As some of you may have already read, my trusty Nikon Monarch 4-12x40 scope died. After bucking 630 450b rounds it stopped holding zero. Not knowing what to hope for, I sent it and a syrupy letter to Nikon to see if it qualified for repair under the lifetime warranty. A week and a half later, I came home from work to find a UPS box on the porch. Seeing it was from Nikon,I opened it and my heart leaped as I saw a brand new 3-12x42 SF scope box inside. Sure enough, they sent me a new one to replace the 10 year old one and a better model to boot! LESSON: You catch more flies with syrup than vinegar. A quick visual confirmed that is was in working order, so I mounted it atop my Zee Signature rings and this morning took it to the range to see how it performed. There's plenty of info about it on Nikon's web site, but here's a few images:
The view through it on the 100 yard range was as crisp and clear as my old one. The zoom ring is easy to find while looking through the scope as well as side focus knob. The reticle adjustments are low profile finger turrets under dust caps with a good tactile feel to the 1/4@100 incremental detentes. The eye relief is a little longer than my old scope and that's fine by me. Enough foreplay...
To sight it in,I used my reliable 38gr Lil Gun pushing the 225gr FTX with just a .475 taper crimp, though I threw in a set using the decapping die as a taper crimp as well for some diversity.
Here's the resultant ballistics:
At 100 yards, it took 3 shots to dial it near POA and two more to put 'er right on the bull.
Excuse the cellphone quality range picture
Shooting two for keeps sets of five yielded these two groups. You can see why the above recipe is my go-to 450b load:
There's 4 bullets through that left hole and a !@#$% stringer.
Using the decapping die as a crimp wasn't too shabby either though I wish I had gone down to .475 with it like the taper crimp:
The hole on the right was from sighting in (see first picture). The target boards were wet from a storm last night, so the target papers are a little wavy
Needless to say, I'm happy with the scope. It performs well on top of my rig. I had intended to put a 3-9x42 on come hunting season, but I think I'll just leave this one on instead.
Props to Nikon!
Hoot