I am looking at buying a new NightForce SHV scope in 3.5X10X42 with a second focal plane reticule. I will be using this on my M7 Remington 358 Win for hogs in Texas. Shooting over bait at most perhaps 100 yards in very dim light. I have never owned a NightForce in my 77 years. I am interested in hearing opinions about my proposed purchase.

I have done this with a 308. In my case, a bunch of hogs were jostling each other near the feeder so I cranked the power up to 5-6x so I could clearly see what was going on before I fired. You’ll want to keep the illumination as low as possible. Bobby Tomek has a lot of great posts on how to use optics in low-light hunting.

I think the SHV is pretty much perfect for the task. It makes a light rifle top heavy, but that’s the only downside I can think of.


Okie John

I have the illuminated Forceplex reticle in that scope and have used it on a few rifles. Last season, I shot this guy at very last light in a dark creek bottom, spotting just his rack moving in my binoculars. I turned on the illumination as I shouldered the rifle and still had to wait for him to make a step so I could see where his front legs were to line up the shot. I don't think I could have taken the shot without such a reticle.

I'd take a look at the Trijicon 3-9X Accupoint with the green post reticle. They are fairly light with great optics and known for being reliable. I have one on my 375 H&H that will be heading to Alaska in a few months.

I would opt for something with a wider fov.

Yeah, the Trijicon is lighter than the SHV, I have both. My Trijicon is a duplex with lighted dot. My good bud has a post reticle Trijicon on his .416 Rem, M-70. Either reticle will work, the duplex is probably better suited for precise work; I think the post is faster.

I was able to get very close shots sighting in his .416 at 65 yds, so the post can be pretty precise, just not as precise as the duplex for target or longer range shooting.

Trijicon on my Pre-64 .358 Win JES bored FWT.

SHV on a 700 Creed for comparison. This SHV not illuminated but they look the same.

DF

I will add that I recently moved that SHV from my shorty suppressed 7-08 CVA back to my 6.5CM Sig Cross, but only because I picked up another Accupoint green dot for the 7-08. Both are great options.

The SHV NightFarce Light is an easy pass. Go REAL NightFarce and never look back. Hint.

I'm not a Trijicon Guy,mainly because I've bought/shot their BEST attempts. Hint.............

pretty much anything will work for that. that model SHV is fine, I would NOT get the MOAR reticle. i love the MOAR just not in the 10x max mag models. maybe one of the japanese made tracts would work too. oh on edit, call doug and get a meopta optika 5 2-10

Meopta 2-10 would be one to look at.

DF

I had what I felt was the perfect scope for my Remington Ultimate Muzzleloader. It was the same SHV you are considering. It had the illuminated force plex.

I was twisting the turret to shoot it out to 300 yards with a 320 gr Fury bullet and then returning it to zero at 100 with plenty of shots in between at a steel plates in the desert. It was working quite well for several sessions. Then the scope's elevation turret suddenly died. It would not return to zero or place the POI where I wanted it at various distances. I called Nightforce and was flat out told it was my rifle certainly NOT THEIR PRODUCT!!!! As a control I placed a SWFA HD 5-20 x 50 on the rifle and it was back in business. It was too bad as I really thought the scope was perfect for my use on that rifle.

FYI I got my cow elk with that SWFA at 225 yd that year. You have better results with your rifle as it won't recoil anywhere near as much as that MZ does.

My Optika6's were pieces of fhuqking schit and Reupold-esque in their "tracking". Hint.

Just sayin'...........

he needs a set and forget it scope. for that the optika's should be fine. I wouldn't use one for a heavy dialer either.

Concur on skipping the SHV and move up in the line to the NXS or NX8.

Illumination is extremely helpful, I would not want a scope without it for hunting pigs.

I've shot truck loads of pigs off of feeders and ag fields with the Nightforce NXS 2.5-10x42 and NXS 5.5-22x56.

There is no need for the .358, although it certainly is more than enough for the task.

The ability to reliably put the bullet at the base of the ear matters more than power. If you are going to aim for the shoulder or heart, moving up to a heavier bullet helps. Use a bullet that penetrates reliably.

These days, I mostly use the NXS 2.5-10x42 atop a light .308 with an 18" barrel, a can, and Barnes TTSX 130's though have shot 100's with the 175 SMK too.

Bring a cooler with you, the meat is quite good and I am no fan of pork from the store.

Here are some videos for you, courtesy of my wife and a nephew doing the shooting, both using a NXS 5.5-22x56.

OP says 100 yards max.

cumsincowboys,

Gals who "know" and "do" as "much" as you,will always be BEST served by asking questions,rather than giving "answers"...you "lucky" kchunt. Hint. Congratulations?!?

Keep installing hose clamps in Playgrounds,you Magnificently Stupid Fhuqk. There are no "Set And Forget" scopes,that is a contrived Drooler's Notion(s). If schit don't track or repeat,rest assured it will NOT fhuqking hold zero either. Now even you "know". Hint.

Fhuqking LAUGHING!.............

Freaking killing me LOL Stick you magnificent bastid...

big stick, false. I lapped the hell out of the rings in my scope fixture and which allowed me to set the scope only in the bottom half of the rings and I could get it to RTZ taking it in and out of the rings. this allowed me to do various things to the scope. Drop it from 2 feet onto a park table. use it as a club on a plastic trash can. wrap the palm of my hand with the objective bell. NOTHING I could do would get my optika 5 to move zero. in fact when impacting the scope on 9 o clock onto the palm of my hand, IE right against the leaf spring inside the erector. I could actually feel the spring compressing and the erector slap inside the scope! still no zero shift. if you think about this, its makes sense. unless something breaks inside the scope it should hold zero. The erector is held under spring tension against the turret adjusters. Its not a scope that I feel as a dialing scope, I honestly don't remember why I felt that way or what the scope did, I didn't buy it as a dialer. after what I did to it, I trust it as set and forget.

big stick might be subtly smart in ways you have to search to find. but some other people aint stupid either.

cumsincowboys,

Your compelling Lap Dance and Judy Chop "testing",while yelling "get some!",nearly almost involved a live round...you "lucky" kchunt. Hint. Congratulations?!?.

Pardon reality. Hint.










Keep filling out Brokedick Hurt Feeler Reports and quantifying your Professional Victim status,you Magnificently CLUELESS Fhuqk. Hint.

You couldn't "critique" bottled water,even if you could summons the strength to open it by yourself. Hint.

Fhuqking LAUGHING!..............

You couldn't "critique" bottled water,even if you could summons the strength to open it by yourself. Hint.

Coffee out the nose….

When 99% of people who use Optikas can get what they want out of them and 1% can't, it's certainly not the 1% that is the issue.

PaulaBurnedHard,

Be SURE to start a Thread,when you fire the first live round of the year...you "lucky" kchunt. Hint. Congratulations?!?

Dangle a picture of YOUR rifle,which you use to "test" scopes. It WILL be funnier than fhuqk. Then dangle a pic of your Chinese Avatar,for even more oblivious humor,you Brokedick Crying CLUELESS Kchunt. Hint.



Fortunately for you,Imagination and Pretend are free,so even you can "afford" to "contribute". Ain't it a hoot,that you "get" to read about it and ogle The Splendid Pixels,from your Couchbound Kchunt. Pardon wares that exist. Hint.



Fhuqking LAUGHING!..............

That entirely depends on the applications and requirements. Is it possible that the 1% are using the scope in a way that demands it perform beyond the requirements of the 99%?

I've dialed mine a lot, and have never had an issue. The SHV series has ran pretty flawlessly for a lot of guys I know as well. A lot of guys I shoot with in local long range varmint silhouette matches use them. In that dicipline, you are constantly dialing up and down, which gives them a little workout. I don't know if you got a bad one (which is pretty unheard of), or you didn't tighten the set screws on the turret. I've had Leupolds quit tracking, and seen numerous Vortex crap out, but never have seen a Nightforce do that.

My .358 also wears a Nightforce SHV after eating up a POS Swarovski Z3. It will work perfectly for your needs.

You just don't keelhaul your rifle and scope for a proper break-in (or break-it?)

It's like an F-Distribution is statistics. If something is going to fail, it will likely do it right away. It it survives that, it'll likely go the distance.

The NF is way overkill for 100 yard shooting.

The beauty of those scopes is in the integrity of the mechanical repeatability & reliability to dial up for longe shooting & back to zero.

Plenty of scopes for half the price to do what the OP wants.

Horses for courses......................but spend the money if you so choose, the NF will work fine.

MM

For shooting hogs “in very dim light”, I’d be looking for something with an objective lens larger than 42mm.

Objective size never trumps lens and lens coating quality, nor ones knowledge and ability to properly adjust a scope for optimum performance in low light situations!

I have two of the Accupoint 3-9s and my only slight gripe is that the ER is a bit tight on the top end, which so far I’ve not used in the field, except to see if I was steady enough off my sticks at close to 300 yards, on a deer I couldn’t shoot that particular day. I did shoot a couple using one at 3x, the first at about 50 and the second at something over 100 a minute later. That 3-9 is one of the lighter Trijicons, maybe the lightest, and one of the most affordable at about $650 street. The fiber optic shows up well if there’s any skylight above you, but if you hunt from a roofed blind you’re left with a straight duplex unless it’s dark enough for the tritium to show, which is pretty dark. A battery-powered reticle is better under those conditions because it gives you more control, but then there’s the battery to deal with.

As was mentioned, Bobby Tomek has run through a whole bunch of illuminated scopes and can steer you to ones that have worked for him.

I may be the Luddite in the crowd, but I would just find an older Leupold 6 x 42 with heavy duplex reticle. I can’t think of a better scope for low light and 100 yards or closer shooting.

Seems I’ve read those fixed powered leupolds may be more fool proof, fewer parts to mess up and maybe a slight edge on optical performance due to fewer lenses.

Those who really know may want to chime in.

DF

Tell me more, please, on a larger objecive lens with the same coating does not have an advantage on on a smaller lens with equal coating in a low light scenaro?

As I understand, up to a point. Your pupil can only dilate to 5mm, so anything over that can be wasted, i.e. a 7mm exit pupil. That is assuming all other factors are equal.

Again, as I understand, inequal coatings and tube diameters can affect outcome, and some say the various 20mm objective scopes, even though they have an exit pupil of 5mm, don't do as well as larger objective/magnification combos.

We can shoot a half hour before and after sunrise/sunset, and most any decent quality scope can do that. I've used an SHV at those times and had no problems, but I'll be the first to admit that the half hour thing is not that challenging. For true night hunting, I used NV with an illuminator. A thermal works good, too.

I ran a SHV first focal for half a day. The eye box was super tight and close to the scope. Very narrow window to catch good eye relief. Plus the eye relief was at like 3.2 inches. Hard pass on those for me

Average pupil size in normal light is 5mm. Your pupil can get a whole lot bigger than that in low light.

If you a young 'un. I understand about 7mm if you are young. 5mm when you get older. I've gotten older....

Anyway, that's going on information I've gotten through the years, seems consistent with my experiences. I've never ran a test with standardized charts and light meters, just at times wished I had better optics. I did notice a loss of performance once I got around the 5mm point.

I literally had to wait a few minutes to shoot a deer feeding in a field in pre-dawn, I could see him in my binocs and scope, but not with a naked eye. Scope was a 3.5-10X40, it was on 3.5x, he was just over 130 yards away. Shot him the instant proper time came up on my cell phone.

Reason for that was a day or two earlier, a Game Warden drove up to where my small group typically gathered and asked if any of us had shot after such-n-such time, so we knew he was watching the clock.

The Trijicon Credo 3-9x40 will work very well for the OPs stated purpose. Mine took me to 30 minutes after sunset, under the canopy, with overcast skies this past season. Illumination control is outstanding. They are easy to get behind, not fussy and have good eye relief. For $550 I think they are a solid value.

My Trijicon 1-8x Credo HX was/is a mechanical disappointment. While the view and everything unassociated with steering bullets is nice,it simply hasn't the guts to arrange POA/POI,nor retain zero. Hint.










Bought a coupla NightFarce NX8 1-8x FFP DM-X's and rather like 'em. Will throw the Trijicon in a drawer and flog on the NF instead. Hint.




To be continued. Hint.............

Thanks to all for the opinions and experiences. I would like to stay in the $1,000 budget range. Thoughts on that or opinions?

The BTR Gen2 2-12x Mil/Mil is tough to whoop,for killing. Hint................

I think he said he's 77, and has never owned a Nightforce scope. However, I agree with you, it's way "overkill" for his needs. Some guys make excuses for "needing" to buy expensive scopes for their rifles. I have a buddy that says he has to have Swarovski rifle scopes on his hunting rifles, at his age. That's on him, and everyone else that needs to make excuses like that. Warranted or not. I'm not the OP, but I could get by just fine with a cheap azzed Burris FFII 3-9x40, even in low light. However, if the OP wants to spend his money on a Nightforce he can. Even though, its strong points are dialing, which makes it more suitable for long range and returing back to zero. To each his own though.

https://www.eurooptic.com/Trijicon-...-Dot-30mm-Matte-Black-Riflescope-29.aspx

Have you ever looked through a Swarovski?

For what your doing I'd listen to stick on the athelon btr gen 2 in 2-12x42. I have one on my seekins element 7 prc that I shoot without the brake. It recoil a bit and the Athlon has been holding up. The reticle is a bit heavy but that will be a benefit for what you're doing.

I wish they made a version of the same scope with a finer milquad type reticle so I could put several more on my varmint type rifles. I always like a good 2 or 3 to 12 power range scope on a big game gun. I wish bushnell still made there 3-12 lrhs.

I like a 3-12 or 4-16 in ffp scopes. Going any more than 4x mag adjustment makes it tough to have a good ffp reticle that works well on both ends.

Bb

If the Helos mil version will ever get in off the ship, I'd like to try one.

Buy the scope that you want.

What a concept….

Ha!

DF

I've been using the 3-10 SHV in both MOAR and Forceplex for several years. It's been a great scope for me.

The OP mentioned "at most perhaps 100 yards in very dim light". If you're NOT planning to use illumination, then the Forceplex is much more visible in low light or broken backgrounds.

If you're planning on using illumination, then I'd recommend the MOAR. The illuminated section in the MOAR is noticeably smaller (2 MOA) than the illuminated section of the Forceplex (5 MOA). The smaller area of illumination causes less washout/bleed over with image in low light.

I like a lot about the NXS 2.5-10, but the reticles, and the amount of the reticles that are illuminated, are not the best fit for low light. The NXS 2.5-10 has great resolution on target when adjusting the parallax...the downside of that is that it has very shallow depth of focus or resolution. It makes it tough to pick out little limbs, etc between the shooter and target unless rolling through the parallax. The SHV seems to have a much greater depth of focus, making it easier to pick up anything between the shooter and target, though not quite as good at on target resolution.

None of them, MOAR/Forceplex, SHV/NXS are bad, I use and like them, but each has it's pro/con. Everything is a trade off. Pick what best fits your use.

plenty good brand scopes out there but i still like Nightforce scopes i use mostly 30 tube scopes from Nightforce my favorite is 5.5 -22 x56 Nightforce illuminate , i hunt open western states and here in Minnesota a tamarac swamp with cut shooting lanes out to 300- 400 yards with a single shot rifle /Ruger #1 257 Weatherby . i like over kill on bigger bucks DRT and this old rifle with the Nightforce scope i have used together for over 10-15 years with my handloads never ever problem with either of them have shot my biggest buck at 30 feet running at 8 power shot my farthest buck 10 pt. Montana buck at a measured 720 yards both 1 shot kills . the only change i have made is i now use Hammer bullets which seem just a little more accurate for me. Pete53

The BTR Gen2 2-12x Mil/Mil is going to STEAL the show and blow everything cited out of the water,for killing. Hint..................

. Crappy FFP reticle you have to squint to see. Look no further than your own pictures. Turn on the illumination you say. Good luck when you left the spare battery in the truck. That scope is designed for day shooting at a shooting range. It’s a tactical scope not a hunting scope. As evidenced by it being 25 ounces. Isn’t it made in China? Geez stick you’re sucking it up these days. Do better!

cumsincowboys,

You are Pretending aloud,if only still...you "lucky" kchunt. Hint. Congratulations?!?

Pardon my being afforded the luxuries of not being forced to guess,while a guess is the BEST you can ever "do". Hint.

I just "happen" to keep spare batteries taped to slings and the commonality,assuredly doesn't hurt Production. Don't "forget",that not all suffer your Handicaps and Retardation. Hint.

Be sure to "tell" me more,as the Delusions hit your pointy head and settle behind your crossed eyes. Hint.

Fhuqking LAUGHING!................

But it looks Tacticool. One of these days it will make the 150 yard gong clang. By pure chance.

Had no trouble shooting a cow elk with my BTR Gen 2 at 360 yards at shooting light. Wouldn’t be my first choice as a range rifle scope but it works fine for both.

mil dot out of stock 6 more weeks so i purchased the MOA scope i needed a scope for a back -up on my trip and who knows might trade it to shoot another higher priced animal ?

Of course I have. What's the point? At 100 yards (the OP's requirement), a damn Tasco would work. I've also had Swarovski crap out on me too. They are very lightweight, which makes the internals inadequate most times. They do, however, have nice glass. I'm not going to buy a scope just because it has good glass. Unless it's on my competition rifles. Then they require excellent glass and reliable tracking. That is where Nightforce comes in. Not on a rifle that is only going to get shot out to 100 yards.

Agree great glass but light weight. While a good thing, it doesn’t leave room for really robust construction. Heavy duty is usually heavy.

I have a Z3 and a Z5. Sent the Z5 back for a broken plastic elevation turret retainer. I was forcing it, still it shouldn’t have broken.

DF

Still Chinese made, hint, big twig

Like the device you are crying upon,the one you stole your avatar upon and the one which holsters your Hurt Feelers...you "lucky" kchunt. Hint. Congratulations?!?

Dangle a pic of a Critter you killed and optic used. Hint.

Fhuqking LAUGHING!...........

That's why he's pimping it. HINT. Just take his advice as "what not to use" and one will be much futher ahead. HINT

😂😂😂

I’d go with a used vortex LHT in that price range. The 4.5-22x50 can be found on the forums for around 1000 pretty often, and I’ve been very pleased with the ones I’m running right now.

Been looking at the same scope. To put on my 280AI rifle.