Nightforce BEAST Review

The procedure for setting the Zero Stop™ on the B.E.A.S.T. is slightly different than the mechanism on their NXS line of optics. Instead of getting into the procedure, I'll just say the procedure is straight forward and easy to accomplish but the user should read through the instruction manual prior to making adjustments.

The M2 Precision Elevation Lever on this scope increases the elevation setting by 0.1 mRAD. This particular part of the i4F only increases elevation; it can't be moved in the opposite direction to decrease the elevation. There is a significant amount of resistance in this lever, enough that it can't be engaged with a quick swipe of the thumb while coming off the elevation turret. Deliberate pressure must be applied to add the additional 0.1 mRAD. The same amount of pressure must be applied to return the lever to the non-engaged position. All these features of the i4F stack up for an elevation turret that is a little less than two inches tall. The knob appears out of place but provides for features not found in any other optic.



A locking windage turret is found on the right side of the scope. A small red button protrudes slightly from the outer edge of the turret adjacent to the "0" indication, and must be depressed to move the adjustment off the "0" setting but does not need to be depressed again unless the turret is moved back to zero. This feature ensures that the windage turret does not get inadvertently adjusted away from the zero position without the operator making it happen. I personally know professional competitors that have had their windage settings get adjusted while transitioning from one shooting position to another, so this feature could have been a nice thing to have at that time.



Activating the red button is simple to accomplish and doesn't take any more time to do than a shooter would otherwise need to make an adjustment without the turret lock. The windage turret utilizes clicks at 0.1 mRAD and is marked with increasing numbers both left and right up to 6 mRAD. A stop feature is present on the windage turret so that it can't be rotated past 5.9 mRAD in either direction. This is a handy feature to have and one that I personally appreciate.



After familiarizing myself with the scope, I had some questions to answer while conducting this analysis. First, how good are the optical qualities? Second, I noticed that the M2 Precision Elevation Lever moves when the brake is in the "on" position, so does an input still occur for that 0.1 mRAD if this occurs? Lastly, do the turrets track true and return the scope to zero each and every time?

To begin this evaluation, I mounted the Nightforce B.E.A.S.T. to my custom built 300 Winchester Magnum by ensuring the crossbolt clamps were properly torque down to the scope base, the reticle was level to the action, and the ring cap screws were also properly torqued down.

My first range trip was during a slightly cloudy evening, about an hour prior to sunset. I brought along another optic that is also a 5-25X56 power and of high quality. As I am very familiar with this other optic I figured it would provide a decent baseline to compare the low light capability of the B.E.A.S.T. Unfortunately, I didn't bring along any insect repellant and the mosquitoes were relentless. I was eager to leave before visible light had completely given way to nighttime. However, as the light faded I did have ample time to compare the optics out to 300 yards while attempting to keep the mosquitoes at bay. Eventually, that target was no longer visible to the naked eye but could be identified through each scope. I came to the conclusion that the Nightforce seemed to provide slightly better clarity and contrast into the evening on targets out to 300 yards, as I was able to identify more markings on the target. Low light performance is quite good with this new scope from Nightforce.



The second range day was a beautiful cloudless morning in South Dakota with temperatures in the 70s and a slight 5-8 mph wind from the eight o'clock position. I had the entire range to myself so I spent a couple hours putting the B.E.A.S.T. through the wringer by evaluating the optics, working with the controls, and testing the tracking and return-to-zero on the scope.



Optics and Magnification



I began the day by spending a lot of time just evaluating the optics through the entire magnification range. All of the optical properties on this scope are superb and among the best of any scope I have tested. I was able to discern individual yucca plant stalks at 900 yards, minimal shade difference in dead grass, and objects in dark shadows at 900 yards. Of significant importance to some shooters is that I was unable to detect any chromatic aberration (CA) whatsoever. In the optic I used to compare the low light capability, I was able to easily pick up CA with high contrast objects. Looking through the B.E.A.S.T. at the same objects however, there was absolutely no CA to be seen. If you are a shooter that is particularly sensitive to CA and find it annoying, this is the scope you have been waiting for!

The field of view is very good providing a flat image without any curvature that is crisp throughout the entire magnification range. Only at the maximum magnification could I detect a faint blur at the extreme outer edge, which I estimate to comprise about 1% of the view, so it should be considered a non-issue. Once the magnification is backed off to about 20X, I could not detect any edge blur.

As I decreased the magnification ring, I noticed that the field of view edge shadows were starting to come in around the 11X setting, causing me to creep forward on the stock by about 1/4-inch to maintain a full field of view. I experimented with this occurrence by establishing my eye relief at maximum power of 25X and then decreasing the magnification slowly, paying particular attention to not change my stock weld. Each time, the edge shadows started coming into view at the same approximate power setting. This is unusual as eye relief usually gets shorter when magnification is increased, not when it is decreased. The amount of change in eye relief was slight, but enough worth mentioning in this analysis.

The only other issue I encountered with the magnification was at the lowest setting, where the effect of tunneling occurred from approximately 6.5X down to 5X. This is an effect where the magnification is decreased but the field of view stays the same instead of increasing. Some other very expensive high magnification rifle scopes exhibit this property as well and it is a minor annoyance. However, if a shooter finds his self utilizing the lower magnification settings regularly, he may find this effect particularly distracting.

Operation of Controls



The parallax turret has the function of making the reticle image coincide with the target image when looking through the scope. If parallax is not completely dialed out, any change in head position when looking through the scope will produce a change in bullet impact on the target due to an apparent shift in the reticle position on the target. Turning the parallax turret also focuses the target image and many shooters use the control for this purpose as they possibly don't understand that it should be utilized for parallax instead. While conducting my analysis, I determined that the parallax free setting was also the best target focus on that particular day. This is how it should be and Nightforce has done a superb job. Parallax can shift slightly with a change in atmospheric conditions however, but my experience has shown it to be a very minimal shift. If a shooter has their target in focus, the parallax will be either non-existent or extremely minimal with this scope. Except for one tiny section while adjusting the parallax back toward the close focus setting, the turret rotated smoothly and had enough resistance to give positive feedback. I'm not sure what was causing the drag, but something internally could be felt while adjusting the parallax in that one direction, and only for a very brief portion of the adjustment range. My only suggested improvement for the parallax would be to include some yardage numbering as a quick reference. From that point, the parallax could be fine tuned but it would get the shooter to there faster.

Operation and function of the DigIllum™ was also a breeze to work with. The single push button had a nice amount of resistance and worked exactly as the literature described. Changing illumination intensity levels is as simple as pushing the button. I wish Nightforce would allow this as an upgrade to the NXS line of optics. This illumination control is now my favorite design of any scope I'm aware of! It really is that simple and easy to operate and provides enough intensity levels to cover any illumination need I can think of.

Nightforce's i4F is a magnificent design and I found the entire operation of this turret to be well executed. The 360° Brake control is easy to engage or disengage. This is a feature that has merit for some shooters, many of them being military or professional rifle competitors. But the nice thing about this control is that it doesn't ever have to be used if it isn't needed. The click spacing and feel on the XtremeSpeed elevation turret was perfect. With Nightforce's design, they provide 20 mRAD in only one revolution of the turret but have spaced the clicks far enough apart that the user can easily see which exact click he is on with a fast glance at the turret.

After establishing a 100 yard zero on my rifle, I had 23 mRAD of turret travel remaining. This would get my bullets out to over 1800 yards without having to use the reticle for hold-overs. Since I prefer to dial my initial settings on the scope, there is more than enough turret travel and reticle hold over to shoot to the furthest limit of my bullets capability. Elevation tracking and return to zero on the B.E.A.S.T. at 100 yards were exact through a total of 7 mRAD, the most I was able to test. I checked tracking at 1, 3, 5, and 7 mRAD, returning to zero for one round between each adjustment. In total, two rounds were fired at each elevation setting and all impacts were within ¼ inch of the exact elevation they should have been. The group fired for a check on return to zero produced a tight cluster of bullet holes measuring under 1/2" at 100 yards.