Shooting Times & Country Magazine
Versatile glass for affordable pest control
Mat Manning puts Professional Airgun Optic’s new Smart Spherical Structure telescopic sight to the test on his woodland rounds
The price of shooting equipment is a serious consideration for a lot of us, especially as the cost of living continues to rise. But there is good news for anyone shopping for a new telescopic sight, and that is that you don’t have to spend a fortune to get something decent.
PAO sights, distributed by The Shooting Party, strike a good balance between affordability, features and performance. While PAO actually stands for Professional Airgun Optics, scopes in the new SSS (Smart Spherical Structure) range are claimed to have sufficient shockproofing for use on rimfire and centrefire rifles.
I have been putting the 6-24x56 model through its paces over recent weeks. It comes supplied with twopiece mounts, flip-up lens covers, a removable 10cm parallax wheel and a battery to power its illuminated reticule, and retails for £229.99. That is extremely competitive for a wellmade telescopic sight that has the reassurance of a lifetime warranty.
Setting up for a backyard zeroing session, I was immediately impressed by the mounts that are included in the package. Freebies thrown in as extras aren’t always the best, but these mounts look to have been produced to a reasonably high standard and certainly did a good job of clamping the SSS to the dovetail rails of my Umarex RM8 UC.
At around 38cm from end to end, this is quite a long scope, so you need to make sure it won’t get in the way of loading — especially if you use a breakbarrel or underlever airgun. It was a very good match with my pre-charged RM8 and, weighing in at about 850g, didn’t feel too cumbersome.
Squirrel in focus
The Smart Spherical Structure from which this scope takes its name is an all-metal mechanism within the resettable windage and elevation turrets, which pull up for tool-free adjustment. Each positive click adjusts point of impact one quarter of an inch at 100 yards and I soon had it zeroed at 25 yards.
Optical quality looked good, especially considering this scope’s price. Another feature of the SSS, referred to as Thin Scope Shell Construction, is claimed to make the optic’s casing appear thinner and increase field of view. The view through the scope looked sufficiently wide to me, especially at lower magnification.
This second focal plane scope has a mil-dot reticule, so I was soon able
to work out precise hold-over and hold-under points to keep shots dead on target when shooting over ranges closer and further than my 25-yard zero. Feeling very familiar with the nuances of the new setup, now it was time to test it in the woods.
I wrote a few weeks ago about my grey squirrel control being hampered by a heavy crop of beech mast that was luring the destructive rodents away from my feeding stations. That natural food source is dwindling now, but has been replaced by an abundance of acorns. Consequently, I decided to bypass my feeders and focus on a stand of oak trees for the SSS’S inaugural field trip.
“This scope certainly proved its ability to deliver the goods in my woodland foray”
Close to the oaks where I expected to encounter squirrels is a conveniently positioned stack of logs, which serves as a handy natural hide. It doesn’t provide a great deal of cover, but still creates a sufficient backdrop to hide my outline and keep me hidden from greedy greys.
I selected 12x magnification, which I felt would provide sufficient precision for me to cleanly nail squirrels with head shots. The zoom dial turns very smoothly and is assisted by a removable throw lever, which makes for fast and positive adjustment when wearing gloves. Cranking magnification right up to 24x does slightly compromise image quality, but it could prove handy for long-range bipod work.
The highest magnification settings greatly reduce depth of field, which makes it possible to gauge range by reading off the distance on the parallax dial when the target snaps into focus — a task likely assisted by the supplied 10cm wheel. This scope focuses right down to only 10 yards, so would also be suitable for shooting rats or feral pigeons at close quarters.
I only had to wait about 20 minutes before the first squirrel revealed itself by setting a branch bouncing as it clambered to the very tip of a thin limb to get to the ripest acorns. Dense summer foliage can create a surprising amount of shade and, although the light transmission provided by the PAO’S 56mm objective lens and 30mm tube enabled me to get a clear view of the squirrel, I initially struggled to distinguish the black reticule in the gloomy conditions.
Lightbulb moment
It is at times like this that an illuminated reticule can prove very useful. The dial on top of the SSS’S ocular bell turns to light up the crosshair in five levels of intensity in either red or green. Two clockwise clicks provided sufficient glow for me to clearly locate my aiming point and settle it in the squirrel’s head as it crouched over to nibble at a freshly plucked acorn. The pellet found its mark and the new PAO passed its first real test with flying colours.
A very frustrating hour followed, during which I spotted at least two different squirrels clambering about within range, but failed to get a steady bead on them as they refused to
venture out from behind shielding twigs and leaves. Persistence eventually paid off and I finally managed to add another squirrel to the tally, just as I was about to give up. It was another clean head shot, assisted by the clear viewing and precise shot placement provided by the SSS.
The weather was kind during my afternoon in the woods, but the waterproof SSS is nitrogen-purged to prevent water ingress, so it shouldn’t fog-up if it’s wet. It certainly proved its ability to deliver the goods during my woodland foray. I think it would be a very good choice for anyone who has around £200 to spend on a telescopic sight and does not want to skimp on its impressive features.