Nikon Spot On© scopes and software
Recently I had the opportunity to test out Nikon’s new Spot On© scopes and software. Nikon set us up at the St. Louis Bench Rest Club, which allows shooting out to 600yds. I have to say this is one of the finest rifle ranges I have been to. I have to admit I had some doubts as to how well the reticles would function as well as limits to the software. But after only a few minutes talking with Jon LaCorte from Nikon I was sold. He is extremely knowledgeable about the whole system and could answer any questions the shooters had. (14 shooters)
The first day at the range they covered the new ballistic software, Spot On©. The program is simple to use and has a huge database of cartridges to choose from. (22LR, 17HMR, black powder, 12 gauges) The software allows you to input your cartridge, bullet type, velocity, and distance to target. After just a few clicks the reticle on the screen shows what circle to use for a specific distance. What’s really unique is that you can then fine-tune the numbers by adjusting the scope magnification. The lower the mag the longer the hold overs become. For example my Nesika 260 with a Lapau 123 sighted in at 200 can use the first circle for a shot of 290 yards at 9x while turning the power down to 6x it becomes 333 yards. Needless to say it worked extremely well. Now for the best part it will sell for around $25.
Once the orientation was over they didn’t waste any time getting us behind some rifles. Four stations were setup each featuring several different rifles. Station number one had a Ruger 10/22 Target with a Spot On scope, S&W AR 22 with a Nikon Red Dot, and another S&W with a Spot On scope. Each of these rifles was set to engage targets to 100 yards with no holdover and I have to say they did the job perfectly. Station two was my favorite AR-15s. Targets were set out to 200 yards and similar to the 22 rifles, the scopes were adjusted so no holdover was needed. The scope has a single dot in the center of the crosshairs so your eye is drawn to it easily. Station three was the Encore station. Blackpowder, 12 gauge slugs, and 308 pistols. On this station they had a steel deer silhouette with swinging vitals placed out at a distance of 200 yards. I had no problem hitting the vitals with the shotgun and black powder rifle. I must admit the shotgun kicked like a mule and wasn’t much fun to shoot. The last station I was looking forward to. This is where the scopes were truly tested as far as return to zero and its ability to dial in to known distances. The first rifle I shot was a Surgeon Rifle in 308. Once I had a few shots in I went for the metal plate out at 575 yards. Two shots in a row landed right on target. Now I adjusted the scope back down to 100 yards and it was still dead-on. I was really surprised to see how well the system worked. They had several other rifles ranging from Savage Varmint, 308 ARs, Rem AR-15, 22-250.
After lunch we were given free reign to shoot any rifle of our choice. They also put out a ton of tannerite. I couldn’t wait to get behind the long rifles and do some blasting. The second half of the day was awesome. I consistently engaged targets at various distances between metal and small 1 lb containers of tannerite. I’ll have to include the video of the explosions.
Nikon has done a great job with this system between the ease of use, low cost, and high quality. I’ve been using Nikon optics for a long time and have never had an issue. Even though I have high-end scopes like Nightforce, Zeiss, and Swarovski, the Nikons can definitely hold their own. I hope next year to put the 3-12 on my Rem 547 in 17HMR and my 20 Vartarg for a Prairie dog hunt. Target acquisition will be much faster and more precise. This system isn’t going to be dead-on for fine target shooting but for hunting and steel plates it works great. What’s great is how it can be tuned to more than one load and once you fine-tune it by changing environmental data it’s pretty damn close. I have to thank Doug Paymer from Cameraland (www.cameralandny.com) as well as everyone from Nikon who put this shoot together. I only wish I had more time to shoot when all is said and done. What a great group of shooters it was who came together for the event.
Brian Hogan
Recently I had the opportunity to test out Nikon’s new Spot On© scopes and software. Nikon set us up at the St. Louis Bench Rest Club, which allows shooting out to 600yds. I have to say this is one of the finest rifle ranges I have been to. I have to admit I had some doubts as to how well the reticles would function as well as limits to the software. But after only a few minutes talking with Jon LaCorte from Nikon I was sold. He is extremely knowledgeable about the whole system and could answer any questions the shooters had. (14 shooters)
The first day at the range they covered the new ballistic software, Spot On©. The program is simple to use and has a huge database of cartridges to choose from. (22LR, 17HMR, black powder, 12 gauges) The software allows you to input your cartridge, bullet type, velocity, and distance to target. After just a few clicks the reticle on the screen shows what circle to use for a specific distance. What’s really unique is that you can then fine-tune the numbers by adjusting the scope magnification. The lower the mag the longer the hold overs become. For example my Nesika 260 with a Lapau 123 sighted in at 200 can use the first circle for a shot of 290 yards at 9x while turning the power down to 6x it becomes 333 yards. Needless to say it worked extremely well. Now for the best part it will sell for around $25.
Once the orientation was over they didn’t waste any time getting us behind some rifles. Four stations were setup each featuring several different rifles. Station number one had a Ruger 10/22 Target with a Spot On scope, S&W AR 22 with a Nikon Red Dot, and another S&W with a Spot On scope. Each of these rifles was set to engage targets to 100 yards with no holdover and I have to say they did the job perfectly. Station two was my favorite AR-15s. Targets were set out to 200 yards and similar to the 22 rifles, the scopes were adjusted so no holdover was needed. The scope has a single dot in the center of the crosshairs so your eye is drawn to it easily. Station three was the Encore station. Blackpowder, 12 gauge slugs, and 308 pistols. On this station they had a steel deer silhouette with swinging vitals placed out at a distance of 200 yards. I had no problem hitting the vitals with the shotgun and black powder rifle. I must admit the shotgun kicked like a mule and wasn’t much fun to shoot. The last station I was looking forward to. This is where the scopes were truly tested as far as return to zero and its ability to dial in to known distances. The first rifle I shot was a Surgeon Rifle in 308. Once I had a few shots in I went for the metal plate out at 575 yards. Two shots in a row landed right on target. Now I adjusted the scope back down to 100 yards and it was still dead-on. I was really surprised to see how well the system worked. They had several other rifles ranging from Savage Varmint, 308 ARs, Rem AR-15, 22-250.
After lunch we were given free reign to shoot any rifle of our choice. They also put out a ton of tannerite. I couldn’t wait to get behind the long rifles and do some blasting. The second half of the day was awesome. I consistently engaged targets at various distances between metal and small 1 lb containers of tannerite. I’ll have to include the video of the explosions.
Nikon has done a great job with this system between the ease of use, low cost, and high quality. I’ve been using Nikon optics for a long time and have never had an issue. Even though I have high-end scopes like Nightforce, Zeiss, and Swarovski, the Nikons can definitely hold their own. I hope next year to put the 3-12 on my Rem 547 in 17HMR and my 20 Vartarg for a Prairie dog hunt. Target acquisition will be much faster and more precise. This system isn’t going to be dead-on for fine target shooting but for hunting and steel plates it works great. What’s great is how it can be tuned to more than one load and once you fine-tune it by changing environmental data it’s pretty damn close. I have to thank Doug Paymer from Cameraland (www.cameralandny.com) as well as everyone from Nikon who put this shoot together. I only wish I had more time to shoot when all is said and done. What a great group of shooters it was who came together for the event.
Brian Hogan
