DarkLordOfOptics

The topic of scope mounts comes up again and again. I have talked about in the past, so if you have been following my channel, a lot of this might not be new. However, I do not think I have ever tried to focus the discussion on the mounts to this degree. The purpose here is to not necessarily discuss any specific mounts (although I'll be happy to do that if I am familiar with whatever brand you are inquiring about). The purpose is to introduce a somewhat different way of thinking about scope mounts than is common. In principle, there isn't that much there and 15 minutes should be more than enough. In practice, I am allocating an hour and a half and I am afraid we will use up all of it.

It has been a month since I have done one of these, so there is a lot to cover. -S&B's new 6-36x56 is here, so I am kicking off the next High End Tactical Comparison -I am considering a wholesale boycott of Swarovski/Kahles. I'll explain why -Apex 12x50 binocular with a reticle is here -Gunwerk Elevate Bipod is in the house and I am really liking it so far -I am, again, jumping into the rabbit hole of the best way to set up auxiliary red dot sight on your AR. And, of course, there is more along with the customary Q&A

Join me at www.darklordofoptics.com for advice on optics and a discussion of current events. Here is a final wrap up of where I think the GLx 2x from Primary Arms belongs. It is likely the best general purpose optic for AKs and ARs I have seen in a while for shooting inside of $200. Definitely the best for the money and per ounce. https://alnk.to/ge40PLW The ACSS reticle on this one is done just right for a 2x scopes. There are a couple of holdover marks just in case, but by and large the primary aiming point and horseshoe are all you need inside of 200 yards.

Join me at www.darklordofoptics.com for further discussion. This one is a very simple review: -it is small -it is robust -it works they way it is supposed to -it does not cost a huge amount of money -the Ironside shield is a good idea -RMSc footprint is a good idea I messed up on price in the video. It is about $50 less than I thought at Brownells: https://alnk.to/a41u5D4 Ironsides stainless steel shield adds $40 to it: https://alnk.to/hDo4gJf #reddotsight #swampfoxoptics #aroptics

Join me at www.darklordofoptics.com for further discussion. These two scopes are both 5x prismatic designs, but they could not be more different form each other. The video explains why. SwampFox Saber: https://alnk.to/1XUCNyb Vortex Spitfire Gen2: https://alnk.to/58ogsf6

There is no prepared monologue for this one. There is all sorts of interesting stuff happening in Russia, so I'll go over that a little and then do the customary Q&A.

An old tradition I used to have was an occasional re-visit of how different optics companies have been growing and evolving. It has been a little while, but I think it is worth resurrecting. This time, I am going to spend a little time talking about Tract Optics and I hope one of the founders of Tract, Jon LaCorte, will join me for this. Aside from the general company and product line overview, Tract has just announced a new interesting 4-25x50 design that is worth discussing. I have briefly seen the prototype several months ago and I plan to test in the future. Post show notes: There was a brief aside on the critic I wrote down of a video by Brassfacts. The write-up is here: https://darklordofoptics.locals.com/p... A couple of time tags. 0:00 we kick off with a general introduction 10:45 I go over which Tract products I ahve personal experience with 16:55 Jon goes over different product lines Tract offers 38:48 We talk about the new 4-25x50 Toric scopes that has just been introduced 48:00 We kick of the Q&A part of the show.

This livestream is going to piss off a bunch of people. I am going to get a little nerdy and give a bunch (not all, I am sure) of my fellow gun writers a hard time. They are often good shots and excellent writers. However, when they try to get numerical, all too often, they draw on technically accurate things and come up with completely asinine conclusions. I am going to address one of those and that is the relationship between objective lens diameter, resolution and magnification of a riflescope. Naturally, I'll take questions as I go along and switch over to the customary Q&A toward the end.

It has been a little while since I did a livestream. We all make plans and life happens, I suppose. This is going to be a general update and Q&A livestream. I do not have a specific topic in mind, but I am kicking off several riflescope reviews, among other things, that are worth updating you on.

Join me at www.darklordofoptics.com for further discussion. The way things are going, eventually YouTube will find an excuse to ban all gun and 2nd Amendment channels. All of my videos are also on my website and on Rumble. Make sure you subscribe there as well.

It is that time of the year when Will and I try to squeeze a week's worth of new stuff from SHOT Show into a two hour livestream. Last year, it took a few attempts to go through everything, but we'll see what 2023 brings to the table.

Join me at www.darklordofoptics.com for further discussion At first glance, it seemed like a solution looking for a problem. After some reflection, it is a perfectly viable idea on a rifle not used for home defense or hunting. The trigger feel was indeed spectacular.

Here is a closer look at the fiber illuminated ACSS NOVA reticle in the new SLx 1-6x24 scope by Primary Arms. https://bit.ly/3XjFBY6

Join me at www.darklordofoptics.com for further discussion. Element's Theos was not a particularly well kept secret since Matt has had a version of it on his competition rifle here and there. I have also seen a prototype or two since the scope has been in development for a good amount of time. This time around, I actually got my hands on a scope that is from a very first production batch. I did not have it for very long since it had to go back to Element for SHOT show. I hope to get this scope back for a thorough review at some point. It is not a cookie cutter LOW design. There are some clear differences and the turrets are definitely unique to Element and really excellent. The big question is whether, along with Vortex Razor Gen3 6-36x56, this scope pushed its way into Tier 1 competition or whether it is competing against Mark 5HD and ATACR. I won't know for sure until I do a full review, but I like what I see so far.

Join me at www.darklordofoptics.com for further discussion. Here is a brief initial look at the Primary Arms SLx 1-6x24 with fiber illuminated ACSS NOVA reticle. This is the first $300-ish scope I know of with a truly day bright reticle illumination and the rest of the scope is not letting the reticle down either. https://bit.ly/3QAarcu

Join me at www.darklordofoptics.com for further discussion. There are very few binoculars left with magnification of less than 8x. 6x30 or similar designs really have a lot to offer when you are looking for stability and ease of use in a compact package. As a matter of personal preference, for general purpose use, I like binoculars with the exit pupil around 5mm and Kowa 6.5x32 is a grand example of why. Kowa BD II XD 6.5x32: https://amzn.to/3Z2tgJm and https://bit.ly/3tuBDyT Kowa's YF 6x30 https://bit.ly/3B0dQeL Maven 6x30 https://bit.ly/3QjuITi Steiner Navigator 7x30 https://bit.ly/3OcprKQ

Befitting the end of the year, I have a year worth of impression of the Razor Gen3 6-36x56. Will is gong to join me again to offer his perspective on the Gen3 Razor. He has had a chance to compare it side by side with many other high end precision scopes out there. The specific scope I have is the mrad model: https://bit.ly/3VcAXJD I have had a chance to compare it to the more expensive March 5-42x56 https://bit.ly/3wNfknM and Tangent Theta TT525P https://bit.ly/3HOj5BU quite extensively. Will also looked at it next to ZCO, Kahles, Nightforce, etc.

Join me at www.darklordofoptics.com for further discussion This binocular has really grown on me and it has been my primary glassing tool for hunting for the last year. https://bit.ly/3HCLniA

After some consideration, I decided to expand this "if I could have only one" thought exercise to knives. I was deliberating about it when a very well known knifemaker Shawn Houston agreed to join me for this discussion. Shawn forgot more about knives and knife steels than I will ever know, so view this as an opportunity to pick his brain on everything knife related. I like his take on how blades are supposed to work and I fully expect the discussion to dig pretty deep into how an edge works and how to sharped a knife properly. Shawn and his work can be found on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/triplebhandmade/ and on his website https://www.triplebhandmade.com/

Join me at https://darklordofoptics.locals.com/post/3160022/shield-rms-rmsc-glass-lens-re-cap for further discussion I was doing inventory and realized that most of my handguns wear Shield red dots on them. I thought it was worth noting. Shield Sights are all made in the UK. There are a few retailers for them in the US, but you can also order directly. https://bit.ly/3UuBGFS

Join me at www.darklordofoptics.com for further discussion Since this video was recorded, I replaced the clamp to one that supports both picatinny and arca, so my tripod is now i nthis configuration: https://sunwayfoto-store.com/products/tl3240cs-q-hunting-tripod-for-shooting-rifle-stand-carbon-fiber?_pos=2&_sid=41bdfb961&_ss=r&ref=Oy5imslq

Join me at www.darklordofoptics.com for further discussion. GRS Sporter is an unusually adjustable general purpose wood laminate stock available in many inlet and color variations. The most interesting part is arguable the really well thought out grip configuration. https://bit.ly/3EHxf4E

I've got two reasonable loads going. I will take 185gr CX from Hornady at around 2180 fps with me for mule deer this weekend and 200gr Bulldozer2 at 2100 fps from Badlands with me for elk next week.

Welcome to the yearly edition of the unthinkable scenario where I can only have one gun. We'll discuss what gun and cartridge would be an ideal option in such a nightmarish scenario intermingled with the usual Q&A.