Nikon PROSTAFF 3-9x50 BDC review - Guns, Optics, Shooting

I was looking for a good reliable and affordable scope for both hunting and target shooting for my Weatherby Vanguard in .30-06. I overheard several other shooters talking about Nikon’s ProStaff line of scopes, they had nothing but good things to say about them so I decide to purchase a Nikon PROSTAFF 3-9×50 BDC and try it out. I purchased it at Academy Sports for $185.

The scope has a 2 piece 1″ tube design with turrets for both windage and elevation. (You can also order custom turrets from Nikon) All the lenses are coated with the two outer ones being multi-coated. The picture thru the scope is excellent and it lets a ton of light in, more than most scopes i have used. It is a very solid feeling scope with turrets that turn crisply and with no play in them.

The only negative I saw with the turrets was that the 1/4″ MOA marks didn’t line up with the zeroing mark on the elevation turret, the windage turret was fine. Once you zero the scope in you lift up the spring loaded turrets and set them back to zero making it easy to reset your scope back to zero after each outing. The scope comes with a built in Bullet Drop Compensator (BDC) in the form of several circles on the elevation crosshair. Go to Nikon’s site and they have a calculator to use to fund the bullet drop for every round imaginable. It also has a downloadable app for smart phones so you can always carry the calculator with you.

I have had the scope mounted on my rifle for several months now with no issues. I have been target shooting on many ocassions with approximately 150 rounds fired thru this rifle/scope combo and still the scope is zeroed in. I zeroed the scope in at 100 yds and I have used the BDC to practice shots out to about 300 yards with excellent results. Nikon’s BDC system is dead on, especially after you master how to use it.

I liked this scope so much I went out and picked up Nikon’s PROSTAFF 3-9×40 Rimfire 150 BDC for my Marlin Model 60. Both scopes are excellent pieces with top of the line optics and as for pricing, you can’t go wrong…
By: Don Gideon