Nikon out of rifle scope business

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  • RRP II

    Member
    Jan 5, 2011
    33
    Maryland
    "Nikon will be exiting the rifle scope business and that once current inventory is gone, it’s gone. TTAG spoke to Nikon’s advertising agency who confirmed the news. We’re told that this is a business decision Nikon has made based on their position in the highly competitive optics market. Nikon isn’t getting out of the outdoor optics business, though. The good news is they will continue to produce their excellent spotting scopes, rangefinders and binoculars."

    Read more: https://nikonrumors.com/2019/11/25/...-the-rifle-scope-business.aspx/#ixzz66as9kKc3
     

    fidelity

    piled higher and deeper
    MDS Supporter
    Aug 15, 2012
    22,400
    Frederick County
    With the Weaver rifle scope line disappearing (but the sister Bushnell line persisting) and Nikon going away, the $100-200 options for (imo) a quality built scope will be fewer. I'll be looking for deals on their EFR/parallax adjustable scopes.
     

    StantonCree

    Watch your beer
    Jan 23, 2011
    23,932
    With the Weaver rifle scope line disappearing (but the sister Bushnell line persisting) and Nikon going away, the $100-200 options for (imo) a quality built scope will be fewer. I'll be looking for deals on their EFR/parallax adjustable scopes.

    You should text me
     

    erwos

    The Hebrew Hammer
    MDS Supporter
    Mar 25, 2009
    13,866
    Rockville, MD
    The new BLACK riflescope line was not a success for them, or so it seems. From my perspective, Nikon just didn't seem to have a lot of innovation going - perhaps due to lack of R&D allotment - and the other competitors in the market were offering more interesting products.

    I mean, let's take the Black Force 1000 1-6x. You'd figure an LPVO topping out 6x with good glass would be interesting to US shooters. But they slapped an MOA reticle on it, which is not a popular choice for 3gun (BDC) or for most precision shooters (who usually want mil), plus it's heavy (20oz), plus they retailed it at $650 street. That price point means it was competing against the Steiner p4xi, the Vortex Viper PST Gen II, and discounted Sig Tango6s, and to be blunt, all of those were much better options with brighter illumination and better mil or BDC reticles.

    So, not only was their flagship LPVO a bit unimpressive on paper, they also did what appears to be a terrible job of marketing it. If you're trying to hard sell a tactical LPVO to the shooting public, you need to get some demo scopes out to influencers like Ilya Koshkin, Jim Fischer, Ash Hess, etc. Companies who actually know the market understand you only really need to send out scopes to about 4-5 people to get massive reach in the segment that is knowledgeably buying these things, plus maybe another 4-5 big IG influencers to hit the market segment that just buys cool shit. Relying on magazine articles is a bad idea, because everyone knows most magazines won't actually report when something sucks (Recoil being a slight exception sometimes).

    In conclusion, I think Nikon just screwed up, and doesn't see a path forward, hence why they're pulling out of the market. I do not believe they are a bellweather for the scope market as a whole, albeit there is currently a bit of pre-SHOT-Show over-saturation due to end of year clearances of model lines about to become obsolete.
     

    Cuttyfunk

    Active Member
    Dec 17, 2015
    157
    I bought my fx1000 prior to release, generally disappointed. I have held in to it only because I don't shoot that rifle much. Three other "cheaper" Nikon's and was happy with each. I think this has to do more with getting out of the gun industry rather then sales.
     

    winch

    Ultimate Member
    Jan 14, 2011
    1,326
    Towson
    I am getting into DSLR's and the rumor is that Nikon is in trouble in that business too......I bought a Nikon DSLR anyway.
     

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