Nikon Spot On Software and BDC Reticles
Over the past year I’ve had the opportunity to do two shoots with Nikon. During that time I’ve done extensive testing of their scopes and Spot On software. As a result I’ve grown to love the BDC and Mil Dot reticles so much I sold several scopes that don’t have them. Using the software combined with the reticle makes shooting much more precise for an average shooter. Having been able to demo the Spot On system to several shooters and seen the results first hand I can see how this will really take off. Nikon has done their homework and it shows. The Nikon staff is filled with real shooters and hunters unlike others in the sports optics field.
I’m not going to bore you with box chart tests and optic terminology. I’ve gone hunting, steel plate shooting, and a few matches with their scopes. We all know Nikon produces great glass so there’s need to go there. I’ve been using Nikon’s for a long time and my only regret is that they can’t retrofit the old scopes with a new reticle. Never have I had one fail during use.
Having been so impressed with the whole system, over the winter I sold several scopes that don’t have the BDC system. I’m slowly switching my hunting and varmint rifles over to the new crosshairs. With the combination of the software and the BDC reticle shots are much easier. No more fooling around with clicking up or guessing where to hold over. Just this month my buddy and I shot a few woodchucks in upstate NY. Once we ranged targets, shots are much quicker and fewer misses. All we needed judge was the wind for the most part. Woodchucks are tough targets since usually you only get one shot. We consistently shot out to 300yds with ease. We had a few misses at 450yds but dam were they close. Even the 17HMR worked great making kills out to close to 200yds. The only thing that put a stop to the hunt was the oppressive heat we have been hit with lately.
This past weekend my range had a steel plate shoot for 22 long rifles. I mounted a 4-16x50 Monarch X mil dot scope for the shoot. All I did to prepare was use the software and pick my ammunition and distance I’ll be zeroed at. I used a Ruger 10/22 with a threaded Shilen barrel. This rifle is a tac driver to say the least. For ammunition I used both CCI Velicitor and Eley Club. The hits were solid out to 175yds but 200yds it was a little off. Using the software it said to hold on the 4th mil for a 200yd shot. It was off my about ½ mil. I bet if I was able to chronograph the rifle and adjust the velocity in the program it would have been dead on. Other shooters were impressed with the scope and how easy the software is to use.
In June Nikon held a Spot On shoot in which over 40 teams competed with almost every type of firearm. We shot pistol, long range rifle, carbine, rimfire, crossbow, black powder, and shot gun. Targets ranged out to 485yds. The shoot was setup to help familiarize people in the shooting industry with the Spot On system. There were too many events to go into full detail. My favorite was shooting an AR15 with the M223 1-4x20 scopes. Both shooters had to engage a metal spinner designed for much heavier rounds. Both shooters had to time their shots in order to get the target to do one complete revolution. I have to say the rifles and scope took a beating over the two days and kept running smooth. In the end the winning team ran though the course at an insane speed. I have a link of this part of the shoot.
Out of all the products Nikon has released I feel the one that will excel is the Bolt X 3x32 crossbow scope. Once a bow is sighted at 20yds the scope has a BDC reticle that has holdovers out to 60yds. It’s designed around a 304fps bolt speed. I myself have never fired a crossbow. This scope took all the guess work out of shooting. Seems that the crossbow market is really coming alive and this will be a huge seller for them.
Nikon was done an excellent job tailoring their scopes to each shooting discipline. The days of plain duplex reticles or dots of scopes that have almost no meaning has come to an end. Having the software to work in conjunction with the scopes is key to Nikons success. With the quality of their scopes and the excellent staff behind them you can’t go wrong with their products. Anybody who has any questions Bart Hege does all of Nikons online work. He is one of the Pro Staffers and is very knowledgeable on all the products. Id also like to thank the following people involved in organizing this event: Brandon May from Bruce J. Odle, Jon B. LaCorte from Nikon Senior Marketing VP, Greg Chevalier President of Chevalier Advertising
http://youtu.be/K0YKecj1Ey4
http://youtu.be/I4JD6DL-19U
Over the past year I’ve had the opportunity to do two shoots with Nikon. During that time I’ve done extensive testing of their scopes and Spot On software. As a result I’ve grown to love the BDC and Mil Dot reticles so much I sold several scopes that don’t have them. Using the software combined with the reticle makes shooting much more precise for an average shooter. Having been able to demo the Spot On system to several shooters and seen the results first hand I can see how this will really take off. Nikon has done their homework and it shows. The Nikon staff is filled with real shooters and hunters unlike others in the sports optics field.
I’m not going to bore you with box chart tests and optic terminology. I’ve gone hunting, steel plate shooting, and a few matches with their scopes. We all know Nikon produces great glass so there’s need to go there. I’ve been using Nikon’s for a long time and my only regret is that they can’t retrofit the old scopes with a new reticle. Never have I had one fail during use.
Having been so impressed with the whole system, over the winter I sold several scopes that don’t have the BDC system. I’m slowly switching my hunting and varmint rifles over to the new crosshairs. With the combination of the software and the BDC reticle shots are much easier. No more fooling around with clicking up or guessing where to hold over. Just this month my buddy and I shot a few woodchucks in upstate NY. Once we ranged targets, shots are much quicker and fewer misses. All we needed judge was the wind for the most part. Woodchucks are tough targets since usually you only get one shot. We consistently shot out to 300yds with ease. We had a few misses at 450yds but dam were they close. Even the 17HMR worked great making kills out to close to 200yds. The only thing that put a stop to the hunt was the oppressive heat we have been hit with lately.
This past weekend my range had a steel plate shoot for 22 long rifles. I mounted a 4-16x50 Monarch X mil dot scope for the shoot. All I did to prepare was use the software and pick my ammunition and distance I’ll be zeroed at. I used a Ruger 10/22 with a threaded Shilen barrel. This rifle is a tac driver to say the least. For ammunition I used both CCI Velicitor and Eley Club. The hits were solid out to 175yds but 200yds it was a little off. Using the software it said to hold on the 4th mil for a 200yd shot. It was off my about ½ mil. I bet if I was able to chronograph the rifle and adjust the velocity in the program it would have been dead on. Other shooters were impressed with the scope and how easy the software is to use.
In June Nikon held a Spot On shoot in which over 40 teams competed with almost every type of firearm. We shot pistol, long range rifle, carbine, rimfire, crossbow, black powder, and shot gun. Targets ranged out to 485yds. The shoot was setup to help familiarize people in the shooting industry with the Spot On system. There were too many events to go into full detail. My favorite was shooting an AR15 with the M223 1-4x20 scopes. Both shooters had to engage a metal spinner designed for much heavier rounds. Both shooters had to time their shots in order to get the target to do one complete revolution. I have to say the rifles and scope took a beating over the two days and kept running smooth. In the end the winning team ran though the course at an insane speed. I have a link of this part of the shoot.
Out of all the products Nikon has released I feel the one that will excel is the Bolt X 3x32 crossbow scope. Once a bow is sighted at 20yds the scope has a BDC reticle that has holdovers out to 60yds. It’s designed around a 304fps bolt speed. I myself have never fired a crossbow. This scope took all the guess work out of shooting. Seems that the crossbow market is really coming alive and this will be a huge seller for them.
Nikon was done an excellent job tailoring their scopes to each shooting discipline. The days of plain duplex reticles or dots of scopes that have almost no meaning has come to an end. Having the software to work in conjunction with the scopes is key to Nikons success. With the quality of their scopes and the excellent staff behind them you can’t go wrong with their products. Anybody who has any questions Bart Hege does all of Nikons online work. He is one of the Pro Staffers and is very knowledgeable on all the products. Id also like to thank the following people involved in organizing this event: Brandon May from Bruce J. Odle, Jon B. LaCorte from Nikon Senior Marketing VP, Greg Chevalier President of Chevalier Advertising
http://youtu.be/K0YKecj1Ey4
http://youtu.be/I4JD6DL-19U
