Guns Illustrated 2011. Dan Shideler
This T/C Venture wears a new Nitrex scope. ATK owns Nitrex, now under the Weaver label.
Long shooting at small targets calls for the 6.5-20x40 Long Range VX-3 – and other sights in the LR stable. New pocket range-finders, the RX-1000 and RX-1000 TBS, boast better light transmission – three times what you get from some others, according to Leupold. In open country last fall, I downed an elk far away with a VX-3 4.5-14x. The extra magnifi cation helped. (Leupold.com.)
MEOPTA
Having produced high-quality optics for 77 years, Meopta has announced a line of 1-inch rifle-scopes specifi cally for the American market. The MeoPro sights, in 3-9x42, 4-12x50 and 6-18x50, have handsome profiles and plenty of free tube, with compact eyepieces that allow for the forward mounting I prefer. The 6-18x50 features a turret-mounted parallax dial. “MB550 Ion Assisted” lens coatings sound as if they belong in a science-fiction movie; in truth, they’re excellent coatings that boost light transmission to the highest levels. These scopes complement three new binoculars: 6.5x32, 8x42 and 10x42. That 6.5x, with its wide fi eld and great depth of focus, is just what hunters need in cover – and has plenty of power for most hunting in the mountains. The Czech-made Meopta lines still include 30mm MeoStar variable rifle-scopes. The newest R1 series comprises seven scopes, from 1-4x22 to 4-16x44. There’s also a 7x56 fixed-power. Four MeoStar binoculars include 20-ounce 8x32 and 10x32 glasses. Meostar S1 spotting scopes (75mm objective) come with standard or APO glass, straight or angled eyepiece, and 30x, 30x wide-angle or 20-60x zoom eyepiece. There’s a collapsible 75mm scope, too. (Meopta.com.)
NIGHTFORCE
The name isn’t descriptive. Nightforce has nothing to do with infrared imaging. This optics firm specializes in high-quality rifle-scopes for precision shooting. Since 1993, more world records in long-range Benchrest events have been set with Nightforce scopes than with any other. They’re a top choice among 1,000-yard and 50-caliber marksmen. The 8-32x56 and 12-42x56 Precision Benchrest models have resettable dials with 1/8-minute clicks, as well as glass-etched illuminated reticles. Their four-times magnifi cation range is shared by the NXS series, from the 3.5-15x50 and 3.5-15x56 NSX to the 5.5-22x50 and 5.5-22x56, the 8-32x56 and 12-42x56. Compact scopes for big game hunting recently joined that roster. The 1-4x24 and a 2.5-10x24 sights and, now, a 2.5- 10x32 weigh just over a pound with the 30mm bronze alloy tubes common to Nightforce scopes. Like all but the Precision Benchrest models, the new 2.5-10x has a turret-mounted focus/parallax dial. (The 8-32x56 and 12-42x56 bench scopes wear front-sleeve parallax rings.) A new 3.5-15x50 F1 with first-plane reticle caters to hunters who want the reticle to stay in constant relationship to the target throughout the power range. Nightforce rifle-scopes endure the toughest tests in the industry. Each sight must remain leak- and fog-proof after submersion in 100 feet of water for 24 hours, freezing in a box at a minus 80° F, then heating within an hour to 250° F. Every scope gets pounded in a device that delivers 1,250 Gs, backward and forward. Lens coatings must pass mil-spec abrasion tests.
Zeiss Varipoint scopes feature a lighted rear-plane reticle, controlled by a left-hand turret dial.
Nightforce now offers eleven illuminated reticle options. They’re distinctive and appealing because they cover so little of the fi eld. The firm also markets accessories for competitive and tactical shooters. Mil radian windage and elevation knobs deliver .1 mil per click. Long-range shooters can specify a turret with 1-minute elevation and half-minute windage graduations, for big changes in yardage with short dial movement. A “zero-stop” turret has an elevation dial that can be set to return to any of 400 detents in its adjustment range. One-piece steel scope bases have a recoil lug to ensure the mount doesn’t move. Five heights of steel rings let you install the scope in just the right location. Unimount, machined from 7075-T6 alloy, has titanium crossbolts and a 20-minute taper for long shooting. Nightforce’s Ballistic Program for Windows, and the abbreviated version for Pocket PCs, helps you determine bullet arc at distance. The company assembles its carriage-class optics at its plant in Idaho. (Nightforceoptics.com.)
Among Author’s favorite scopes is the Zeiss Victory 2.5-10x42, available with Varipoint reticle.
NIKON
While Nikon’s optics line has grown this year, the company’s biggest news may be its ballistics program, which you can access free from Nikon’s website. Plug in a cartridge, the bullet type and velocity to get down-range speed and energy data instantly. Specify zero range, and you’ll see the bullet’s arc. Or work backward to find the sight-in range that gives you longest point-blank distance. Nikon has programmed in dozens of popular centerfire rounds. Manipulations are so simple even a cave man can do them. How does Nikon benefit? “We get a chance to show you how our optics help you hit,” explains C.J. Davis. “Beyond that, it’s just good business to do what we can for the industry and for our customers.” Having played a little with the program, I can endorse it. While I’ve no interest in anything that extends my time at a computer screen, Nikon’s ballistics program threatens to do just that!
As for hardware, Nikon riflescopes now include an M-223 series for AR shooters. The 1-4x20, 2-8x32 and 3-12x42 can be used on other rifles, of course; but BDC reticles for the 2-8x and 3-12x M-223 are tailored for popular AR-15 loads. The Monarch line remains Nikon’s fl agship, with its “African” and “Long Range” subsets. The 1-4x20 has a 1-inch tube; the 1.1-4x24, available with an illuminated reticle, is a 30mm sight. Both provide four inches of eye relief for fast aim and “recoil space.” They feature German #4 reticles and half-minute click adjustments. The African scopes round out a line tilted to high-power optics by the 2008 debut of an 8-32x50ED SF with 1/8-minute adjustments. The 5-20x44 affords great reach in a sight of reasonable size. For all-around hunting, the 2.5-10x42 is hard to beat.
The 4-16x50SF and 2-8x32, recent additions, pretty much cover the rest of the fi eld. I’ve found Monarch optics to equal the brightest in the industry. The “Gold” and “X” series have 30mm tubes. “Coyote Special” rifle-scopes introduced last year (a 3-9x40 and a 4.5-14x40) still sell well. They feature BDC reticles and camouflage finish. A refl ection-fi ghting screen hides the front lens. The Omega 1.65-5x36 scope for muzzleloaders is also a hit, as is the 1.65-5x36 SlugHunter. Both have a generous fi ve inches of eye relief and BDC reticles suited to the trajectories of the most common bullets. Omega’s parallax setting is 100 yards, that of the SlugHunter 75. The value-oriented ProStaff stable has a new entry for 2010: this 4-12x40 is an excellent scope that gives you bright images, a useful power range and a svelte tube that complements trim rifles. Nikon also lists two new range-finders this year, one for archers, the other for riflemen. There are new 42mm models in the mid-priced Monarch ATB binocular line. Nikon’s top-end EDG binoculars (7x42, 8x42, 10x42, 8x32, 10x32) with open-bridge design and a locking diopter are good glasses made better with ED lenses. Ditto the EDG Fieldscope, 85mm or 65mm. Its zoom eyepieces (16-48x and 20-60x) interchange with Nikon fixed-power eyepieces. (Nikonhunting.com.)
Kimber’s 84L delivered excellent groups with a Leupold VX-3. A handsome outfit too!
PENTAX
In 2010, Pentax is taking on the recession with a new series of value-priced Rifle-scopes it calls the GameSeeker II line. There are six models, from the yeoman 3-9x40 to a 4-16x50 and a light-grabbing 2.5-10x56. They feature one-piece, 1-inch alloy tubes, fully multi-coated optics and fi nger-adjustable windage and elevation dials. Choose from a standard plex reticle or the Precision Plex BDC. GameSeeker scopes are priced from around $100, which should make them popular. Last year, Pentax added a 3-15x50 GameSeeker to that stable. Five-times magnifi cation offers more versatility than you’ll likely need for big game. I chose instead a 3-9x32 for a moose hunt. That 12-ounce sight was perfect for my Ruger carbine in .300 RCM. Its high level of resolution helped me shoot a bull when I picked out a sliver of antler deep in shadowed timber. You can choose from eight 1-inch variable GameSeek-ers, plus 4x32