Check Today's Price

Pros - Waterproof, fogproof, and shockproof - Excellent image quality and clarity - Precision reticle Cons - Short eye relief - Very large objective outside diameter - No rings included

Welcome to my review of the Nikon Prostaff Target EFR 3–9x40mm AO Riflescope. When it comes to rimfire hunting and target shooting, you’ll often require a scope that offers you that competitive edge. Nikon makes some of the finest scopes in the world, at prices that usually can’t be beat. Let’s check out the Prostaff Target EFR and see how well it meets that reputation.

What Are The Scope’s Dimensions?

This scope comes with a 40mm objective lens for good light gathering qualities. It measures 12.5 inches from objective to eyepiece, and weighs just under a pound at 15.7 ounces. The real concern with this scope, however, is the 50mm diameter of the outside of the objective – that’s been known to prevent the scope from being mounted without high-profile rings on some rifles. More on that later

Eye relief is important in any scope, and this one bothers me. The eye relief is extremely short, at just 3.6 inches. That’s a bit too close for comfort, especially if you have a light rifle.

The diameter of the scope’s exit pupil ranges from 4.4 to 13.3mm.

How Powerful Is The Prostaff Target EFR?

This model will provide you 3X to 9X magnification, with an excellent sight picture throughout that entire range. Crispness, clarity, and contrast, what I call the three C’s of scopes, are all fantastic. The image isn’t quite HD quality, but it’s pretty close.

How Good Are The Optics On The Riflescope?

All of the glass surfaces on the Prostaff Target EFR are fully multicoated for maximum brightness. The scope is very bright and clear, at any distance and with any magnification.

Nikon’s precision reticle is similar to the Nikoplex, but with finer lines near the center. For my money, this reticle is even better than the BDC variant used in other Nikon scopes.

How Well Does The Scope Gather Light?

Transmittance is quite good on this scope, thanks to the large objective lens and the fully multicoated optics. While the reticle isn’t illuminated (wouldn’t that be nice?), the scope still offers a terrific level of brightness even during low-light conditions.

What Can I Expect From The Field Of View?

The field of view on this scope is a bit narrower than I expected it to be. You’ll only be able to view 5.7 to 16.9 feet of terrain at 100 yards. That’s good enough for target shooting, but it might constrain you a bit if you’re hunting fast-moving small prey.

How Simple Is The Scope To Mount?

Mounting your scope should always be a simple and painless thing, and Nikon has mostly covered that with this glass. The only problem you might run into is the need for high-profile rings on some platforms.

Any “Gotchas” About Mounting The Scope?

The main tip I can offer you here is to make sure you order rings when you buy the scope, and consider using high-profile rings to mount your glass. The large objective bell can sometimes get in the way of the bolt action on some rifles, such as the Winchester Model 52.

How Easy Is The Nikon Prostaff Target EFR 3–9x40mm AO Riflescope To Sight In?

Sighting in this scope is quite fun and easy. Make sure you begin the process by using a laser bore-sighting tool to get your shots on paper, then you can head to the rifle range to do more fine tuning on your windage and elevation. The scope offers up to 80 MOA of adjustment, in 1/4 MOA increments (assuming a range of 50 yards) that feature positive clicks. The elevation and windage turrets have spring-loaded zero reset positioning, so field adjustments will always be easy. The scope holds zero almost indefinitely.

This model has an adjustable objective, meaning you can tinker with the scope’s parallax. You can set the parallax from 50 yards out to infinity.

How Rugged Is The Scope?

For ruggedness and longevity, Nikon has made this scope incredibly shock-resistant. It also has a nitrogen-purged optics chamber along with O-ring sealed lenses, making the whole setup both waterproof and fogproof. This is a scope that can take a licking and keep on ticking.