DarkLordOfOptics

Now that I am back from the inaugural CompExpo 2021, I thought I'd share my thoughts on the event. I will be joined by a competition shooter who took part in the NRL Finals and perhaps another guest or two.

This was livecast to Youtube, Facebook and Odysee on August 3rd, 2021. If you would like me add Rumble to the list of my livecast destinations, please let me know in the comments.

Here is an abbreviated overview of my riflescope and reflex sight recommendations for different flavours of the AR-15. 7 mnutes: SPR/DMR/Precision scopes 13:30: LPVOs for General Purpose use 19:50: Prismatics for General Purpose use 24:00 Red Dot magnifiers 28:20 Red Dots and Holographics 34:35 Conclusion and Final Thoughts Join to support this channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8LveRHZgnq469aWVQVhM2w/join My website has a fair bit more in terms of details and recommendations. Riflescope recommendations are sorted by price here: http://opticsthoughts.com/?page_id=623 Here are some product links to retailers who support my efforts: Tangent Theta scopes at Eurooptic: https://alnk.to/1BYFuOF March scopes at Eurooptic: https://alnk.to/clOTkCe Leupold Mark5 HD 3.6-18x44 with illuminated TMR reticle https://alnk.to/dAehDB3 Vortex PST Gen 2 3-15x44: https://alnk.to/eODv49q SWFA SS 3-9x42 https://www.swfa.com/swfa-ss-hd-3-9x42-tactical-30mm-riflescope.html S&B PMII Dual CC 1-8x24: https://alnk.to/hDhCL9Z Vortex Razor Gen3 1-10x24: https://alnk.to/7qbFRRo https://alnk.to/31iOMWF Steiner P4Xi 1-4x24: https://alnk.to/a3V2AB0 Elcan SpecterDR https://alnk.to/74mfluk Elcan Spectre OS 4x https://alnk.to/87QNer6 Crimson Trace Battlesight 3.5x https://alnk.to/cSzfIzg https://alnk.to/aLA9WMN Vortex Micro 3x Magnifier https://alnk.to/aAFoXZh https://alnk.to/2Qo3O7f Aimpoint 6x Magnifier https://alnk.to/bP4HPSS https://alnk.to/1MTvVxF Meprolight MOR https://alnk.to/8EB4bnF Vortex UH-1 Gen2: https://alnk.to/cSzfIYm https://alnk.to/2Qo3Ouh Leica Tempus: https://alnk.to/dAehEgx Aimpoint T2: https://alnk.to/60RHtcb Shield SIS: https://alnk.to/cSzfJ1W

Here is a real time take on the Vortex Razor Gen3 1-10x24 and S&B PMII Dual CC 1-8x24. I think these two are as close as it gets to being "LPVO royalty", although there are definitely other scopes that belong in the same category. I'll spend 20 minutes or so going over my impressions after which, I will open things up for a Q&A pertaining to these two scopes or anything else that comes up.

For the last six months, the new Vortex Razor HD-LHT 4.5-22x50 has been my primary hunting and precision scope. It spent a lot of time at the range with me and got me a nice Aoudad. I'll give you an overview of the scope and what I think about it before opening things up for a Q&A.

If you want to support my efforts, please join my community on Locals: https://darklordofoptics.locals.com/ Having talked a little bit about flashlight during the last show, I figured it is a good idea to talk a little bit about "light" in general. I'll start out with a little bit on flashlights, specifically I want to re-visit the whole "lumen vs candela" business and then we'll go from there. If there is time, the subject of light transmission really should be discussed in some detail. We will close up with the usual free-for-all. Post show notes: Derek's Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCE3X_qcLQoase48uAJ8Himg 5:30 Start of the light terminology and flashlight discussion https://youtu.be/-bihwHDQcnA?t=332 30:40 Brief discussion of light transmission and how it effects image quality https://youtu.be/-bihwHDQcnA?t=1841 49:06 Derek @NorthWest Guns joins me Scopes and flashlights I talked about: S&B 5-20x50 Ultra Short https://alnk.to/bimzfRc The new DTII+ turrets are really impressive US Optics FDN FX10 10x42 https://alnk.to/goUxHxt This is is likely the best tactical 10x scope on the market right now Primary Arms Microprism Gen2 https://alnk.to/4XphWwK This one is really growing on me Primary Arms GLx 2x prismatic https://alnk.to/4MuwXJf I have talked about this one before extensively SwampFox Trihawk 3x https://alnk.to/cSBo5i0 Shield RMSc https://alnk.to/bimzfXg (this is my primary RDS for narrow slide guns) Shield RMS https://alnk.to/5jeNUei (for standard width slides) Surefire E2T-MV Tactician https://alnk.to/faveQup Streamlight TLR-7 Sub https://alnk.to/3y5e6Qp (for handguns with slim dustcover rail) Crimson Trace CMR-207 https://alnk.to/7qdTGO9 (for standard dustcover rails)

Now that I am sorta back home (I leave again in 3 days), I am looking to wrap-up with my impressions on the Primary Arms GLx 2x prismatic and talk a little more about modern reflex sights, prismatics and other AR optics. Naturally, I will switch over to a Q&A after half-time. I will have a guest joining me for some of the discussion: Matt of The Everyday Marksman will swing by for a bit. He is good friend and a smart guy, so he is worth paying attention to. He had an interesting optics question that I thought was worth addressing and I hope he can stick around for some of the Q&A. If you have not seen his website, check it out. He covers a lot of interesting topics and really thinks through them: https://www.everydaymarksman.co/ Primary Arms GLX 2x: with 7.62x39/300Blackout reticle https://alnk.to/74ohj3P with 5.56 reticle https://alnk.to/4Muqytt

One of the most common questions I get is whether a particular scope is worth the money. It comes so often that I think it should be discussed in more detail. If you are trying to get the best bang for your buck, where is the sweetspot? Post show notes: Alex's Youtube channel is here: https://www.youtube.com/c/AffordableOpticsandRifleReviews/featured Some of the scopes mentioned as being in a price/performance sweetspot of their respective categories. Long range precision: Vortex Razor Gen2 4.5-27x56 https://bit.ly/3il7M7p Athlon Cronus 4.5-29x56 https://bit.ly/2T0p4MI Trijicon Tenmile 4.5-30x56 https://bit.ly/3fN0Uhm Tract Toric ELR 4.5-30x56 https://tractoptics.com/all-products/toric-uhd-4-5-30x56-34mm-ffp-mrad-elr-extreme-long-range-rifle-scope Delta Stryker HD 4.5-30x56 https://www.edgunwest.com/store/optics/item/delta-stryker-4-5-30x56/ General purpose hunting: Vortex Razor HD-LHT 3-15x42 https://bit.ly/34SyKex Leupold VX-5 3-15x44 https://bit.ly/3wZaYJR Meopta Meostar R1 3-12x56 https://bit.ly/3cj9kuP Vortex Razor HD LH 1.5-8x32 https://bit.ly/3uPeiGb Get the HD LH tweener while they still have a few. At $430 these are a steal. AR-15: Vortex Razor Gen 3 1-10x24 https://bit.ly/3ihtSYk Delta Stryker 1-6x24 https://www.edgunwest.com/store/optics/item/delta-optics-stryker-1-6x24/ Swampox TriHawk 3x30 https://bit.ly/3uUhxvP Primary Arms GLx 2x https://bit.ly/3vWrUks Vortex Spitfire Gen2 5x https://bit.ly/3vS5pwL

My original intent was to talk a little bit about choosing your first gun, but given that it is Memorial Day, I will start by spending a few minutes on that. Post show notes: Advantage Arms 22LR conversion kit https://alnk.to/7WXU45X Glock 34 https://alnk.to/dplotEq CMMG 22LR Bravo conversion kit https://alnk.to/44Peuam If I were building a starter AR-15 right now, I would source a lower receiver locally and pick up one of these from Palmetto: https://alnk.to/flpJgwg Building an AR-15 out of one of these kits is really straight forward and by the time you are done you'll have a good understanding of how the bloody thing works.

This is completely impromptu, but since Vortex announced the 5-25x56 Venom and I happened to have one in hand, I figured I should do a very early impression of sorts. There are also some political developments that may be worth covering if there is time. Discussion of the Venom 5-25x56 starts about a minute into it. The reticle is EBR-7C, not EBR-7B that I kept on mentioning in the video. I switch over to the Spitfire Gen2 5x at 19:30: https://youtu.be/DNU7mdITQSw?t=1161 We kick it over to a proper Q&A at around 30:15: https://youtu.be/DNU7mdITQSw?t=1815 And switch over to politics at 1:06:00: https://youtu.be/DNU7mdITQSw?t=3958 Other scopes mentioned: Vortex Diamondback Tactical 6-24x50 https://bit.ly/3fKcXed Element Helix 6-24x50FFP https://bit.ly/3vlT2cj PA GLx 6-24x50 Vortex Strike Eagle 5-25x56 https://bit.ly/3fOeNdU Element Titan 5-25x56 https://bit.ly/3ukzQu5 Crimson Trace Hardline Pro 6-24x50 https://bit.ly/3ulfjW8 Vortex PST Gen 2 5-25x50 https://bit.ly/3bQ67m7 Vortex PST Gen 2 3-15x44 https://bit.ly/3vlESb7 Vortex Razor Gen 2 4.5-27x56 https://bit.ly/2RDa3A9

Somewhat unusually, I have to do this one over the weekend. I'll start off talking about the two US Optics scopes I have been using for quite some time, how I think they stack up, where they fit market-wise and what applications they are good for. Then, I'll stick around for the customary Q&A for a bit. US Optics Scopes that were discussed: US Optics FDN 17x with JVCR reticle: https://bit.ly/3tRx53g US Optics FDN 17x with Gen II XR reticle: https://bit.ly/33Pfgas US Optics TS 12x with MHR reticle: https://bit.ly/3fmvgpD or https://bit.ly/3wbTaLu Other scopes I mentioned: Tangent Theta TT315M https://bit.ly/33KJk74 Nightforce ATACR 4-20x50 https://bit.ly/3wa3bZp Nightforce ATACR 4-16x42 https://bit.ly/3eNC1BL Leupold Mark 5 3.6-18x44 https://bit.ly/3wa3zHl

I am back home after a "bucket list" Aoudad hunt, so naturally that is what I want to talk about in this livecast. I'll talk a little bit about the environment, gear I used, and lessons learned. Frontier Outfitting http://www.frontieroutfitting.com/index.asp The Fix by Q https://www.liveqordie.com/products/the-fix-by-q/ Federal Hybrid Hunter 168gr https://bit.ly/33R8Xmy Eberlestock Afterburner Hunting Pants https://bit.ly/3oldJSR Forloh base layer https://bit.ly/3foKB93 or https://bit.ly/3byBq54 Salomon Quest hunting boots https://bit.ly/2RlREHC Kuiu Chugach NX Valo rain/wind jacket https://bit.ly/3ygd5us Vortex Fury 5000 HD AB 10x42 LRF binocular https://bit.ly/3yea0Lt Vortex Razor UHD 10x42 binocular https://bit.ly/3ePLd8Q

I decided to do a quick impromtu mid-day livecast, mostly to talk about March LPVOs, but also to answer any questions if you happen to be online.

Join to support this channel either at https://darklordofoptics.locals.com/ or here on Youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8LveRHZgnq469aWVQVhM2w/join Here is the second installment in the Guns of the Dark Lord series. Let me know what you think,

For this episode, I want to start out by talking a little more about precision scopes. I'll kick it off with some final thoughts on the Leica PRS scope and go from there. A little later Cyclops Joe and Brian from Edgun West will join in to discuss a Russian optics brand called Dedal. They are new to the US, so they've got my curiosity peaked to a degree. We will wrap things up with a regular Q&A. "Guess the booze" contest is naturally going to make a triumphant return.

If you wonder what exactly I mean by Episode 17.5, here is the gist of it. Last DLO Live show went for 5 hours. It was fun, but patently unsafe. You see, I drink during the show and stand at my standing desk. It is not good for my liver or my feet. Also, it is not good for my European and Russian audience when I do the show in the evening Mountain Time. That is what brought us here. I will try to do a couple of hour long, midday for me, but evening for the Euro/Russian crowd, Q&A sessions and see if there is interest. This does not replace the regular, full length (I will cap them at three hours in the future) shows.

Join to support this channel either at https://darklordofoptics.locals.com/ or here on Youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8LveRHZgnq469aWVQVhM2w/join Here is a First Look at a new scope from a new company: SAI 6 1-6x24 FFP https://alnk.to/e70aHsZ It is a good quality Japanese scope with an unusual reticle, so a lot of the focus of this video is indeed on the reticle.

Join to support this channel either at https://darklordofoptics.locals.com/ or here on Youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8LveRHZgnq469aWVQVhM2w/join Here is the first installment of a new series I am kicking off, the very tongue-in-cheek "Guns of the Dark Lord". I can start with one other than The Fix. If I was forced to only keep one boltgun, this would be it. I use it to test a lot of scopes, but the optic that is on it when I am not testing anything is the remarkable Tangent Theta TT315M 3-15x50 that will one day be pried form my cold dead hands. Choice of bipods is very personal. I happened to have an Atlas when I got the gun, so it has been on it ever since. I have not seen a need to change, but if I find something that works as well, but weighs less, I will. While sticking with the Atlas, I highly recommend the lockdown lever from Defy Gear. It has really improved the usability of the Atlas bipod for me (they also have a lever for the Magpul bipod, but that is for the next video). Tangent Theta: TT315M with Gen3 XR: https://alnk.to/eDKcq3T TT315M with Gen2 XR: https://alnk.to/cwL6Eie TT315M with Gen2 MilDot: https://alnk.to/2uzUJNv Atlas bipod: https://alnk.to/3y4sCI4

Mike from SwampFox will join me for an hour or so to talk about the new things at SwampFox and answer a few questions. After that, we will have the usual Q&A. "Guess the booze" game is coming back too. If you guess correctly what I am drinking, you get a t-shirt.

Join to support this channel either at https://darklordofoptics.locals.com/ or here on Youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8LveRHZgnq469aWVQVhM2w/join This is not a true comparison in a sense that these two scopes only look similar on paper. When you put them side by side and look both at them and through them, it is immediately apparent that the fill a very different niche. On terms of optomechanical quality, they are both quite nice and surprised me a little with how well they do for the money. The Trihawk is faster on target, partly because of the wider FOV and partly because of a bold and visible reticle. If you do not mind the weight (and it is not really that heavy, until you put it up next to the RT-3), it is a really excellent option. I am about my TriHawk off to a friend of mine, so I am very curious what he thinks. If it has a MRAD reticle, I would have kept it. Burris RT-3 is really tiny and light. It ended up being quicker in actual use than I expected and the FOV is still quite respectable. It is, for example, wider than the ACOG 3x30 (although eye relief is less flexible) and wider than the discontinued Elcan Spectre OS 3x that was previously my favourite 3x prismatic. I gave one to my brother, so I will do a comparison in not too distant future. In many ways, one of the biggest surprises of the last couple of years for me was how good prismatic scopes from several Chinese OEMs have gotten. SwampFox Blade 1x and Trihawk3x along with Burris RT-3, PA GLx 2x and a few others are a testament to that as are some new offerings from other makers. More are coming as well. As much as I like several ACOGs and higher end prismatics, it is increasingly more difficult for me to make a case for them given how good these $300 to $400 options are. Time will tell how durable they are, but so far they are really holding up nicely. It is also important that these have adjustable eyepieces (ACOGs and Elcans do not). Made in China: Burris RT-3: https://alnk.to/6mIzaoq SwampFox Trihawk: https://www.swampfoxoptics.com/Trihawk-Prism-Scope-3x30 PA GLx 2x: https://alnk.to/31kawTN Made in the US: Trijicon ACOG 3x30: https://alnk.to/90rVSX3 Trijicon Compact ACOG: https://alnk.to/hsoiY7m

Join to support this channel either at https://darklordofoptics.locals.com/ or here on Youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8LveRHZgnq469aWVQVhM2w/join In this video we take a first look at the CTS-1550 red dots sight from Crimson Trace. It has survived the initial testing, so it will go onto my carry gun (Glock 43x MOS) for a few months to see how it holds up. My carry gun ends up getting shot a fair bit since I shoot it every time I am at the range testing something else. It is a comparatively inexpensive red dot sight (sub-$200) and I a very curious how well it will do for daily carry compared to my regular setup of a nearly identical Glock with Shield RMSc. I will be offering occasional updates as I spend more time with the optic. Crimson Trace CTS-1550 https://alnk.to/6xDiQnS Shiled RMS https://alnk.to/2QpofgZ Shield RMSc https://alnk.to/1MUQmn6 Glock 43x MOS https://alnk.to/4ByY3rn

Join to support this channel either at https://darklordofoptics.locals.com/ or here on Youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8LveRHZgnq469aWVQVhM2w/join I started looking at this new GLx scope and here is the first glance at the reticle. So far, I like the way this scope is configured. It is sorta unusual configuration wise these days and one of the things that interests me is how it will stack up to more expensive 10x scopes that have much smaller objectives, for example the new high end 1-10x LPVOs, with different lighting conditions. I have a reasonable idea how it will pan out due to some experiments of distant past, but it is worth revisiting. This post will remain for supporters only for a few days, until the YouTube overlords bless it and I release it to the wild. The specific scopes I am looking at is this guy: https://alnk.to/dAfzqSm It comes with two different reticles: Griffin Mil and Raptor M2. For what I use these types of scopes for, Griffin Mil is the better option.

This livecast is solely dedicated to your questions. I have a few that I received via private messages and such. I am no longer able to provide proper types response for everything, so I will start doing these Q&A only livecasts to address them.

Join to support this channel either at https://darklordofoptics.locals.com/ or here on Youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8LveRHZgnq469aWVQVhM2w/join In this video we demonstrate how to properly line-up and torque down a riflescope in a mount. We start off with an example of setting a scope up in a one piece mount of the type commonly used on ARs. The specific scope in the video is the Primary Arms GLx 2.5-10x44 (https://bit.ly/2ZhztU2) in a PA GLx cantilever mount (https://bit.ly/3akjhHP). It is a nice DMR-type scope that is so far exceeding my expectations. For the split ring scope mounting demonstration I use SWFA SS Ultralight 2.5-10x32 in TPS high rings (https://bit.ly/3b4gKAM). Most of tools used were from Fix-It Sticks: All-in-One Torque Driver Kit: https://bit.ly/3pkjn6t Scope Jack: https://bit.ly/37gpUsE Mini All-in-One Torque Driver: https://bit.ly/37hGN6t Shooting and Hunting Bit Set: https://bit.ly/3rPxpyO Mitutoyo Feeler Gauges: https://amzn.to/3jRL1Xv

Join to support this channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8LveRHZgnq469aWVQVhM2w/join In this video, I take an initial look at a few gun vises/cradles. The contenders are: RRS VYCE https://soar.reallyrightstuff.com/VYCE-Equipment-Support-Mount Field Optics Research Gunpod FM-570 https://bit.ly/3a7Kz3W Field Optics Research FlexLite https://bit.ly/3d5Z1LI Kopfjager Reaper Grip https://bit.ly/3rI99yj