Nikko Stirling Gold Crown [4x40]

[NTSOG]

G'day,

I was a at gun show recently and found a Used Gold Crown 4x40 scope in very clean condition for $A30 which equals about 18 Pounds UK. I have brought the focus back to my effective air gun range - about 30 yards - but have not found any information about this model at all, e.g date of production and so on. In particular is it air gun rated or will I have to reserve it for none recoiling target air rifles?

Jim

Victoria
Australia

[Squirrelking]

NS should be good for airguns anyway, from a recent discussion from what I make out unless you have a proper scope killer like a TX200SL or Diana 56 then most scopes are fine for sub 12. That said I'm not sure what your limits are over there (if any) so could be talking out my arse.

If it's gloss paint then it'll be anything up to mid 90's IIRC (as was the fashion)

[NTSOG]

Hi Squirrelking,

Thank you for your response. It is gloss black so is likely 1990s vintage; I could not find any listing for the model on the Nikko Sterling website, so figured it to be pretty old.

We don't have power limits on air rifles over here as we have to have a Cat. A firearms licence to own anything that looks like a firearm since the massacre of 35 people in Tasmania in 1996 by a maniac. All my high power rifles, ranging from 14 ft.lbs. up to 29, already have scopes so it will not be going on anything really powerful, though I do have a FWB 127 that destroyed a Bushnell Banner in three shots shooting at about 600fps.

I'll keep it for something really tame.

Thanks again,

Jim.

[landymick]

The 80's version is a decent scope & should be ok on the Sport with decent mounts, as with most scopes of that period they were intended for rimfire & full bore rifles with airguns given a back seat which is why the PA was set at 100 yards.

I have a few of these & are sat happily on HW80 & HW35 all at UK power.

[NTSOG]

That's good to know landymick. I was impressed with the quality and weight of the scope - there is nothing cheap about it. The glass is very clear too. I will find a use for it on my Anschutz 335 or something similar. My aged eyes need all the help they can get!

Thank you,

Jim.

[AC all day]

I fitted a Gold Crown to a SxS 10b for shooting squirel dreys....never had a problem!!....they were sold through Parker Hale so check out there old brouchers for more info...

[NTSOG]

AC all day: thanks for your help. Doing a search under Parker Hale/Nikko Stirling Gold Crown led to lots of information. One article suggested the 'glass' in the gold Crown scopes was superior to many later scopes. Certainly it struck me as very clear and sharp.

For the price it looks like I have done all right.

Jim.

[oliver13]

I remember the magazine ads for these, back in the '80's I think. There were assorted grades, with the Gold Crown being the best & Silver Crown as a budget option.
I've got a Silver Crown 4x32 on my wifes Mercury,
it's a good little scope, waterproof, nice & clear with a Duplex reticle, I can't see anything to justify a 'budget' appellation.

[NTSOG]

Thanks for the further information oliver13. My perception is that the Gold Crown is a well made scope. I can't see it ever being a 'budget' scope given the obvious quality of construction and the clear 'glass'. It was sitting amongst a lot of old and quite 'tired' scopes at a local gun show and the price was just $A30 - I suspect many people ignored it. It has a few scratches as one might expect, but it is a solid piece of kit and the view through it is very sharp compared to many scopes of later manufacture.

Many thinks,

Jim.

[rabbitwrecker]

Good scopes back in the day, as was the Platinum range...

[Geezer]

Good scopes back in the day, as was the Platinum range...

Still good scopes now, and they look just right on a 1980s springer.

[NTSOG]

Hi Geezer,

They are a very stylish looking scope. Do you have any idea about their capacity to tolerate springer recoil? The one I found will go on a springer, but were they built for heavy or light 'duty'? Were they actually made, in the 1980s, with spring air rifles in mind or should I just be conservative and put it on a lower power rifle?

Jim

[Geezer]

Hi Geezer,

They are a very stylish looking scope. Do you have any idea about their capacity to tolerate springer recoil? The one I found will go on a springer, but were they built for heavy or light 'duty'? Were they actually made, in the 1980s, with spring air rifles in mind or should I just be conservative and put it on a lower power rifle?

Jim

I genuinely cannot give you a definitive view.

I can give you my opinion.

I used a Japanese "ASI" branded Japanese 4x40 intensively (tens of thousands of shots) for ten years on an FWB Sport. At various points the mounts crept, and the scope crept in other mounts, and at one point the front lens ring came loose and had to be tightened, but the reticle did not break, and the adjustments worked.

I have also used a variety of older Japanese glass on springers with no problem. The only scope I have had break was a bargain-basement Chinese Simmons.

I have a feeling that the whole "springer rated" thing was as much a marketing ploy as a real thing. Fact is, cheap scopes break, especially on anything with significant recoil or spring surge. Most "airgun" scopes were not designed for airguns, they were designed for entry-level deer rifles.

Back in the day, the better NS/Bentley/Hakko/Optima/Beeman/ASI/etc Japanese scopes all seemed to work well on mainstream springers. Maybe not on Webley Patriots or Theoben Eliminators.

Ultimately, you have bought an old good scope for about 10-25% of what a scope of equivalent quality would cost new. It is worth a punt on a springer. Which springer?

[rabbitwrecker]

I've used Gold Crowns on a variety of springers without incident...

[landymick]

Yep I've had & still got the Silver Crown versions & these are still Ok all on various springers & as Geezer says cheap scopes don't last on untamed springers.