Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Older Nikon UCC quality?

Putting together a classic deer rifle, Remington 700 BDL Mountain Rifle in 280 Rem. I’m wanting to put a classic style high gloss scope on it to match. I found an older Nikon Monarch UCC 3-9x40 in really good shape. Can anyone tell me anything about these optics? Glass quality, etc.

I believe these to be quality scopes, I have a friend that has used this as his primary deer scope since they came out in an A-Bolt stalker 280.

I had a matte finish UCC on a T3 Tikkler in 300 WSM. This scope was made in Japan, and the image quality was noticeably better than my friend's VX-II, VX-III, and Mark IV scopes of that same time period. The Leupos were like looking through a scope with sunglasses, compared to the Nikon. I believe this was 2006 when I bought everything.

I shot hundreds of rounds of 180gr factory ammo using that rifle and scope. It was one of the most accurate big game hunting rifles that I have owned or been around, and the zero never shifted with that scope even with the dreaded vertical split rings And there was a good deal of recoil with that cartridge and relatively light rifle weight

Sold the combo to a guy, he shot another 80 - 100 rounds, and then I bought it back, and eventually sold it off for good. Never skipped a beat.

I don't miss that rifle one bit, but wish I still had that scope.

The Nikon UCC line were great scopes. I had several and agree that the glass was a bit ahead of leupold at the time so a little behind the last few index matched lens leupolds of recent years would be my guess.

The Japanese made Nikon's are way better than current ones to my eyes.

Spence

I can't personally speak to the variables, though I've heard good things. I've run a fixed 4X40 on a 10/22 for years and have zero complaints with it.

I have a Monarch UCC 2-7x32 from 2004, still going strong, no problems. Great target view under any conditions I've used it in. Adjustments are precise and don't shift. Philippines made, but would buy another if still available.

I have two Nikon Monarch UCC scopes. I'm just a "sight it in and leave hunter", but both have been flawless for 7 or years. Mouinted on 30-06 and a 30-30 they don't seem to ever drift.

I have a 3x9 now and I had a 2x7 with the lock ring focus that I sold to a friend that's still going.

They are my go-to Bang-for-the-Buck scope. I always keep a couple of extras in various magnifications in my safe just in case a stray rifle follows me home. Got them on several rifles. I actually prefer them over the newer Nikons made over the last several years.

I used and liked them since the pre-Monarch days. My favorites were always the 3.3-10x44 and the 4-12x40, both with Nikoplex and AO. My most used was a pre-Monarch gloss 3-9x40 that was used and abused back when I still had mobility and could get out and stalk. It had been drug through the mud and brush, dinged against rocks, hunted with in the rain -- and never once did it ever even hiccup.

The older Nikons have been key in the demise of many hogs. Here are two old prints from 15-20 or so years ago. Pardon the quality of the images. I am stuck with extremely low-rez versions as photobucket is holding my originals hostage . It seems all I can do is download the previews.

cham

First of all, what does UCC signify? I've got 4 Philippine made Nikon Scopes that I'm happy with. The oldest one is a 2007 3-9x40 Nikon Prostaff that's one of the clearest, brightest scopes I've owned. I put it on a .30-06 Remington 700 SPS I bought in 2007. Then I bought a 6-18x40 Buckmaster BDC Retical and put it on a Remington 700 ADL Synthetic .22-250 I bought in late 2006 or early 2007 and another 6-18x40 with a Mil dot Retical I have on a Stevens Model 200 I bought around 2011 chambered in .223 Rem. Then in around 2011 I bought a 4.5-14x40 Buckmaster I put on a.257 AI I had made in 2010. These are some of the most reliable clear scopes I own. And I own about 10 Leupolds, 1 Vortex and one Weaver and these.

UCC refers to the proprietary Ultra Clear Coat used by Nikon on their lenses.

I have had a silver UCC Monarch, made in Japan scope for over 20 years. It hasn’t as much use as other scopes on the 🔥, but I did a face-to-face with the Leupo’s at the time... the Monarch looked better then and still looks great now. I don’t have any of the “newer” made in the Philippines Monarchs... I’m sure they’re nice, but the quality doesn’t seem quite the same as the made in Japan to me. Admittedly, I’m far from an expert!

Ah ok, I missed that in my educational process. Anyway, yes they are clear. Mine I believe are all very clear and made in the Philippines. I'm married to a Filipina. I know the good Filipino cares for quality in all they do. I also know a few Filipinos here in town. Most of them love to shoot and hunt.

Anyway, I like my Nikons, they serve the purpose and my rifles that wear them are very accurate and serve me well.

They’re solid. Great glass too

I had a few of these back in the day and They are very good scopes for the money...The best scope for the money I ever owned IMO is the excellent but now discontinued Bushnell 3200/Elite series 👍👍.....Good luck....Hb

Just to add to the pile, I've had a bunch of the Monarch 4x and 6x scopes, and have never had a problem with any of them. Adjustments stay put, glass is a notch above contemporary Leupolds, and they (at least the fixed power ones I've had) hold together. I have a 4x on a CZ 550 in 9.3x62 with at least a couple of hundred rounds through it that still adjusts as it should and holds zero.

Nothing but positives to say about the Monarch UCCs here. We have a 3-9x40 and a 2.5-10x50 that have served us well for years! Just take note: the raised block on the zoom dial does stick out enough that you can mess up a thumb on a rifle with a 90 degree bolt throw!

The old Nikon UCC scope were outstanding. I have a 6.5-20X44 that I will never part with. It is a phenomenal scope. In 2007, a German optics magazine did a full scale test at S&B using their instruments to measure scopes; none of this crappy guesstimate by people who think they can detect a difference in scopes. The tested a couple dozen scopes from the high prices S&B, Swaros, Zeiss, NF and even the cheap lowly Nikon UCC 6.5-20X44 @ $400. The Nikon had the BEST light transmission day and night compared to ALL the other scopes and even the S&B engineers were surprised.

They also tested in freezing temps, underwater, etc. That stupid Nikon had some issues when frozen but still worked, where the Leupolds died. The S&B laughed at the freezing test, as expected. It was epic. The Nikon truly surprised them all. Too bad it's not made anymore. Keep your UCCs close.

Very good scopes. I own several and have never had an issue with any of them and they get used hard.