Opinions on NightForce SHV Scopes

[mongo4567]

I have one 5-20, along with some other very good glass like Zeiss Victory, Swarovski, etc. I hunt a great deal and am mainly interested in clarity and very low light visibility. The Zeiss, Swarovski, and Leupold are what I love. I consider the SHV roughly equivalent to the Zeiss Conquest and below the quality of the better Leupold lines.

 

[javman]

For the money they are excellent scopes, great glass, track well etc. plus you can get some great deals on slightly used ones.

 

[Jcook02]

I have the 5-20 and I thoroughly enjoy it. No complaints on the glass or overall function. It was my first target style turret set-up and I couldn't have asked for a better scope to start with. I have HD5 on my 7 mag that I absolutely love as well. I will probably buy another SHV as I'm moving away from BDC's. Quality scope for a quality price, imo.

 

[crazyhorse]

I currently have 2 of the SHV's and they are IMO, the best value for the particular price range. I've carried both of them out to 1200yds on numerous occasions and they always track perfectly. I've used numerous other brands in the same price point and MY personal choice is the NF SHV.

There is a noticeable difference from the NXS and NX8 line, mainly in the Zero Set vs Zero Stop and optically the more expensive versions provide better clarity but theres also a parallel price increase for the added features.

 

[flyguy1]

I've never seen one in person. I see a lot of used NightForce scopes for sale. Usually, that is a warning to me that the brand doesn't live up to the hype. So I would like to know if you have owned one, do own one, or have looked through your buddies NightForce scope and what is your opinion. I'm getting a new rifle in .300 PRC or .300WSM and will need a new scope. I'm mostly interested in optical quality compared to Zeiss and Swarovski. I know NightForce has a solid reputation as far as their turret design and quality.

You know, especially during these financially troubled times, lots of high-priced items are unloaded and I wouldn't take that as a manifestation of poor quality. Lots of times too guys are just financing new toys. Having said that, no doubt Swaro and Zeiss optical quality is tough to beat. i have Swaro and Zeiss binos and Zeiss scopes and they are all superb.

 

[Tidus56]

One thing I will add in is that the SHV is a pretty heavy scope at 29 ounces. So if it's not ideal for lightweight applications. I don't what the ops application is but just keep weight in mind. If weight is important on the build swaro, March or higher end leupold might be worth a look.

 

[Threejs]

I have had a couple SHVs. The glass quality is good in my opinion. One thing about them is that they track perfect. Also, I like the moar reticle better than any other on the market. I have had cheaper Zeiss and leupolds and I think the glass is better overall. They track perfect. I really questioned my leupolds after running them out to 500 and back on a light 270.

 

[JustMe2]

If you're buying a new rifle and scope, take a look at the Revic PMR scopes. I've used my Revic on an AR-10 in .308Win and on my 6.5 Creedmore and have shot over 1000 rounds combined without a failure hunting and shooting steel out to 1000 yds. I've had it over a year so it is their latest version. I've dialed up and down numerous times and the scope has been spot on every shot. My buddy, 3 other guys on the range, and I were very impressed at how it adjusted for atmospherics as the day changed. My buddy was constantly typing in the latest temp and distances in his ballistic calculator and I was just turning my elevation dial to the HUD distance setting without needing to do any calculations. The scope kept track of the atmospheric changes, my incline and my tilt automatically, so all I had to do was dial the changing distances. The glass is as good as a NF and other high quality glass scopes and seems as rugged so far. I like simple while hunting, don't like carrying a bunch of gear to look up ballistics tables, etc., so I really like this scope.

 

[Weaselthis]

I've got 3. Love em! IMO, great value for my hunting rifles: .06', 280AI, 7-30WM. Been to 1400 w/ the 7-300Wm. 2 w/ lumination, 1 without.

 

[Tulsa Reiner]

I've never seen one in person. I see a lot of used NightForce scopes for sale. Usually, that is a warning to me that the brand doesn't live up to the hype. So I would like to know if you have owned one, do own one, or have looked through your buddies NightForce scope and what is your opinion. I'm getting a new rifle in .300 PRC or .300WSM and will need a new scope. I'm mostly interested in optical quality compared to Zeiss and Swarovski. I know NightForce has a solid reputation as far as their turret design and quality.

My stepson and I have used them for about 3 years and are very pleased with them.
For something more compact, look at the new NF NX8 (2.5-20x -- 50 mm, MOAR reticle) I just started shooting with my new one and like it better than the SHV. As I was sighting it in, it tracked perfectly with the adjustments I made. I haven't yet done a tall ladder test, but will be soon.

 

[Mrvmax]

I have one on my Sig 716 and it's my favorite scope. I got it from Grafs when they were discontinuing NF, I wish I would have grabbed 2.

 

[Another Casual]

I have an SHV and like it. As others have said, the glass on my VX-5HD is noticeably better and I prefer the exposed locking turret with zero stop for hunting.

My 4-14x56 SHV is on my target gun and at 27 ounces plus rings I don't think it would go on a hunting gun for me. I test fit it on my lightweight hunting rifle and it was top heavy. The 3-10 and 4-14x56 have no zero stop. I 3-d printed a washer that goes under the turret and acts as a zero stop by limiting downward travel. Otherwise I like it and the MOAR reticle is excellent. If you are frugal (like me) you can wait for a 10% off day at Cabela's, use discount giftcards, and a cashback site to chain up the discounts. I got mine for about $700 two years ago. Other than the lighter 3-15 VX-5HD (<20 oz) for hunting, I think it is the best scope in that price range.

 

[EricRF]

I have an SHV and like it. As others have said, the glass on my VX-5HD is noticeably better and I prefer the exposed locking turret with zero stop for hunting.

My 4-14x56 SHV is on my target gun and at 27 ounces plus rings I don't think it would go on a hunting gun for me. I test fit it on my lightweight hunting rifle and it was top heavy. The 3-10 and 4-14x56 have no zero stop. I 3-d printed a washer that goes under the turret and acts as a zero stop by limiting downward travel. Otherwise I like it and the MOAR reticle is excellent. If you are frugal (like me) you can wait for a 10% off day at Cabela's, use discount giftcards, and a cashback site to chain up the discounts. I got mine for about $700 two years ago. Other than the lighter 3-15 VX-5HD (<20 oz) for hunting, I think it is the best scope in that price range.

Careful on stacking Cabelas gift cards. I've been doing the same thing for years and got a Swaro ATX set at around 35% off, but with the new Cabelas site change they consolidated on the Bass Pro software. It has a hard limit of 5 gift cards per order and they will cancel any order that tries to consolidate gift cards into a bigger gift card. I'm sure there are tons of people that are going to find this out the hard way over the next couple months. You can use as many gift cards as you want online or in store, but then you lose the AJ discount. I sent in a contact us form through the website to ask about this a week ago and it has so far been promptly ignored.

 

[A/C Guy]

I ordered a Steiner PX4i 4-16x56 SCR from CameraLand; they are on closeout.

There was a review on Snipershide that directly compared it to the SHV and the next higher NF as well as other scopes. He felt that for under $2000 it was the best glass and the turrets were solid and repeatable.