THERegina Armory has been present on the market for three generations, combining the passion for bicycles - they were in fact the founders of the "Officine Veglia" bicycle factory - that for firearms, starting at the end of World War I a small production of over-under and handcrafted shotguns. The first generational change gave new direction to the family business, opening to the marketing of finished products for hunting and fishing. After a while the "shop" became the reference point for the whole province. The success paved the way for the expansion phase, with the purchase of a large shop right near Conegliano, which they wanted to name after their mother "Regina", who still today represents a point of reference for all hunters in the area.
Hunting, reloading, fishing, archery, pistol, skeet shooting and, lastly, precision shooting at medium and long distances, make theRegina Armory not only a physical center for purchasing products of excellence, but also a place to ask for advice and get technical advice and assistance on products. Furthermore, since January 2015, they have broken down geographical boundaries by activating a sales service on line, on all products for recharging, with visibility of immediate availability and delivery in 24 hours.
Among the many products distributed byRegina Armory, we asked to try the SPERBER-50 / E German-made, highly adaptable pocket thermal viewer, designed to be used both by hand and mounted on the rifle.
We have tested it in both modes and, the low weight of 700 gr., Makes it versatile and manageable in both modes of use. The package has a very elegant appearance, the viewer and all the accessories necessary for its operation are well protected inside.
Holding it, as a first impression, you have a reassuring perception of solidity and robustness; in fact, it is a product whose structure is made of highly resistant aluminum, with an essential and compact design. The push-button panel that allows navigation between the various functions is placed in an easily accessible position. Perhaps a small improvement could be to make the on / off button a little more separate from the rest of the buttons but, with a little practice, you can easily make adjustments without taking your eye off the lens.
The assembly on the rifle is simple, using the Picatinny mounts supplied by the company and the calibration procedure did not require any particular complexity. The instruction manual is quite clear and allows for easy adjustment. To calibrate the instrument, we adopted an unusual "creative technique" to immediately test the thermal function: we filled a balloon with hot water, and placed it in the center of the target 100 meters away. Even on a hot summer day, therefore in less than optimal thermal conditions, the shape of the balloon immediately became evident, allowing us to easily calibrate the instrument.
Of course, during the exploratory tests carried out "in the field", we never finalized the tests with a slaughter, but this did not prevent us from appreciating the sharpness of the images with the illuminated silhouettes of the framed animals. During our nocturnal wandering, at a distance of about 200 meters (193 meters measured with a rangefinder), we clearly saw a herd of wild boars parading along a field and we managed to count 7, two adults and 5 young. It was also a surprise to see how, even in the thick of the bush, the heat accumulated during the day by plants and the earth is very important and is intensely released during the night. Trunks, foliage and of course stones emanate a strong heat that is well perceived and detected by the instrument even if with a decidedly more subdued intensity than the body of the living animal. From a technical point of view, the SPERBER-50 / E thermal viewer has a weight of 700 gr. and is equipped with a VOx sensor with a pitch 17µm combined with 1024 × 768 pixel OLED display that allow excellent sharpness of images in real time. The spotting scope has a frame rate of 50H with a resolution of 384 × 288 pixels and a lens of the size of 50mm. Magnifications vary with a 2x - 4x zoom and the field of view is between 6,2 ° x 4,6 °. The optical zoom is 3.2x. You can select between two display modes, warm black or warm white.
The kit supplied by the company includes 4 rechargeable batteries, which last approximately 3,5 hours, (alternatively it can be connected to an external power source), a cable to connect to a video output of a device external, offering the possibility of transmitting images in real time via cable. A particular and technically performing product, especially useful for activities in which you want to identify and recognize the target with certainty. The retail price is € 4350, a medium-high price, but adequate for the services it offers, certainly an important tool for carrying out controlled censuses or killing, where permitted by law.