Estimated reading time: 14 minutes
Sightron has always been a company that I’d dub a “sleeper”. Sightron has always produced optics that have performed well, but their popularity never seemed to explode. This company offers high-quality optics that are made in Japan as well as some budget-friendly scopes that are made in the Philippines. Based on empirical data, their budget optics swing way above their weight class. But how about their more expensive lines?
Table of contents
I ask this question because this review is about the Sightron SVIII FFP 5-40×56 ED IR Zero Stop rifle scope. This scope happens to be the most expensive rifle scope that Sightron currently has to offer. Coming in at an MSRP of $3,229.99 regardless of your choice between the two reticle offerings, one would expect this optic to hold its own against the highest-end rifle optics available. Spoiler alert: it competes quite well.
What Does the SVIII Compare to?
Though the MSRP of the SVIII is $3,299.99, the optic can be found online for sale for around $2,900.00. This means the SVIII can be compared to optics such as the Vortex Razor HD Gen III, Nightforce ATACR, Leupold Mark 5HD, Leica PRS, and more. Many of the optics in its price range have locking turrets, a feature I love that the SVIII lacks. However, the SVIII blows all of these options out of the water with its 8x magnification range, extremely generous 40 mil elevation adjustment, and an incredible 10-yard minimum parallax adjustment.
On top of this, the clarity and brightness of the SVIII are as good, or better than any of the optics in its price range. This brings the rest of the comparisons down to the nitty-gritty of feature set, size, and tracking accuracy.
Interesting Features Of The SVIII
The Sightron SVIII has three features that I wouldn’t consider standard in today’s long-range oriented offerings. These are the Zero Stop, first focal plane, and illuminated reticle. The Zero Stop mechanism is incredibly simple but effective. There is a ring on the inside of the turret that can be adjusted and locked into place on the elevation post with three set screws. The ring also has a pin that protrudes from the bottom that butts up against another pin that is fixed in place on the turret. This stops the cap from rotating when the two pins meet each other.
An advertised 40 mil elevation adjustment means you could easily lose your zero if you are careless or forgetful. So that feature is incredibly helpful. On a related note, I was able to get 43.2 mil of elevation adjustment and 22 mil of windage with my optic, which is pretty incredible!
Reticle
The first focal plane reticle is my personal preference. I know the subtentions in the reticle are accurate and I don’t have to do any math when translating what I see in the reticle to my adjustments on the turret. Some shooters prefer a second focal plane because they struggle to see the reticle of an FFP optic on low magnifications. The illumination on the SVIII is bright enough that turning on the illuminated reticle would solve the issue of seeing its thin lines on low magnification. In my testing, I also noticed that the outermost lines of the reticle are thicker and draw the eye to the crosshairs.
The SVIII also has a fast-focus eyepiece, fancy optic coatings, two different etched glass reticle options, IPX7 waterproof rating, and a side-mounted parallax. These are all things that I expect to find on any scope in this price range today.
Specifications
- MSRP: $3,229.99
- magnification: 5-40x
- objective lens diameter: 56mm
- eye relief: 3.8-3.7 inches
- FOV: 23.7 yards – 2.97 feet at 100 yards
- Tube size: 40mm
- zero stop: yes
- Click Value: 0.1 MRAD
- value per rotation: 10 MRAD
- max elevation adjustment: 40 MRAD
- max windage adjustment: 20 MRAD
- parallax setting: 10 meters to infinity
- side focus
- LRM IR or MH-6 reticle
- 11 illumination settings with *off* between each
- length: 16.8 inches
- weight: 49 ounces
- ED glass
- ExacTrack windage and elevation adjustment system
- Lifetime performance guarantee
Performance In The Field
This optic is jaw-dropping in a few different ways. First, my jaw dropped when I first opened the box and noticed how incredibly large and heavy it was. For a competition-oriented optic, neither of these parameters is really of any concern. I would think twice before bringing it on a long hunting trip. The next time my mind was blown was at first glance through the optic. The edge-to-edge clarity is amazing, with no vignetting (shadow-like darkness on the outside of the image). This optic also has zero tunneling, which is where the field of view does not decrease as you raise the magnification. Tunneling looks like you are looking down a long tunnel with a large black border around the image, and is in far too many high-end optics.
In the past few months, I have roughed up this optic and it has held zero. I also spent a day in the rain and fog, shooting at targets across a milky canyon. Even there, the optic had no issues and I was impressed by the visual clarity I still had in the low light and fog. In these conditions, other optics on different guns I brought didn’t do nearly as well in this regard. During all my trips, I could tell that the SVIII tracked accurately and repeatably.
Functional Features on the SVIII
The MH-6 reticle that my optic had is a Christmas-tree-style reticle and I found it to be easy to read and clutter-free. This reticle gets very thin on 5x magnification since it is in the first focal plane (FFP). Still, the illumination helped make the reticle more visible on the lowest power. In an FFP optic, the reticle appears to grow larger or smaller as you go up or down on the power because the subtensions stay accurate across the whole magnification range. For example, 5 mil on the reticle accurately represents 5 mil on the target regardless of whether the optic is on 5 or 40 magnification.
The turrets on the Sightron SVIII FFP 5-40×56 ED IR Zero Stop optic are large and easy to read. Having 10 mil per rotation makes for easy math on multiple-rotation adjustments. The clicks on the turret were positive and audible and the Zero Stop is easy to set and provides a firm return to zero.
I am not going to display images to demonstrate the optical clarity because I couldn’t capture any images that did the SVIII any justice. I think people often don’t realize how different an optic’s image can be in person vs in photo or video. Still, I would compare the image to some of the best optics I’ve ever used.
Turret Tracking Accuracy
As with all of my rifle optics tests, I checked the most important aspect of the Sightron SVIII 5-40×56 (in my opinion). I used a tall target test to determine the scope’s tracking accuracy.
The first step in this test is to mount the optic on the gun using a bubble level and plumb bob. This has to correlate to a rifle-mounted bubble level used in the field to level the optic.
Next, I draw the horizontal and vertical reference lines on a gridded target. The grid helps me create the perfect right angle for the reference lines. It also helps to level the target while in the field for the test. It is important to use a precise rifle for this test to minimize any kind of error. For this purpose, I used my Savage target rifle with Criterion barrel chambered in 308 Winchester. I used some hand loads that consisted of 185 grain Berger juggernaut OTM tactical projectiles, Lapua brass, and Varget rifle powder.
Set Up My Shooting Position
Next, I set up my shooting position about 100 yards away. I laser rangefind the distance with multiple rangefinders to confirm the range. For this purpose, I use a Leupold RX2800 TBR/W and confirm with a SIG Kilo8K-ABS. I determined the distance to be 101 yards using this method. This distance will then be used later in my math to determine the tracking accuracy of the optic.
From here, I shoot. In this test, I fired 3 rounds at my point of aim at the bottom center of the target. Next, I dialed up 10 mil (milliradian) exactly on the turret and fired a 3-shot group while aiming at my original point of aim, all while keeping the gun level. Immediately after, I dialed back down 10 mil and similarly fired a 3-shot group. The distance between these two groups will be used to check the tracking accuracy of the elevation turret of the SVIII. Any horizontal deviation from the vertical line will also be noted in the test.
Dial It In
In this same string of fire, I then dialed the windage to the right 5 mil and fired a 3-shot group. Immediately after I dialed back to the left to meet my original zero and fired another 3 shots at the original point of aim. Again, this distance between these two groups will be used to test the tracking accuracy of the windage turret and any vertical deviation from the horizontal line will be noted.
The formula I use to draw my conclusions from this test is as follows:
***Distance from target x MRAD value dialed x MRAD to inches conversion factor = expected point of impact in inches***
I measured the distance between the reference group and test group on the X and Y axis. I found the distances to be 18.3125” and 36.5625” respectively. Using the equation, I found that I should expect the elevation’s distance of travel at 101 yards (confirmed with 2 different rangefinders) to be 36.36” which means that the elevation turret tracked with 99.4% accuracy in my test! Given the number of variables that I cannot control, this is outstanding performance by the SVIII.
***101 yards x 10 mil x 0.036 inches/mil*yard = 36.36 inches***
Using the same equation, I calculated the expected distance between the reference group and test group on the X-axis to be 18.18”. The experimental distance is 18.3125”. This means that the windage turret tracked with 99.3% accuracy in my test. Again, another impressive result from the SVIII.
***101 yards x 5 mil x 0.036 inches/mil*yard = 18.18 inches***
Final Verdict On the SVIII
The Sightron SVIII 5-40×56 FFP performs flawlessly. As the name would suggest, Sightron’s ExacTrack windage and elevation system yielded near-perfect results in my tracking test. The optical clarity and generous eyebox across the 5-40x power range were much better than I had expected on this telescope-esque rifle optic. In optical clarity, I’d venture to say that the SVIII optic performs well above its price range, competing with some of the very best available. The illuminated reticle is clear and bright enough that it can be seen in the daylight. On the lowest power, the illuminated reticle can be used for better visualization, since this is an FFP optic and the reticle gets very thin at this magnification. And, finally, the Zero Stop is easy and intuitive to set.
READ MORE: The Walther P99 – Final Edition
Potential Changes
I have a few thoughts on things that I would potentially change about the SVIII that I want to share. My own preference is for all exposed turrets on optics is for them to mechanically lock. This would be the only feature that I think Sightron could have added/changed and kept the SVIII what it is. The other thing I would potentially change is the tube diameter.
With the 40mm tube, you get some of the most elevation adjustment available on the market, but there are so few ring options available if you want to use anything other than the rings that the SVIII ships with. Oh yeah, this optic comes with 40mm rings from Sightron, if I haven’t mentioned that. Instead, It would make some sense in my head if the tube was a more popular size, say, 35mm.
Even still, I have fallen in love with the Sightron SVIII FFP 5-40×56 ED IR Zero Stop optic. It performed well on the 300 Win Mag SIG Cross Magnum and the 308 Winchester target rifle. For competition-oriented applications, the SVIII is currently one of the best options available and I highly recommend it to anyone who is considering purchasing this optic.
learn more about this optic HERE.
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