{"id":648,"date":"2011-05-08T20:06:03","date_gmt":"2011-05-09T00:06:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gunsamerica.com\/blog\/?p=648"},"modified":"2011-05-08T20:06:03","modified_gmt":"2023-10-06T16:53:03","slug":"the-nikon-m-223-series-riflescopes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/the-nikon-m-223-series-riflescopes\/","title":{"rendered":"The Nikon M-223 Series Riflescopes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n
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Our review scope is the flagship 3-12 power M-223, that here is mounted on a STAG Arms Model 3 with integrated rails. Note that the M-223 mount is free through May of 2011 with a special promotion from Nikon. If you miss the promotion, buy the mount anyway. It is far better than random cheap scope rings and will make your AR-15 package look, feel, and perform like the advanced weapons system It was created to be. <\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The official product shot of the 3-12 power model. Note that it has a parallax adjustment knob that the others in the line do not have.<\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The 2-8 power model comes in two variations. One has the Nikoplex Reticle and Rapid Action Turret. The other has the BDC 600 Reticle, which is for holdovers instead of dialing in. My only complaint with these scopes is that I would have put the BDC 600 reticle on all of them, regardless of whether you get the Rapid Action Turret or not.<\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The 1 to 4 power model is a very different animal compared to the others in the line. I would say it is meant as an alternative to a red dot \u201cheads-up\u201d sight like an Aimpoint or an Eotech. Forcing yourself to make that cheek weld is a shooters discipline that isn\u2019t required with the red dots, but with this M-223 option, you have an \u201ceyes wide open\u201d sight at one power while retaining the ability to make a precision shot at 200 yards that isn\u2019t covered by a 2-4 MOA red dot. .<\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\"These<\/a><\/div>\n
These are the 3 reticles as scanned from the M-223 manual, replete with the misspelling of Nikoplex. <\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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I found the quality of the Nikon turrets to be as good as a scope twice the price. They snap up, snap down, and the idea to match the distances to a specific factory ammo was genius. I would buy this scope in a heartbeat.<\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The Rapid Action Turret (in the 3-12 and one of the 2-8 models) distances and BDC 600 reticle (in the other 2-8 model) were created specifically for a 55 grain bullet traveling at 3240 feet per second, like Hornady Tap FPD.<\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The specifications for the 3-12 power model are listed right on the top of the adjustment cap.<\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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I have not found another factory ammo that specifically lists velocity on the box. Hornady also lists the bullet drops, though in inches, not MOA as it is found on the turrets of the 2-8 and 1-4 power models of the M-223. It appears this line was specifically created for Hornady ammo, listed at 3240fps.<\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\"These<\/a><\/div>\n
These are the MOA adjustments as found in the Hornady Ballistics Calculator<\/a> on their website. The Rapid Action Turret and BDC 600 take the math out of your head when you need to get the bullet on target. It is amazing stuff.<\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\"The<\/a><\/div>\n
The 1-4 power model mounted on our STAG Arms Model 3.<\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Nikon Riflescopes<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.nikonhunting.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Bullet drop, and compensating for it, can be extremely confusing – even for those of us who are good in math. But bullet drop itself isn\u2019t that complicated, especially if you always use the same factory ammo with the same bullet from the same manufacturer. Nikon took this realization, concept, whatever you want to call it, to the next level in their M-223 series and designed scopes that are specifically for the bullet drop of the .223\/5.56 NATO cartridge.<\/p>\n

You may ask yourself, “what, exactly, does it mean when they say an optic is created for a specific cartridge?” I was intrigued about this myself initially, because once you zero a rifle, the drop of the bullet is the drop of the bullet and you adjust according to \u201cminutes of angle\u201d or \u201cmili-radians,\u201d and what the caliber of bullet is or how fast it is traveling didn\u2019t seem relevant to me as it applies to the scope itself.<\/p>\n

So in reviewing the M-223, there was a lesson for me as well. Nikon has created three ways in which their scopes are created just for the bullet drop of the .223\/5.56 NATO cartridge, or more specifically, for the 55 grain polymer tipped bullet traveling at 3240 feet per second. The 55 grain bullet is by far the most popular among all the ammunition manufacturers, but Hornady specifically engineers both their TAP FPD and Varmint Express to clock at 3240 fps.<\/p>\n

The four scopes in the M-223 line are meant to detach the shooter from the math, so that under the pressure of making the shot, the shot itself isn\u2019t lost in a puddle of brain consuming numbers that don\u2019t always add up and multiply evenly. There is no math. You either dial in your distance, or hold it over inside the scope reticle, and the math is done for you, as long as you use the right ammunition.<\/p>\n

Nikon is also trying to break the mold of how much scope you get for $300-$500 with this line. All of the M-223s are priced at MSRP in this range, and well below their comparative quality and features for a name brand scope.<\/p>\n

These are some of the features:<\/strong><\/p>\n