Browning 8-24X

The best optics are still expensive, yet affordable optics include some real bargains. Rosters of new optics continue to get longer. While refinements in lens coatings and further application of electronics account for much of what's new, Simmons and Swarovski show that mechanical and optical engineering still play a hand at market. What we've taken for granted as the final word in riflescope design can sometimes be just a stage.

Here is a look at the newest of the new in the world of rifle optics.

ADIRONDACK MAKES SMARTSCOPE SMARTER
Last year, Adirondack Optics announced a riflescope that takes a digital photo. The camera resides in the scope and operates like any other digital camera. But it can also automatically photograph an animal you're going to shoot by recording the sight picture as you pull the trigger. SmartScope was designed by Terry Gordon, a young entrepreneur from upstate New York.

"It has been a challenging and costly project," says Terry. "We had invaluable help from optical engineers, local investors, even the state of New York. We're selling three SmartScopes now: a 1.5-6x40, 3-10x44 and 6-16x44. All have 30mm tubes, and there's a parallax adjustment on the 3-10X and 6-16X. The standard Mil-Dot reticle lies in the front focal plane, so reticle dimensions stay the same in relation to your target. There's no way point of impact can shift during power change because the reticle is stationary, and the lens movement is behind it. Also, you can use the reticle to estimate range no matter the magnification."

The Czech-made SmartScope is at first look a conventional sight, with quarter-minute adjustments and three inches of eye relief. The internal digital camera is what makes this ADK product different. Powered by a pair of 1.5-volt AA batteries housed at midsection, it incorporates a screen atop the ocular bell. The camera uses standard digital cards. "They're Smart Media now," Terry says "but a CD card is coming."

To photograph game as you shoot it with a rifle bullet, set the camera to "ready" mode when you begin your hunt. Then you need only trigger the rifle. SmartScope records a digital picture automatically upon recoil. It's not a blurry image because the camera captures what it saw seven milliseconds before recoil--an average lock time.

I tried SmartScope on a rifle range with a .14-caliber wildcat shooting 12-grain bullets. The very mild recoil triggered the camera every time. Photos confirmed the center holds from my slinged-up prone position, and the target agreed. Next I put my sling on a .300 Ultra Mag. The bruising recoil didn't affect camera function, but it did impair my shooting. Reviewing the five photos, I saw the crosswire off-center in three. Camera images compared with those I get from midlevel digital cameras. By the way, SmartScope is as much a slave to light conditions as any camera. Shooting into very dark shadow, I got useless images.

At 22 to 26 ounces, ADK's SmartScope is half again as heavy as many 30mm scopes and would look out of place on a lightweight rifle. Free tube space is limited by the battery housing, but a Picatinny rail increases mounting latitude. SmartScope is expensive: $1,500 to start. On the other hand, it's the only way to hunt with camera and rifle at once.

www.adkoptics.com

AIMPOINT'S 50,000-HOUR BATTERY
"Our red-dot sight gives you up to 20,000 hours on the low setting," Kenneth Mardklint told me at the Aimpoint factory five years ago. Now there's a model that offers more than twice as much dot time.

I'd used Aimpoint's Model 7000 on two hunts and found it ideal for shooting in timber. Because you see all the target around the dot, it's easy to make precise hits to 100 yards and beyond. On the range I fired sub-two-minute groups.

One reason is Aimpoint's compound front lens that corrects for parallax. An ordinary single lens up front still reflects the dot produced by the diode in the rear bottom of the tube. But Aimpoint's "doublet" always brings the dot to your eye in a line parallel with the optical axis of the sight. The reflective path of a single-lens sight varies with your eye position. If the dot isn't centered in the sight, you'll have parallax error at distances other than the one for which the sight was parallax-corrected. With an Aimpoint, you'll hit where you see the dot. And because Aimpoint red-dot sights offer unlimited eye relief, you can shoot your rifle as fast as if it were a shotgun.

While military sales account for 75 percent of Aimpoint's total revenues, the firm's hunting sights are marketed in 40 countries. "One of every 10 Swedish hunters using optical sights carries an Aimpoint," says Mike Kingston, who represents the company stateside. "And this year we have ACET."

Advanced Circuit Efficiency Technology reduces power demand, so batteries in the new Aimpoint 9000s last 50,000 hours. That's with brightness set on seven on a dial numbered to 10. The 9000 series comprises three models, and you can choose a two-minute or four-minute dot. A weak dollar means Aimpoints are still expensive, but Mike insists they're the best red-dot sights you can buy and the best sights of all for low-light deer hunting. My experience with the 7000 bears him out.

www.aimpoint.com