Sightmark Wraith 4K mini

[TexasPatriot.308]

I'm thinking of getting one of these to mount on a Springfield Armory M1A. I already have a Bassett Machine M1A mount on it but recently took the scope off. the recoil of the M14 is nil and I think it would work....what say you experts out there. I scoped my M1A after 15 years and didnt like it, but with an easy detachable scope like this, I can return to my favorite iron Match Sights. I am overrun with feral hogs on several pastures, so many hogs so little time.....and do I really need the monocular? how much night vision does this allow at 100 yards....thanks for input, helpful or scarcastic for a laugh.

 

[I6turbo]

The recent article/review in American Rifleman made me start thinking about this optic as well. https://www.americanrifleman.org/content/review-sightmark-wraith-4k-mini-4-32x/

I'd love to be able to use one for an hour or two to see what I thought of it, but the article makes it sound pretty interesting.

I have a good friend who has a thermal device (I don't recall the brand, haven't looked through it myself), for armadillos that were destroying his yard at night. From his description, that device is useful as a tool to allow you to put rounds into the animal and take him down, it's a pretty crude image and there's a lot of room from improvement, but it can get the job done. From the article, the Sightmark unit sounds a lot better. I expect there are other real-world reviews online, but I haven't looked.

 

[BigBL87]

I owned the older "HD" version, but most of what I say will be pertinent.

If you want it to work to it's potential, you HAVE to get an aftermarket illuminator. I went with one from Sniper Hog Lights and I could see well out to 400 yards or so. I ended up selling it because I wasn't going to end up doing enough night hunting to justify it, but I had fun messing around with it.

Battery life will be something you have to figure out. Alot of guys who use them end up mounting an external battery pack. They really do devour battery.

I also got a NV monocular (honestly, it's more like a camcorder). I got one with a picstinny rail on it and mounted an aftermarket illuminator on that as well. I'd say I could get solidly to 300 yards with that. That one I still have, it can be kinda fun to just scan the horizon with at night.

If money is no object, a thermal monocular is an awesome upgrade. I couldn't justify the expense, though. Darn kids, haha.

 

[Roverguy]

^^^^^ Similar to Big, I have a full size Wraith. It is fantastic for the money. The mini looks great and if the performance is similar, the size and weight savings will be a Godsend. Out to 120 yards, the existing Illuminati works well. If you want to get our past 150 yards, definitely want an additional Illuminator.

Be aware that the windage and elevation adjustments are much narraower on the NV scope than on a conventional scope. You may want to invest in a set of variable MOA rings as well.

Mine has been a treat on hogs!

 

[Double Naught Spy]

and do I really need the monocular?.

Unless you are sitting in a blind and have a sendero shooting lane to your feeder, you 'need' a monocular, IMHO.

Let me put it this way. Do you want to be swinging your Springfield M1A around left and right all night long every time you need to see in the dark? Some people do it, but nobody likes it. Also, from a technical standpoint, scanning for targets when you don't know any are there is sort of dangerous with a rifle as it forces you to point your rifle at a LOT of targets you don't intend to destroy and you will be doing that a lot in order to find targets if you are not camped on a feeder. So, YES, you need a scanner/monocular, either NV or Thermal. I did a lot of hunting with digital NV and a small thermal monocular. It wasn't a great monocular but I could see enough I had a pretty good idea what I was going to see when I raised the digital rifle scope to my eye.