Finally got my Bergara assembled in the configuration I wanted. Mounted the new Nightforce NX8 4-32x50mm F1 in American Precision Arms rings, on top of a Nightforce 20MOA rail.
I won’t get to the range until Sunday, but played with the new setup for a little bit, lying on my shop floor and aiming outside through the open door. The eyebox on the Nightforce is on the small side at 32x, naturally, but I had no issues with it. All the other features were typical of Nightforce and their quality; solid audible and tactile turret adjustments, gorgeous glass, Zero Stop, FFP, etc. The windage turret can be capped, or left exposed with the included beauty ring to protect the threads. The lens covers, which are of the same type that Nightforce has been shipping with their ATACR line of optics, are a nice touch. I’ve been using them for years on my ATACR’s and they’re rugged and versatile.
The APA rings are very interesting. They’re machined from 7075 aluminum, with a steel clamp on one side. The aluminum is Cerakoted an attractive matte black, with APA’s logo engraved on the top of both ring caps. All of that is pretty standard, it’s their guarantees that are not.
Speaking with Jered Joplin, the owner of APA, he stated that there are no “matched” parts. The tolerances are held to such a standard that you can mix upper halves, lowers halves, and clamps amongst any of their parts and they are guaranteed to perform perfectly. They are guaranteed to return to zero when removed and reinstalled. Most interesting is that there are no required torque specs for the two screws that clamp the ring to the rail. Run ‘em down as tight as you want and they’ll be no issues. Remove the rings, remount them without attempting to match the torque specs they were at previously and they will STILL return to zero. Very interesting. Jered also stated you’ll bend or snap off your Torx long before you snap a screw or strip the female threads.
For the initial mounting, I torqued them to 48 inch/pounds. Why 48 inch/pounds? Yo mamma, that’s why. Wanted to start with a known, repeatable value for the first few tests of checking their ability to return to zero, and I’ve never torqued anything to 48 inch/pounds before. If that works as claimed, I will move on to checking the return to zero using inconsistent torque values.
I won’t get to the range until Sunday, but played with the new setup for a little bit, lying on my shop floor and aiming outside through the open door. The eyebox on the Nightforce is on the small side at 32x, naturally, but I had no issues with it. All the other features were typical of Nightforce and their quality; solid audible and tactile turret adjustments, gorgeous glass, Zero Stop, FFP, etc. The windage turret can be capped, or left exposed with the included beauty ring to protect the threads. The lens covers, which are of the same type that Nightforce has been shipping with their ATACR line of optics, are a nice touch. I’ve been using them for years on my ATACR’s and they’re rugged and versatile.
The APA rings are very interesting. They’re machined from 7075 aluminum, with a steel clamp on one side. The aluminum is Cerakoted an attractive matte black, with APA’s logo engraved on the top of both ring caps. All of that is pretty standard, it’s their guarantees that are not.
Speaking with Jered Joplin, the owner of APA, he stated that there are no “matched” parts. The tolerances are held to such a standard that you can mix upper halves, lowers halves, and clamps amongst any of their parts and they are guaranteed to perform perfectly. They are guaranteed to return to zero when removed and reinstalled. Most interesting is that there are no required torque specs for the two screws that clamp the ring to the rail. Run ‘em down as tight as you want and they’ll be no issues. Remove the rings, remount them without attempting to match the torque specs they were at previously and they will STILL return to zero. Very interesting. Jered also stated you’ll bend or snap off your Torx long before you snap a screw or strip the female threads.
For the initial mounting, I torqued them to 48 inch/pounds. Why 48 inch/pounds? Yo mamma, that’s why. Wanted to start with a known, repeatable value for the first few tests of checking their ability to return to zero, and I’ve never torqued anything to 48 inch/pounds before. If that works as claimed, I will move on to checking the return to zero using inconsistent torque values.
