Nikko LaserKing 4-12 x 42 Scope

Nikko LaserKing 4-12 x 42 – The future in scopes?

The Editor looks at the latest technology to come from Nikko Stirling; A laser built into a scope…

Opening up a box from Cameron Sports turned out what looked like a 4-12 power target scope but with an extra dial on the side.
Now, of course, you don’t read the instructions. They’re for when you really can’t figure it out! After a play with all the dials and stuff I was pleasantly surprised to see that the extra dial is in fact a switch for an inbuilt laser. Makes sense really, instead of those bolt-on extras that never seem to be quite sighted in right, the Laser King comes with a laser pointer built into the front objective bell that shines through the front lens. This integrated design does not appear to affect the objective lens at all with a perfectly round, crystal sharp image seen just as you would expect from a Nikko Stirling scope.

Features

This side drum has a simple on/off switch to the laser with a slim screw-out battery giving a quoted run time of two hours continuous. It’s the sort of thing you only use for short bursts and that’s what it’s designed for.

The added feature of the 4-12 magnification range covers every possible usage scenario and the adjustment ring is easy to adjust with nice deep grooves that works equally well with thick gloves on.

The laser adjusts with small finger dials in the front objective housing, which means it can be adjusted separately from the scope cross-hairs.

The eyepiece has a rubber protected fast-focus ring that is also slotted for easy adjustment.
The scope adjustment turrets are easy to adjust for target shooting, but one negative is that I feel they are too easy to adjust when hunting. Especially when climbing through the tight stuff.

In use

In practice, the laser, although a 5-milliwatt unit, is only good for short ranges. Just how short depends upon the light levels, with it obviously working better in darker conditions. With the laser being mounted over the crosshairs it will appear further underneath as the distance increases, however, you have the advantage of being able to sight your scope in for two different distances. With the laser being ideal for close shooting you can have it bang-on at say, twenty yards where-as your scope would most certainly be high at that range.

Conclusion

For a .22 or .17 calibre the extra feature of the laser would be ideal with fast point and shoot capability. Plus, they’re tons of fun to use too!

With the addition of turret caps there are obvious advantages for centrefire rifles and big game hunting also. Several times I have had a deer looking directly at me and I’ve been virtually unable to move without spooking the animal away. To just switch on the laser pointer and shoot without even raising the rifle would certainly add a big advantage in that situation.

I’m sure we will be seeing more new innovation from the Nikko Stirling range in the future.