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It’s Good to Be Prostaff: Inside Sellmark’s Labor Day Ranch Weekend
It’s Good to Be Prostaff: Inside Sellmark’s Labor Day Ranch Weekend
You know what they say about steaks, shooting and summer: the best weekends usually involve all three—and preferably a little dirt under your boots. On September 5, members of the... Read more...
Federal Judge Rules ATF Frame-or-Receiver Rule Unconstitutional
Federal Judge Rules ATF Frame-or-Receiver Rule Unconstitutional
Legal disclaimer:This article is for general informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Firearm laws can vary by state and local jurisdiction, and court decisions may change as cases... Read more...
Micro Prism vs. Red Dot: Which 1x Optic Should You Put on Your AR?
Micro Prism vs. Red Dot: Which 1x Optic Should You Put on Your AR?
Today's MSR has developed a strict policy of refusing to leave the house without an optic. Iron sights still work, of course, but they’re a bit like using a flip... Read more...
Can You Hunt With a Suppressor After the 2026 NFA Ruling?
Can You Hunt With a Suppressor After the 2026 NFA Ruling?
Disclaimer: The information provided in this article does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice. Firearms and hunting laws vary by state and can change quickly. Check current... Read more...
Does Sightmark Offer Optics That Work with Night Vision Devices?
Does Sightmark Offer Optics That Work with Night Vision Devices?
Sightmark offers several red dot and reflex sights with dedicated night vision-compatible brightness settings. These settings allow the optic’s illuminated reticle to be viewed through night vision goggles or a... Read more...
At What Distance Do You Use a Laser Bore Sight?
At What Distance Do You Use a Laser Bore Sight?
Bore sighting is one of those habits that experienced shooters adopt quickly because the math is obvious: getting close to zero before you ever pull a trigger saves ammunition, time,... Read more...
Is an Enclosed Pistol Red Dot Worth It?
Is an Enclosed Pistol Red Dot Worth It?
A pistol red dot has one job, technically: put a dot where you're looking and keep it there. Everything else, including durability, power management, and mounting footprint, only matters if... Read more...
Why Enclosed Emitters Are the Future of Red Dots
Why Enclosed Emitters Are the Future of Red Dots
For years, shooters have balanced one simple trade-off: speed versus protection. Open reflex sights offered lightning-fast target acquisition but left their emitters exposed to rain, dust, and carbon. One stray... Read more...
Glass First, Shoot Second: Prism Optics and Binos for Hog Hunting
Glass First, Shoot Second: Prism Optics and Binos for Hog Hunting
Wild hogs are not polite about the distances they offer. One minute you're glassing the far edge of a field at last light and spotting a group working the corn... Read more...
Sightmark Then and Now: Better Testing, Better Optics, and a Higher Standard
Sightmark Then and Now: Better Testing, Better Optics, and a Higher Standard
Sightmark has been around long enough to know that reputation is not something you fix with a new logo, a louder ad campaign, or a product page full of words... Read more...
The Right Rifle Sight for the Right Job
The Right Rifle Sight for the Right Job
If you've spent any time at the range, in a deer stand, or clearing brush on the back forty, you already know that a rifle is only as good as... Read more...
Meet Sightmark’s New Enclosed Red Dot
Meet Sightmark’s New Enclosed Red Dot
The days of babying your red dot are over. Shooters expect more from their optics than ever before: gear that can handle dust, rain, recoil, long range sessions, and rough... Read more...
Thermal vs. Digital Night Vision: Which Sightmark Scope Is Right for You?
Thermal vs. Digital Night Vision: Which Sightmark Scope Is Right for You?
If you've spent any time shopping for a night optic, you've probably already hit the wall: thermal or digital night vision? Both are genuinely good. Both have things the other... Read more...
Best Red Dot for Turkey Hunting: A Practical Guide for Shotgun Hunters
Best Red Dot for Turkey Hunting: A Practical Guide for Shotgun Hunters
Spring gobbler season is one of the most demanding tests of any shotgun setup. You're shooting at a bird whose vital zone — the head and neck — measures only... Read more...
The Sightmark Shade: Finally, a Thermal Riflescope That Doesn’t Cost as Much as Your Rifle
The Sightmark Shade: Finally, a Thermal Riflescope That Doesn’t Cost as Much as Your Rifle
Thermal optics have always carried a premium that made them inaccessible to most hunters. Not inaccessible in the sense that they were rare or exotic — just inaccessible in the... Read more...
What Is an LPVO Actually Good At?
What Is an LPVO Actually Good At?
If you've been shopping for a rifle optic long enough, you've probably run into the term LPVO and wondered whether it's actually worth the fuss. The short answer is yes... Read more...
The Strikon VMP 1-4x22: Built for Versatility
The Strikon VMP 1-4x22: Built for Versatility
Not every range session looks the same, and not every course of fire starts at the same distance or ends at one. For shooters whose engagements move between close-in speed... Read more...
When Fixed 1x Is the Only Setting You Need on Your Optic
When Fixed 1x Is the Only Setting You Need on Your Optic
There's a certain logic to fixed magnification that variable optics quietly undermine. Every zoom ring, every internal cam, every extra lens element is an additional failure point you're paying for—and... Read more...
Best Binoculars: How to Choose the Right Pair for Hunting, Birding, and Beyond
Best Binoculars: How to Choose the Right Pair for Hunting, Birding, and Beyond
Walk into any sporting goods store and the binoculars wall might stop you cold. Eight-power, ten-power, compact, full-size, roof prism, Porro prism—and prices that swing from pocket change to a... Read more...
First Focal Plane vs Second Focal Plane: Which Scope Is Right for You
First Focal Plane vs Second Focal Plane: Which Scope Is Right for You
Ask any group of precision shooters which reticle plane they prefer, and you'll get opinions delivered with the same conviction people reserve for caliber debates and truck brands. That's not... Read more...
Thermal Scope Under $1,000: The Sightmark Shade Changes the Game
Thermal Scope Under $1,000: The Sightmark Shade Changes the Game
Thermal imaging used to be the exclusive domain of deep-pocketed hunters and professional operations. If you wanted a thermal scope on your rifle, you were looking at dropping serious cash—often... Read more...
The Mini Shot M-Spec M1 V2 is Built Tough
The Mini Shot M-Spec M1 V2 is Built Tough
Sightmark’s Mini Shot M-Spec M1 V2 isn’t the kind of optic you buy to admire under soft lighting. It’s built to live on a pistol slide that cycles like a... Read more...
Why a Prismatic Sight Might Be Your Next Best Optic
Why a Prismatic Sight Might Be Your Next Best Optic
If you've been running a red dot or thinking about stepping up from irons, there's an optic type that deserves a serious look: the prismatic sight. Not quite a red... Read more...
Why These Binoculars Will See More Action Than Your Riflescope
Why These Binoculars Will See More Action Than Your Riflescope
Here's an uncomfortable truth about most hunting gear: it sits in the safe 350 days a year. Your riflescope is phenomenal for the two weeks you're actually hunting. But the... Read more...
Dear Iron Sight Guy: Your Excuses Just Ran Out
Dear Iron Sight Guy: Your Excuses Just Ran Out
Ah, Iron Sight Guy. We all know you. You shuffle onto the firing line with your trusty M16 clone with an integrated carry handle “just like the Army intended,” and... Read more...
The American Obsession with Sub-MOA Accuracy
The American Obsession with Sub-MOA Accuracy
Walk into any American gun shop, scroll through any shooting forum, or listen to a conversation at a public range, and you will hear the same phrase repeated like a... Read more...
The Best Night Vision Scope for Coyote Hunting
The Best Night Vision Scope for Coyote Hunting
Coyotes are cautious, sharp-eyed, and most active when the sun is down. For hunters working inside realistic night-time distances, night vision remains one of the most effective tools available—often more... Read more...
Holographic Sights vs. Red Dots
Holographic Sights vs. Red Dots
Most shooters throw every compact electronic optic into one bucket and call it a red dot. It’s understandable. They all look similar, they all put a glowing point on your... Read more...
What is Thermal Vision?
What is Thermal Vision?
Ask ten hunters what “thermal vision” means and at least a few will say, “It’s like night vision, right?” Not quite. Night vision depends on amplifying visible light—moonlight, starlight, even... Read more...
Red Dots for Pistols & Shotguns in CQB Scenarios
Red Dots for Pistols & Shotguns in CQB Scenarios
If you could choose only two things to get right in a life-or-death home defense scenario, they should be gear that functions under stress and judgment that keeps you on... Read more...
How to Estimate the Age of a Whitetail Deer
How to Estimate the Age of a Whitetail Deer
You ever walk out into the woods, spot a buck, and think, “That’s a good one” but then wonder if he’s really mature or just has a lucky rack for... Read more...
Your New Favorite Hunting Binoculars: the Solitude 10x42 XD
Your New Favorite Hunting Binoculars: the Solitude 10x42 XD
Every hunter’s got a story about that first time they tagged along with paw-paw or dad in the woods. Somewhere between the thermos of coffee, the squeaky deer stand, and... Read more...
Wake Up Ready: Why Shake Awake Technology Makes the M-Spec M1 V2 a No-Brainer
Wake Up Ready: Why Shake Awake Technology Makes the M-Spec M1 V2 a No-Brainer
In a world full of red dots that drain your battery the moment you forget to turn them off, the Sightmark Minishot M-Spec M1 V2 cuts through the noise with... Read more...
Thermal Legality by State
Thermal Legality by State
Disclaimer: The information provided on this blog does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice. Understanding Thermal Hunting Regulations Sightmark has done its due diligence and has reached... Read more...
Mastering the Laser Boresight: A Practical Guide for New Shooters
Mastering the Laser Boresight: A Practical Guide for New Shooters
Laser boresights are one of the most overlooked tools in a shooter’s kit. For new shooters, especially, they solve one of the most frustrating and expensive parts of owning a... Read more...
Red Dot Sights for Your AR-15
Red Dot Sights for Your AR-15
Your AR-15 is a capable rifle, but its true potential depends on what you put on top of it. A red dot sight transforms the way you shoot, removing the... Read more...
Red Dot Compatibility Guide
Red Dot Compatibility Guide
You’ve got a red dot. You’ve got a pistol with an optics-ready slide. But when you try to mount your optic, the screws don’t line up. The recoil lugs are... Read more...
Red Dot Performance, Low-Light Capability, and Home Defense Readiness
Red Dot Performance, Low-Light Capability, and Home Defense Readiness
The AR-15 is one of the most versatile rifles in civilian hands, equally at home in competition, hunting, and defense roles. But to get the most out of it, you... Read more...
Preserving Red Dot Battery Life
Preserving Red Dot Battery Life
Experienced shooters transitioning from iron sights or traditional scopes to red dot sights quickly learn one key difference: red dots run on batteries. Unlike a plain set of iron sights,... Read more...
What's Better, 8x42 or 10x42?
What's Better, 8x42 or 10x42?
So you’re in the market for new binoculars. You’ve narrowed it down to 8x42 or 10x42, then you hit a wall. What’s the actual difference between these numbers, and which... Read more...
Sightmark Wolverine: The Red Dot That Lasts
Sightmark Wolverine: The Red Dot That Lasts
When you’re looking for a red dot with long battery life, the Sightmark Wolverine isn’t just another optic on the shelf—it’s the standard bearer. Built for the harsh realities of... Read more...
What Is an LPVO? Understanding Low Power Variable Optics
What Is an LPVO? Understanding Low Power Variable Optics
If you're asking “what is an LPVO?”, you're probably choosing your first optic, considering an upgrade, or trying to understand what makes these scopes so popular. LPVO stands for Low Power... Read more...
Shooting with Red Dots Under Stress: Why It Matters When It Counts
Shooting with Red Dots Under Stress: Why It Matters When It Counts
Anyone who’s spent time on a square range knows how easy it is to get comfortable. You take your time, line up every shot, and maybe even chat with your... Read more...
How to Make Wild Pork Meat “Extwa Cwispy” — Spanish Lechón Style
How to Make Wild Pork Meat “Extwa Cwispy” — Spanish Lechón Style
Before we go full smokehouse on this thing, let’s get something out of the way: not everyone likes wild pork meat. Plenty of hunters treat feral hogs like targets for... Read more...
Texas Fixes Short-Barreled Rifle Law
Texas Fixes Short-Barreled Rifle Law
For years, Texas gun owners have had to tiptoe around one of the more senseless contradictions in gun law: the short-barreled rifle (SBR) and short-barreled shotgun (SBS) ban. According to... Read more...
Why the Sightmark Presidio 5-30x56 LR2 is Built for Big Game Hunting
Why the Sightmark Presidio 5-30x56 LR2 is Built for Big Game Hunting
When you're out in the field chasing big game like elk, your gear can't afford to fail. One missed shot could mean the months of planning, the days of trekking,... Read more...
How Much Magnification Do You Need for 1,000-Yard Shots?
How Much Magnification Do You Need for 1,000-Yard Shots?
It’s impossible not to tip our hats to legends of marksmanship like Chris Kyle, Carlos Hathcock, and Billy Dixon. Each of these men, separated by centuries and technologies, achieved incredible... Read more...
Types of Night Vision: Generational, Digital, and Thermal Explained
Types of Night Vision: Generational, Digital, and Thermal Explained
Back in the day, every hunt, every stakeout, and every commando raid had to either end at sundown or be carried out with grave risks. However, with night vision becoming... Read more...
How Does Night Vision Work? The Evolution from the Vampir to Digital NVDs
How Does Night Vision Work? The Evolution from the Vampir to Digital NVDs
Night vision is a technology designed to amplify available ambient light or use infrared illumination to create visible images in low-light or dark conditions. Essentially, it's like viewing the world... Read more...
How to Use A Spotting Scope: A Practical Guide for Shooters
How to Use A Spotting Scope: A Practical Guide for Shooters
  So you’ve got a buddy behind the rifle and a target way out there past the berm, let's say 500 yards. You happen to have your new handy-dandy spotting... Read more...