I’m looking for a hunting scope, originally I was going to go with a lightweight scope bite the more I looked at them I decided I wanted more options to dial. I really don’t want to go over 2 pounds, lighter is better for me with this rifle. The three I’m looking at now are the Nightforce nx8 2.5-20, Schmidt and bender t96 polar 3-12, and the Swarovski z6i 2.5-15. I’m leaning toward the nightforce or the Schmidt and Bender because of the ability to dial, has any one looked through both of these? Any feed back or comparison between these scopes would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Rifle Scopes Nightforce nx8 vs Schmidt and bender t96 polar vs Swarovski z6i
- Thread starter Will86
- Start date
I hunted this year with a nx8 2.5-20. Dialing was the priority. I have swarovski’s and have looked through a z6 but not the schmidt.
I prefer Swarovski glass and weight but this year for me, accurate tracking was most important and the nx8 fit the bill for me. I sacrificed some weight but the confidence in the scope made up for those oz’s and the scope never hindered me from taking deer and hogs. My last hog I was on the ground walking and had a quick shot. maybe 6x or something and dropped him where he stood. FFP wasn’t an issue.
The rifle that it’s on is a dual use gun, hunting and some plinking at the range to 1k so it is getting dialed a lit bit more than I feel comfortable with for a swaro.
I prefer Swarovski glass and weight but this year for me, accurate tracking was most important and the nx8 fit the bill for me. I sacrificed some weight but the confidence in the scope made up for those oz’s and the scope never hindered me from taking deer and hogs. My last hog I was on the ground walking and had a quick shot. maybe 6x or something and dropped him where he stood. FFP wasn’t an issue.
The rifle that it’s on is a dual use gun, hunting and some plinking at the range to 1k so it is getting dialed a lit bit more than I feel comfortable with for a swaro.
- Apr 23, 2019
- 47
- 23
Hey man so the NX8s have been getting awesome reviews. We got to play around with them and turrets and glass are fantastic for the price. You really can't go wrong with that optic!
For a lightweight scope that you trust to dial take a look at the SWFA 3-9x42 or Leupold Mark 5HD’s.
My 4-16 Polar should be here this week. I upgrade to it from a swaro z3. I also have an older NXS. I haven't looked through the newer NF, and I hear they are significantly better than the old NXS. The NXS is/was good glass and very reliable, but my Swarovski or the S&Bs that I run for matches last longer at twilight. For field hunting which is what I do, that is critical. If you look at the optics test that precision rifle blog did a few years ago you can get some ranking.
I wasn't thrilled with the weight of the polar, but I wanted the S&B reliability, FFP, optical clarity, and dial capability. I got the P4 reticle so I have the option to hold, somewhat, or dial My Swarovski Z3 was very clear, but it was SFP and had a hold over reticle, but no BDC. Also, I was never 100% in the dialing. It would zero and hold, but I had to play with the adjustment to get it to zero, very unlike my PMIIs
I will get the Polar mounted later this week and compare it to my PMII as the sun goes down.
I wasn't thrilled with the weight of the polar, but I wanted the S&B reliability, FFP, optical clarity, and dial capability. I got the P4 reticle so I have the option to hold, somewhat, or dial My Swarovski Z3 was very clear, but it was SFP and had a hold over reticle, but no BDC. Also, I was never 100% in the dialing. It would zero and hold, but I had to play with the adjustment to get it to zero, very unlike my PMIIs
I will get the Polar mounted later this week and compare it to my PMII as the sun goes down.
Thank you I would like to hear what you think. I’m going back and forth mostly between the nxs and Schmidt and bender. I decided to not go with the nx8 because the reticle is to small for me to acquire it quickly when zoomed all the way out.
have you looked through one in person? the 4-32 is quite usable at 4x
for me, low light optical quality is the most important consideration in a hunting scope. That's why I'm a huge fan of Zeiss. I was looking at the Polars a few months ago, so I'm interested to hear your impression.
unfortunately, many people care more about repeatable adjustments and dialing back and forth for long range, so many tests are geared towards that and it often skews the results. so I sometimes end up trying a new brand that is rated highly but performs poorly in low light.
I just started using a 4-32 nx8 a few weeks ago.....here are my thoughts towards it as a hunting scope
Pretty light weight. Definitely smaller physically than an atacr, gen2 razor, ect.
4x-20x the glass is damn good. Not as good as an atacr,but damn good. Above 20x it starts to wash quite a bit, but I rarely go above 20 unless I'm zeroing. Mil-c is useable even at 4x.
Could still be used for target/comp scope during summer when not hunting.
Pretty light weight. Definitely smaller physically than an atacr, gen2 razor, ect.
4x-20x the glass is damn good. Not as good as an atacr,but damn good. Above 20x it starts to wash quite a bit, but I rarely go above 20 unless I'm zeroing. Mil-c is useable even at 4x.
Could still be used for target/comp scope during summer when not hunting.
I struggle to recommend the NX8 2.5-20, having put it through it's paces I found too many compromises in the design, the 4-32 seems to be a different story (longer design) but 8x erectors in short body scopes have always struggled. Finicky parallax and eyebox as well as narrow DOF is where this scope struggles, it does have impressive FOV but the edge distortion is the most I've seen in a scope at this price point. I really wanted to like this scope because it has a great mag range and size, but I wish they would have kept it to a 6x erector and improved on the aforementioned issues. If Nightforce came out with an ATACR 4-20 design I think that would be much more ideal.
www.snipershide.com
OP, check out Leica Magnus scopes, I am not a fan of SFP (all my hunting scopes are FFP) but Leica Magnus can be found on sale for some great prices. Also, check out the Blaser Infinity line and the Schmidt Exos 3-21x50 though I'm guessing these last two may be beyond your budget. For FFP I'd recommend the Minox ZP5 3-15x50 which can be found used for really great prices on the buy and sell here, I did a review of this scope and a number of other ultra shorts last year -
www.snipershide.com
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www.snipershide.com OP, check out Leica Magnus scopes, I am not a fan of SFP (all my hunting scopes are FFP) but Leica Magnus can be found on sale for some great prices. Also, check out the Blaser Infinity line and the Schmidt Exos 3-21x50 though I'm guessing these last two may be beyond your budget. For FFP I'd recommend the Minox ZP5 3-15x50 which can be found used for really great prices on the buy and sell here, I did a review of this scope and a number of other ultra shorts last year -
Rifle Scopes - ZCO ZC420 v Kahles K318i v Schmidt Ultra Shorts v Minox ZP5
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www.snipershide.com My 4-16 S&B polar arrived yesterday. I had to go back to the manual to figure out the lock rings on the elevation and windage, didn't want to risk breaking w/in the first 5 minutes of unboxing it. It is called BDC II system. I think the locks are unnecessary, I've had a standard DT PMII for about 10 years and never had an issue with it, some might, but I haven't. The polar is marked past 9 mils with hashes, but not to 10, with a small space missing before it is back to 0. I got the 1cm, aka 1mrad, adjustments. I have it mounted on a 338 WM that I shoot 230 ELDX at 2860, so the 9.9 mils should get me to about 1090 using standard atmosphere. So there is more than enough to get to 1k with a long range hunting caliber, but it is not going to be a 1200 yard scope for all calibers, only some.
The clarity and low light was everything you should expect from S&B. I tested it last night against my PMII set at about 15x. At 15 min past sun set the Polar was better, my wife thought much clearer. I would say I could see more details, but not the substantial extra my wife saw. But women see color, men see motion. At 30-32 minutes past sunset, again, I could see more clarity and definition from the polar than my PMII, but I had to look for it, aka the edges of branches and such.
During the early/mid afternoon, I compared it to my wife's Premier Reticles 5-25, and a NF NXS 5.5-22x56 (pre-zero stop). The later wasn't a comparison worth writing. A 10 year old NXS is a very solid and reliable scope, but the clarity is not in the same league as the S&B or PR. The PR had a warmer color, both S&B were colder to use a comparison that I've heard elsewhere. The Polar was almost too bright. The front objective fits the same butler creek cover as the PMII, I might have to see if the sunshade also fits, or make an aperture reducer from a Butler creek cover. The rear objective and power ring are larger than the PMII, neither the butler creek nor my PMII throw lever fit.
Is the polar better than the PMII in low light-yes, but the PMII is already very good and going to the Polar is not going to get you an extra five minutes past legal light if you were already using a PMII. It might make picking out a good shot in the few minutes of fading light a bit easier than a PMII.
It is lighter than a PMII, but going from a Swarovoski Z3 (light scope) to the Polar, my hunting rifle gained 3/4#. The Polar and a set of Hawkins ultralight were at 2#. My PMII and Badgers come in at 3#
For me this scope is the middle ground I was looking for. It has quality glass with very good low light, (I put S&B and Swaro in the same area for my eye), FFP, and solid dial turrets that get me further than I'd shoot game.
The clarity and low light was everything you should expect from S&B. I tested it last night against my PMII set at about 15x. At 15 min past sun set the Polar was better, my wife thought much clearer. I would say I could see more details, but not the substantial extra my wife saw. But women see color, men see motion. At 30-32 minutes past sunset, again, I could see more clarity and definition from the polar than my PMII, but I had to look for it, aka the edges of branches and such.
During the early/mid afternoon, I compared it to my wife's Premier Reticles 5-25, and a NF NXS 5.5-22x56 (pre-zero stop). The later wasn't a comparison worth writing. A 10 year old NXS is a very solid and reliable scope, but the clarity is not in the same league as the S&B or PR. The PR had a warmer color, both S&B were colder to use a comparison that I've heard elsewhere. The Polar was almost too bright. The front objective fits the same butler creek cover as the PMII, I might have to see if the sunshade also fits, or make an aperture reducer from a Butler creek cover. The rear objective and power ring are larger than the PMII, neither the butler creek nor my PMII throw lever fit.
Is the polar better than the PMII in low light-yes, but the PMII is already very good and going to the Polar is not going to get you an extra five minutes past legal light if you were already using a PMII. It might make picking out a good shot in the few minutes of fading light a bit easier than a PMII.
It is lighter than a PMII, but going from a Swarovoski Z3 (light scope) to the Polar, my hunting rifle gained 3/4#. The Polar and a set of Hawkins ultralight were at 2#. My PMII and Badgers come in at 3#
For me this scope is the middle ground I was looking for. It has quality glass with very good low light, (I put S&B and Swaro in the same area for my eye), FFP, and solid dial turrets that get me further than I'd shoot game.
Have you tried the S&B Polar to compare the Z6i? Would like to know how those two specifically compare.
Also, has anyone compared the Swaro z5 vs the z6i? Are they about the same or much different. I thought I heard somewhere that the z5 line and below have different glass and it’s lesser quality than the z6 and up. My Z5 has a 1” tube to boot and I’m wondering if it’s worth it to upgrade to the Z6.
