ELCAN'S SHOW-STOPPING DIGITAL SIGHT
You may not have heard of this company, though its origins go back to 1849. The company name, Elcan, is an abbreviation for Ernst Leitz, Canada. Actually, it's an international enterprise, with offices in Ontario and Spain. Rusty Mauldin works from U.S. digs in Texas. Elcan, a subsidiary of Raytheon, has been building infrared scopes for military use since the 1980s.
"The DigitalHunter is our first product for the civilian market," Rusty tells me. "The technology to complete the project was available earlier, but only recently did the components become affordable. By its midsummer debut, we expect a list price of less than $2,000."
For a scope? "It's still costly, but you can't compare the DigitalHunter with ordinary scopes," says Rusty. The Elcan sight has coated optical lenses up front, in a round housing, and a power range of 2.5X to 13.5X. Beyond that, you have to think digitally." Zeroing, for example, is a matter of pressing electronic buttons up, down, right, left.
You don't look through this device. You see instead a digital display, triggered by light focused on a sensor. The reticle isn't a physical device either. "You can download four reticles from our website," says Rusty, "or build your own. Pick different styles and even different reticle colors. Dedicate each to a load or zero distance. The SD card you use to install a reticle can also register the trajectory of your favorite load. Once you key in the data and zero the rifle, you can hold center at any range by specifying distance on the scope's tiny keyboard. Software automatically adjusts to compensate for bullet drop." Elcan could have added a laser rangefinder, Rusty confides, "but it would have meant substantial increases in the cost and weight." Elcan's DigitalHunter scales a hefty 28 ounces.
The feature that drew crowds to the Elcan booth at the SHOT Show is unique to this scope. "You can operate the DigitalHunter as a camera," explains Rusty, "and record up to five seconds of video, even during a shooting sequence. This instrument can be set for manual or automatic control. A port allows you to attach a remote screen, so you can see exactly what the shooter sees in the sight picture--a great help if you're coaching. Or you can turn on the video and get up to seven five-second clips on a standard 64-mb SD card."
Elcan is engineering a mount that attaches to the bottom of its scope and will fit Weaver bases or a Picatinny rail.
HORUS VISION
Horus Vision has been a real pioneer in computer-based aiming systems. The Australian company's software program shows you exactly where to hold to hit your target. You program the hunting conditions, the cartridge and the specific load into a handheld unit, and the built-in rangefinding system in the scope tells you how far away your target is, and the targeting grid tells you where to hold.
This combination of targeting software and reticle design is different than anything else on the market and is being used by both military and sport shooters. It is claimed that the custom reticle system allows precision accuracy out to 1,200 yards.
While the comany is known for its tactical scopes, the latest Horus Vision product is the 1-4x24mm Talon Hunting model. It's designed specifically for dangerous game and has a wide field of view. Other long-range (4-16x50) models are the Falcon and Super Falcon.
HUNTER WICKED OPTICS
"We aren't offering much new for 2005," says Jim Holzclaw at Hunter. "Our goal was and is to bring practical, affordable glass to market as we design it. Last year our line of scopes and binoculars had no real holes." Adding stocking units can drive up overhead. Better, says Jim, to keep costs and prices low and watch the most popular sights stream off the shelves. But there is one new line at Hunter this year: red-dot sights with multi-coated lenses and one-piece tubes. If they're as good as the riflescopes I've examined, you'll do well to visit Hunter.
KAHLES PILES ON THE ZEROES
A company that dates back more than a century, Kahles has long benefited American hunters. In 1959 Kahles was the first to use multicoated lenses. In 1972 it pioneered O-rings to seal turrets. Lightweight 30mm scopes with short tubes also came from Kahles first. The Austrian firm's success is evident in its soaring sales. In 1999 Kahles' revenues jumped 300 percent, and American distribution has increased steadily since, largely because the company has catered to U.S. tastes. Kahles' one-inch AV scopes include two of my favorites: a 4x36 and a 2-7x36. They're brilliant. They also sit low and look good on slender rifles.
Kahles CL 4-12x52L
Karen Lutto, whose company represents Kahles stateside, says, "Our lens coatings transmit 99.8 percent of incident light in green/yellow bands [500 to 540 nanometers]. A little red [400 nanometers] is allowed to sift out because it is less helpful to sight pictures at dawn and dusk."
Kahles recently announced a 3-12x56 CSX Helia illuminated riflescope. Batteries are unobtrusively housed in the turret. A battery-saving digital mechanism leaves the reticle in stand-by mode. Touch the dial, and the reticle instantly brightens to the level you set before. "Because this 30mm scope was designed for American tastes, the reticle is in the second image plane," explains Karen. The 56mm objective on this scope brings total weight to just under 19 ounces. If you don't need that much power, or the list price of $1,954 doesn't suit your spouse, pick one of three other CSX models: 1.1-4x24, 1.5-6x42 or 2.5-10x50.
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