Mexico’s Aguila is the largest ammo maker in Latin America. Their ammo features in many of the .22LR ammo review videos on my YouTube channel, as have my various mispronunciations of their name. But I’m not alone, as evidenced in this video where I ask visitors and vendors at Shot Show 2022 how they pronounce, “Aguila.”
Monthly Archives: April 2022
Athlon Helos BTR Gen2 4-20×50
The Helos is step up from my Athlon Argos. This first focal plane scope has more refined and precisely designed turrets with a rock solid brass zero stop. The reticle is finer and less cluttered.
In other ways it is very similar despite being over $200 more. It shares similar optics performance. Both are argon purged (argon is a heavier gas than nitrogen and that helps purge the tube of lighter atmospheric gases and water vapor). Despite the Helos’ higher price it is still a good value when comparing performance and features to similarly priced scopes from Vortex.
I chose the 4-20×50 because it is slightly smaller and nearly a 1/2lb lighter than the more popular 6-25x scopes. I don’t feel I’m losing performance because at most matches I seldom dial my magnification higher than 12-16x. Lower power settings also afford you a wider field of view, that is sharper, brighter and more vibrant.
This scope has a street price under $600 and is available on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3L5cPnR
RESOLUTION
Element: 3-4
Group: -1
SPECS
| Weight | 27.6 oz |
| Length | 13.3 in |
| FOV @ 100yds | 27.9 – 5.6 ft |
| Eye relief | 3.6 mm |
| Objective size | 50 mm |
| Zoom range | 4x-20x |
| Main tube size | 30 mm |
| Parallax adjustment | 10 – Infinity |
| Zero stop | Yes |
| Total elevation travel | 32 MILs (100 MOA) |
| Total windage travel | 25 MILs (80 MOA) |
| Turret travel per rotation | 10 MILs |
OVERALL RATINGS
Build: 5
Glass: 4
Reticle: 5
Holds Zero: 5
Box Test: 5
Turrets: 5
Eye Box: 5
Value: 4.5
Shot Show 2022: Cutting Edge 22LR Bullet Kit
In 2020, Precision rimfire shooters were equal parts, intrigued and dubious of photos of circulating on the interwebs of 22LR bullets with fantastically elongated sharply pointed bullets, not unlike those on a 6.5 Creedmoor or similar speciality ELR ammunition. As it turned out, these bullets were real, solid-copper spitzer-style bullets created by custom bullet manufacturer, Cutting Edge of Idaho.
I saw photos of these pointy spitzer-style bullets last year and they looked pretty wicked, but I wondered if these were some gimmick or just experimental? Regardless, I’m sure many of us thought, I’d give it a try if could get my hands on some?
These bullet were first shown off at Shot Show 2020 but due to the pandemic shutting down the show in 2021, I hadn’t seen or heard about them until I saw Josh of Pursuit of Accuracy posted a video about them. His initial tests seemed positive but he wasn’t convinced that their performance were worth the cost.
I got a chance to visit the Cutting Edge booth and learn a bit more. They only bullets and not as boxed cartridge ammo so strictly for Loaders/Reloaders. And given the unusual nature and barrel requirements, probably strictly for competition .22LR loaders.
Still I’m curious if anybody has bought this kit or have had a chance to load and fire them? So far it’s been second-hand word-of-mouth about their performance. For those who are reloaders, these bullets are sold in kits which include the bullets and brass for about $80 for 200rnds.