DarkLordOfOptics
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Guns, Optics, 2nd Amendment and resisting the Left in everything they touch.
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Burris Fastfire IV

This red dot is one of these optics that I keep on mentioning, but never do a full review on. I originally got it because I needed one for a magazine article. It is a pretty early production version, I think.
Since I got done with that article, it has been moving around from gun to gun (both handgun and rifle) and working without any issues. I checked on pricing before writing this and it turned out Opticplanet has it discounted:
https://alnk.to/3cmdEaO

I did not search too much, but this appears to be a good price.

Fastfire IV is a little bit of a departure because you can run it as an open emitter or enclosed emitter sight. It comes with a encloser piece that attaches via two screws and protects the inside of the optic from various debri and liquids. It is probably not waterproof, but I have been in the rain with this thing without issues.
It is not the most compact of red dot sights owing to a flared out window, but it is compact enough. I've had it on a bunch of different guns and ended up really liking it as an an offset red dot.

It has four built-in reticles you can swap between with a press of a button (see attached picture) and one of them is essentially an 11 MOA dot. For speed at close range, it is absolutely awesome.
I mostly run it in autoadjsut mode, but it does have manual adjust setting as well. Collimation quality is pretty good, so for shits and giggles, every once in a while I switch over to a 3MOA dot inside a horseshoe reticle to shoot al little further out. I've hit plates with it at 200 yards, but I have not tried it further. My normal use for it is much closer than that. It is sighted in at 25 yards.

One downside of this additional shroud is that in order to sight it in or to replace the battery, the shroud has to come off. It is two extra screws to remove, so it is not a major deal. Still, it could have been done so that the controls are accessible from the outside. On the other hand, it is not like I have to mess with that very much. Zero retention has been flawless so far, through several guns and thousands of rounds. There some wear and tear on the outside finish, but no functionality issues whatsoever.

All in all, it is a nice little optic. Battery (1632) is top mounted, so you do not have to dismount the optic to replace it.

I am, I suppose, something of a retrograde when it comes to red dots on handguns in that I do not want any buttons, options, etc. For people like me, Burris introduced Fastfire C earlier this year that fits RMSc footprint and has replaced Crimson Trace as my go to recommendation for a budget pistol red dot https://alnk.to/cSHTBtM

Fastfire IV is simple enough to operate (it is just two buttons one on each side of the housing), but to me it is still more of a carbine optic. It would be perfectly at home as a primary optic on an ultralight build or a PCC. As I get older, I realize that I want a little magnification on the primary optic, so FFIV ended up being one of my favourite red sights for offset use.

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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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