Pinnacle 5-30X50 Riflescope
By Sightmark
Review by Fred Fusco
This is the gear review for the Sightmark Pinnacle 5-30X50 Riflescope. I will discuss the optic in four categories…Cost, Durability, Size, and Function. Here are some of the manufacturer’s specifications:
Reticle, Type TMD-HW Reticle, Color Red/Green Reticle, Illuminated Yes Setting, Brightness 5 Finish/Color Matte black Magnification 5 – 30 x Diameter, Objective Lens 50 mm Diameter, Eyepiece 32.9 mm Diameter, Exit Pupil 8.8 – 1.7 mm Eye Relief 97 – 96 mm Field of View 6.7 – 1.1 m @100m Field of View 3.4 – 2.2 ft @100yd Field of View 3.86 – 0.64 degree Diopter Adjustment +2 to -2 Diameter, Tube 34 mm Parallax Setting 30 – ∞ yds Windage Range of Adjustment 18 MRAD Elevation Range of Adjustment 26 MRAD MRAD Adjustment, 1 click 0.1 MRAD Travel Per Rotation 10 MRAD Maximum Recoil 800 Battery Type CR2032 Battery Life Red: (high) 50 – (low) 2000 / Green: (high) 30 – (high) 800 hours Battery Voltage 3 V Sunshade yes Nitrogen Purged yes Shockproof yes Fog Proof yes Focal Plane 1st IP Standard IP67 (submergible to 1m) Body Material Aluminum Material, Lens glass Lens Coating Fully multi-coated Operating Temp,�F/�C -20 to 160 / -29 to 71 F/C Length 14 / 357 in/mm Width 3.65 / 92.9 in/mm Height 3.14 / 79.9 in/mm Weight 34.5 oz
COST
The Sightmark Pinnacle 5-30X50 has a retail price of $1499.97. The price of this scope is quite reasonable for the capabilities of the scope. Most other scopes that are similar to this one in features are normally above $2000. It is a first focal plane optic with an illuminated reticle. The scope is warranted free of defects in materials and workmanship with the Sightmark Limited Lifetime Warranty. More information for the warranty program can be found at Sightmark
DURABILITY
My first impression of this optic was that it was super durable and rugged in construction. It has a sturdy 34mm aluminum tube and 50mm objective lens. The unit is IP67 rated which means dust proof, fog proof, shockproof, and submersible up to 1 meter. It also comes with a sunshade and a set of scope rings which were pretty “Beefy” themselves. This in itself is a great advantage over other brands as most do not include a mount or rings to mount the scope. This is also more cost for the shooter. I was very impressed with the construction of this optic.
SIZE
The size and weight of the Pinnacle are comparable to the other optics in its class due to it’s aluminum construction. For the size it is pretty light. The dimensions are a bit large. If you are running this scope on a gas gun, I highly recommend a cantilever mount due to its length. That way you can manipulate the charging handle without the eyepiece getting in the way.
FUNCTION
The elevation and windage turrets have removable caps that screw on and off to protect the turrets. There are also thread protection rings that can be threaded on the base of the turrets to keep them out for rapid adjustment and protect the cap threads. A very nice feature. I ran the scope in the “open” style without the caps.
In addition to the elevation and windage turrets, there is a dual parallax adjustment and illumination dial on the left side of the scope body. The illumination dial has 5 brightness settings in two colors. The reticle can be illuminated in red or green. The illumination dial sits outboard of the parallax dial which took me some getting used to. Several times when I reached to set parallax, I turned on the illumination in the reticle instead.
All the way to the rear of the unit is a fast focus eye piece with diopter adjustments to the shooters eye. Forward of that is the magnification dial which adjust from 5-30 power. This is an impressive range of magnification. All through the range of magnification the scope maintained high resolution. The brighter the conditions the better this is maintained. As the outside light gets dimmer, it becomes harder to use at higher magnification. The manufacturer uses a premium Japanese glass according to their specifications.
The elevation turret in this model has a zero stop feature which is very handy. This allows you to return the scope back to it’s original zero distance setting by turning the turret all the way clockwise until the turret stops moving. This is where you set your zero distance. I also tested this zero stop after making several shots at different distances and adjusting the elevation multiple times. After finishing withe the turret adjustments, I turned the dial back to the zero stop then shot another group. Sure enough, the group was still at my zero. The zero stop in this turret is also adjustable for the shooter.
There is 26 mils of adjustment in the elevation turret. That is a little over two and half revolutions on the dial. The amount you have of elevation adjustment will vary depending on your zero and the distance you zero it at. Another variable will be if the mount or rings you use have elevation built into them. There is 18 mils of adjustment for windage. The adjustments in the dials are .1 mil (MRAD) per click. The clicks are very tactile. This was nice to have positive clicks in the adjustments, another plus for the Pinnacle. The turrets tracked well and the adjustments were right on the money through the turret tracking test I did.
The reticle in this model utilizes the milliradian (MRAD) scale, or mils for short. This is what I used in the military and what I prefer for shooting. It is designed for range estimation and holdovers for bullet drop, wind drift holds, and moving targets. The reticle is in the first focal plane which is convenient and fast to use. This means the reticle remains in the same visual proportion to the target across the rifle scope’s entire magnification range, allowing shooters to range find and shoot with holdovers at any magnification effectively. The fact that the reticle can illuminate in either green or red makes it easier to use in lower light situations. The company also included a CR2032 battery to power the scope.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
The clarity and resolution of this scope were very impressive. The pictures I have taken with an iPhone and utilizing a Phone Skope case do the optic no justice. Sightmark did a great job with this product. It’s ruggedness and durability were definitely strong suits. I had a couple of minor ergonomic issues with the controls, namely the magnification adjustment and the illumination adjustment. The magnification adjustment is very tight. It made it a bit difficult to reach up with one hand while maintaining a shooting position to adjust the magnification power. This could be alleviated with a throw level that can be purchased through several companies and add mechanical advantage for a quick adjustment. The other issue was the illumination dial being outboard of the parallax adjustment in the same location. This is due to me using so many scopes for many years where the illumination dial is in a different location and the parallax was always the left side dial. That’s an issue that’s entirely on me and would be remedied through training and practice with this new scope. Which I had better make sure to do before any long range competitions in my near future!
All in all this optic is a great value for the price and you could do much worse than to purchase this product. I look forward to evaluating some of the companies other products in the near future so stay tuned!
Material Disclosure
I received this product as a courtesy from the manufacturer via Spotter Up so I could test it and give my honest feedback. I am not bound by any written, verbal, or implied contract to give this product a good review. All opinions are my own and are based off my personal experience with the product.
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