It should be no surprise that Nikon Sport Optics is one of the most technologically advanced optics providers in the shooting sports marketplace. After all, what else should you expect from an established world-leader in precision lens manufacture and camera design? In recent years Nikon has moved quickly to translate that expertise into reasonably priced optics product lines specifically designed for U.S. shooters and hunters that feature a level of quality that rivals the best of elite European name brands. I've been particularly impressed with Nikon's current emphasis on products that serve multiple functions, which provide customers with a versatility and cost-effectiveness most other optics makers have not yet matched.

The quick-focus eyepiece on Nikon's Monarch UCC 2.5-8X handgun scope allows shooter to instantly optimize eye-relief potential and field of view.

Here's a look at three categories of new Nikon optics that offer features and versatility significantly above the norm.

Monarch UCC 2.5-8X 28mm Handgun Scope
Nikon's Monarch UCC 2.5-8X Handgun Scope is my lead example of Nikon's dual-purpose approach to optics design. It may be labeled as a handgun scope in the Nikon catalog, but it's really a top-grade, special-purpose high-power riflescope as well, offering features not seen on any competing handgun scope on the market.

Like all of Nikon's top-of-the-line Monarch UCC riflescopes, the handgun scope incorporates precision-ground and polished lenses coated with Nikon's exclusive Ultra ClearCoat, a proprietary lens coating that yields 95 percent light transmission. The scope is built on a one-inch, one-piece main body tube made of aircraft-grade aluminum and is available with either a silver or black matte exterior finish. It is nitrogen-filled and O-ring sealed for true waterproof, shockproof, and fog-proof performance and is equipped with lens caps. It comes with a Nikoplex reticle, which enables fast, precise target acquisition, with a 6 MOA trajectory compensation index at the center at 8X.

A feature unique to the Nikon Monarch 2.5-8X 28mm is a new set of low-profile, hand-turn windage and elevation adjustment knobs. The large diameter dial allows the user to feel, hear, and see each precise 1/4 MOA clickstop. The dials are ridged, making them easy to operate with gloves, and each adjustment is numbered, allowing quick adjustments and easy and accurate return to zero while afield or in competition.

The eye relief is a forgiving 12 to 30 inches at 2.5X and 9 to 13 inches at 8X to accommodate heavy-recoil handguns. Unlike any other handgun scope on the market, the 2.5-8X 28mm has a Quick-Focus Eyepiece. This is extremely significant and gives the Monarch UCC 2.5-8X a versatility no other handgun scope offers.

Here's why. Veteran users of any make or model of variable-power pistol scope are very aware of the fact that eye relief changes when magnification is changed. As you increase magnification, the closer you need to move your eye to the scope in order to see a full field of view.

This is not desirable when using high-magnification scopes on high-recoil hunting pistols. Aside from the potential for head-whacking, in many shooting situations it also makes it more difficult to achieve a stable firing position at high magnification. On the other hand, at low magnifications with some zoom ranges on some scopes, you may find yourself needing to stretch your arms to the maximum and rear your head as far back as it will go.

Veteran pistol scope users are also aware that you can change eye relief a certain amount at any given level of zoom magnification by screwing the eyepiece bell in or out. But they don't do much with it because the procedure is generally used with riflescopes for the purpose of eyepiece focus, making the reticle as crisp and clear in appearance as possible (like setting the diopter on binoculars).