Mystic Precision
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Summerland, BC
Mods, I have had a number of enquiries on info for this new scope and just had a chance to write up a quick review. Putting in the precision forum as that is the main audience for this scope. If you wish to move it to Optics section, no problem
For 2015, Sightron enters the high end market with their SV 10-50X60. Offered in either MOA and MRAD clicks, they feature the very popular hash mark reticles (LRMOA and LRMH with proper spacing to match their scope adjustment).
The box is quite large and the scope is protected in a foam cutout. No way this is going to get hit in transit. Included is a 60mm sunshade, instructions, a very nice SCOPECOAT which will come in very handy to protect the scope from "hanger rash".
If you enjoy the feel of a solid and heavy scope, you are going to like the SV. At 42oz, by far the heaviest scope Sightron has ever made. 34mm 1pc tube, big exposed turrents with adjustment lock, patent pending side focus adjustment.... All in a very robust package. If you want a Sightron you feel can be used to build a bridge, this would be it.
With the 34mm tube, I am waiting on some Leupold Mk4 rings on my early May shipment so can only do a visual review until later in May.
I have the LRMOA version and the shape and layout is near identical to the SIII10-50X60. Put the two scopes next to each other and they are essentially the same size and shape.
1/4 MIN clicks with very clear and easy to read markings. That central allen bolt is not designed for user adjustment and has a lock out feature requiring a special key to work. The internals are off limits and really don't require any user fiddling.
Sightron has chosen to use White colouring which is so much easier for aging eyes to see. I hope that they will change the SIII over to white markings too.
Unique to many target scopes, the SV has 20 mins per revolution making it easy to cover most shooting application with only 1 revolution of the turrent. The large turrents also lock their adjustment and need the outer sleeve to be pulled up to move adjustments. Down will lock the adjustments.
To reset the zero, small set screws are loosened to rotate the outer numbered drum.
The markings line up perfectly with the click value both per click and each minute adjustment for both windage and elevation (when viewed from behind the scope). All very precise and the feel is clear, not overly heavy and loud. There is no doubt a click was made but it doesn't require a wrist twist and a clunk to make it happen.
I ran the turrents through their entire range of travel numerous times and was super impressed with the feel and how precisely they worked.
In many scopes, the end of the travel is kind of a mushy stop with no real idea of when the reticle has actually stopped moving. Also, the value can change as the mechanism is kind of sloshing against the stops.
Not with this SV. As set from the factory, both turrents are dead center in the travel. The Elevation has 70mins. Windage has 60 mins. Lots for a high mag scope.
When I adjusted the elevation, the turrent would travel precisely 35 mins up or down - then 1 1/2 mins more and it came to a dead stop. This was repeatable and precise. I repeated this with the windage turrent and it did exactly the same thing in either direction. 30mins + 1 1/2 mins to the stop. You will never have issues trying to find the center of either travel.
Now the tough test, put in FULL elevation or windage then run the other direction through the full range of travel. What I mean is dial in full up while the windage is centered. Now dial full left then full right. Repeat but start with full right or left, then play with the elevation travel.
The travel never hung up or lost precision in its clicks OR going to full travel + 1 1/2mins to the stop.
You can literally dial the scope into the extreme corner of windage and elevation travel and it will go there. Many scopes can't do this.
The mag ring is smooth to operate with enough resistance to not be easily budged but no heavy that you need to move out of position. As with all Sightron SIII SFP higher mag scopes, the reticle indexes at 2MOA or 1MRAD at 24X which is clearly marked. I prefer to use 32x which gives me 1.5 mins spacing which fits my drift for my 308.
The eyepiece is very similar in performance to the SIII. Wide, easy to use eyebox. Fast ocular diopter adjustment with a huge range in adjustment. I doubt anyone will have issue getting the reticle in focus.
Now the part that makes this whole thing worth while... the OPTICS. Sightron has introduced a patent pending side focus system that is truly unique in the scope industry. Follows the concept found in some spotting scopes. There is the larger coarse adjustment which is pretty typical of all better scopes. Moving this covers the focus when looking at objects at large varying distances.
Then there is a central FINE FOCUS knob.
It allows you to make very small optical adjustments to really bring a distant object into focus even with varying ambient conditions. You can literally vary the focus to THE yard of the object. The ability to really bring an object clearly into focus at LR is wonderful and you can also adjust the focus to bring out detail in objects in close proximity to the target. It is really cool in operation, simple and intuitive to use.
The knobs move very smoothly and easily...like a higher end spotting scope. When you move the coarse adjustment, the fine adjustment knob just spins away. When you move the fine adjustment knob, the coarse adjustment moves very slowly.
So now that you have the object in focus... what do you see? Well, MORE! The clarity and resolution is definitely better then the SIII10-50X60 (which is already very good). And that holds through to 50X. There is a slight drop off at full mag but still pretty darn good.
I can simply see more fine detail like the cracks and aged grain of old fence posts 1000yds away.
Now many who follow my threads know how much I love the Sightron SIII glass. Certainly some of the best at any price. The style of lense picks up mirage early and that can cause image distortion vs other brands... some consider this a negative. I consider it very important for my competition needs.
The SV allows you do to both. By using the fine adjustment, you have more latitude to dial through the mirage to enhance the image details. You definitely can still pick up the mirage if desired. AND you can do it at pretty much any distance you want. Want to pan across the range to see the mirage at each wind flag, no problem.
Remember the ability to dial the scope into the extremes of adjustment travel? Would be pretty pointless, if the image tanked... again, not in the SV. The image quality is exactly the same at all adjustments. You loose nothing in clarity and resolution. The side focus keeps working the same. The mag change keeps working.
No matter where you are in the scope adjustment, you will have the same clear aiming point and view of your target... AWESOME!!!
So on first impressions, as an optical device, I am very impressed with the Sightron SVSS 10-50X60 LRMOA scope. At a retail price of $2700, it is playing at the deep end of the high end target scope market. I hope to provide a follow up to this review once the scope is mounted and some lead sent down range.
I will also put it side by side to the NF competition and March scopes. I think the SV will fare very well.
Stay tuned.
Jerry
For 2015, Sightron enters the high end market with their SV 10-50X60. Offered in either MOA and MRAD clicks, they feature the very popular hash mark reticles (LRMOA and LRMH with proper spacing to match their scope adjustment).
The box is quite large and the scope is protected in a foam cutout. No way this is going to get hit in transit. Included is a 60mm sunshade, instructions, a very nice SCOPECOAT which will come in very handy to protect the scope from "hanger rash".
If you enjoy the feel of a solid and heavy scope, you are going to like the SV. At 42oz, by far the heaviest scope Sightron has ever made. 34mm 1pc tube, big exposed turrents with adjustment lock, patent pending side focus adjustment.... All in a very robust package. If you want a Sightron you feel can be used to build a bridge, this would be it.
With the 34mm tube, I am waiting on some Leupold Mk4 rings on my early May shipment so can only do a visual review until later in May.
I have the LRMOA version and the shape and layout is near identical to the SIII10-50X60. Put the two scopes next to each other and they are essentially the same size and shape.
1/4 MIN clicks with very clear and easy to read markings. That central allen bolt is not designed for user adjustment and has a lock out feature requiring a special key to work. The internals are off limits and really don't require any user fiddling.
Sightron has chosen to use White colouring which is so much easier for aging eyes to see. I hope that they will change the SIII over to white markings too.
Unique to many target scopes, the SV has 20 mins per revolution making it easy to cover most shooting application with only 1 revolution of the turrent. The large turrents also lock their adjustment and need the outer sleeve to be pulled up to move adjustments. Down will lock the adjustments.
To reset the zero, small set screws are loosened to rotate the outer numbered drum.
The markings line up perfectly with the click value both per click and each minute adjustment for both windage and elevation (when viewed from behind the scope). All very precise and the feel is clear, not overly heavy and loud. There is no doubt a click was made but it doesn't require a wrist twist and a clunk to make it happen.
I ran the turrents through their entire range of travel numerous times and was super impressed with the feel and how precisely they worked.
In many scopes, the end of the travel is kind of a mushy stop with no real idea of when the reticle has actually stopped moving. Also, the value can change as the mechanism is kind of sloshing against the stops.
Not with this SV. As set from the factory, both turrents are dead center in the travel. The Elevation has 70mins. Windage has 60 mins. Lots for a high mag scope.
When I adjusted the elevation, the turrent would travel precisely 35 mins up or down - then 1 1/2 mins more and it came to a dead stop. This was repeatable and precise. I repeated this with the windage turrent and it did exactly the same thing in either direction. 30mins + 1 1/2 mins to the stop. You will never have issues trying to find the center of either travel.
Now the tough test, put in FULL elevation or windage then run the other direction through the full range of travel. What I mean is dial in full up while the windage is centered. Now dial full left then full right. Repeat but start with full right or left, then play with the elevation travel.
The travel never hung up or lost precision in its clicks OR going to full travel + 1 1/2mins to the stop.
You can literally dial the scope into the extreme corner of windage and elevation travel and it will go there. Many scopes can't do this.
The mag ring is smooth to operate with enough resistance to not be easily budged but no heavy that you need to move out of position. As with all Sightron SIII SFP higher mag scopes, the reticle indexes at 2MOA or 1MRAD at 24X which is clearly marked. I prefer to use 32x which gives me 1.5 mins spacing which fits my drift for my 308.
The eyepiece is very similar in performance to the SIII. Wide, easy to use eyebox. Fast ocular diopter adjustment with a huge range in adjustment. I doubt anyone will have issue getting the reticle in focus.
Now the part that makes this whole thing worth while... the OPTICS. Sightron has introduced a patent pending side focus system that is truly unique in the scope industry. Follows the concept found in some spotting scopes. There is the larger coarse adjustment which is pretty typical of all better scopes. Moving this covers the focus when looking at objects at large varying distances.
Then there is a central FINE FOCUS knob.
It allows you to make very small optical adjustments to really bring a distant object into focus even with varying ambient conditions. You can literally vary the focus to THE yard of the object. The ability to really bring an object clearly into focus at LR is wonderful and you can also adjust the focus to bring out detail in objects in close proximity to the target. It is really cool in operation, simple and intuitive to use.
The knobs move very smoothly and easily...like a higher end spotting scope. When you move the coarse adjustment, the fine adjustment knob just spins away. When you move the fine adjustment knob, the coarse adjustment moves very slowly.
So now that you have the object in focus... what do you see? Well, MORE! The clarity and resolution is definitely better then the SIII10-50X60 (which is already very good). And that holds through to 50X. There is a slight drop off at full mag but still pretty darn good.
I can simply see more fine detail like the cracks and aged grain of old fence posts 1000yds away.
Now many who follow my threads know how much I love the Sightron SIII glass. Certainly some of the best at any price. The style of lense picks up mirage early and that can cause image distortion vs other brands... some consider this a negative. I consider it very important for my competition needs.
The SV allows you do to both. By using the fine adjustment, you have more latitude to dial through the mirage to enhance the image details. You definitely can still pick up the mirage if desired. AND you can do it at pretty much any distance you want. Want to pan across the range to see the mirage at each wind flag, no problem.
Remember the ability to dial the scope into the extremes of adjustment travel? Would be pretty pointless, if the image tanked... again, not in the SV. The image quality is exactly the same at all adjustments. You loose nothing in clarity and resolution. The side focus keeps working the same. The mag change keeps working.
No matter where you are in the scope adjustment, you will have the same clear aiming point and view of your target... AWESOME!!!
So on first impressions, as an optical device, I am very impressed with the Sightron SVSS 10-50X60 LRMOA scope. At a retail price of $2700, it is playing at the deep end of the high end target scope market. I hope to provide a follow up to this review once the scope is mounted and some lead sent down range.
I will also put it side by side to the NF competition and March scopes. I think the SV will fare very well.
Stay tuned.
Jerry
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