DarkLordOfOptics
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Guns, Optics, 2nd Amendment and resisting the Left in everything they touch.
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March scope sale is almost over

Since I started this website, I have been a lot less diligent about answering various private message on SnipersHide and other forums, but I try to get to everything when I can. It just does not happen as quickly as it used to. Of all my online activities, this community is, by far, my first priority. I did field a few questions on the subject via PMs and one of the gentlemen who asked me those questions just joined this community. That reminded me that I should say a couple of words about March's ongoing 15% off sale being almost over.

As a general observation, a company-wide sale like that is fairly unusual for March. They probably have the least markup of all high end brands, so 15% is a lot for them. Also, given that these are not inexpensive, 15% adds up to a lot of money. For example, if you are into ELR, March Genesis 6-60x56 with FML-3 reticle is now $5350 instead of the regular $6200: https://bit.ly/37hWnSl

I have a lot of mileage with March scopes and quite a few of them do end up among my recommendations If you are in the market for one of these, now is probably the time. I currently have the following on-hand in my house that I use: 2x 5-42x56, 4.5-28x52, 3-24x52, 1-8x24 Shorty, 1-10x24 Shorty.

They all have their place and their application, but March marches (pun intended) to the beat of their own drum, so some of these are bit unusual. I have talked about them in the past, so I will not bore you with complete re-hashing of that. I will mention two scopes though: 5-42x56 and 1-10x24 Shorty.

Both, to me, stand out, albeit in different ways.

The 5-42x56 is basically the scope to get if you are looking for lots of magnification and a superb center field performance on 40x in a package that's on the small and light side of average. That's why I have two of these, one with FML-TR1 reticle and another with FML-3 reticle. One of these is slated to live on my ELR-ish rimfire. The other one is going to end up on a more conventional long range precision rifle. For pure steel shooting, I probably prefer Tangent, but that is more expensive and much larger. For things that combine steel and paper shooting, it is very hard to vote against the 5-42x56 March and at under $3600, it is actually a good deal https://bit.ly/3oOwspn

You are essentially getting a March for the same money you would spend on the 7-35 ATACR. Nightforce is a good scope, but it is not March.

On the other end of the size spectrum is the March 1-10x24 Shorty with DR-TR1 reticle: https://bit.ly/3t2ojlv

That's the tree reticle version of the dual focal plane scope and I have no spent a few months with it. That scope really grows on you and if you are looking for a compact general purpose scope, I believe this to be the best one currently available. While there are other strong contenders, side-focus really sets this one apart. It worked fine with the original reticle, but the new tree reticle really sets it apart.

There are other good options in the March product line. I have reasonable familiarity with most of them, so if you have any specific questions about them, ask. The 15% off end this weekend. Here is a list of all March scopes on Europtic: https://bit.ly/3pYbIy0

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Vortex Defender XL Green

This is the second time Vortex' Defender XL crosses my path. I was very impressed with the original red dot version, so I was curious to see how the one with the green dot works for my eyes.
To get the details, see the attached video.
The cliff's notes version is that I am just as impressed with this one. In terms of collimation quality and parallax control, it is quite exceptional.
https://alnk.to/881BEV1

00:10:20
Primary Arms HTX-1 US Made red dot sight

I've had this RDS for a bit over two months now and I am beyond pleased with it.
Despite some spirited abuse, it keeps soldiering on.
https://alnk.to/1C9z5dw
It is a very nice RDS and being fully made in the US does not hurt either.

00:13:03
Delta Stryker 3.5-21x44 Wrap-up

This scope comes up a lot since I really like the configuration. It is time to do a final wrap-up of it.

It is one of my favourite scopes on the market today, especially for the money, since I naturally lean toward general purpose-ish designs. Still, while the 3.5-21x44 Stryker is relatively compact and light, it still clearly leans toward the precision side of things, which suites me very well.

https://annexdefense.com/optics-and-optic-accessories/delta-optics/

00:10:25
Labor Day is upon us...

As we head into Labor Day, we will all be bombarded with a huge number of emails indicating impending discounts of all sorts.
I am not even going to pretend that I have the bandwidth to go through it all, but if I see something worthwhile, I'll post it here. This will remained pinned to the top of the feed for a week or so.

The first nice deal that crossed my path here is steep discount on the original version of the FFP PLxC LPVO from Primary Arms. https://alnk.to/5Q7R6eK
Now that the new version with nuclear bright illumination came out, it looks they are closing out the original. It is a lot of LPVO for $1100 and the version with the Meters reticle is my favourite. You can easily make it work for imperial units.

Tract has the TORIC100 coupon code that gets you $100 off any Tract Toric optic. https://tractoptics.com/toric-uhd-30mm-2-5-15x44-ffp-illuminated-mrad-eagleman-long-range-hunting-rifle-scope?ref=ILYAKOSHKIN
The coupon codes are stackable, so if you also use my DLO discount code...

I was a bit confused at the beginning but this is a new Model looking at the turret compare to old LH2-10x40,
Any news on this ?
https://www.amazon.com/Vortex-Optics-Razor-Second-Riflescopes/dp/B0FBMNTW52?th=1

Updates, deals and new review items: PLxC RDB, Zeiss Tripod, etc

As the week is coming to an end, I find myself in an unusual place: home.

I plan to be home between now and September 1st when I have to go to Israel for ten days, returning on the 11th (dayjob stuff).

For the last couple of months, between family vacations, work and a couple of matches, it seems like I only spent enough time at home to check zero on my 6.5CM Fix and head out again (it has not shifted, thank you Area 419 mount).

I have a lot to do during the next two weeks, but I will try to take some pictures, film some footage and release it as I go along. I can edit videos on the plane or in Israel just about as well as I can at home.

While generally, I am very picky about what I accept for review (given my bandwidth limitations), I do have a few new things here worth talking about.

One is Primary Arms new PLxC RDB 1-8x24 LPVO. It is essentially a version of the original FFP PLxC LPVO except with different reticle illumination technology. The new model utilizes diffractive reticle illumination (same style ...

Well, that was a doozy...

My original plan was to try to set up a hunt where my daughter will have her first memorable hunting experience without working too hard.

The choice of the pronghorn hunt was largely based off of my experience in that same area last year.

The way it went last year was quite straightforward.  We drove around until we saw a large pronghorn buck.  It was a solitary animal that decided to lie down in an open area to relax.  We made a short stock, crawled the last hundred yards or so, found a good spot about 350 yards away from the pronghorn and made the shot.

https://darklordofoptics.locals.com/post/6034347/well-that-was-a-nice-morning

This year, when I decided to take my daugher on the same pronghorn hunt on the day of her 14th birthday, I figured it will be somewhere along those same lines.  It kinda was, but not quite.

Still, it worked out nicely.

In the pciture:

Q Mini-Fix with 6ARC 16" Proof Research carbon fiber barrel

Q Jumbo Shrimp supressor

Gunwerks Elevate 2.0 bipod

Telson Toxin 3-18x50 riflescope

Leica Geovid Pro AB+ LRF binoculars

Pint-sized sticky Gamechanger bag

Unnamed pronghorn buck.  It will likely get a name once it's skull is euro-ed and is hanging on the wall.

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Arming The Children
A couple of very specific children that is

In case you were wondering, no, I am not starting an underage militia.

I do have two kids though and I am teaching them to shoot.

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Steiner C35 Gen2 Mount
from Annex Defense

The production version of the Annex Defense's mount for the Steiner C35 Gen2 thermal Clip-on is finally here.  At $1600 (when this is published), the clip-on is an absolute steal.

I've had it for a few days, but, me being the good old paranoid me, I spent some time shooting with it before posting anything.  I had a couple of days with it prior to last weekend's match in Montana and a couple of days after.  Another to pop it on and off a few times and get a couple of hundred rounds of 6.5Grendel through the gun to see if anything shakes loose.  So far so good.

The C35 Gen2 clip-on is sitting on my 6.5Grendel AR as a part of a long running "Only One" project that I have.  It pairs perfectly with the Steiner H6Xi 2-12x42 scope.

Here is what comes in the box from Annex Defense:

The order in which the whole thing comes togethe is pretty stragihtforward:

-slide the thermal washer onto the threaded interface extending out of the back of the clip-on

-spin the mount itself onto the threaded interface (the mount is threaded on the inside) until it can go no further

-rotate the mount so that the clip-on is properly lined up to the picatinny clamp

-once you are happy with the alignment, use the three nylon tipped set screws (you'll need an allen wrench for that) to lock in the position of the clip-on in the mount.  You need very little torque on the set screws.  They are there for one reason and one reason only: to keep the mount from spinning when you tighten the timing nut in the next step

-spin the timing nut onto the threaded interface of the clip-on to lock the mount in place.  You should not need the timing nut wrench, but one is in there just in case.

Here are the pieces laid out in the order in which you will need them.

When you are done, it should look like this:

Note that the mount normaly comes with two T20 screws.  I am using two thumbscrews instead, since I am popping the mount on and off all the time.  It seems to be staying put with the thumbscrews just fine.  I am hoping Annex will offer the thumbscrews as an option.

It is not quite an equivalent of a QD mount, but we needed something with an extremely low profile clamp to fit under scopes with fairly large objectives.  As is, the mount works with most scope that have objective lens diameter of 50mm or less.

I am using with with Steiner H6Xi 2-12x42 and the two work together exceedingly well.

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