March Scopes come in so many models and have so many features, it can be bewildering selecting the riflescope that is suited to your needs. To help wade through this wide selection, we present the following March Riflescopes Comparison Chart (Chart is attached at the bottom of this article.) If you want to learn the basics of a riflescope such as the difference between FFP and SFP etc. please click HERE. You can learn about exit pupil etc. HERE. All optics products offer several qualities that can be at odds with one another.  Riflescope features have pluses and minuses and we hope this chart will help you find the riflescope that most closely matches your requirements by helping you prioritize your requirements and chose based on your requirements. The following chart is a factual comparison of all our offerings and we hope it will assist you in choosing the perfect scope FOR YOU. In case you are still wondering between offerings or features, please feel free to contact us. We will be more than happy to assist you. When you compare riflescopes from the same manufacturer, here are some tips to tell the influence certain features may have on the overall performance of the riflescope.  (Some of these items do not apply to our Genesis models which have a different layout compared to normal riflescopes.  Those will be noted.)

(1) Elevation travel amount

In general (this does not apply to Genesis models), the shorter the scope, the more elevation travel amount it can have.

(2) Image quality (IQ)

(2-A)  Size of the Objective lens

The larger the objective lens, the greater the resolving power, which leads to a higher IQ. However, as shown in the chart, the 48×52 SFP, 40-60×52 SFP, and the 10-60×52 SFP have a higher image quality than the 5-50×56 SFP and the 8-80×56 SFP. The larger objective lens does play a major part in a high image quality, but the combination of many factors determine the image quality such as the lens material or lens coating. The 48×52 SFP and 40-60×52 SFP use the High Master lens system and since they are fixed power scopes, the engineering of optical path is not stretched as much. Also as explained below, the longer the scope is, the higher the IQ. The 10-60×52 is the longest of our scopes resulting in high IQ even with its smaller objective.

(2-B)  ED Lenses

The material of the lenses is an important factor in image quality. ED lenses disperse light less than ordinary lenses and thus reduce chromatic aberration. March Scopes was the first to use ED (Extra-low Dispersion) lenses in their riflescopes. Chromatic aberration (CA) can be detected when you are looking at a white object such as a white swan. There will be a color blur at the borderline between the white object and the background, this is called color fringing and it reduces the sharpness of the image. To reduce chromatic aberration, we use an ED lens element in all of our scopes other than the ones with a 24mm objective lens. Scopes with 24mm objective lens have lower magnification and do not bend the light as much so CA is not much of an issue at lower magnifications. There is hardly any difference in chromatic aberration between an ED lens and a normal lens in a 24mm objective lens.

(2-C)  Super ED Lenses

We are the first and currently, the only manufacturer to use Super ED lenses assembled in our High Master model scopes. The Super ED lens formula is even closer to pure fluorite crystals than an ED lens, thus providing superior control of chromatic aberration. The resulting sight picture provides unsurpassed edge-to-edge definition and renders color in true-to-life hues across the entire field of view.

(2-D)  Temperature Anti-Drift Lens System

A new lens material has been developed to accommodate rapid changes in environmental conditions altering the refractive index of the lenses in the latest optical systems for automotive cameras. We have adopted this new lens material for some of our new High Master model March Scopes to create a more stable lens system that naturally adapts to rapid changes in temperature and maintain focus and clarity over a wide range of conditions.

The 4.5-28×52 FFP Wide Angle, 5-42×56 FFP Wide Angle, the 4-40×52 FFP Genesis High Master, the 6-60×56 FFP Genesis High Master, and the 10-60×56 SFP High Master all incorporate the temperature anti-drift lenses.

(2-E)  Lens Coating

Most riflescope manufacturers say that their optics are multi-coated. The term “multi-coating” is somewhat misleading as anything having more than three layers is, by definition, “multi-coated.” The issue is that in order for the riflescope to properly render the colors across the entire visible spectrum, there have to be many coatings, each one designed for a portion of the visible spectrum. If there are only a few layers, the riflescope will display a tint (for example: greenish color) and the overall light transmission will not be what you would expect, since the light from the other colors is reduced. As more coatings that are applied, the color fidelity and the overall light transmittance both increase.

Generally, the light transmittance figure will be:

• One lens surface without a coat : 96%

• Single layer of coating : 98.5%

• Fully multi-coated (more than 3 layers) lens : 99.5%

Using a multi-coat with the transmittance of 99.5% for all lens elements, then as lenses are added in the optical path, we can calculate the overall transmittance by using the number of lenses in the following equation: 

OT = .995 ** L, where OT is overall light transmission and L is the number of lenses in the path. 

So if a riflescope has 20 lenses, the overall light transmission is calculated as .995**20 or 90.5%.

At March Scopes we only use top quality multi–coating where the transmittance is very near 100%. 

This also has the effect of presenting very natural colors, and high overall light transmittance.

(2-F)  Length of the Riflescope

The longer the riflescope is, the less the light is bent along the optical path and thus less chromatic aberration is produced. On the other hand the shorter the riflescope is, the more elevation travel you get in the riflescope. 

Our newest 5-42×56 FFP Wide Angle has nearly double the elevation travel (40MIL) compared to our current 5-40×56 FFP riflescope (22MIL). Since the 5-42×56 is 29mm shorter than 5-40×56, it has a lot more elevation travel. This shortness brings in more CA and to control that we use the Super ED lenses (High Master lens system) in the 5-42×56 FFP Wide Angle. If the larger elevation travel, the lockable turrets, and the wide angle eyepiece (26°which is wider by 30% than that of 5-40×56), are more important to you than maximum IQ we recommend the 5-42×56 Wide Angle scope. Temperature anti-drift lens system is assembled in 5-42×56 Wide Angle scope so that it will naturally adapt to changes in temperature and maintain focus and clarity over a wide range of conditions as well. The wide angle eyepiece is useful when you want to have more visual information when hunting for example. However, you may find some aberration at the periphery of the image. As the IQ is different between the center and the peripheral part, some people may find the IQ less than 5-40×56, due to the nature of the Wide Angle eyepiece. If edge-to-edge clarity is more important than the features above, then we recommend the 5-40×56 instead.

We can say the same with our another Wide Angle series, 4.5-28x52FFP scope. 25° wide angle eyepiece (wider by 25% than our standard 20°) of this scope provides more visual information and this comes with a special large turret designed for PRS along with other accessories. Also this is a very compact scope useful when you have to carry for a long time such as during hunting. For illuminated model, it weighs 845g (29.8oz) and the length is 318mm (12.5inch) shorter than 3-24×52 by 18mm(0.7inch). This shortness brings in more CA and to control that we use Super ED lenses (High Master lens system) in the 4.5-28×52 FFP Wide Angle. But as the IQ is different between the center and the peripheral part, some people may find the IQ less than our other 52mm obj. lens scopes due to the nature of the Wide Angle eyepiece.

If your top priority is IQ, we recommend the 6-60×56 Genesis High Master or the 4-40×52 Genesis High Master as these have the highest IQ among our FFP scopes.  When you turn the elevation turret on the Genesis, the entire riflescope tube is canted.  This unique design allows you to always look through the central part of the lens resulting in perfect image quality, regardless of the windage or elevation applied to the riflescope. The March-X 10-60×56 High Master is the king of all SFP scopes when it comes to image quality. It is long and has our top quality lens system- High Master lens system assembled.

(3) Depth of Focus

Depth of Focus or Field (DOF), refers to the range over which the image plane can be moved and still retain its sharpness. When shooting at various distances in a short time, you may require a larger DOF compared to when you shoot at a set distance or when you have the time to adjust the side focus for the shot. In general, the smaller the objective lens diameter is, and the lower the magnification you use, the larger the depth of field. If you shoot in low light condition we recommend that you choose a scope with a larger objective lens which takes in more light and has a greater resolving power. However the depth of field will be shallower compared to scopes with smaller objective lenses. 

You can increase the DOF of a riflescope with a large objective lens by attaching a MD disk to the front of the riflescope. The MD disk will increase the depth of field by 50% (35mm MD), or 40% (43mm MD). You will not notice any brightness difference using the MD disk during the day, but we recommend that you remove the MD disk in low light conditions so the large objective lens can let in more light. If you only shoot during daytime, a compact riflescope with a smaller objective lens is a great choice for a deeper depth of field.

(4) Durability

All March scopes are immensely strong and can endure severe conditions. They are argon-filled for long-term internal stability and are fully weather-resistant and waterproof to a minimum of 4 meters. They have also passed impact tests of up to 1000G. There is no difference in durability between scopes with different magnifications and price points since we hand build all the scopes using the same genuine Japanese made parts, and there is no difference in the manufacturing process as well. If you are looking for the utmost durability, we recommend our 34mm tube riflescopes which have thick 4mm walls instead of 2mm in our 30mm tube riflescopes. All of our scopes have the same internal structure with an inner diameter of 26mm. If you prefer a lighter weight riflescope, we recommend a scope with a 30mm diameter tube. If you prefer utmost durability, we recommend a 34mm tube, and even those are lighter than the equivalent offerings from other manufacturers. This weight difference is due to the superb engineering of the various parts used in our riflescopes.

Above are some of the perspectives when selecting a scope. We know you will have an amazing shooting experience with the March riflescope that meets your needs!

Now here are the charts.

Comparison chart for FFP March Scopes