Nightforce or Sworavski?

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GRIZZLYONE

New member
Grizz here. Last year I built a 22-250 on a Sako AII action with a Lother Walther heavy barrel 1/12 twist McMillan glass stock. I want to mount some high end glass on this one cause this will be mainly a night time predator gun. I need absolute clarity and lite gathering qualities. I know very little about Nightforce scopes other than they seem to be highly thought of here. My only real concern with a Nightforce is the exposed turret type adjustments. The adjustments being turned unknowingly, accidentally. I work up an accurate load, zero the rifle and hunt with it. I don't dick around and play with the adjustments constantly. I'll check the rifle for zero from time to time and hunt. Do the turret adjustments on Nightforce scopes lock? And or what keeps these turrets from being knocked out of zero inadvertently? Thanks in advance for your response, Grizz.
 
Originally Posted By: GRIZZLYONE Do the turret adjustments on Nightforce scopes lock? And or what keeps these turrets from being knocked out of zero inadvertently? Thanks in advance for your response, Grizz.

How you doin' there Grizz??
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To answer your question about the NF turrets...no, they don't lock. However, you can get them with the "Zero-stop" option that stops the elevation turret at the spot where you have zeroed the scope. You can dial up as far as you want, and then turn the elevation turret down and it stops at your predetermined spot. The turrets on mine are tight and have positive clicks, but it would be possible to move the knobs if you are handling the gun kinda rough in the dark.
I'd definitely want Zero stop or covered turrets for a night time calling rifle.
 
I really like the Swarovski glass the the BRH is a really nice reticle. What that said I prefer Nightforce's turrets, reticles, and how strong they are.

The NF turrets are very positive and should not accidentally turn on you but there is a chance. I have never had it happen to me as of yet.

Mike @ CST
 
This is the NF you need. This is a 3.5-15x NXS without the exposed turrets. I traded Cbosshogg79 for this scope, and it's my first NF. They are very serious scopes, heavily built and should last forever. I'm having a local build a custom turret for the elevation that I can remove when I don't need it. For stuff like night hunting when I want the turrets covered.

NXS-1.jpg


Here is the scope cap removed, just like any other scope.

NXS-7.jpg
 
Thanks! I guess my next question would be is this exact scope with these covered turrets still in production? I was in fact considering the 3.5-15. Magnafication over 10-12 power is usless at night anyway so 3.5-15 would be perfect. Grizz
 
Originally Posted By: GRIZZLYONEThanks! I guess my next question would be is this exact scope with these covered turrets still in production? I was in fact considering the 3.5-15. Magnafication over 10-12 power is usless at night anyway so 3.5-15 would be perfect. Grizz

No, it's not. When I called asking about this one the guy on the phone said he'd never seen one since he's been there, several years. There's not many around. You can send me a pm if you want to discuss this one, it may be for sale or trade as I'm thinking of selling the rifle it's on.
 
Grizz,
Save your money on the zero stop options and go with the 3.5x15 or the 5.5x22. If this is going on a dedicated coyote rifle and you're not twisting knobs other than to sight in, then keep it simple. Once you are sighted in, you can adjust both the elevation and windage turrets to 0. I went with the NXS 5.5x22 model which sits on a Bat action in 6x47. My rig is a little heavy with the varmint Kreiger barrel but the recoil is minimal.
I'm just north of you so if you are familiar with the West End gun club and want to look through and shoot my rifle, let me know. It's always better to try before you buy especially for the amount of money these scopes go for. I agonized for a long time over the model and reticle for this rifle. I opted for the NP2 DD reticle and am very happy with my choice.

Kevin
 
Which Swarovski model are you considering?

They are two different animals.

Swarovski = light weight hunting scopes.

Nightforce = target, tactical scope.

Optics advantage (z3 &z5)- Swarovsk. Durability advantage- NF.
If you are considering the Swarovski z5 or z6 (not the z3) then the durability is equal to the NF.

The Swarovski z6 will have a substantial advantage in transmitting a brighter image than the NF.



 
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Thanks Keven. I'm a limited member of West end. And I need to run over there one of these Saturdays to check a different rifle. I'll PM you and see if we can't meet over there in the near future. Grizz
 
Just looked at the Nightforce website. Not that I need an illum reticle, I had thought that most nightforce scope came with illum reticle. I guess I was wrong. Being a machinist, I can sure appreciate the inner workings of the Swarovski Z6. Thanks for the link Manic. I owned a SB long range scope the optics were amazing at night. The only problem with the SB is the 2X4s they offer for reticles. SB offers a fine reticle, this is probably to fine for night hunting and might fade out. Grizz
 
Originally Posted By: GRIZZ My only real concern with a Nightforce is the exposed turret type adjustments. The adjustments being turned unknowingly, accidentally.

Grizz, although conceivable, in my experience, this simply does not happen.
But heck, even IF it did & you somehow added or lost a couple clicks, the darn turrets are about 5" in front of your face, so it ain't hard to notice if they moved!
OPHA2011063.jpg

Kinda hard NOT to see 'em, don't ya think???

Not trying to sound like a d-k, but have you ever heard a Nighforce owner complaining about his turrets twisting accidentally in the field? With all the cry babies on the internet, I'm sure we'd ALL know about it by now?

food for thought...

OH yeah, All NXS scopes have illuminated reticles. The ON/OFF for the illum of the scope in the pic above is done by pulling the left turret (parallax adj) out from the scope body. Rheostat dimmer is located behind the CR 2032 battery inside same turret.

low light stand at the end of the day, 56mm obj, MLR reticle.
(there's a dead mangy coyote out there behind that clump of weeds...
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)

OPHA2011038.jpg

Compact NXS scopes have an externally adjustable rheostat positioned as the left side turret on the scope body...
 
Thanks Fred. I thought that they were illum reticles. I just could not see any type of switch or find any mention of illum reticle on the Nightforce website, Grizz.
 
What Freddy said. I have used lots of scopes with uncovered turrets in the field. Mostly Leupolds. The turrets spinning without me knowing has never been an issue. Never. A NF would be easy to detect, if it did happen.

Comparing NF to Swarovski is really not comparing apples to apples at all. 2 Different scopes, built with 2 different things in mind. Swaros have nice glass, but so do NF. The NF is the tougher of the 2 by a mile........
 
Originally Posted By: Chupathingy Another good option here that you may not have known about. Not sure all that magnification is warranted on a night hunting rig.

http://swfa.com/IOR-25-10x42-Hunting-30mm-Rifle-Scope-P3043.aspx

I ofcourse would see if one of our sponsors had it before buying else where.


Chupa It is out here Chupa. We takes some longe azz shots in these parts at night 10X, 12X helps. We would go higher but any more magnafication won't absorbe enough light. Grizz
 
I HAVE A 8x56 kahles that i have over 2000 coyotes with you don't need anymore power .straight power gives you more light too.swaro's are over priced.night force is made in idaho.my kahles cost 300.00 when i bought it,today i would get the NF.or even the leupold mark 4 has good glass and turrets.
 
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Originally Posted By: GRIZZ My only real concern with a Nightforce is the exposed turret type adjustments. The adjustments being turned unknowingly, accidentally.

i've got a few NXS's, NEVER had the turrets "unknowingly" turn, they have crisp clean clicks, its gonna take fingers to turn the knob, not pulling it in or out of your case, or having a branch, grass or weeds turn it while in pursuit... only turret i've seen turn pulling out of a case is the M223 from nikon, but we're talking a whole other ball game with NF NXS scopes. comparing the NXS to Swarovski, IMHO swarovski has the edge in the glass, but NF is [beeep] close, i prefer the NXS simply because its got great tracking and the durability when using it "hard" in the field.
 
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