If you're a shooter, hunter or long-range enthusiast, you know the importance of a good riflescope. A riflescope is more than just an accessory; it's an essential piece of equipment that can make or break your shot. That's why we're excited to introduce you to the Sightmark Latitude 6.25-25 riflescope. In this article, we'll take an in-depth look at the features, benefits, and performance of this versatile scope. Whether you're a seasoned marksman or a beginner, the Sightmark Latitude 6.25-25 is worth your consideration. So, let's dive in and see what this scope has to offer.
The Latitude 6.25-25x56 PRS Riflescope was designed for use in long-range competition shooting and Precision Rifle matches. Sightmark supposedly listened to feedback from competition shooters and implemented feature and design choices in the development of this scope. Features like the oversized turrets for quick and easy adjustments, a quick and easy zero stop system for the elevation dial and an etched, first focal plane reticule for fast and easy corrections at any magnification were implemented. The Latitude is IP67 waterproof an supposedly able to withstand recoil forces up to the .50 BMG.
Boasting these specifications with a market price of around 950 euros, the Latitude PRS surly seems like a good option worth considering when looking for an optic in this price segment.
Lets dive right into the testing and see how this scope performs!
Testing
We all know first impressions are important, and it seems like Sightmark knows this as well. The surface finishing, solid aluminum construction and overall weight of just under 1kg gives you a instant feeling of a good quality optic.
When it come to the ergonomics (turret profile/magnification ring/diopter adjustment) we are dealing with details that are largely subjective to everyone's personal tastes and preferences, but we must give our honest impressions. The turrets have a tall and thin profile compared to other optics we use, however their good quality allows us to appreciate them even if we are fans of low/bulky profiles (type Bushnell DMR2/Athlon Ares etc..). The magnification ring is very smooth to operate and has some decent knurling for grip, which allows for easy handling (unlike some much higher range optics whose zoom management is tough and not so smooth). The same goes for the parallax dial. It should be noted that the diopter ring is also equipped with a lock-nut-system, which is quite appreciable when using Buttler Creek type lens protections which tends to modify the diopter settings.
When unboxing the Latitude you are presented with a well protected optic and some accessories such as a sun cap for your optic, microfiber cloth, batterie for the illuminated reticule, hex key for the zero stop ring and the user manual of course.
- GLASS QUALITY
Since this is a scope marketed towards long range and precision shooting applications, we started by evaluating the glass quality in big open spaces in order to get an idea of the image quality we can expect.
(Keep in mind that we primarily compared this scope to other optics in the same price category in order to provide a faire evaluation. And the pictures taken during our tests are done with commercial grade cameras with no post treatment, results are likely better then represented on the pictures)
From what we were able to observe on a clear sunny day, the image quality surprised us with very clear and crisp image, rendering even smaller details observable at extended ranges (1000-1700m).
In this example, we have a small chapel at 1009 meter across the valley from us.
Here we can see that the image at maximum magnification allows us to clearly see the intricate details such as each individual stone and the very detailed artwork implemented into the fence door of the chapel.
These results are due to the great quality glass Sightmark uses for this optic and combined with a 56mm objective and oversized diopter lens, allows for more light to enter the scope and provide us with a clearer image.
Speaking of the oversized diopter lens at first we ran into some issues during our testing as we wanted to use our trigger cam to film some in action shots. Due to the oversized lens the body is equally oversized compared to other optics, unfortunately this meant we could not mount our trigger cam to the latitude.
This is not particularly a negative point for us, but it is something to keep in mind if you might want to use accessories such as a trigger cam of course.
You might wonder why an oversized diopter lens was chosen for the latitude PRS especially when its competitors don't really follow this design choice, well let me show you.
This image was taken ruffly around the golden hour, a term used mainly in the film and video industry, The target is setup at + - 990 meters and with about 15-25 minutes of sunlight left, the latitude still gives us a very clear image, far better then what we need to safely continue shooting. This is were the oversized diopter lens, 56 mm and 34mm main tube outperforms other optics, they allow us to prolong our shooting sessions safely past what other scope may be able to achieve.
The glass of the Latitude makes it easy to spot targets in a field up to ~ 500 meters during last minutes of the day and by using the additional illuminated reticule you can exploit all the shooting opportunities.
This was once again proven during a testing session on a very misty day. Although it remained hard to spot our target at this distance (990m), this optic provided much clearer images out to elongated distances.
During low light conditions the image remains sharp but starts to display what can be described as slightly milky effect, this does not effect the scopes usability, and remains simply an observation.
Although the image quality is very nice, not so surprisingly we noticed some common effects with scope lenses such as image distortion and chromatic aberration (CA) on the edges of the image and these effects are noticeable throughout the magnification range.
The presence of these effects as well as their severity depends heavily on the quality of the lenses and their applied coatings. Scope manufactures are constantly trying to improve their optics to overcome these effects.
When comparing the effects observed in the Latitude PRS with other optics in this price range, we conclude similar amount's of image distortion and CA with the other optics from different manufactures. To generalize, the Latitude PRS performs quite well for its price in terms of optical quality and there are no particular issues to report.
-TURRETS
When it come to the turrets used on the Latitude PRS, there are some quite good and some lesser aspects to them.
Let's start by talking about the general shape, features and quality.
The design of these turrets were supposedly chosen to offer users an easy and tactile experience when handling them. We found this to be true in most cases, and the relatively slim and tall design did not seem to cause us any trouble during our testing, however we can see this being a minor issue for people wishing to use this scope primarily for precision rifle matches as some of the obstacles may cause you to bump your turrets into them and consequently damage your turret or alter your settings (this is important as the turrets does not have a locking feature). The overall profile is therefore a bit more cumbersome then some of the other compact turret designs on the market. Its a minor detail, but one to consider according to your habits.
Also the overall height of the turret is due to how the zero-stop system is made.
As for the features this turret has, we have well pronounced knurling on the top of each turret for a nice and solid grip when dialing our corrections even with the use of gloves in cold and wet situations.
Both the elevation and windage turret are non locking, meaning that the turrets can be quickly turned when desired but unfortunately also when not desired, like during transport or general handling of the rifle. This feature is heavily dependent on personal preference and should therefore be well considered.
The clarity of a scopes clicks is a crucial element on a precision scope. Crisp, well-determined clicks allow the shooter not to get lost in their corrections and the Latitude definitely meets this criteria.
The clicks have a noticeable tactile and audible return when used and they function great in terms of making precise correction, there is very minimal play between each click and the turret indications line up perfectly with the reference line on the body of the scope. The elevation turret has a specific sound when turning either up or down, upon clarification with Sightmark this was indeed a conscious decision to improve positive audible return when adjusting the elevation in low light conditions.
The main downside to this particular turret design is how the markings on the windage turret are executed. This exact model is calibrated in the metric milliradians system, and here they are marked from 0 - 9 mill going around the turret cap. The issue here is that when adjusting for windage toward the right from zero, we count positively and when adjusting towards the left, we instantly end up counting in the negative. This is quite confusing especially for beginners and even confirmed shooters in stressful or time sensitive situations.
For example:
If you need to dial 1.2 mills or 12 clicks right for windage, you clearly have this value indicated.
But if you need 1.2mills/12 clicks left you will have 9.2 indicated, which is simply confusing and not clear at all.
Most scope manufactures tackle this issue but splitting turret in to halves consisting of 0 - 5 mills "LEFT" and 0 -5 "RIGHT".
This makes reading your corrections much more straight forward and no longer requires you to implicate subtractions when correcting for windage.
I have since discussed this issue with Sightmark and I hope to see this problem resolved as it will make an already good product so much better.
Zero stop system
At first glance the zero stop system seemed quite well designed and for once it was simple and easy to understand how the zero stop functions, great for beginners.
Unfortunately when we started testing, it became apparent that the system was not as well designed as expected. Let me start by saying that the system works fine and it is not a bad idea, however as it is, it needs some improving in our opinion.
The idea is that once you have zeroed your rifle and reset the turret caps to 0, you simply turn the zero stop dial until it squares up with the turret then tighten the three grub screws against the turret body to keep the zero stop ring securely in place. This will essentially block you from turning the dial further then 0. This design also does not require you to disassemble anything which is quite nice.
The problems we encountered are exclusively with the grub screw themselves.
The size is simply to small, this therefore required you to have the specific hex key provided with the scope in order to modify your zero top system. Unfortunately this key was not present in our box, and due to the incredibly small size non of the multitude of hex key I personally have acquired over the years fit this abnormally small size. This means that if you forget or loose the provided hex key, you are most likely not going to be able to modify your zero, and as it is an uncommon size others around you will probably also not have a solution for you.
Further more the tinny grub screws are made from steel and the zero stop ring is made out of aluminum. This means that overtime or in the case you overtighten (very possible as you need to tighten them well in order for the ring not to move when adjusting the turret the first 1-2 clicks) the screws, the threads are likely to strip and render this feature useless.
When inspecting the ring itself, I noticed that even with the turret bottomed out, a 1.5 mm space is available between the ring and the turret cap. I suggested Sightmark they could easily make the ring larger and implement some bigger m2-m3 grub screws. This would definitely improve this system and make it much more reliable in the long run.
The Parallax and Reticule illumination dial.
The parallax dial is graduated from 10 meters to infinity with large spacings up to 100 meters, which makes it ideal for shooting both at very short and at long distances (big advantage for hunting and 22lr shooting). The dial is very smooth and requires hardly any force to adjust it.
In my case the parallax distance indications at short range did not always perfectly line up with reality. This is not as much of a big deal as we always recommend shooters to setup your parallax by moving your head behind the scope to find the ideal setting, the number are however easy for fast approximation and could there for be more precise. (I do not know if my eyesight and diopter settings can have an influence on the precision of the indicated numbers)
The Illumination dial can be turned in two direction to obtain either a red or green illuminated dial in various brightness's. This feature is something we, long range shooters, seldom use, however it is nice to have and can be useful for hunters that may use this scope.
The function works perfectly as you would expect.
Tracking & Box Test
Finally we get to testing the scope with a tracking and box test to evaluate the accuracy and reliability of the internal mechanism
Trough observation we get a vertical total of 32.7 mills or 327 clicks which allows you to push you cartridges performance and reach those extended ranges.
For windage we have a total of 20.7 mills or 207 clicks giving you a comfortable range of adjustment for most calibers, It would have been nice to get a similar amount for the elevation to push the potential of a cartridge like the 22 lr.
During the tracking test, the Latitude performed well and was able to return to zero even after repeatedly adjusting the turrets in all directions and from end point to end point. It should come as no surprise the Latitude performed as expected as this is a crucial point. If the scope is not able to handle this test it would be a danger to use and should be thrown away immediately.
- RETICULE
The Reticule used in this Latitude is called PRS, which stand for Precision Rifle Scope and it is easy to see why.
The reticule is set up for use in long range, precision rifle and even tactical shooting.
It is in First Focal Plane meaning that the values (in this case milliradians)
stay true no matter what magnification your are on. This is important to us as it allows us to measure and make accurate corrections on our impacts for fast and easy target acquisitions and even estimate target distance if necessary.
The reticule design is nothing to crazy and keeps it rather simple and light but still offering us all the indications necessary for our use. It features up to 10 mills horizontally and 10 up and 11 down vertically for a wide range of hold overs. (Note that only 6.5 mills are available below the center of the reticle when used at maximum magnification.)
It is a Christmas three design meaning that we have increasing windage hold over indications for easy target acquisitions even during heavy winds.
Overall we like the fact that the reticule remains thin and clear of excessive indications blocking the view of our targets and overloading the shooter with unnecessary information, there are numbers for every two mills indicating the value for easy readability. The value indications in the middle are spaced 0.5 mills apart and they have 0.2 mill indications on the three outer edges for precise measuring. This keeps the reticule simple but yet a capable tool for precise measuring.
Magnification
The Latitude PRS has a magnification range from 6.25 to 25 times.
At first we found 6.25 to be oddly specific and upon confirming with sightmark, this stems from the optics DNA as an F class optic. Not much to say other then the magnification ring is easy and smooth to use, and the range of magnification well adapted for many different situations. At low magnification the reticule remains very thin and you have a large field of view for easy target acquisition, and at high magnification you get a clear and detailed view of the target even at extended ranges without the reticule being to large.
Thermal Testing
During our thermal tests we exposed the scope to a wide range of temperatures (Within the scopes stated operating temperatures). This is done to check for several effects the scope might produce and whether or not it can perform correctly in these conditions.
We know that aluminum has the highest thermal expansion coefficient and that it is ruffly twice that of steel.
Since scopes are made of a solid bloc of aluminum, and all the components are held in place via this construction, we find it important to check the scopes ability to hold its zero correctly while being exposed to various temperatures.
We test this by placing the scope either in the freezer or the oven. A thermocouple sensor is attached to the body of the scope in order to monitor the scopes temperature to ensure not exceeding the specified operating temperatures.
We started by testing the Latitudes heat resistance test.
The scope was placed in a oven at + 40°C. After letting the scope absorb the heat, we removed the scope from the oven and quickly attached it to our testing rig.
We then used the turrets to line the reticule up with our target set at 25 meters. The scope is then given the time to cool down to the ambient room temperature (in this case 19°C). If all goes well, once the scope is at 19°C we should see the reticule on the exact same spot, and this was the case for the Latitude.
It passes the test without showing any issues regarding the heat.
38.9 °C 19 °C
Now on to the freezer test.
Essentially this is the same set up and procedure as with the oven, except we expose the scope to -18°C to test its capacity to resist retraction.
This test yielded more extreme results as taking the scope out of the freezer into a 21°C ambient environment naturally results in excessive condensation as the water vapor in the warm air condenses on the cold surface of the scope.
It is important to understand that this process is completely normal and the result from this test should be evaluated with this phenomenon kept in mind.
Almost immediately after taking the scope out of the freezer and mounting it to our testing rig, excessive condensation started to appear on the surface of the scope.
Further more due to the cold body of the scope the condensation periodically froze for a couple of seconds. This made it a bit hard to zero the reticule on our target but we eventually managed to get it right on center.
In this state the scope is rendered useless as the water build up prohibits you from seeing anything through the scope (all other functions like the magnification ring and turrets still work perfectly in this state)
I do want to make it clear that even though the lenses are treated with an anti fog coating, this is an extreme and rare situation that will occur with all scopes regardless of their protective coatings and/or build quality. (this is due to the temperature delta the scope is being exposed to, you will rarely experience such a immediate temperature difference under normal use)
As a reminder this test is to see whether the scope hold its zero after retraction of the aluminum body, and not the lenses anti reflection or anti fog capabilities.
-15°C (the target is not noticible on camera) 21°C
As for the results on this test, we noticed a very slight shift in point of aim as the scope warmed up. It must be said that the shift remains well under 0.1 mills and is therefore negligible. Once again the scope proves its excellent thermal resistance.
To conclude these tests, when using this scope during the coldest of winters or the warmest of summers, POA (point of aim/ "zero") shifts due to thermal expansion/retraction should not be on your mind and you can be assured to trust your scope even in extreme conditions.
Recoil Testing
During our period of testing we mounted the Latitude to a number of different rifles and divers calibers, from a long range competition .22 Lr to a 308 Winchester and eventually a Ruger RPR chambered in 300 Winchester magnum, a cartridge known for having a decent amount of recoil.
There is not much to report on this matter, as expected before our testing, the scope was able to handle this range of cartridges with no noticeable issues. Although we were unable to test larger cartridges such as the 338 LM and 50bmg, the quality of this scope makes us believe it should have equally no problem handling these as well.
We checked the tracking abilities and overall functions before and after each test to make sure nothing failed or changed significantly during its use.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the Sightmark Latitude PRS definitely passed our tests and handled most with ease. We believe that this optic is a serious competitor in its price category and should be considered when looking for a long range precision scope.
That being said, we hope our feedback may result in the modification of those minor details as it would in our opinion create an optic that could punch well above its weight.
Hopefully this review will help you decide if the Latitude PRS is an option for you.
I would to thank the people at Sightmark for sending us this optic to review, it was truly an interesting opportunity and it allowed us to form a great opinion about the brand.
And lastly I also want to thank my teammate for assisting me during these tests and providing valid insights and returns based on his experience.
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