Where is the infamous NIGHTFORCE NX8 tight eyebox?

[simone]

I'm running a mixed bag currently lol.
Tangent hunters on mid range rigs and mark 5hd 5-25 leupies with the gunwerks reticle and the new revic rs25i on my longer range set ups. I'm really loving the revic if the extra few ounces do not mess up the goals of the particular build.

10 power g7 and shv nightforce for light weight rigs for up to medium distance

So you are saying that ypu kept an SHV instead of an NX8? That's funny. It's also funny that you liked the NX8 enough to buy TWO of them and then you hated it so much to sell both and keep an SHV.
Forums are funny places

 

[simone]

Count me in the group who had issues with the 2.5-20. Liked the package, would happily settle for smaller zoom range. When the range started going over 6x, I was stoked for a do it all scope. But after an nx8 and march... I'm back buying 5x scopes.

Yes, 5x is the ideal magnification range in my opinion, also 3x is ok for me. Unfortunately there are no decent lightweight hunting scope in that category. SFP, Mil reticle, weight under 30 oz, adjustable parallax, illuminated, max zoom of at least 14x, 50mm bell pr more, decent brand. Aside for the crazy priced TT 3-15, i looked for it for 2 months before accepting i had to do compromises. That scope simply do not exists on the planet

 

[simone]

NX8 2.5-20x is junk. Glass isn't as nice as the 4-32x version. Impossible to see the F1 FFP reticle unless you crank the magnification to 8-10x so what's the use?

My F1 MIL-XT 4-32x is fantastic but not quite as nice as my Vortex Razor Gen 3 6-36x without the weight. I have 2 more brand new NX8s still backordered I bought on sale earlier December. I didn't notice tight eyebox.

I don't notice tight eyebox either in my new Arken EP5s either but they seem to definitely be using much better glass compared to the EP5s they sold before. Both if these new ones are clear all the way to their maximum magnification and chromatic aberration about tied with my Tract Toric ELR on high magnification.

You didn't notice tight eyebox because there is not tight eyebox. Simply there isn't. The SHV had a tight eyebox. Eyebox is not a subjective parameter like for example clarity or colors pf the image.The 4-32 hasn't any issue with eyebox, period. If you have issues getting behind this scope, you have to learn shooting from the bases, for real.

 

[simone]

An issue with "any" scope is that as the magnification range goes up the depth of field goes down. Not noticable at low magnification but as you zoom to the higher ranges the depth of field shrinks rapidly. It makes it dificult to focus the image and get the parallax right. Hence the headaches and frustration.

Maybe i shoot since i was so young that everything comes more naturally for me. Nothing was difficult to do with that scope, even without even mounting it. Everything was easy. No headache, no frustration. Sometimes you go to the range and see the goofy guy fighting to get a sight picture while trying to look through a scope. I thought that could happen only the first day of shooting, not to some people so passionate to be on a hunting forum and to spend thousands of dollars on scopes.
That said, I have a khales 2-10×50 (5x mag range) and getting behind it is more or less the same as getting behind to this NX8, and i didn't even mount it yet (things always get much better when mounting scopes)

 

[Shooter61]

I have used a number of scopes over my lifetime.
I used Nightforce for years as the glass quality was the best on the market.
I tried the NX8 and in my opinion there is no real problem with the eye box. It's as tight or loose as most scopes with compatible amounts of zoom.
Scopes are all about the quality of glass, and depth of field and then most other things are subjective. There is no perfect scope, there is always compromise.
Most importantly if you have faith in your equipment and you're comfortable behind the glass you will undoubtedly be more confident and therefore shoot better.
Me I am just an old guy who has gone from using Nightforce over to Vortex, I wouldn't say that there was much between the similar models. The main difference is that I feel slightly more comfortable behind the Vortex and therefore I may shoot slightly better.

 

[simone]

I have used a number of scopes over my lifetime.
I used Nightforce for years as the glass quality was the best on the market.
I tried the NX8 and in my opinion there is no real problem with the eye box. It's as tight or loose as most scopes with compatible amounts of zoom.
Scopes are all about the quality of glass, and depth of field and then most other things are subjective. There is no perfect scope, there is always compromise.
Most importantly if you have faith in your equipment and you're comfortable behind the glass you will undoubtedly be more confident and therefore shoot better.
Me I am just an old guy who has gone from using Nightforce over to Vortex, I wouldn't say that there was much between the similar models. The main difference is that I feel slightly more comfortable behind the Vortex and therefore I may shoot slightly better.

I agree, the only thing i want to point out is that the image quality is important but also the mechanical reliability is. If I had to choose i would prefer a more robusto and reliable scope with a worse glass than thr other way around. Fortunately there are great companies making scopes so we don't have to choose. My impression anyway is that people on forums often don't have a practical approach to gear and focus on non-issues, even basing their choice on them. Sure, if you compare a NX8 and a swarowsky, the second one will have better image quality with comparable models. But what about reticle choice, turret tracking, exposed turrets, parallax adjustability, ruggedness? It all
Depends on the kind of hunting you do. Do you shoot off a three stand with max 200 meters range? You don't need any of those features so you can focus on image quality and light transmission so you can shoot for 5 minutes more at dawn. Do you shoot past 250-300 meters? Are you gonna hunt in harsh conditions? The swarowski quickly become a worse chiice than a scope which costs 1/5 of the price but has a mil reticle and an exposed elevation turret. There is a guy making "long range hunting" videos on youtube, he is pretty famous. He uses a scope without exposed elevation and a german IV reticle. But it is a 4000 usd scope on a 10000 usd blaser r8 so he is cool. He is not cool, he choose very bad tools for his application. And don't let me talk about blaser rifles

 

[lancetkenyon]

I have a 2.5-20×50 on my 22GT. I got it for a steal at $1300.
For the price (and probably even up to retail), it is very good.
I have shot it a lot since August. No issues in eye box for me.

If you know me, I am a glass snob. This is the only NF I own, and I am happy with it.

 

[simone]

I have a 2.5-20×50 on my 22GT. I got it for a steal at $1300.
For the price (and probably even up to retail), it is very good.
I have shot is a lot since August. No issues in eye box for me.

If you know me, I am a glass snob. This is the only NF I own, and I am happy with it.

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Nice setup there. Is that ffp or sfp?

 

[7mm man]

I have the 4-32 FFP. I think the eye box is a little tight but I have yet to have an issue in the field. I practice a lot and have my rifle set perfectly. I put mine in low talley rings. It sits like a 1/16" off the the barrel so jumping behind the glass is very natural, so problem averted. How many of the guys complaining had them on high rings sitting on a 20 moa rail? I might die on this hill alone but big game hunting rigs should have talley rings not Pic rails to get the scope down low to the bore. I can see rails for varmint or predator set ups, not big game. Nightforce is quality glass, with durable construction.

 

[lancetkenyon]

F

Nice setup there. Is that ffp or sfp?

FFP.

 

[jessej]

Why going with a FFP? Especially if you are dialing elevation, the only upside is that you can hold wind at any magnification using the subtensions but in my opinion the cons are much more than the pros

I've been asking this ever since FFP became so popular

 

[lancetkenyon]

I have the 4-32 FFP. I think the eye box is a little tight but I have yet to have an issue in the field. I practice a lot and have my rifle set perfectly. I put mine in low talley rings. It sits like a 1/16" off the the barrel so jumping behind the glass is very natural, so problem averted. How many of the guys complaining had them on high rings sitting on a 20 moa rail? I might die on this hill alone but big game hunting rigs should have talley rings not Pic rails to get the scope down low to the bore. I can see rails for varmint or predator set ups, not big game. Nightforce is quality glass, with durable construction.

Not low enough? How much lower should I try to get these? You know, for my big game hunting rigs.

 

[ZReed85]

So you are saying that ypu kept an SHV instead of an NX8? That's funny. It's also funny that you liked the NX8 enough to buy TWO of them and then you hated it so much to sell both and keep an SHV.
Forums are funny places

Yes, I kept the shv because the field of view and eye box both are significantly better for the ranges and hunting style intended for the rifle. I bought both the nx8 at the same time when they came out and they simply let me down. NX6 would have been a much better choice for nightforce, we'd all have them on everything we own.

Also forums are funny places, you talk about head placement and fundamentals on a scope that you've never even mounted yet according to original post. You've had several seasoned shooters on this thread and there are literally dozens of threads on multiple forums about nx8 eyebox and parallax issues.

For some reason you seem offended by those opinions on an optic that you honestly have not used enough to develop any sort of opinion about. You've put zero rounds down range with it and it's not even mounted yet.

I'm glad you like your optic and I hope it serves you well, but find it interesting you asked for input about the nx8 then were offended when people who have actually used the optic had different opinions then yours.

I've never said the nx8 are unusable, both models felt tight so I opted not to use them. Lots of great options out there so I chose to pursue other avenues.

 

[7mm man]

Not low enough? How much lower should I try to get these? You know, for my big game hunting rigs.
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Hey that works. Nice rigs and kills.