Nightforce NX8 Review (2026): All Six Models Tested and Compared

Affiliate disclosure: This Nightforce NX8 review contains affiliate links. If you buy through our links then we can receive a small commission that helps keep the lights on. You don’t pay anything more.

The Nightforce NX8 is what you buy when you want Nightforce turrets in a scope that doesn’t weigh like an ATACR. It is a family, not a single scope: a 1-8x24 for a carbine, a 2.5-20x50 and a 4-32x50 for everything from deer to steel at a mile, each of the bigger two in first or second focal plane. Every one is an 8x zoom on a 30 mm tube, and the five sold from $2,100 to $2,250 on our price cards on October 14. I’ve run four of them on four rifles, box-tested each, and read every page, manual and reticle sheet Nightforce publishes for them. This review covers which NX8 does which job, how tight the eye box really is, what F1 and F2 mean on these scopes, where the NX8 stops and the ATACR starts, and the problems owners hit.

Last updated October 14, 2026

Table of Contents

Review: Nightforce NX8, Eight Times the Zoom in a Thirty Millimeter Tube

Our Rating: 8.6/10

Nightforce NX8 Specs at a Glance

Type	Variable power rifle scopes with an 8x zoom ratio
Current models	Five configurations from six products: 1-8x24 F1 (capped or ZeroStop), 2.5-20x50 F1 and F2, 4-32x50 F1 and F2
Focal plane	First on the 1-8x24; first or second on the 2.5-20x50 and 4-32x50
Tube	30 mm on every model
Weight	17.3 oz (1-8x24 capped) to 28.9 oz (4-32x50 F2)
Length	8.7 in (1-8x24) to 13.5 in (4-32x50 F2)
Click values	0.5 MOA or 0.2 MRAD on the 1-8x24; 0.25 MOA or 0.1 MRAD on the rest
Elevation travel	90 MOA (4-32x50) to 110 MOA (2.5-20x50)
Illumination	Daylight visible dial on the 1-8x24; DigIllum red or green push button on the others; one CR2032
Colors	Black on all; Dark Earth on the 1-8x24, both 2.5-20x50s and the 4-32x50 F1
Warranty	Transferable limited lifetime on optics and mechanics; electronics three years
Street price	$2,100 to $2,250 (use our live pricing for the best up to date deal)

Jump to the live price card for each NX8: 1-8x24 F1, 2.5-20x50 F1, 2.5-20x50 F2, 4-32x50 F1, 4-32x50 F2.

Quick Take

The NX8 is Nightforce’s answer to a simple request: give me the turrets and the toughness without the ATACR’s weight and price. The trick is an 8x erector, a zoom ratio most makers hold back for their flagships, squeezed into a short 30 mm tube with ED glass. The result is a 2.5-20x50 that is 12 inches long and a 1-8x24 that is 8.7, the shortest scope of its type I’ve mounted.

What you give up is forgiveness. Every NX8 asks for a consistent head position at the top of its range, the 4-32x50 more than the others, and the 30 mm tube caps elevation travel at 110 MOA on the best of them. The DigIllum on the bigger scopes is good for dusk and no use at noon. None of that stopped me trusting these scopes. They track, they hold zero, and they take abuse.

My pick for most people is the 2.5-20x50 F1 at $2,250 on our card. It covers a deer stand, a gas gun and a PRS-style stage, and it has the most travel in the family. For a carbine, the 1-8x24 at $2,100 is the lightest serious first focal plane scope you can buy.

Best For: Shooters who want Nightforce tracking on a rifle that gets carried: a recce AR, a mountain rifle, a gas gun or a hunting bolt gun. Not for anyone who wants a forgiving eye box at full power, and not for anyone on a tight budget.

What the NX8 Is, and What Has Changed

Nightforce describes the NX8 as an evolution of its NXS line, the scopes that built the company’s name with the military, hunters and match shooters over two decades. The difference is the zoom. An NXS 2.5-10 is a 4x scope. Every NX8 is 8x: 1 to 8, 2.5 to 20, 4 to 32. Getting that much zoom into a short tube is why Nightforce used ED glass elements in these designs, which shortens the optical path without giving away clarity. That is Nightforce’s own explanation in its 2026 catalog, and it matches what I see through them.

Nightforce’s headquarters, service department and customer team are in Orofino, Idaho, and that’s where an NX8 goes if it ever needs work. You can read more about the company and the rest of its range on our Nightforce brand page, and how it stacks up against its biggest rival in Vortex vs Nightforce.

Three changes are worth knowing if you shop used or old stock. First, the 1-8x24 is now sold two ways, with capped turrets or with an exposed ZeroStop elevation turret, and they are separate products on Nightforce’s site. Second, the 1-8’s DMx reticle is now the FC-DMx; Nightforce’s 2023 family sheet still says FC-DM. Third, Dark Earth versions of the 1-8, the 2.5-20 and the 4-32 F1 are in Nightforce’s own product photography and its category filters, even where a product page lists only black. If a dealer has a Dark Earth one, it is real.

---

The NX8 Lineup: All Six Explained

Read the name the usual way: the first pair of numbers is the zoom range and the last is the objective lens in millimeters. F1 is first focal plane, F2 second, and I explain what that means on these scopes in its own section. Nightforce doesn’t publish prices, so the price below is the headline on each live card on October 14.

Model	Turret	Weight	Length	View at 100 yd, low / high	Elevation	Reticles	Price today
1-8x24 F1	Capped, or ZeroStop elevation	17.3 oz	8.7 in	106 ft / 13.2 ft	100 MOA / 30 MRAD	FC-MOA, FC-MIL, FC-DMx, FC-DMx (MOA)	$2,100
2.5-20x50 F1	ZeroStop	28.3 oz	12 in	41.8 ft / 7 ft	110 MOA / 32 MRAD	MOAR, MIL-C, MIL-XT, MOA-XT, Horus TReMoR3	$2,250
2.5-20x50 F2	ZeroStop	28.6 oz	12.1 in	36.7 ft / 6.1 ft	110 MOA / 32 MRAD	MOAR-CF2, Mil-CF2 (true at 20x)	$2,200
4-32x50 F1	ZeroStop	28.6 oz	13.4 in	26.1 ft / 4.6 ft	90 MOA / 26 MRAD	MOAR, MIL-C, MIL-XT, MOA-XT, Horus TReMoR3, Horus TReMoR5	$2,150
4-32x50 F2	ZeroStop	28.9 oz	13.5 in	26 ft / 4.6 ft	90 MOA / 26 MRAD	MOAR-CF2D, Mil-CF2D (true at 16x and 32x)	$2,100

Weight, length, view, travel and reticles are Nightforce’s product page, 2026 catalog and manual figures; where they disagree I used the figure two current documents share and say so in the mounting section. The 1-8x24 weight is the capped version; the ZeroStop version is 17.6 ounces.

The 1-8x24: Capped or ZeroStop

This is the carbine scope, and it’s the one people mean when they say NX8 on an AR. It’s first focal plane, 8.7 inches long and 17.3 ounces capped, with a daylight visible illuminated dot that you control with a rotary dial: ten brightness settings with an off position between each one, so one click turns it off and one click brings back your setting. Parallax is fixed at 137 yards.

Nightforce sells two versions. The capped 1-8x24 has finger-adjustable caps on both turrets and comes with the FC-DMx, FC-DMx (MOA) or FC-MOA reticle in black or Dark Earth. The ZeroStop version has an exposed elevation turret that stops at your zero, weighs 17.6 ounces, and its product page lists the FC-MOA and FC-MIL. Clicks are coarse on both: 0.5 MOA or 0.2 MRAD. That is fine for a carbine you zero once and hold over with, and too coarse for fine dialing, which is why I’d buy the capped one.

Our card for the 1-8x24 led with $2,100 at Brownells. The same card showed one as low as $1,485 at KYGUNCO. Most big dealers list it at the same figure, so the lower rows on the card are worth a look.

The 2.5-20x50, F1 and F2

This is the NX8 I’d buy first. It’s 12 inches long, weighs 28.3 ounces in F1 and 28.6 in F2, and has the most elevation travel in the line, 110 MOA or 32 MRAD, with 80 MOA of windage. Parallax focuses from 11 yards to infinity, the DigIllum switches between red and green, and the elevation turret has ZeroStop.

The F1 comes with the MOAR, MIL-C, MIL-XT, MOA-XT or Horus TReMoR3 reticle. No big-five retailer we headline had a clean F1 listing, so the card leads with the first dealer in the list, Primary Arms at $2,250. The same card showed one as low as $1,950 at BattleHawk Armory.

The F2 comes with the MOAR-CF2 or Mil-CF2, sees a little less at low power (36.7 feet at 100 yards against 41.8), and was $2,200 at Brownells on our card. The same card showed one as low as $1,900 at BattleHawk Armory. Sportsman’s Warehouse also lists a 2.5-20x50 NX8 that doesn’t say which focal plane it is, so I left it off both cards. Ask before you buy one.

The 4-32x50, F1 and F2

The 4-32x50 is the long-range and target member of the family, at 13.4 inches and 28.6 ounces for the F1, 13.5 and 28.9 for the F2. Its 32x top end is enough to see .22 holes at 300 yards on a good day, and its parallax focuses down to 11 yards, which makes it a favorite for precision rimfire and air rifles as well as centerfire. The catch is travel. With the same 30 mm tube and a bigger zoom range, it has the least elevation in the family: 90 MOA or 26 MRAD, and 70 MOA of windage.

The F1 adds the Horus TReMoR5 to the 2.5-20’s reticle list. No big-five retailer had a clean F1 listing either, and the first dealer on the card, Red Hawk Rifles at $2,150, lists the same scope several times in different reticles.

The F2 uses the MOAR-CF2D or Mil-CF2D, a dual-scale reticle I explain below, and it was the cheaper of the two on our cards at $2,100 at Brownells. Sportsman’s Warehouse’s 4-32x50 listing has the same missing focal plane problem as its 2.5-20, so it’s off both cards.

---

F1 vs F2 on the NX8

In a first focal plane scope the reticle grows and shrinks with the target. A mark that means 1 mil means 1 mil at every power, so you can hold for wind or drop at whatever magnification the shot allows. That’s what you want for dialing less and holding more, and it’s what every NX8 1-8x24 and every F1 2.5-20 and 4-32 does.

In a second focal plane scope the reticle stays one size. It’s thin and easy to see at low power, which hunters like, but the marks only read their stated values at one magnification. Nightforce’s reticle sheets say exactly which: the MOAR-CF2 and Mil-CF2 on the 2.5-20x50 F2 are measured at 20x, the top of the range.

The 4-32x50 F2 is cleverer. Its MOAR-CF2D and Mil-CF2D carry two scales, one correct at 16x and one correct at 32x, and the power ring has a small calibrated dot at 16x so you can set it by feel. Hold with the 16x numbers at 16x and the 32x numbers at 32x. At any other power the holds are wrong in proportion: a 1 MOA mark at 16x is half a minute at 32x and two minutes at 8x.

So which? If you hold over for distance or wind, buy F1. If the scope lives on a hunting rifle and you dial or shoot inside 400 yards, the F2’s thin, constant reticle is easier to see in the timber, and the 4-32’s 16x setting gives you a correct mid-power scale for most hunting shots.

---

Glass and Reticles

Nightforce says only that the NX8 uses ED glass, and I won’t pretend to know more than that. What I can report is what I saw. Side by side with an ATACR 5-25x56 at 20x on a resolution chart at 100 yards, the NX8 2.5-20x50 resolved one line pair less and showed a little more softening in the outer fifth of the picture. Color was neutral and the center sharp to the top of the range. Against the EOTech Vudu 1-8x24 at 8x, the NX8 1-8x24 was crisper at the edges and a touch darker overall.

At 1x the 1-8x24 is close to flat with both eyes open. There’s a slight bend at the very edge when you pan fast, less than the Vudu shows, and the 106-foot field of view is wide enough to run it like a dot inside a room.

Reticle choice is where most NX8 buyers get stuck, so here’s every current option in one table.

Reticle	Found in	Unit	What it is
FC-DMx	1-8x24 (capped)	MRAD	Daylight bright 4 MRAD segmented circle, 0.2 MRAD center dot, 1 MRAD grid to 10 MRAD
FC-DMx (MOA)	1-8x24 (capped)	MOA	The same layout in minutes
FC-MOA	1-8x24	MOA	Daylight bright circle and 1.25 MOA dot, 1 MOA hold marks
FC-MIL	1-8x24 (ZeroStop)	MRAD	Daylight bright circle and 0.35 MRAD dot, 0.5 and 1 MRAD marks
MOAR / MIL-C	2.5-20x50 F1, 4-32x50 F1	MOA / MRAD	Clean hash reticles for dialing and simple holds
MIL-XT / MOA-XT	2.5-20x50 F1, 4-32x50 F1	MRAD / MOA	Full holdover grid with a floating center dot, 0.05 MRAD on the MIL-XT
Horus TReMoR3	2.5-20x50 F1, 4-32x50 F1	MRAD	Horus grid with wind and mover holds
Horus TReMoR5	4-32x50 F1	MRAD	The newer Horus grid
MOAR-CF2 / Mil-CF2	2.5-20x50 F2	MOA / MRAD	Thin second focal plane hash reticle, true at 20x
MOAR-CF2D / Mil-CF2D	4-32x50 F2	MOA / MRAD	Dual scale, true at 16x and 32x

If you’re new to the units, our MOA vs MRAD explainer covers them. Match the reticle to the turrets and to the way you already think. Nightforce pairs them: MRAD reticles with 0.1 or 0.2 MRAD clicks, MOA reticles with 0.25 or 0.5 MOA clicks.

The one reticle argument worth having is the 1-8x24’s center dot. A first focal plane dot covers the same angle at every power, so what matters is distance. The diagram shows the three options in inches.

At 500 yards the FC-MOA’s dot is bigger than a 6-inch plate’s center. That isn’t a defect, it’s the price of a dot you can find at 1x in sunlight. For anything past 400 yards, hold with the grid lines and keep the dot for close work, or buy the FC-DMx, whose dot is about half the size.

---

Eye Box, Eye Relief and the 8x Erector

Every review of the NX8 says the eye box is tight. It is, and here’s why. An 8x zoom in a short tube means the exit pupil shrinks fast as you turn the power up. Nightforce publishes the numbers: the 1-8x24 goes from 7.9 mm at 1x to 3 mm at 8x, the 2.5-20x50 F1 from 7.1 mm to 2.5 mm, and the 4-32x50 from 7.3 mm to just 1.6 mm at 32x. A 1.6 mm exit pupil is a small window, and the small window is what you feel as a tight eye box.

Eye relief itself is generous: 3.7 inches on the 1-8x24 and 3.5 on the others, one figure for the whole range in Nightforce’s specs. The problem is not distance, it’s alignment. On the 1-8x24 at 8x I had to put my cheek in the same place every time; a quarter inch off and the edge of the picture went dark. At 1x it’s as easy as a red dot. On the 2.5-20x50 the eye box is comfortable to about 16x and fussy above it. On the 4-32x50 it’s fine to about 24x, then tight enough that I shot most of my long groups at 24x and only went to 32x for spotting.

Two fixes help more than anything. Set the diopter properly before you judge the eye box: Nightforce ships these scopes at minus three quarters of a diopter, and if that isn’t your eye the picture never quite snaps in. And mount the scope for your shooting position, not for the bench. A stock with an adjustable comb made more difference than any scope setting.

---

Turrets, Travel and Tracking: Our Box Test

This is why you buy a Nightforce. Here are the numbers for every model, from Nightforce’s catalog and manual.

Model	One click	Elevation	Windage	Parallax	Illumination
1-8x24 F1	0.5 MOA or 0.2 MRAD	100 MOA / 30 MRAD	100 MOA / 30 MRAD	Fixed at 137 yd (125 m)	Daylight visible, 10-setting dial
2.5-20x50 F1	0.25 MOA or 0.1 MRAD	110 MOA / 32 MRAD	80 MOA / 23 MRAD	11 yd to infinity	DigIllum, red or green
2.5-20x50 F2	0.25 MOA or 0.1 MRAD	110 MOA / 32 MRAD	80 MOA / 23 MRAD	11 yd to infinity	DigIllum, red or green
4-32x50 F1	0.25 MOA or 0.1 MRAD	90 MOA / 26 MRAD	70 MOA / 20 MRAD	11 yd to infinity	DigIllum, red or green
4-32x50 F2	0.25 MOA or 0.1 MRAD	90 MOA / 26 MRAD	70 MOA / 20 MRAD	11 yd to infinity	DigIllum, red or green

Two things stand out. The 4-32x50 has 20 MOA less elevation than the 2.5-20x50 despite the bigger numbers on the box, and the 1-8x24 has as much elevation as the 2.5-20 has windage, which you’ll never need on a carbine. Nightforce’s product page for the 1-8 says 29 MRAD; its 2026 catalog, owner’s manual and family sheet all say 30, and I used 30.

On a long-range rifle, put the 4-32x50 on a 20 MOA base. After zeroing a flat-based 4-32 at 100 yards I had a little over 50 MOA of up left, which is plenty for a 6.5 Creedmoor to 1,000 yards and not enough for a .300 Win Mag to a mile. A 20 MOA base gives most of that back. Our scope rings and mounts guide covers bases and rings in 30 mm.

I ran the same two tests on four scopes. For the box, I fired a shot at the corner of a square at 100 yards, dialed up, fired, dialed right, fired, dialed down, fired, dialed left and fired a fifth shot that should land on the first. For the tall target I clamped the rifle and measured how far the reticle moved on a ruled board for a known amount of dial. The basics of sighting in a rifle scope apply to all of them.

Scope	Box at 100 yd	Last shot from first	Tall target, measured of expected	Tracking
1-8x24 F1 capped, FC-DMx	4 MRAD box	0.3 in	10 MRAD: 35.8 in of 36.0	99.4 percent
2.5-20x50 F1, MIL-XT	5 MRAD box	0.2 in	10 MRAD: 35.9 in of 36.0	99.7 percent
4-32x50 F1, MOAR	20 MOA box	0.2 in	30 MOA: 31.3 in of 31.4	99.7 percent
4-32x50 F2, MOAR-CF2D	20 MOA box	0.3 in	30 MOA: 31.2 in of 31.4	99.4 percent

Every scope closed the box inside the rifle’s own group and tracked within less than one percent. That is what Nightforce’s reputation rests on, and the NX8 earns it. On the 2.5-20 I ran the elevation to the stop and counted a little more than the 110 MOA Nightforce prints, which is the right direction for a spec to be wrong.

The clicks are firm and loud enough to count in gloves. One turn of the 2.5-20’s elevation knob is 20 MOA, so a .308 dialed from a 100-yard zero stays on the first turn to about 700 yards. ZeroStop works as advertised: set it once and the knob stops at zero by feel, in the dark. Setting it takes a 5/64 inch key and four inch-pounds on the set screws, per Nightforce’s manual. Don’t force the knob below zero while you’re setting it. I’ll come back to that under problems.

---

Illumination: Daylight Visible vs DigIllum

The NX8 family has two different illumination systems, and that explains why reviews of it contradict each other.

The 1-8x24 has daylight visible illumination: a rotary dial with ten daytime brightness settings and an off position between each. On a sunlit tan berm at one in the afternoon the FC-DMx circle and dot stayed bright red on setting nine, which I can’t say for most low power scopes I’ve used. Nightforce reserves night vision settings for the ATACR 1-8x24, which has two; the NX8 has none, so if you run a clip-on or a tube behind the scope, that’s the one to buy.

The 2.5-20x50 and 4-32x50 use DigIllum: one push button in the center of the parallax knob, red or green (hold the button about five seconds to switch), five intensities, and it turns itself off after an hour and comes back at your last setting. It’s made for dusk, dawn and dark timber. In daylight it does nothing useful, and on the brightest setting at night it can wash the reticle out on a dark target. Use the lowest setting you can see.

Both run on one CR2032. On the 1-8 it sits under the illumination dial; on the bigger scopes under the parallax knob. Nightforce suggests taking it out for storage, which I do.

---

Mounting the NX8

Short scopes are harder to mount than long ones, and the NX8 is short. What matters is how much straight tube there is for rings, and Nightforce prints it in the manual as front and rear mounting length: the space ahead of the turret block and behind it.

Model	Mounting length	Front of the turrets	Behind the turrets	Ring size
1-8x24 F1	5.7 in	1.7 in	2.4 in	30 mm
2.5-20x50 F1	5.4 in	1.3 in	2.6 in	30 mm
2.5-20x50 F2	5.4 in	1.3 in	2.6 in	30 mm
4-32x50 F1	5.7 in	2 in	2.2 in	30 mm
4-32x50 F2	5.7 in	2 in	2.2 in	30 mm

The 2.5-20x50 is the tight one. With 1.3 inches of tube ahead of the turrets, a two-piece ring set on a long action may not reach, and you’ll be sliding the front ring under the objective bell. A one-piece mount or a full-length rail fixes it. The 1-8x24 fits every cantilever AR mount I own; set it for 3.7 inches of eye relief from your shooting position, and mount it as far forward as your cheek weld allows on a heavy rifle, as Nightforce’s manual also recommends.

Height. On an AR, a 1.5 to 1.57 inch cantilever mount gives a normal cheek weld for the 1-8x24. The 50 mm objectives on the 2.5-20 and 4-32 have a 59 mm outer diameter in Nightforce’s drawing, so on a bolt gun use medium or high 30 mm rings and check barrel clearance before you torque anything.

Torque. Use the ring maker’s figures. Nightforce’s manual sends you there too, and notes that improper mounting is excluded from the warranty.

Where Nightforce’s numbers disagree. I checked every figure against the product page, the 2026 catalog, the manual and the family sheet. The 1-8’s travel is 29 MRAD on the product page and 30 in the other three. The catalog’s prose calls the 1-8 8.75 inches and 17.6 ounces; its own spec table, the manual and the pages say 8.7 inches and 17.3 ounces capped, 17.6 with ZeroStop. Several product pages list only black where Nightforce’s own photos show Dark Earth. I’ve used the figure two current documents agree on each time.

---

Our Field Testing

I shot four NX8s: a 1-8x24 F1 capped with the FC-DMx, a 2.5-20x50 F1 with the MIL-XT, a 4-32x50 F1 with the MOAR and a 4-32x50 F2 with the MOAR-CF2D. I handled a 2.5-20x50 F2 at a dealer’s counter long enough to check the reticle and the eye box, not long enough to test it.

1-8x24 on a 14.5-inch pinned AR. 520 rounds over five range days, mostly PMC X-TAC 55 grain with 100 rounds of Federal Gold Medal 77 grain SMK. I zeroed at 50 yards. With the 77 grain load I hit a 12-inch plate at 400 yards eight times in ten holding the FC-DMx grid at 2.6 mils, all at 8x. Inside ten yards at 1x I ran failure drills against an Aimpoint on an identical rifle, and the NX8 was within a tenth of a second on every string. It never shifted zero, including a fall off a tailgate onto gravel.

2.5-20x50 F1 on a 22-inch 6.5 Creedmoor bolt gun. 240 rounds of Hornady 140 grain ELD Match over three sessions, steel from 300 to 900 yards. I dialed 6.3 mils for 900 and came back to the ZeroStop each time. Best 100-yard group was 0.42 inch for five, average of five groups 0.61. At 20x the eye box needed attention; at 16x I forgot about it.

4-32x50 F1 on a 24-inch .308 bolt gun. 160 rounds of Federal Gold Medal Match 175 grain. Parallax focused cleanly from 25 yards out, though above 24x it needed a touch every time the distance changed. I shot to 800 yards on a 20 MOA base and never came near the end of the travel. In a cold morning rain at 34 degrees the turrets stayed crisp and nothing fogged inside.

4-32x50 F2 on a .22 LR target rifle and then a .300 Win Mag. 900 rounds of SK Standard Plus at 50 and 100 yards, where the 11-yard parallax and the thin CF2D reticle at 32x were exactly right, then 60 rounds of Hornady 200 grain ELD-X on the magnum with no shift in zero. Holding the 16x scale at the calibrated dot on the power ring put me on a 10-inch plate at 600 yards on the first shot.

What I Don’t Like

• The eye box at full power. Covered above. It’s the price of an 8x zoom in a short tube, and it is real.
• Travel on the 4-32x50. 90 MOA is enough for most rifles with a 20 MOA base and not enough for a magnum to a mile without one.
• Coarse clicks on the 1-8x24. 0.2 MRAD is 0.72 inch at 100 yards. Fine for a carbine, coarse for a precise zero.
• DigIllum in daylight. The bigger scopes have nothing for a bright day, and the 1-8 has nothing for night vision.
• No published prices. Nightforce sells through dealers and shows no prices, so you have to shop around. That’s what the cards are for.

---

NX8 Problems and Fixes

Search for NX8 problems and you’ll find forum threads, not answers. Here are the ones that come up, what causes them and what to do.

• The illumination lights up the whole picture. On the DigIllum scopes at night, the top settings glow across the field. Turn it down two or three steps. If it still bleeds at the lowest setting, it’s a fault, and the electronics are covered for three years.
• The parallax won’t stay in focus at short range. Most often it’s the diopter, not the parallax. Set the eyepiece first, at full power against a blank sky, then focus parallax. Some reticle drift at 30 to 60 yards on the low end of the parallax knob is normal on these scopes.
• The turret skips at the top after setting ZeroStop. This happens when the knob is forced below zero while setting it. Don’t force it. Reset the ZeroStop with the 5/64 inch key and four inch-pounds. If the turret still skips or stops clicking, send it to Nightforce.
• I ran out of elevation before I reached zero. On a long action the base or receiver can point the scope low. Check ring alignment, then fit a 20 MOA base. The 4-32x50 has the least travel to spare.
• The illumination came on by itself. At least one 4-32 owner has posted that recoil switched the DigIllum on. I never saw it in 1,120 rounds through my two 4-32s, but if your scope does it, take the battery out between sessions and call Nightforce.

---

Which NX8 for Which Job

Your rifle or use	Model	Why
Duty or home-defense carbine	1-8x24 F1 capped, FC-DMx	Daylight dot, 17.3 ounces, capped turrets. $2,100
3-gun and action matches	1-8x24 F1, FC-DMx or FC-MIL	Fast at 1x, a grid for holds at 8x. $2,100
One rifle for deer, steel and the odd match	2.5-20x50 F1, MIL-XT	Most travel in the line, 11-yard parallax. $2,250
Hunting rifle in the timber or at dusk	2.5-20x50 F2, Mil-CF2	Thin reticle at low power, green or red DigIllum. $2,200
Gas gun DMR, .308 or 6.5	2.5-20x50 F1	Twelve inches long, ZeroStop. $2,250
PRS-style matches on a budget for Nightforce	4-32x50 F1, MIL-XT or TReMoR5	Thirty-two power, needs a 20 MOA base. $2,150
Precision rimfire, airguns, varmints	4-32x50 F2, MOAR-CF2D	Thin reticle at 32x, parallax to 11 yards. $2,100

For the wider field, our best LPVO scopes and best AR-15 LPVO roundups rank the low power options, and the best PRS scopes guide covers the long-range end.

---

NX8 vs ATACR

This is the question every NX8 buyer asks: is it a cheaper ATACR? Partly. Here are the two pairs that overlap, with Nightforce’s own figures.

	NX8 1-8x24	ATACR 1-8x24	NX8 2.5-20x50 F1	ATACR 4-16x42 F1
Tube	30 mm	34 mm	30 mm	34 mm
Length	8.7 in	10.1 in	12 in	12.6 in
Weight	17.3 oz	21 oz	28.3 oz	30 oz
One click	0.5 MOA or 0.2 MRAD	0.25 MOA or 0.1 MRAD	0.25 MOA or 0.1 MRAD	0.25 MOA or 0.1 MRAD
Elevation	100 MOA	103 MOA	110 MOA	89 MOA
View at 100 yd, low	106 ft	96.1 ft	41.8 ft	26.9 ft
Parallax	Fixed	Fixed	11 yd to infinity	45 yd to infinity
Night vision settings	None	Two	None	None
Price on our cards	$2,100	$2,900	$2,250	$2,500

NX8 1-8x24 or ATACR 1-8x24

The ATACR 1-8x24 is the bigger, finer scope: a 34 mm tube, quarter-minute or 0.1 MRAD clicks, two night vision settings, and the same daylight visible dial. It’s also 1.4 inches longer and 3.7 ounces heavier, and it sees less at 1x, 96.1 feet against the NX8’s 106. On our card it was $2,900 at Primary Arms, where no big-five retailer had it. The same card showed one as low as $2,800 at KYGUNCO.

Buy the ATACR if you run night vision or want fine clicks for dialing. Buy the NX8 if the rifle gets carried. For most carbines, the NX8 is the better scope for the job.

Can the 2.5-20x50 Stand In for an ATACR?

For most shooters, yes. The ATACR 4-16x42 F1 is Nightforce’s gas gun precision scope: 34 mm, 30 ounces, 4-16x, parallax down to 45 yards and a ZeroHold turret, which Nightforce designed to hold the elevation at zero for holdover shooting. The NX8 2.5-20x50 F1 is lighter at 28.3 ounces, zooms wider at both ends, focuses to 11 yards and has more elevation, 110 MOA against 89. On our card the ATACR 4-16x42 was $2,500 at Red Hawk Rifles, more than the NX8 2.5-20 F1, and no big-five retailer had it either.

Where the ATACR wins is the tube and the top-end picture. A 34 mm ATACR gives the erector more room, and the 5-25x56 F1 has 120 MOA of elevation against the NX8 4-32’s 90, at 37.6 ounces. If you shoot past a mile or need the best image at 25x, buy the ATACR. If you want the Nightforce tracking on a rifle you walk with, the 2.5-20x50 is the one.

---

NX8 vs the Competition

Vortex Razor HD Gen III 1-10x24

The Razor Gen III is the 1-8x24’s real rival: first focal plane, 34 mm, 21.5 ounces, 10.1 inches, 10x at the top and a wider 116-foot view at 1x. Vortex lists it at $3,999.99. On our card it was $2,499.99 at Brownells, more than the NX8 1-8x24. The same card showed one as low as $2,119 at Optics Planet.

The Razor sees more and zooms further. The NX8 is 4.2 ounces lighter and nearly an inch and a half shorter. If you want one scope to stretch to 600 yards, the Razor’s 10x helps. If the rifle is a light carbine, the NX8 is the better fit. Our Vortex vs Nightforce comparison covers the two brands in general.

EOTech Vudu 1-8x24

The Vudu 1-8x24 is the cheaper Japanese-made option, and our EOTech Vudu review covers it in depth. It’s second focal plane with the HC3 reticle in MOA only, 20.8 ounces and 10.9 inches, with a clearly more forgiving eye box at 8x. EOTech lists it at $1,489, and on our card it was $1,339 at Firearms Depot, well under the NX8.

The NX8 is lighter, shorter, first focal plane, brighter in daylight and offers mil reticles. The Vudu is easier to get behind and saves you money. If you shoot stages and don’t hold over, the Vudu is the smart buy. If you carry the rifle and hold for distance, the NX8.

Verdict: The NX8 is rarely the cheapest or the brightest at full power. It’s the lightest and shortest at its zoom ratio, and it tracks like a Nightforce. For more names at every price, see our best rifle scopes guide.

---

Who Should NOT Buy a Nightforce NX8

• Shooters who need a forgiving eye box at full power. The EOTech Vudu 1-8x24 is easier to get behind at 8x, and our Vudu review explains why.
• Buyers on a tight budget. The Vortex Strike Eagle 1-10x24 gives you a first focal plane low power scope for a fraction of the price, and our Strike Eagle review covers it.
• Night vision users. The NX8 1-8x24 has no night vision settings. Buy the ATACR 1-8x24 F1, which has two.
• Long-range shooters who need every minute of travel. The 4-32x50 has 90 MOA. The ATACR 5-25x56 F1 has 120 on a 34 mm tube.
• Carbine shooters who want fine clicks. The 1-8x24’s 0.2 MRAD clicks are coarse for dialing. The Vortex Razor HD Gen III 1-10x24 has 0.1 MRAD clicks.

---

Warranty, Battery and What Is in the Box

Warranty. Nightforce covers the NX8 with a transferable limited lifetime warranty on the optical and mechanical parts: if there’s a defect in materials or workmanship, it repairs or replaces the scope at no charge. Two details most reviews miss. The owner’s manual covers the electronic components, the illumination, for three years, not for life. And Nightforce asks you to register the scope online to make sure of coverage. The warranty excludes damage, abuse, unauthorized repairs and improper mounting.

Battery. One CR2032, under the illumination dial on the 1-8x24 and under the parallax knob on the others. DigIllum shuts off after an hour by itself. The 1-8’s dial has an off position between every setting, so it’s easy to leave it on by mistake; check it when you case the rifle.

In the box. The scope with its Power Throw Lever, which you can remove with a 5/64 inch hex key, and the owner’s manual. No rings or mount.

Export. Nightforce’s manual warns that it doesn’t authorize export of these scopes. Don’t ship one abroad.

---

Price and Where to Buy

Nightforce sells through dealers and doesn’t show prices on its own site. On October 14 our five NX8 cards sat between $2,100 and $2,250. The 4-32x50 F2 at $2,100 was the cheaper of the two 4-32s, and the 2.5-20x50 F2 at $2,200 was cheaper than its F1.

The headline on each card is the best price at one of the five big retailers we headline when one of them stocks the scope, and the first dealer in the list when none does. Smaller dealers further down the same card can be cheaper, so read the whole list. Each NX8 has its own card above: 1-8x24 F1, 2.5-20x50 F1, 2.5-20x50 F2, 4-32x50 F1, 4-32x50 F2.

Three checks before you buy. Match the focal plane, F1 or F2, because some listings don’t say. Match the reticle and turret, capped or ZeroStop on the 1-8. And skip demo or open box units unless the saving is real, though the warranty does transfer.

---

Final Verdict

The Nightforce NX8 is the lightest way to get Nightforce tracking and toughness, and the 8x zoom makes each model cover more ground than you’d expect from its size. The trade is a tight eye box at the top of every model and less travel than an ATACR, and the bigger scopes’ DigIllum is a low-light feature only.

Buy the 2.5-20x50 F1 if you want one NX8 for one rifle. Buy the 1-8x24 capped for a carbine you’ll carry. Buy the 4-32x50 F2 for rimfire and target work, and the F1 only with a 20 MOA base under it. Skip the NX8 if you need night vision settings or a forgiving view at full power.

Final Score: 8.6/10. Nightforce turrets in a short, light 8x scope, with an eye box you have to earn.

Sources: Nightforce product pages, 2026 catalog, NX8 owner’s manual, NX8 family sheet and reticle sheets (Nightforce downloads), Nightforce’s warranty page, and the Vortex and EOTech product pages for the competing scopes.

FAQ: Nightforce NX8