Nocpix Ace Series

The Ace is Nocpix's answer to a complaint hunters have had about thermal for years: it handles nothing like the rifle scopes they already shoot. An Ace sits in standard 30 mm rings, carries a real optical magnifier in the eyepiece, and swaps batteries without shutting down. It is built to behave like a day scope that happens to see heat.

The line runs from a 384 sensor to a 1280, with and without a built-in rangefinder. Every model shares the same platform, so choosing an Ace comes down to two questions: how much sensor your distances call for, and whether ranging belongs in the scope.

What the Ace line is built for

The Ace suits the hunter who already has a rifle set up the way they want it and does not want a thermal optic to change how that rifle handles. It rings up in the same mounts, sits at the same height, and comes to the shoulder the same way, so the habits built on daytime glass still apply in the dark.

That makes it a scope for deliberate shooting: stand hunting, field edges, cut fields and open ground, where a hog or coyote shows up at distance and there is a moment to settle before the shot. The optical magnifier gives that moment something to work with.

The trade is weight. A 30 mm tube scope carries more than a compact rail-mounted thermal, and a hunter who covers ground on foot with the rifle slung will feel it. In exchange, the optic mounts like a scope, magnifies with glass as well as pixels, and never has to power down for a fresh battery.

Three decisions define the Ace platform

Three things hold across every Ace, from the entry model to the flagship.

It mounts in standard 30 mm rings. Many thermal scopes are rail-mounted units shaped more like a camera than a scope. An Ace uses a 30 mm tube, so it drops into rings you already own and sits on the rifle where a conventional scope sits. A quick-detach mount comes in the box as well.

The eyepiece has a real optical magnifier. Thermal magnification is usually digital, which enlarges the pixels the sensor already captured and softens the picture as you push it. The Ace adds a 1x to 3x optical magnifier inside the eyepiece that magnifies the display itself, so it adds magnification without softening the image or shifting the reticle, and it stacks on top of the digital zoom.

The batteries hot-swap. An internal cell keeps the scope running while you change the removable 18650, one cell on most models and two on the S60R, so the optic never powers down mid-hunt. Carry charged spares and runtime stops being something to plan the night around.

What the letters in an Ace model name mean

Ace model names follow one rule. The letter is the sensor: L is a 384, H is a 640, and S is a 1280. The number is the objective lens in millimeters, and an R on the end means a laser rangefinder is built in.

So the Ace L35 is a 384 sensor behind a 35 mm lens, and the Ace H50R is a 640 behind 50 mm with ranging. Once the rule is clear, the whole line reads at a glance.

The Ace line climbs from 384 to 1280

Sensor is the main thing that changes as the Ace line steps up. The mount, the eyepiece magnifier and the battery design stay the same on every model.

Match the Ace sensor to your ground

The sensor decision comes down to how far away the hard call is.

Timber, brush and feeders. Hogs and coyotes show up close, and a 384 sees them clearly at the distances these setups produce. The Ace L35 covers this ground without paying for resolution the shot never uses.

Field edges and mixed ground. Distances vary and identification starts to matter. A 640, in the Ace H50 or Ace H50R, puts more detail on an animal before you commit.

Open pasture and long cuts. When the hard part is deciding what an animal is across a big field, the 1280 in the Ace S60R puts the most detail on it.

Buy the sensor your ground calls for. A bigger sensor on close ground buys detail you will not use.

Ranging is a choice across the Ace line

Two Ace models carry a laser rangefinder and two do not, and the R at the end of the name is how to tell. The Ace H50R and Ace S60R range to 1,300 yards; the Ace L35 and Ace H50 leave ranging to a separate device.

On the ranging models the laser sits inside the germanium objective rather than in a module on the housing. That keeps the profile clean, and it sends the laser out along the same path you are looking through, so the reading lines up with what you are aiming at.

Ranging earns its cost on open ground where distances change from one animal to the next. It is harder to justify around feeders and known lanes, or for a hunter who already carries a rangefinder they trust. Either way, 1,300 yards is how far the laser reaches, not how far you can tell what an animal is; the image decides whether a shot is on.

Who should look at a different series

Buy an Ace if you want a thermal that mounts and handles like the rifle scopes you already shoot, with real optical magnification in the eyepiece. Look elsewhere if the lightest possible rifle matters more, since a 30 mm tube scope weighs more than a compact rail-mounted thermal. Nocpix also builds the RICO line on a different platform, which is the one to weigh against an Ace if the tube-scope format is not what you are after. And if the job is finding animals rather than shooting them, a handheld scanner does it better than any rifle scope.

Nocpix Rico 3.
Handheld Scanner collection.

Ace series FAQ

What is the Nocpix Ace series?

It is Nocpix's line of thermal rifle scopes built to handle like conventional day scopes: a 30 mm tube that fits standard rings, an optical magnifier in the eyepiece, hot-swappable batteries, and an in-lens rangefinder on the ranging models. It runs from a 384 sensor to a 1280.

What do the letters in an Ace model name mean?

The letter is the sensor: L is a 384, H is a 640, and S is a 1280. The number is the lens in millimeters, and an R on the end means the rangefinder is built in.

Which Ace models have a built-in rangefinder?

The Ace H50R and Ace S60R, both reading to 1,300 yards from inside the objective lens. The Ace L35 and Ace H50 have no rangefinder.

Do all Ace scopes share the same platform features?

Yes. Every Ace uses the 30 mm tube, the 1x to 3x optical eyepiece magnifier, the hot-swap battery design and an included quick-detach mount. The S60R takes two removable 18650 cells where the other models take one.