DarkLordOfOptics
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Guns, Optics, 2nd Amendment and resisting the Left in everything they touch.
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Starter ARs and Starter Optics

Various optics for the AR-15 make for a very frequent topic on here, so I thought that a brief aside on a somewhat particular case might be in order.
Here, in the great state of New Mexico, Democrats have a super majority so by and large they do whatever the hell they want and keep on getting re-elected. Once in a blue moon, however, they do pay attention to the voters.
A little earlier this year, they proposed a set of anti-2A laws that would make Gavin Newsom cream into his g-string a little (for the politically correct out there: I have not idea what underwear the esteemed Mr Newsom prefers, but he sure looks like he's got something uncomfortable up his ass at all times), they got so much apparently explicit feedback that most of it did not make it out of the committee. Naturally, there were also a few lawsuits getting ready to go. It did, for a moment, look like AR-15s would get outlawed in out state.

Unbeknownst to me, a friend of mine decided that he should probably pick up an AR-15 while he still can. Had he told me about it, I would have built him one in any configuration he wants, but he did not tell me and I did not know he was looking to get one.

I learned about all of this well after he bought the rifle when he asked which red dot and magnifier he should get.

The primary purpose of the gun is self-defense, general purpose plinking and occasional shooting beyond MPBR. The gentleman who owns the rifle has reasonable experience with shooting. I saw him shoot and his fundamentals are perfectly reasonable. However, he has been out of it for a while and he is planning to pick this hobby back up.

I did some digging around the safe and found what I think is a reasonable solution for his needs, but the project is not yet entirely done.

There is a good chance that he will read this, so what follows in the next few sentences has a real chance of hurting his feelings a bit. I think I can live with that. I am pretty certain he can too.

The specific configuration of an AR-15 that he bought makes no sense. I do not know why S&W makes it that way. I do not know why a self-respecting gunshop would carry it. Maybe the margins are good, but given how evolved modern ARs are and how easy it is to find a better configuration, this is odd to me.

Before I crap all over it any further: it seems adequately accurate. It did not display any reliability issues during the one shooting session we had with the gun. It is a perfectly competent AR, except the configuration makes no sense.

The carbine appears to be a version of S&W's M&P Sport II product line, kinda like the MOE version here: https://www.smith-wesson.com/product/m-p-15-sport-ii-with-magpul-moe-m-lok-
except his came with a Magpul buttstock. Interestingly, the castle nut was loose and a quick look suggested that there is not threadlocking compound on it. Not sure if it came like that from S&W or if the gunshop people were messing with something.

Let's go over the highlights:

16" barrel with threaded muzzle and A2 flashhider -- perfectly reasonable

Melonite finish -- this is a good thing.

5.56 chamber -- I'd prefer an intermediate chamber, but this is not a major deal

1-in-9" barrel twist -- this one is just retarded. Why do people still do this? Most 5.56/223 loads with decent terminal ballistics will not reliably stabilize in this barrel. It will work fine with 55gr plinking ammo. It starts getting marginal with bullets heavier than 60-62 grains. It will work with some 69gr ammo that uses shorter bullets. If you want good terminal ballistics, your best bet is probably Barnes 55gr load ( https://bit.ly/3zZZFVu). 62gr TSX may or may not stabilize. Unless you are building a dedicated varminter, go with either 1-8" or 1-7" twist.

Carbine gas system -- why would you put carbine gas system onto a 16" barrel? Mid-length gas system on a 16" barrel seems pretty standard and gets you a mellower recoil cycle.

Medium weight barrel -- I am not sure what it is under the handguard, but forward of the gas block, it appears to be right around 0.7" diameter. On a fairly basic carbine not intended for distance, all it does is make the gun heavier and the handling poorer. If there ever was a good application for a pencil barrel, this is it.

Fixed tower A2 front sight -- I am not a fan, but that's a personal preference. If you plan to use optics, a fold down BUIS is a better option in my mind.

Non-free floating MOE handguard -- if there is a good reason for it other than profit margins, I'll be damned if I know what it is. There is a TON of simple free floating handguards out there with almost all of them being a better option than this. Eventually, I'll replace this monstrosity with a two piece handguard from MI (https://bit.ly/3UGqyHn) or something along those lines. I've had good luck with MI handguards, so that will likely be the way to go if he chooses to keep the fixed front sight. The gas block looks to be nicely pinned, so it might be a b@#$% to remove. I have seen some that could only be removed with a prayer and a jackhammer.

Magpul folding rear sight -- this is a perfectly reasonable budget option.

A2 grip -- other than it not being designed for human hands, there is really nothing wrong with it.

In the grand scheme of things, all of this is fixable and me bitching about is mostly a reflection of my personal preferences. It is a perfectly reasonable first AR for someone getting back to shooting. Over time, he will figure out what works for him and what does not.

So far, I set him up with optics (which we will cover next). In the next few days, I will take it apart to take a closer look at everything. After that, I will cinch everything down with loctite where appropriate and swap out the grip for something better.

The gentleman who owns the rifle has had some experience with red dot sights and, since he already has irons on there, that seemed like a good way to go. However, given that I was pretty certain he will want to stretch the distance at some point, I though that he could use a little magnification. Well, I have plenty of red dots and magnifiers here. Personally, I really like ultra compact magnifiers, but if you want to retain a folding BUIS rear, you will have eye relief issues with pretty much all of them. I do have a few full size magnifiers around. They are still pretty small, but bigger than the compacts. That means the eyepiece extends further back and we have a better chance of getting one of these to work.

In the specific case of this carbine, we set it up with Primary Arms MD-25 red dot sight https://bit.ly/3IBbPcq and PA's SLx FS 3x magnifier https://bit.ly/3UBkNuR

I do not know what exact sighting system he will settle on eventually, so it did not make sense to invest into a higher end optic. Besides, MD-25 has been nicely robust in my experience (frankly, for around $140 at the moment, it is a steal). Slightly larger optic diameter does work better with magnifiers which is important in this situation. ACSS CQB reticle, combined with a magnifier, will let him shoot at plates out to 500/600 yards depending on how we do the final sight in. The 3x SLx magnifier is quite respectable optically, so it is very doable.

If you look at the picture carefully, the magnifier is still not quite as far back as it needs to be for comfort. I think I can push it back a little further and, next time we meet, I will have him go through a range of shooting positions to finetune this a little bit.

Most magnifiers do not have all the flexible of eye relief which can cause problems as you transition between shooting positions. Collapsible stock can help with that, of course. It is not uncommon to set the stock up a click or two longer for shooting prone than standing.

We'll see how it pans out. Ultimately, the magnifier needs to be just right when shooting prone. Shooting quickly off hand would normally imply that the magnifier is flipped to the side.

If we can't get this one properly set up, I think I have a few more magnifiers here somewhere that are a little bit longer.

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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

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 ...

Had to switch to a different streaming service

Rumble Studio crapped out on me. so I hadd to stream using a different service

post photo preview
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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Scoping Gas Guns
an interesting question that acme in via PM

I received this question via a private message and thought it was interesting enough to answer it in some detail.  I have been thinking a lot about appropriate optics for gas guns recently, so this came it at the right time.

 

Here is what I ahve been messing with last few days:

 

Above: 18" WOA barrel 5.56 AR-15 with Burris XTR PS 5.5-30x56 on it.

Below: 22" Satern barrel 224Valkyrie AR-15 with Delta Stryker 3.5-21x44 on it.


For obvious reasons, I am not posting who asked the question, but what I'll do is send him a link to this article, so that he gets an answer and we might have a good discussion.
Here is what I received:

Had a question for you
I have a Knights Armament SR25 6.5CM with a 14.5" barrel - I plan on shooting 100 - 600 yards at targets at 100 yd intervals
I am favoring the TT 315P with an Aimpont Acro mounted on top -( see you liked the TT315M) - would that be enough magnification?
I saw the SB SB 5-20 which offer more top end - I like the turrets on the Tanget and tooless Zero - what are your thoughts between the 2?
If I stayed 400 and under - how do you see the TT315P with the Acro Red dot against the SB 1-8 Short Dot (saw your review on that)

There isn't really enough information in the question for a simple answer, so let's consider a couple of options.

What is the gun for? 

For shooting medium range (out to 600) with occasional close range use?  If yes, go with a conventional scope and offset or piggybacked RDS.

For shooting at close distance with occasional med/long range use? If yes, so with a nice LPVO like the above mentioned S&B Short Dot 1-8x24 https://alnk.to/3J8vlFv.  It is quite capable at long range, but where it will really knock your socks off is up close and personal.

The question of what is enough magnification is pretty personal.  For me, 3-15x is plenty, but I shoot a lot off of the tripod and off of barricades which likely influences my decision.  For that, my 3-15x50 TT315M Tangent works great and 6mrad of elevation is plenty.  https://alnk.to/gVNkUXB  175gr #08 out of a shoter tube will drop in the 5 to 5.5mrad range at 600 yards.

For a dedicated long range semi-auto, other than the looks, there isn't much downside to a larger scope, which is why I set up Burris' XTR PS on the 5.56 AR pictured above.  It is for my son to learn to shoot at distance and to us in next year's BOTC match.  https://alnk.to/gp33YuR

If I were setting up an accurate semi-auto and wanted a high mag scope for it, I would likely lean toward March 4.5-28x52. https://alnk.to/dLjHgjh  It is compact, relatively light and very good optically for any use other than the dead of the night (for which we should be using clip-ons anyway).

S&B Short Dot is a very nice scope, but March is a newer design and, other than the lowest light, has an edge in terms of image fidelity and stray light control.

TT315P Tangent is a veyr ncie scope and toolles turrets are appealing.  However, there is a weight penalty to that.  For me, that was not worth it.  I ahve 5-25x56 and 7-35x Tangents and those toolless turrets are spectacular.  However, in a 3-15x50, I am quit ecomfortable with simpler 6mrad per turn knobs on the TT315M.

 

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A morning with a chronograph

When I tell people that I am using Hornady's factory ammo for matches, I get occasionally surprised looks.  Occasionally.  Most of the time, I get fairly condescending looks from handloaders who would not let a factory round pollute the chambers of their precision rifles if their lives depended on it.

To be fair, if I had the time, I might be reloading as well.  I might be able to do better than modern factory ammo, but the truth is that I am not a quarter MOA shooter, so a lot of that would be lost on me.  The UKD matches I fidn most interesting can be done by a competent shooter with a 1MOA gun.  I am working on that first part.  I reload when I have to, but if I can get factory ammo that's not outrageously expensive and that shoots well, I will go with that every time.

I looked around and realized that I have about 600 rounds of Hornady 147gr 6.5CM factory ammo from two lots.  400 rounds from one that I will use during the match later this month.  The remainder I will likely use up practicing prior to that.

I woke up early and snuck out to the range while my family was still asleep earlier today.

I set up in the 100 yard tunnel we have.  I took my four shots to zero with the lot I plan to use for the match.  Then I fired a six shot ~0.7MOA group.  That's accurate enough for my purposes.

Here are the chronograph results:

It is slow, but accurate and consistent.

Then I shot a five round group of Hornady 147gr ammo from the other lot.

Both of those lots are not too shabby for factory ammo.  POI was within 0.2mrad between the two lots, all laterally.  

 

I had some other ammo on hand, so I fired two five shot groups with Berger 144gr hybrid target ammo and Sako TRG 136gr.

Here is what I got for five rounds of Berger:

That's not a ton of statistics, but it is a data point.  The group was ~1.1MOA

 

Here the data for the Sako TRG 136gr ammo:

This ammo showed some mild pressure signs, but not too significant.  

Again, this is not a ton of data, but Hornady is looking pretty decent here.

I'll repeat the zero retention and consistency tests a couple more times between now and June 18th when we head to Wyoming.

I might pick up a couple more boxes of Hornady 147gr from a different lot to get some more data.

More to come.

 

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