Well, sent my Nightforce in for service...

BlackRazor · July 29, 2002, 02:00 PM

AS some of you may remember, I recently purchased a Nightforce 3.5-15x56mm scope, at the recommendation of many others both here and on other shooting boards. Because of the cost of these scopes, no local dealer will carry them, so I had to buy them *unseen* from an online merchant, since on paper it was the only scope that seemed to have all the features I wanted; i.e. illuminated reticle, large objective, large variable power range, side focus parrallax adjustment, external target knobs, great durability and supposedly, superior clarity/optics. I was impressed by all of these features when it arrived... except for one, the optical quality. The first time I took the scope to the range, I noticed blue and sometimes green halos appearing around white high contrast objects (PVC target frame, or where the black meets the white on the target itself). I took it to someone who knows a lot more about optics than I ever will, he took one look at it, and said, "this thing has massive chromatic aberration" at which point he said this was something he would expect on a cheap $50 scope, but not on a $1200 optic. Needless to say, I was disappointed to have spent nearly 2 months pay (at least, what's left over for guns) on scope that gave me an image no better than a Tasco. I called up Nightforce, and they said that all their lenses were *triple* achromat, in red, green and blue, which basically means that there should be ZERO visible chromatic aberration. Now I know a lot of people have had good luck with Nightforce, so I refused to believe that the problem was a fault with the scope's design, and sent it in for warranty repair. I checked the tracking number on my shipment, and it's supposed to arrive today at their factory. My question is, has oneone around here had any experience with the Nightforce customer service/warranty repair department? Are they generally friendly and willing to help, or do they just have a "it's not our problem" sort of attitude? I ask because I just want to know what kind of response to expect and what I should prepare to say in case they are going to be argumentative. Thanks in advance.

YeeDude · July 29, 2002, 11:36 PM

FWIW, I had a fast return on an NXS I sent in to be looked at. They received the scope and had it sent back out to me by Next Day Air within two days.

Most the times I've called them I was also able to get ahold of someone to talk to...

One note for those considering the NXS: The elevation adjustment range is no longer 110MOA value spec'ed in their literature. I have like 101MOA with mine and inquired. Was told the spec decreased because they've since modified the design with an extra and/or oversized seal that increases the scopes waterproofness to something like 30 meters.

MAD DOG · July 30, 2002, 01:14 AM

Nightforce has excellent customer service.
They turn stuff around fast, and when it comes back, its RIGHT.

I bought a used 3.5-15X 56mm from a local shop, and it had a dead spot in the rheostat that controls the reticle brightness.
I sent it in, and they replaced the reticle illuminator, the rheostat, and the battery, cleaned it, and reboxed it in their groovy triangular padded shipping/storage box!
Cost?
No charge, and they sent it back fast, the scope was out of my hands less than a week.
I call that great service, and its a great scope.

http://www.nightforceoptics.com

July 29, 2002, 02:00 PM	#1
BlackRazor Senior Member Join Date: January 6, 2002 Posts: 169	Well, sent my Nightforce in for service... AS some of you may remember, I recently purchased a Nightforce 3.5-15x56mm scope, at the recommendation of many others both here and on other shooting boards. Because of the cost of these scopes, no local dealer will carry them, so I had to buy them unseen from an online merchant, since on paper it was the only scope that seemed to have all the features I wanted; i.e. illuminated reticle, large objective, large variable power range, side focus parrallax adjustment, external target knobs, great durability and supposedly, superior clarity/optics. I was impressed by all of these features when it arrived... except for one, the optical quality. The first time I took the scope to the range, I noticed blue and sometimes green halos appearing around white high contrast objects (PVC target frame, or where the black meets the white on the target itself). I took it to someone who knows a lot more about optics than I ever will, he took one look at it, and said, "this thing has massive chromatic aberration" at which point he said this was something he would expect on a cheap $50 scope, but not on a $1200 optic. Needless to say, I was disappointed to have spent nearly 2 months pay (at least, what's left over for guns) on scope that gave me an image no better than a Tasco. I called up Nightforce, and they said that all their lenses were triple achromat, in red, green and blue, which basically means that there should be ZERO visible chromatic aberration. Now I know a lot of people have had good luck with Nightforce, so I refused to believe that the problem was a fault with the scope's design, and sent it in for warranty repair. I checked the tracking number on my shipment, and it's supposed to arrive today at their factory. My question is, has oneone around here had any experience with the Nightforce customer service/warranty repair department? Are they generally friendly and willing to help, or do they just have a "it's not our problem" sort of attitude? I ask because I just want to know what kind of response to expect and what I should prepare to say in case they are going to be argumentative. Thanks in advance.

July 30, 2002, 01:14 AM	#3
MAD DOG Senior Member Join Date: October 13, 1998 Location: Arizona. Posts: 853	Nightforce has excellent customer service. They turn stuff around fast, and when it comes back, its RIGHT. I bought a used 3.5-15X 56mm from a local shop, and it had a dead spot in the rheostat that controls the reticle brightness. I sent it in, and they replaced the reticle illuminator, the rheostat, and the battery, cleaned it, and reboxed it in their groovy triangular padded shipping/storage box! Cost? No charge, and they sent it back fast, the scope was out of my hands less than a week. I call that great service, and its a great scope. http://www.nightforceoptics.com __________________ BOYCOTT COSTCO!! http://www.tacticalforums.com

July 29, 2002, 11:36 PM	#2
YeeDude Member Join Date: July 8, 1999 Location: S.F. Bay Area Posts: 41	FWIW, I had a fast return on an NXS I sent in to be looked at. They received the scope and had it sent back out to me by Next Day Air within two days. Most the times I've called them I was also able to get ahold of someone to talk to... One note for those considering the NXS: The elevation adjustment range is no longer 110MOA value spec'ed in their literature. I have like 101MOA with mine and inquired. Was told the spec decreased because they've since modified the design with an extra and/or oversized seal that increases the scopes waterproofness to something like 30 meters.