Nikon Prostaff Rimfire 3-9x40EFR Review

Nikon, oh Nikon where have you been in the rimfire arena? I don’t know about you but I’m happy someone at Nikon decided that they needed to make a high quality piece of rimfire glass. For years now all Nikon really offered was there fixed 4×32 rimfire scope. While that’s not a bad choice, and plenty of hunters are happy with a fixed 4 power scope, it makes Nikon’s offerings too narrow. Thankfully that has all changed now.

Enter (my current favorite) the Nikon 3-9×40 EFR or Enhanced Focusing Range (fancy name for adjustable objective).  The adjustable objective will focus down to 10 yards, which is great for close work at the range.  I prefer a scope that focuses down to this range, as a 50 yard bottom out on the AO just isn’t enough.  This line of scopes is manufactured in the Philippines, and offers exceptional value.

The power ring and AO adjustment are smooth and accurately marked. It only comes in one color (matte black) and one reticle choice (precision). I’ll have a picture of that at the bottom of this review.  I’d call it a Duplex Dot.  The fast focus eye piece makes for quick reticle focus. While these two choices limit this scope somewhat, I really think it out shines the Clearidge Ultra RM series. Why? Well price is one consideration. The Nikon comes in at $190 or lower and can be purchased numerous places. The Clearidge can only be purchased 2 places I know of and costs $245.99 (again don’t forget reticle and color options here, but is it worth an extra $55?)

Precision Reticle @ 3 power

Enough on comparison. Let’s talk glass. I’m not sure what they are doing with the glass over at Nikon but whatever it is I hope they continue. This scope is incredibly bright and crisp. The light transmission is outstanding. Images for this price range are so incredibly clear! You can probably tell I’m a fan.  Hopefully they will offer it in a higher power range, say 4.5-14 or 6-18.

Precision Reticle @ 9 power

There are a couple of downsides though. The caps that go over the turrets are plastic, including the treading. This, overtime could wear and become useless. That leaves you with out caps…. It has finger adjustable turrets, which can be reset to zero simply by lifting the cap and moving back to zero.

Let’s look at specs:

Specifications

• Magnification
  3-9x
• Objective Diameter
  40mm
• Exit Pupil
  4.4-13.3mm
• Field of View
  5.7-16.9 ft @ 100 yds
• Tube Diameter – Other
  1 in
• Eye Relief
  3.6in
• Objective Outside Diameter
  50mm
• Eyepiece Outside Diameter
  44mm
• Weight
  15.7 oz
• Overall Length
  12.5 in
• Adjustment Graduation – Other
  1/4 in
• Max Internal Adjustment
  80 MOA
• Parallax Setting – Other
  10 yds – ∞
• Adjustable Objective
  Yes
• Waterproof/Fogproof
  Yes
• Parallax Adjustment
  Yes
• Matte Finish
  Yes
• Use
  Rimfire
• Reticle
  Precision

There is also another consideration if you plan to use this scope on a bolt gun.  You will probably be mounting the Nikon EFR on high rings based on the over sized rear ocular bell. (The rings used on this setup are BKL 257 Mediums, BKL 257H Highs are too high!)  I’m not sure why Nikon made it over-sized, however I know for a fact medium rings won’t work on a Marlin XT-22.  Your bolt will contact the scope.  This just makes your cheek weld a little higher, but the benefits of this scope outweigh this inconvenience.   If you are mounting it on a semi-auto you should be able to get by with medium rings.

Don’t waste anymore time if you are on the fence with this scope.  It’s an outstanding value for any rimfire rifle.  Thank you Nikon for getting back in the game.