Nightforce SHV F1 Review

[Hondo64d]

Just received my Nightforce SHV F1. Solid, heavy scope. It literally feels like you could use it as a club without harming it. Haven't done a tracking test yet but other first impressions are good. The most positive clicks of any scope I've ever had. NO movement between clicks. Nada, zero, zilch... The five Mils/Rev doesn't bother me. I was worried about the MIL-R reticle not being visible enough, but at least in full daylight, it's not an issue, even against a dark tree line. On 4x, the tick marks are visible, but not visible enough to make precise .1 mil holds. Holding to .5 mils would still be easy. On 14x, no issue. You can hold as fine as you want to. The parallax adjustment is nice, with parallax free and the sharpest possible image being coincident, which is not the case with many scopes. Just the right amount of resistance in the adjustment too. The illumination is NOT daylight visible. The LRHS and LRTS are better at this. Like the LRHS/LRTS, there is an off position between every setting, a good thing. I do wish the entire reticle was illuminated instead of just the center cross. Time will tell if it's really the detriment I imagine it could be. I dig the capped windage. Though the windage adjustment feels different than the elevation, it is still very tactile, moreso than the windage on the LRHS. Mine only has 22 mils of elevation travel vs the 26.4 in the Nightforce specs. Enough for what I do but far less than a SS. Glass seems very good, better than my 10x SS. The whole package seems very LRHSish. I'll get it on the tracking board with the scope tester either today or tomorrow.

John.

 

[Mike 338]

Wow, I didn't know they had it in mils. I just quit looking at Nightforce scopes because they more or less avoided mils. You mentioned the glass compared to the 10x SS. Is that the regular or HD model SS?

Nice write up.

 

[Hondo64d]

Wow, I didn't know they had it in mils. I just quit looking at Nightforce scopes because they more or less avoided mils. You mentioned the glass compared to the 10x SS. Is that the regular or HD model SS?

Nice write up.

http://www.nightforceoptics.com/shv/4-14x50-f1

I currently have the side focus 10x SS which has the regular glass. The SHV F1 is definitely a big step up glass wise. I had a SS 10x HD that is currently on loan to my brother. From what I remember of that scope, I would put the SHV F1 slightly above it in image quality. In fact, I'd say the SHV F1 is righ there with the Bushnell LRHS and LRTS.

John

 

[Hondo64d]

Ok, I put the SHV F1 on my scope tester and ran it up and down the tracking board a bunch. Bottom line is at 10 mils, it moves 10.1 mils, a 1% error. It tracks perfectly vertical with no horizontal shift during elevation adjustments. Return to zero is perfect throughout the full range of travel. Put it on my rifle and zeroed it. It has 18.3 mils of elevation remaining after zero with a 20 MOA rail. The zero set feature is super easy to use and effective. Mine alligns perfectly allowing no movement below zero. I have read from several users that it will allow you to go .2 to .3 mils below zero. Mine does not, but in any case, it works well. The glass is a big step up over the 10x SS and somewhat better than the 10x HD. I'd put image quality right there with the LRHS and LRTS, which is a pretty darn good place to be.

As a comparison, I also put my 10x side focus SS on the scope checker and it is .3 mils off at 10 mils, a 3% error. Return to zero was perfect throughout the range of travel. It tracks perfectly vertical with no horizontal shift during elevation adjustments. The clicks are not as firm or positive as the NF, allowing a little movement between clicks. The reticle appears to be a little finer than the NF making it a little more difficult to see against a dark background. The SS side focus has little resistance to movement, too little really.

Both scopes are well worth the $. Is the SHV F1 $800 better than the 10x side focus SS? let's just say, I'll likely keep both with the SS being my spare.

John

 

[Mike 338]

Yeah baby (Mike Meyers)! That's a nice review. You sound a bit like me where I find the SWFA SS line of scopes, both regular and HD, to be the everyman's precision/tactical rifle scope by which I judge others by.

Some time you'll have to show us how you made you scope tester. I see those on YouTube and they look a heck of a lot easier and more accurate that banging away at targets.

I have a SWFA SS 3x15 that I did a tall target test on. Tracking was well under 1% but when I leg it out to 500 meters +, I shoot high. Something's squirrely on my ballistic solution or chronograph or something.

Anyway... love this review.

 

[Hondo64d]

Yeah baby (Mike Meyers)! That's a nice review. You sound a bit like me where I find the SWFA SS line of scopes, both regular and HD, to be the everyman's precision/tactical rifle scope by which I judge others by.

Some time you'll have to show us how you made you scope tester. I see those on YouTube and they look a heck of a lot easier and more accurate that banging away at targets.

I have a SWFA SS 3x15 that I did a tall target test on. Tracking was well under 1% but when I leg it out to 500 meters +, I shoot high. Something's squirrely on my ballistic solution or chronograph or something.

Anyway... love this review.

Oh don't be mistaken, it will get shot plenty. But if it won't track while in the scope tester it ain't gonna get any better under recoil. All my scopes will get checked on the tracking board before they ever get shot.

Here's the scope tester I'm using.

John

 

[Hondo64d]

Took my x47 with SHV F1 out with me when checking on the cows yesterday evening. The illuminated center cross works well with plenty of brightness settings to choose from. No problem with excessive brightness obscuring the target. Even on 4x, the center cross is visible as long as you adjust the brightness correctly. At 4x it appears like a small red dot. Watched a doe through the scope at well past legal shooting light and had no problems seeing her clearly and could have easily made the shot. I do wish the entire reticle was illuminated simply because it would allow me to use the reticle for wind holds as the light fades. The wind almost never stops blowing here...

John