Have any of you tried one? If the clarity is anything like my 8-32x S3, I am tempted to get one.
Sightron Spotting Scopes?
- Thread starter geezerhood
- Start date
Ledd Slinger
Silver $$ Contributor
Pretty sure their spotters are made with the Big Sky SII glass which is not as good as their SIII glass. Probably don't hear a lot about then because the Big Sky glass isn't really anything to write home about.
The excerpt below is from a member here that reviewed the Sightron spotter a few years back. Take note that other shooters thought it was 'decent' glass, and that he couldn't see holes in the black of the targets at 300 yards when he got a break in the mirage. He also states that he didnt see any color abberation, but people often dont know that they are experiencing color abberation in the view until they have owned top level glass. Not too impressive in my opinion.
Quote copied from review:
"Well, I finally got to use the scope in real world conditions (although i was just an observer). Went to a Palma and F class match (800, 900 & 1,000 yds). Not the ideal conditions to check out the scope but it was something. Was a nice day but the sun (mirage) was out. There were only 2 brief moments where there wasn't any mirage. There was certainly no problem seeing the plugs in the target at any range, so that wasn't any challenge. While the match was going on I asked some of the other shooters to take a peek to get their opinion. They all said it was clear and looked like a decent scope. I didn't see any color aberrations. I was surprised how many hadn't heard of Sightron.
I hung around till the end of the match and there were a couple of High Power Service Rifle shooters that wanted to get some practice in at 600. So I followed them down. While the 2 guys were getting set up at the 600 line, there was one on the 300 shooting a string. I had the scope on 60x and i could see breaks appearing in the white scoring rings on the target as he was shooting. This was during one of those brief periods of no mirage. I couldn't make out any shots in the black although I really didn't expect to especially since the target was in the shade. There were holes in the white but they were there before and not coming from the shooter. I alsodon't know the diameter of them althoughI believe, at least, some of them were from the scoring plugs.
The guy at 300 left so the 600 yd firingstarted and of course the sun and mirage came back. The second brief no mirage period came and the targets appearedmore blurry than the previous time. What'sgoing on? I put my glasses on and what a difference. Clear and sharp like before. Upto this point I always thought I could focus optics with or without my glasses and get the same level of sharpness. GUESS NOT! I believe I have some astigmatism so maybe that's it, don't know for sure, but I guess I'll have to keep my glasses on from now on when viewing optics.
This wasn't an exhaustive test since I was at the mercy of the club member'sactivities and I was just a guest. But, I certainly think what I did see was promising and others had favorableopinions. I don't think anyone could go wrong with this scope especially at the price."
The excerpt below is from a member here that reviewed the Sightron spotter a few years back. Take note that other shooters thought it was 'decent' glass, and that he couldn't see holes in the black of the targets at 300 yards when he got a break in the mirage. He also states that he didnt see any color abberation, but people often dont know that they are experiencing color abberation in the view until they have owned top level glass. Not too impressive in my opinion.
Quote copied from review:
"Well, I finally got to use the scope in real world conditions (although i was just an observer). Went to a Palma and F class match (800, 900 & 1,000 yds). Not the ideal conditions to check out the scope but it was something. Was a nice day but the sun (mirage) was out. There were only 2 brief moments where there wasn't any mirage. There was certainly no problem seeing the plugs in the target at any range, so that wasn't any challenge. While the match was going on I asked some of the other shooters to take a peek to get their opinion. They all said it was clear and looked like a decent scope. I didn't see any color aberrations. I was surprised how many hadn't heard of Sightron.
I hung around till the end of the match and there were a couple of High Power Service Rifle shooters that wanted to get some practice in at 600. So I followed them down. While the 2 guys were getting set up at the 600 line, there was one on the 300 shooting a string. I had the scope on 60x and i could see breaks appearing in the white scoring rings on the target as he was shooting. This was during one of those brief periods of no mirage. I couldn't make out any shots in the black although I really didn't expect to especially since the target was in the shade. There were holes in the white but they were there before and not coming from the shooter. I alsodon't know the diameter of them althoughI believe, at least, some of them were from the scoring plugs.
The guy at 300 left so the 600 yd firingstarted and of course the sun and mirage came back. The second brief no mirage period came and the targets appearedmore blurry than the previous time. What'sgoing on? I put my glasses on and what a difference. Clear and sharp like before. Upto this point I always thought I could focus optics with or without my glasses and get the same level of sharpness. GUESS NOT! I believe I have some astigmatism so maybe that's it, don't know for sure, but I guess I'll have to keep my glasses on from now on when viewing optics.
This wasn't an exhaustive test since I was at the mercy of the club member'sactivities and I was just a guest. But, I certainly think what I did see was promising and others had favorableopinions. I don't think anyone could go wrong with this scope especially at the price."
itchyTF
Gold $$ Contributor
Ledd,
That was my "review". I'm no expert, this was just an observation using my no so great eyes. I could never afford the high end spotters so I can't use them for comparison. That why I asked some of the other shooters (who were using the $$$ spotters to give an opinion.
You weren't impressed, sorry. I didn't write it to impress anyone.
BTW, I got this directly from Sightron - take it or leave it.
"Our spotters do not use Big Sky Glass, we actually use an ED glass (Extra Low Dispersion Glass) in our spotters."
That was my "review". I'm no expert, this was just an observation using my no so great eyes. I could never afford the high end spotters so I can't use them for comparison. That why I asked some of the other shooters (who were using the $$$ spotters to give an opinion.
You weren't impressed, sorry. I didn't write it to impress anyone.
BTW, I got this directly from Sightron - take it or leave it.
"Our spotters do not use Big Sky Glass, we actually use an ED glass (Extra Low Dispersion Glass) in our spotters."
Ledd Slinger
Silver $$ Contributor
Good to know. I wonder why they call them SII if it's not Big Sky glass? Hmmm...
I was actually really impressed with your review because it was completely honest. A lot of people won't go through the lengths you did before posting a review. Most folks look through optics at the store counter, think they're great, then write a completely biased review on how great the optic is, mostly because they own it I'm guessing. Good on you for putting the optic through its paces and getting other experienced shooter opinions before writing about it. The Sightron spotter may not be top shelf glass, but I'm sure it is well worth the money spent. I wouldn't expect a lower priced spotter to pick out small bullet holes in the black at extended ranges, so I may have been a bit harsh in the response of not being impressed. You didn't pay $2K+, so obviously people can't expect those kind of results. Thank you again for an honest review.
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