Description
Rifle Scope Product Details
Nightforce Optics 5-25×56 ATACR Series Riflescope, Matte Black with DigIllum Illuminated SFP Mil-R Reticle, 34mm Tube Diameter, .1 Mil-Radian, Side Parallax Adjust
NightForce ATACR 5-25x56mm Riflescope, 34mm, Zerostop, 1 Mil-Radian, Digillum Mil-R Reticle, C554
Rifle Scope Product Features
56mm objective lens
2nd focal plane
Tactical MIL turrets
Waterproof and fogproof
Illuminated reticle
About the NightForce Company
NightForce is a premium producer for rifle scopes, optics, mounting solutions, and other components used for firearms like rifles and long guns. They innovate and build their scopes, mounts, and related products choosing elements which are long lasting and resilient. This includes the Nightforce Optics 5-25×56 ATACR Series Riflescope, Matte Black with DigIllum Illuminated SFP Mil-R Reticle, 34mm Tube Diameter, .1 Mil-Radian, Side Parallax Adjust by NightForce. For additional shooting items, visit their site.
Glass Information
Rifle scopes allow you to precisely align a rifle at different targets by lining up your eye with the target at range. They accomplish this through magnification by employing a series of lenses inside the scope. The scope’s positioning can be adjusted to take into account various ecological factors like wind speed and elevation increases or decreases to make up for bullet drop.
The scope’s purpose is to help shooters understand exactly where the bullet will land based upon the sight picture you are seeing via the scope as you align the scope’s crosshair or reticle with the intended point of impact. Most modern rifle scopes and optics have about 11 parts which are located inside and on the exterior of the optic. These optic pieces include the rifle scope’s body, lenses, adjustment dials, objective focus rings, and other parts. See all eleven parts of an optic.
Rifle Scope Types
Rifle scopes can be either “first focal plane” or “second focal plane” style of scopes. The sort of focal plane a scope has identifies where the reticle or crosshair is located relative to the scopes magnification. It literally implies the reticle is behind or ahead of the magnification lens of the scope. Considering the most ideal kind of rifle optic depends upon what variety of shooting or hunting you plan on doing.
First Focal Plane Glass Details
Focal plane scopes (FFP) feature the reticle in front of the magnifying lens. This triggers the reticle to increase in size based on the level of zoom being used. The benefit is that the reticle measurements are the same at the magnified distance as they are at the non magnified range. For example, one tick on a mil-dot reticle at 100 yards without any “zoom” is still the very same tick at one hundred yards with 5x “zoom”. These kinds of scopes work for:
- Quick acquisition, far away types of shooting
- Shooting situations where computations are marginal
- Experienced shooters who understand their aim point “hold over” as well as “lead” correlations for their weapon
- Shooters who do not mind the reticle is enlarged and takes up more visual sight space than a SFP reticle
Second Focal Plane Glass Details
Second focal plane scopes (SFP) include the reticle to the rear of the magnification lens. This induces the reticle to stay at the same scale in relation to the level of zoom being used. The final result is that the reticle measurements adjust based upon the magnification employed to shoot over longer distances because the markings represent various increments which differ with the zoom. In the FFP example with the SFP optic, the 5x “zoom” 100 yard tick measurement would be 1/5th of the non “zoom” tick reticle measurement. These types of scopes work for:
- Far away types of shooting where shooters have increased time to make ballistic calculations
- Shooting where most of the shots take place within much shorter ranges and distances
- Shooters who would like a clearer optic picture without room used up by the enlarged FFP reticle
Rifle Scope Zoom
The quantity of scope zoom you need depends upon the kind of shooting you plan to do. Practically every kind of rifle glass offers some degree of magnification. The level of zoom a scope supplies is established by the dimension, density, and curves of the lenses within the rifle scope. The zoom of the optic is the “power” of the glass. This signifies what the shooter is checking out through the scope is amplified times the power aspect of what can usually be seen by human eyes.
About Single Power Lens Optics
A single power rifle scope will have a zoom number designator like 4×32. This implies the zoom power of the scope is 4x power while the objective lens is 32mm. The magnification of this kind of optic can not adjust since it is a fixed power scope.
Adjustable Power Lens Rifle Glass Facts
Variable power rifle scopes have adjustable power. It will note the zoom amount in a configuration such as 2-10×32. These numbers indicate the magnification of the scope could be set in between 2x and 10x power. This also utilizes the powers in-between 2 and 10. The power adaptation is achieved using the power ring component of the scope near the back of the scope by the eye bell.
Power and Range
Here are some recommended scope powers and the ranges where they could be effectively used. Consider that high power optics and scopes will not be as practical as lower magnification level optics and scopes since increased magnification can be a bad thing. The same relates to extended ranges where the shooter needs enough power to see where to properly aim the rifle.
Info on Lens Covering
All contemporary rifle optic and scope lenses are layered. Lens finishing is an important aspect of a shooting system when looking into high end rifle optics and scope systems.
ED Versus HD Rifle Scopes
Some glass suppliers will also use “HD” or high-def glass finishes which use various processes, elements, rare earth compounds, and polarizations to draw out numerous color ranges and viewable target visibility through lenses. This HD finish is typically used with increased density lens glass which brings down light’s capability to refract through the lens glass. Some scope producers use “HD” to describe “ED” suggesting extra-low dispersion glass. ED handles how colors are represented on the chromatic spectrum and the chromatic aberration or difference which is also called color distortion or fringing. Chromatic aberration is often visible over things with well defined shapes as light hits the object from various angles.
Single Scope Lens Finishing Versus Multi-Coating
Various optic lenses can also have various finishings applied to them. All lenses generally have at least some type of treatment or finish used to them before being used in a rifle scope or optic.
Single covered lenses have a treatment applied to them which is usually a protective and boosting multi-purpose treatment. This lens treatment can safeguard the lens from scratches while minimizing glare and other less helpful things experienced in the shooting environment while sighting in with the scope. The quality of a single coated lens depends upon the scope manufacturer and how much you spent for it. Both the make and cost are signs of the lens quality.
Some scope producers likewise make it a point to define if their optic lenses are coated or “multi” coated. This indicates the lens has several treatments applied to the surfaces. If a lens gets multiple treatments, it can prove that a maker is taking several actions to fight various natural factors like an anti-glare coating, a scratch resistant anti-abrasion finishing, followed by a hydrophilic finish. This also doesn’t necessarily imply the multi-coated lens is better than a single covered lens. Being “better” depends on the maker’s lens treatment technology and the quality of glass used in constructing the rifle glass.
About Anti-water Covering
Water on a scope lens does not improve preserving a clear sight picture through a scope in any way. Numerous top of the line and high-end scope producers will coat their lenses with a hydrophilic or hydrophobic coating. The Steiner Optics Nano-Protection is a fine example of this type of treatment. It treats the surface of the Steiner glass lens so the water molecules can not bind to it or develop surface tension. The result is that the water beads move off of the scope to keep a clear, water free sight picture.
Optic Installation Choices
Installing options for scopes come in a few choices. There are the basic scope rings which are separately mounted to the optic and one-piece mounts which cradle the scope. These various types of mounts also generally can be found in quick release versions which use manual levers which enable rifle operators to rapidly install and remove the glass.
Hex Key Rifle Optic Ring Mounts
Standard, clamp-on style mounting optic rings use hex head screws to position to the flattop style Picatinny scope mounting rails on rifles. These types of scope mounts use a pair of independent rings to support the optic, and are normally constructed from 7075 T6 billet aluminum which are designed for far away precision shooting. This form of scope mount is ideal for rifle systems which need a resilient, unfailing mount which will not change regardless of just how much the scope is moved about or jarring the rifle takes. These are the style of mounts you want for a faithful scope system on a far away scouting or competition firearm that will rarely need to be changed or adjusted. Blue 242 Loctite threadlocker can also be used on the scope mount’s screws to keep the hex screw threads from wiggling out after they are installed securely in place. An example of these mounting rings are the 30mm type made by Vortex Optics. The set typically costs around $200 USD
Rifle Glass Mounts with Quick-Release Cantilever Rings
These types of quick-release rifle scope mounts can be used to quickly attach and remove a scope from a rifle. If they all use a similar design mount, a number of scopes can often be switched in the field. The quick detach mount style is CNC crafted from anodized 6061 T6 aluminum and the mounting levers connect firmly to a flat top design Picatinny rail. This permits the scope to be sighted in while on the rifle, removed from the rifle, and remounted back on the rifle while maintaining precision. These types of mounts are useful and practical for shooting platforms which are transferred a lot, to remove the glass from the rifle for protection, or for scopes which are utilized between several rifles. An example of this mount style is the 30mm mount from the Vortex Optics brand. It typically costs around $250 USD
Rifle Glass Tube Sealing and Gas Purging
Moisture inside your rifle optic can ruin a day of shooting and your expensive optic by bringing about fogging and creating residue inside of the scope tube. The majority of scopes prevent moisture from going into the scope tube with a system of sealing O-rings which are water resistant.
Scope Gas Purging
Another part of avoiding the buildup of moisture inside of the rifle optic tube is filling the tube with a gas like nitrogen. Because this space is already taken up by the gas, the glass is less influenced by climate alterations and pressure variations from the external environment which may possibly allow water vapor to permeate in around the seals to fill the void which would otherwise exist. These are good qualities of a decent rifle scope to seek out.
