SIG Sauer Tango6T 1-6X24
Helping Uncle Sam can the Taliban
Back when I wore the uniform, our weapons were the end result of laborious and protracted selection processes. You couldn’t rig a top-mounted sling on your rifle without a staff study, a detailed engineering review and a note signed by the President. My, what a difference two decades of war has made.
The matte black civilian version of the Tango6T mounted atop Will’s SIG SAUER MCX Virtus
rifle is what stands between his family and the zombies. There is no higher endorsement.
New War
We entered Afghanistan armed with Cold War gear shaped by our experiences in Vietnam. The maximum effective range for the M4 Carbine is listed as 500 meters, and I think this distance might be a bit optimistic. Once we started swapping lead with the Taliban between terrain features, it became apparent American grunts needed something with a bit more reach.
Army procurement is much more agile these days and has a much deeper commercial pot from which to draw. The new Squad Designated Marksman Rifle (SDM-R) hits the streets in May of 2020. A tricked-out 7.62x51mm HK G28 with all the bells and whistles, the SDM-R substantially increases the reach of the American Infantry squad while reliably punching through body armor that could stop legacy weapons. One of the greatest enhancements over previous rifles is the SDM-R’s dedicated optic. A militarized version of SIG SAUER’s Tango6, this is some seriously butt-kicking glass.
The scope includes the Alpha4 Ultralight Mount cut from a single piece of 7075 aluminum
for mounting the glass on your favorite Picatinny rail.
The Tango6T 1-6x24
The new SDM-R is a system comprising a host weapon, an optical sight and a bevy of cool-guy accessories combining synergistically to become more than the sum of the individual parts. The SIG SAUER Tango6T optic is the brains of the monster. This scope reflects the current state of the art in close to mid-range tactical glass.
The Tango6T is a 1-6X variable power riflescope featuring a Second Focal Plane (SFP) reticle. This means the size of the reticle does not change with power adjustments. While this can make for a lot of extraneous math if you are trying to ring steel at a kilometer, it works perfectly for the SDM-R application.
The tube is aircraft-grade aluminum anodized in Flat Dark Earth. The Power Selector Ring includes a throw lever for quick adjustments and an ultra-bright Hellfire battery-powered illumination system makes the SDM-R a room-clearing hotrod at bad breath ranges. The illumination dial on the left side of the scope locks in place and offers scads of brightness settings as well as NVG compatibility. There is an “Off” position between each increment, so the scope is easy to operate even in a rush.
A built-in bullet drop compensation reticle helps with holdover estimates on the fly. The SFP design means the holdover stadia are true only at the highest magnification but this is obviously the setting you would be using to shoot at distance anyway. Thanks to the generous throw lever, it’s easy to make power changes without breaking your concentration through the optic. The scope is fog-proof and can live underwater at 20 meters indefinitely.
The optics package also includes an Alpha4 Ultralight Mount optimized for strength and modest weight. This mount is cut from a single piece of 7075 aluminum and attaches directly to a MIL-STD-1913 (“Picatinny”) rail. The scope body has the niftiest laser etched line on its left aspect to automatically true the scope to the mount, eliminating cant. Every scope maker in the industry should do this.
The SIG SAUER Tango6T is designed to be infantry-proof and user-friendly. The controls
are easy to use with a generous throw lever making power changes easy.
Shown in military Flat Dark Earth finish, the SIG SAUER Tango6T 1-6x24 riflescope
has been chosen as the optic for the new Army Squad Designated Marksman Rifle.
How Does She Run?
SIG’s HDX glass sets the industry standard for optical quality and light transmission, and it shows. You can heft a scope off a table at a gun show and tell with a glance whether the glass is the good stuff or some cheap knockoff. The Tango6T sucks up light like a chimp on a donut.
T120 adjustment turrets are protected with aluminum caps and can be readily manipulated without tools. Clicks are easy to feel and everything is big enough to run in gloves should the need arise. The eyepiece includes a fast focus adjustment so you can dial the optic in to your particular eye geometry.
I mounted the Tango6 atop my trusty SIG MCX Virtus rifle. Amidst a veritable sea of cool black iron in the personal collection, this is the gun sitting next to the door patiently waiting for the zombies to arrive. I can think of no higher accolade.
At 1X with the aiming dot activated, the rig is the equal of any red dot-equipped room-clearing carbine. I can instantly spin the power adjustment knob up to 6X and drop rounds out to the effective limits of the cartridge. Starting in May of 2020 American grunts are going to become a lot pricklier. In classic SIG fashion the very same optic is also available to American civilian shooters directly via their website. I do so love those guys!
