Nightforce (USA)

We appreciate all correspondence with our customers. Due to seasonal demands and extremely high e-mail traffic, we may not be able to reply to your e-mails within 48 hours. After two business days, if you have not had a reply or response from Nightforce Optics, please call our customer service department at 208.476.9814, or you can reach us by fax at 208.476.9817.

You cannot buy a higher quality riflescope.
That’s a strong claim, without a doubt. But, it’s a claim we can prove. And our customers do prove it… every day, under some of the harshest, most unforgiving conditions on earth.We didn’t start building scopes and expect people to find uses for them. Instead, we looked at real-world needs. Needs that were not being met by other optics. And created, from the ground up, the ultimate precision instrument for the intended application.You can tell the difference the moment you pick one up. And if you could look inside a Nightforce scope, the differences would be even more obvious.


Fortunately, just looking through one will tell you just about everything you need to know.

Our riflescopes are subjected to abuse during product development that would quickly destroy lesser optics. Pre-production riflescopes are tested in a pressure tank simulating 100 feet of water for 24 hours, ensuring absolute waterproof integrity. We test thermal stability by freezing them to -80ºF, then heating them to 160ºF within a one-hour period. Function is checked at both temperature extremes. Recoil and impact testing for positive and negative forces is conducted at 1,250 Gs.

Before it is shipped to a customer, every riflescope is completely inspected and checked at 70 to 130 different points, depending on the model. We perform a battery of tests, including forward impact, side impact, tracking accuracy and resolution integrity. These are but a few of the steps we take to ensure absolute quality before any riflescope leaves our facility.All air-to-glass surfaces receive our proprietary broadband multi-coating; applied to tolerances of 1/4 wave deposition or .000005 inches, exceeding the toughest Mil-Spec abrasion test. You will see the difference in low-light situations. Every lens in a Nightforce scope is matched and aligned by hand perfectly to its partners. This technique, called optical indexing, yields the highest possible optical performance. Because it takes time and considerable expertise, many manufacturers don’t bother. We’ve done it this way since the beginning.


A scope’s objective lens determines resolution, light transmission and exit pupil size. To maximize these attributes, every Nightforce objective lens assembly utilizes a multi-element design like those found in the highest quality telescopes. Our lens system focuses light rays more precisely for exceptional image clarity and color accuracy. Nightforce tubes are machined from solid bar stock 6061-T6 aircraft-grade aluminum alloy, not extruded or formed like those found on lesser scopes. They are two to three times thicker than other riflescopes. This means less overall stress, greater thermal stability, a consistent zero and a virtually impervious shield for the precision optics within.



The spring that maintains pressure on our elevation and windage adjustments spends two weeks in a polishing tumbler before going into a Nightforce scope, to assure there are no rough spots or burrs to interfere with perfectly smooth operation. It is made of pure titanium, the only known metal in the world that can be repeatedly compressed and held in place, even for years, without developing fatigue or “memory.” This guarantees zero loss of integrity, zero loss of repeatability. It is many times more expensive than comparable springs found in most scopes. But, we are not concerned with a few dollars. We are concerned with building the best riflescope.

The terms “rugged” and “precision optics” are usually not compatible. Any optical instrument built to highly exacting tolerances and absolute alignment is by its very nature a delicate device.

Not so with Nightforce.
The design of our scopes is unique within the industry, allowing us to combine optics of extraordinary precision with construction that will withstand repeated recoil from the largest calibers, extreme shock and severe temperature changes.

We machine the screw that controls elevation adjustments to an unbelievable 110 threads per inch. It is so precise that it must be mated to its receiver by hand. Why go to so much trouble? Because we consider backlash clearance of more than 1/30 the thickness of a human hair unacceptable.