Trij 1-8 or NX8????

[navyman8903]

So my MR556 is desperately needing a better optic. My starter 1-4 Viper PST is going to shift over to my Stag M8 that loves 55gr rounds with its 1/9 twist barrel. The MR556 is going RECCE setup and I want enough power to push the 77gr rounds it loves out to solid distances. I don't want a huge scope on it, and I think 10-12 power is pushing what I want to use it for.

I was set on the Trijicon accupower 1-8, but the NX8 and ATACR's both came out and have my eye. I think the ATACR is out, simply because of my budget. My wife loves guns just like I do, also loves nightforce. But I don't want to pay T5Xi or ATACR 4-16x money for an 8 power, and neither does she. I'm sure the ATACR 8 power will knock my socks off.....but I have a lot of projects. Back to the topic at hand, will the Trij do what the NX8 will do? or should I get an NX8? I know Trij glass on their variable power optics is pretty excellent. I've played with their 1-4 which blew my Vortex out of the water. I'm also not sure the NX8 will offer much durability over the Trij. The trij is also not a VCOG, so I'm not expecting bomb proof. The nightforce also looks to be about $500 more expensive. I like how the controls look on the nightforce, and the reticle looks better to my eye, but the Trijicon will also work just fine. I prefer a MIL setup.


Just wondering if anyone has any feedback on the topic, and which will be the best paring. I'm a buy nice kind of guy, and once I do, I run it into the ground. So It's not a buy both situation or stack my house full of optics. Just don't have money like that. Trying to make the good choice from the start.

[voodoo_man]

Uncapped turrets means no go.

Thick reticle counters is ability to be used effectively.

There is a reason why you can buy them for around $1200 now and a few year old NX whatever doesn't go down in price.

[joshs]

Uncapped turrets means no go.

Thick reticle counters is ability to be used effectively.

There is a reason why you can buy them for around $1200 now and a few year old NX whatever doesn't go down in price.

Doesn’t the NX8 have an uncapped elevation turret? I thought it had capped windage with uncapped zero stop elevation.

[voodoo_man]

Doesn’t the NX8 have an uncapped elevation turret? I thought it had capped windage with uncapped zero stop elevation.

Correct, uncapped with zero stop.

Having used both Trijicon's and NF's zero stop turrets, I do not like Trijicon's as they have walked a bit. Also why would both be uncapped on a 1-8x? I'd much prefer them all to be capped. Maybe an aftermarket solution will exist for that.

It's also too early to tell how the NX8 will work out, but judging from the obvious positive streak of NF optics I doubt there will be any issues.

ATACR 1-8 has capped turrets. Which is means the NF crew had a reason for the NX8 to not have capped turrets. I doubt it could possibly cost that much more (or less).

[00bullitt]

The NX8 is not in the same class as the Trijicon 1-8. The NX8 is more comparable to the VCOG.
The Trij 1-8 is not daylight visible illum. The NX8 is nuclear. The Trij reticle blows; the NX8 is well designed and extremely usable.

If you can justify the cost, go with the NX8. You wont be sorry.
Ive seen and used the ones that Frank Proctor has. They are both game changers.

[joshs]

Correct, uncapped with zero stop.

Having used both Trijicon's and NF's zero stop turrets, I do not like Trijicon's as they have walked a bit. Also why would both be uncapped on a 1-8x? I'd much prefer them all to be capped. Maybe an aftermarket solution will exist for that.

It's also too early to tell how the NX8 will work out, but judging from the obvious positive streak of NF optics I doubt there will be any issues.

ATACR 1-8 has capped turrets. Which is means the NF crew had a reason for the NX8 to not have capped turrets. I doubt it could possibly cost that much more (or less).

I figured it was because of the reticle choice. There isn’t a “Christmas tree” option in the NX8, so it’s a dial elevation and hold wind scope. I really like NF’s zero stop turret, so I was happy to see it on the NX8.

[Clusterfrack]

As 00bullitt said, lack of daylight bright illumination is a dealbreaker. I also reject scopes based on the reticle. The reticle is like tires on a sportscar, except you can’t change it. If it doesn’t meet your needs, move on.

[voodoo_man]

I figured it was because of the reticle choice. There isn’t a “Christmas tree” option in the NX8, so it’s a dial elevation and hold wind scope. I really like NF’s zero stop turret, so I was happy to see it on the NX8.

The atacr has the Horus style reticle.

[navyman8903]

The NX8 is not in the same class as the Trijicon 1-8. The NX8 is more comparable to the VCOG.
The Trij 1-8 is not daylight visible illum. The NX8 is nuclear. The Trij reticle blows; the NX8 is well designed and extremely usable.

If you can justify the cost, go with the NX8. You wont be sorry.
Ive seen and used the ones that Frank Proctor has. They are both game changers.

I figured the ATACR would be closer to the VCOG vs the NX8. Is the NX8 that much better than the Trij 1-8? Is it more a brand preference thing or is the difference that huge?

[00bullitt]

To me, yes, for reasons mentioned earlier.

When you hold the two, the quality differences are quickly apparent.

NF is somewhat a brand preference thing as I can trust their reliability. If you are a recreational shooter, with a budget, the Trijicon will work fine. It is not a hard use piece of kit; the Nightforce is.

[Clusterfrack]

I’ve seen lower quality scopes from both NF and Trijicon... Trijicon doesn’t have much of a track record in high end variables, and NF does.

[CS Tactical]

I figured it was because of the reticle choice. There isn’t a “Christmas tree” option in the NX8, so it’s a dial elevation and hold wind scope. I really like NF’s zero stop turret, so I was happy to see it on the NX8.


People also are unaware of the $300ish or so IP upcharge for a Horus/Christmas tree type reticle on Nightforce and many scopes which will add to the cost of the ATACR.

[navyman8903]

To me, yes, for reasons mentioned earlier.

When you hold the two, the quality differences are quickly apparent.

NF is somewhat a brand preference thing as I can trust their reliability. If you are a recreational shooter, with a budget, the Trijicon will work fine. It is not a hard use piece of kit; the Nightforce is.

Thanks for your response and honesty. I do plan on taking the MR556 to a class or two, and it will be my primary RECCE rifle just because of the beautiful things it can do out to range with the 77gr's in a 16" package. IT's not light, but I think the NX8 might be the ticket. We'll see what happens around tax season coming up here soon.

[navyman8903]

I’ve seen lower quality scopes from both NF and Trijicon... Trijicon doesn’t have much of a track record in high end variables, and NF does.

I mean I can see that. I haven't heard many bad things about the Trij 1-8's. Lots of people seem to love them that have them. I am a quality snob for sure and the 1-4 I was able to play with passed my muster. But I've only ever been able to play with an SHV (Which I liked a lot) and an ATACR 4-16 (a contender for my MR762 with the T5Xi 3-15 slightly in the lead). I know the nightforce will offer pretty solid quality, I also like their turrets and the mag adjustment lever. I know NF is a huge favorite and quality piece both with operators and civ long range marksman. I plan to get a few over time. Just trying to get this RECCE finished.

I don't think the Trij is bad, I know it's a quality difference thing for sure. But I'm just trying to see if the NX8 is going to push $500 ahead in quality is what I'm driving at. The more I think on it the more I'm thinking the NX8 will be on my MR. My wife would also prefer the NF, but she didn't like the price difference. (she wants the NF's on the Bolt gun and DMRs.) I know the glass clarity is going to be a factor. I'm just not sure the glass is that much different. I did say "Wow" when I looked through the 4-16 ATACR. So I know NF is excellent. Also the Trij has a larger objective at 28mm vs the 24mm on the nightforce. But what they can see at range is about the same. I think the battery life is worse on the NF as well, but that's splitting hairs at that point.

I think the biggest sticking point is I was set on the Trij for this long because it was the only thing that met my standards from a company I have run before and trusted, but NF, a company I know is really good, put out the NX8. So it might not be a hard decision for most people but I've been on this track since the 1-8 accupower came out.

[TiroFijo]

The NX8 is not in the same class as the Trijicon 1-8. The NX8 is more comparable to the VCOG.
The Trij 1-8 is not daylight visible illum. The NX8 is nuclear. The Trij reticle blows; the NX8 is well designed and extremely usable.

If you can justify the cost, go with the NX8. You wont be sorry.
Ive seen and used the ones that Frank Proctor has. They are both game changers.

How does the NX8 performs at 1X?
I see the exit pupil is only 7.9 mm, is it still easy to align and fast to use?

[00bullitt]

The NX8 performs near identical to the NXS 1-4, but much faster as a result of the stupid bright illuminated dot. Glass quality is good to very good, but its obvious when the ATACR and NX8 are side by side that the optical powerhouse is the ATACR. The ATACR's eyebox seems to be twice as big; also physically larger than the NX8 by a noticeable amount. That NX8 is freakin TINY!

The reticles are both the same base reticle; the ATACR just has a drop down grid (non-Horus) below center. The segmented circle is 2mils with a dot in the center that was about 1 moa and when on 1x forms a very very bright red dot. 2 Mils is 6.87mao. Sounds big, but it sure wasn't hard to make head shots out to 100 yards on 1x. Beyond 100 and you could increase mag and be very precise with the center dot.

The reticle was very well designed and was easily the brightest daylight visible I have ever seen. Seems like the paper specs may very well hurt this scope as so many folks get wrapped around the axle about the specs.

So the NX8 has more FOV on 1x than the ATACR, but after getting behind them, it certainly did not appear that way. The ATACR looked huge and clearly had far better glass.The eyebox was much more forgiving than the tighter NX8. Granted the NX8 was still very workable. The size and weight of the NX8 are the appealing factors and are worth the trade off on weapon platforms like the 5.56 in shorter barrel configurations.

I have owned every quality LPV on the market and can draw solid comparisons to them all. While the Kahles and Swarovski have the largest listed FOV on paper, the ATACR looked larger and I was faster with it. I'm also much faster with the Vortex than the Kahles or Swaro and it has much less FOV than both, but gorgeous edge to edge clarity. With that said, I think paper specs kill products before people ever get to look at them.

The NX8 that Frank has, has capped elevation and windage and is apparently only available to MIL/LE through the MIL/LE dept. Frank was saying that the commercial offering has the ZeroStop elevation, but the MIL/LE customers preferred the capped adjustments hence the reason the MIL/LE dept. has the capped variation. Not sure why the ATACR is capped other than it has the 10mil drop down grid. I did not mind the grid, but I really liked the clean reticle in the NX8.
I prefer capped adjustments myself. The adjustments on the NX8 were nice and crisp and in .2mr increments while the ATACR was in .1mr. Both were easy to dial and return to zero, so I could still dial if I wanted to.

Without a doubt I will have to have one of each; an NX8 for my 14.5" 5.56 and an ATACR for my 7.62 16" gun. More time behind them will tell which one I gravitate towards as my short exposure had me liking each for their respective strengths. Will most likely get one for my Grendel also, but will wait and see which one I like better.

[GRV]

00bullitt, can you expand a bit on your preference for capped turrets vs the NF zero stop? It sounds like some people are sore that the ATACR doesn't feature the zero stop option.

[00bullitt]

00bullitt, can you expand a bit on your preference for capped turrets vs the NF zero stop? It sounds like some people are sore that the ATACR doesn't feature the zero stop option.

Key word here is preference. I'm glad the ATACR does not have the ZeroStop. Its a combat optic and peace of mind. I don't want to have to worry about where my zero is. I want to know the knobs were not disrupted to ensure my POA is where I want it. Capped adjustments can still be dialed if I need to go long, like beyond 600. A 1-8 was not designed or meant to be a precision optic in my opinion. A good reticle can negate having to dial (it also has the benefit of being FFP). Use a good zero and know your holds. I zero my LPV's for 200 yards (actually at 200 yards); anything inside 200 is pretty much POA/POI with exception to my mechanical offset on close stuff. I am good out to 300 with that at a high rate of speed on 8" targets, just by holding at 12 o'clock on the target. How big is a human head? For anything beyond 300, I know my reticle holds for the weapon I am using. and again....just because it is capped, does not mean I cannot dial. I am always concerned about that capability and the NF's are done well to allow dialing if needed. Repeatability is the key factor.

[call_me_ski]

I have seen a picture of an ATACR 1-8 with the ZeroLock turret from the 4-16x42. It was on a 416 that belonged to a rather serious organization. I imagine it will be available down the line.

[navyman8903]

The NX8 performs near identical to the NXS 1-4, but much faster as a result of the stupid bright illuminated dot. Glass quality is good to very good, but its obvious when the ATACR and NX8 are side by side that the optical powerhouse is the ATACR. The ATACR's eyebox seems to be twice as big; also physically larger than the NX8 by a noticeable amount. That NX8 is freakin TINY!

The reticles are both the same base reticle; the ATACR just has a drop down grid (non-Horus) below center. The segmented circle is 2mils with a dot in the center that was about 1 moa and when on 1x forms a very very bright red dot. 2 Mils is 6.87mao. Sounds big, but it sure wasn't hard to make head shots out to 100 yards on 1x. Beyond 100 and you could increase mag and be very precise with the center dot.

The reticle was very well designed and was easily the brightest daylight visible I have ever seen. Seems like the paper specs may very well hurt this scope as so many folks get wrapped around the axle about the specs.

So the NX8 has more FOV on 1x than the ATACR, but after getting behind them, it certainly did not appear that way. The ATACR looked huge and clearly had far better glass.The eyebox was much more forgiving than the tighter NX8. Granted the NX8 was still very workable. The size and weight of the NX8 are the appealing factors and are worth the trade off on weapon platforms like the 5.56 in shorter barrel configurations.

I have owned every quality LPV on the market and can draw solid comparisons to them all. While the Kahles and Swarovski have the largest listed FOV on paper, the ATACR looked larger and I was faster with it. I'm also much faster with the Vortex than the Kahles or Swaro and it has much less FOV than both, but gorgeous edge to edge clarity. With that said, I think paper specs kill products before people ever get to look at them.

The NX8 that Frank has, has capped elevation and windage and is apparently only available to MIL/LE through the MIL/LE dept. Frank was saying that the commercial offering has the ZeroStop elevation, but the MIL/LE customers preferred the capped adjustments hence the reason the MIL/LE dept. has the capped variation. Not sure why the ATACR is capped other than it has the 10mil drop down grid. I did not mind the grid, but I really liked the clean reticle in the NX8.
I prefer capped adjustments myself. The adjustments on the NX8 were nice and crisp and in .2mr increments while the ATACR was in .1mr. Both were easy to dial and return to zero, so I could still dial if I wanted to.

Without a doubt I will have to have one of each; an NX8 for my 14.5" 5.56 and an ATACR for my 7.62 16" gun. More time behind them will tell which one I gravitate towards as my short exposure had me liking each for their respective strengths. Will most likely get one for my Grendel also, but will wait and see which one I like better.

Thanks for this detailed rundown. So in short, based on what you've said I think the NX8 has pushed out ahead of the trij for me. I will ask this just to be clear and brief with it. I know you like the ATACR and believe it is good to go. Do you think the NX8 is a hard use optic? I remember your previous comment to me, just making sure before I pull the trigger on my first NF optic, which will live on my MR556 forever. Which isn't going down range with me, but will be a gun I take to classes and such, it's going to get knocked around. And if something happens, my RECCE/SPR go to gun. It'll also go on a RECCE rifle of my wife's choosing. We use the same optics for the same builds so we can use each other's stuff if necessary without having to adapt to a new sight picture/optic/reticle.

[00bullitt]

While time will ultimately tell, it certainly appears as if these follow in the footsteps of Nightforce's hard use lineage. It has the look and feel of an NXS. I would not consider the SHV line that they make to be hard use, it is a recreational product. I saw one of the press releases for the NX8; it looks to be the start of a new 8x zoom family.
Nightforce typically develops for military requirements and it just so happens that the S-VPS (Squad-Variable Power Scope) solicitation (RFP) is posted by USSOCOM on FBO. Requirement is for a First Focal Plane and a Second Focal Plane LPV. Must be unity on 1x with a min of 6x on the high end.
There has been buzz of these scopes getting passed around the SF community for about 2 years now and they are just now hitting the commercial market.

[navyman8903]

While time will ultimately tell, it certainly appears as if these follow in the footsteps of Nightforce's hard use lineage. It has the look and feel of an NXS. I would not consider the SHV line that they make to be hard use, it is a recreational product. I saw one of the press releases for the NX8; it looks to be the start of a new 8x zoom family.
Nightforce typically develops for military requirements and it just so happens that the S-VPS (Squad-Variable Power Scope) solicitation (RFP) is posted by USSOCOM on FBO. Requirement is for a First Focal Plane and a Second Focal Plane LPV. Must be unity on 1x with a min of 6x on the high end.
There has been buzz of these scopes getting passed around the SF community for about 2 years now and they are just now hitting the commercial market.

So there's a really cool gun shop by me, and they have stuff stocked I've never seen before. Nice glass being among the goods. I got to mess with the trijicon. Now, this is in store, not at the range and through a bunch of conditions. I liked it. I think if the NX8 is impossible to get I might settle with the Trij. Now, the guy knew about the NX8 and there's vets that work there. They also host lots of people for training, including Proctor at one point (he's not traveling anymore????). So they're knowledgeable about the NX8. They spoke highly about the Trij, but were honest about it too. My experience with it so far is it makes 25oz feel light, though admittedly that might have been my excitement. The clicks were solid and I felt it was well build over all. It felt quality. I will say it's almost annoying at 8x though with how big the reticle gets. I wish it bypassed the circle completely. I really like it at 6x and 4x, which would be find because of the FFP. I don't have an NX8 to compare it to, but NXS glass available in the 2.5-10. I still think I'm going to hold out for the NX8 because of the size, weight and reticle. Also from what the guy was telling me the SEAL dude and the DELTA dude he knows who has experience with the NX8 says it shreds at 1x and they're just as fast with it vs an Aimpoint. I'm not an operator by far though, so we'll see if I can shoot the difference. But it was nice to play with the Trij and get an eye through it.

I think it is better than people give it credit for. I also fully understand when I mention nightforce people will flock to it vs the Trij because it's relatively new/unproven in the 1-4/1-8.

(Side note) They had the NF 4-16 ATACR Mil Horus H59 there and it's amazing. I liked literally everything about it. I'm going to probably buy it. Amazing glass, turrets and everything. I lied..... I do hate one thing though. The illumination button stuff. I would much rather have a dial. But other than that, I'm very impressed. I think I might go 4-16 Horus on my R700 20" and see where that gets me.

[CS Tactical]

Regarding the Trijicon: Like I said in the past, I'd take a Vortex Razor Gen II over the Trijicon all day long and I'd take the Burris XTR II 1-8 over the Trijicon as well.
Here's a good detailed review on the Burris XTR II 1-8 and mentions some competitors http://opticsthoughts.com/?p=2050
We also have a smoking price on the XTR II 1-8 FFP if you give me a call at 916.670.1103 ;)

[navyman8903]

Regarding the Trijicon: Like I said in the past, I'd take a Vortex Razor Gen II over the Trijicon all day long and I'd take the Burris XTR II 1-8 over the Trijicon as well.
Here's a good detailed review on the Burris XTR II 1-8 and mentions some competitors http://opticsthoughts.com/?p=2050
We also have a smoking price on the XTR II 1-8 FFP if you give me a call at 916.670.1103 ;)

For me it's either the Trij or the NX8, heavily leaning on the NX8. I'm also signed up through you for a notification when your shipment gets in. I'd preorder it, but I have to get some stuff in line before deployment. My wife is also a huge Nightforce fan. Also from what I've read so far the Tij is on par and it's hard split with the XTR II. Some people like what each of them offers. I have found so far Green is not the color for the Trij. There's a lot of competitive options out there as the years go by. I think the Trij and the NX8 will earn their reputation as one of the go to's. I know the Razor HD II is at the top for now, but I think over time there will be some that dethrone it. NX8 is looking good.

[voodoo_man]

Regarding the Trijicon: Like I said in the past, I'd take a Vortex Razor Gen II over the Trijicon all day long and I'd take the Burris XTR II 1-8 over the Trijicon as well.
Here's a good detailed review on the Burris XTR II 1-8 and mentions some competitors http://opticsthoughts.com/?p=2050
We also have a smoking price on the XTR II 1-8 FFP if you give me a call at 916.670.1103 ;)

So many optics so few rifles....

That Hilux looks pretty good, never heard of it though.