Debuted back in February of this year, NIkon has been heavily pushing their new BLACK lineup of riflescopes. Designed to be value-priced and feature-packed, the optics have been well received, especially considering their sub $750 price points and lifetime warranty. One might say they are aiming straight at Vortex’s Viper PST II lineup.

Much to the chagrin of us American long-range shooters, Nikon did not release an MOA reticle with their long-range focused optic – the 6-24×50 instead a MOA reticle was included 4-16x in both illuminated and non-illuminated options.

Nikon is fixing that now with the release of their 6-24x50SF Matte Illuminated X-MOA tactical-style reticle. Nikon claims the reticle is fully “synchronized to elevated windage and elevation turrets.” The BLACK X1000 maintains the side parallax adjustment, 50mm objective lens, 30mm body, and 1/4 MOA click-adjustable turrets with zero-stop.

Adding a few personal thoughts, I am a fan of Nikon’s X-MOA reticle. Where scopes often go into the weeks with a significant amount of “clutter” the Nikon keeps it dead simple with easy to read MOA hash marks that will make holding for the wind a breeze. While far off-center holds may be a bit more difficult, the simplicity offsets this in my mind.

Retail pricing is maintained at $649. Availability is set for “Summer 2017” so with summer approaching fast, it will not be a long wait.

Features from Nikon:

• Full Multilayer Coatings maximize light transmission, brightness and contrast
• Lead-and-arsenic-free glass is used for all lenses
• Glass-etched ranging reticle located in the Second Focal Plane, the reticle can be used to estimate range, target size, elevation holdover and wind-drift at designated magnification
• Side-Focus Parallax Adjustment
• 4x Zoom
• Generous, Consistent Eye Relief
• Quick Focus Eyepiece
• 30mm Main Body Tube
• Elevated Windage & Elevation Turrets
• Spring-Loaded Instant Zero-Reset Turrets
• Waterproof/Fogproof/Shockproof
• Sunshade included
• Compatible with Spot On Custom Turrets