eric is correct.

Mike Paul
 
Here is my "$2200" question......

Does the menufacture of March scopes guarantee no POI shift?

If not, there is no way I would pay that price. I don't need to see my target better. I can see bullet holes when conditions allow already. And if your taking the time to watch bullet holes at long range BR, your probably loosing already anyway.

Frozen scopes obsolutely hold POI without a doubt. This is benchrest... why compromise this no matter what the cost?

FYI: I own Weaver, Leupold, and Nightforce scopes and have used them all in competition from 100yds to 1760yds. POI is THE most important issue with a scope to me and not how well I can see with them. Because the worst scope I own as far as clarity is still good enough to me. But are the crosshairs still in the same place?

I don't beleive any scope owner can answer that question with 100% certainty if the scope is NOT frozen. We have all had Brand X scopes that we have shot over a period of time shooting small aggs, adding up wins, etc etc but you still do not know if the POI changes if we are honest with ourselves. So to me the test of time doesn't prove or disprove POI shifts within a scope.

Steve
 
Jackie,

The March scopes are awesome. I have them on all of my rifles and have had zero trouble with them. They hold POI better than any scope I have owned and I have owned them all. I am also one of the few guys who actually checks how they are holding. The March scopes aren’t moving.

Steve,

Not all frozen scopes absolutely hold POI all the time, trust me.


I’m sure at some point in the future a March may fail to hold POI but I haven’t seen it yet.


Bart
 
goodgrouper said:
$2200 for a scope and no transferrable warranty and limited warranty for the original buyer? That is not exactly what I would call "standing behind your product".

Give me a Leupy any day. Lock it if need be and put the other $800+ into some more powder!

BTW, where did the name "March" come from anyway?
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The Leupold Warranty does not bring back a lost national championship aggregate.

I love the march scopes so far and the best warranty in teh business is not to need to use it.
 
Jim Borden said:
The Leupold Warranty does not bring back a lost national championship aggregate.
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No, but buying a March doesn't guarantee a national championship win either. I have heard many guys say they're going to kick some butt now that they have a March and my silly old Leupy managed to "steal" the win from them anyway.

Another point: Leupold could come out with a factory locked, carbon fiber, super duper, beat all scope and charge $10,000 for it and there would be guys who would buy it just because it "was the most expensive scope I could find".
 
alinwa said:
Jackie,

I know diddle about this but I did have the pleasure of picking Eric Stanton's brain a little about the March. I'll add my piece in hope that someone who DOES know diddle will correct my misstatements.

As I recall, Eric stated that the reason the March's aren't "warrantied" like others is that they can't be disassembled. It seems that in studying the weak points of various scopes there were something like 23 identifiable "areas of movement", some of which were the lens retaining systems. As I understand it the lenses are glued in such that to remove them the entire scope tube is trashed, the lenses must be machined free.

Eric was very free with his information and his clear explanations served to convince me that the March is indeed in a league of its own. I'm selling stuff to buy a March, "warranty" be hanged :)


al
Click to expand...

Thanks, that answers a big question I always had.
 
goodgrouper said:
No, but buying a March doesn't guarantee a national championship win either. I have heard many guys say they're going to kick some butt now that they have a March and my silly old Leupy managed to "steal" the win from them anyway.

Another point: Leupold could come out with a factory locked, carbon fiber, super duper, beat all scope and charge $10,000 for it and there would be guys who would buy it just because it "was the most expensive scope I could find".
Click to expand...

I think it might pay to remember that while it really is a great scope it won't make a dumb guy smart.
 
Good Info

I have been out at a Shipyard all day, (it is good to get back to work), I posted that early this morning.

I have no desire to tear into a March Scope. The reason I use the Leupold 36x to freeze is because they are so darned easy to work on, and they lend themselves to the freezong proccess with little hassle.

I would just as soon have a fixed power rather than a variable, I have been doing OK with the 36x scopes. Heck, a 40x March would seem about right to me.

I am not sure I could even place a March on my favorite Rifle, my green Sporter. The barrel is at 76 ounces now, but I do have a 3 ounce brass butt plate, just to get the balance as good as possible. The tuner weighs 5.5 ounces, and that IS NOT coming off. The assembly on it now is one of my Frozen Leupolds with the Jewell Rings. The entire assy weighs 19.3 ounces.

But the Rifle I just built can take as much as 24 ounces of combined scope and rings. The main reason is the Stock I got from Stiller only weighs 21.5 ounces after bedding and painting. The Robertson BRX on my Sporter weighs about 26 ounces........jackie
 
Jackie,
I have been very pleased with all of mine. I haven't had any POI issues yet. They sure seem to be the best thing going right now. You should consider at least a 50X march, I love my 60X scopes.
 
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