Nightforce scope for hunting

jayquiver

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Calgary, AB
what to get a scope for my new custom build 7 saum. It's a hunting rifle that will see lots of range time, will be working on long range skills out to 1000 yards on steel and less on big game.

Looking at Nightforce scopes for this rifle mainly for the durability and repeatability of dialling.

Nightforce Scopes I am considering

NX8 2.5-20x50 seems about perfect to me except for the restricted mounting issues some people have had on the online forms. About 28oz
NX8 4-32x50 - I doubt I will ever use 32 power. Never had scope with more then 15 power before. The reticle does subtension at 16 power, which is nice. About 29oz

Atacr 4-16x42 - FFP...which I have never used. Not sure if it would be good for hunting at low power. Not all my hunting shots will be long, still hunt timber areas. Like the locking and low profile turrets. 30 oz. This scope seems almost perfect to me except for the fact that its FFP.

And last option would be a Zeiss V4 - lighter weight, locking windage. good reticles. and cheaper. Just not sure they are as robust and repeatable as a Nightforce.

Anyone use FFP scopes for hunting? Any input on these models or recommondations for my rifle. Its a 6 1/4pd unscoped, 7 saum with 22" Carbon Proof Barrel, Manners Stock and Defiance Machine Anti XM action lenght.
 
I can speak for the NX8 and its usefulness for hunting- Do not get it for hunting!
I have a 4-32 NX8 and its okay as a target scope but honestly I think Nightforce crapped the bed on that one. The issues that make it unsuitable for hunting include:
- Poor eyebox, your head has to be perfectly square.
- Picky parallax. You’ll constantly be adjusting parallax when switching distances. Something clear at 100yds is out of focus at 200yds.
-Parallax knob gets stiff in cold weather. Even -10C it gets stiff. This is a real problem considering you’ll be adjusting it constantly
- Its not really a 4-32x. When you adjust the magnification below 6x the image simply gets smaller but the field of view stays the same.

I also have a 4-16x50 ATACR. Its a little on the heavy side but it makes a fantastic hunting scope. I think the extra pound is worth it IMO. Not sure why anyone would want a FFP scope for hunting.
 
Nice lightweight rifle. Why put 2lb scope and rings on it. Seems to me your over magnification for hunting , and too heavy. Maybe it's my bias, here everything goes deep and dark when rifles speak in the fall.

Aren't there lower powered and lighter options in nightforce?

They make the nxs 2.5-10 x42. Use to own one years ago. Great scope. Just don't like that the windage is exposed. they are 20oz. I could look at their SHV line but nothing really appeals to me in that line up.
 
I can speak for the NX8 and its usefulness for hunting- Do not get it for hunting!
I have a 4-32 NX8 and its okay as a target scope but honestly I think Nightforce crapped the bed on that one. The issues that make it unsuitable for hunting include:
- Poor eyebox, your head has to be perfectly square.
- Picky parallax. You’ll constantly be adjusting parallax when switching distances. Something clear at 100yds is out of focus at 200yds.
-Parallax knob gets stiff in cold weather. Even -10C it gets stiff. This is a real problem considering you’ll be adjusting it constantly
- Its not really a 4-32x. When you adjust the magnification below 6x the image simply gets smaller but the field of view stays the same.

I also have a 4-16x50 ATACR. Its a little on the heavy side but it makes a fantastic hunting scope. I think the extra pound is worth it IMO. Not sure why anyone would want a FFP scope for hunting.

thanks for the info. That is the stuff I was wanting to know.

If never owned a FFP scope. I just looked through one this afternoon, I think they may be fine with illumination but the reticle is hard to pick up on lower magnification...100%.
 
Not sure about the Zeiss turrets but theres no need for the Nightforce to be locking. I’ve humped my Nightforces around all kinds of treacherous terrain and never bumped the turret. I can’t see how it could possibly be accidentally turned. They are pretty firm and have very positive clicks.
 
Some FFP scopes will have a slightly thicker center dot or reticle as well. Helps for hunting. Definitely get illuminated. As for max power needed, I find, depending on the target, my zoom can be used to bracket the target, so although I normally use 20X, I often go down to 16-18x.
 
I own a couple NXS and would not hesitate to use hunting. Also, they are sfp with a fine cross hair.
The exposed turrets never bothered the military so I don’t see it as an issue in the bush.
 
I use my NX8 2.5-20 FFP on my primary hunting rifle and like it. The limitations that coleman1495 mentions are real but I don't find them to be particularly limiting in my application. The eye box does run on the tight side for sure but I've not had any issues getting behind it once I had the scope properly installed and adjusted. The illuminated reticle makes up for the small size when zoomed down. And I like the ability to use the FFP reticle for quick ranging on known target sizes like a whitetail.

On the positive side, the image clarity is outstanding, the lowlight performance is very good, and it is a rugged scope. I've never used more than about ~16x while hunting out to 300yds and, even then, I probably didn't need more than 10-12x to have a comfortable sight picture.

Just my opinion.
 
Not sure about the Zeiss turrets but theres no need for the Nightforce to be locking. I’ve humped my Nightforces around all kinds of treacherous terrain and never bumped the turret. I can’t see how it could possibly be accidentally turned. They are pretty firm and have very positive clicks.

Im not worried about the Nightforce turrets getting bumped. I was looking at the Zeiss V6 and it has an exposed windage that doesn't lock or have a zero stop. I don't mind just grabbing an elevation turret and cranking it back to zero in a hurry.
 
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