Q:

I need advice

Ok guys I’m ordering my first Air Force gun tomorrow! I just don’t know what scope I want. I realize this question is asked way too many times on all forums across the world but I need help. I am looking to keep weight down but I still want a very good scope that transmits a lot of light. A feature I really like (but is not completely necessary) is a sidewheel. I currently have a relatively cheap 3-9x scope and I find the magnification to be pathetic. I want something much more powerful, but generally this means more weight.

The scope I am looking at now is a Nikko Stirling Nighteater 6-24×56 scope. This thing looks amazing on paper, except for the weight. I am also looking at the bushnell scopes, but I hear you get what you pay for when it comes to scopes, and the Nikko is nearly $100 more than the banner series.

Any help would be appreciated, but I’m mainly looking for opinions on the Nighteater.

Optics/Nightvision

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Viewing 15 replies - 1 through 15 (of 15 total)

I used to use a plastic printed card that had a sliding element to calculate with, something like a sliderule. It was called the Mildot Master. You can find it here: http://www.mildot.com/testdrive.htm and it may help some of you. I used to use it a lot before electronic range finders came along. I even marked up my Mildot Master with custom lines to bracket goats, which is the only long range animal I hunted back then.

aloha,
walt

Ohhh I see. Thanks adam.

PS,

I dont know if they make a sunshade for the Legend. The threads are there to hold the lens in.

I got the scope today and it’s sweet! It still has threads for a sunshade, do they sell individual sunshades or do they put them there for no reason?

Ok i see now. It’s just a matter of shooting your gun to calibrate it.

The mil dots calibration depends on the scope.

The Leapers I have came with a rangefinding card that works at 10X. With the magnification turned up, the distance between the mil dots gets smaller. The mil dots don’t move, just the target fills up more of the sight picture.

Basically, you need to know the size of your target for it to work right.

Once you guage the amount of mil dots it takes to cover your target, you use a somewhat complicated formula to calculate the range. Aim points are learned when you shoot the gun.

For me, I never use the range card. I zeroed at 45 yards, and the pellet hits one dot low at 70 yards, which is about 2.5″ drop with my scope.

How do you calibrate your mil-dots?

I’m not very well versed in the voodoo arts of scopes, but I do know that high magnification really isn’t as useful as you’d hope it would be. My problem is that at 18x magnification, I can’t hold the crosshairs still enough to put the pellet where I want it. I find myself leaving my scope on 10x, which is where the mil-dots are calibrated. I use those often, and never turn my turrets.

Haha thanks crazy and Adam, the legend it is then.

Honestly, 15x is way more than you could ever possible need, unless you were shooting rats at 1000 yards. I find myself putting my scope on no more than 10x magnification almost all the time, even when shooting bottles at 70-80 yards. Think of it this way, A 10x scope will make a target 50 yards away appear as if it were 5 yards away, do you think you could kill a rabbit at 5 yards with open sights? I bet you could. I think people get something called magnification envy. 😀

Well that’s out of the question seeing as night vision scopes are VERY expensive. Right now I can’t decide whether it’s worth the extra 10 ounces to get the bigger scope. I have external lighting around my house, so it will not be totally black while I’m shooting, but I would like to take as much advantage of the little light available and I don’t know if a 40mm objective can take it that much light (what size is the tube of the legend?).

My main complaint of my current springer is that I cannot do off-hand shots as it weighs about 9 pounds, will adding 10 ounces to the weight of my talon ss be very noticeable? And is it even worth it? I have no idea the quality of the nikko scope and cannot find a review of it anywhere.

Do you all find 15x magnification to be enough? I’d like to be able to see a rabbits head nice and big on my scope. 😛

It is very bright scope and does well in low light.

I also have the Bushnell Legend 5-15×40, and it is a great scope. I often shoot at 10 PM, and on low magnification, i can actually see my targets very well. When i turn the magnification on max, i can still see it, but its harder to find the target.

Maybe you should look into a night vision scope?

Thanks for the very quick response Adam. How does your legend work in low-light conditions? That is partially why I wanted to go with a bigger objective size and large tube, seeing as I see most of the rabbits around here at night.

I have a Bushnell Legend and it a great scope. Got if from Optic Planet for $165. I would buy one again in a heart beat over the others out there that cost less.

I also have a Bushnell Elite and it is Awesome (Thank DFH) and it costs more $$$ but is a great scope.

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