I just got in a NightForce NXS 5.5-22x56 and a Bushnell 4200 Elite 6-24x50 to replace the eyes on my .50bmgs. I took the opportunity to do a little side by side. First I did the NF and the Bushnell. It was heavily overcast and my 400 yard target is in deep woods:
First test today was to look at two strips of flagging tape 8" apart on a small tree at 400 yards on my range. My vision is good enough to see them individually naked eye. Both scopes resolved it clearly, I had no doubts there. The FFP reticle did obscure more of the image at the high magnification as I expected. The NP-R1 reticle on the NF accurately measured the distance between the strips, that was cool.
The NF glass is significantly clearer and sharper than the Bushnell. Some of that is undoubtedly the difference betweem 50mm and 56mm. I'll take them back out around 6:30 tonight to see what very low light differences I get. I can't wait to try this with my cheaper scopes side by side.
Then I waited until dusk. It was almost as dark as it would get by the time I'd start thinking of heading in if I were hunting. By then I'd pulled the Leupold off the rifle the Bushnell will sit on, it's a VXIII 4-14x40, now discontinued:
I could not see the flagging naked eye. With the Leupold I could see the flagging but no real detail. I don't think it would have been usable at 22x magnification. If it'd been a deer I would not have been able to be sure it was a deer and not some other animal of similar colorings. With the Bushnell I could see detail, including some of the bark on the tree and branches nearby. To be comparable with the NF I had it at 22x not 24x. I'd have had no problem identifying a deer, including whether it was antlered or not. With the NightForce the detail was definitely clearer and I could make out more branches and twigs and the like. When I turned the Bushnell and the NightForce down to 14x the difference between them and the Leupold was dramatic. The NF still held the distinct advantage. By then it was dark enough that with the Leupold the flagging was just a blur. With the other two I could still see the two of them distinctly, and with the NF I could make out branches and other detail.
First test today was to look at two strips of flagging tape 8" apart on a small tree at 400 yards on my range. My vision is good enough to see them individually naked eye. Both scopes resolved it clearly, I had no doubts there. The FFP reticle did obscure more of the image at the high magnification as I expected. The NP-R1 reticle on the NF accurately measured the distance between the strips, that was cool.
The NF glass is significantly clearer and sharper than the Bushnell. Some of that is undoubtedly the difference betweem 50mm and 56mm. I'll take them back out around 6:30 tonight to see what very low light differences I get. I can't wait to try this with my cheaper scopes side by side.
Then I waited until dusk. It was almost as dark as it would get by the time I'd start thinking of heading in if I were hunting. By then I'd pulled the Leupold off the rifle the Bushnell will sit on, it's a VXIII 4-14x40, now discontinued:
I could not see the flagging naked eye. With the Leupold I could see the flagging but no real detail. I don't think it would have been usable at 22x magnification. If it'd been a deer I would not have been able to be sure it was a deer and not some other animal of similar colorings. With the Bushnell I could see detail, including some of the bark on the tree and branches nearby. To be comparable with the NF I had it at 22x not 24x. I'd have had no problem identifying a deer, including whether it was antlered or not. With the NightForce the detail was definitely clearer and I could make out more branches and twigs and the like. When I turned the Bushnell and the NightForce down to 14x the difference between them and the Leupold was dramatic. The NF still held the distinct advantage. By then it was dark enough that with the Leupold the flagging was just a blur. With the other two I could still see the two of them distinctly, and with the NF I could make out branches and other detail.
