Rifle Scopes NightForce Optics

[Quiet6.8]

Hello All,
Was curious as to everyone's opinions/experiences with NightForce Optics. I have a line on a NightForce SHV FFP 4-14x50mm scope for several hundred dollars off retail, it is used but over all in great shape. I have one of their NXS lines of scopes, but no experience with the SHV line of scopes. What differences are there between the two? I know they are highly regarded optics, but don't know much about their "budget" scopes. Any input would be helpful.
Cheers,
Cris from UT

 

[JakeM]

Get it, and get in MIL. Loved mine.

 

[Radiohead71]

I'm considering one for my 6mm C build. I recently read 2 criticisms (online) that gave me pause. One was crappy eye relief and the other described the scope like "looking through a toilet paper roll". I assume they meant bad fov? Are these accurate or no?

According to their site, here are the specs. I'm too much of a noob to know if these numbers are good or bad, so any comments welcome.

Eye Relief	3.1 in/80 mm
Field of View @ 100 yd/m	4x: 25.1 ft/8.4 m 14x: 7.4 ft/2.5 m

 

[2muchcowbell]

I'm considering one for my 6mm C build. I recently read 2 criticisms (online) that gave me pause. One was crappy eye relief and the other described the scope like "looking through a toilet paper roll". I assume they meant bad fov? Are these accurate or no?

According to their site, here are the specs. I'm too much of a noob to know if these numbers are good or bad, so any comments welcome.

Eye Relief	3.1 in/80 mm
Field of View @ 100 yd/m	4x: 25.1 ft/8.4 m 14x: 7.4 ft/2.5 m

I very much enjoy the one I have (even though I'm selling it at a good discount on the PX - shameless plug: send me an offer, I'm raising money for something else and I want it gone ). It's just...nice to get behind, IMO. Far superior to the PST Gen II I had. It doesn't have the "pop" of higher-end scopes like Kahles or Steiner, but it's a fantastic scope with a minimalist reticle. I've been behind it for hours with no noticeable eye fatigue.

 

[2muchcowbell]

Hello All,
Was curious as to everyone's opinions/experiences with NightForce Optics. I have a line on a NightForce SHV FFP 4-14x50mm scope for several hundred dollars off retail, it is used but over all in great shape. I have one of their NXS lines of scopes, but no experience with the SHV line of scopes. What differences are there between the two? I know they are highly regarded optics, but don't know much about their "budget" scopes. Any input would be helpful.
Cheers,
Cris from UT

From my understanding when I bought my SHV, it uses the same glass as the NXS series with cheaper coatings to keep the price down. My experience, as stated above, is that it's a *nice* scope to get behind. Presentation of the image just feels...boringly pleasant, if that makes sense. The "wow factor" of top-end scopes isn't there, but I never felt I had to struggle to see what I needed to.

 

[auskip07]

From my understanding when I bought my SHV, it uses the same glass as the NXS series with cheaper coatings to keep the price down. My experience, as stated above, is that it's a *nice* scope to get behind. Presentation of the image just feels...boringly pleasant, if that makes sense. The "wow factor" of top-end scopes isn't there, but I never felt I had to struggle to see what I needed to.

Also looking at this scope for a long range build. I am curious what you mean by wow factor and whats the buy in for those in that category 3K?

 

[SporterII]

Bad eye relief ? I do not understand that description.
I have an old NSX and a new SHV looks nicer to me at a glance.
Edited to add: mechanically inferior to my older NSX.

 

[762 ULTRAMAGA]

I spent some time behind an shv a few years ago and really wasn't impressed at all with the image quality.
I compared it to a vx6hd and a vortex razor, and compared to those scopes the image lacked clarity and appeared washed out in full sun.
I personally just couldn't live with what I felt was pretty low tier glass, and I'm not a glass snob

 

[2muchcowbell]

Also looking at this scope for a long range build. I am curious what you mean by wow factor and whats the buy in for those in that category 3K?

I'll compare it head-to-head with my Kahles and ATACR tomorrow, but in brief... When looking through my SHV, it's easy to see everything, but I don't really notice it. It functions well enough that I don't feel it significantly slows me down.

With the Kahles (and even more so the ATACR 7-35), it feels like the scope is actually *helping* me see better. Am I making sense?

 

[Totoro]

At the $1k mark, there are very few that run close to the SHV in terms of turret reliability and ruggedness.

IF you plan on spinning turrets a ton, then NXS will serve you well.

IF you use it for big game hunting at farther ranges, then the limiting factor between the SHV and NXS is the depth of your wallet.

My sole argument is if you plan on running multiple rifles for comps/BR/LR/hunting; I would suggest keeping reticle and adjustments the same.

 

[jcam]

I used to have a SHV F1 that I sold to fund another project. I was able to make 1MOA steel target hits at 866yards with my OBR 308. Looking back I should have kept that scope.
Glass was good. Turrets are not ATACR or old NXS turrets. No Zero stop. No locking diopter feature. If you can accept the lesser features then it could be the scope for you OP.
In addition the SHV has been given positive remarks with regards to tracking by Frank and Mark at the Everyday Sniper podcast.

 

[epeet]

The SHV line is really one of the best deals running - for around $1000 you are getting the clarity and repeatability of a $2000 SFP scope, with the housing/body of an $800 scope. So not perfect, but for those of us with limited means, a tremendous option. For example, it compares really favorably to my MK6 3-18 Leupold, and I'd rather have two of the 4-14 F1 SHV than one of the MK6.

 

[2muchcowbell]

I'll compare it head-to-head with my Kahles and ATACR tomorrow, but in brief... When looking through my SHV, it's easy to see everything, but I don't really notice it. It functions well enough that I don't feel it significantly slows me down.

With the Kahles (and even more so the ATACR 7-35), it feels like the scope is actually *helping* me see better. Am I making sense?

So after a brief review at lunch...I am probably going to regret selling my SHV. It's a fantastic scope, but I have another need to be filled.

It actually has roughly the same detail as my k624i on the same power in good conditions - sunny, 85°Fish, ~30% humidity, looking at things roughly 250 yards away. The FOV isn't as big as the Kahles, but...50mm vs 56mm objective. I could see mirage much better in the Kahles, for what that's worth.