Nightforce Problem?

[Topshot]

Originally Posted by Nimrodmar10

There's not a locking nut on a Nightforce. The rear lens turns with the power adjustment.

Yes there is.
Its the thin ring between the power adjustment and the lense housing.

If you don't know that it exists then I think we have found the problem.
http://nightforceoptics.com/OwnersManual.pdf

See page three, item "D" Eye piece locking ring.

[Nimrodmar10]

You're right there is a ring. But all that is locked down solid. The movement is the entire rear lens assembly including the power adjustment assembly. It all moves on the rotation point for the power adjustment.

[phorwath]

Would be nice if you could show your NF to a gunsmith that has experience with NightForce NXS scopes and have him examine it in the effort to confirm it's in need of repair. Shy of that, I'd suggest you call NightForce and explain what's going on. Pretty sure it's broke - and they'll tell you to ship it to them for inspection and repair.

I'm surprised your rifle shoots as good as it does with the NF eyepiece wiggling around as described.

[WildRose]

Originally Posted by Nimrodmar10

By "move the rear lens" I mean grab the rear lens and wiggle it while holding the gun and rest of the scope still. If I look through the scope while doing this the cross hairs move on the target. I'm wondering if it's just my NF NXS or if they all do it. The barrel is floated and I don't believe the stock needs to be bedded. It is steady in the aluminium bedding block.

You have a busted scope one way or another.

Call your dealer or call NF directly ASAP.

[Nimrodmar10]

I've got a Leupold 24x that I'm going to put on it this weekend. That shoud tell me if the scope is the problem or if the gun is the problem.

I still wish another NF owner would take a look at their scope and see if their's does the same thing. It may not even be a problem. Like I say, I'm grasping at straws. I may have to bite the bullet and just have the gun rebarreled to make it shoot.

[afp1]

Originally Posted by Nimrodmar10

You're right there is a ring. But all that is locked down solid. The movement is the entire rear lens assembly including the power adjustment assembly. It all moves on the rotation point for the power adjustment.

I am a Nightforce owner. If the only movement is the entire rear eyepiece assembly rotating as you change power, there is no issue. If the crosshairs move when you rotate the eyepiece, there is a problem. I still think calling Nightforce is the answer.

I also wouldn't be surprised if you have a bad barrel or the throat is eroded badly. If I were running a 7 RUM, I'd use a Lothar Walter stainless barrel (the stainless LW uses lasts about triple a factory barrel) in an LV taper and make it 30" long.

[Nimrodmar10]

This must be harder to explain than I thought it would be.

The rear lens wiggles up and down and side to side enough that the crosshairs move 1-2 inches on the target.

I haven't tried adjusting the power while watching the crosshairs but that would probably be a good test. I'll need to lock the rifle in a shooting vice of some sort to do that.

I don't know if the crosshairs are mounted on the first or second focal plane but I'm a little surprised that the crosshairs move with the rear lens. I would have thought they would be mounted on a lens somewhere in the main tube of the scope.

If the groups get tight with the Leupold mounted on the gun I'll know the problem is in the scope. If not, then the NF doesn't have a problem, the gun does.

I appreciate the suggestion on the replacement Lothar Walter stainless barrel. Any suggestions on who the best person would be to do the install? I don't really want the rifle to be gone for months and there are no local smiths I'd trust to do much of anything more than mounting scopes.