NightForce Scope Questions

[mike452]

Nightforce hasn't change their scopes since I started looking at their NXS scope back in 2004.
From what I have seen on the used market for tactical Leupold and Nightforce scopes, they have not changed since they came out. I would say about 10 years.

[rksimple]

Nightforce hasn't change their scopes since I started looking at their NXS scope back in 2004.

They've added the NPR1 reticle and have come out with a FFP model.

[Jonlow209]

What scope rings are good for the aics stock and a 50mm objective scope? Medium, high?

[StraightShooter]

I have owned and used both the benchrest and nxs models. The benchrest is just freaking huge and unless you are shooting to 1000 yards it has way to much magnification. The benchrest has 1/8 clicks which is too small if you are wanting to shoot at multiple ranges often. Youll be spinning those turrets for an eternity it seems. Its pointless to get 1/8 moa clicks unless your rifle is capable of shooting extremely tight groups. Also, it has the parallax adjusment on the objective bell which isnt as nice as a knob on the side like an nxs. The benchrest models dont have the zero stop option. Their knobs hace screw on caps which you will have to screw on and off to adjust the turrets or just leave them off (but rish losing them). I dont know why but the nxs just seems brighter. I have used the NP-R2 and NP-R1 reticles and the NP-R2 has too much space on the windage hash marks to be effective for hold offs and milling. The NP-R1 is just about perfect. I used to think the 3.5-15 was enough magnification but after shooting a tactical match this weekend and struggled to see tiny targets with my 5.5-22x i would definitely recommend the 5.5-22x. Anything more powerful is overkill and will likely leave you frustrated ESPECIALLY if you plan on using it for hunting. You will likely need mediums height rings. I have TPS low rings on my rifles and they have worked great for me. Most people go with mediums. Highs are almost always too high to give you a good cheek weld. Mediums should give you plenty of clearance for even a 56mm objective.

[Jonlow209]

That is the perfect information that i needed, thank you. The only questions left are what does the zero stop function exactly do, I thought i knew but when people explained them, it was a little difficult to understand and is it worth $200 more? and is it necessary to get a 56mm objective nxs scope?

[rksimple]

. I used to think the 3.5-15 was enough magnification but after shooting a tactical match this weekend and struggled to see tiny targets with my 5.5-22x i would definitely recommend the 5.5-22x. Anything more powerful is overkill and will likely leave you frustrated ESPECIALLY if you plan on using it for hunting.

Its not the magnification but the resolution of the scope. The NF is good but not the best. With the Schmidt at 15x, I can see things that you can't even see with the NF at 22x. 15x is typically more than enough for tac comps.

[StraightShooter]

That is the perfect information that i needed, thank you. The only questions left are what does the zero stop function exactly do, I thought i knew but when people explained them, it was a little difficult to understand and is it worth $200 more? and is it necessary to get a 56mm objective nxs scope?

The zero stop is a handy little innovation but it only serves certain uses.What is does is allow you to do is, once you have zeroed your rifle and have reset the turrets to zero, create a stop where you cant dial any lower than your zero. You will just crank the turret down till it stops and you will know you are back at your zero and that you havent gone past it. Obviously if you only shoot in the daylight and dont shoot out past 600 yards all that much then it really isnt worth the $200. If you are going to be shooting at really far distances then it may take 3 to 4 revolutions on the elevation turret to get the elevation you need. There are lines below the turret that tell you what revolution you are on. Some people forget what line they were on when they zeroed and cant remember if they are 1,2,3, or 4 revolutions up. The zero stop really comes in handy if you are shooting at night (which happens regularly in tactical competition) and dont want to waste time finding your flashlight to see what revolution you are on or how far from you zero you are. You can just dial down until it stops and then count clicks until you get to where you need to be. I dont have the zero stop on my scope and i have been just fine without it, even at night just using a flashlight. Its a nice feature but definitely a luxury. For what you are doing I would probably pass on it. The 56mm objective over the 50 mm objective gives you a slight amount more light gathering ability at low light but during the day there is practically no noticeable difference. The 56's are pretty darn big and i prefer the slimness and ability to get the scope closer to the bore with the 50mm's but again its mainly just preference. You wouldnt be disappointed with either.

[StraightShooter]

Its not the magnification but the resolution of the scope. The NF is good but not the best. With the Schmidt at 15x, I can see things that you can't even see with the NF at 22x. 15x is typically more than enough for tac comps.

Could you see the poker cards at the TPRC? I heard a ton of people complaining that even with Schmidts and Premiers that they couldnt made out shapes, only colors. I shot almost the whole match at 5.5 to 8x and i only had a tough time on the tiny paper targets. Im thinking that since the OP will probably be doing a lot of paper target shooting from a bench that the extra magnification would be nice for picking up holes in paper. I agree that 15x is definitely usually more than enough for tac comps but shooting paper the higher mag comes in handy. I guess it comes down to preference.

[rksimple]

I could see shapes and colors, I just needed more time to be sure. I didn't shoot a single round on that stage. Like I said, its all about resolving power. You could look through a tasco 60x spotter and see less than through 10x leica binos. It really has to be seen to be realized.

But there's more than good glass that makes a good scope...I learned that the hard way.

[StraightShooter]

I could see shapes and colors, I just needed more time to be sure. I didn't shoot a single round on that stage. Like I said, its all about resolving power. You could look through a tasco 60x spotter and see less than through 10x leica binos. It really has to be seen to be realized.

But there's more than good glass that makes a good scope...I learned that the hard way.

Yeah, thats true........ magnification and glass clarity go hand in hand. One is worthless without the other. Thats a very good point. Even with the relatively good glass of the nightforce, on 22x i could only make out colors and quantities but no shapes.

[rksimple]

Even with the relatively good glass of the nightforce, on 22x i could only make out colors and quantities but no shapes.

Didn't seem to hurt you any! Lol! Great shooting.

[StraightShooter]

Didn't seem to hurt you any! Lol! Great shooting.

Ha, thanks. Actually on that card stage i spent the whole 60 seconds looking for one card and i thought i had a pretty good idea on which one it was so in the last second a yanked off a round and just barely missed outside (turned out to be the right card) and got lucky that it didnt hit another card to put me in the negative points. Looking back, i should have never pulled the trigger.

[Jonlow209]

I know that nightforce is a pretty good scope and is one of the better quality, obviously not the best. Is nightforce good enough quality to last me the rest of my life, like do you think i will be satisfied with my decision buying the scope? I want to buy a good scope now so i wont have to spend more money in the future buying a better one. I dont want to spend more than $2000 though. Is there a better scope thats less than $2000 but with the same amount of magnification? I heard IOR is pretty good.

[Pthfndr]

What these guys are telling you is the straight scoop. I don't know straightshooter, but I've met, talked and shot with RK a few times and I'll vouch for his expertise.

Having bought more than a few scopes, I would never buy another scope without first looking through a few to compare.

If you're in norcal come out to one of our long range matches at the Sac Valley range and check out the equipment. Mike C will be there this Sunday with 3 different NF scopes for me to look at and you could check them out and compare them to my USO.

If you're near socal go to one of their matches and do the same.

We're all good guys who love showing off our high priced equipment.

[Jonlow209]

will regular gun shops have any high end scopes like S&B, U.S. Optics, Nightforce, and IOR?