Sunday, March 09, 2014

My Sightmark Fetish...

Ever tried a cheaper version of a well known product and fallen in love with it?  The first time this happened to me it was a Taurus PT101.   Its a beretta 96 clone... and it was $200 bucks cheaper than the beretta... plus I liked the decocker on the Taurus better.

Thousands and thousands of rounds later... the "cheap" Taurus has proven to be far superior to the beretta it cloned.

The next time it was a savage rifle.  Over the last 10 years the bang for the buck Savage has given is really unparalelled in firearms manufacturing.  Mossberg has gotten the message and is moving in that direction as well... but Savage is the company that really has forced the issue.  Right now today... out of the box.. you can get a Savage that will shoot with a 4000 dollar Dakota rifle all day long.   Now that hurts a lot of feelings... but having shot several Dakotas... I don't mind telling the truth.  Cooper Rifles are a different story of course.  And in saying this I do not mean to dismiss the quality of fine companies like Winchester, Ruger, CZ, Steyr, or Weatherby.  They all make fine weapons.  They just charge a lot more than Savage.

and by now you know where this is going I suppose.

Holy crap have I developed a Sightmark fetish.

I have 2 ultrashot QDs... Both have the digital switch which I find invaluable.  On top of that I have a bunch of experience with their night vision equipment.  needless to say if you have some night time hog hunting to do... their Gen 1 rifle scopes serve you very well and will not break the bank.  No... you're not going to take 200 yard shots with them... unless its a clear night with a full moon.

Back to the ultrashot though...  I can't get over this thing.  I really can't.  its fast... its takes a beating... I'm seriously impressed.

Now I know of you guys hate battery operated sights... so if you get a chance check out their Wolfhound model.  It has an illuminated reticle but it also has traditional crosshairs... so you're covered if TSHTF and you can't find a battery.

Anyway I am loving this kit and if you're in the market I suggest giving it a look.  There are always sellers at gunshows with sightmark stuff to look over.  Lemme know what ya think.





10 comments:

Giraffe said...

Never used a red dot. I'd like one on my ruger mark 2 but it doesn't have any mounts. Also thought about it on a .44 super redhawk but I don't trust a cheap one being up to that.

As for the AR, sounds good on one for cqb but mine isn't set up for that. Perhaps I need another one.

I shot my uncles savage 17 wsm yesterday. Very light gun, acutrigger. Didn't necessarily like the look of the magazines.

I'm sold. As soon as I find my spare mag for my 17 hmr Im putting an ad out.

Nate said...

yeah... I am seriously fired up about the 17wsm.

Assuming we can find ammo for the damned thing.

Russ said...

You say it's tough... you dropped it yet? I'm curious. I've got a Bushnell trs25. That's a nice little optic. Do you have any experience with them, and if so, how would you compare the two? Here's another question. If I mounted one on my AR15 quad rail (receiver rail height), would the dot be higher or on the same level as the front sight post?

Nate said...

russ... I've dropped it.. and I know a 13 year old boy that dropped an AR with one on it from about 6 feet onto a concrete garage floor.

In both cases the sight handled it fine.

as for putting it forward... I don't know.

I have backup iron sights and the dot lines up perfectly between the two.

I don't know if you can adjust it up enough to get over the front post if it is that close or not.

patrick kelly said...

Thanks for the review.

I have a mostly unused one of their Aimpoint clones that came on a .45 carbine I decide should just use iron sights.

Guess I should put in on an AR and take it out for a spin sometime.

John Williams said...

I've been told that Taurus buys Beretta's tooling once it can no longer be reworked and put back in spec. I've seen brand new Taurus's in the gun store with the bottom part of the ring that the pin goes through gone. It had broken off during machining, heat treat, assembly or shipping. I was not impressed. Maybe you got a good one.

Russ said...

Woah. That's impressive toughness for a sub $100 sight.

One of these days I'm getting a proper deer rifle. I want something sub moa, for under $400. Does such a gun exist? I ask because you were praising Savage. My cousin has one in .243, and it's supposed to be supremely accurate. I'd like a .308 though. See, I come from a non hunting family, so I don't know too much about the subject. Though maybe since I live up in the northern forests, I wouldn't need that kind of accuracy. Guys here said that most shots are within fifty yards. Would I be well served with my Mosin? Sorry to pepper you with questions, but you seem to know what you're talking about.

patrick kelly said...

Russ,

50 yds with a Mosin is good to go IMAO.

There is sub moa and then there is sub moa.

How many shots in a row how fast do you need to be sub moa?

There are rifles in that price range capable of sub moa 3-5 shot groups. Maybe not right out of the box with just any commercial ammo, but if you can't buy something that works I really believe working up your own sub moa load for just about any rifle is possible as long as it's not trashed crap or worse.....my opinion, ymmv....

Russ said...

Three to five shot groups are fine.

Anonymous said...

Nate, could you give us an idea of how the optical quality compares to the higher end stuff you say this competes with? I'm talking about clarity of image. Are they as clear and bright as, say a mid-range Leupold or Trijicon?