GOING LONG(ER)
U.S. AND OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENTS FOCUS ON INCREASED LETHALITY AND UTILITY OF LONG-RANGE SCOPES.
While reports corroborate that the U.S. warfighters’ longrange scopes are performing well in theater (in Afghanistan and Iraq), the industry-government team seeks to maintain its advantages on the battlefield by providing innovations and upgrades for these products.
Of special note is that advancements in long-range scopes are being generated from research and development efforts on both sides of the Atlantic.
DEFINING “LONG”
Two requirement documents provide the impetus for development and procurement of SOF small arms. Both contain insights on “long range.”
The Special Operations Peculiar Modifications (SOPMOD) is the overarching requirement for all weapons accessories. “Long range is the term used to increase the effectiveness of the sight,” said Lieutenant Commander Mark Boyd, USSOCOM spokesperson. For red dot sights (see accompanying article) this is the change to the reticle to enable long-range engagement. “This long range only applies to the machine guns and crewserved weapons, as the standard red dot optic works well through 200-300 meters depending on conditions,” he added.
The Family of Sniper Weapon Systems is the governing document for all SOF sniper weapons. “Long range here is beyond 800 meters,” pointed out Boyd. “In the past, 1,000 meters was considered outside the effective engagement based on the rounds being fired, but with the next generation of sniper weapons, this range will extend to 1,500 meters and beyond. ‘Long range’ could be characterized as ranges beyond the capability of the unaided eye,” he concluded.
Indeed, these latter figures begin to match the effective engagement ranges of U.S. weapons in Afghanistan and Iraq reported by industry members. While operations in Iraq are considered primarily urban, it is the Afghanistan mission that has reinforced the need to provide the U.S. servicemember with longer-range weapons and optics.
MARKET OVERVIEW
A burgeoning number of long-range scopes are available to U.S warfighters. As U.S. and overseas-based technologies are incorporated into these systems, several trends begin to emerge.
Contemporary scopes are increasingly variable, or zoom, power (in magnification) compared to their earlier and simpler, fixed-power counterparts. By the nature of using more parts, this generation of variable-power scopes tends to be more complex, heavier and expensive. Despite advances in variablepower scopes, companies including Leupold still offer fixedpower models.
Magnification and other attributes of these scopes are being tailored to meet the services’ demands to engage its opponents at increasing longer ranges—as the tactical opportunity presents itself.
SUPPORTING LONGER RANGES
The industry team has quickened its pace to meet the government customer’s anticipated requirements.
Schmidt & Bender’s longest tactical scope is the 5-25 x 56 PM II LP. One distinctive attribute of this scope is its 5x magnification range.
“This results in a scope with a wide field-of-view at 5-power, and this magnification still permits relatively close-in operation,” observed Mark Cromwell, president, Schmidt & Bender Inc.
“At 25-power, it provides true 2,000-meter capability,” he added. The scope’s parallax adjustment is located on a third turret, adjustable from 10 meters to infinity. This arrangement allows full control over parallax without having to remove the rifle from the shoulder or the shooter’s eye from the scope.
“This model also includes Schmidt & Bender’s LP system, a color-coded elevation adjustment knob that provides instant reference as to where the elevation is set within its overall adjustment range (56 minutes of angle (MOAs) of 1/4 MOA clicks, or 270 centimeter [93 MOA] of 1 cm clicks. The entire adjustment range can be covered in two turns of the elevation knob, and the color coding prevents the shooter from becoming ‘lost’ within a wide elevation range,” concluded Cromwell.
Orofino, Idaho-based Nightforce provides some of the highest magnification rates in the industry, with its 12-42 x 56 NXS and 12-42 x 56 Precision Benchrest scopes. As the company has pressed the limits of the physics envelope for long-range shooting, it has noted that at extremely high magnifications, environmental factors arise and are detrimental to shooting performance.
“At extremely high magnifications, environmental factors come into play that detrimentally affect shooting performance,” pointed out Jeff Huber, vice president of Lightforce USA. He added, “These include mirage effect [heat waves], atmospheric dust, haze and other factors. We have found that many of our customers who shoot at the most extreme ranges prefer to use the maximum magnification for target acquisition or previous shot location, but back off slightly from the maximum setting when actually shooting. These environmental factors affect the practical high-end magnification ranges of a scope more than any technical limitations,” he added.
Nightforce’s military customers include SOF units from the U.S. Army and Navy. The company’s scopes are seeing duty on the front line of the global war against terror. “Nightforce products are seeing extensive combat use in both theaters, and official reports from forces using our scopes, as well as from individual combatants in the field, have been highly satisfying,” concluded Huber.
The company’s scopes are used on a wide range of military weapons, including long- and ultra-long range bolt action and semi-automatic sniper weapons.
Leupold provides an interesting mix of long-range and tactical rifle scopes. “These start at 3.5-10 x 40 mm and roll up through the 8.5-25 x 50 mm models,” pointed out company spokesperson Pat Mundy. The company’s scope offerings are complemented by two fixed-power scopes, a 10x and a 16x model.
While the company could not divulge its entire customer base, it did confirm that its scopes are used with U.S. Army sniper systems. “Our long range and tactical scopes have been used to make a number of extremely long shots, including the longest known shot of over 2,400 meters in Afghanistan,” emphasized Mundy.
Innovation in small arms products flows freely across the Atlantic. Optic with IOR Buceristi, the manufacturer, and IOR Valada, the importer. One caveat of the agreement allows B&W to manufacture exclusively IOR Buceristi’s Y-Tac Reticle for tactical use.
“The variable 2.5-10 x 42 optic by IOR Bucuristi gives the most flexibility for both short and long distances, with a fixed, second focal plane reticle location,” read a statement provided by Barry Wilson, B&W Optic.
The location of an aiming reticle is one important, defining feature of a zoom optic system. The placement of the reticle in the second focal plane in the scope enables the reticle’s thickness to remain constant across the entire magnification range. For those scopes in which the aiming reticle is on the first focal plane, both the reticle’s thickness and the target’s apparent size increase as magnification increases.
BW Optics’s 2.5-10 x 42 mm scope has been sold on an individual basis to an array of Army and Marine personnel and has been put through its paces in theater. At press time, the company reported a recent contract for the scope from U.S. Army Contracting Command Europe.
CROSS-FERTILIZATION
Innovation and ideas about small-arms products freely migrate between military and law enforcement professionals. One of many long-range scopes that have flowed between the two communities was fielded by Barska.
“Developed during the summer of 2004, we put this series through rigorous testing,” recalled Marty Traxler, public relations manager, Barska. “From live .50 caliber firing to complete submersion under saltwater and drastic temperature shifts we have done it all. Field testing was conducted by Ronnie Hossain, our National Sales and Product Development Manager, members of the Los Angeles Police Department SWAT team and a certified law enforcement product tester. We secured a seal of approval for production and successfully launched the product at the 2005 Shot Show. To honor our country’s law enforcement men and women and our development team partners, we proudly named the series ‘SWAT’,” he added.
To support the nickname “Extreme Long-Range Tactical Scope,” Barska put a 40x magnification (on selected models) and provided enough MOAs to shoot up to 800 yards. “We stayed true to its tactical side by providing 1/8” MOA tactile target turrets, side-adjustable parallax settings and seven brightness adjustable glass etched mil-dot reticle,” said Traxler.
Over the last several years the company has shipped numerous products including the SWAT Tactical Scopes to U.S. service men and women serving in Afghanistan and Iraq, in cooperation with its drop-ship dealer partners.
Barska continues to expand its long range-style scopes and hopes to launch its newest line “Benchmark” in 2008.
RECENT ENTRIES
The Israeli firm New Noga Light has provided initial details about two recent scope offerings.
The NL63 is a submersible (in over 66 feet of water), mininight sight, which was designed to fill Navy requirements. The sight can reportedly be mounted on a wide range of weapons. “The sight also enables target engagement during low ambient light conditions at distances greater than 300 meters,” according to the company.
Acknowledging that this product is for the naval SOF “sharpshooter,” it addresses a perceived shortfall in quality scopes for use in the demanding maritime environment, said a company representative on background.
The NL67 is a small, lightweight, night vision sniper sight with a 7x magnification and a wide field of view. “The sight was designed to be a full military long-range night time scope as well as handling human targets up to 1,000 meters,” according to the company.
The sight reportedly can be mounted on a variety of sniper rifles, and provides the sniper with the capability of acquiring and engaging targets during low ambient light conditions.
The Israeli Defense Forces have successfully tested and employed the NL67 in current missions.
New Noga Light, may have a prototype, clip-on scope ready for evaluation as early as this October, said the same company representative.
ON THE HORIZON
Konus USA Corporation plans its initial entry into the longrange scope market when it unveils the Konuspro M30 series at the 2008 Shot Show. There will be three variable scopes in the series, 4.5X-16X40 mm (low-mount capability), 6.5X-25X44 mm (low-to-medium mount capability) and 8.5X-32X52 mm (high-mount capability).
“All of the M30 scopes will contain more features in one scope than anything currently being sold today,” predicted Mark Shore, vice president, Sales and Marketing Division.
Some of the new scopes’ key attributes which Shore revealed include: anti-canting level bubble with phosphorescent glow for low-light tactical turrets, with 1/8 MOA, resettable to zero, and lockable once set; lockable fast-focus eye bell; an “engraved” mil-dot reticle that will be impervious to recoil; a blue illuminator that will provide quick acquisition against any color target, with no loss of night vision when pulling the scope away from the eye; and a 45 degree offset rheostat control knob that allows for instant view of the turret without pulling away.
“These scopes are not undergoing military or law enforcement testing procedures,” concluded Shore. ♦