Nightforce ATACR 4-16x42 F1 Review By Scott Shreve I d like to start out with saying that Nightforce Optics has done it again. The new ATACR 4-16x42 F1 front focal plane scope is an incredibly functional, well designed, low profile compact scope, and the optical performance is outstanding. The quality and clarity of the scope on 16x magnification is outstanding. It truly delivers! My first thought of the scope right out of the box was very impressive. The overall compact size, low profile turrets, easy to read etched markings on the side parallax and elevation turret, the capped windage turret, and how incredibly clear the ED glass was. The ATACR 4-16x42 F1 front focal plane scope has a 34mm main tube, is 12.6 inches in overall length, weighs 30oz, MOA models have: 89 MOA elevation, 60 MOA windage and Mil models have 26 Mil elevation and 18 Mil windage adjustments, Zero-Hold feature, and Digillum reticle illumination. The scope model I received to T&E has the.1 Mil-Radian Mil-R reticle in it. It is also available with the MOAR, Horus H59, and TReMoR3 reticles. The Mil-R reticle allows precise ranging and accurate
hold offs for effective first-shot placement and quick follow-up shots. The floating center crosshair is 1.0 Mil across, and supported with whole, half,.2 and.1 Mil-Radian graduations across the reticle. For this review, I mounted the scope on a GA Precision, custom built 6.5 SAUM, with an integral 20 MOA base, and a set of Nightforce 34mm Ultralite medium rings. The scope was easy to zero at the range after a quick bore sighting at 25 yards. With 12 Mil per turn/revolution of the elevation turret and driving a 140 JLK bullet at 3206 fps, this got me to the 1500 yard steel with less than one turn of the elevation turret and easily get out to the one mile steel with just more than a turn at 13.9 Mil. The turrets have precise, audible movements and the power selector ring is easy to turn. Both turrets and parallax knob have bold white markings with easy to read numbers. The optical performance on this scope is top notch. I am very impressed at the clarity and the sharpness through the entire magnification range out to 16x power.
The ZeroHold option is a feature on this scope that can be seen in the above picture. It is a button you see coming out the elevation turret on the top right of scope. It locks the turret in the zero position. To release or turn the turret, you merely press the ZeroHold button in while turning the turret. It only locks back in when you return to your zero, still allowing adjustment while not engaged. Also, it allows 2 Mils of travel below your set zero after you set it according to the Owner s Manual. With this feature and the capped windage turret, it helps the accidental shifting of your zero. The reticle and turrets are both in Mil adjustments. The through the scope pictures show the reticle on a couple of targets. Note, the quality is much better than shown in these two images. It is very difficult to get a true and accurate representative image of how clear and sharp the glass truly is. The scope tracks as it should and passed the standard box test easily with great reliability and repeatability. I engaged steel targets from 350 yards to 1760 yards in this test. I could follow my drop chart out, back in, engage random targets and then return back to zero and be spot on as long as I did my part reading the wind. The fully multi-coated ED glass is exceptional and I feel it is truly second to none. Edge to edge clarity, bright color rendition and easy target identification at extreme ranges was a breeze.
Both the target and steel are at 200 yards in these pictures.
The elevation, windage and parallax turret features are solid on this scope. The low profile elevation turret has the ZeroHold option with easily read etched white numbers. The windage turret comes with a removable protective cap and a trim ring is provided to protect the threads if you like to run it with cap removed and dial for wind. The parallax knob is marked from 45 yards to infinity and has a center push button DigIllum illumination including both red and green options with adjustable intensity. The battery is located underneath and is easily replaceable. So, now time for some long range shooting/testing of the ATACR 4-16x42 F1. My son and I grabbed the steel, portable stands, Vector IV range finder, rifle and other gear and headed to our favorite long range shooting spot east of town. We setup steel from 850 yards to 1500 yards with one lone target at 1780 yards. It is just the way it worked out with terrain and the ridges on the land we shoot at. My main objective here was to test the 16 power magnification at longer ranges. First up was the closest target at 850 yards before I moved out to the longer stuff. My data said to dial 4 mils up and the wind was left to right at about 4-6 mph, so I held.5 mils for wind and sent it. First hit was on the right edge of plate. I added a hair more wind and sent two more rounds that hit closer to center of the plate. The next plate was at 1320 yards, so I added another 4.2 mils for a total of 8.2 mils of elevation and held.9 mils of wind for the first shot. The bullet missed just right. The next three shots were fired while holding 1.2 mils for wind and all hit the 24 plate. With the scope on 16x and the Badger FTE brake, I could watch my own trace into the steel and clearly see the hits on the white spray painted steel. I had similar results at the 1500 yard steel with 3 hits out of 5 shots. At this point, I m even more impressed with the optical quality and performance of the scope for being a 16powered optic. The real test for me was the 1780 yard steel. I dialed in the 14.2 mils of elevation that my ballistic app, Shooter, told me would hit the target. Wind was a good 5-7 mph left to right now, so I decided on a 2 mil wind hold and loaded a round. My son was spotting too and told me to send it. I fired the shot and could watch the trace run into the target, a 36 chunk of steel. Elevation was good, but
missed just right. Added.3 more for wind and fired again. I was rewarded with a hit on the right edge of the plate at about 4 o clock. The wind was doing tricky things shooting across a few ridges, but I wound up with 8 hits out of 12 shots. I couldn t see the actual impacts with the 16x scope at 1780 yards, but could watch the trace into the target and confirmed the hits when we were done and loaded up the steel. I have used this scope at the local 200 yard range, in the field shooting steel out to the excess of one mile, while hunting coyotes, and long range hunting of various varmints. Overall, this scope does it all. The optical quality and performance in a 16 power scope is unparalleled in my opinion. To be able to engage and hit targets out to one mile in changing wind and weather conditions has made a believer out of me! I truly believe that running the front focal plane scope has improved my game. Well done Nightforce, well done. Complete specs on this scope and more information can be found online at Nightforceoptics.com http://nightforceoptics.com/atacr/4-16x42-f1 Scott Shreve is a life-long hunter and avid predator caller. He enjoys taking his family and friends out calling predators. Scott lives in Buffalo, Wyoming working as a general residential contractor and spends his free time hunting, shooting long range and reloading.