Opinion/pictures of Nightforce 1-4 reticles? (IHR vs. FC-3G)

[samuse]

I talked to Nightforce about that too, as one of mt 1-4s was made in '13. I'm pretty sure the ones that came with the PTL will have all the improvements as the ones they are making right now.

I have a '13 made and a '15 made 1-4 and they're identical.

Don't forget that it's second focal plane scope, so the center dot is 1.5 or 2MOA at 4X. So it's gonna be 6-8MOA at 1X. Plenty easy to see. I think you'll be surprised at how well they work at night with the illumination off and a good 500+ lumen light.

[samuse]

I've had the FC2 and FC3G, just had to sell the 3G, the FC2 was for sure easier for me, but the 3G is still fast.

I wish they would make a 1-4 with the FC3g reticle, but instead of hold overs, put a 1 MOA (ala MOAR) scale somewhere so the scope can be used for ranging instead of a mostly useless BDC. I hate BDCs.

[WS6]

I talked to Nightforce about that too, as one of mt 1-4s was made in '13. I'm pretty sure the ones that came with the PTL will have all the improvements as the ones they are making right now.

I have a '13 made and a '15 made 1-4 and they're identical.

Don't forget that it's second focal plane scope, so the center dot is 1.5 or 2MOA at 4X. So it's gonna be 6-8MOA at 1X. Plenty easy to see. I think you'll be surprised at how well they work at night with the illumination off and a good 500+ lumen light.

One local shop let me look at an FC-3G in the back room with my X300U. It was pretty good, but I think the larger illuminated area (larger dot and circle too) of the FC-2 will work much better than the FC-3G. The FC-3G just seems half-ass to me. Like they wanted to make a 3-600 yard optic, and a 3-30 yard optic, and couldn't figure out how to do it, so they just smashed the two togather real hard. The FC-2 is much more 3-30 yard biased, but easy to use further out from what I hear.

Thanks for the datapoint!

[samuse]

I have zero stops on mine and I've cranked 'em all the way out to 500+ and stayed on an 8" target with ease.

I took 3rd overall with it in a match this past weekend that went from 3-125 yards. With no kind of go-fast anything on the gun. So it works well enough.

I think you did good with the NXS 1-4. IMO it's one of the best, and underrated scopes on the market. They're a no BS, no compromise scope. I see a lot of money wasted on lesser optics because the illumination is brighter.

Another ridiculous thing. If you have an Aimpoint Micro with an absolute mount, stick it right in front of your 1-4 and you can use it like that. It works just like a variable magnifier. Looks goofy as all get-out but is actually functional. I haven't shot very far like that so I don't know how two optics would affect POI, but it works like a champ at night.

Here's a link to Nightforce's reticle PDF if you haven't seen it. http://nightforceoptics.com/pdf/ReticleManual.pdf

[WS6]

Ps...


I need the 1.5" high unimount, right? Not the 1.375? That seems low compared to my aimpoint mounts.

[samuse]

Ps...


I need the 1.5" high unimount, right? Not the 1.375? That seems low compared to my aimpoint mounts.

I have mine in a LaRue SPR that's 1.5". I could handle lower, but it would be tight and definitely tiring when prone. I have a pretty small head so I'd definitely go with the 1.5"

I like lower 1/3 on my Aimpoints.

[WS6]

Since noone seems to have these photos, I took a few. My new Nightforce 1-4 NXS with FC-2 reticle arrived, and out came the cheap potato to document! All photos are with illumination set on "Max" unless otherwise noted. This should give a good idea of what one can expect in nearly every lighting environment one will encounter at night. Daylight pictures will have to wait for a bit, for technical reasons.


White wall, 3 meters, illumination off, 800 lumen bulbs (x2) behind white ceiling light diffuser:

White wall, 3 meters, illumination on, 800 lumen bulbs (x2) behind white ceiling light diffuser:

White wall, 3 meters, Surefire M600 Ultra (500 lumen) providing illumination, series:



Standing in living-room, standard residential brightness (to my eyes), unsure of lumens of bulb(s). 1X, aiming across parkinglot at door 50m distant:

Standing in living-room, standard residential brightness (to my eyes), unsure of lumens of bulb(s). 4X, aiming across parkinglot at door 50m distant:

Gas station, approximately 150m, 1x:

Gas station, approximately 150m, 4x:

Dark parkinglot into lit apartment, distance to door @ 10m:

Overcast with light rain, 1x, full illumination, Jeep@150 yards:

Overcast with light rain, 4x, full illumination, Jeep@150 yards:

Overcast with light rain, 1x, no illumination, Jeep@150 yards:

Overcast with light rain, 4x, no illumination, Jeep@150 yards:



Very pleased so far. Here is a picture for size/scale. I have not bought a mount for it yet, although I'm working on a deal for the one I want.


-I do notice a tiny bit of magnification on 1x. It is functionally a non-issue, and there is no phoria.

-Everything is tough. The diopter adjustment locks, the scope and all adjustments feel very "robust".

-The glass is very very good. Not Kahles, but VERY good.

-Light transmission on 1x at night is very good. It is similar to the un-aided eye. Not darker, certainly.

-I noticed NONE of the diopter shift issues that I had with the VCOG. On 1x across the room it looks good, at 4x across the parkinglot it looks good...blurry smartphone pix not withstanding.

[SteveL]

Which mount are you getting and will your FSP and X300 be a problem out front?

A little off topic, but what kind of battery life can you expect with this scope?

[WS6]

Which mount are you getting and will your FSP and X300 be a problem out front?

A little off topic, but what kind of battery life can you expect with this scope?

The scope is not going on the rifle pictured.
NF milspec 1.5" unimount
NF did not give me a concise answer on battery life at max.

[samuse]

If I was gonna use the DD fixed sight and X300 at 12:00 I'd get a tall LaRue mount.

The FC2 looks like it lights up pretty good. I use my FC3g at dusk quite a bit and I have to turn it all the way down to keep from over-powering the ambient light, but it doesn't get bright enough to use as a red dot. The few times I've used it investigate a bump in the night I didn't even turn on the illumination because it just doesn't help at close range with a light.