Older NightForce NXS 5.5-22x56mm vs. New Arken

[Riflman]

I have a mid 2000's NF NXS 5.5-22x56mm Mildot scope (serial M03251). I'm the original owner. It came in a triangular box, but I can't find the box. It does not have zero stop. That's always been a bit of a pain. Sure, I could put tape on it to ensure it doesn't move in the case or in the field, but any time I want to click up, or have changed it in any way, it's always a guessing game remembering which graduations is zero. It's a mind-f$ck. There were people doing zero-stop conversions back in the day, but I can't find them anymore.

I'm considering just selling the scope and getting something newer with proper zero-stop and mil clicks instead of MOA clicks. I know it's a night force but it's also an older night force, so I'm not sure where things are at. I do have a 5.5-25 x 56mm Arken right now and it's pretty good, but I haven't had it long. The Nightforce is currently on a custom bolt action 243 Winchester and is mainly for sniping coyotes etc long range. I was planning to just stick with a 30mm scope. The 34mm Arkens are incredibly heavy and overkill in my opinion and I already have 30mm rings, so I might get one of the 6-24 x 50mm models. Opinions?

Also, if I was to sell it, what would it be worth. There are a couple of small ring marks from but it's extremely clean everywhere else and was mostly a safe queen. I also have Nightforce wings and badger rings, and NF 20 MOA tapered base I don't use now that I should probably get rid of. The scope is currently in Burris signature rings.

 

[Habu64]

Even on NF’s worst day, they are miles ahead of Arken in quality. I’ve got several of the NXS series and recently put an Arken on my 22. It’s good for the price, but it’s bulky, heavy and the turrets are huge.

The newer NXS series have zero stops, if that’s what you’re mainly looking for. Or you could look at the new Leupold MK4 series in that price range, however it’s also a 34mm tube.

Ball park range, $1200-1500 is what those NXS seem to go for on the used side of things.

 

[JayOpticspecialist]

a vote here for the NXS. I can't recall if they will refit for zero stops these days either.

 

[TahoeDust]

Selling a NF to buy an Arken is crazy talk.

 

[trob]

I helped a friend mount 2 scopes today. I was taking an Arken off his 6.5cm, replacing it with a NF NX8. And the plan was to put his arken on a 300wm.
I mounted his arken originally, a few years ago. Everything was torqued and meticulously mounted. I go to take the arken off today and the rear ring base screws were not even hand tight. WTF?! The front ring base screws were still torqued.

In looking at the arken base clamp, it was cracked in half, causing the screws to be loose. I have never seen a base clamp break. Cheap ass shit. I don’t own any arken, and I never will.

I would take an old NXS over an arken any day. I’d call NF and see if they can put a zero stop in your scope. They still offer NXS scopes

 

[steve123]

I owned 3 of that same NF. At the time one of the better scopes but glass was only ok.
Had a F1 3.5-15 and a 2.5-10 also. Wasn't ever impressed with a NF yet.
So haven't owned a NF in a decade and haven't missed them at all.

For the money get yourself a Athlon Midas Tac 6-24. Great scope and track record.
But my go-to has been the Cronus G2 4.5-29×56. Most underrated scope on the market.

 

[MikeMiller]

Even on NF’s worst day, they are miles ahead of Arken in quality. I’ve got several of the NXS series and recently put an Arken on my 22. It’s good for the price, but it’s bulky, heavy and the turrets are huge.

The newer NXS series have zero stops, if that’s what you’re mainly looking for. Or you could look at the new Leupold MK4 series in that price range, however it’s also a 34mm tube.

Ball park range, $1200-1500 is what those NXS seem to go for on the used side of things.

This is 100 percent correct

 

[fdkay]

As stated, that era of NF had "okay" glass, but they were typically very reliable.
I concur that, even with a new DNT or Arken, it is a step down.
However, you don't "need" to spend NF money to get a very good, reliable scope with a zero stop and good glass.
Since you were considering Chinese made optics, what comes to mind is the Athlon Ares series, but honestly, I would go for the Japanese made Tract, Maven or Delta Stryker optics. You can get illumination, locking turrets or zero stop (sometimes both) and glass that is quite good. The 4-25 Tract gets a thumbs up from many that have experience with it.

 

[clark33]

This is what happens when you listen to the gun-tuber shills. If you want a Chinese made optic that will undoubtedly lose zero or not track correctly after mild use go ahead and sell your NF. Reliability/durability over “glass quality” for me.
Who cares what the target looks like if you can’t hit it. At what point has the NXS glass hindered you in ID’ing your target or hitting your target?

 

[steve123]

The erector got temporarily stuck on one of my NF 5.5-22's so the elevation didn't respond to inputs. I dialed the elevation turret all the way up and down 3-4 times and whatever got stuck came loose and GTG afterwards but I never trusted it again.

This is pretty much why I started trying other brands.

Though we've learned that anything man made regardless of tier or cost can go down eventually - like the S&B 3-20x50 I had. Or my S&B 5-25 which had a minor problem with the parallax knob.

You spend the big bucks and hope for the best, warranty, warranty, warranty....
Plus it seems no matter what brand you buy or how much money you spend there is a huge chance there are things you'll find that you don't like about that scope.

Which is another reason I rarely spend top tier money anymore, especially for scopes on rifles that aren't very expensive, which are most of my rifles.

In this space the diminishing returns have never been more glaringly present than right now. 2-7 times the money spent for a hope mixed with slightly better IQ, a extra feature or two, maybe a tad more refinement, and not to mention that many of these scopes were made in the same factory.

 

[Riflman]

Well as some said in this thread, the older NF NXS were not fantastic glass-wise. And yeah, no zero stop. I bought it when I was shooting F-Class and later used it for LR coyotes. I'm not doing that now.

I have my NXS on an old F-Class rifle that's now a varmint rifle I rarely use, so it's wasted on the thing. I would rather sell it and use the cash for something else. Maybe two decent scopes. My main hunting rifle is a custom 700 switch barrel, with 7mm Rem Mag barrel and a 338 WM barrel. It has Leupold QR bases and rings and had a an old silver Leupold VX-iii 2.5-8 on it. I sold that scope on eBay for $700. Hard to believe. I guess there were few silver out there. I also have a Kahles 3-9x44 Multi-Zero that was mounted on a rifle and in the field once or twice max. I think I'll sell too. It's SUPER bright and clear, and super light, but a weird power range and too short for some rifles. I have a new custom 300 win mag with defiance action that's 5.9 pounds, and I was going to use the Kahles on that, but even with extended talley rings, it's too short. So I might get a Swaro Z5 3.5-18. Still light and only enough to clear that Defiance long action.

I'm actually an optics dealer now and get most brands wholesale (not the Arken though). Even at retail, the Arkens are tempting, though definitely heavy AF, not super bright and a shallow eye box. Ideally I will get rid of all my old glass and have scopes on my rifles that I can sell. That way when filming content I am using current gear. For example I have a custom 10/22 with an old Elite 4200 6-24 x 40 that's made in Japan. Great glass but very long tube with only 22 MOA elevation. I'm planning to sell that too. Have no clue what to replace that with. Bottom line is I think it's time to clear out all the old glass and maybe my old rifles too.