This is a simple review as i've not mounted it and only had it for a couple of days but since there is only one other review out there,i thought some of you might find this useful. Sorry,no pictures either.
It came inside a bubble wrap and with a large,soft table cloth with a scope pocket and the Sightron logo. The one(1)battery was not installed,separate and sealed. Also sealed,was a lint-free microfiber cloth with the Sightron logo. It came with a ubiquitous Sightron manual that does not seem specific to this 1-7(battery installment instructions,for example,are incorrect for this particular scope,on this 1-7,positive(+) goes towards the scope tube,iirc).
The scope itself has a very nice matte black finish and not a high gloss. The magnification ring numbers,the Slll logo on the windage cap and the scope identification(twice around) on the objective(completely covered by the flip-up caps) are in gold accent. The elevation and windage marker dots on the saddle are in white. Luckily(or the people at Sightron have good taste),this scope is devoid of any excessive marketing,descriptive(more like hype) markings which is common on some brands(and which i detest).
The rear flip-up cap has a Sightron logo but they both want to come off when you try to open them,unless you use two hands. These types of caps seem common on most scopes you buy nowadays. As usual,i'll be getting some Butler Creek.
The illumination system is very interesting and came with a surprise(for me anyway,as this is the first digital type i've owned). It is digital with 4 push-buttons,1 for on/off,1 for red/green and 2 for up or down intensity. Here is something Sightron doesn't tell you,you can use two methods to choose the illumination intensity you want. You can either push the buttons one push at a time,or you can hold the bottons down and it very quickly(after about 1 second of keeping it pushed) will go up or down in intensity until it reaches maximum,then,if you keep the button pressed,after about 2 seconds,it begins at the opposite starting point and quickly goes through the entire range of intensity again. It works this way whether going up or down on intensity or with red or green. This is a very nice feature imo. Even though i have not mounted the scope,i can tell that,when looking through the scope,your image should not shake when adjusting the illumination. Since all of the buttons are very tactile,you should not even have to raise your head. It also means you can reach maximum or minimum intensity in a flash.
On a negative note,the 4 button illumination is slightly canted(clockwise) on mine but it is so slight,that it makes absolutely no difference to me. It certainly does not effect it's tractability at all.
The illumination cap needs to be discussed a bit more thoroughly as i feel this one detail may be of interest to many of you. I'm not going to say it's weak,i don't think it really is,but i do feel/think that at least the possibility exist that i real ham-fisted user might eventually strip the threads on this cap. First off,it's not just simply a cap in the normal sense,it actually seals/insulates the electronics and as a whole must be considered as part of the system. It does NOT come totally off,it's not supposed to,so don't try. To replace the battery,unscrew it(counter-clockwise),leave it dangling,insert battery(slides in sideways,use the tip of your finger nail to center the battery,although perfectly centered is not a must),and screw it back on. This cap seems to be well made to me and is knurled at the edge to provide grip but i'm pretty sure it's aluminum(as most of them are) and particularly because you have to screw it over a thick,well made rubber D-ring(it looked like a D-ring to me,not an O-ring),i can see how an ape might eventually strip the threads on this cap(not the ones on the saddle). The very first time i screwed it back on,i was a bit perplexed as i wasn't sure if the threads had caught. Even though i couldn't see the inside of the cap,i'm sure the outer edge inside is smooth(to seal against the D-ring) and the actual threads are a bit further in. I used a very tiny dab of CORROSION BLOCK grease on the rubber D-ring(not on anything else) to smooth everything. The cap also seals against the well made rubber push button face. Over-tightening is not necessary and you can easily tell it's weather(rain,moisture) proof.
The illumination is NOT true-bright-daylight visible including on a very cloudy day here in Florida,but i knew that going in. In low light,night time or indoors with the lights on,it's visible and quite nice. Low intensity is satisfactory low and high is also good and makes for picking up the dot very fast. The difference from low to high is widely separated but on highest it's not a super bright dot though,just a very usable colored dot for the right conditions. You can also very clearly see the colored dot,in red or green,when placing the dot on a brightly lit computer or tv screen. When set at the highest intensity,there seems to be no glow or any distracting excess of light in the tube at all,even at night time outside. It's only in total pitch black with the highest intensity set that you begin to see a slight glow in the tube,and even then it's only very slight.
Something that Sightron doesn't tell you,and was a nice surprise for me,is that the reticle is not only a German #4 but the 10.5 MOA dot is actually "floating",which doesn't seem that way on Sightron's website. This might seem like a simple thing but makes a positive difference to me. The German #4,which is in the SFP,is one of my favorite reticles for quick and dirty dealings. iirc,the space between the thick posts on the original #4 were a little closer together,this one is a bit wider spaced and much better. The exact dimensions are given on Sightron's website. Of course,the reticle,including the center dot,is etched.
The glass/lenses on this Sightron seem boringly good to me. The image you get at 1x all the way through 7x is very clear. You would think this is how it ought to always be but it's not always what you get. When you consider that it's only a 24 mm objective lense,it's pretty amazing how bright and clear the image is at 7x,even at night. The night i first had it,i went outside and looked down the street with it. At 2 blocks down the road at 1x i could see 2 people moving about strangely in the middle of the road. AT 4x i could see it was 2 kids moving erratically possibly in connection to each other but at 7x i could see it was a small ball they were actually tossing about. THAT is identification,and at night even. At 7x there's no graininess either,....but all is not perfection either. At 1x there's a certain amount of barrelling and it doesn't disappear till about 1.5x. It's not super strong and it doesn't affect my target acquisition with both eyes open at 1x but if you close one eye and pan the scope from left to right,you can easily tell it's there. It's the one "issue" that keeps you from thinking your just looking ahead(both eyes open at 1x) with nothing but a reticle floating in the image in front of you. The scope body itself disappears enough that you can consider it not there. Don't get me wrong,it's not hugely bad,and at night it's immensely much less(to the point that it's hard to notice really),but it's still there and you'll notice it when you move about and sweep your horizon,..so if you hate this,don't get this scope but be warned,you'd be surprised how many scopes out there have this. in fact,most 1-x type scopes(including 1.25 1.5 etc.) have some barrelling but it is the degree to which it shows that makes the difference from one to another and the price for admission doesn't seem to be the determining factor. i still wish it wasn't there though. it is the biggest negative(imo) to this scope(i'm not trying to make too much out of it,it just is what it is).
Having covered it's biggest negative,now comes one of the biggest positives. When i contacted Sightron,they told me it had an exit pupil of 13mm at 1x. I haven't measured it yet but i think it's possible they may have been slightly conservative,at least that's how it feels to me. When combined with the generous eye relief,this has to be one of the easiest scopes not only to quickly "get behind" of but also to STAY behind of. At 1x you can walk,you can run,you may even be able to do a pirouette and still have the image(and your target through the scope) in front of you. This may not be important if your sitting comfortably at a range but if the range is a "two way" or if you have some beast about to make mincemeat out of you,it very well might be,..and to my way of thinking,this is what these types of scopes are all about. The EP on this 1-7 scope falls well within many 1-4 scopes out there and i don't mean close,i mean WELL WITHIN. What ever they did to accomplish this,even if they didn't mean to,it's a good one. There's nothing worst than having black-out at the moment you really need to make that shot,simply because your head moved a little or you're not in a perfect position.
The magnification ring is particularly stiff imo but very smooth. The thick knurling is a little helpful but not much. This scope really needs a ring-lever to zoom fast.
Tracking true and not losing zero,including zooming from 1x to 7x,will have to wait for another day,like i said at the beginning,this is just an opening the box and "look what we have here" type review and it's not mounted yet. Since it's Sightron's top of the line Slll and has the "ExacTrack" system,i have doubts i'll have problems,but it still needs to be tested to know for sure. The clicks feel positive and not mushy though. The rest of the details should be easy to find. I'll end with some pros and cons from a performance perspective.
Pros:
1) Glass and coatings.
2) Very comfortable eye-box.
3) Light weight,especially considering it's a 1-7 and fairly long.
4) Value. i paid $240 less than the normal competitive asking price for a Leupold vx6 1-6x24,the illuminated version,not the non-illuminated. (not Leupolds MSRP either)
5) An illumination system that's easy and helpful to use.
6) All 3 turrets are low and mostly out of the way.
Cons:
1) Has barrelling.
2) A real ham-fisted person "might" strip the threads on the illumination cap(luckily,i only EAT ham,i don't use it as a tool).
3) A particularly good candidate for a magnification ring throw lever.
well,there you go.
It came inside a bubble wrap and with a large,soft table cloth with a scope pocket and the Sightron logo. The one(1)battery was not installed,separate and sealed. Also sealed,was a lint-free microfiber cloth with the Sightron logo. It came with a ubiquitous Sightron manual that does not seem specific to this 1-7(battery installment instructions,for example,are incorrect for this particular scope,on this 1-7,positive(+) goes towards the scope tube,iirc).
The scope itself has a very nice matte black finish and not a high gloss. The magnification ring numbers,the Slll logo on the windage cap and the scope identification(twice around) on the objective(completely covered by the flip-up caps) are in gold accent. The elevation and windage marker dots on the saddle are in white. Luckily(or the people at Sightron have good taste),this scope is devoid of any excessive marketing,descriptive(more like hype) markings which is common on some brands(and which i detest).
The rear flip-up cap has a Sightron logo but they both want to come off when you try to open them,unless you use two hands. These types of caps seem common on most scopes you buy nowadays. As usual,i'll be getting some Butler Creek.
The illumination system is very interesting and came with a surprise(for me anyway,as this is the first digital type i've owned). It is digital with 4 push-buttons,1 for on/off,1 for red/green and 2 for up or down intensity. Here is something Sightron doesn't tell you,you can use two methods to choose the illumination intensity you want. You can either push the buttons one push at a time,or you can hold the bottons down and it very quickly(after about 1 second of keeping it pushed) will go up or down in intensity until it reaches maximum,then,if you keep the button pressed,after about 2 seconds,it begins at the opposite starting point and quickly goes through the entire range of intensity again. It works this way whether going up or down on intensity or with red or green. This is a very nice feature imo. Even though i have not mounted the scope,i can tell that,when looking through the scope,your image should not shake when adjusting the illumination. Since all of the buttons are very tactile,you should not even have to raise your head. It also means you can reach maximum or minimum intensity in a flash.
On a negative note,the 4 button illumination is slightly canted(clockwise) on mine but it is so slight,that it makes absolutely no difference to me. It certainly does not effect it's tractability at all.
The illumination cap needs to be discussed a bit more thoroughly as i feel this one detail may be of interest to many of you. I'm not going to say it's weak,i don't think it really is,but i do feel/think that at least the possibility exist that i real ham-fisted user might eventually strip the threads on this cap. First off,it's not just simply a cap in the normal sense,it actually seals/insulates the electronics and as a whole must be considered as part of the system. It does NOT come totally off,it's not supposed to,so don't try. To replace the battery,unscrew it(counter-clockwise),leave it dangling,insert battery(slides in sideways,use the tip of your finger nail to center the battery,although perfectly centered is not a must),and screw it back on. This cap seems to be well made to me and is knurled at the edge to provide grip but i'm pretty sure it's aluminum(as most of them are) and particularly because you have to screw it over a thick,well made rubber D-ring(it looked like a D-ring to me,not an O-ring),i can see how an ape might eventually strip the threads on this cap(not the ones on the saddle). The very first time i screwed it back on,i was a bit perplexed as i wasn't sure if the threads had caught. Even though i couldn't see the inside of the cap,i'm sure the outer edge inside is smooth(to seal against the D-ring) and the actual threads are a bit further in. I used a very tiny dab of CORROSION BLOCK grease on the rubber D-ring(not on anything else) to smooth everything. The cap also seals against the well made rubber push button face. Over-tightening is not necessary and you can easily tell it's weather(rain,moisture) proof.
The illumination is NOT true-bright-daylight visible including on a very cloudy day here in Florida,but i knew that going in. In low light,night time or indoors with the lights on,it's visible and quite nice. Low intensity is satisfactory low and high is also good and makes for picking up the dot very fast. The difference from low to high is widely separated but on highest it's not a super bright dot though,just a very usable colored dot for the right conditions. You can also very clearly see the colored dot,in red or green,when placing the dot on a brightly lit computer or tv screen. When set at the highest intensity,there seems to be no glow or any distracting excess of light in the tube at all,even at night time outside. It's only in total pitch black with the highest intensity set that you begin to see a slight glow in the tube,and even then it's only very slight.
Something that Sightron doesn't tell you,and was a nice surprise for me,is that the reticle is not only a German #4 but the 10.5 MOA dot is actually "floating",which doesn't seem that way on Sightron's website. This might seem like a simple thing but makes a positive difference to me. The German #4,which is in the SFP,is one of my favorite reticles for quick and dirty dealings. iirc,the space between the thick posts on the original #4 were a little closer together,this one is a bit wider spaced and much better. The exact dimensions are given on Sightron's website. Of course,the reticle,including the center dot,is etched.
The glass/lenses on this Sightron seem boringly good to me. The image you get at 1x all the way through 7x is very clear. You would think this is how it ought to always be but it's not always what you get. When you consider that it's only a 24 mm objective lense,it's pretty amazing how bright and clear the image is at 7x,even at night. The night i first had it,i went outside and looked down the street with it. At 2 blocks down the road at 1x i could see 2 people moving about strangely in the middle of the road. AT 4x i could see it was 2 kids moving erratically possibly in connection to each other but at 7x i could see it was a small ball they were actually tossing about. THAT is identification,and at night even. At 7x there's no graininess either,....but all is not perfection either. At 1x there's a certain amount of barrelling and it doesn't disappear till about 1.5x. It's not super strong and it doesn't affect my target acquisition with both eyes open at 1x but if you close one eye and pan the scope from left to right,you can easily tell it's there. It's the one "issue" that keeps you from thinking your just looking ahead(both eyes open at 1x) with nothing but a reticle floating in the image in front of you. The scope body itself disappears enough that you can consider it not there. Don't get me wrong,it's not hugely bad,and at night it's immensely much less(to the point that it's hard to notice really),but it's still there and you'll notice it when you move about and sweep your horizon,..so if you hate this,don't get this scope but be warned,you'd be surprised how many scopes out there have this. in fact,most 1-x type scopes(including 1.25 1.5 etc.) have some barrelling but it is the degree to which it shows that makes the difference from one to another and the price for admission doesn't seem to be the determining factor. i still wish it wasn't there though. it is the biggest negative(imo) to this scope(i'm not trying to make too much out of it,it just is what it is).
Having covered it's biggest negative,now comes one of the biggest positives. When i contacted Sightron,they told me it had an exit pupil of 13mm at 1x. I haven't measured it yet but i think it's possible they may have been slightly conservative,at least that's how it feels to me. When combined with the generous eye relief,this has to be one of the easiest scopes not only to quickly "get behind" of but also to STAY behind of. At 1x you can walk,you can run,you may even be able to do a pirouette and still have the image(and your target through the scope) in front of you. This may not be important if your sitting comfortably at a range but if the range is a "two way" or if you have some beast about to make mincemeat out of you,it very well might be,..and to my way of thinking,this is what these types of scopes are all about. The EP on this 1-7 scope falls well within many 1-4 scopes out there and i don't mean close,i mean WELL WITHIN. What ever they did to accomplish this,even if they didn't mean to,it's a good one. There's nothing worst than having black-out at the moment you really need to make that shot,simply because your head moved a little or you're not in a perfect position.
The magnification ring is particularly stiff imo but very smooth. The thick knurling is a little helpful but not much. This scope really needs a ring-lever to zoom fast.
Tracking true and not losing zero,including zooming from 1x to 7x,will have to wait for another day,like i said at the beginning,this is just an opening the box and "look what we have here" type review and it's not mounted yet. Since it's Sightron's top of the line Slll and has the "ExacTrack" system,i have doubts i'll have problems,but it still needs to be tested to know for sure. The clicks feel positive and not mushy though. The rest of the details should be easy to find. I'll end with some pros and cons from a performance perspective.
Pros:
1) Glass and coatings.
2) Very comfortable eye-box.
3) Light weight,especially considering it's a 1-7 and fairly long.
4) Value. i paid $240 less than the normal competitive asking price for a Leupold vx6 1-6x24,the illuminated version,not the non-illuminated. (not Leupolds MSRP either)
5) An illumination system that's easy and helpful to use.
6) All 3 turrets are low and mostly out of the way.
Cons:
1) Has barrelling.
2) A real ham-fisted person "might" strip the threads on the illumination cap(luckily,i only EAT ham,i don't use it as a tool).
3) A particularly good candidate for a magnification ring throw lever.
well,there you go.
x scopes will be more tactical oriented. There is a lot of interest in the CQBSS, but it's out of the price range for most. Maybe some of these guys will be smart enough to capitalize on that and offer something with the same feature set at a cost regular people can afford.
