The Sightmark Pinnacle

OB1-0315-9-ALT-250

An Optimized Glass For Today’s Tactical Rifles.

We black rifle aficionados were once a fairly disenfranchised mob. Nowadays, however, Americans ranging from teenagers to grandparents enjoy shooting AR-15’s all across our great republic. The gear to support such stuff is big business and the inevitable cross-pollination with the military drives the evolving state of the art to ever more rarefied strata.

There is certainly a place in this world for inexpensive stuff sold in blister packs at Walmart. I own a fair amount myself. However, there is also a niche for high-end mechanical art that embodies state of the art precision and borders upon optical perfection. Such is what we shall discuss today.

Calibers .223 and .308 feed the weapons of most tactical shooters in America. The mil-pedigree of these two cartridges means they will drive most of the iron encountered on shooting ranges today. However, in response to the exploding market for legal sound suppressors comes the .300 AAC or .300 Blackout. This unique 7.62x35mm cartridge utilizes a .30-caliber projectile mounted atop a modified .223 cartridge case. The liberal helping of awesome this brings to the table is that .300 AAC rounds can be readily had in both supersonic and subsonic loadings. When stoked with subsonic .300 AAC a suppressed AR rifle enjoys the many splendored benefits of a large caliber weapon adequate to take hogs, antelope, or deer while rendering conventional earplugs obsolete. If you haven’t already, run a magazine of subsonic .300 AAC ammo through somebody’s sound-suppressed rifle. It will change your life.

The rub is simply that while governments come and go, the dicta of physics remain immutable law. When you change velocity for a given bullet weight and profile the resulting trajectory changes predictably as well. For the dedicated shooter who is serious about his craft, Sightmark produces two pieces of combat glass perfectly optimized for these particular cartridges.

The Sightmark Pinnacle scopes are optimized tactical optics for
serious shooters. Packed with features and offering flawless
precision, the Pinnacle scopes are precision sighting tools.

Throw levers on the Sightmark CJRK 1-piece mount are long and handy.
AR rifles will need an extended charging handle latch for adequate clearance,
or the mount’s levers can be repositioned to work from the front.

The Sightmark Pinnacle TMD model scope is designed for today’s quality
black rifles. Interchangeable elevation turrets allow the scope to be
optimized for .223 or .308 platforms.

Efficiency And Compromise

Typically, compromise is like kissing your sister. The theory is sound but there is little satisfaction in the execution. In the case of combat optics, the challenge is divining some way to run the rifle up close as well as far away without cluttering up your rails unduly.

Pivoting magnifiers snap in place easily enough but they typically offer a fixed magnification and add yet another instrument to your rifle’s precious real estate with its commensurate weight and mechanical liability. In the case of the Sightmark Pinnacle, the goal is clearly to be all things for all operators nestled snugly within the same 24mm tube. After a little time spent turning ammunition into noise it turns out they did a simply splendid job.

The Sightmark Pinnacle incorporates a first focal plane reticle and a battery-powered illuminated aiming point user-selectable in both red and green. A first focal plane reticle simply means the stadia lines move along with the power adjustments. Therefore rangefinding and holdovers are true at any setting. The Pinnacle is adjustable from 1X to 6X by turning the knurled adjustment knob. Turrets can be had capped or open.

As with all first focal plane scopes, when the power adjustment is turned down to 1X the reticle all but disappears. At that point fire up the illuminated aiming point and you have a both-eyes-open tactical solution maximized for those times when you are close enough to smell what the threat had for dinner.

Roll the power knob up for distance work and the reticle springs to life. The onboard Bullet Drop Compensator (BDC) on both Sightmark Pinnacle models is meticulously calibrated for their specific loadings. The TMD version sports a reticle calibrated in mils and comes with two interchangeable elevation turrets. These turrets compensate for bullet drop for either .223 or .308 loads dependent upon the platform. Gross range estimation via the TMD reticle is based upon typical head size. With the appropriate turret the Pinnacle TMD can be swapped seamlessly between .308 and .223 rifles.

The AAC variant compensates for subsonic vs. supersonic .300 AAC loadings at a glance using nothing more than the etched reticle in the sight.
Holdover is determined based upon typical shoulder width, the aforementioned mantra of physics mandating bullet strikes for these two loads be markedly different at different ranges. Place the stadia lines on the left of the array across the shoulders of a target to range subsonic loads. Lines on the right side of the reticle accomplish the same end with supersonic rounds. Using nothing more than the reticle lines a skilled shooter can range either load with remarkable accuracy all the way out to 800 yards.

Sightmark scopes (above) maximize the effectiveness of these tactical rifles. Whether you
run .223, .308, or .300 AAC, the Sightmark Pinnacle line of premium rifle scopes can help
deliver precision fire from across the room all the way out to the maximum effective range
of the round. The Sightmark Pinnacle AAC (below) is designed around the revolutionary .300
AAC cartridge. Using nothing more than the reticle in the scope, an experienced shooter can
compensate for bullet drop for both supersonic and subsonic loads out to 800 meters.

The revolutionary .300 AAC cartridge maximizes the effectiveness of the suppressed AR platform.
Sufficient to take big game like deer and pigs, yet available in subsonic loadings, the .300
AAC mates beautifully to the Sightmark Pinnacle AAC tactical optic. Both subsonic and supersonic
.300 AAC rounds are comparably reliable in an AR rifle. The reticle on the Sightmark Pinnacle
AAC tactical optic facilitates instant bullet drop compensation between these two loads.

Unmatched Versatility

Up close with the aiming point illuminated and the scope screwed down to 1X makes for a both-eyes-open CQB solution to equal any dedicated close range optic. Addressing targets at longer ranges is as simple as turning the power adjustment knob. The actual minutiae of ballistics are unique based upon load and barrel length and it takes practice to match the particulars of an individual rifle and load to a scope. However, so long as you master your craft, the Sightmark Pinnacle will lob those big honking .30-caliber slugs right where you want them all the way out to the ballistic limits of the round using nothing more than the reticle for drop compensation.

Swapping the TMD version between .223 and .308 platforms showed the dedicated elevation turrets to be similarly effective for these two rounds. The TMD allows a single optic to be swapped between different rifles in either caliber, re-zeroed and then shot accurately to any reasonable range. Practical results are obviously a function of ammunition, barrel length, shooter skill and a half dozen other factors, but the Sightmark TMD Pinnacle is a precision instrument designed around these two popular military cartridges.

The Sightmark Pinnacle is an expensive piece of glass. However, its optical clarity approaches perfection and the mechanical aspects are simply superb. Workmanship is top flight throughout and the design is robust enough for hard use. The throw-lever mount allows the scope to be removed without losing zero. While the long levers on the mount make for easy manipulation they do stick out far enough to interfere a bit with the charging handle on an AR. Add an extended charging handle latch and you have plenty of clearance.

The reticle on the Sightmark Pinnacle AAC (above) allows instant bullet drop compensation
for both subsonic and supersonic .300 AAC loads. Stadia lines on the right side of the
reticle correlate with supersonic 125-grain loads while the lines on the left correlate
with subsonic 220-grain rounds. Orient the lines across a typical set of shoulders and
you instantly have the appropriate holdover. The illuminated reticle on the Sightmark
Pinnacle AAC optic is an easy-to-pick-up chevron. Illumination is user-selectable
between red or green at several different brightness settings.

The reticle on the Sightmark Pinnacle TMD allows manual range finding based upon
typical head size. Exchanging the external elevation turrets calibrates the scope
for .223 or .308 rifles. For up close work or shooting in low light conditions the
Sightmark Pinnacle TMD reticle is manually illuminated in either green or red.

The Sightmark Pinnacle is a refined tool for professionals. The illuminated aiming point draws the eye and is lightning fast for indoor operations. Additionally, the accomplished marksman can accurately estimate range, compensate for the ballistic personality of the individual round and accomplish the appropriate holdover to achieve first shot hits with these four specific loadings as far out as they might reasonably shoot.

My own gun collection is liberally smattered with cheap rifle scopes. A couple are impressive, most do OK and a few simply fell to pieces with their first hard use. If you are serious enough about your craft to spring for the good stuff, then the Pinnacle from Sightmark really is a Cadillac solution. The clarity is stunning, the illuminated reticle draws the eye for CQB applications, and the dedicated Bullet Drop Compensators fit the unique eccentricities of these four cartridges like your favorite pair of broken-in boxer shorts.

Perfection is expensive but some of us find ourselves dissatisfied with anything less. The Pinnacle from Sightmark is tailor-made for black rifle guys in that category.
By Will Dabbs, MD
Photos By Sarah Dabbs