especially the ATACR line?

I must like them since I have four and yes the ATACR is the best of the lot.

I only own one and I've only owned it for a few days. It's mounted on my newly finished target AR but otherwise I haven't even focused the eyepiece yet. This weekend it'll get its baptism of fire.

I'm going to pick up a 4th after the holidays, debating an ATACR 4-16x42, NXS 2.5-10x42, or maybe another NX-8 MOAR if I can find a capped version.

A few issues with NF scopes:
- Not everyone likes the rotating eyepiece. It can be a pain in the neck with scope caps.
- The new Tenebraex caps are pretty nice with the ATACR line. The rubber bikini caps with the NXS line, not so much.
- Their mil reticles haven't been the best. One of the nicest mil reticles I've seen is the Gen2 XR in a Tangent Theta.
- Their MOA reticles on FFP scopes are well designed, with line thickness and subtentions pretty much where they should be. But the MOA reticles are all horizontal and vertical lines -- nothing like a Gen2 XR.
- IMO their MOA reticals on SFP hunting/tactical do not have thick enough lines. Especially in the Compact series.
- The older NXS line has glass that isn't the clearest, especially for the money. These scopes have a slight blue-ish cast, where scopes designed in recent years have warmer and brighter colors. The ATACR line pretty much fixed the blue.
- NF was slow to understand the FFP market.

Things that work well with NF:
- At least for me -- elevation adjustments, windage adjustments, and reticles all seem to be spot on.
- They are durable. Mine get bounced around, without issues, during training and competition. When I dropped a riffle onto concrete, the NF NXS scope took the full force of the impact. NF replaced a couple of small parts on one turret and the scope is still working fine.
- ATACR's ED glass is really good.
- Turret adjustments are nice. Clicks are audible and have a nice tactile feel.
- Zero stop works.
- Turret adjustments are repeatable, and without backlash.

I blew my Christmas budget when I bought another ATACR on Cyber Monday.

I like the nightforce scopes and I have I think 6 of them right now, I don’t have any ATACRs though.

I like the shv line for hunting, the 3-10 with the illuminated forceplex is probably my favorite, it has a nice clean reticle for hunting and the illumination works well, I also like that it can reliably return to zero if I dial it for shots past ~ 300 or so. A few months back, I put an shv 4-14 f1 with a mil-r reticle on a tikka 6.5 Creedmoor as a caribou rifle and that makes an awesome combo, I like the mil-r reticle but I’m not a long distance competition shooter and the only mil reticles I have compared it to is the SWFA mil dot ones which I think are also great scopes and the nxs mil dot.

I have a couple of the 3-10 shv MOAR reticle scopes but they are just sort of backups right now, I find the center crosshairs can be hard to see in low light, the illuminated one might fix that but neither of the ones I have are illuminated. My 300wsm kimber has a nxs 2.5-10 with a mil dot reticle, that’s a cool scope just keep in mind if you want that mil dot reticle to work properly you have to have it on 10x since it’s second focal plane. I guess if I’m using a mil dot reticle and dialing in probably at 10x anyhow.

The last one I have is an nx8 2.5-20 but I don’t have it on a rifle yet and havnt even really had the chance to play around with it, I got a great deal on it so I scooped it up even though I didn’t have a plan for it. Maybe I’ll put together a 6.5prc and use that scope.

The only NF I would consider is the 7-35. Optically it has the best glass of their offerings. You would most likely never use it above 22-25X. NF's reticles, blah! YMMV.

quote:

Originally posted by offgrid:
The only NF I would consider is the 7-35.

ATACR 7-35x
TBAC 338 can
223 SBR

I think we have your setup for JJ's 2-gun match.

What's wrong with the NF reticles?
Poor designs, too thick/narrow, ...?


Although I need another scope like another hole in the head, for some reason I’m attracted to the 4-16×42 or 50 ATACR, and if I got one it would be with the MIL-C reticle. The opposite sides 0.2 mil marks are not what I’m used to, but overall the reticle is similar to others I use.

Thanks for all the discussion, BTW; very informative and helpful.

quote:

Originally posted by sigfreund:
What's wrong with the NF reticles?
Poor designs, too thick/narrow, ...?


Although I need another scope like another hole in the head, for some reason I’m attracted to the 4-16×42 or 50 ATACR, and if I got one it would be with the MIL-C reticle. The opposite sides 0.2 mil marks are not what I’m used to, but overall the reticle is similar to others I use.

Thanks for all the discussion, BTW; very informative and helpful.

I prefer .5 mil marks for wind-age. Especially in a non prone position. I find it much easier/faster to focus on a spot +/- then a small hash mark. Same principle to turn magnification down when shooting off hand. Their tree reticle I believe is silly to have that much wind hold. At 1 mil elevation max wind mark is about 75mph for my calibers. Less is better I believe, less reticle to cover things up.

What rifle are you thinking about putting this on?

quote:

Originally posted by offgrid:
What rifle are you thinking about putting this on?

I’m afraid of being mocked for thinking of putting a $2500 scope on a $1200 rifle.

Thanks for the comments about the reticles. I understand what you’re saying.

quote:

Originally posted by sigfreund:

quote:

Originally posted by offgrid:
What rifle are you thinking about putting this on?

I’m afraid of being mocked for thinking of putting a $2500 scope on a $1200 rifle.

What's the rifle, caliber, expected use, target distances? I have an ATACR 4-16x.

You will catch more flak for putting a $200 scope on a $2500 rifle.

quote:

Originally posted by sigfreund:

I’m afraid of being mocked for thinking of putting a $2500 scope on a $1200 rifle.

Not from me and my shooting buddies!

If I got one of the scopes I mentioned, it would go on a significantly-modified 308 Winchester Tikka T3 used mostly for practice, but possibly more serious purposes. Distance up to 600 yards at the Chaffee range, but more commonly half that from different positions in addition to prone supported.

I have a very good sight on the rifle now, but there are features and characteristics of the NF that I believe I would like better, especially the much more distinct feel of the windage and elevation adjustments. As I say, I’d have to readjust myself to the different reticle design from what I’m accustomed to, but that probably wouldn’t be a big deal. For the purposes I have in mind the 4× minimum power setting is a bit higher than I’d like; at present I can dial down to 3 power, but I don’t shoot that way very often.

Some of the luster of the idea is starting to dim as I read the responses and realize that my present setup has served me perfectly well for years, but I haven’t given up entirely yet.

You don't state what scope is on the Tikka now, so it's difficult to make a comparison.

I think the mil C reticle's .2 mil subtensions are goofy. They probably work OK on the horizontal/windage scale, but I find them confusing on the vertical/elevation scale. That whole inverse-T ranging scale is goofy, too.

I agree with offgrid's assessment that .5 mil marks are the way to go.

On to the ATACR 4-16x42 itself. The glass is clear, turret controls are great, the scope is relatively compact and doesn't weigh all that much. The eyebox is pretty forgiving, especially considering the objective lens isn't all that big. Parallax is easy to work, and the settings are fairly forgiving. The only downside I have is that a bit of tunneling exists from 4x all the way through 16x. Most zoom NF scopes have some tunneling on the low end, but it quickly goes away as magnification increases. Overall it's not a big deal, however.

I have not seen a 4-16x50.

I have the 4-16x42 on my best AR15 -- an SI Defense receiver with a 20" Krieger barrel. The system has performed very well in team and individual competitions, with targets from 5 to 650-ish yards-- but generally in the 250-450 yard ballpark. The rifle just flat out kicked butt in a Raton match this summer, with the final target being some 800 yards out.

The present scope is a Leupold Mark 6 3-18x44.

You didn't state what reticle you have.

I don't think Leupold's mil reticles are all that great. I had a Mark 4 with the TMR reticle. I didn't care for it -- there are no mil value numbers on the subtentions -- 1, 2, 3, or whatever. Leupold's Christmas tree reticles are very busy.

It's up to you as to why an ATACR might work better than your Leupold.

quote:

Originally posted by fritz:
It's up to you as to why an ATACR might work better than your Leupold.

Obviously. Hence the questions.

Most of my scopes, including the one on the Tikka, have the Leupold Tactical Milling Reticle. There are several versions of the TMR, but generally the 0.5 and 1.0 mil marks extend to 4 mils; from 4 to 5 are 0.2 subtensions, and then they go to thicker crossbars with marks at 5, 10, and 20 mils.

In researching the matter, I have noticed that many MOA calibrated reticles are not well marked with values, and I could see how that would be a major problem for large hold-offs, but I don’t have any trouble counting up to 4 or even 5.

I have used similar TMR reticles almost exclusively for many years and they have always worked fine for my purposes. I do have one scopesight with a Horus H58 reticle, and the fact that the NF reticles are marked at 0.2 mil intervals has given me pause now that it was pointed out (thanks for that), and it may be why I decide to save my money for other purposes.

quote:

Originally posted by sigfreund:
In researching the matter, I have noticed that many MOA calibrated reticles are not well marked with values, and I could see how that would be a major problem for large hold-offs, but I don’t have any trouble counting up to 4 or even 5.

Excellent!

You should join us in the monthly sporting rifle match at Raton, NM. It's rather casual in comparison to true PRS/NRL matches. Raton is 6 targets per stage, one shot each, known distances, 4 minutes, starting port of arms. No big deal when compared to 10 or 12 targets in 2 to 3 minutes. You can show us how that TMR reticle assists you with wind and elevation holds.

I have several and love them. I haven’t found anything I don’t like about them. I run a NF 5x25 ATACR on my $300 Ruger Predator 6.5 CM. It’s a blast to shoot.