DarkLordOfOptics

Join to support this channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8LveRHZgnq469aWVQVhM2w/join I spend quite a bit of time at the range, so I figured it is worthwhile to provide occasional updates on what projects I am working on an what optics I am looking at. This time around, I am evaluating a prototype of the March Shorty 1-10x24 dual focal plane scope, Trijicon's COmpact ACOG 1.5x16 with ACSS reticle, production level Steiner CQT (absolutely remarkable optic) and a few other things here and there. #steineroptics #marchoptics #AR15optics #AR15scope #trijicon #seeallsights

My previous live show on Airguns with Joe Rhea was so much fun that I decided to follow up with another one, this one featuring Tyler Patner. Tyler is likely one of the best competition shooters in the world, and for me it is a rare opportunity to pick his brain. To accomodate Tyler's schedule, this show is on Monday night, instead of my customary Thursday, so keep that in mind.

I have been shooting airguns far more in the last 2-3 years then I had in the previous 20. It was a huge mistake to not start earlier and I'll go over a little bit what my use for them is. My guest this time is Joe Rhea aka Cyclops Joe. He has been shooting airguns far longer than I have, so it will be good to pick his brain a bit. Once we open it up to a Q&A, it is naturally a free for all and we will be happy to go into anything from optics to guns to politics. Just in case, here is the link to Joe's channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AirgunClassicsJoeWRhea/featured

Join to support this channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8LveRHZgnq469aWVQVhM2w/join In this "Through The Scope" we go into some detail on the EBR-7C reticle, its features, strengths and weaknesses. It is a very successful design for Vortex, but since there is no limit to perfection, I spend some time analyzing how it could be improved for my purposes. The general Strike Eagle overview video is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dQnF8TGxhY Link to scope on Eurooptic: https://bit.ly/347GtVn Brownells: https://bit.ly/3if6Q0L

Join to support this channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8LveRHZgnq469aWVQVhM2w/join In this video we take a look at the popular Vortex Strike Eagle 5-25x56 with EBR-7C reticle. A lot of it is a discussion of how the scope stacks up against the competition. I have it bracketed by similarly configured scopes that are a little less expensive (SwampFox Kentucky Long) and a little more expensive (Meopta Optika6) with the significantly more expensive Delta Stryker rounding out the group. After a general introduction, the video goes over the features, specifications, mechanical quality and optical quality. Overall, for the money, the Strike Eagle has a lot to offer and it easily lands on my list of recommendations. I have a separate video that gives you a "through the scope" look at the reticle and sight picture (link coming soon). Link to scope on Eurooptic: https://bit.ly/347GtVn Brownells: https://bit.ly/3if6Q0L

Join to support this channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8LveRHZgnq469aWVQVhM2w/join Here is a quick look at the Field Optics Research Tripod I have been using for the last few months. I have a lot of tripods, but this one is easily my favourite. I use it for both shooting support and photography. In this video, we go over the PRO32 tripod, F-Picatinny clamp that works for both Arca-Swiss and picatinny rails and the Gunpod gun vise for guns that do not have a standardized interface. The tripod weighs 4.6 lbs with 75mm bowl top and 115lbs weight capacity (I misspoke in the video). F-Picatinny clamp discussion starts at 1:10: https://youtu.be/T8V9CuSDWYM?t=68 A little more about the tripod itself starting at 2:50: https://youtu.be/T8V9CuSDWYM?t=171 A discussion of the High Angle Bracket starts at 4:15: https://youtu.be/T8V9CuSDWYM?t=255 Overview of the Gunpod Vise starting at 8:35: https://youtu.be/T8V9CuSDWYM?t=515 Final thoughts at 11:34: https://youtu.be/T8V9CuSDWYM?t=694

I'll start by going over the key differences and selection criteria. Then, as ever, I'll open it up to a Q&A

In this video we take a look through the new Delta Hornet 1-6x24 LPVO with D2BR reticle. I start out by discussing the overall features and performance of the scope, with the reticle discussion starting at around 4:30 mark. Join to support this channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8LveRHZgnq469aWVQVhM2w/join

With this video I am looking to step back a little from the very expensive products I have been mostly looking at and test something with a broader appeal. Join to support this channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8LveRHZgnq469aWVQVhM2w/join The sighting set-up in this video, altogether, costs about $700 which is still a lot of money, but is a far cry from the $4k+ setups I have been looking at. The specifics optics I am looking at are Delta Hornet 1-6x24 with DDBR reticle and Hawke Micro RDS with 5MOA dot. After the intro, I first go over the AeroPrecision mount, starting at 3:10 https://youtu.be/_f_pq24VPD4?t=190 Then the Delta Hornet 1-6x24 scope at 4:35: https://youtu.be/_f_pq24VPD4?t=276 A discussion of the D2BR reticle starts at 6:10: https://youtu.be/_f_pq24VPD4?t=371 A few words about the Hawke RDS at 10:05: https://youtu.be/_f_pq24VPD4?t=605 Final Thoughts at 12:30: https://youtu.be/_f_pq24VPD4?t=750

Join to support this channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8LveRHZgnq469aWVQVhM2w/join Here is a first look at SwampFox's TriHawk 3x prismatic scope. It is an interesting design weighing in about a pound with the mount included and delivering full 10 degree FOV. For comparison, the smaller Elcan ATOS 3x has 6 deg FOV, Trijicon 3x30 ACOG has 3.7 deg FOV and Trijicon 3x24 Compact ACOG has 4.9 deg FOV. I think this is the widest FOV 3x prismatic I have seen to date. The huge sight picture of this scope is something to behold. #swampfoxoptics #trihawk #prismaticscope #riflescopes #ar15optics

Join to support this channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8LveRHZgnq469aWVQVhM2w/join 0:00 Intro 5:45 Human Vision 8:00 Situational awareness 10:00 Why and How of co-witnessing 17:40 Rear sight location 20:15 Aging eyesight 22:15 Shooting accuracy 24:15 Iron sight types Here is the Guns and Ammo article referenced in the video: https://www.gunsandammo.com/editorial/pitfalls-mounting-pistol-optics/370097 In this video I go over my reasoning for how I set up red dot sights on semi-auto handguns and why I think co-witnessing with conventional height iron sights is important. That means low profile red dot sights are very important and that is why I tend to use Shield RMS or similar sights. All Shield RMS sights have the same mounting pattern but come in two different widths: Shield RMSc is a compact red dot sight for narrow slides: https://bit.ly/2ZgWZRh Shield RMS is a touch wider for regular slides: https://bit.ly/339VENt Shield RMSw is a slightly beefed up and waterproof version of the RMS. I have been using RMS and RMSc for a while and I am very happy with them. RMSw is newere, but so far, so good. All three are very low profile which is key for the way I like to set up red dot sights on handguns. Other red dot sights mentioned in the video that fit the same mounting pattern are Sig's Romeo Zero (https://bit.ly/3h8JIR9) and SwampFox Sentinel (https://www.swampfoxoptics.com/sentinel)

This video was suggested by one of the channel supporters, which is how I come up with many of the discussion topics. To help talk about precison rifles from a competition perspective, I invited my friend Will, who shoots PRS competitions to help field some of the questions. Will has a Youtube channel as well with the most recent video there being a very good review of Tract Toric 4.5-30x56 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhpGb2Xj9MA&t=1s The video starts with some general chit chat and a couple of announcement of new riflescopes I am beginning to test. 5:50 My take on precision rifles and an overview of what I use and why. 16:30 Will goes over his preferences and what he uses for PRS. 30:00 The livecast was restarted and we jumped into the Q&A. First half hour of the video is an overview of the decision process and the rest is Q&A. Join to support this channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8LveRHZgnq469aWVQVhM2w/join

This is the second part of the livecast, since Youtube killed the first part. I had a local copy of both parts, so I merged them together and uploaded them as a separate video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ry29sGZflG8 Join to support this channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8LveRHZgnq469aWVQVhM2w/join

Join to support this channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8LveRHZgnq469aWVQVhM2w/join I am re-visiting the Leica PRS 5-30x56 scope, but this time with the L-Ballistic reticle that is more to my liking. Optically and mechanically, this is a nice scope. I need to do a little more shooting with it before it goes back, but so far so good. In this video, we mostly look through the scope at the reticle features. Here is a link to the exact model in this video: https://alnk.to/2Qoq43E And here is a link to the one with the PRB reticle that I mention early in the video: https://alnk.to/7WWovJX

Join to suport this channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8LveRHZgnq469aWVQVhM2w/join Here is a quick look through the Delta Stryker HD 1-6x24 scope. At current prices, this scope punches way above its weight class.

Join to support this channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8LveRHZgnq469aWVQVhM2w/join Most of my video footage on this scope, unfortunately went down the drain when my computer was destroyed, but I found this "through the scope" video clip on one of the backup memory cards. Generally, this scope and the Vortex Razor Gen 3 1-10x24 were discussed during a livecast earlier this month: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2ViTDM5ypM After a few days behind the pay wall, I will make the video public. #vortexoptics #vortexrazor #lpvo #1-10x24 #1-8x24 #S&B #DualCC #1-8x24 Join to support this channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8LveRHZgnq469aWVQVhM2w/join

Most of my video footage on this scope, unfortunately went down the drain when my computer was destroyed, but I found this "through the scope" video clip on one of the backup memory cards. Generally, this scope and the competing S&B were discussed during a livecast earlier this month: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2ViTDM5ypM After a few days behind the pay wall, I will make the video public. #vortexoptics #vortexrazor #lpvo #1-10x24 Join to support this channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8LveRHZgnq469aWVQVhM2w/join

I'll start off with a few points on modern day politics, COVID, riots and the election. Then, we can move onto a general purpose Q&A and discussion on pretty much anything you want to talk about. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8LveRHZgnq469aWVQVhM2w/join

This video is the rather long winded introduction to DLO Channel memberships that I am rolling out. I start with a brief re-hash of who I am and what I do, but most of this is about my problem with advertising and affiliate revenue. In a nutshell: I am looking to set this up so that I am only responsible to my audience, not to advertisers. Join to support this channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8LveRHZgnq469aWVQVhM2w/join

Once a year or so, I go through this scenario of what I would choose if I could only have one gun, with one optics setup. Or one gun of each type. Or one gun of each type while still staying married. I figured this might be a good discussion topic for a livecast. I am travelling Wednesday and Thursday of this week, so let's do this on Tuesday night.

Since my pre-recorded video was on the computer that Lenovo is still trying to salvage a few pieces out of, I want to publish my 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.

Here is a kick-off for a series of Livestream Q&A sessions I plan to do going forward. This one was somewhat unplanned, but going forward, I'll try to get these going every other Thursday at 8PM Mountain Time.

This is a first look at SwampFox' new Bade 1x prismatic scope. I'll be spending a lot more time with this sight in the next few months. https://www.swampfoxoptics.com/blade-1x25-prism Vortex Spitfire 1x https://alnk.to/2uyzltk Burris AR-1x https://alnk.to/6IwKT5A Primary Arms 1x: https://www.primaryarms.com/pa-1x-compact-prism-scope-with-acss-cyclops-reticle-black Join to support this channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8LveRHZgnq469aWVQVhM2w/join

I am kicking off a test of the new FDN 17x 3.2-17x50 scope with the JVCR reticle from US Optics. This is a first look with my initial impressions of the scopes. Stay tuned for follow-ups as I spend more time with this design. Here is the exact model I am lookign at: https://alnk.to/bE9U0tk Note: I miscalculated the apparent FOV of the FDN17x. It should be around 15.5 degrees, so right around the same as the new March eyepiece. Another note: black scope does not stand out all that well in front of a black t-shirt. Lesson learned. I start off with a few minutes of background info. Discussion of the features and controls starts at around 8:30 Optics discussion starts at 17:35 Join to support this channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8LveRHZgnq469aWVQVhM2w/join

Here is a Russian language overview of some of the scopes on my list of recommendations. The original English language video is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHJn-EsxcBE Join to support this channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8LveRHZgnq469aWVQVhM2w/join My website has a fair bit more details and recommendations. Riflescope recommendations are sorted by price here: http://opticsthoughts.com/?page_id=623 Tangent Theta scopes at Eurooptic: https://alnk.to/1BYFuOF March scopes at Eurooptic: https://alnk.to/clOTkCe S&B PMII Dual CC 1-8x24: https://alnk.to/hDhCL9Z Vortex Razor Gen3 1-10x24: https://alnk.to/7qbFRRo Brownell MPO 3-18x50: https://alnk.to/3cdukNm Vortex PST Gen 2 3-15x44: https://alnk.to/eODv49q Meopta Optika6 5-30x56 with MRAD reticle https://alnk.to/5u7l50b Steiner P4Xi 1-4x24: https://alnk.to/a3V2AB0 SWFA SS Ultralight 2.5-10x32: https://amzn.to/2YMiVEa