Nikon Titanium Rifle Scope 3.3-10x44 AO
When we first hear the words Nikon Titanium Rifle Scope 3.3-10x44 AO the first thing that pops into your mind is a light weight rifle scope. That is reading a good review on a product is so important to and to us. As always we talked to the marketing department at Nikon and got some feedback on what their goal with this product was. What I was told was a rugged rifle scope, that was still as clear and target rifle scopes. Also I was informed that Nikon was taking special care in reducing eye relief variances when power is adjusted on the scope. Most shooters are even unaware that their head position must change as you adjust the power of a variable power scope and for this reason I am very keen on fixed power scopes for most of my hunting and all my target needs. These tend to be a bit more expensive but solve problems at the same time. Optic manufactures have ignored fixed power scopes in an effort to gain market share in an every shrinking market. We expect to see more fixed power scopes in the coming years as all manufactures aggressively ramp up to increase the number of weekend target shooters overall versus trying to capture the existing market.
So how did we like our Nikon Titanium Rifle Scope 3.3-10x44 AO. First lets dispel the myth that this a light weight scope. Its noticeably heavier than a standard rifle scope at just a hair over 2lbs. While Titanium is light it’s only used to build a stronger frame around the objective and ocular bell and it achieves its goal of giving unmatched strength to this Nikon scope and protecting those very important lens. The weight no doubt comes from Nikon’s famous super-high resolution lenses in the Nikon rifle scope as the clarity is as good as any I have seen at any price range for a 1 inch tube scope. The windage and elevation knobs could be turned by hand and didn’t require a coin. (Remember those days) Standard ¼ minute of angle clicks. The Tube is a one piece tube construction which always will raise the price of a rifle scope but at the same time adds to the whole goal of this scope being shock proof. Nikon Claims that it is 100% Shock proof and we sat around and told it tons of horror stories about Democrats wanting to outlaw high power scopes but nothing seemed to shock it. Truly the word shock is the eye of the beholder and there is a difference between dropping a rifle on the range and a horse rolling over it on a hunt. We drove over it with the Four-wheeler we got from Kawasaki and the 700 prairie at 800lbs didn’t scratch, break or bend it. I shot 100 rounds on my air rifle (Air rifles can do more damage to a scope than a 600 nitro mag) and we shot 20 rounds on a 41 caliber muzzle loader, this muzzle loader likes to eat Leupolds for lunch. No damage and it still shot true. So we will stick by Nikon and say that it truly is a Shock proof scope. Nikon also claims the scope is 100% Water proof and we can say that after a week in the tank the scope is, the seals on the caps to the scope turrets are not. Its also 100% fog proof and that simply means it’s a gas filled scope.
What didn’t we like about the Nikon Titanium Scope. There were a few things that didn’t sit well with us about this rifle scope. First the overall length of the tube left no room to adjust eye relief on a long-action rifle with standard scope rings. The design for ruggedness and the thought of who their market was on this scope was excellent with an oversight on what rifle that market would use. Long-action magnum rifles. Wal-mart the largest seller of Nikon doesn't stock offset rings of any kind. We highly recommend that you buy a set of Offset rings when you buy this scope to give yourself an extra inch to place your scope where you like it. At a suggestion retail of $800 I expect my scope to come with a set of scope caps, mine may have been an oversight as we get our product direct from the manufactures but a set of caps that fit and look nice make the difference and is often the first impression of the rifle and scope when shown to a customer or friend. There was movement in eye relief when adjusting the power of the scope while this was ever slight about .5 inch Nikon has not perfect that aspect and to be honest I don’t know of any who have. I have $5000 scopes that have eye relief movement is greater than the Nikons. So we have to say good job but not done yet. At this price I would of liked to see this scope in a 30mm tube versus the 1 inch. The offset rings required are already going to increase the setup cost and the benefits in low-light conditions would be worth the setup hassles. As for dealers stocking this scope Nikon has some clean up to do on their brand name in Ebay and in online product whorehouses like Dealtime and others. We found these scopes to readily available online at just a few dollars over cost. The firearm industry has put the burden of profit on the accessories of our industry and that profit margin was not protected in any way with this product line.
With Nikons Lifetime warranty this is a great buy overall and is a scope that shouldn’t fail you when you need it most.
Author: GunMuse Date: Thursday Sep 23 2004 11:12:08 am
