they’re there and they will do the job. If they were larger, this would almost be the perfect reticle but, as a target shooter, all I want is a very fine crosshair, giving me the ability to aim as precisely as possible. However, in my opinion, fine stadia-type reticles are the ultimate as they also allow an accurate ‘aim-off’ which can be useful if, like me, you aim-off for F Class rather than adjusting the turrets with every shot.
Weight-wise, it’s a tad heavier than the ZOS and, if you shoot in F/TR, you will be ultra-conscious of every ounce - with an all-up 18lb.2 oz. rifle/scope weight-
Hakko - ZOS - Sightron Triple Scope shoot-out!
By Vince Bottomley
long-range target work and very similar to the more expensive March. Great for accurate aim-offs and for me, difficult to improve on.
All controls move smoothly, with an absence of stiffness, giving that feeling of precision. Overall, the scope looks and feels the nicest – in a purposeful way – of the three. Again, although Sightron are an American company, the word is ‘Japanese’ not ‘Chinese’.
Before we go on-range, a word or two about setting- up your scope. Rule number one – get some decent rings! Until twelve months ago, most decent scope rings came from America or in some cases, Europe. Now we have a scope-ring manufacturer in the UK who is second to none. We’ve featured Third Eye Tactical products in this magazine already but if you missed it check out
www.thirdeyetactical.com
I don’t mind the Sightron’s gold lettering but one or two commented on it.
limit but, all of these scopes are lighter (and cheaper) than the equivalent Nightforce (NXS: 34oz. BR: 36oz.) so they should be popular with ‘effers.
Sightron 8-32 S111SS Now for the Sightron. It’s the shortest of the three at 15.5 inches and a little ‘neater’ looking. The big target-turrets are this time incised in gold rather than white. I think it looks fine and certainly more tasteful than the bold white markings on the Hakko, however not all agree and some think it looks ‘tacky’ but, this is a minor point and down to individual taste and it certainly wouldn’t stop me buying one. The 56mm objective and 34 ocular again have the familiar green/ blue anti-flare coatings.
The Sightron is easily the lightest of the three at 26 ounces - just one of the reasons that it’s the scope of choice for many F/TR shooters. That’s a sunstantial weight-saving over the opposition and could give you another couple of inches of barrel length or a heavier bi-pod!
Again, we are looking at side-focussing and the reticle focused via the rotating rubber-protected eyepiece. The Sightron reticle is superb – a very fine crosshair/ dot but with proper stadia lines - ideal for accurate
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With a quality scope, a one-piece Picatinny rail and some good rings, it shouldn’t be necessary to lap the rings – but I usually do! Normally this just involves mounting the rings on your rifle and ‘stroking’ the bottom section of the rings with some 400 wet & dry paper round a suitably sized dowel. With a good rail and rings, you shouldn’t see any high-spots but, if you do, continue ‘stroking’ until you flatten them. Don’t forget to cover the action with a cloth – you don’t want carborundum grit in there!
This exercise will prevent marking the body tube, so you can confidently mount your scope without messing about with bits of protective tape. In fact, if you try and put anything between a 30mm CNC machined ring and a 30mm body tube, you could distort the body-tube. Don’t do it!
I usually wait until I get to the range to properly align the crosshair. It’s easily done with a plumb-bob hanging from the target – or even the edge of the target if it’s verticle. Next job is to focus the reticle. Do this by setting up the rifle with the scope pointing towards a plain, light surface – a nice grey sky is perfect for this and we get plenty in the UK! Turn the eyepiece until the reticle is pin-sharp – vertically and horizontally. Spend some time on this – settle for nothing less than perfect! Once done – that’s it – for life. I once bought a very good scope very cheap because the owner couldn’t get the reticle sharp – he just hadn’t tried hard enough!
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