New sports optics products feature high-tech innovations
by Bob Lesmeister
National Correspondent
If the sport optics on display at the Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show in February are any indication, it looks as though 2008 might be a very bright, clear year for binoculars, scopes and aiming devices.
And speaking of bright, you won’t find a better binocular than the Carson Optical (35 Gilpin Avenue, Dept. GWK, Hauppauge, NY 11788; phone: 800-9-OPTICS, online: carsonoptical.com) new model in their XM-HD series. That “HD” stands for high definition and you can really tell the difference between these HD glasses and a standard binocular.
The new configuration is the 10x50mm XM-HD. The HD technology significantly enhances light gathering capabilities for brighter, sharper images in low-light conditions. This is a must for glassing game at dawn as the sun rises over the horizon. One thing I noticed about this 10x50mm is it is surprisingly lightweight for a full size binocular.
Features include fully-multicoated lenses and phase-coated optics, rubber armored body, twist-lock eye relief cups, center dial focus and tapped area for a tripod adapter. The body is nitrogen filled and O-ring sealed to provide excellent water, fog and dust proofing. In the event that you might damage your HD binoculars, regardless of cause, the company will repair or replace them for a total cost of $12. This includes all return shipping and handling fees. Included with the binocular are a soft case, carrying strap, lens caps, binocular strap and cleaning cloth.
If anyone has a laser aiming device more compact and concealed than Crimson Trace’s (9780 SW Freeman Dr., Dept. GWK, Wilsonville, OR 97070; phone: 800-442-2406; online: crimsontrace.com) grips, I haven’t tripped over ’em yet. Brand new this year are Lasergrips for the Springfield Armory XD pistol. They figured out an ingenious way to incorporate their laser into a polymer frame pistol. This design encircles the polymer grip of the XD and is anchored in place by a locking piece that covers the beavertail, leaving the key ergonomic characteristics of the XD in place. The new XD is made of a durable hard polymer and is adjustable for both windage and elevation while its output is the maximum allowable by federal law. Power is supplied by two small lithium batteries.
Elcan (1601 North Plano Rd., Dept. GWK, Richardson, TX 75081; phone: 972-344-8088; online: elcan.com) manufactures the DigitalHunter riflescope that’s a digital sighting system offering video and photos of the shooter’s view. If your fellow hunters don’t believe you saw the biggest buck that ever lived, you can prove it by hitting the instant replay and sending them an email to rub it in. You also get four customizable reticles and it has an electronic zoom from 2.5x to 16.5x. It only takes a minute to set up and that stays in the scope’s memory.
New this year is a Day/Night version of the DigitalHunter. All you need to do to get that night vision is to attach an infrared flashlight. You can view objects up to 65 yards away during the dark hours. Because this scope is completely digitized, it doesn’t fall prey to standard scope limitations such as parallax, eye-relief, and bore sight shifts due to magnification. The four field-selectable reticles enable the scope to function as four different long gun scopes. You can set it up for a centerfire rifle, a shotgun, a crossbow or a muzzleloader. The reticles are graphic images so they can be any color, shape or size and you can produce your own using graphic software
If you’re a cop, you may like the Legend Technologies (1512 Front St., Dept. GWK, Keesville, NY 12944; phone: 518-834-7093; online: pistolcam.com) PistolCam. It’s a mini-cam that fits under a pistol’s barrel and it can be preset in any combination to turn on when the pistol is drawn. You can instantly download the video images via a USB port, allowing for distribution of video and photo documentation to aid in the apprehension of fleeing suspects. The PistolCam also features a bright illuminator and laser sighting system.
The PistolCam uses a patented Auto-On system that begins recording when the pistol is drawn from the holster. Using MPEG4 digital imaging technology, it records up to 60 minutes of VGA digital video and sound at a full 30 frames per second. When memory nears capacity, PistolCam automatically switches to Auto Stills mode and captures a full 3.2 megapixel digital photograph as the shot recoils. The old days of going to court and having to put up with shaky eyewitness testimony may be gone forever if more recording devices like this enter the market. Several police departments are currently testing the Pistol Cam.
Leupold & Stevens (PO Box 688, Dept. GWK, Beaverton, OR 97075; phone: 800-LEUPOLD; online: leupold.com) has another winner with their new 1x14mm Prismatic Hunting Scope featuring an etched glass reticle. Available in either Illuminated Circle Plex or Illuminated Duplex, the Prismatic features a unique, removable Illumination Module which illuminates the reticle in red. For you turkey hunters, it’s the best thing going. The 1x true power magnification makes the scope legal to harvest turkeys in areas that don’t allow for telescopic sights. The Prismatic is also a tough bugger with the thickest main tube walls of any Leupold ever built so you can prop it on a magnum blaster without any worries.
Several different heights of mounting spacers are included that allow it to work on a variety of firearms. And best yet, it’s backed by Leupold’s full lifetime guarantee.
Everybody loves their crystal, but Swarovski Optik North America (2 Slater Rd., Dept. GWK, Cranston, RI 02920; phone: 800-426-3089; online: swarovskioptik.com) does equally well in offering top-of-the-line sports optics. The new Swarovski rifle scope with 6x zoom offers a unique range of magnification and field of view. This scope provides increased eye relief and 50% more field of view range.
The new Swarovski scopes are also available as illuminated models. When you activate the illumination setting a center dot and ring glow in amber while the horizontal and vertical crosshairs remain black. The adjustment pads on either side of the battery compartment allow the user to adjust the brightness levels. An automatic shut-off function differentiates between day and night modes. It activates after three hours on the daytime setting and five hours on the nighttime setting to prevent the batteries from being run down.
Two memory illumination settings; one for day and one for night keep the settings intact after the unit is turned off. The illuminated reticle returns to the last brightness setting when the unit is turned on. When the battery is about to die, the reticle blinks indicating that it’s time for a change.
Trijicon (49385 Shafer Ave., Dept. GWK, Wixom, MI 48393; phone: 800-338-0563; online: trijicon.com) is also getting into the lighted reticle business. The new AccuPoint riflescope series with crosshair-illuminated reticle doesn’t require batteries for operation.
Trijicon’s exclusive battery-free tritium technology provides amber illumination where the crosshairs intersect. Both the Trijicon and the Swarovski illuminated reticle scopes use amber instead of red because amber causes less strain on the eye than bright red. The new series of AccuPoint riflescopes also feature the company’s newly updated Manual Brightness Adjustment Override, which allows you to shade the tritium and fiber-optics during daylight.
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