Nikon discontinuing riflescope lines
#1
Nikon discontinuing riflescope lines
I’d heard some buzzing the last couple weeks about this, so I called Nikon for myself today.
Nikon has discontinued production of all of their riflescope lines, and will finish out distribution of existing inventory within a year. I asked what this meant for warranties, and the representative claimed all warranties will be upheld as promised. However, when I asked further - what happens if I need a repair or replacement of a warrantied scope in a certain time after parts and replacement scope inventories have run dry, the response, “we have not been provided that particular information at this time.” - which I interpret as “you’ll be SOL.”
Nikon has discontinued production of all of their riflescope lines, and will finish out distribution of existing inventory within a year. I asked what this meant for warranties, and the representative claimed all warranties will be upheld as promised. However, when I asked further - what happens if I need a repair or replacement of a warrantied scope in a certain time after parts and replacement scope inventories have run dry, the response, “we have not been provided that particular information at this time.” - which I interpret as “you’ll be SOL.”
#2
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Nov 2014
Posts: 2,743
personally I think, some company's do this , just to NOT have to warranty things, they re group come back again and repeat,
they wouldn;t be the first to do so, and claim, new owners(but kept same name) and such, so now , old line up, NOT there problem!
also a way to get rid of all old stock laying around and not having it to clutter up and cost them $$ on
should be a lot of close out sales on there line up soon I bet!
they wouldn;t be the first to do so, and claim, new owners(but kept same name) and such, so now , old line up, NOT there problem!
also a way to get rid of all old stock laying around and not having it to clutter up and cost them $$ on
should be a lot of close out sales on there line up soon I bet!
#3
Unfortunate.
I've liked my Nikon's and have used and recommended them allot. I've got two Bushnell elites 3500, one Leupold vx3 and the rest are all Nikon's of various flavor.
Would have bought more in the future. May scoop some up if I see a sale.
-Jake
I've liked my Nikon's and have used and recommended them allot. I've got two Bushnell elites 3500, one Leupold vx3 and the rest are all Nikon's of various flavor.
Would have bought more in the future. May scoop some up if I see a sale.
-Jake
#4
I know Nikon has faced a lot of external and internal stress from their largest costumer base - liberal leaning camera/photography enthusiasts. They’ve sponsored ad campaigns in the past with the “shoot photos, not bullets” storyline in some countries. They’ve kept their “sport optics” segregated to various degrees over the last 20+ years, with separate websites and service phone numbers, despite the same corporate address. So it’s not really a surprise to see them backing out of that market.
Personally, I was VERY surprised to see them launch the “Black” line - no part of me can understand why they’d launch that line name in an environment so popularly hostile against “black rifles,” and equally, on the heels of the Hornady Black ammunition line (‘Cuz Hornady cares about Liberal opinion about as much as the Honey Badger). Interesting to see them drop the rifle scope line so shortly after launching the Black line, but it was also interesting to see them abandon such a large portion of their DSLR market this year too, with a marked loss in stock value the last year.
It’s no secret, I’m not a fan of Nikon riflescopes. But I am disappointed they’d cut their riflescope line to appease political pressures, even in light of what I expect was a very costly product line renovation, which seemed to relatively fizzle. One last blast, and they struck out.
Both of my DSLR bodies right now, and my Mirrorless are Canon, but I had been considering a change back to Nikon for my next DSLR. This certainly made that decision much easier for me.
Personally, I was VERY surprised to see them launch the “Black” line - no part of me can understand why they’d launch that line name in an environment so popularly hostile against “black rifles,” and equally, on the heels of the Hornady Black ammunition line (‘Cuz Hornady cares about Liberal opinion about as much as the Honey Badger). Interesting to see them drop the rifle scope line so shortly after launching the Black line, but it was also interesting to see them abandon such a large portion of their DSLR market this year too, with a marked loss in stock value the last year.
It’s no secret, I’m not a fan of Nikon riflescopes. But I am disappointed they’d cut their riflescope line to appease political pressures, even in light of what I expect was a very costly product line renovation, which seemed to relatively fizzle. One last blast, and they struck out.
Both of my DSLR bodies right now, and my Mirrorless are Canon, but I had been considering a change back to Nikon for my next DSLR. This certainly made that decision much easier for me.
#5
Interesting backstory NoMercy. I have a Nikon spotting scope and it's okay but not as good of quality as my Leupold Gold Ring. I'm not a fan of Nikon's reticles so hadn't planned on buying any of their scopes. I started with Canon instead of Nikon and honestly just stayed with Canon because the lenses never go bad and I had a lot of $ invested in lenses. On some models Nikon is a little better and on some Canon beats them. It just depends upon which camera body you're considering IMHO.
#6
Nikon insisted on using that awful BDC on the vast majority of their scopes. I have a older Omega 3x9x40. Nice scope but i hate the BDC circles. Prices are already falling fast on Natchez. Monarch 3s for as low as $224 and in NikoPlex too. They will need to plummet much further for me to consider one when you can get some great glass for $400 or less such as the TRACT 3x9x40 , VX3i and a Viper HS for as low as $250 at MidwayUSA. I sure like my Diamondback HP better than any Nikon in the $200 price range.
When a M-Tactical hits the sub $200 price point i might try one.
When a M-Tactical hits the sub $200 price point i might try one.