will sacrifice all for durability

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micus

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Hi guys, n

So there are many things I would love in a scope, and I find myself coveting tactical style setups with external turrets, moa reticles, and big ol objectives. However, I have discovered over the last two hunting seasons that I am extremely hard on optics, whether it be dropping my rifle, sliding down a rocky embankment on my rifle pack-against my rifle, having the gun rattle around in the truck for hours on logging roads, getting my rifle scope combo wet, and then having it freeze over night etc etc etc. Because of these cycles of abuse and neglect, I have encountered problems with maintaining zeros and for some reason really un reliable tracking from the last 3 scopes I have had. These have been 2-350 dollar multipurpose hunting scopes. What I want now over and above all is a scope and ring combination that I can drop, freeze, smack, and rely on in the back country when a protein opportunity presents itself.

I know some brands have fantastic warranties which is awesome, however, a warranty deosnt do you any good when your 3 days into a 9 day trip and and your scope is 5 miles up #### creek leaving you rifle less 80km away from the nearest paved road.
I can spend 1200$

I would appreciate your .02$
 
Up your budget $300-400 and get a Nightforce. Beat the hell out of it, it doesn't care. You aren't going to accidentally bump the turrets. If you don't grab them hard enough your fingers slip on the aggressive knurling. They track like clockwork and hold zero with repeated rough use. For hunting I'd suggest an nxs compact 2.5-10x32 for a couple reasons. Unless you're hunting varmint or trying to pick off big game at long distance (500+) then a fixed parralax will serve you better. For woods hunting you don't have time to adjust it on the fly. All NXS models except the compacts have a parralax knob. The compacts are a bit lighter and they're available with both exposed and covered turrets. And again, unless varmint or LR is your goal then a high magnification scope is just a hindrance. You can get into one for about $1400 and up depending on options.
 
Guy above nailed it. If I had 1200 to spend on a bombproof scope it would be the nf nxs 2.5-10. Now with the release of the new Nightforce scope, you should be able to pick one up on budget.
 
silverfoxdj said:
What is it about the latest Nightforce that makes it cheaper to buy?
Click to expand...

Perhaps he's thinking that those who have the previous model would sell theirs used to upgrade to the new one? Or maybe retailers blowing out discontinued models? My guesses...
 
Don't forget to upgrade your rings as well. A good one piece mount will hold that scope secure when things get rough (near, spuhr).
 
It sounds like you need a second scope mounted in detachable rings that has been previously sighted, but don't forget to keep that second scope in a well padded case (pelican, etc) until you need it :p
 
Even as I was reading your post I was thinking "Nightforce" in my head. Probably the only way to go. I agree, the best warranty in the world doesn't help you when your scope craps out in the middle of a hunt.
 
Thanks for the input all. When you say "new" nightforce, are you referring to the SHV? this seems to be a fairly multipurpose piece.. may be on the large side for hunting?? I could put aside another 200 which would put me in range of the fixed 10x US optics unit.. any thoughts on this piece?

I don't ever plan on being hard on things, I always clean and store my kit and maintain things to factory recommendations. I just seem to find myself in quagmires a lot more than I plan, i.e. falling off mossy wet log and yardsailing my rifle / bag.
 
micus said:
Hi guys, n

So there are many things I would love in a scope, and I find myself coveting tactical style setups with external turrets, moa reticles, and big ol objectives. However, I have discovered over the last two hunting seasons that I am extremely hard on optics, whether it be dropping my rifle, sliding down a rocky embankment on my rifle pack-against my rifle, having the gun rattle around in the truck for hours on logging roads, getting my rifle scope combo wet, and then having it freeze over night etc etc etc. Because of these cycles of abuse and neglect, I have encountered problems with maintaining zeros and for some reason really un reliable tracking from the last 3 scopes I have had. These have been 2-350 dollar multipurpose hunting scopes. What I want now over and above all is a scope and ring combination that I can drop, freeze, smack, and rely on in the back country when a protein opportunity presents itself.

I know some brands have fantastic warranties which is awesome, however, a warranty doesn't do you any good when your 3 days into a 9 day trip and and your scope is 5 miles up #### creek leaving you rifle less 80km away from the nearest paved road.
I can spend 1200$

I would appreciate your .02$
Click to expand...

glass is glass and it doesn't matter who's scope you buy ... if you wack the glass with a rock hard enough - it will chip or crack (the glass that is) ... If (and when) I am exposing myself to nasty conditions .. I take my scope off -- put it in soft pack or a large inside pocket - and use iron sights ... returning the scope when I need it. I use EAW mounts for this ... they are very strong and return to zero. Buy a good scope and EAW rings/bases. And keep a simple strong set of irons on the rifle. Treat any optic rough and eventually you can break it, bend it, crush it etc. That's why BUIS were invented
 
I know this isn't a "nightforce", however these guys beat the #### out of this Bushnell and it still works at the end of the video and it will not cost both arms and a leg.
 
Used a Bushnell 2.5x16x42 Tactical hard enough to break rings and a unimount and the scope is still going. US Optics has some great rings if you want things to survive the drop ;) For the money they (Bushnell) are better than most. The 6x24x50 FFP in the vid is nice too but might be too much zoom on the low end.
 
I'd personally avoid a fixed 10x for hunting. A deer at 75 yards is awefully big at 10x magnification. A moose is just a wall of fur. If going fixed I would personally go no more than 4x. Plenty enough for big game out to a couple hundred yards. The SHV is a cheaper option aimed at the new "long range hunters" who want to pick deer off at 800 yds after watching a TV show host do it. Again, parallax adjustment doesn't help a big game hunter at reasonable distance and anything more than 10X magnification isn't much help either. What type of hunting do you do and what distance do you normally take game at?
 
Hi supernova, thanks for the input. I have never personally seen nor heard of anything being taken beyond 250yds around here, with most shots being inside 125
 
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