SHOT show 2026. New scopes ?

[Chris in TN]

If I was selling hunting specific rifle scopes, this would be my top dog for the guys who like simple. Obviously, it’s not everyone’s cup of tea

Maintains zero
2.5-12 range,
Sfp
Duplex crosshair
30 mm tube
Uncapped elevation turret that dials reliable, zero stop, small capped windage
18-22oz range
Lifetime transferable warranty
$400-500.

If it exists already please let me know. Best wishes and let’s hope for some good stuff this year!

What's sad is that if you dropped the reliability requirement we could probably find a dozen scopes that met your criteria. Add in drop-proof and you better double your budget.

 

[Chris in TN]

6 More days to wait. Been looking at scopes, but, I am gonna wait and see what comes out.

I really liked the Optika 6 but the center dots seemed BIG

The Optika6 looked really good until I started reading about their lack of customer service.

My dad bought an Optika 5 and put it on a .22lr a few years ago and it seems great, except the reticle (I forget what they call it but it's a center dot with elevation hashmarks) is absolutely useless in lower light, even for squirrel hunting.

 

[Stinky Coyote]

I’m invested, getting to know my first NF past couple seasons and know this will get expensive. It’s nx8 1-8 dmx capped.

Funny how the 80,000’ seems to be unknown by manufacturers for hunting. 99% of it is 10-600 yards, and closer you get to to 100 yards the more exponential the ratio of the 99% of kills happen. First and last light also where most happens. Sounds like 10-12x is more than enough top end to cover that and 2-4x preferred low end. So in ffp the goal should be to maximize the no illum low mag end of it reticle wise while adding illum as nice (but not necessary) and so if don’t need more than 4x zoom it would let you max an ffp reticle. Vs majority of ffp and of the good ones guys hunt with sounds like all are weak at low mag at best and tuned for being way up there in mag range for whatever they are designed for which isn’t hunting.

Anything close to dmx thrown in a baby atacr and I’ll be in. 3-12 even better, I been studying the dmx and it’s really solid without lume at 3x and reticle side really starts to shine at 6x and gets better from there but I only get to 8x and I’m done, with 42mm light and another few x on the dmx and likely heavy enough to not worry about the lack of illum on tree for last light. Just start it at 3x and go to 12x and golden. Don’t even need a new reticle.

If can get a weight drop and 30mm tube version great. Nx4 the atacr.

And not everyone can see turrets for dialling in good light let alone low light where the killing is high volume lol. So keep your locking elevation and reticle to cover all. Some of you young whipper snappers will find out, and be nice if you can simply transition to reticle primary on existing scope down the road lol. Capped low windage goes without saying.

A 6x zoom 2-12 dmx would get me looking too but still don’t see why 3-12 wouldn’t be even better for that reticle as most will come up off 2x to 3-4x anyway as you will want illum on 2x for the donut of death. And see no reason for 16x as equally wasting about 4x up top that just a luxury come range time.

Almost there...so close you can taste it. Won’t cry either way love my little dmx and can do all my 308 needs. They just need to get more hunting logic applied and it will tease the wallet open again. My little scope wasn’t designed for hunting I’m sure but it gets a lot more right in the more usable mag ranges as what it was designed for is a lot closer to what actual hunting is lol.

 

[Dualsight]

6 More days to wait. Been looking at scopes, but, I am gonna wait and see what comes out.

I really liked the Optika 6 but the center dots seemed BIG

The Optika6 looked really good until I started reading about their lack of customer service.

My dad bought an Optika 5 and put it on a .22lr a few years ago and it seems great, except the reticle (I forget what they call it but it's a center dot with elevation hashmarks) is absolutely useless in lower light, even for squirrel hunting.

FWIW: A person wanting one might still be able to get the Meopta Optika6 and Optika5 from outlet stores, however these models were discontinued last year. The replacements are the MeoPro R6 and MeoHunter R5 from what I can see the Meopta website.

From what little I've read; these are not a step-up from their predecessor, and the U.S. Investment company Carlyle, that acquired Meopta, isn't producing a better product for the consumer.

​

 

[Chris in TN]

FWIW: A person wanting one might still be able to get the Meopta Optika6 and Optika5 from outlet stores, however these models were discontinued last year. The replacements are the MeoPro R6 and MeoHunter R5 from what I can see the Meopta website.

From what little I've read; these are not a step-up from their predecessor, and the U.S. Investment company Carlyle, that acquired Meopta, isn't producing a better product for the consumer.

​

What ever became of their dichrotech(?) reticles? Seemed like a neat idea but they were never really in stock that I could find.

It's sad to see a neat company like them fall apart but it appears that's what is happening.

 

[43.6N]

The Trijicon reticles are absolutely terrible. They're like looking at an excel spreadsheet. Too much clutter, not enough visibility at low light. I've never looked at the LRHS2 (I have an elite 6500 that's been great, fwiw). The NF SHV with the forceplex reticle would be an option if you could get it in the 4-14 version.

The SWFA reticles are as bad as Trijicon.
What I really want is tapered windage crosshairs, so they're visible FFP low power, then they have a center section that's thin and about 12moa wide - with 2moa hashmarks. That gives me 6moa of windage either way, but the thick parts make the reticle useful in very low light, like the old German heavy reticles would have been.

A mini christmas tree of perhaps 10moa in 2moa intervals, would be nice, for fast, quick and dirty type holdovers, but isn't absolutely needed. Basically, I'm wanting a variation of the old Leupold 'heavy duplex' but FFP and with 2-moa (or half-mil) windage hashmarks. And tapered sides.

This is roughly what I want. I spent 5 minutes drawing it in MSPaint. I could probably refine it a hair, but make the little divisions in the reticle 2moa apart, and the lines 2moa from top to bottom. Make the first lower hash 2 moa wide, the second 4 moa wide, the third 6 moa wide. I honestly don't terribly care if there's another lower hashmark. Heck, 6moa is fine. That'll get me to ~425-475 yards with most of my rifles and beyond that I'll be dialing anyway.

Again, this is crude, but it's what I have in mind. It would need to be thick enough to be visible in low light at lower powers for a FFP scope.

(Incidentally, FFP reticles are easier to make visible on lower powers, without being too big at high power, if the scope has a 3x or 4x erector, than if you have a 6x-8x+ erector. Another reason a 4x mag range is plenty)

View attachment 999693


Edit: and I could do ok with less. I really just want the windage hashmarks and the tapered sides so that FFP is useable in low light without batteries.

That’s literally the maven moa2 reticle.

 

[Chris in TN]

That’s literally the maven moa2 reticle.
View attachment 1003310

If you got rid of all that stuff south of the 10moa elevation hash and most (or all) of the stuff north of the central aiming point, yes, that would honestly work very well, and yes, I like it.

I *almost* bought one of them back in the summer but the seller apparently posted it here then didn't check his messages for weeks, best I could tell, or sold it elsewhere.

I struggle to justify what they cost new. I really hate the idea of buying the one scope they make that passes the drop test when none of their others do. But, yes, I absolutely do like that reticle, if they cleaned up the excess clutter it has.

 

[43.6N]

If you got rid of all that stuff south of the 10moa elevation hash and most (or all) of the stuff north of the central aiming point, yes, that would honestly work very well, and yes, I like it.

I *almost* bought one of them back in the summer but the seller apparently posted it here then didn't check his messages for weeks, best I could tell, or sold it elsewhere.

I struggle to justify what they cost new. I really hate the idea of buying the one scope they make that passes the drop test when none of their others do. But, yes, I absolutely do like that reticle, if they cleaned up the excess clutter it has.

100% agree.
It was the last MOA scope I ever used. And I only picked it up since the mil versions were sold out.

 

[hickswr]

I wish scope makers would stop chasing bigger erector tubes or even larger FOV and just make a scope that holds zero and the reticle isn't stupid and it doesn't weigh two pounds and it dials reliably.

SWFA did that 10+yrs ago

 

[Dualsight]

What ever became of their dichrotech(?) reticles? Seemed like a neat idea but they were never really in stock that I could find.

It's sad to see a neat company like them fall apart but it appears that's what is happening.

I thought they were a very unique concept too. Although, from what I read from people having them, when ambient light was very low, i.e., first and last light, there wasn't enough and effectively had just a black reticle.

 

[KnightExtreme]

Wished Burris would offer a lower end 44 MM with a BallisticPLex in the $250.00 range with all the turret adjustment but seems they only offer a 1 inch tube with 40 MM in my budget. Guess I am just holding out and their CS is slower than molasses been waiting on a reply email going on 3 months. Something has changed??? Sad I like their scopes especially their SIgnature Rings.
KE

 

[gr8fuldoug]

New for 2026 - Nightforce NX-6 Series Riflescopes SFP Hunting Scopes as well as FFP's. The even added a 4A1 reticle in the hunting scopes

Featuring easy-to-use reticles and turrets, lightweight configurations, and magnification ranges that cover most rifle-shooting applications, this new family offers benefits across a wide range of applications.

1-6x24
2-12x42
3-18x50
4-24x50
5-30x56
6-36x56

LIGHTWEIGHT. EASY TO USE.
DISTINCTLY NIGHTFORCE.

The all-new Nightforce NX6™ riflescope family is designed with lightweight configurations and versatile magnification ranges to meet the needs of performance hunters, tactical shooters, and rising competitors.
NX6™ optical performance is tailored for a wide field of view and clarity in varying field conditions, delivering bright views of the toughest targets.

The new FieldSet™ turret system maintains Nightforce’s legendary repeatability and tracking while offering ease of use and configurability, allowing shooters to convert from capped to exposed dials and custom Bullet Drop Compensating (BDC) dials.

 

[MuleyFever]

Nightforce NX-6 Series Riflescopes SFP Hunting Scopes as well as FFP's

23oz for the 2-12x and 27oz for the 3-18x. The 3-18 is tempting.

Maybe not, just saw the reticles.

 

[Chris in TN]

SWFA did that 10+yrs ago

Except for their reticles.

 

[chutinlead]

23oz for the 2-12x and 27oz for the 3-18x. The 3-18 is tempting.

Maybe not, just saw the reticles.

Where did you find the reticles? They aren't on NF or Camera lands website or on the spec sheet?

 

[Chris in TN]

Where did you find the reticles? They aren't on NF or Camera lands website or on the spec sheet?

They're the same old reticles. I had to look at the cameralandny website then go look up the reticles on the NF website....but they're the same old reticles with 30moa of windage. Perfect for shooting 1000 yards during a hurricane.

 

[Rsdallas8]

is anyone looking for anything specif? any particular brand or model?

Leupold freedom

 

[Quandary]

The Optika6 looked really good until I started reading about their lack of customer service.

My dad bought an Optika 5 and put it on a .22lr a few years ago and it seems great, except the reticle (I forget what they call it but it's a center dot with elevation hashmarks) is absolutely useless in lower light, even for squirrel hunting.

I don't know if it is true but I did read on the WWW that all Meopta's are now made in China.

 

[Chris in TN]

I don't know if it is true but I did read on the WWW that all Meopta's are now made in China.

I saw that and also saw that Zeiss is moving some production to China.

 

[chutinlead]

They're the same old reticles. I had to look at the cameralandny website then go look up the reticles on the NF website....but they're the same old reticles with 30moa of windage. Perfect for shooting 1000 yards during a hurricane.

I'm still stuck on MOA, but I haven't seen the MOA-C or the new one they have on the 2-12 F1. Might be decent in the woods if it's like their other LVPO reticles.