When a benchrest shooter needs to see a bullet hole at a thousand yards, they reach for March. The Japanese maker builds some of the highest-magnification, most precise riflescopes in the world — hand-assembled optics that win world championships and routinely cost as much as the rifles they sit on. From extreme-magnification benchrest scopes to F-Class and long-range tactical models, March is what the most demanding precision shooters buy when nothing else is good enough. Here is who they are, what they make, and what is worth buying.

Who March Scopes is

March Scopes are made by Deon Optical Design Corporation in Nagano, Japan, founded in 2004. The brand is one of the most respected names in ultra-high-magnification precision riflescopes, hand-built by Japanese craftsmen and favored by benchrest and F-Class world champions.

March was born from deep optical expertise. Deon Optical Design Corporation was founded in 2004 by Shimizu Fumio and a team of engineers who had already spent more than 40 years designing and manufacturing high-precision scopes and optical components for many of the world’s pioneering brands. In other words, the people who quietly built optics for others decided to put their own name on the glass. You can read the company’s story on the official March Scopes site.

The name itself has a story. According to the company, the scope is called “March” because Dr. Nagayama — a former chairman of Japan’s Benchrest association who invested in developing the first scope — and CEO Shimizu-san were both born in March, and because “March” carries the meaning “to walk, to move forward.” That benchrest connection is fitting: the first March, a 40×52 fixed-power scope, launched in 2007 and went on to win the 9th and 10th World Benchrest Championships.

On price, March is unapologetically at the very top. These are hand-assembled, Japanese-made precision instruments, and they are priced like it — often well into four figures. What you are paying for is optical performance, build precision and innovations like high optical zoom ratios that competitors still chase.

What March Scopes makes

Benchrest and extreme-magnification scopes

March’s signature is sheer magnification. The brand builds fixed and variable scopes reaching extraordinary top-end power — the kind of glass benchrest and 1,000-yard shooters use to see tiny groups at distance. This is the category that made March’s name.

High-zoom variable scopes

March was one of the first to introduce riflescopes with a 10x optical zoom ratio, a feat competitors have struggled to match. These wide-range variables (such as 5-42x and 10-60x designs) give shooters one scope that works from mid-range to extreme distance.

F-Class and competition scopes

For F-Class and long-range target shooting, March offers high-magnification variables with fine target reticles and precise, repeatable turrets — optics built for shooters who are judged on fractions of an inch.

Tactical and PRS scopes

March also builds tactical first-focal-plane scopes for PRS-style and long-range field shooting, with illuminated reticles, robust turrets and the same optical pedigree as the benchrest line.

Mounts and accessories

Rounding out the lineup are March scope mounts and rings designed to match the scopes’ precision and hold zero under the most demanding conditions.

Build quality and the Japanese pedigree

Every March scope is hand-built in Deon Optical’s factory in Nagano, Japan, using genuine Japanese-made parts, extra-low-dispersion (ED) glass and argon-purged housings for clarity and reliability. The decades of OEM optical experience behind the company show up in edge-to-edge sharpness, tracking precision and that class-leading zoom range. The honest trade-offs are price and focus: March scopes are extremely expensive and built for precision disciplines, so they are overkill for general hunting or fast, dynamic shooting, and the dealer network is smaller than the mass-market brands. For shooters who compete on the smallest margins, that focus is exactly the point.

How March Scopes compares

At the top of the precision-optics world, March competes with Nightforce, Vortex (Razor), Kahles, Schmidt & Bender and Tangent Theta. March’s distinctions are its extreme magnification range, its pioneering 10x zoom ratios and its benchrest championship pedigree — it often out-magnifies the field. Against Nightforce, March is the lighter, higher-zoom, more specialized precision option; against the European houses like Schmidt & Bender and Tangent Theta, it competes on optical performance and innovation at a similar premium tier.

Be straight about the trade-offs: March is among the most expensive scope brands you can buy, it is built for precision target and long-range disciplines rather than all-around use, and you will not find it on every shelf. If you shoot benchrest, F-Class or extreme long range and want world-championship-proven glass, March is a top-tier choice. If you want an all-purpose hunting scope or the best value, look to a mainstream premium brand.

Who should buy what

The benchrest shooter: a high-magnification fixed or variable March for seeing tiny groups at distance.
The F-Class competitor: a high-zoom variable with a fine target reticle and precise turrets.
The PRS / tactical shooter: a March first-focal-plane tactical scope with an illuminated reticle.
The 1,000-yard shooter: a 10-60x-class variable for extreme magnification across ranges.
The precision builder: March mounts and rings to match the optic’s tracking precision.

Who should look elsewhere? Hunters who want a light, all-around scope, anyone on a budget, or shooters who need fast target acquisition at close range. March is purpose-built for precision and magnification.

The March philosophy

March exists to push optical performance to its limit. The company was founded by engineers who had already mastered the craft for other brands, and it set out to build the most precise, highest-magnification scopes possible — then proved the point by winning world benchrest titles with its very first model. That single-minded pursuit of precision, captured in a name that means “to move forward,” is exactly why the most exacting shooters trust March.

How to choose your March setup

Start with your discipline and your distance. For benchrest and 1,000-yard target work, choose the highest magnification you can use without mirage washing out the image. For F-Class, pick a high-zoom variable with a fine reticle suited to your aiming points. For PRS or tactical field shooting, choose a first-focal-plane model so the reticle subtensions stay true across the zoom range. Match the reticle (MOA or MIL) to how you think and dial, and pair the scope with quality March or equivalent rings to preserve its tracking. Then confirm the mount height and rail fit your rifle.

The glass that wins world championships

Most optics companies talk about precision. March proved it on the world stage, winning back-to-back World Benchrest Championships with its first scope and pioneering zoom ratios the rest of the industry is still chasing. Built by hand in Nagano by engineers with decades of optical mastery, March is not for everyone — it is for the shooters who measure success in fractions of an inch and want the finest glass money can buy. For them, it is the benchmark.

Shop March Scopes & Prices

Live March products and current prices, organized by department and updated automatically.