Rifle Scopes Review of Nightforce 7-35x56 ATACR

[Covertnoob5]

Not my review, but makes some bold claims.
I personally feel that the 7-35 is an amazing scope.


https://www.gunsamerica.com/blog/best-rifle-scope-ever-built-nightforce-atacr-7-35x/

https://youtu.be/mUx7YgJP8KY


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[CSTactical]

I'm going to check those reviews out since there are many customers that we have that do absolutely love that scope overall and have switched from other high end scopes (Like S&B PMII's) to them for competition with fantastic results.

 

[Anchor Zero Six]

Had one for a few weeks before selling it. I sold it simply due to the higher magnification not playing well in SoCal heat (mirage). Optics were fantastic, I liked the clicks and the layout of the ATACR as this was my first.

I can see a 25x ATACR in my future but back to the topic the 35x is great scope for those who can benefit from 35x

 

[Covertnoob5]

Had one for a few weeks before selling it. I sold it simply due to the higher magnification not playing well in SoCal heat (mirage). Optics were fantastic, I liked the clicks and the layout of the ATACR as this was my first.

I can see a 25x ATACR in my future but back to the topic the 35x is great scope for those who can benefit from 35x

I didn't find it too bad down here. Could be a lot worse. I only use the higher power for spotting, but it's nice to have it. Especially because the 5-25 tunnels from 5-7x anyway.

I shoot at Angeles, not sure if you're familiar with that range.


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[Anchor Zero Six]

Nope not yet been meaning to make a trip that way. I'm in Corona.

Didn't know that about the 5-25 that's a bummer.

Yes spotting was my thought as well and to be fair my spotter had same mirage found sweet spot around 18-20x to be optimal in those conditions.

 

[CSTactical]

Some of our sponsored guys use 35x to win on the Cold Bore shot if the conditions allow

 

[Covertnoob5]

Nope not yet been meaning to make a trip that way. I'm in Corona.

Didn't know that about the 5-25 that's a bummer.

Yes spotting was my thought as well and to be fair my spotter had same mirage found sweet spot around 18-20x to be optimal in those conditions.

Yea it's not a bad range. Only out 600, but it's the closest to me.

The 5-25 NF and the 5-25 S&B both tunnel from 5-7x so that why I went with the 7-35. Don't lose anything on the bottom and gain 10x on the top.

Where do you shoot in corona?


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[Anchor Zero Six]

Washington State, Nevada, Arizona..anywhere but here!

Been hitting the range at Rahauge's (spelling?) but its only 100 yds, and Lytle Creek. Now that things are cooling down I hope to meet up with some local hide folks and get out to the high desert.

I know there are some decent ranges but joining seems to always involve a 2+ year waiting list.

My strategy is to start competing so at least I can shoot at the private ranges for the matches, well worth the entry fee to me.

 

[Trigger Monkey]

Full disclosure...I write for GA Digest. It's entirely possible Clay didn't come up with the title for the article and video, sometimes the titles are added or changed at the last minute to grab your attention.

 

[TheOE800]

I await Orkan telling us this scope is a coke bottle compared to Tangent Theta.

 

[stwcattle]

I have really been wanting to try this scope since its introduction in the TreMor 3 retical that i like, but have heard of people not liking it because 35x unusable most of the time. Seems like one could set it on 25 if one wanted.

Can someone tell me if a TreMor 3 retical on 25x in the 7~35 is smaller than the reticle size on 25x in the 5~25. If they are the same size, whats can be the disadvantage?

 

[Covertnoob5]

I have really been wanting to try this scope since its introduction in the TreMor 3 retical that i like, but have heard of people not liking it because 35x unusable most of the time. Seems like one could set it on 25 if one wanted.

Can someone tell me if a TreMor 3 retical on 25x in the 7~35 is smaller than the reticle size on 25x in the 5~25. If they are the same size, whats can be the disadvantage?

It's not that you'll be doing a lot of shooting on 35x it's that you have it if you need it. 35x as an observation tool is great. As pointed out in another thread, sometimes in a match, a steel plate will be held by a leather strap and the paint has been damn near shot off. With both being black or dark colored it can be hard to tell what's what. With 35x you can see where the steel is and where the leather stops.


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[Clearlight]

^^ This . A buddy lost a comp recently due to not being able
to see a washed out late afternoon target , with 15x max .

Scaling the reticle is a difficult issue in high mag FFP scopes :
if it's usable on minimum it's often chubby on full mag , ok on
full mag it's near invisible on minimum . Tremor reticles are no
exception ; I'm interested to see how the scaling issue is dealt
with here , and especially in the new 5-45 Schmidt . Still waiting
on the new Schmidt Mil reticle ...

The 35x ATACR is still thin on the ground here in Aus , I'm sure
I'll get a chance to run one eventually , but in the meantime I'm
very happy using my 5-40 FX March : very usable from around
8x to 40 x .

 

[ICU22250]

I await Orkan telling us this scope is a coke bottle compared to Tangent Theta.

It is a coke bottle compared to the TT.... Nah, just kidding I like NF, but I like TT also...

 

[CSTactical]

It is a coke bottle compared to the TT.... Nah, just kidding I like NF, but I like TT also...

Trust me, you wouldn't have thought that way of the 7-35

 

[Hostile_SS]

Helpful! still on fence on which to get. . the 5x25 or 7 x 35.. this helps.. a little.

 

[Covertnoob5]

Helpful! still on fence on which to get. . the 5x25 or 7 x 35.. this helps.. a little.

Honestly I don't see a reason for the 5-25 unless you really want the mil-c or h59 or need to save some money. The 5-25 tunnels from 5-7x so it's a 7-25 for all practical purposes. So really it's 7-25 vs 7-35


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[KWilson]

^^ This . A buddy lost a comp recently due to not being able
to see a washed out late afternoon target , with 15x max .

Scaling the reticle is a difficult issue in high mag FFP scopes :
if it's usable on minimum it's often chubby on full mag , ok on
full mag it's near invisible on minimum . Tremor reticles are no
exception ; I'm interested to see how the scaling issue is dealt
with here , and especially in the new 5-45 Schmidt . Still waiting
on the new Schmidt Mil reticle ...

The 35x ATACR is still thin on the ground here in Aus , I'm sure
I'll get a chance to run one eventually , but in the meantime I'm
very happy using my 5-40 FX March : very usable from around
8x to 40 x .

I've got a mate who just dropped the hammer on one to use in the Australian PRS stuff in NSW. Not sure whether he has received it yet but I'll be back in Sydney in a couple of weeks so I'm hoping he has it mounted up by then as I'm keen to take a peek through it.

 

[Hostile_SS]

Honestly I don't see a reason for the 5-25 unless you really want the mil-c or h59 or need to save some money. The 5-25 tunnels from 5-7x so it's a 7-25 for all practical purposes. So really it's 7-25 vs 7-35


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yea thats what i read also..

as to saving money.. think i passed that overpass a few hours ago.

 

[ICU22250]

Trust me, you wouldn't have thought that way of the 7-35

All in good fun Richard, I'm sure it's an excellent scope, But so is the TT... I actually really like NF scopes...

 

[Triple D]

Honestly I don't see a reason for the 5-25 unless you really want the mil-c or h59 or need to save some money. The 5-25 tunnels from 5-7x so it's a 7-25 for all practical purposes. So really it's 7-25 vs 7-35


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After using my dad's 7-35 w/ Mil-R, I decided on the 5-25. The Mil-C was the reason that I went with the 5-25. Once it's offered in the 7-35, I'll likely be making the switch unless Vortex is offering a 6-36 Razor Gen 2 (wishful thinking). For someone who wants to shoot multiple disciplines (PRS/BR/F-class), the 7-35 is a great compromise.

 

[CSTactical]

All in good fun Richard, I'm sure it's an excellent scope, But so is the TT... I actually really like NF scopes...

You should try one next time

 

[jsimonh]

I've seen the "reticle thickness" come up several times talking about these high powered scopes. What I don't understand is in a FFP scope it shouldn't matter? If my reticle thickness is .03 its going to cover .03 of the target no matter what power I'm on. SFP I can see it mattering more, but not in FFP. I just don't get the concern, maybe someone can explain it to me. I currently shoot a SB w/H2CMR and would love to give the 7-35 a try whenever the Mil-C becomes available.

 

[Kruger21]

Isn't the Mil-C dot .05

 

[hk dave]

The reticle on the 7-35 is not too thick. I think it's similar to a p4f which is awesome. Not sure what folks are complaining about. As if anyone can actually shoot well enough to matter.

whats funny is one of the most loved reticles right now is the mr4, and if I'm not mistaken it's even thicker.

On another note, Ive been spending some time shooting with my 7-35 side by side with my TT 5-25 and the nf had me super impressed.

The NF is phenomenal optically. I absolutely love it!

 

[CSTactical]

What theT3 reticle looks like at 35x inside taken with an Iphone.

 

[WaltHer]

I've seen the "reticle thickness" come up several times talking about these high powered scopes. What I don't understand is in a FFP scope it shouldn't matter? If my reticle thickness is .03 its going to cover .03 of the target no matter what power I'm on. SFP I can see it mattering more, but not in FFP. I just don't get the concern, maybe someone can explain it to me. I currently shoot a SB w/H2CMR and would love to give the 7-35 a try whenever the Mil-C becomes available.

I've made the observation in other posts that the extra 10x in mag is not the (sole) reason to buy this scope. It's optical quality is a noticeable improvement over the 5-25. This scope is flat out excellent. That being said I have also observed IMHO that the reticle is heavy- 2x as thick- as the SFP 5-25 ATACR MOAR-T reticle that I run on my .375CT which is used exclusively for known distance ELR shooting. Certainly this is an apples to oranges comparison of two different scopes with different strengths, but given the frequent emphasis on the 7-35's magnification often in lieu of its optical qualities, I'm compelled to reiterate this point.

---

 

[goosendmax]

Hey CSTactical,
Any chance of getting a picture of the Nightforce MOAR reticle in the 7-35 at 7x, 20x, and 35x? Or anybody that has this scope can take these pictures? I don't live by a store that carries this scope and would like to at least see a picture of what it looks like before I buy one. Thanks.

 

[Covertnoob5]

Hey CSTactical,
Any chance of getting a picture of the Nightforce MOAR reticle in the 7-35 at 7x, 20x, and 35x? Or anybody that has this scope can take these pictures? I don't live by a store that carries this scope and would like to at least see a picture of what it looks like before I buy one. Thanks.

Here you go

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[Hostile_SS]

So glad someone pointed me to this forum. The pics of what the targets look at various min/max is sooooo helpful!

still doing research but also found that some vendors/mfgs offer Military discounts. Also picked that leupold is good but I can do better.

just put in for us optics.

quick question, is there a post that shows various tier 1 etc of mfgs ?

I never heard of Steiner before...

lol. Thanks again. Great community here, and learning more and more!!!

 

[Covertnoob5]

So glad someone pointed me to this forum. The pics of what the targets look at various min/max is sooooo helpful!

still doing research but also found that some vendors/mfgs offer Military discounts. Also picked that leupold is good but I can do better.

just put in for us optics.

quick question, is there a post that shows various tier 1 etc of mfgs ?

I never heard of Steiner before...

lol. Thanks again. Great community here, and learning more and more!!!

I don't think there's a definitive "list" of tier 1 optics, but for the most part you'll find people recommend:

Schmidt Bender
Nightforce
Tangent Theta
Vortex (AMG & razor 2)
Khales
Us optics
Steiner
Hendsolt
Minox

I may have forgotten a couple. Swaro and Zeiss are excellent, but those are more hunting scopes than tactical scopes.


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[Milo 2.5]

The F1 Atacr funnels 1/3 less than the 2nd ffp, who really shoots on 5 power anyway?

 

[delfuego]

The F1 Atacr funnels 1/3 less than the 2nd ffp, who really shoots on 5 power anyway?

Stop bringing logic into this Mr Milo. Everybody know that funneling causes you to miss targets (and low sperm count). I would stay far away from any scope that funnels.

 

[CSTactical]

Hey CSTactical,
Any chance of getting a picture of the Nightforce MOAR reticle in the 7-35 at 7x, 20x, and 35x? Or anybody that has this scope can take these pictures? I don't live by a store that carries this scope and would like to at least see a picture of what it looks like before I buy one. Thanks.

Glad someone was able to help you out above Give us a call if you had anymore questions on them at 916.670.1103

 

[BLKWLFK9]

i thoroughly enjoy my 5-25 F1 T3 so i know i would love the 7-35. One day maybe.

 

[CSTactical]

i thoroughly enjoy my 5-25 F1 T3 so i know i would love the 7-35. One day maybe.

Let us know and we can get you one

 

[devldogs55]

Got to put my hands on a 7-35 today at the range.. someone let me try theirs out. It's really nice, very crisp as expected. Still has a tiny bit of tunneling on low power though. Definitely less than the 5-25 which I own.

 

[PTPATAW]

All I want to know is can I use the 7-35x T3 reticle at 12x on 12" moving targets at 300yds. Is the reticle large enough to see the holds.

 

[Nik H]

I spent a couple of hours behind one yesterday. My bud has a custom 260 with this scope. He is an MOA guy so it had the MOAR? reticle. I had a lot of time to compare it to my S&B 5-25 PMII. I was very impressed.

1. Glass or image quality was really nice. The NF had, IMHO, a higher contrast image. Detail seemed to "jump" out better than the Schmidt.
2. Eye relief was generous.
3. The turret feel and ergonomics were slightly better than the DT turret on my PMII. The knurling is a very nice feature and the movement was very crisp.
4. The ZS procedure is more complicated but still relatively easy. The one thing I don't know is whether the NF ZS allows a few tenths of MIL adjustment under zero. I find this very important and forgot to ask my bud.
5. Lack of a 2nd turn indicator...I know it isn't that important but it is nice to have when under pressure. I don't know why NF didn't add that.

I am now thinking my of moving my S&B to my Larue tOBR 7.62 since it has a 20" barrel and buying the NF for my AI AT.

 

[Covertnoob5]

[*]The ZS procedure is more complicated but still relatively easy. The one thing I don't know is whether the NF ZS allows a few tenths of MIL adjustment under zero. I find this very important and forgot to ask my bud.
.

The nice thing about NF is that you can set it to as many mils below zero as you want. I have mine 1 full mil below zero. Some people have it set at zero, some at 0.5 mils, but you can put it wherever you want.



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[Nik H]

That sounds good. I didn't know that based on what I read in the owners manual but I think I know how to do it

 

[demonjigger]

Here you go

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Great pictures thank you for posting

 

[demonjigger]

can anyone tell me the size in mils of the floating dot on the T3 for the 7-35?

 

[Baer45]

I await Orkan telling us this scope is a coke bottle compared to Tangent Theta.

I have both and it is like comparing apples to oranges...

 

[PTPATAW]

10x, 15x, and 35x

 

[Baer45]

It is a coke bottle compared to the TT.... Nah, just kidding I like NF, but I like TT also...

I own both as well. I don’t think you can compare as each I tend to use for different reasons....both are top shelf

 

[Tony1320]

Could someone post pictures of the mil-c at different magnification?