At range day, we got a chance to catch up with Night Force Optics, who had the new 1×8 riflescopes on hand. Night Force has been very quiet on the 1x front, for a very long time. This year, however, they have come back strong.

The 1x8X will be offered in 3 models, the ATACR mildot, the NX8 Mildot or MOA. Full disclosure, we cheated on this one a little bit. I had two weeks with the ATACR mildot and NX8 MOA before SHOT Show. And they are amazing.

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The problem with a 1×8, for a very long time, has been the bottom end of the power. A 1×6 was no problem, lots of companies have been doing that for years. Trying to hit that 8X-market proved to be altogether a different animal. The 1X tended to not be very good, and the parallax focus was for very short ranges Not to mention the price. For a 1×8’s from other companies were almost $4,000. So imagine paying $4k for a scope that was actually a 1.1 x 8, with parallax that only allowed you to see about 50m of ground clearly at a time, which is not good.

***Read our full review of the NightForce 1-8X.***

NightForce has crushed that problem. From in-depth field testing, I can tell you this. The 1x is a true 1X, and is just as useful up close as a red dot sight. The eye box is very forgiving, and the illumination is daylight bright. Full sun in the desert, no problem. The glass is very clear, and the parallax adjustment is on par with any other Night Force. That means excellent.

The ATACR model also features a 10 mil holdover grid, a far cry from most 8x scopes. With 4 mils of wind hold built in, this is a very useful medium range scope. This would be the one to beat at any price. But it gets better. The NX8 models start at $1,800, and the ATACR maxes out at $2,800. NightForce has just decimated the competition in this market segment.

For more information about NightForce, click here.