If you are looking for a high-quality riflescope at a very good price, the Nikko Stirling Platinum Nighteater is worth a look. It fits both a Springer airgun and centerfire rifle and, depending on the model, can fit a wide range of hunting or target shooting needs.
In this article, I’ll specifically review the Nikko Stirling Platinum Nighteater 1-inch 4-16×44 (mil point) model and tell you how to find a good deal on one.
Nikko Stirling Platinum Nighteater 1 Inch 4-16×44 Review
If you don’t know what those numbers mean, by the way, I’ll explain briefly.
Bit 4-16 refers to the extension. In this case, 4-16 means that you can increase from 4x to 16x. You can do this by simply turning a dial on the body of the viewfinder by hand to change the level of magnification.
On the Nikko, the 4-16 variable is nice and wide, and will get you shooting anywhere from about 8 yards to, well, a lot farther than most of us or our rifles can shoot anyway!
In some riflescopes, especially inexpensive ones with large magnification ranges, higher magnifications may produce a less than perfect image. In the case of the Nikko Platinum range, this is not a concern, as I explain below.
the lens
The 44 stands for the diameter of the “big end” lens size in millimeters or, as it’s technically known, the lens. As a general rule of thumb, the bigger the better in terms of light capture, transmission, and ability to acquire and track a moving target.
At 44mm, this Nikko Platinum has a good all purpose medium to large lens that is ideal for hunting at all common ranges from 8 meters to 800.
Nikko lenses are well known for their quality, as they are made in Japan to a very high quality level, grade A, so you know you will get excellent vision.
As one user comments: “The viewfinder is VERY clear and lets in a lot of light even when zoomed in all the way.” So, as noted above, there is no problem with cheaper scopes with clarity of vision even at maximum zoom.
The Nikko 4-16×44 also comes with parallax adjustment via an easy to use side wheel. Parallax, or rather the effect of parallax, if you don’t know where, targets will often “appear” to shift or wobble against your background, making it difficult to lock onto them.
Parallax adjustment solves this by eliminating wobble, which means you’ll shoot much better. The Nikko has a range of distance settings from 10 meters upwards and is very easy to adjust.
Zeroing
User-friendly windage and elevation turrets.
Windage basically where you can adjust the front sight left and right and the elevation means up and down. So when you’re setting the scope, you’ll take a number of shots at the same target point and depending on where they land, adjust the dials so the shots go where the crosshairs say.
You see physically, you see the business. It is what is known as a full size scope, so it is not for young or small carbine rifles. It is very well packed and presented and also comes with quality flip top caps to protect the lenses.
How to get a good deal on the Nikko Stirling 4-16×44
Prices are very reasonable for what you get with the Platinum Nighteater 4-16×44. Expect to pay £140-170 for a new one in the UK and a similar dollar amount in the US. To find a good deal, shop around online. On Google these days, shopping results and prices appear very prominently, so you won’t have a problem comparing results.
Just make sure you buy from a reputable seller, check that they have stock, what their return and support policy is, and how long it will take to arrive. As always online, be sure to pay by credit card or Paypal so you have maximum protection in the event of a problem.