10-50X60 Illuminated Mil Dot - REVIEW

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Credit: https://view.ceros.com/property-paper/c ... ue-4-m/p/8

"I remember just a short few years ago where the Field Target circuit was dominated by the presence of the ‘Big Nikko’ scope. Used by beginners to top AA grade shooters, many whom were dominant at international level, it was the entry level scope that did it all, in a target sport that demands the utmost performance.

Field Target, unlike most others target sports requires the user to constantly shift and alter the focus mechanism alongside the elevation turret. Each and every target requires the side focus and top turret to be shifted; pretty demanding in stuff for a scope’s internal mechanisms and something that tests the materials and construction to the highest level. A scope used for FT must consistently focus on target easily in a repeatable manner. The turrets must also track precisely and reliably every single time, they must also hold zero and return to zero after being adjusted. What the ‘Big Nikko’ had over its competitors was the fact it was so easy to use, its ability to consistently focus on targets out to 55yrds i.e. ‘rangefinding’ was consistent and repeatable and varying climatic changes, specifically temperature, had little to no effect on its performance.

Sadly though, a rogue batch of the then newer MK3 model slipped through quality control and it had a dramatic and devastating effect on both performance and sales. The latest scopes have all been overhauled and a more stringent quality control process has been put in place in the Japanese factory where they are made.

OPTICS

Lens coatings have been optimised and I was really impressed by the quality of the image through the scope, even on x50 mag the scope didn’t struggle. The image was crisp and clear right out to the edge and in my opinion this new model has the brightest optics of any of the previous models.

I have compared it to both a Mk 1 model and Mk 3 model and the image is better. On high magnification it struggled slightly with white coloured targets, there was a little bit of blurring around the edges and the white did have a bit of a yellowish tint to it but perhaps I am spoiled with using my March costing well over 3 times the price, mainly because of it’s expensive ED lenses. However when comparing the optics against all other colours, white was the only one that was noticeably inferior. A lot of scopes struggle with white targets especially in bright conditions and it wasn’t something that bothered me.

TURRETS

The 1/8 MOA target turrets remain the same design as the previous model, they are tall and easy to grip due to the knurling on top, clicks are positive. Each turret can be easily ‘zeroed’, by using the supplied Allen key; both the elevation and windage have screw on caps. Both the caps and the turrets are anodised green with gold engraved numbers making them stand out and the ‘clicks’ are quick and easy to do. I really like the idea of the screw caps, especially the windage turret, for peace of mind against accidental movement.

One change I would make would be to have the windage turret a lower profile design, it’s the same oversize turret as the elevation and I think it would benefit being shorter. With a sidewheel and tall windage turret, it makes the overall scope quite wide for placing in a rifle slip and can create a pressure point when travelling in a gun case.

The 30 mm tube allows for 9MOA in one full revolution, and when optically centred in my Sportsmatch adjustable mounts, the scope gave 25MOA in both the elevation and windage, that’s a full 50 MOA total movement in each turret; ample POI adjustment for FT use.

QUALITY

The scope definitely felt like quality, the hard black anodising was excellent and the magnification zoom was very smooth. High grade aluminium is used to construct the monotube which is shockproof, waterproof and sealed with nitrogen inside. The mag ring had a green rubberised knurled finish giving extra grip which was a nice touch. The ocular had a fast-focus system which I simply screwed to quickly set the reticle to my eye. A lifetime guarantee comes as standard.

MIL DOT RETICLE

The reticle is a glass etched mil-dot (true at x10 mag) with the added feature of having an illumination mode. The reticle itself has a central dot which can be illuminated via the switch on the eyebell of the scope. It has 11 different brightness settings which is useful. I really did like the central dot and the fact that only the dot became illuminated. I have used other illuminated reticle scopes where the whole reticle illuminates which can be a distraction. In fading evening light and in a dark woodland I found that the illuminated dot made aiming quick and easy to do.

For FT use I found the mil-dot virtually unusable for ‘aiming off’ in wind. At the higher magnification settings, being a second focal plane scope, the dots spacings get closer in relation to the target as the magnification is increased. Most FT competitors shoot on high magnification so the opportunity to use the dots as hold-off reference points in the wind is lost. On x 40 mag, 3.5 dots cover a 40mm killzone at 50yrds, so virtually the full area (killzone) where you want to be aiming is filled with mil-dots!

If I was to change it I would increase the spacing and have the mil-dots true at perhaps x 30 magnification, giving three times the distance between dots which would be more usable in FT. The NATO reticle is much better in my opinion.


RANGE FINDING

Parallax is smooth and precise. The wheel that comes with the scope in my opinion is unusable, firstly for its small size (90mm diameter) it its very bulky and extremely heavy (125g); secondly the distances engraved on the wheel have no correspondence to anywhere near the actual real-life distances whatsoever. This isn’t a big issue as virtually everyone in FT purchase a custom made sidewheel at additional cost. However, with a little education/feedback, I believe that Nikko Sterling could and should make a suitable sidewheel for their scope without the need to purchase a custom made one. The ‘sharks fin’ design that was popular with Big Nikko users will still fit onto the supplied wheel making a bigger diameter for rangefinding. The supplied wheel weighs 125g and the addition of a shark fin made it 165g which is quite heavy, considering the 5” wheel that I used weighed only 80g.

The ability of the scope to focus quickly was very good, FT users use the term ‘snap’ when referring to focus speed on a target. The scope did ‘snap’ very well and it was very consistent and repeatable. I never struggled to rangefind with a single target and the distance was easily and consistently repeated every time in dark and bright conditions. I do struggle with Leupold scopes which, for my eyes, seem to take forever to come into sharp focus and I cannot get a repeatable or consistent reading. Comparing it to my March, it came a very close second perhaps only because I was used to my own scope and the fact I didn’t have a suitable eye enhancer for the Big Nikko. A good scope enhancer for the eyepiece of the Nikko is a must in my opinion as it is quite fussy about eye relief which is long at 3.75”. The scope required the head and eye position to be very consistent each and every time which was quite annoying as the picture was either ‘there’ or it wasn’t, something that I took a little getting used to.

THE REST

Unmounted without a side wheel nikko weights 960g so with a 3.75” eye relief it feels heavier than it actually is as it’s mounted quite far forward on rifle dovetails. Something to possibly consider in terms of overall rifle balance. It’s heavier than a 8-80 MarchX but lighter than a S&B PM2.

What I haven’t mentioned was the temperature stability, something that the Big Nikko has been renowned for in the past. During testing in the cooler mornings of late summer and in the mid-day heat, rangefinding was identical. I would need to conduct further testing to be sure however the marks that I made on the sidewheel remained the same throughout the length of time I tested the scope. The scope was also very, very easy to set up for rangefinding.

Disappointingly, the scope didn’t come with either a sidewheel pointer or a sunshade, not that a sunshade is a requirement however I do like to use one to keep rain off the objective lens and most FT shooters use a sunshade to keep dirt, dust and rain off the objective lens. The pointer is a no brainer, why include a wheel but no pointer and this is something many manufacturers are guilty off. Both will have to be purchased separately but both are items that I would like to see included with the scope.

The gaps on the sidewheel were more than adequate for accurate and consistent rangefinding, the gap between 50yrds and 55yrds equated to 4 mm, something similar to my March at 5 mm. As per normal, the gap between distances increased as the distance to the target got shorter. Thankfully there is no need for a close focus adapter, minimum focus was a measured 10yrds (from objective lens) on x50 magnification, whilst 9yrds was easily ‘shootable’ when the magnification was dropped to x20 mag.

Overall I was impressed with the scope and it was certainly a scope that can be used for FT in confidence. Thankfully Nikko Sterling have addressed the ‘issue’ with the parallax mechanism in the previous model. The scope focused consistently and accurately time after time on all targets especially the more difficult 50-55yrd distance where inferior scopes fall to the wayside. Obviously I am not going to change from my March 8-80 with my custom FT reticle however it is definitely an excellent scope and represents excellent value for money."

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Best Prices found in UK

ILLUMINATED - Out of stock - but can be ordered £725 - https://opticswarehouse.co.uk/product/n ... ed-mildot/

Mil Dot - Cheaper (no idea if in stock) £645.95 - http://www.tacticalscope.co.uk/nikko-st ... 3785-p.asp

Mil Dot - In stock £699 - https://opticswarehouse.co.uk/product/n ... iflescope/

ILLUMINATED - Dearer £799.95 (no idea if in stock) - http://www.tacticalscope.co.uk/nikko-st ... 3790-p.asp