I figured I'd throw up a quick review of this scope since I haven't really seen much on it (at least on CGN). I bought this scope from Hirsch Precision and it ended up taking quite a while longer to show up than originally expected, nothing to do with Peter and his team, just delays on Nightforce's part. I never did get around to thanking Hirsch for bringing this scope in for me, they're a great outfit to deal with. I received it on September 8th and mounted it and performed a tall target test which it passed well (less than 1% error). The scope it replaced was a Leupold Mk IV 3.5-10x40 M1. A few days later I would use it at my 2nd ever PRS-type match (NWPRL) put on by Tactical Supply down in Naches, Wa (south of Yakima). I now have a lil over 800 rounds under it and here are some of my observations.
Reticle: (photo taken to show the reticle, it was super foggy that day at the 475 yard line where the far targets are in the pic)
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I like the Mil-R reticle much better than the mil-dot that I have on my Leupold. It's much easier to make more accurate holds and there is a separate scale with 0.1 mil sub tensions for ranging (if needed). Ideally, I'd prefer a reticle with defined 0.2 mil subtensions (which NF have addressed with the new Mil-C reticle), more windage (instead of the 5.0 mils currently on the reticle) and a simple (non-Horus) xmas tree type reticle. Holding over for both elevation and windage under a time limit is less than ideal (at least for me) when holding in "empty space". I'd prefer defined points to hold for windage. I also need more practice holding over, haha.
The illumination feature is something that I have found much more useful than I anticipated, especially shooting later into the day in the fall. I wouldn't call it daylight visible but it works well when you need it.
FFP is a huge benefit when shooting the kind of matches I do, as a stage could have you shooting a mover at 300 and a static at 600 and the ability to use the sub tensions on your reticle at all levels of magnification is awesome.
Turrets:
The turrets are crisp and the "zero-set" works very well. You can go maybe 0.2 mil below your zero, so it's quite evident where you are. You get 5.0 mils per rev and mounted on a 20 moa rail on my rifle, I get a max elevation of 17.5 mil (which gets my 20" .308 out to about 1160 yards). I've had to hold over a few times in matches when making longer shots (around 1280) but that is more of a failing of shooting a short .308 than it is of the scope. Until I started shooting matches, I didn't really see why "high-speed" turrets (10mil/turn) were an advantage but I get it now. Less for the speed in actually turning the turret but more in how much elevation range you cover in one turn and the simpler math when dialing a few different elevations in a single stage ( I notice it more when having to dial down from a higher elevation and going down a turn, if that makes sense?). I think it's just easier to keep track of where you are and where you need to be when going in multiples of 10 instead of 5. The capped windage knob was something I really wasn't sure how I would like. I've always held for windage so didn't think it would be a big deal however when I shot the finale, the winds were gusting to about 40mph which made for crazy wind holds on the long range spots. I shanked a few stages before learning to dial in some wind instead of just trying to hold (also to dial when shooting movers). I think the ideal would be a locking windage turret, vs capped, as the cap is just another thing to lose. It seems all Nightforce tactical scopes have capped windage though so I guess that's what you get if you want NF.
Construction:
So far, this scope has proven itself to be durable. It's been banged on obstacles and barricades, shot in dusty environments and downpours and had a decent amount (800+) of rounds under it. It's got a few scuffs but that's about it. It doesn't come with a sunshade, flip-up lens covers or a throw lever for the magnification ring. The flip covers are no big deal really, I found zip-tiding the included bikini cover to the scope to work just fine. In my mind, the sunshade and the throw lever are very necessary and worth the extra $150 or so (after taxes and shipping etc). I don't think I need to explain the use of the sunshade but in the kind of matches I shoot, you find yourself zooming out to acquire the next target before zooming back in again and a lever makes that much faster and less awkward than just twisting the ring.
Glass quality and magnification range:
I don't have much experience with high end glass, other than having looked through a few NXSs, ATACRs and a buddy of mine's Kahles. I also don't really have any experience on ####ty scopes (other than the 40 year old Tasco on one of my .22s which is terrible), I've always had quality but not top end gear. For personal comparison I have a Leopold Mk IV and an Elcan OS3X. I didn't really spend any time comparing one to the other but to my eye, the SHV has better glass than the Mk IV(which I found to be perfectly acceptable anyways).
As far as the mag range goes, I'm relatively young and have good eyesight. I had no trouble using the 10x top end on my Mark IV to shoot out to 1000+ so the 14x on the SHV works plenty well for me. The only time I wished I had more mag was actually shooting a small target during a match at a closer range (500+) but on a day when it was pissing rain, dark and the target no longer had any paint on it and was hard to pick up. A friend of mine shooting the same scope at that match agreed that a bit more mag would've been beneficial at that point.
Overall impression:
For the cost and intended use that I purchased this scope (PRS-type matches) I'm happy with it. Most of my gripes (xmas tree reticle, 10 mil turrets, locking windage turret) are things you can get by purchasing a more expensive optic. Shooting long range isn't cheap and although I wouldn't call this scope inexpensive (around $1650+tax if I recall correctly) it is a less expensive option giving you many of the features of much more expensive scopes (like 2x more) and compromises must be made to hit a certain price point. I want to say it competes with the Vortex PST 6-24 ffp (which I've seen first hand way too many fail to be interested in), the Burris XTR II 5-25 and the Bushnell DMR 3.5-21 (and new DMR 2 which may be my next scope) in the mid range of long range scopes. Thankfully, this segment is going to keep on growing cause I don't know if I'll ever be able to stomach dropping the cash on S&B, Kahles or a ATACR. You also don't need a top end scope to be competitive in matches, I performed acceptably, being in the middle of the pack in the 3 NWPRL matches I shot and finishing the season in the top 40(I believe) out of 100+ in semi-pro despite absolutely shanking the finale, haha. Hopefully I'll do better next year. If you're considering a scope for a similar application, I'd say have a look at the SHV.
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Reticle: (photo taken to show the reticle, it was super foggy that day at the 475 yard line where the far targets are in the pic)
I like the Mil-R reticle much better than the mil-dot that I have on my Leupold. It's much easier to make more accurate holds and there is a separate scale with 0.1 mil sub tensions for ranging (if needed). Ideally, I'd prefer a reticle with defined 0.2 mil subtensions (which NF have addressed with the new Mil-C reticle), more windage (instead of the 5.0 mils currently on the reticle) and a simple (non-Horus) xmas tree type reticle. Holding over for both elevation and windage under a time limit is less than ideal (at least for me) when holding in "empty space". I'd prefer defined points to hold for windage. I also need more practice holding over, haha.
The illumination feature is something that I have found much more useful than I anticipated, especially shooting later into the day in the fall. I wouldn't call it daylight visible but it works well when you need it.
FFP is a huge benefit when shooting the kind of matches I do, as a stage could have you shooting a mover at 300 and a static at 600 and the ability to use the sub tensions on your reticle at all levels of magnification is awesome.
Turrets:
The turrets are crisp and the "zero-set" works very well. You can go maybe 0.2 mil below your zero, so it's quite evident where you are. You get 5.0 mils per rev and mounted on a 20 moa rail on my rifle, I get a max elevation of 17.5 mil (which gets my 20" .308 out to about 1160 yards). I've had to hold over a few times in matches when making longer shots (around 1280) but that is more of a failing of shooting a short .308 than it is of the scope. Until I started shooting matches, I didn't really see why "high-speed" turrets (10mil/turn) were an advantage but I get it now. Less for the speed in actually turning the turret but more in how much elevation range you cover in one turn and the simpler math when dialing a few different elevations in a single stage ( I notice it more when having to dial down from a higher elevation and going down a turn, if that makes sense?). I think it's just easier to keep track of where you are and where you need to be when going in multiples of 10 instead of 5. The capped windage knob was something I really wasn't sure how I would like. I've always held for windage so didn't think it would be a big deal however when I shot the finale, the winds were gusting to about 40mph which made for crazy wind holds on the long range spots. I shanked a few stages before learning to dial in some wind instead of just trying to hold (also to dial when shooting movers). I think the ideal would be a locking windage turret, vs capped, as the cap is just another thing to lose. It seems all Nightforce tactical scopes have capped windage though so I guess that's what you get if you want NF.
Construction:
So far, this scope has proven itself to be durable. It's been banged on obstacles and barricades, shot in dusty environments and downpours and had a decent amount (800+) of rounds under it. It's got a few scuffs but that's about it. It doesn't come with a sunshade, flip-up lens covers or a throw lever for the magnification ring. The flip covers are no big deal really, I found zip-tiding the included bikini cover to the scope to work just fine. In my mind, the sunshade and the throw lever are very necessary and worth the extra $150 or so (after taxes and shipping etc). I don't think I need to explain the use of the sunshade but in the kind of matches I shoot, you find yourself zooming out to acquire the next target before zooming back in again and a lever makes that much faster and less awkward than just twisting the ring.
Glass quality and magnification range:
I don't have much experience with high end glass, other than having looked through a few NXSs, ATACRs and a buddy of mine's Kahles. I also don't really have any experience on ####ty scopes (other than the 40 year old Tasco on one of my .22s which is terrible), I've always had quality but not top end gear. For personal comparison I have a Leopold Mk IV and an Elcan OS3X. I didn't really spend any time comparing one to the other but to my eye, the SHV has better glass than the Mk IV(which I found to be perfectly acceptable anyways).
As far as the mag range goes, I'm relatively young and have good eyesight. I had no trouble using the 10x top end on my Mark IV to shoot out to 1000+ so the 14x on the SHV works plenty well for me. The only time I wished I had more mag was actually shooting a small target during a match at a closer range (500+) but on a day when it was pissing rain, dark and the target no longer had any paint on it and was hard to pick up. A friend of mine shooting the same scope at that match agreed that a bit more mag would've been beneficial at that point.
Overall impression:
For the cost and intended use that I purchased this scope (PRS-type matches) I'm happy with it. Most of my gripes (xmas tree reticle, 10 mil turrets, locking windage turret) are things you can get by purchasing a more expensive optic. Shooting long range isn't cheap and although I wouldn't call this scope inexpensive (around $1650+tax if I recall correctly) it is a less expensive option giving you many of the features of much more expensive scopes (like 2x more) and compromises must be made to hit a certain price point. I want to say it competes with the Vortex PST 6-24 ffp (which I've seen first hand way too many fail to be interested in), the Burris XTR II 5-25 and the Bushnell DMR 3.5-21 (and new DMR 2 which may be my next scope) in the mid range of long range scopes. Thankfully, this segment is going to keep on growing cause I don't know if I'll ever be able to stomach dropping the cash on S&B, Kahles or a ATACR. You also don't need a top end scope to be competitive in matches, I performed acceptably, being in the middle of the pack in the 3 NWPRL matches I shot and finishing the season in the top 40(I believe) out of 100+ in semi-pro despite absolutely shanking the finale, haha. Hopefully I'll do better next year. If you're considering a scope for a similar application, I'd say have a look at the SHV.
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