bman940

No offense taken. You are right, until a range trip or 5, one can not truly comment on anything but the glass. I can now confirm that, yes, it does work as expected. 4 range trips and the 5th to a buddy's place where I took it to 500 yards, easily. This is a big optic for shooting well past 500 yards. I would not be putting it on my deer rifle as I have had the occasion to harvest doe inside 50 yards. On my first range trip, I DID check the tracking and ran a box test of up 32 clicks, right 32 clicks, down, and then left 32 clicks and ended up back at my zero, within .5 inches. When I first stated that I was impressed, it was with the clarity of the glass and the workmanship of the optic. I am new to Blackhound and glad I bought one. I will be getting another, their Emerge 2-12X44, at this week's Labor Day sale. It'll go on my .308 Win deer rifle.

I recently picked up a Blackhound Optics, Evolve 5-25X56. I am very impressed and today just read a favorable review in, Industryoutsider on-line publication. This scope will be sitting on my Bergara B-14 6.5 CM. I can't wait to get it to the range. Must haves for me were, zero-stop,MOA,Illumination,Parallax,FFP, and aiming reticle. For well under a grand including the 34mm mounts, it is a deal.

I love my Meopta Meo Star S2 Spotter.

Just as an FYI- The glass and coatings are not different than the B11 except for the addition of the hydrophobic coating. Some of the manufacturing tolerances were reviewed and enhanced to give a better viewing experience and increase the durability of the binocular. I don’t know specifics on what exactly was reviewed or improved. MeoPro Air will have glass that is equivalent to the B1.1 (HDED+) without the fluoride objective lenses.

Rico, One more Nikon for you to chaeck out is the M-223 3-12x42 BDC 600 or Rapid Action Turret like I have here in the below pic. The 3-12 is one of my favorite magnification ranges. You are still able to get up close as well as reach out as needed. I have used the below set-up to hit 4 inch jars of tannerite at 600 yards and watched guy's brand new to the BDC reticle do the exact same. All that is accomplished because of Nikon's Spot On Ballistic Program. It let's you dial in your shooting data to the rifle and scope. Very easy to use and accurate. The M-223 is built with Nikon's MONARCH glass so you know it is the best. Drop me a note if you have any question's and take a look at some of CW's Sponsor's to see if any can help you out.

Clear winner? If only it was that easy. The key is to do what you are doing, ask around, reasearch, look down some tubes and then buy the one you think will work the best for your needs. While I do some freelance work for Nikon I won't tell you they are the best for your needs. I will encourage you to take a look at their BDC reticle ( yes I know, some of you don't like it) and also Spot On, which allows you to enter your shooting data into the program and get the corresponding distances for each BDC circle. I can tell you it works pretty darn good too. Good enough to hit 4 inch jars of tannerite at 600 yards with stock rifles. I have also harvested deer between 500-600 yards using .308 and .300 Win. topped with BDC scopes. Have an open mind and check out Nikon Spot On Ballistic Program. I've enlightened a lot of guys at the range who weren't initially BDC fans but couldn't argue with the success they had after giving it a try.

I have easily put over 2000 rounds under this compact scope and I have nothing but good things to say about it. First off, I do some PR work for Nikon but believe me, I wouldn't pass along a recommendation if I didn't have first hand knowledge of the product. I have been using this scope on my Comp/ carbine until I let me son try it out and now it's sitting on his LMT until I get another one. Great clarity and field of view. Stadia lines let you use Spot On to dial your ammo into the scope and rifle. Great price and light weight. I do recommend Nikon P-Series 2 piece mounts for this compact scope. I don't see it fitting into a 1 piece mount. http://i1216.photobucket.com/albums/dd363/bman940/P-223%203X/spotonp2233x.jpg

As Joe said the Nikon RifleHunter 1000 is one heck of a Rangfinder. Besides the I/D Terchnology one of my favorite features is the bright LED display that comes in handy for low light conditions. These have been such hot sellers I don't have one yet. LAst Dec. I borrowed a buddies who happened to luck out and get one at Cabela's. I was hunting Kansas and it was cold,snowing and blowing snow, the RifleHunter worked great. It is nice to be able to range multiple objects for distance reference once you get set up and that is usually 0-dark-hundered. Check it out before you make a choice. Doesn't hurt to look, if it's not for you buy what you think will work better. Like I said, these have been flying off the shelves and reviews have been excellent, for a reason. Drop me a note if you have any questions about Nikon Sport Optics. Bart Nikon Pro staff

Young, An opinion for all of us, none less right then the next guy. I see you mentioned elk later in the thread, so why not step up to a .338 or .340 WM. You have an ought six and 7 mm, why get another 30 cal., go big or go home, right? Then again, if it's gonna be a while before you do go elk hunting (plus your other rifles are great elk slayers) step down to something fun. Maybe an AR or .243 (lots of ammazing ammo choices) or one of my favorites and someone else mentioned, a .257 WM. Make sure you save enough for good optics, but that is a whole different can of worms! Bart Nikon Pro Staff