Nikon Variable scopes

FoghornLeghorn · September 22, 2012, 06:14 PM

I was once told that the main failing of a variable scope where price is concerned is that with a lesser expensive scope such as the 4.5-14 Nikon Buckmaster, if you change power, you lose the zero. If you're at 6 power and zoom into 12 power, you lose the zero. If you turn it back to 6 power, you still lose the zero you had at 6 power, and need to resight the scope all over again.

But (and this is what I was told) that with high end scopes they hold their zero even when changing power.

I was thinking of mounting a Nikon Buckmaster 4.5-14 scope on a 22 rimfire CZ Lux. But if the above is true I think not.

jmr40 · September 22, 2012, 06:35 PM

Cheaper scopes don't hold up as well this is true. But you have to drop down well below the Buckmaster before you will have major issues. The Buckmaster is not a high end scope, but is still a solid scope I'd trust.

With some scopes you might see very minor changes in impact as you change powers. But we're talking very minor differences. I was discussing this with another poster months ago who complaned about brand X scope changing his point of impact when he changed from 9X down to 3X. When we did the math on it there was a difference of about 1/4" at 100 yards. Less than the diameter of most big game hunting bullets.

My solution was this. Zero the scope at the highest power. At close ranges I only use the lowest power setting and 1/4" difference at close range isn't a factor. At anything over 100 yards I'd pass right over all the intermediate settings and go straight to the highest power where it was zeroed.

I've NEVER heard of a scope losing its zero because of changing magnification. Only very slight differences at different power settings.

SSA · September 22, 2012, 10:47 PM

Quote:

with a lesser expensive scope such as the 4.5-14 Nikon Buckmaster, if you change power, you lose the zero. If you're at 6 power and zoom into 12 power, you lose the zero. If you turn it back to 6 power, you still lose the zero you had at 6 power, and need to resight the scope all over again.

If I heard someone say that that, I would not believe them, and I would not believe anything else they said.

Kreyzhorse · September 23, 2012, 06:46 AM

Quote:

I was once told that the main failing of a variable scope where price is concerned is that with a lesser expensive scope such as the 4.5-14 Nikon Buckmaster, if you change power, you lose the zero. If you're at 6 power and zoom into 12 power, you lose the zero. If you turn it back to 6 power, you still lose the zero you had at 6 power, and need to resight the scope all over again.

No.... That is simply not true.

Cheap scopes don't hold zero as well, but you generally have to go well below a Buckmaster. Even on a low end scope, changing the power won't throw them totally out of whack.

bman940 · October 1, 2012, 09:40 AM

I'll add that one to my list....
Haven't heard that one before.....
Always something strange floating around.

On a similar note, if you are using a BDC reticle scope, if you change the magnification setting, the distance's on your BDC circles will change, think zooming in and out with a camera.

September 22, 2012, 06:14 PM	#1
FoghornLeghorn Senior Member Join Date: September 2, 2011 Posts: 961	Nikon Variable scopes I was once told that the main failing of a variable scope where price is concerned is that with a lesser expensive scope such as the 4.5-14 Nikon Buckmaster, if you change power, you lose the zero. If you're at 6 power and zoom into 12 power, you lose the zero. If you turn it back to 6 power, you still lose the zero you had at 6 power, and need to resight the scope all over again. But (and this is what I was told) that with high end scopes they hold their zero even when changing power. I was thinking of mounting a Nikon Buckmaster 4.5-14 scope on a 22 rimfire CZ Lux. But if the above is true I think not.

October 1, 2012, 09:40 AM	#5
bman940 Senior Member Join Date: August 29, 2010 Location: N. Texas Posts: 170	lol I'll add that one to my list.... Haven't heard that one before..... Always something strange floating around. On a similar note, if you are using a BDC reticle scope, if you change the magnification setting, the distance's on your BDC circles will change, think zooming in and out with a camera.

September 22, 2012, 06:35 PM	#2
jmr40 Senior Member Join Date: June 15, 2008 Location: Georgia Posts: 10,809	Cheaper scopes don't hold up as well this is true. But you have to drop down well below the Buckmaster before you will have major issues. The Buckmaster is not a high end scope, but is still a solid scope I'd trust. With some scopes you might see very minor changes in impact as you change powers. But we're talking very minor differences. I was discussing this with another poster months ago who complaned about brand X scope changing his point of impact when he changed from 9X down to 3X. When we did the math on it there was a difference of about 1/4" at 100 yards. Less than the diameter of most big game hunting bullets. My solution was this. Zero the scope at the highest power. At close ranges I only use the lowest power setting and 1/4" difference at close range isn't a factor. At anything over 100 yards I'd pass right over all the intermediate settings and go straight to the highest power where it was zeroed. I've NEVER heard of a scope losing its zero because of changing magnification. Only very slight differences at different power settings.