Nikon M223

J

Jake_2008

New member
Guys,

I set out thinking I wanted a .17 Remington. Now the more that I think about I am tempted to just go with a .223. I like the idea of a scope with the turret system that the M223/Mark 4/Monarch X scopes have and the M223 seems to be at a good price point.

However, I am not looking at getting an AR. My first question is, the idea that these scopes were designed for AR's doesnt mean that they wont work on other platforms does it?

Any opinion on this glass? I mean is it Buckmaster glass or Monarch glass?

Thanks for the input.

Jake
 
The M stands for Monarch and you can use it on other rifles and calibers as well.

Nikon also has the P223 which is the Prostaff line.

You can go to Nikon's website (Nikon Hunting) and use the "spot on" ballistics program, fill in the different fields and it will give you estimated ranges for the BDC reticle.

You can also order caliber specific turrets for the Monarch and Buckmaster scopes, if you like to dial in the known ranges.

FYI- There are many manafactures that offer custom turrets systems, bullet drop reticles, etc, but there is no substitute for real world knowledge which means trigger time.








 
Originally Posted By: TXCOONDOG but there is no substitute for real world knowledge which means trigger time.

Very true. I didn't know that about the custom turrets though. I may look into that rather than buying a scope already set for a specific bullet weight and speed.

Jake
 
On the M223 scope that I have, the glass is great. I got the plex reticle because having a bcd reticle and turrets just didn't make sense to me. The factory turrets are based on 55 grain bullet traveling at 32xx fps (I think).

If you read enough you will see some complaining about how easy the turrets are to turn, and getting off by being bumped around. I am not going to argue with that as it has happened to me. But I also have gotten use to double checking them as well when I get it out. That in itself is not a draw back to me as I like having them exposed. Makes for easy spinning.
 
I have the M223 with the bdc reticle, and cant be happier with it. I have used the Ballistics program on their website, and it is ok to get you in the ballpark. I do not shoot the loads the scope "calibrated" for. I do spend alot of time at the range shooting different known distances, taking notes etc. When I have info for that load I transfer it all onto a little chart that gets taped to the side of my buttstock for quick in field referencing. All in all it's great glass for the price point, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone, regardless of the platform they choose to use it on. Just my .02 though.
 
Orion94us,
Appreciate that info. I picked up a Coyote Special 4.5-14 a few weeks ago and really like the BDC as well. The M223 was one of those I was looking at. It may be my next buy for my AR.
 
Originally Posted By: TAG-PredOrion94us,
Appreciate that info. I picked up a Coyote Special 4.5-14 a few weeks ago and really like the BDC as well. The M223 was one of those I was looking at. It may be my next buy for my AR.

No problem. I have a coyote special in the 4.5 -14 as well, really liked it as well. I used for prairie dogs as well as coyotes and I can tell you that using that scope on p-dogs can be a bit of a challenge. What it does do though is help shorten your learning curve when figuring wind dope with the BDC on different power settings, especially since a prairie dog at range wont always fill the entire BDC circle lol.

Yes the turrets on the M223 are easy to turn, but all it takes is a check to see that they are still set to zero and your in business. I have done several "track" tests with mine moving it all over the target, it always returned to zero when I dialed it back.
 
Great reading all your positive post's about your Nikon optic's guys. I"m also a big fan of the Coyote SPecial Orion. I tell guys to make sure you look thru one before you buy it to make sure it'll work for you. I found sighting it in works best when shooting at a corner section of multiple squared target. Gives you the crosshair look. I like how quickly I have been able to acquire coyote's with my scope and get a shot off. Pretty much as soon asI have fur I'm sending a round. So far 5:5.
I could see how making shot's on prairiedogs might be a little tough with the Coyote Special but with the M-223 it should be a snap. I have shot out to 623 yards and pinged 10 in. steel plates at that distance. Pretty good for someone who doesn't consider himself a real good shot. That's why I try to take any advantage I can get. Make sure you check out Nikon's SPot On Ballistic Program to further doal in your Coyote Special or BDC reticle scope.
Here's a pic of my DPMS and Nikon Coyote Special and Nikon AR Mount all in Mossy Oak Brush Camo.

http://i1216.photobucket.com/albums/dd363/bman940/CoyoteSPrairepanther_4.jpg
 
Well I agree that the M-223 is great glass especially for the price. But here is a BIG negative that I just cant live with. There is no way to lock the turrets. Many times when I sit down to call a stand I look and my turrets are off zero. Usually no more than a couple clicks but it drives me crazy and paranoid. My nephew is left handed so he carried it on his left shoulder, in this way the windage adjustment was against his body. First stand I noticed it was off 1/4 turn (or so I thought) so I turned it back and had him carry it on his right shoulder and check the turrets before every set. Well long story short, had a coyote at 70 yards and he missed, would have been his first yote ever. He had actually turned it 3/4 turn the other way earlier and when I put it back to zero it was a full revolution off. I just wanted to throw that scope as far as I could...made me sick to my stomach. Too many things to go wrong out there to add the scope as a variable. So my nephew is still yoteless and I'm paranoid as ever. So Nikon Prostaffer, any fixes?
 
Originally Posted By: Suppressed in SDWell I agree that the M-223 is great glass especially for the price. But here is a BIG negative that I just cant live with. There is no way to lock the turrets. Many times when I sit down to call a stand I look and my turrets are off zero. Usually no more than a couple clicks but it drives me crazy and paranoid. My nephew is left handed so he carried it on his left shoulder, in this way the windage adjustment was against his body. First stand I noticed it was off 1/4 turn (or so I thought) so I turned it back and had him carry it on his right shoulder and check the turrets before every set. Well long story short, had a coyote at 70 yards and he missed, would have been his first yote ever. He had actually turned it 3/4 turn the other way earlier and when I put it back to zero it was a full revolution off. I just wanted to throw that scope as far as I could...made me sick to my stomach. Too many things to go wrong out there to add the scope as a variable. So my nephew is still yoteless and I'm paranoid as ever. So Nikon Prostaffer, any fixes? That would drive me nuts too. Maybe try a small piece of waterproof athletic tape on the side of the turret keeping it from spinning off 0. Then if you need to dial any elevation just force it a little and the tape will let go.?

Nikon, this is a design flaw, so do the right thing and come out with a fix, and put some soort of lock ring on the next model.
 
Supp./MO1, I have heard of this happening on occasion. I am also left handed but have not had the same problem while carrying my AR's into the field. I do understand and in no way discount the issue. This is how changes come about, guy's pass along suggestion's they think will make the product better and hopefully we see changes down the line. I have passed this thread on to the power's that be and I will most defintely let you know if I hear any replies.
 
Would love to sell it, but I havn't done enough posts on here to list it in the classifieds. I'm gonna try O rings. Thinking maybe if I put a few around the turret base to somewhat lock the knob up in the disengaged position. Assumeing this works, the paranoia continues because what if the turret gets bumped and reengages? If its off zero at that point, you have no idea what to do except go shoot paper. I'm gonna have to carry my other varmit rifle in the truck just for backup. This is an excellent bench or p-dog scope, but cant be used on a carry gun. I've never had to think about my scope before, just aim and shoot. This adds a variable to hunting that should never be part of the equation.
 
My buddy had a m223 until he realized every time he took it out of the scabbard the windage turret made 1/2 a rev... So now he just uses black electrical tape, and tapes the pi$$ out of em so they cant spin... it works but IMHO not good when you have exposed turrets that turn that easily... not good.
 
I have a potential fix. I took some o-rings and put them around the base of the turrets. I put them on thick enough to disengage the the turret from the reticle. The only way to engage the turret to the reticle is to push down hard and partially diplace one of the o-rings. You can still use the turrets if you want by slightly pushing down the o-ring with your finger to expose the zero point, engage the turret to the reticle and do your clicks. The only thing I cant account for is if they get bumped hard enough to engage them and then turn. I used 1 1/8 outer diameter, 15/16 inner, and 3/32 thickness o-rings. They could possibly be a litte thicker or a little smaller. This is the first size I tryed and it worked pretty good. You need 2 for the elevation and 3 for the windage. Not a perfect fix, but it works in theory (awaiting field tests) and still looks pretty good.
 


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