OSight makes some of the smallest enclosed-emitter red dots and now they’ve made their largest. The mode R is a rifle-sized, enclosed-emitter, multi-reticle reflex sight. It comes with a Trijicon T1/T2 compatible AR co-witness height mount. At launch, OSight offers a promo package that includes a high 1.93″ mount.
Its boxy design has Eotech HWS vibes, but the R is both smaller in than an HWS, while having a larger window. OLight designed the R with a 7075 body, able to hold zero over 10k rounds and survive a 1-mile height drop. It has clever, see-through hinged lens covers, which can be swapped out for the included hex kill flash.
The unit has a motion-activated reticle with a 2MOA dot or 65MOA circle options. It uses a standard CR2032 coin battery with an 85,000hr rated run-time. In my live-fire testing, the unit provided an excellent sight picture to my target at 50 yards, and I was able to quickly and repeatedly get the dot on target.
In 2025, BART introduced the Let’s Glow! BART Anime Festival and attracted more than triple the expected 1000 attendees. This year, the free anime festival expanded to accommodate even more anime fans. I traveled to the Warm Springs/South Fremont Station to check it out.
This year, the fest doubled in size. Booths and exhibits took up both sides of the BART station. The Itasha car expo in the Southern Pick-Up lot, the Artist Alley in the North side lot. In between, there was a stage for performers and cosplay contests, and a Food Truck row.
Itasha cars are vehicles themed and often wrapped with graphics depicting characters from popular anime and manga, and now VTubers. The Artist Alley was double the size and packed with shoppers picking up fan-made anime art, plushies, and merch. The longest line was for the Railgoods booth selling official BART merch featuring its Anime mascots: Baylee, Nimbus, Jasmine, and Mira
BART has anime mascots? Along with the Vatican (yes, the Vatican) the San Francisco BAY AREA RAPID TRANSIT system wanted to reach out “the youth.” Appealing to Asian-weeb subculture of Anime by bolting on a BART logo onto it. Did it work? Overall BART ridership is down 56% since 2016 but the Lets Glow! Festival has doubled in attendance since last year. So yay, I guess?
In this episode, I’ll be interviewing Bill Paulley from Arken Optics. This Livestream is sponsored by Aura.com. Go to my link https://aura.com/moondog to get a 14-day free trial and see if any of your data has been exposed.
This episode is sponsored by MattHat jerky. Use code: MOONDOG to get 15% Order a free sample using my link https://matthatjerky.com/products/sample-pack?ref=moondog
EARLYBIRD Visual Clue:
VIDEOS THIS WEEK
Moondog2A
Moondog Reviews
Moondog Go
BRAND CONTEST CLUE
This gun-maker was founded in 1949 by Alexander McCormick Sturm and William B. Ruger. Its first firearm was a .22LR semi-auto pistol heavily inspired by the Japanese Nambu and German Luger pistols.
DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE
Arken is a Texas-based optics company that was founded by a former Navy SEAL. In the 2010s, it came out with the SH4 scope, which changed the optics landscape. For the first time, you could get a brand-new PRS-style long-range scope for under $400.
Last year they went through an ownership and management change. They’ve come out of it with a new headquarters in Houston, TX, upgrades to their long-range scopes, and a brand new hunting-scope line. Today, I interview Bill Pauley of Arken Optics.
FINAL CLUE
This gun maker produces the two most popular .22LR rifles in the world. September of 2020 it purchased Marlin firearms from Remington and now produces both the Marlin 60 and its own 10/22 rifle.
DISCOUNTS AND OFFERS
Arken Special scope ring and accessory bundles for Labor Day week. 20% OFF Sitewide with code MOONDOG 25% OFF for Verified Veterans
Vueroid S1 Dashcam September 5 to September 20, customers will save up to 35% off the regular price on Amazon. https://vector2007.com/X-NanoVEOT-RSS08 Discount code (12% off): MOONDOG
The PL X is an evolution in OLights’ pistol lights. They designed the PLX to be shorter and more compact than their previous PL models, to be more holster-compatible. The PLX has the ability to switch between a flood or spot beam. The new GL adds a green laser for aiming assistance in low light.
Physically, the GL is similar to the original PL X. The USB-C port at the bottom has been moved and replaced with a flat switch for white light, laser, or combined output. The flood/spot selector switch can still be found on the left side of the unit.
The PL X has contoured buttons that allow you to push forward or push downward to activate the beam. The PL X has OLight’s familiar controls able to switch between low- and high-brightness modes with a double-tap, and strobe by pressing both buttons simultaneously or triple-tapping.
Thankfully, this OLight now recharges with a universal standard USB-C port. Remarkably, the unit is IPX 7 rated and able to be submerged in water for up to 30 minutes. I don’t claim that any OLIGHT is as durable or as reliable as military-tested weaponlights, but OLIGHT offers a lifetime warranty with good customer service.
Max Lumens: 1200 (Flood mode) Max Run Time: 95 min Maximum Throw: 260 yards (Spot mode) Battery type: 620 mAh Charging type: USB-C Dimensions: 63 x 30 x 31.5 mm (2.48 in x 1.18 in x 1.24 in) Weight w/battery: 3.1 oz / 88 g Track compatibility: 1913, Glock IPX: 7 waterproof
Most people have never heard of the Votatu brand but the G2L is one of the most affordable lights I’ve tested. The G2L is a compact green laser and flashlight unit that is about half the size of typical 1000 lumen weaponlights. My unit only achieved 800 lumens of output, which is still a respectably bright flashlight. The flattened main body is metal and feels robust, but while testing its IPX 65 rating, I accidentally used high-pressure water. Water did find its way into the unit, but it continued to function normally until runtime testing eventually evaporated the moisture.
The G2L has some disappointing aspects. The unit charges via a proprietary magnetic cable, so you better not lose it. It is not truly ambidextrous. The white light is only activated by the right paddle, and the laser is controlled by the left paddle. Despite these shortfalls, the G2L stands out for its low price under $50.
G2L-G Body: Aluminum Max Output: 1000 lumens Max Throw: 100m Laser Color: Green Laser Max Output: ＜5mW Mount Type: Picatinny, Glock Battery: Polymer Battery (Built-in) Charger: Magnetic IPX: 65 Dimension: 68x33x30mm (2.7×1.3×1.2″) Weight: 81g/2.86oz
Do you recognize the duo in the Ozempic Ads? They’re a hack ripoff. This Livestream is sponsored by Aura.com. Go to my link https://aura.com/moondog to get a 14-day free trial and see if any of your data has been exposed.
This episode is sponsored by MattHat jerky. Use code: MOONDOG to get 15% Order a free sample using my link https://matthatjerky.com/products/sample-pack?ref=moondog
EARLYBIRD Visual Clue:
VIDEOS THIS WEEK
Moondog2A
Moondog Reviews
Moondog Go
BRAND CONTEST CLUE
Introduced in 1963, this was the Coca-Cola Company’s first no-calorie diet softdrink.
Apple’s “Get a Mac” campaign which ran from 2006-2009, created by TBWA-Chiat/Day. This campaign was largely lauded at the time, as being memorable, funny, and unpretentious (unlike the previous “Think Different” campaign).
It’s so bad, I could not find any article identifying the Advertising agency responsible for the creative development of the TV ads. A company called Rogue Producer is credited for the creative work. After further delving, they have been described as “an internal independent advertising and content production department”, which explains why this campaign is so meh. It’s a TV commercial created by NovoNortics own marketing department who created something only they find amusing or interesting. Nobody else cares.
This is an example of “Talking to Yourself” and “Borrowed Interest”
Borrowed interest: Advertising and Marketing’s “Cheap Shot”
• Apple’s own “Think different” campaign featuring Albert Einstein, Martin Luther King Jr., Picasso, and others. They never owned a Mac.
• All Celebrity Endorsements: Matthew McConaughey + Lincoln
• Dead Celebrity Endoresement: Fred Astaire + Dirt Devil
With the permission of his wife, the late Fred Astaire was shown in one of his best-known film dance routines with a Dirt Devil in a computer-generated scene for an ad that debuted during the 1997 Super Bowl.
• Bugs Bunny in Nike’s Michael Jordan’s Air Jodan TV campaign. So successful it spawned the movie “Space Jam”
OZEMPIC CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT?
FINAL CLUE
This O.G. diet soft drink was also the first to receive a health scare. In the early 1970’s a lab rat study suggested a connection between sacharine and cancer in lab rats, forcing this drink to sport the first medical warning in it’s label. It was later found that the Canadian study was flawed giving male rats the equivelent of 800 soda cans of sacarin per day. The FDA officially removed the cancer warning in 2000 but too late for this brand, which was canceled by Coca-Cola.
DISCOUNTS AND OFFERS
Vueroid S1 Dashcam September 5 to September 20, customers will save up to 35% off the regular price on Amazon. https://vector2007.com/X-NanoVEOT-RSS08 Discount code (12% off): MOONDOG
Arken Special scope ring and accessory bundles for Labor Day week. 20% OFF Sitewide with code MOONDOG 25% OFF for Verified Veterans
The Maxdone 4K incorporates a solar panel can keep the unit powered day and night. Over a 2.5 week test, it captured footage through multiple overcast days in direct sun as well a 2-day test mounted under a bush with limited direct sunlight. If the unit can not be mounted in a location that receives direct sunlight, is has a USB-C port, which allows it be powered or recharged via an external battery or solar panel.
The unit’s LED lamps that allow it to capture nightvision footage. My package came with a 32GB SD card and the unit can accomodate 256 GB cards. The cam can be accessed via WiFi and Bluetooth using a downlodable phone App. This is vital in aiming and positioning the camera and allows you to review captured footage.
This solar powered trailcam solves the biggest issue I’ve had with trailcams: the battery pack. AA powered trailcams I’ve tested in the past failed because the batteries never lasted as long as needed or worse, corroded and destroyed the internals of the trailcam. The Maxdone camera is light weight and priced at under $60 on Amazon.
By the way, why researching this article, I discovered that trailcams aren’t aren’t a modern invention. They are nearly as old as film cameras themselves. I discussed it on my TMI livestream show.
If you’ve ever fumbled for your phone’s flashlight in a dark parking lot and muttered something unprintable, meet the EDC15. This blade-style EDC is the little brother of the EDC17 minus the laser and about an inch in overall length.
The slide-switch operation keeps things simple. Four steady white levels plus strobe and a hidden unltra-low mode. In addition it has 3 levels of UV brightness for identifying bogus bills or unsavery activity by the previous occupiers of your hotel room.
The beam is mostly flood, great for close work, less great if you’re trying to spot a raccoon across the field. Build quality feels solid for the size made of aluminum that shrugs off pocket lint and the occasional drop. It even comes with a clip and lanyard.
Is it the brightest, throwiest, or fanciest light on the market? No. But it’s the one you’ll actually have with you when the power goes out, the basement gets weird, or you just need to find the remote under the couch.
Continuing CVLife’s proud tradition of smashing animal names into a random name, we get the EagleVanta 6-24×50 FFP. “Vanta” still means “boast” in Italian, and this one boasts a proper first-focal-plane Christmas-tree MOA reticle, a 34 mm tube, zero-stop elevation, and side parallax that actually goes down to 10 yards. Not bad for a scope that costs less than a decent night out.
The scope has fully multi-coated ED glass, comes comes with flip-up caps, a sunshade, and a nice set of rings. But perhaps to accomodate any strange rifle setups, these are high rings which are about 1/2″ too high for any of my rifles unless you prefer a see-through setup for your iron sights?
It’s not going to dethrone a high-end Japanese or German optic, and at nearly 30 ounces it’s no featherweight. But for the money it delivers real long-range tools—FFP holdovers that work at every magnification, decent tracking, and enough adjustment to get you into trouble—without requiring a second mortgage.
Did you know that TrailCams aren’t a new inventions? They’ve been around for nearly as long as photography.
This Livestream is sponsored by Aura.com. Go to my link https://aura.com/moondog to get a 14-day free trial and see if any of your data has been exposed.
This episode is sponsored by MattHat jerky. Use code: MOONDOG to get 15% Order a free sample using my link https://matthatjerky.com/products/sample-pack?ref=moondog
EARLYBIRD Visual Clue:
VIDEOS THIS WEEK
Moondog2A
Moondog Reviews
Moondog Go
BRAND CONTEST CLUE
This company invented rolled photographic film and the Funsaver disposable cameras. And ironically invented digital photography in the 1970’s but were eventually killed by the smartphones, declaring bankruptcy in the 2000’s.
DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE
Maxdone Trail Camera sneek peek. This is a solar powered WiFi enabled cam.
TrailCams seem like a modern invention. But after doing a deep dive, I came across this article from a Canadian hunger Nathan Davis that reminded me that TrailCams have been around for almost as long as there have been film cameras.
In 1877 Eadweard Muybridge took this historic series of photos of a galloping horse.
•Proved a bet by Leeland Standfor that a horse has all 4 legs in the air during a full running gallop.
• This led to the invention of motion pictures
In the 1880’s George Shiras III a Congressman from PA and a pioneer in nature photography, invented wildlife trap photography using a flash and trip wire.
The first commercialy available all-in-one film TrailCam was the 1980’s Cuddeback.
BUT I DIGRESS Camera companies were instrumental in creating products for hunting. Leica invented the first commercially available hand-held laser range finder in 1993.
Mileseey makes industrial laser measuring devices. I recently tested the longest range laser rangefinder, the IonJet8
• 8000 yard max range
• MIL-STD-810H compliant
• Built in ballistic calculator with up to 10 bullet profiles
FINAL CLUE
This company was founded by George Eastman in 1892 in Rochester, NY and became one of the largest photographic film and comera companies in the world.
DISCOUNTS AND OFFERS
Vueroid S1 Dashcam September 5 to September 20, customers will save up to 35% off the regular price on Amazon. https://vector2007.com/X-NanoVEOT-RSS08 Discount code (12% off): MOONDOG
Arken Special scope ring and accessory bundles for Labor Day week. 20% OFF Sitewide with code MOONDOG 25% OFF for Verified Veterans
