Nightforce SHV 3-12×56

A couple of weeks ago Declan Mouland from DM Firearms contacted me and asked if I would like to review a scope for him, when it comes to reviewing products in the field you know I need no invitations, so I said dam right I do.

A couple of days later I  received in the mail a Brand New Nightforce SHV 3-12×56 rifle scope ( cost £665) to test and review and send back.

GEEK STUFF

Nightforce SHV 3-12×56 Rifle Scope – SFP. The Nightforce SHV™ 3-12 x 56 is a result of Nightforce’s ambition to create a top of the range rifle scope at a much more affordable price. Nightforce are confident it will outperform any rifle scope in its price range, and even many that cost much more.

Features

• 30mm bodytube
• Capped .25 MOA adjustments
• On some models Side parallax adjustment (25 yards to infinity), but the one I tested had no Parallax adjust.
• European style fast focus eyepiece.

Nightforces statement : “Experience the same premium quality and absolute precision only a Nightforce riflescope can deliver; now in a compact, more economical package”.

Available Reticles

Reticle IHR

IHR Reticle
IHR stands for International Hunting Reticle, with good reason. It’s uncluttered and lightning fast, equally effective on dangerous game in tight quarters and at longer ranges on smaller targets. A floating center crosshair provides simple hold off capability. 3, 6 and 9 o’clock posts bring the eye quickly to your target. This scope freatures the non-illuminated IHR reticle.

My Views 

Well I have to say I was not hugely enthusiastic when I received the Nightforce for reasons that were personal to me. In the past I have used the NSF and the NSX ranges and as a hunter I always thought Nightforce just aimed at the target shooter market and although good performance on targets was no use for hunting. Recently though, probably due to my trip to the U.S and a lot more research in scopes, I have come to appreciate precision rifle scopes that many target shooters use in a more practical sense. Possibly because I am mainly a “hunter” I lacked appreciation for scopes used by range marksman.

Nightforce to me has always felt over priced for what they offer in regards to the hunting world being mainly aimed (in the UK) at range target shooters but taken up by static foxers. I have always believed that top end hunting scopes of the same price offered a better range with respect to hunting the world and on many occasions offering better glass and practicality for the price.

UP until NOW!!!!

Over the last couple of years the price of high-end glass manufacturing has come down on price and people, when I say people I mean hunters, were edging towards more versatile scopes.

The days of fixed magnification hunting scopes are in the past, except for a few good ones like the Meopta 7×50 and the Schmidt 8×56, with hunters wanting to shoot out to longer ranges with more precision and thus calling for variable zoomed scopes.

I had been assured though by my friends in the States who know scopes and who are professional competition shooters, Gerald and Sam Delk, that  I would not be disappointed with this scope, and I have to say they were right.

Nightforce have long been renowned for their high-end tactical application for their scopes really appealing to the long range shooter and military marksman but with the SHV they have now breached the hunting market properly in my opinion.

SHV??

SHV stands for “Shooter,  Hunter, Varminter” and it really does tick all those boxes and I proved it.

During my test I made a point to see what it can withstand so instead of just sitting in a field or on the range “denting primers” I attempted to see what it can do in regards to “out in the field” and for data input or “DOPE” info I used the Strelok + app on my phone (costs £7.99).

Firstly: As I do with every scope I tested it on my .22lr CZ455,

Reason for this is because ammo is cheap and this little rifle is the most reliable straight forward rifle anyone can ever own. For some reason this little rifle out performs me and makes me look good every time I use it, when I am having a bad day (like we all do) this rifle still performs and makes shooting look easy.

On the .22lr with the floaty RWS Subsonic ammo it performed lovely, once I put the data into the app for the ammo the scope and the app worked very well together shooting rabbits well beyond the .22lr’s effective accurate range at ease.

Secondly: I put it on the .270 Tikka T3,

This is my main work/stalking rifle that usually holds a very good 3-12×50 Swarovski Habicht hunting scope, reliable lightweight and excellent glass and it always pains me to remove it.

I needed to see how it would perform in regards to bigger recoils and the .270 does have a sharp recoil with the 130gr SST bullet homeload.

After 30 rounds of primer denting it still held zero perfectly.

Lastly: I installed this scope on the .243 Browning Abolt 2 .

this rifle is as versatile as you can get and probably the most all rounder I have. To test the claime of “SHV” putting it  on an “Off the shelf” rifle set up is by far the best test you can get for any scope.

Day 1:

Zero day, and this happened with no issues at all, after bore sight the rifle sent its first round with the scope on deep within the 2″ Shoot N C  with just light tweaks for the second round. Easy quick and cheap just the way I like it.

Day 2:

Distance check, the claims that this scope was an all rounder had to be checked so I took my gear off to a farm I have shooting on to try this out both in field conditions and at distance. (please see video).

Originally I had planned to shoot a bulletproof plate at 500yrds but due to the fear of ricochet and safety I decided against it and set up a board target on a safe backstop set at 400yrds. I also decided, probably unfairly, to take the shot from inside my truck off the window rim of the drivers seat, this is a position that many foxers find themselves when lamping their grounds or shooting from a vehicle.

The conditions for shooting out to that range were far from perfect, the wind was gusty between 5 and 10 mph, the ground was far from level so the vehicle was angled nose down and the barrel was cold with no previous practice shots, all conditions you would find while out foxing.

I have to say I am very impressed with the results, first shot the rifle slipped on the window, which was my fault, but I was still able to hit the board 3 inches away from the 2 inch centre target although high and to the left, second shot was perfect elevation a couple of inches from the centre 2 inch target.

If I was shooting at a fox at 400yrds or even a deer then I had to be competent that the dials would do the job and this test showed that it could so later that day I managed to test it out further to 500yrds at a different location but had no way of taking footage (my phone had died and the cable in my truck wouldn’t charge it). The conditions were better and this time I took the shot from a modified prone position just hitting left edge of the 2 inch shoot n c twice roughly in the same spot less than quarter inch a part. Clearly I was far more confident in taking this long range for hunting.

Day 3:

I had  a call from one of my protection ground that after a snow fall the earlier evening a few deer had been pushed down into the protected hardwood and could I deal with it, this was a perfect chance to try out the scope on its first hunting conditions.

Temperature was -1°C but the wind chill (as it always is) was far lower around -10°C real feel. The ground had a skiffing of snow on it and I spotted this young Doe around 500 yrds away using the binoculars, I stalked in as far as I could without being noticed and as the wind was already face on and she was at an elevated position above me there was no way i could get in any closer without spooking/bumping her so I lay down in the long heather and balanced the rifle on to of a rock and ranged the Doe with my Bushnell rangefinder, she ranged at 248yrds.

I knew my hold over already at that range with the .243 at 12x mag but as my rest was far from stable I put my trust in dialing the scope so I double checked my clicks on my phone quickly and it told me 248yrds was 9 clicks reading 2.3 on the turret (as the scope goes up on .25 per click I took it to 2.25), I then aimed for just behind the right shoulder and sent the round and the young Doe dropped on the spot.

With the scope performing this well I could only put my full trust in the set up from now on.

Day 4: 

I had guests for deer booked for this day so I made the decision to take the .243 along with the .270.

My guest had never shot a deer before so was a complete Novice, after a morning of bad luck and missed opportunities on the hill I took the decision to go to another property where i knew the stalking would be a little easier.

Surely enough after a few minutes on the ground I spied a Doe and kid in deep cover within the wooded area. After spying their movement for a bit I proceeded to walk the guest in to try head them off in a clearing of the wood which worked perfectly, lying in the sodden wet grass both the Doe and kid came into view.

The deer were feeding calmly and my guest, Cassidy, settled his breathing. Using the .243 and with the Nightforce on it he decided he was going to take the kid as the adult Doe was not providing a shot for either of us, this I was very happy with as I always prefer to take the young first if need be and the take the adult second if the opportunity arises.

Cassidy sent his round and the young Roe deer fell to the ground, lovely precise shot made by Cassidy and with a strange rifle set up he had never shot before.

This was proof that when it comes to eye relief and usability that the scope can cater for a wide variety of people.

Day 5: Deer management Duties

Difficult conditions in deer management, often on grounds I manage you have no option of long stalks or choosing what you shoot as your sole employment is to cull deer under license, often though you will find there is just a fence or a road dividing what is under license and what is not and for me on this occasion it was just that.

The most prolific deer on this ground is Roe Deer, and as the licence covers just one area within this 200 acre property any deer within the protected site is shot on sight at this time of year so i find myself shooting deer I really do not want to.

On looking over the grounds I spotted a deer browsing trees and watched him slowly move into the open, after ranging the deer at 312yrds and 315yrds (well within killing range of a .243) the deer was positioned above me and I really had no time before it would have went deep within the trees I set up on the back of my truck, dialed in and took the shot, clean and safe and well happy it went well. (please see video)

The real test was yet to come.

Day 6: Or should I say night,

Deer management takes me all over and on different terrain from sea level farmland to croftland at 2000ft and this night was no exception.

Night Licenses are issued in areas that deer attack grazing or woodland predominantly after the hours of darkness, many deer managers like myself use them but culling deer at night in the lamp has its own problems and these problems are not just weather related but also often in the most harshest of terrain and environments, culling and extraction has to be done very carefully as disaster can and will happen.

This particular piece of ground has to be walked into, you cannot lamp or observe from a vehicle and it is very high up on the foothills of the mountains. Often I find deer do a lot of damage in a certain area of this ground and it is very hard to extract from (around a mile drag) and on occasion it is hard to find the deer in the thick cover, even worse if the snow is lying on top.

Wind chill was below -10°C and my phone was telling me real feel was -15°C so and the moderator and my shooting sticks were iced up.

I took the .243 as I had just shot a couple more lower down with the .270 from the vehicle so it was a chance to see how the scope held up to these conditions. I know my .270 and the the Swarovski handles it well and the .243 itself works well with its usual Meopta Artemis 3-12×50 so it was time to try the Nightforce SHV.

Frankly I could not have asked for a better scope in these conditions, very lowlight in the lamp, wind , subzero conditions and a blizzard on the walk up you would expect a £665 scope to first steam up then freeze up and I have had that happen on me with scopes of the past. This is truly as extreme as it gets when hunting in the Highlands. In the video you can see the ice on the handles of my shooting sticks.

In the lamp I saw a deer lying in deep heather, at this point I could not tell exactly what it was as it was just eyes popping above the undergrowth sheltering from the wind. I stalked in closer getting within 200yrds of it and set up on my sticks to get a better look.

I had my oldest son with me and the dog (the dog is essential for finding deer in this terrain).

My son held the lamp while I looked through the scope on the rifle allowing me to see a fairly nice sized Roe by herself, just to make sure she was on her own I had a scan around for other deer with the thermal imager and it appeared that she was in fact by herself in that area.

I walked another ten yards or so towards her slowly and set up again on the sticks, my son turned the lamp on and shone so I can have a clear look at her. At this point she stood up but still not really bothered about our presence. I ranged the deer at between 183yrds and 186yrds.

It was cold it was windy and it was starting to snow again, I loved the whole thing this type of hunting is what I love.  The Doe was munching on a what looked like a bush side on to me, I raised the .243 securely on my sticks giving me a steady shot, looking through the scope I could see her perfectly, the clarity was amazing, well up there with my Swarovski and Meopta set ups. I had no hesitation and no need for dialing (my fingers would have not allowed it anyway) I squeezed the trigger and the beast was down.

Conclusion

Over the last couple of weeks this rifle with the Nightforce has taken 10 deer, worked in hostile subzero conditions, shot out to 500yrds, back slapped me for miles and out performed some scopes I have tested that cost 3 to 4 hundred pounds more. What can I say?

Can this be used Tactically as a range precision scope? Yes!

Can this be used for Varminting from a vehicle or in the field? Yes!

Can this dial adjust securely and accurately? Yes

Can this cope with the weather when stalking in the Highlands? Yes

Is this the best glass for the money? Probably up there with the best

Would I buy this? YES!

IS there anything that lets this scope down? Unfortunately YES!

This scopes main let down is that it is Second Focal Plane and if it was not for this I would say that this was the best scope on the market at this price range this is just personal preference.

There are better First Focal Plane scopes out there for the same money or just a little bit more and you can pay less for a second hand top of the range scope such as a Schmidt or Swarovski but what they lack that this doesn’t is the range and dial capability. The Nightforce SHV 3-12×56 truly provides everything your looking for from a scope and IF this was a FFP scope then it would truly have everything you can possibly ask for in a multi use scope but unfortunately being SFP has let it down hence why I can only give it 4 out of 5 on the star rating.

For the money and for what you can do with this and as a multifunctional scope I would happily invest in one of these. I believe unlike other SFP  scopes this out performs all its competition. At £665 I cannot see its value depreciate too far after bought from new so a good investment. It is a NIGHTFORCE after all and it is well up there with its tactical brothers and sisters.