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Sightmark 15-45x60SE Spotting Scope Kit

2K views 2 replies 1 participant last post by  dubby 
#1 ·
First off, I'm a Sightmark fan. I hope it doesn't come back to bite me in the azz, but time will tell. I didn't do much review/thought on this purchase as I went with my gut once I saw what was included in the package and that the scope would fit my needs. So far though, I have three of their other products and have yet to be disappointed.

I've been borrowing a number of different scopes every weekend at the range, all of varying quality and power to see my hits on paper at 100yds. Pretty well whoever has one set up on a table is what I've used. I decided it was time I got my own and quit walking all over the place. I don't do a whole lot of rifle/bench shooting, but I do even less walking due to my disability. I'll shoot holes in a target that's already out there instead of replacing paper. Being able to see clearly is something I really need.

All that in mind, I decided I needed something cheap. Something kind of durable but not a deal breaker, I won't be hiking the continental divide or something. It'll spend it's life in a bag in the truck. Waterproof--well, it rarely rains here. Fogproof--we had 6% humidity yesterday. We do have dust and lots of sun. I wanted a scope with at least 36x zoom because one of the Barskas that I used went that far and it was just about right--but was still blurry. It still needed to focus at 25yds as well. Lots of manufacturers had something close, then somehow I tripped over this Sightmark one. Specs below:

Objective Lens 60MM
Magnification 15X40
Field of View 136-66 (ft @1000ydsƑ
Exit pupil diameter 4.0 - 1.35 mm
Eye relief 17.9 - 14.8 mm
Diopter Adjustment +-4 - +8
Eye Relief 3.5 inches
Waterproof/nitrogen filled Yes
Shockproof Yes
Fog Proof Yes
Lens coating Fully-Multicoated
Camera adaptable Yes
Dimensions 350 x 100 x 75 mm
Weight 22.6 oz.

Listed features:

Built in Sunshade
Compact and Light Weight
Waterproof
Fully-Multicoated optics
Rubber textured
Bright image
Vivid colors
Clear, high-resolution optics
Tactical hard case,Durable nylon carrying case
Precision focus tripod with fine tune adjustments
Protective dust/sun lens filter
Fog lens filter
Window mount
Objective lens cover
Special lens cleaning cloth
Built-in sun shade
Durable ballistic nylon carrying case
Precision focus tripod with fine tune adjustments
Window mount

I went ahead and hit the order button at $99 and free shipping. Waiting on UPS to do it's thing now and should be able to give a review on it next weekend.

Sightmark | 15-45x60SE Spotting Scope Kit | SM11027K
 
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#2 ·
Yippee!!! New toys are always fun...

Didn't have to wait long for this one to show up. In fact, it showed up before I even had a chance to let the wife know I had ordered anything. I had to think quick when the UPS guy knocked on the door to come up with a decent story. I just left it at a shrug and a smile--she really likes my smile--it gets me outta a lot of trouble sometimes :D

Initial impressions are good. Sightmark always has pretty good packaging. Branded boxes that fit the product, nice description on the outside of exactly what's inside, and nothing rattles around. This thing has some weight to it. Opening the outer box reveals the aluminum case that houses everything. Pull that out, and a set of allen wrenches are taped to the bottom of the box. I guess that's so you see them and they don't get overlooked in the rest of the heavy padding and goodies.

The case is nice, but not of incredible strength. It'd be on par with the aluminum cases at Harbor Freight however it does have a large aluminum label on the front stating it's a Sightmark product. Purchased separately, it'd be a $15-20 piece. It is nicely padded inside, with foam dividers and stiff walls to keep everything in their own pockets. Keys to the locks are included as well.

Inside, the tripod is most apparent. It's mostly plastic, but very rigid and locks up well. There is little flashing and finish is nice. It has standard loose-fit adjustments for nod and pan, then tighten everything up and it holds in place. You then have fine adjustment knobs that will let you adjust up/down/left/right in small amounts once you're on target. Nice feature on budget gear, and one I wasn't expecting.

Included also is a 'window mount'. This device slips over door glass and clamps down. Then you have your standard movement/lockdown setup on top of that to aim the scope. Nothing real fancy but it's a nice piece. The bases on both mounts--where the scope attaches to the pods--is large and oversized. These pieces can be used on other scopes, cameras, or anything else with a similar mounting system.

The scope itself is pretty darn nice. It has a rubberized texture that's smooth but not grippy. It should be easy to clean and is in a matte, glare-free, black color. All the adjustments are smooth and firm, but not sticky or rough. No doubt, there's a lot of plastic in this rig. But it's done with quality in mind to make it both economical and functional at the same time. My living room is no place to test a scope, but I was able to see the goldfish in the tank alright an the clock on the wall pretty clearly. Further testing will have to wait until I'm at the range.

It does include two light filters, a dust cap for both ends of the scope, and a soft-sided carry bag to round out the package. For the money so far I feel like I did good. It is a straight scope, not an angled one, which would've been nice. I'm shooting off a bench anyway so I don't see it being too big of a problem. I think for my purposes it's going to work great if I can see hits on paper.

More, with pics, after I make it to the range this weekend...
 
#3 ·
I'm pretty well gonna half azz this for now, because I didn't do much more than get it set up on a bench and aimed downrange at a couple of already-shot up targets. It's been an incredibly long, hot weekend and I'm just beat. Tomorrow, the dog can get up on his own and take himself out--I'm sleeping in.

Anyhow, the scope does indeed focus really well at 25yds. and 100yds. through the entire range of magnification. As expected, there was some quality loss above 30x, but very little. I was really straining to see .223 hits on lined paper at 100yds and 36x with another scope. This one was much clearer at the same settings. Going closer to 45x you could really tell where the holes were.

I normally shoot the color-changing circles at that range when I have the choice, so I found one down range that had already been shot up. Since it was cross range, the distance was further but I still managed to get a great picture of a 6" circle that had been shot with .22 lead.

Overall setup was pretty good, and I found a setting on the tripod that I missed the first time around. It is adjustable in height as well--which was great. I should be able to set it up on the bench alongside my rifle, take a shot, view my hit through the spotting scope, and go back to the rifle without moving my body. That might just be one of the perks of being cross dominant too, but I'll explore that idea later on.
 
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