Optics | Western Shooter

Opticron MM3 50mm ED and 60mm Spotting Scope Review

60-and-50-mm3-2 Spotting scopes are an important tool for hunting. I like to use binoculars to glass and grid an area and then use the superior magnification of a spotting scope to examine what I’ve found. It has saved me miles of walking as well as time because it allowed me to know if the animal I was seeing was a “shooter” without closing the distance. Sometimes closing the distance isn’t even an option as you can’t get closer and still see the animal due to geographic constraints or not enough light left in the day.

Gear that weighs too much can take the joy out of hunting and make it real work. The idea is to find quality equipment that is smaller and lighter but that still performs the needed job adequately. Often smaller, lighter gear is a compromise between smaller/ lighter and performance. I’ve been on the hunt for a spotting scope that was packable and light but that still possessed enough magnification, field of view, and low light performance to work for my style of hunting. Continue reading Opticron MM3 50mm ED and 60mm Spotting Scope Review

Kahles K16i 1-6×24 SM1 Review

Kahles K16i 1-6×24, 2014 King of the Multi-Gun Optic world

Three years ago, I started shooting 3 gun seriously. One of the best decisions I made was to purchase a Swarovski Z6i 1-6×24 BRT. I wrote a review of that optic and crowned it the 2011 King of the Multi-Gun Optic world. Even with every other optic company in the world playing catch up, the Z6i is still a top optic. The only optic to top the Swarovski Z6i is made by a sister company of Swarovski. The Kahles 1-6×24 K16i SM1 is, in my opinion, the new king of the Multi-Gun Optic world.

Continue reading Kahles K16i 1-6×24 SM1 Review

Sightron 10-50×60 at F-Class World Championships

I have been using a 10-50x60 Sightron for shooting F-class in TR division for the past year, which included shooting at the F-Class World Championships. — I have been using a 10-50×60 Sightron for shooting F-class in TR division for the past year, which included shooting at the F-Class World Championships.

Finding a good quality affordable scope for F-Class shooting is pretty tough but the Sightron 10-50×60 is competitive even with the most expensive scopes at around 1/3 the price. For the last year I have been using a Sightron 10-50×60 with a MOA reticle. I shoot F/TR class in which the trend has been going towards higher magnification optics. I resisted going to a higher power scope for a while and had been using a Sightron 8-32×56 Continue reading Sightron 10-50×60 at F-Class World Championships

Sightron SIII 1-7×24 Scope Review

Sightron SIII 1-7×24

Last year I wrote a review of the Swarovski Z6i 1-6×24 BRT riflescope and gave it the title of the best 3 gun scope in the world. I now have to clarify that title just a little. The Swarovski retails for $2500 and is worth every penny if you need the best; so it’s the best 3 gun riflescope at any price. The Sightron SIII 1-7×24 is easily the best 3 gun scope or 1x variable scope in the world for under $1000 dollars. It’s probably the best for under $1500, but I haven’t tried some of the newest offerings that have come in around $1500. The good news is that the Sightron 1-7 can be bought for well under $1000. In fact, at the time of this writing, Optics Planet has it for $689 with free shipping.

The Sightron 1-7 pros are that it has glass equal to scopes that cost over $2000, great field of view, excellent eye relief, tracks like a target scope, has tool-less re-settable turrets, 30mm tube, over 100 MOA adjustment, true Continue reading Sightron SIII 1-7×24 Scope Review

Swarovski 1-6×24 Z6i BRT Review

UPDATE – July 2012 – I used the Swaro 1-6×24 Z6i BRT in the 2012 MGM Ironman Multi Gun and placed 14^th out of 150 competitors in the tac optics division.

Swarovski has also updated this scope and now calls the current version the “Second Generation.” The changes in the 2nd gen include a slightly streamlined look to the electronics and a new feature that automatically turns the optic off if it’s not in the upright position to save battery (this feature can be turned off). Everything else on the optic remains essentially the same.

Swarovski 1-6×24 Z6i BRT, King of the Multi-Gun Optic Mountain

Since Swarovski introduced the 1-6×24 Z6i every other optics manufacture in the world has been playing catch-up. The Swarovski z6i with BRT reticle is (at the time of this writing) the best 3 gun scope in the world that can be bought for any price. It is also an excellent option for those that hunt dangerous game and need a fast low power variable scope with good eye relief.

Continue reading Swarovski 1-6×24 Z6i BRT Review

2011 MGM Ironman – The Ultimate Test of Equipment

The MGM Ironman is the biggest and toughest 3 Gun competition in the world. That’s why close to 300 shooters migrate to Parma, Idaho each June for an entire week to shoot the 3 day match. Even though the match directors split the match into two 3 day sections to accommodate more shooters, there was still a waiting list to shoot the Scoped Tactical division.

Due to the high round count and extremely long stages, many shooters view the MGM Ironman as the ultimate test of their equipment. Official round counts were just a few rounds shy of 1000 rounds, and that’s if you shot a perfect match. Many shooters shot twice that amount of ammunition. By my own calculations there was somewhere around a half-million rounds fired at this years Ironman alone. The stages are so long at the Ironman that “timing out” is a Continue reading 2011 MGM Ironman – The Ultimate Test of Equipment