Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Swaro X5 3-18x50 or Nightforce NXS 5.5-22x50?

I have a 300win. that I am building as a long range hunting rifle and I have narrowed it down to these two. Cant seem to make up my mind. I need some help!

Do you have a reticle preference from one over the other?

Not really.

Depends if you want a tank or a Ferrari

Swaro: better glass, little lighter
NF: higher magnification, capped windage (on the specific scope I am interested in)

The biggest things I'm worried about with the swaro are the exposed windage and the really tall elevation turret getting in the way. Also not sure if I will miss out on a lot by having 18x max instead of the 22x max of the Nightforce NXS. I wish the swaro didn't have the "below zero" feature either, not a deal breaker but I will never use that. I was set on the Nightforce because of the reliability and capped windage but I see the x5 getting tons of praise for its reliability and glass quality. Not to mention I can get the x5 for 300 bucks cheaper right now and keep my .300win a little lighter.

Thats kinda what it feels like. But I like tanks and Ferraris!

Can ya link me to the NXS 5.5-22 with capped Windage??

NXS does not have capped windage. The 4-16x42 ATACR does and that is the scope I would recommend. Easy enough to find a lightly used one for $1800 - $1950.

I recall the Gunwerks spec’ed 5.5-22x50 NXS has/had a capped windage turret.

It was on eBay. I just purchased them. It was a tough call to go against the Swarovski but Its hard to come across capped windage NXS so I jumped on it. This is my first NF scope so hopefully I don't regret passing on the swaro. I know its a little heavier and the glass isn't nearly as good but for a long range hunting scope I really want something built strong and repeatable and I love the fact of not having to worry about accidentally twisting the windage putting it in and out of my pack. Thanks for the help guys

You made the correct call.

Thanks! Could have got the swaro for 200 less than I paid for the NF but its hard to find many guys having their NXS fail them. And since I don't dial for wind the capped turret sealed the deal!

I have a NF NXS 3.5-15 MOAR reticle and like it more every time I use it. Don't forget that the hash marks will be accurate at top magnification in a SFP. Of course a ballistic app can calculate the marks at any magnification if you want to go that route.

What reticle does it have?

Yup I prefer SFP for hunting. It has the MOAR reticle. Lots of talk that some people don't like the MOAR because its too thick but I don't like really thin reticles for hunting. Does the MOAR ever cover up too much of the target at long range?

I have the MOAR reticle and there is never a problem. If anything, it's thin to me. There is a MOAR T that is a finer reticle. I have not seen one so have no opinion on it. I think it is designed for target shooting at very long range.

I would go swaro unless you plan on beating on the optic. As above, it's a little lighter and has has better glass. I have heard nothing negative about the clickability or the X5. If anyone has please chime in

I’ve seen around a half dozen. The x5 is Swarovski’s best attempt at an aiming device, but they still have issues. Multiple of those have needed service.

With the arrival of the 4-16x50mm ATACR, there ought to be a few 42mm scopes hitting the used market.

The 4-16x42 atacr is one dandy of a LR hunting scope

Don't think you could go wrong with either. After checking out an x5 in person I knew the clicks felt great. But the large elevation knob seemed a little much and I would never use the below zero feature. It was larger than I thought it would be but it seemed to be a fantastic optic. And I looove swaro glass. My 65mm swaro spotter and 10x swaro binos are the best pieces of gear I could ever dream of!

I just couldn't go against a NF. Not sure anything has a reliability reputation like the NF. My 300win is going to be 7lb or just under w/o the optic so for a long range gun I wasn't too worried about the extra weight of the NF. I cancelled out the added weight by going with a LPA ti action. ATACR looks sweet just maybe a little too heavy and I like the 22x with 50mm objective nxs combo for hunting. No bad choices between any of them!