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Pros - Quick focus eyepiece - Designed for use with Nikon’s Spot On Ballistic Match Technology - Hand-turn reticle adjustments Cons - Reticle isn’t illuminated - Doesn’t include rings - No parallax adjustment

Welcome to my review of the Nikon Slughunter 3–9x40mm Shotgun Scope. When you’re hunting with slugs or sabots, you need every edge you can get to make sure your shot counts. That’s why a good scope is a crucial piece of equipment for any shotgun slug hunter. Does the Nikon Slughunter fit the bill for those needs? That’s what I’m aiming to find out, no pun intended.

What Are The Dimensions Of The Scope?

On this scope, you get a generous 40mm objective lens, which allows for plenty of light to enter the glass. It’s 11.4 inches long, and weighs 14.7 ounces. It’s slightly heavy, but not conspicuously so, meaning you won’t notice an overbearing amount of extra weight attached to your shotgun’s Picatinny rail.

The eyebox is quite generous, offering five inches eye relief to make sure you don’t bang the scope against your eyebrow or forehead when you take your shot.

The scope’s exit pupil dilates to 4.4 to 13.3mm, maximizing the amount of light that can enter the objective lens.

How Much Magnification Do I Get From The Slughunter?

Magnification is crucial to hitting those vital organs, and the Slughunter offers plenty of it. Total zoom ranges from 3X to 9X, and the sight picture’s crispness, clarity, and contrast make this glass a true pleasure to use.

How Is The Optics Quality On The Shotgun Scope?

For maximum light transmission, the Slughunter’s optics are fully multicoated. This also helps provide you with a sight picture that is almost HD quality, and the quick focus eyepiece and generous eyebox make this glass a real pleasure to use.

The reticle on the scope is Nikon’s BDC 200 variant, which is unfortunately constructed of wire instead of being etched onto the glass. The good news is that this model is compatible with Nikon’s Spot On Ballistic Match Technology, meaning you can get precise yardage information for your range markers based on your particular ammunition and load.

What’s The Light Gathering Capability Like?

With its large 40mm objective lens and fully multicoated optics, this variant offers great transmittance that approaches 95 percent, the theoretical maximum. The reticle isn’t illuminated, unfortunately, but the brightness of the image will still allow you to make the most of this scope even during low-light conditions.

How Wide Is The Field Of View?

When hunting deer or other medium-sized game, it’s important to be able to track the animal. Your field of view is crucial, then, and the Slughunter offers a pretty decent amount of terrain through the glass. You’ll be able to see from 8.4 feet to 25.2 feet at 100 yards using this scope.

How Easy Is The Accessory To Mount?

As long as your shotgun has a Picatinny or Weaver rail, mounting your scope should be a fairly trivial matter. The one factor to be aware of is the scope’s outside diameter – 1.73 inches, or 44mm. This shouldn’t be a problem in most cases, but you may find yourself needing medium-profile rings for your application. Rings aren’t included in the box, so be sure to order a pair when you buy your scope.

Any Tricks Or Tips About Mounting The Scope?

Nothing terribly out of the ordinary here, other than the fact that you might find yourself needing medium-profile rings to mount the scope.

How Easy Is The Nikon Slughunter 3–9x40mm Shotgun Scope To Sight In?

As soon as you’ve mounted it, it’s time to sight in your scope. Nikon makes this easy with the Slughunter, giving you hand-turn windage and elevation controls with 1/4-MOA clicks. The maximum adjustment is 60 MOA, which should be plenty of windage and elevation movement for most uses. Make sure you begin the process using a laser bore-sighting tool, or you’ll waste time and ammunition.

Parallax is set at the factory at 75 yards, and cannot be adjusted.

How Durable Is The Glass?

This scope is waterproof and fogproof, since the lenses are O-ring sealed and the optics chamber is nitrogen-purged. It is also quite rugged, and can withstand even the most demanding shotgun recoils.