The markings on the windage knob count up in only one direction, not in both direction like I prefer, but not a problem either. I am not sure if that would even out with more use and it was not a huge difference, but was interesting to note. I did notice that the windage clicks seemed to be a bit stiffer than the elevation clicks. The windage knob is the same size and shape as the elevation knob with the same 12 MOA per revolution. It was also interesting to see exactly 80 MOA of adjustment, most scopes get “close” to their advertised amount but are usually a bit higher or lower, rarely exactly the published amount like with this scope. This was nice to see and helps provide maximum use of up elevation and combined with a 15 or 20 MOA base would provide a large amount of up elevation for long range engagements. This is a good amount of travel and one thing of note is that from the factory the mechanical zero on this scope was biased toward the lower end with 31 MOA of down and 49 MOA of up elevation.
There is 12 MOA of travel per rotation with a total of 80 MOA of elevation. The knobs have 4 set screws around the top portion which might be overkill, but you can be confident that the knobs will stay in place once zeroed and set. I really like the way the knobs felt and operated and you are certain when a click is made by the feel, even when wearing gloves. The clicks are very nice with a muted sound but with a nice positive tactile feel. They are easy to grip with serrations on top with plenty of gripping surface. The elevation and windage knobs are of an exposed design with no dust covers and are fairly large. The power ring itself was smooth throughout the range and provided a good amount of resistance. The markings are in white and easy to read from above the scope, but they are placed in a location that makes it impossible to easily read what power you are on from behind the scope. The power ring has serrations as well and a large knob protruding from it to help with selecting the power while behind the scope. The power selection ring is right in front of the eye piece and is separate from the eye piece allowing the use of flip up scope caps without a problem. It has serrations for gripping that eye piece focus ring with some sort of rubberized finish to aide in all weather use. So the threads are fine which does take a bit longer to focus it in for your eyes, but offers a very fine adjustment range. The eye piece has a more traditional focus ring on it which is a non “fast focus” design. The subdued all matte black appearance gives the scope a purposeful look and of course makes it more tactical in nature, at least you will not have to tape or paint over the bright emblems. It is a similar appearance to the Leupold Mk4 scopes where they have removed all of their traditional Gold rings, etc. Those gold emblems that are on most of the Nikon scopes were replaced by simple engraved nikon emblems that are completely matte black. The entire scope has a matte black anodized finish with none of the normal gold Nikon emblems anywhere on the scope or the knobs. The size of the scope falls right in the mid range area, not one of the “huge” scopes, but not compact either with a weight that is about average. The over all shape of the scope is pleasing and it is a nice scope to look at. The design is nothing fancy with the knobs sitting up on a rounded and elevated shoulder and the tube, like all good quality tactical scopes these days, is a one piece tube. The scope has a 30mm Tube made from aircraft grade aluminum and is of a traditional design. The scope we reviewed here is the 2.5-10x44mm and comes with a sunshade, bikini cover, lends cloth and some flip up scope caps, though not butler creeks. I do not believe much changed with the name and their two scope offerings in this sector remain the 2.5-10×44 and the 4-16x50mm. This scope is known as the Monarch X which if my memory serves me correctly, is a fairly new name for their tactical scopes.
Their glass has always been known to be good, especially on their higher end optics. Nikon is well known in the camera world as one of the premier camera and lens makers and they have been making sport optics as well for a long time.
The Nikon glass has a good reputation of quality and it sounds like the Nikon Tactical offering was well researched, so we set out to determine how well the scope can serve in this role. These scopes have been out for a while so it was time for us to review one. This actually happened several years ago when they brought in some tactical experts to help them develop their scope and the Monarch X was the result of that. Nikon has long been a player in the sport rifle scope business and with the boom in popularity that ‘tactical’ scopes have enjoyed over the past decade it was only a matter of time before Nikon got into the tactical scope game.
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