DarkLordOfOptics

As I get ready to go to a long range class next week, I find my mind wondering in all sorts of odd directions. One is "how to keep all the expensive stuff I travel with secure", hence Tuffy products.

Here is a list of gear in the video since this is a tech oriented endeavor The Fix by Q with 24" Proof Research 308 Win barrel. If I was buying one now, I'd probably do 6.5CM https://alnk.to/cb36hCA and https://alnk.to/6xKQTwS Tangent Theta 7-35x56 with Gen3 XR reticle https://alnk.to/4BGw6zr Area 419 36mm mount (20MOA slope, 39mm tall) https://alnk.to/2jMFlYq MDT Ckye triple pull Bipod https://alnk.to/faBYXxh Q Trash Panda suppressor https://alnk.to/hDqAGXK AAC Precision 175gr OTM ammo https://alnk.to/gzW2O5r Pint-sized Gamechanger bag https://alnk.to/aLJ2rb7 458SOCOM AR-15 that I built out of pieces when 458SOCOM just appeared on the scene around a 16" Tromix barrel Witt SME muzzle device SAI6 1-6x24 https://alnk.to/9moYAFp Steiner C35 Gen2 thermal clip-on ($2340 at Battlehawk Armory) https://alnk.to/flwJWpL Spartan Precision Javelin Lite bipod https://alnk.to/3J6JcBs

One of the most common riflescope question I get is on best scopes for different PRS and NRL disciplines. There is no simple one sentence answer to that and there are many tradeoffs to discuss. Will, who goes by Covertnoob5 on Youtube, joins me for this discussion. Will is a prolific competition shooter and his experience is going to bring a different angle to this discussion. He just published a video on production division scopes that is worth watching: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otsAEE6pZ7I There, he discusses two of the better precision scopes for the production division: Leupold Mark 5HD 5-25x56 https://alnk.to/7fpLbOw Zeiss S3 6-36x56 https://alnk.to/90zkZYL

Blackhound Emerge 2-12x44 has very solid optomechanical fundamentals, combined with some fairly glaring errors in how it is configured. It is a polarizing design, but if it fits your application, you could do a lot worse.

Every once in a while I get a question on matching riflescopes with thermal clip-ons. Since I am travelling this week, I figured we can go over that for a bit. There are also a couple of remaining questions from last week's livestream that I want to address (as promised). To forewarn the most obvious question on whether I have specific recommendations on which scopes work best with thermal clip-ons.... LPVOs and low power prismatics were excellently with clip-ons. If you are looking for something that will fit on a flat top without touching the handguard (like in the thumbnail image), your best bet is Burris' Gen2 clip-on with a rear-biased picatinny mount and a 3x Microprism like in this package: https://alnk.to/d3CIdJz If you are OK with the thermal clip-on sitting on the handguard (probably the most common configuration), I have found SAI6 1-6x24 with mrad reticle to be an excellent optic to put behind a clip-on: https://alnk.to/aAO6ulr That's what I have on my 458SOCOM.

Last week someone dug up an old article I did on WWII era PU scopes that were on Soviet 91/30 Sniper rifles sttarting in 1942 and onward. Altogether, there were well in excess of 300,000 of these that were made. While we are at it, this is a good time to re-visit how riflescopes work in general. There have been some questions about that.

Every once in a while when there aren't too many people at the range and when I am not running anywhere, I spend a few minutes on recording my impressions and on what products I am looking at.

After some consideration, I decided that due to rising ammo expenses I need to wrap up with the review of this interesting new scope. The 2n generation Tomahawk has a redesigned optical system and an option of a bright fiber optic reticle illumination in three colors: red, green, blue and amber. I tested the amber illuminated 1-4x24. It has unusually wide FOV, so it was worth a look. https://alnk.to/aLINvAq

When a question came up on the impact temperature fluctuations have on riflescopes, I immediately thought I should bring Tyler Patner on and pick his brain. FIeld Target shooters have been paying attention to this for a long time since thermal shifts introduce a unique problem for their shooting discipline.

A couple of weeks ago I had a chance to spend three days in Wyoming observing the 2024 Burris Optics Team Challenge competition. I did not participate, but I did get to shoot at some of the plates and I had free rein to roam around, take pictures and ask questions. The competition was a blast and I want to participate next yet. I did walk away from it with some notes and observations that I thought I'd share, so here we are. Some of the Burris/Steiner optics I had a chance to play with: Burris Signature LRF 10x42 rangefinding binocular https://alnk.to/clXsrkL Burris Signature HD 10x42 binocular https://alnk.to/fSgC3KG Burris Signature HD 12x50 https://alnk.to/3U15mia Burris Eliminator6 4-20x52 https://alnk.to/b7y9zLM Ckye Triple Pull bipod https://alnk.to/7M9KXxW Hatch Bipod https://www.hatchoutwest.com/ Gunwerks Elevate bipod: https://alnk.to/8EJxRDJ Field Optics Research dome top tripod https://www.fieldopticsresearch.com/shop/Tripods-for-Hunting/p/OPERATOR-32DTC3-MIL-ASFPL-DomeTOP-Tripod-System-x67426022.htm Stag Pursuit 6.5PRC https://alnk.to/fSgC5nC 1:00 Background, getting there, etc 10:30 2024 BOTC Overview 35:30 Field stage improvisation and the importance of communication 40:25 Catching up on the questions in the chatbox 53:30 Missing seemingly easy shots 54:45 Versatility is important both with the gear and with your skillset. How would I set up my rifles for this? 1:10:15 How do I choose what to review 1:18:25 Looking at new optics from Burris and Steiner. Optics considerations for the team challenge 1:39:15 Support equipment 1:59:30 What should you be spending money on? 2:10 Wrap-up.

I've been trying to do a final wrap-up of this 8th installment for months, but work kept on getting in the way. On the positive side, that gave me an opportunity to spend a significant amount of time with all of these. Ask me anything.

This came out of a conversation I had with a friend of mine a day or two ago. Every time a new optic is introduced there is a loud bunch of people lamenting that there is a particular feature or configuration that is missing and therefore this optic is bound to be a market failure. Sometimes they are right. Most of the time, however, it is a failure of imagination and an inability to separate your own personal preferences from those of others.

New SWFA scopes will be out soon enough, so it is time to have a little bit more of a discussion. In addition, US issues new sanctions today that have ramifications for the shooting community.

Now that I made it home for a couple of days, I fished two mounts out of the mail that I plan to test. Here are first impressions. The mounts discussed were: Sig Alpha2: https://alnk.to/7BeynX3 Daniel Defense: https://alnk.to/44VoLF4 The scopes shown were: Leupold Mark4HD 2.5-10x42 FFP with illuminated TMR https://alnk.to/ge5GrY6 Primary Arms PLxC 1-8x24 SFP with Nova reticle. This scope is not up for sale yet, but soon. It is essentially a SFP version of this one: https://alnk.to/a43a7qG For the time being, if I were to pick a simple robust one piece mount in the $200 and under range, it would still be Badger Unimount. Allegedly, it has been discontinued, but there is still some stock https://alnk.to/dAmjJLY

Since yesterday Rumble Studio crapped out on me yesterday, I ended up doing a livestream on Middle East strictly on my Locals page. When I checked today, Rumble Studio looks to be working now. I figured I should do a test run and see if everything works. If noone chimes in, I'll just talk to myself for a few minutes and log off.

This is my last evening in Florida before heading home tomorrow. While here, I took a defensive carbine class from Gary Juhl on Sunday, so I figured I should do a recap from that and take some questions if there are any. I could use a break from work anyway. Last few days have been hectic and my brain is fried. I could use a diversion. This will go live to Locals, Rumble and X. No Youtube this time since I want to be able to show the setup that I used.

My voice is finally back, so let's do a final wrap-up for what I ran into during SHOT last month. Naturally, I'll address your questions as I go along.

Here is the summary from days 1 and 2.

Here are some impressions from the range day that happens eveyr year the day before SHTO exhibit kicks off.

Some impressions from the Beretta range day: Beretta, Burris, Steiner, Sako, Tikka, Norma

60 is a round number of some sort, so I figured we should do something special. For the first time, I think, I have a live guest, not someone joining be via digital connection from afar. I am in Wyoming at the moment, trying to chase down an elk and visiting with David, the proprietor of Discreet Ballistics. They make what is likely the best subsonic ammunition on the market. Definitely the best I have seen, but there is more to what they do than just accurate subsonics. Tune to learn more about them. https://discreetballistics.com/ Post show notes: -the bulk of the discussion focused on what faster barrel twist does to bullet lethality and accuracy -David went in depth into how different bullets perform in soft tissue and what makes them effective -A lot of the discussion was on different bullet types, construction and manufacturing method and how they do with fast twist barrels

This is going to be a special edition version of DLO Live! Eugene is joining me to talk about the events that transpired in Israel over the last few days. We will do our best to cover what has been happening and why. I will not take any gun or optics questions unless there is time later in the show.

Join me at www.darklordofoptics.com Tract Toric 1-8x24 is a really capable general purpose scope.

Join me at www.darklordofoptics.com DAKA organizer https://bit.ly/3S294Gh for Pelican V730 https://bit.ly/3Fm4StA gives me the room for a 24" barreled rifle with a suppressor, bipod and folding stock, sidearm in a holster, ammo for both and a cleaning kit with space left over. It is a brilliant solution.

Element's 5x30 prismatics are finally here and I have two scopes from the first production lot. I have spent enough time with these to offer some first impressions. These are some of most full featured prismatics on the market today with excellent image quality and side focus. Also, since I designed the reticles, I will go over the reasoning behind various reticle features. https://shrsl.com/4954k