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The Nikko Sterling Diamond 10-50x Target Scope
By Brad Troyer
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Over the years I have shot at a lot of field targets matches. I have competed against nearly ever scope out there and have either tried or tested most of them. Up to now I haven’t seen any scopes that would make me consider giving up my tried and true Bushnell Elite 6-24x scope. That was before I tested the Nikko Sterling Diamond 10-50x sidewheel scope.
The Nikko Sterling Diamond 10-50x has been on the market for a number of years and has earned its place in the field target community. It was used by eight shooters at last years AAFTA Nationals which tied the Bushnell 6-24x, 8-32x and BSA 10-50x. It was also the scope of choice by Billy Lo and Paul Cray who won the Nationals last year in PCP and Piston, respectfully. I hadn’t really tried the Nikko but have gotten beat by it many times so I decided it was time for a closer look.
I rang up Airguns of Arizona and asked Greg if he could spare a 10-50x scope from their stock. He and AOA have always been very accommodating to me when it comes to getting gear for review and this was no exception. About a week later I was holding a big Nikko scope in my hands. That’s no joke, it is a big scope, weighting in at 39.9 ounces. It’s long too measuring a long 18.4”.
You might wonder why it is so heavy. Well, to answer that question all you need to do is take a look at the front objective, it’s a huge 60mm lens. That is as big as some spotting scopes! That’s a lot of glass but it drinks in the light and the multi-coating helps transmit nearly all of the light to the eye. That is good because this scope can vary from 10x all the way up to a whopping 50 power! That will bring a critter or target right up close and personal. The only downside is that at 50x the image quality deteriorates quickly as the ambient light diminishes. On an open rifle range that may not be a problem but it can be in the woods on a cloudy day. I found that for Field Target work, setting the power around 35-40x gave me the best trade-off of magnification verses ranging capability and image quality. At that power range the image quality is quite good.
With such powerful magnification an adjustable objective is a must have. The Nikko uses a saddle or sidewheel adjustment system. Instead of turning the bell on the front of the scope like most other scopes, an adjustment knob on the side of the scope (i.e. a sidewheel) is used to remove parallax. The scope comes standard with a large 90mm sidewheel that can be removed or adjusted via a grub screw in the wheel. The sidewheel comes pre-calibrated with distances from 10 yards to infinity. The distances on the sidewheel appeared to be pretty close to correct but I would still probably make my own distance marks on the wheel.
With the scope mounted on my Falcon FN19FTR I tested the objective focusing at various ranges out to 55 yards. At every distance, the scope perform magnificently, the scope repetitively focused within a yard of the test target while turning the wheel either clockwise our counter-clockwise. The image would snap in and out of focus quickly. The temperatures were pretty mild while testing the scope so I didn’t really get to see how temperature transitions affected rangefinding.
Since this scope was designed as a target scope, the turrets are 1/8 minute of angle clicks. The knobs themselves are a nice size, they are easy to grab and see. They are about 1” in diameter and about ¾” tall. The clicks are firm for the most part, however I noticed at the top end of the travel they got a bit mushy. That probably won’t affect my shooters though since with proper mounting, the turrets should be positioned in the optical center where the turrets are firm feeling.
If for some reason you decide that you don’t want to use the turrets during a match, you can use the mil-dot reticle to hold-over/under on the target. The mil-dot is pretty standard with four dots in all directions from the center of the reticle. To get the reticle in focus, the Nikko uses a fast focus eyepiece. With just a couple of turns of the eyepiece on the end of the eyepiece the reticle comes into clear focus.
To run the Nikko through its paces I performed a box test where the scope was zeroed at 25 yards and fired three shots then the elevation and windage knobs are turned one revolution up, right, down, and left with three shots fired after each revolution. This creates a square formation of groups and helps show any problems with tracking after repetitive movements of the turrets. My test didn’t reveal any problem with the Nikko’s tracking capability. The box formation was four nice tight groups.
Another test I like to do is run the turrets to their extremes, back and forth and then back to their zero point. Then shoot a group. This process is repeated for several groups just to be sure that the zero doesn’t shift when the turrets hit their extremes. Again, the scope passed this test with flying colors.
After testing the scope on my Falcon I moved it over to a TX200 for a little springer testing. It was a bit more difficult to rangefinder with the big scope on a sporter rig and really made the rifle top heavy. However, the big objective really gave a bright image and it made up for any short comings it had due to weight. It held up fine under the rigors of a spring gun environment. I didn’t experience any shifts or problems of any kind.
I was very impressed with the Diamond 10-50x scope and that is saying a lot since I have been a very loyal to my Bushnell Elite 6-24x scope over the years. The scope’s image was bright and clear and the crosshairs stayed on zero even on my piston gun. I would like it to be lighter and shorter but that is the price you have to pay if you want the performance and this scope does perform so much so I am seriously considering buying one myself. In this day and age, a guy needs every little bit of help he can get to shoot a better score and the Nikko Sterling Diamond 10-50x scope could help squeeze out a few more points in competition.
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| Model | Diamond Sportsman Target |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Nikko Sterling |
| US Sales | Airguns of Arizona |
| Magnification | 10-50x |
| Objective Diameter | 60mm |
| Paralax Adjustment | SideWheel |
| Tube Diameter | 30mm |
| Eye Relief | 3.5” |
| F.O.V. @ 100 yds. | 10.5'-2.2' |
| Turret Style | Competition Target Turrets |
| Click Value | 1/8 MOA |
| Reticle | Mil-Dot or Nato RF |
| Reticle Focus | Fast Focus Ocular Lens |
| Length | 18.4” |
| Weight | 39.9 oz. |
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© Copyright 2006 by Brad Troyer & American Airguns