DarkLordOfOptics
Politics • Science & Tech • Sports
Guns, Optics, 2nd Amendment and resisting the Left in everything they touch.
Interested? Want to learn more about the community?

Learn more first
Black Friday and other deals

It looks like we are officially in the midst of the discount season. While pointing out deals is not something I do a huge amount of. Getting some affiliate commission is nice and all, but that is not what this community is about. Still, if there are deals to be had this is the month, so I will keep this post pinned to the top of the news feed and add things to it as things pop up. Check it occasionally if you are looking for anything.

If you run into any particularly good deals, please post them for others in the comments under this post. If it happens to be from the website I have an affiliate account with, I might add my own link to that as well.

Primary Arms Black Friday Sale is... extensive: https://bit.ly/3gxfpJy

OpticsPlanet, naturally, has theirs: https://shrsl.com/3tb0n Also, BFCM12 gets you 12% off and they roll out some new discount every day.

1791 Gunleather has 15% off the entire website (use BF15 at checkout). They are sort of an interesting company. I've chatted with the owner a couple of times and he seems to know what he is doing. I originally stumbled on these when I was doing an article on handgun holsters that are designed with red dots in mind. That's when I found their ultra custom design that has some sort of a thermo pliable material sandwiched between leather layers. It feels like leather and carries like leather, but has the retention of a kydex holster. Essentially, you dump it into hot water (I use my sous vide for that) for a bit and then mold it to your gun. It is my preferred OWB holster at this stage https://bit.ly/3gCZ2Lr

Fix-It-Sticks has a few items on sale for the holidays. There may be additional discounts on Black Friday, but I do not have any insight into that. I have two kits from them that I use all the time and they have replaced almost all other tools I routinely use when working on firearms. The kit that lives in my shooting bag is this one: https://bit.ly/3UZXAlk The kit on my bench is the somewhat larger version of The Works one they have: https://bit.ly/3TYh1cX

SWFA Black Friday deals are up on their website. If you are looking for something with serious long track record of durability on a budget, their SS scopes are pretty much the way to go. It does not hurt that they are made in Japan: https://www.swfa.com/blackfriday2022

Shield has a crazy deal on the SMS2 with glass lens and 4MOA dot. Of all the different red dot sights out there, I have more red dots from Shield than anyone else. If you are looking for a low profile red dot sight for a handgun or as an offset for a rifle, this is pretty much as low profile as you can get without drastically decreasing window size. Until 11/24, they have it for a hair under $200: https://bit.ly/3G60Bfa

Cameras: if I were getting into an interchangeable lens system from scratch, I would absolutely go for the Fuji X-mount. They introduced a couple of new cameras, so some of the very capable stuff that has been around for a couple of years is getting slowly phased out. Fuji X-T4 with 16-80mm lens ( https://adorama.rfvk.net/e49e4Q ) is an excellent allround choice for both phot and video. Eventually, you can add a fast portrait prime to it and be done for a while. A year or two down the line, ad a long telephoto for taking moon pictures.

If you are in the market for a thermal that looks like a conventional scope for ease of mounting on bolt guns, Eurooptic has the XG50 (640x512 core with 50mm lens) marked down to $3400. https://bit.ly/3U1p5tu This one has 12um pixel, i.e. VOx core. Image quality is quite good and mounting height on bolt guns is easily compatible with most normal stocks.

Eurooptic is closing out Steiner P4Xi 1-4x24 scopes with G1 reticle for $549. https://bit.ly/3DTIshY I really like this scope and highly recommend it. It is assembled in the US. While the magnification range is only 1-4x, the optical quality is very good and it is one of the faster LPVOs on 1x out there. I think at the regular price it was a little overpriced. You could get the Japanese Delta Stryker for a little less than that, but at under $600, it is really between the P4Xi and PST Gen2 if you want something to get you speed on low power.

Also on Eurooptic website, until the end of the year (or supplies last), Leica Amplus 2.5-15x50 and 2.5-15x56 scopes are $500 off. These are good low light scopes, especially the 56mm one: https://bit.ly/3UThQVn

The first one that popped up in my e-mail is Brownells MPO 1-8x24 with mount. They have a flash sale of some sort where it goes for $759.
The scope is a little heavier than I like at almost 25 ounces, but it is robust and very nicely optimized both optically and mechanically. The mount looks a little bit like Warne, but I really do not know who makes it for Brownells. It is made in the US and it works quite nicely. I have one and like it so far. For under eight bills you get a Japanese SFP LPVO and US-made mount.
https://bit.ly/3UiJRpw
Under normal circumstances, I somewhat prefer Tract's 1-8x24 SFP LPVO that is lighter, but for the moment, the MPO with mount is more than $200 less than the Tract.

Primary Arms has a site-wide 12% OFF for the moment with SAVE12 code.
https://bit.ly/3UAbf24
If you would prefer a FFP LPVO in somewhat comparable price range, Primary Arms recently dropped the price on their GLx 1-6x24 to $600. I do not know if that drop is permanent, but it is a nice scope, so keep an eye on that one. I am sure they will have some sort of a discount code as we get closer to Black Friday. https://bit.ly/3WEExyc
The catch here is that I am not a huge fan of PA's GLx mount. It looks interesting with the skeletonization, but it can cause problems. I do not mind it too much with LPVOs, but I would not use it with a scope I plan to use for dialing. Now, their PLx mount is really excellent, so I always check to see if they have any open box ones https://bit.ly/3td83gM
All that having been said, if I were spending my own money, I would rather pick up one of the blemished 1-6x24 GLx scopes they have for $150 less: https://bit.ly/3UhrP6M Everything I use ends up scratched up anyway, so cosmetic defects are irrelevant to me. Optomechanically, these are perfectly fine which is all I care about.

Deals on Burris thermal optics are still ongoing at Eurooptics: https://bit.ly/3FReuxR
Also at Eurooptics, you can still get Vortex PST Gen2 3-15x44 for under $600: https://bit.ly/3DLnuC3
I think that is a closeout not a Black Friday thing, but a really excellent price on this scope.

Lone Wolf started their Black Friday deals already. It looks like they will be rotating through different products on a weekly basis and whatever they have on sale is on this page: https://bit.ly/3Wy9vb8
I have several Glock-type builds made exclusively out of Lone Wolf parts and I have to admit I am really happy with them.

Forloh has a Cyber Sale going on: https://bit.ly/3TRBm3s. My hunting clothing is sort of a weird assortment of different pieces from nearly every high quality maker. On balance, I think I like Forloh the most with Kuiu a close second. Had I discovered Forloh a little earlier, I would likely have most of my hunting clothing in their Exposed camo pattern. It is not the prettiest pattern, but it is seems exceedingly effective out where I am. Their Solair stuff for warm weather is excellent. For colder weather hunting, I am making very good use of their Deep Space baselayer: https://bit.ly/3DI5Kr6 It is remarkably good in controlling moisture.

More to come.

Interested? Want to learn more about the community?

Learn more first
What else you may like…
Videos
Posts
Articles
Blast From The Past: Millett ZoomDot RDS

I dug this thing up purely by accident. It has been a long time since I used it for anything, but I am thinking I should, especially as I work on a magnifier video.

MIllet's ZoomDot was a unique red dot sight that had auto brightness and variable dot size from 1MOA to 10MOA.

Early ones, like mine, were made in the US. Millett had some aspirations of selling these to the US military.

I do not think they got very far, then the company was bought by Bushnell and essentially shut down after a little bit. At some point, the manufacturing for the ZoomDot moved to China and it was not really the same.

00:05:44
Scout Scopes: Burris 2.75x20

Scout scopes are almost like a forgotten art form these days. There is an occasional discussion either on how they are the greatest thing since sliced bread because 1) THE colonel said so 2) if you do not think they are, refer to rule number 1.
Alternatively, the prevailing thought is that they are completely useless and if LPVOs existed in Jeff Cooper's time, there would never be such a thing as scout scopes.
The truth, as is usually the case, resides somewhere in the middle.
Scout scopes do have their place, but they are definitely a niche product. It is, however, an interesting niche.
Scout scope pickings are relatively slim in terms of what's on offer.
Leupold makes a 1.5-4x28 https://alnk.to/gKSibYj
Burris makes a 2-7x32 and 2.75x20
Vortex has a 2-7x32 in the Crossfire line
There are also a few out there from UTG, Aimsports, etc.

I strongly lean toward compact fixed power designs, so Burris 2.75x20 https://alnk.to/cSJCBQx is probably my favourite and is the subject of this ...

00:11:58
Integrix M1 MRAD Reticle in the 3-18x44

Wind was really making things difficult, but at least this gives you a look at the reticle.
It is a respectable design that is conceptually closer to SKMR reticles than to the ones I usually gravitate to. They also have an M2 that is, I think, a little better.
In the grand scheme of things, the M1 did not take me long to get used to and it is not giving me any real issues.
https://alnk.to/9TaI2kH

00:06:33
Integrix 3-18x44 Tracking Follow-up

I reached out to Leapers to relay the issues I found with reticle sizing and tracking in the 3-18x44 scope they sent me.

They confirmed that the scope I have here is an engineering model. They also talked to engineering and, apparently, they found the same issues I did with the mrad model and fixed them for the production run.

The MOA model (https://alnk.to/eZIJo9a) is, according to them, spot on. The issues were only present in pre-production mrad scopes.

Once they get production scopes going, I plan to re-visit them. I think the first one to become available will be the 4.5-27x model with the M2 Mrad reticle. I saw it during SHOT and I think it will be more up my alley than the M1, though the latter is still serviceable.

This is strange but once in my lifetime I felt fortunate to be not smart enogh to be in Harvard University...

Memorial Day Sales

I am beginning to see some early Memorial Day Sale emails in my inbox.
If I see anything interesting, I'll add it to this post which will be pinned to the top, rather than inundate you with incessant "it's a sale!" emails. Better keep it all in one spot.

The first one I see is from Opticsplanet. https://alnk.to/cwU58u8
They have all sorts of stuff rom Burris and Steiner discounted including the recently introduced Burris XTR PS 5.5-30x56 for $2199 https://alnk.to/d3Em4Su and the rather unusual Steiner T6Xi 3-18x56 https://alnk.to/ge7ZJBN
Eliminator 6 gets you $400 of bonus bucks to use on something else. https://alnk.to/flycPy8

Tract Optics will be running a 10% storewide sale starting Thursday with the discount code "REMEMBRANCE". While I generally like their products, the one that is really agreeing with me the most is the new 2.5-15x44 with MRAD Eagleman reticle. https://tractoptics.com/toric-uhd-30mm-2-5-15x44-ffp-illuminated-mrad-eagleman-long-range-hunting-rifle-scope/
I am sure ...

First PRS Match is behind me
High Noon at Del Norte

My first PRS match is officially behind me.  It was, I think an officially sanctioned regional PRS match at the shooting range called Del Norte about an hour from me (just east of Rio Rancho).
As I discussed previously, rather than using the rifle I originally prepared for it, I ended up having to change gears at the last moment and slapping a 5-25x56 Tangent on my daughter's 6ARC MiniFIx.  A lightweight 16" Proof barreled 6ARC is not an ideal set up for PRS competition, but, in the grand scheme of things, the rifle did hot hold me back at all.  I had a couple of weights that fit the Q-cert handguard, so I slapped them on there as well, which got the rifle to right around 12lbs.  The balance point was almost where I want it, but not quite.  In all other ways, this was a very handy rifle to shoot.  I am actually thinking of getting a couple more weights that I can stack on it (Sawtooth weights are stackable), so that I can shoot some future local matches with it.  It shoots Hornady's Black 105gr ammo very well (it also shoots 108gr ELD-M and 103gr ELD-X well, but I had a larger supply of Hornady Black ammo on hand).

It chrono'ed pretty consistently for factory ammo.  Here are the measurements for a 20 shot group.

If I were to take out the fastest shot, SD drops down to 8fps.  

In terms of wind performance, it is a 5mph rifle, so slightly better than the 308 ammo I was going to use originally, but not as good as the 6.5CM that was my intended match rifle for this year (we make plans, but then life happens).

I do have to admit that I really enjoyed shooting the match with the MiniFix.  So much so, that I am seriously thinking of building another one for myself, since this rifle is technically my daughter's.

The closest shot we had was a bit over a couple of hundred yards.  The furthest was around 1150.  That was a bit challenging for the 16" barreled 6ARC, especially since the terrain there is tricky and wind is doing strange things.  Morning was relatively quiet wind-wise, but then the wind becamse gusty with changing directions.

It was a one day match with about 30 shooters (six squads) and ten stages.  The 17 year old kid who won the match was in my squad with his dad.  Apparently he is on the US team, so it should not be surrpising that he won.  He was very good.

Overall level of the shooters in the match was quite good.  I really was not sure what to expect.  Somewhat paradoxically, the only matches that I have shot in so far are the much larger two day NRL Hunter matches.  In those, I am just out of the bottom third in terms of skill level.  In this match, it was pretty much in the same spot, I think.  

The terrain was a little bit like Cameo, I think (I have been there, but not shot there), with some angle changes and sufficient vegetation to make getting on target occasionally troublesome. 

Only for Supporters
To read the rest of this article and access other paid content, you must be a supporter
Read full Article
post photo preview
Updates
Getting back on the horse, little by little

My original plan was to do a livestream on Thursday of this week, but I think I'll push it out to next week.  A few days at home is doing wonders for my recovery, but my voice is still not quite there.  I do not think any of you are looking to listen to me cough for two hours straight.

Also, I am going to try to shoot that local PRS match this coming Saturday, so doign a livestream next week after the match is likely to be more productive.  It is my first one, so I fully expect that I will screw it all up.  It should be a good learning experience.  I do not have a dedicated PRS rifle and I am not looking to set one up jsut yet.  If I like it, I'll put something together, but as far as competition goes, my focus is really on UKD matches like NRL Hunter, Competition Dynamics, etc.  My 6.5CM is not back yet, so I'll just shoot it with my 308 FIx.  It is not ideal, but it will do just fine for my purposes.  I am in no danger of winning anything either way and this will stress my ability to read wind.  A secondary purpse here is that I am not 100% certain what rifle I will take on a mule deer hunt with later this year, but it will be either something new to test or this 308.  Now that I think about it, the 308 is going with me regardless either as a primary rifle or as backup.  The rifle shoots, so if I miss, I know it is on me.

For the match, I have Burris XTR PS 5.5-30x56 scope on the 308 Fix.  I think the way they did the heads up display in these is a meaningful improvement over conventional riflescopes.

https://alnk.to/d3EjPHC or https://alnk.to/8iVRlGN

Optically, I think XTR Pro is a little better, but the EO integration in the XTR PS is, I think, in advantage.

In parallel, I am looking at the replacement AAC ammo (they replaced the faulty ammo and I have chrono results on it) and testing the optics of the 40mm scopes in parallel.

 

Only for Supporters
To read the rest of this article and access other paid content, you must be a supporter
Read full Article
A first look at Steiner H6Xi 2-12x42
MPVOs are finally getting some attention

Here are some initial thoughts on the Steiner H6Xi 2-12x42.

I finally had a chance to shoot with it both supported and unsupported, which is an important part of figuring out how usable an optic is.

I found what looks to be more accurate specifications in the manual that came with the H6Xi, so the spec table is now updated:

To re-iterate from an earlier post, Eurooptic is selling the H6Xi 2-12x42 for $1350 and at that price, it is easily the best deal going in this category: https://alnk.to/90ALO3C

Only for Supporters
To read the rest of this article and access other paid content, you must be a supporter
Read full Article
Available on mobile and TV devices
google store google store app store app store
google store google store app tv store app tv store amazon store amazon store roku store roku store
Powered by Locals