As promised, part two of my Nikko Stirling Panamax 3-9x40 AO/IR review.
First thing to mention is that I have taken it off my 99S and put in on my 95K. The 99 looked and felt really over scoped and it didn’t do it any favours weight and balance wise. Secondly, I have ditched the NS low mounts and gone back to Sportsmatch. Finally, I have removed the O rings that I fitted to stop the reticle focus ring form inadvertently becoming moved.
I am finding the half mil dot to be nice and fine but not too fine that it gets lost within the target in low light and, as I said earlier, it does not seem to “bloom” when the IR is turned on as I have noticed with some Hawkes. When the Hawke’s do this I have to re focus the reticle slightly. This may be my eyesight so I won’t criticise out of hand the Hawke reticle or focus performance.
Zeroing in was very straightforward and I had it grouping within my ability in a short space of time. Now, I have heard of this going “round the box” check but I am not really up on it but given my limited experience I clicked a set number of increments right, down, left, and back to the beginning and the zero seemed to be the same.
It’s been a poor weekend weather wise so this afternoon was the first real opportunity I have had to put it through its paces and after about a hundred or so rounds everything is in order.
So, would I buy another? Lets see.
Build quality and ease of use etc:-
To be fair, had I got one of these before I was introduced to Hawke via a bundled gun/scope from Redbeck at Wakefield I would have been over the moon with it. Things have really come on since I last bought a scope back in the early 80’s, a Tasco 4x40 wide angle with no AO or suchlike. That said, and to be fair, I feel that the fit and finish is not quite the same as Hawke. For example, the locking ring on the objective lens has been caught slightly with the tool use to tighten it up but nothing that a black marker pen wouldn’t sort if you were to be really obsessive. As pointed out earlier, the focus ring is relatively slack and could become out of adjustment if you were careless with it. The parallax adjuster has just the right amount of resistance though. The seals below the turret caps are a bit too big for their purpose however, they do keep out the dirt and moisture etc as intended. The paint/powder coating is not as substantial as on Hawke. For me, the reticle is perfect, it does not float in the sight picture like say a Panorama but it is a good clear and useable design with plenty of aim point options and the overall image quality is excellent.
Value for Money:-
The next logical choice would have been nearly two thirds more in terms of cost and looking at things from a diminishing returns point of view I think the Nikko is a bargain, despite my observations above.
To answer my question above, yes, I would have another
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Originally Posted by robhw97k
ill just set dials to suit my eyes,zero scope in then just leave the dials alone.if it cant keep zero ill send it back.
