Modifying Nightforce Turrets

[varmartin]

Loosing your elevation Zero( being a whole turn out ) is something that does not happen very often if one is careful, but could have serious consequences if unnoticed ...

 

I thought long and hard about marking the turret some how to help remember which line the turret needs to be set on for zero.

 

I could have returned both my NXS scopes to Nightforce and have them fit `zero stop`elevation turrets , but that would have cost a couple hundred ££....

so i thought about a different solution.

 

This is what I did.

 

First I removed the turret by slackening the single hex grub screw about five turns out.

Using a Dremel, I drilled a small hole in the lower edge of the turret on the zero line.

 

I then refitted the turret and tightened the grub screw. Using the hole as a guide I spun the drill bit by hand to mark the inner column.

I then rotated the turret two full turns ( 20 MOA ) and marked again in the same fashion.

 

Now when the turret is removed I was left with two small counter sunk part drilled holes which I filled with paint. The lower zero hole in green and the upper in red.

 

Please note ..I have no intentions of swapping scopes around between different rifles and have 20 MOA rails fitted to both rifles these scopes are on , so cannot see any issues in the immediate future with carrying out this mod...

 

See images attached for a shooters eye view of how it looks...

 

This image is my turret set at a 100 yard zero...

 

This image is with the turret set at 20 MOA. ( two full turs up )

 

This image is with the turret removed but sat on the adjuster to show both marks..

 

I could have made the red hole location pretty much any where on the scope column, but set it at 20 MOA. This modification will only ever serve to indicate my 100 yard zero and nothing else. If I am more than one turn away from that reference point it shows in the `window` to serve as a reminder ...

 

Any comments or other ideas are always welcomed ..so fire away ..so to speak .

 

 

note: This is also posted elsewhere.

[Streeker59]

I think your idea is inspired. Couldn't have done it any better myself mate...

[6mmBR]

Excellent idea Martin and beautifullly done.

Thanks for sharing what is a simple solution to the problem, well thought out.

Cheers

Dave

[foxing2night]

Away to go dude!!!!!!

 

You clever little bugger

 

All the best from Wales, Darrel

[varmartin]

Thanks for the kind words guys....

 

I was actually thinking hard about a lot more complicated ideas, involving a mechanical zero stop and how to incorporate it..

I went this rout because it was basic, simple and east to do. Plus with a mechanical stop i was unsure as to weather it would put any unwanted strain on the turret mechanism.

 

I have heard of guys placing a washer under the turret to stop it screwing in any farther, but all that does is lift the insert out of the scope tube when it hits the stop..not good.

 

I know how to make a zero stop turret , but it involves ` nano ` surgery on the inner wall of the cap and i have not got that kind of patients ...

 

This will have to do for now...

[Barrelsniffer]

Smashing idea mate..well thought.

 

Mick

[bruxie hill]

its always the simple ideas

well done bruxie

[Ballistic Hamster]

Good idear , going to buy a Dremal

[brown dog]

Don't have a nightforce (so don't have a clue what I'm talking about!) -but why not just put a small strip of waterproof tape on the vernier scale at the zero stop position? You'd be able to see it at all elevation settings not just when set to zero and wouldn't have to drill any holes (and could move it if ever required to).

Just my no-value observation .

[varmartin]

Yep... That would work too..but would not of been much fun

now would it?

[brown dog]

Yep... That would work too..but would not of been much fun

now would it?

 

[bigun]

may have been better if you had drilled the hole inside the zero 0 ? iv done it my self been a turn out ect had to go away and set it up again ..i think i will do the tape trick just because i may want to sell the scope one day if i ever pack up !

[varmartin]

Unfortunatly drilling out the 'o' would not work as the vernier scale ends just above the red dot.

Give me a shout when you want to sell your NXS

[Elwood]

And what if your zero shifts, lets say when using powder like RL 15/19/22/25 that varies from lot to lot or you decide to use a different bullet or use the rifle with or without a sound mod? aren't you slightly buggered, or have I missed something obvious here?

 

From reading your post again I can see that my initial worries are sort of un-founded as you would still have a very good indication of your zero if not exact

 

There was a chap in the US selling washers that went inside the drum, you built up the washers until you hit your zero. I then read that certain parts on Nightforce scopes are made from brass and that if you wound back down to zero to hard the thread would strip and Nightforce wouldn't touch the scope under warranty ( I have three sets of the washers but I have never used them )

 

The answer to the problem apparently was to make sure you set the washers 1 or 2 MOA below your zero, once you went around 1 revolution you then turned the turret very carefully. Whether this worked or not I do not know, but I never read about anyone stripping the threads.

[brown dog]

There was a chap in the US selling washers that went inside the drum, you built up the washers until you hit your zero. I then read that certain parts on Nightforce scopes are made from brass and that if you wound back down to zero to hard the thread would strip and Nightforce wouldn't touch the scope under warranty ( I have three sets of the washers but I have never used them )

 

 

 

Blimey how hard would you have to turn it to strip the thread?! I can't imagine that a normal finger & thumb adjustment would do that.

 

How do the turrets 'bottom out' normally? Presumably there's a mechanical end-stop. Do they often get stripped that way?

 

If I couldn't get proper scopes and had to use NF( sorry, couldn't help myself! ), I'd use the washers for certain. I think I'd just remember that when it stopped turning, I shouldn't try to force it.

[onehole]

Brill idea Martin,you told me you were gonna do this and looks very very good.Gonna get me dremmil out soon and do mine too!!! but I may just do something similar but drilling the hole somewhere else and poking an extra fine paint marker through the dremmeled hole and making a visible mark in gold or silver,that way if zero is way off on another set up then I can easily erase the mark and make another?

Just another idea but may just do the same as you.Well done anyway.

[Ronin]

Good idea to a frustrating problem with NF scopes

 

 

My solution is to buy to PM11's

[varmartin]

And what if your zero shifts, lets say when using powder like RL 15/19/22/25 that varies from lot to lot or you decide to use a different bullet or use the rifle with or without a sound mod? aren't you slightly buggered, or have I missed something obvious here?

 

From reading your post again I can see that my initial worries are sort of un-founded as you would still have a very good indication of your zero if not exact

 

Hi Elwood...

 

I had thought that one through...

 

Even if you change your load , powder bullet ,stick a mod on what ever...Your elevation is never going to be far out at 100 yards/meters.

 

When ever we re zero a rifle dont we all just reset the turret to read `zero` ?

 

With this set up, I can be upto 5MOA out on elevation and when i reset the turret to zero im still on or very close to seeing `all green ` in the window .

[eldon]

On the stripping the thread comment, a friend once fired on a target at 200 yds with an IOR scope and it I spotted it miles off. Moved onto a 50 yd target and just couldn't get it on. The thread had stripped on the windage and he said he hadn't forced it

[londonhunter]

On the stripping the thread comment, a friend once fired on a target at 200 yds with an IOR scope and it I spotted it miles off. Moved onto a 50 yd target and just couldn't get it on. The thread had stripped on the windage and he said he hadn't forced it

 

 

Come on guys the chap is onto something

 

not perfect but bloody good idea and shows the yanks what they should have come up with in the first place 07 years ago

 

Just wish we have a British scope manufacturer that is a world leader

 

rather than bowing to germans and the yanks - nothing I am proud of at all

 

Extreme and one of scenarios are rare occurance and not constructive at all

 

Why do we love knocking winners in this country ?

[brown dog]

Come on guys the chap is onto something

 

not perfect but bloody good idea and shows the yanks what they should have come up with in the first place 07 years ago

 

Just wish we have a British scope manufacturer that is a world leader

 

rather than bowing to germans and the yanks - nothing I am proud of at all

 

Extreme and one of scenarios are rare occurance and not constructive at all

 

Why do we love knocking winners in this country ?

 

 

ummmm; non sequitur .

 

I think an issue here could be stripey deckchairs attracting wasps; whereas rubberbands reach.

[Ronin]

I dont think anyone is knocking Martin for his ingenuity.

 

My comments were certainly made in jest, I make no apologies for sarcasm

 

 

 

I have a 8-32 NF that I use in F Class, it's let down by the very same issue MArtin has addressed, why NF cannot rethink this problem is beyond me - USO have sorted the issue.........

 

 

However, I wont be making the modification as I cannot see me sticking with the scope long term.

 

It would be nice if the brits made a decent scope, fairly certain that is a pipe dream