Vudoo on the way! Scope questions

tansinator

Gunny Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
May 29, 2007
1,447
111
54
Signal Mountain, TN
I have a spare Nightforce 5.5-22x50 on the ready. I plan on shooting 10 to 300 yards, comps and fun. Is the Nightforce overkill? If I remember right, parallax only goes down to 50 yards or so. Is there a better option sub $500? or just stick with the Nightforce? I also have a Weaver T24 as well.

Not a fan of FFP, so SFP only

Thanks

Eddie
 
Last edited:
I have a NF 7-35 F1 ATACR for mine, when she arrives. Personally I think quality glass belongs atop the Vudoo or any other quality rifle.

The 5.5-22 will work fine at 25 yds at lower powers. You can try it out at home to see where that sweet spot is. Not sure if SFP will be better than FFP or not - it might be. That's one reason why I bought the 7-35 over the 5-25 as it goes down to 10m. The other reason being it is the same scope, reticle as my main rifle.
 
  • Like
Reactions: PRDRIVER
I’ve thought about sfp for .22 however have stuck with the ffp scopes to duplicate my centerfire rifles but you’re way better off with the NF than trying to find a good quality scope that tracks well for $500. Not likely to impress you in that range. More important than ffp or sfp is tracking. Going past 100 yards will require a scope with good turrets and if it don’t track you won’t be consistent.
 
  • Like
Reactions: SLG and sideburn
I’ve thought about sfp for .22 however have stuck with the ffp scopes to duplicate my centerfire rifles but you’re way better off with the NF than trying to find a good quality scope that tracks well for $500. Not likely to impress you in that range. More important than ffp or sfp is tracking. Going past 100 yards will require a scope with good turrets and if it don’t track you won’t be consistent.

Wise words. I generally set myself up to spend close to what I paid for the rifle on a scope. That said, I do think NF SHV for the SFP versions are hard to beat for 1k.
 
  • Like
Reactions: SLG and kansas
All the NXS scopes that I have owned were not able to correct parallax at 50 yards. If I remember correctly the closest I could correct was around 60 or so yards. You may want to think about it if your planning on shooting down to 25 yards...
 
Tested the Nightforce yesterday. Definitely not usable under 60 yards. Bummer. Search begins.

Yea, thought so. I tried my 5-25 ATACR on my main rifle and I couldn’t get focus at 25 unless I was down at 5x and even then a little blurry. However the 7-35 is awesome!

Take a look at the NF SHV line if you are a NF fan.
 
A lot of people use Sightron SIII 10-50x60 it parallax down to 13 Yards. I had the 8-32x56 and sold it to get the 10-50 because I couldn’t get anything in focus below 40 yards. I haven’t had a chance to mount it yet but hope to next week.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MarkCZ
On your nxs, did you adjust your diopter? I remember shooting mine for a while before I realized I needed to do it. It’s almost as if nightforce discourages adjusting the diopter by the way they designed it
 
Just mentioning this, a friend took a scope cap and drilled a hole about 1/2" in the center of it. So when the cap is closed, looking through the scope at 25Y, the image is slightly darker but the focus at 25Y is a tad more clear. His scope isn't a NF, it's a Kahles with 50Y minimum parallax. Worth a try.
 
I wonder if the guy that makes the indoor optical training aid (IOTA) can make lenses for the scopes to bring parallax down to the 25 yards. It should just be a different grind for it. I have a Burris XTR2 that I am going to use until I can get an AMG.
 
Sorry FFP and parallax to 10 meters/yards
Slim reticle dimensions as well.

R
I have not found a FFP with slim dimensions on highest power, that is why I like SFP. I can read mirage pretty well with my Nightforce at higher powers. I agree on the parallax. I have a Midas Athlon on the way. Parallax down to 30 yards. I am hoping on lower power at 15-20 yards it will be ok. I will not be shooting this close much.
 
I agree. The FFP is nice for dealing with the varying distances and rapid adjustment necessary with PRS style matches with rimfire where you may run out of up elevation adjustment out past 300y and need to hold over with the recticle at a variety of magnification settings. SFP is usually more precise at high magnification and will aid your ability to shoot very tight groups. As someone said, good turrets is more important. A recticle that you understand and can use without too much thought helps also. For PRS style matches I would skip the 10-50x options. That is more power than you need. They are great for benchrest where a fraction of a millimeter is important but where all you need to do is hit the 6" plate at 300y, you will not need it. Plus the hi-mag scopes make rapid tgt acquisition on multi-tgt stages more difficult. A 6-24x or similar with good glass, great turrets and a decent recticle is all you need. Mil-Mil or MOA-MOA is easier to use but you can still use MOA turrets with a Mil recticle. It just takes more brain cells to operate.

Irish
 
I got my Sightron SIII 10-50x60 mounted I used a Area 419 15 MOA Base and Vortex medium precision rings and just enough clearance. I was able to focus down to 10yards today with it but only got to shoot out to 100 yards.

I really like this Sightron ??

B505A297-075A-4B0D-ABCC-853FBCBB2B37.jpeg25 Yards40335C9A-4984-44EE-A083-1A9622C6F99C.jpeg100 yards69C506A6-0A92-42E9-BCEC-C0C388616E03.jpeg50 yards
6E9D0E5F-1EC4-47A3-BBBF-723BF9602DE5.jpeg
 
Went with Athlon Cronos 4-27, has 32 MILS total elevation movement so 16 MILS from center up or down. Have 20 MOA base on rifle = 6.7 MILS , so 22.7 useable Mils should be good for around 450 yds @ 1100 FPS at muzzle, theoretically. That's good as most of the local matches dont go over 200 yds.

 
  • Like
Reactions: EscapeVelocity
I have a Sightron S3 8 x 32, on a Kidd Supergrade, that will go down to 40 yds, and can see 25yds on 8 power. I also have a SWFA SS 20X on a CZ455. https://swfa.com/swfa-ss-20x42-tactical-30mm-riflescope-6.html It goes down to 10 yds and have 110 moa total adjustment. They have MOA or MIL. scopes, in 10, 12, 16, and 20x power. This scope is 50 BMG rated. IT has a great rep tracking., All for $300.00 see reviews on the 10x scope
Mark
 
I'm running an SHV 4-14 F1 on my CZ 452. Area 419 base allows me plenty of elevation. The scope is parallax free at 25 yards, no problem, and the reticle is fine enough on 14X to be usable on the smallest targets I have. I have not tried matchsticks or lollipops yet, but on 3/8" diameter steel plate rack, no issue. I am considering moving to a 5-20 SHV, SFP, which also goes down to 25 yards, but not because of any problems with my F1.

The new Trijicon 5-50 looks promising for 22LR stuff as well, though not below $500.
 
@tansinator

How has the scope worked out?

How is the clarity and reticle?

I am considering one from Doug (CamerlandNY) or the new PA 3-18 FFP scope.

the Athlon is 100 bucks cheaper but it is 4.5-27 SFP and had only a MIL reticle - PA has FFP 3-18 and some better (more to my liking ) reticles.

Realistically probably will end up with the 4.5-27 just for extra top end power for the rimfire.
 
@tansinator

How has the scope worked out?

How is the clarity and reticle?

I am considering one from Doug (CamerlandNY) or the new PA 3-18 FFP scope.

the Athlon is 100 bucks cheaper but it is 4.5-27 SF

I really like it for the price point. Glass is ok, most of my glass is higher end(Nightforce, Leupold, Zeiss) and it is not on par with those. But, I believe it will serve its purpose well. Turrets have been spot on when dialing. Haven't used the reticle the way your supposed to but I plan to check it to see if it coincides with dialing at a later date.
 
I really like it for the price point. Glass is ok, most of my glass is higher end(Nightforce, Leupold, Zeiss) and it is not on par with those. But, I believe it will serve its purpose well. Turrets have been spot on when dialing. Haven't used the reticle the way your supposed to but I plan to check it to see if it coincides with dialing at a later date.

Thanks for the fast response!

Just a few more questions :)

What would you compare the glass to (i.e. midrange vortex or burris)?

How about eye relief and eye box sensitivity?

Going to have my kids shooting it hopefully a bunch so a decent eyebox is helpful.
 
@tansinator
I am considering one from Doug (CamerlandNY) or the new PA 3-18 FFP scope.

the Athlon is 100 bucks cheaper but it is 4.5-27 SFP and had only a MIL reticle - PA has FFP 3-18 and some better (more to my liking ) reticles.

Realistically probably will end up with the 4.5-27 just for extra top end power for the rimfire.

They also have the recently released Athlon Midas TAC, 6-24x FFP 10 MIL/turn side focus and ZS. That is probably my next .22 scope. I got my Cronos from Doug as well, great service and a great price.
 
Thanks for the fast response!

Just a few more questions :)

What would you compare the glass to (i.e. midrange vortex or burris)?

How about eye relief and eye box sensitivity?

Going to have my kids shooting it hopefully a bunch so a decent eyebox is helpful.

I don't own any Vortex or Burris, I would compare it to lower end scopes though. At 27 power at 50 yards it is not very good, at 15 power at 50 yards it looks good. At 100 yards it all looks good. Relief is good. Eyebox sensitivity is ok until you get to higher powers. I hope I answered your questions.