All posts by moondog

Tom "Moondog" DelMundo is a former NYC Creative Director.

TPO KT 5-40×56

Texas Precision Optics is now putting out their scopes under the brand name TPO, and dropping their old brand name Sniper. I welcome this change as I always found the name “Sniper” to be a bit cringy; like a knife company using the brand name “Ninja”.

I reviewed a few Sniper scopes a few years ago. They were budget-priced scopes that came with a wealth of accessories and a few compromises. They had sharp glass but with noticeable chromatic aberration. Their build quality and construction were a bit rough and unrefined. I had low expectations when they offered to send me a KT 5-40×56 to test.

The KT has TPO’s industrial aesthetic with turret’s and knobs that look like motor gears. The fit and finish was unrefined; its parallax and magnification knobs were exceptionally stiff. The turrets had quite a bit of slop between clicks and felt imprecise. Despite this, the turrets tracked and the scope held zero.

Its most positive feature was its glass, which had far less chromatic aberration than previous TPO scopes. But the scope had a very tight eyebox and was dim and low contrast at its higher magnification. The reticle is a traditional cross-hair with MIL stadia, but may be too thick for precision shooters.

The KT promises 5-40×56 performance but compromises its fit-and-finish and eyebox. But with a street price under $300, some budget-conscious shooters who need a 40x may be willing to overlook its shortcomings

BUY

Available on Amazon https://amzn.to/3Ei79cd

RESOLUTION

Group 0 / Element 1

SPECS

Magnification: 5-40x

Objective: 56mm

Eye Relief:  4.9~4.2″

Focus: 30 yards to infinity

FOV: 15~2.6 @ 100 yrds

Click Value: 1/8 MOA

Max Elevation Adj: 80 MOA

Max Windage Adj: 80 MOA

Illumination: Red/Green

Battery: CR2032

Weight: 43 oz

Length: 18″

SHOT 2025 Athlon Rangecraft Chrono

Athlon Optics is known for making a wide range of high-quality scopes on par with other Leupold, Vortex, and Burris at a more reasonable price. At SHOT Show 2025 their most surprising new product wasn’t a scope or optic.

Athlon is releasing the Rangecraft Velocity Pro ballistic chronograph. Looking strikingly similar to the Garmin Xero, the differences lie in its user interface which is much easier to use and snappy. Like their scopes, the biggest advantage that Athlon delivers is price. The expected street price is about half that of the Garmin Xero.

UPDATE: Due to the Trump Administration’s Tarriffs, prices for electronics made in China went up and there were delays in shipment. The original launch date was intended for late April but the first shipments were delayed.

SHOT 2025 Athlon Budget Thermal Scope

Athlon Optics released a slew of new products at SHOT Show 2025, but one of the most exciting is a budget-priced thermal scope, the Cronos ATS Pro 25p. This high-performance thermal scope will have a retail price of around $699 with a 1024×768 OLED HD display to provide a sharp, high contrast view with vivid color.

As Dustin said, Athlon has been offering shooters great value, and with these updates, even more so. I look forward to trying out all of these new products in the coming year.

BUY

Amazon https://amzn.to/44jeGlx

SHOT 2025 Leupold VX HD Gen2

At the Leupold booth in SHOT Show 2025 I was brought into their meeting room to see just one scope. But this scope was the Gen 2 update of their flagship VX hunting line. The VX HD Gen2 features ED glass and a newly redesigned tool-less resetable turrets. These turrets have a lever which sits flush into the circular turret, which swings out to release the turret top to reset the zero.

BUY

Amazon Leupold VX-6HD Gen 2 3-18×44 https://amzn.to/3QQjwyM

SHOT 2025 Staccato HD P4

Staccato 2011’s are one of the hottest 1911-style pistols because they are double-stack 9mm bridging the gap between those who love the 1911 platform but want a pistol with the capacity of a modern 9mm duty pistol. At SHOT Show, they debuted their new HD P4, a compact design to be a CCW pistol.

There’s also a rumor that this new pistol would be certified to be available to civilians in California. I asked if that was true at their booth but unfortunately, it turns out to be just a rumor.

WEBSITE

https://staccato2011.com/products/staccato-hd-p4

SF New England Lobster

Just south of San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is a bona fide New England lobster pound. A place with open saltwater tanks holding live lobsters. They are flown in from Maine to SFO and offloaded and stored at the New England Lobster Market and Eatery in Burlingame, California.

This establishment is modeled after traditional lobster pounds and shacks in New England. This store is the source of “fresh Maine lobsters”, served in San Francisco’s fine restaurants and hotels. The general public is also welcome to shop in the market for live lobsters, shellfish, frozen lobster tails, and local crab. The market also has an eatery and restaurant that serve delicious lobster rolls, lobster tacos, and whole lobsters to the public.

While its far from the prices found in Maine, its still the cheapest place to eat fresh New England lobster in California.

TMI Live 250409 Will Rosado


Too Much Information live chat show. In this episode, we’ll be meeting Will Rosado, who is the illustrator for GI Joe. This video is sponsored by Aura. Stop leaving yourself vulnerable to data breaches. 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. Read my notes https://moondogindustries.com/tmi-live-250326/

SPONSOR

Aura https://aura.com/moondog

EARLYBIRD Clue: This toy company’s products include TransformersG.I. JoePower RangersRom the Space KnightMicronautsM.A.S.K.MonopolyFurbyNerfPotato HeadBop It!Play-DohTwister, and My Little Pony

THIS WEEK

Moondog2A

Moondog Reviews

Moondog Go

NAME THE BRAND CLUE

This toy brand started as the Hassenfeld Brothers company in Providence, Rhode Island, in late 1923. The company originally made textiles, then produced pencil cases and school supplies. 

THUMBNAIL THIS

DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE

Special Guest: https://www.williamrosado.com/
William Rosado is a comic book artist and illustrator. He began his career in 1993 working for Marvel Comics as a penciler on the title G.I. Joe. His first published work for DC Comics was over the New Titans title as a penciler. He worked on some of the Batman and Superman titles during the 90’s.

CONTESTS
Bubble Level Contest
https://moondogindustries.com/april2025-contest/

NAME THE BRAND CLUE:

This toy brand’s logo has changed several times over the decades.

HASHTAG DRAWING #hasbro

https://moondogindustries.com/april-contest

Next Livestream Wed April 16

SHOT 2025 Burris Optics

At the Burris / Steiner booth in SHOT Show 2025 they had a ton of new optics to show off. Their entire line of Fullfield scopes has been updated for their 50th Anniversary. These scopes feature stylish red turrets which are user changable to other turrets with zero stop and calibrations.

Burris has a new enclosed emitter Fastfire E. But by far, their biggest debut is their new XTR PS model of electronic augmented long-range scope with a in-tube heads-up-display. This optic syncs with their ballistic App for you phone that helps you calculate your adjustments as well as starts a shot timer when it senses recoil from your rifle.

BUY

XTR PS

Fed Automatch Budget Rifle Challenge

Last month, I participated in the Budget Rifle and Ammo Challenge created by BoomStick @FukuYTmark6 and LongRilfe @MnShootingSports. This challenge target has six 3/4″ target rounds which are small but not unusual for a 50-yard rimfire challenge target. The real challenge is the limitations on the price of the gear and ammo you can shoot it with.

This challenge is limited to factory rifles (no upgraded trigger or barrel) and optic must have a retail price of less than $700 combined. Moreover, the rimfire ammo used must be bulk box 22LR and excludes more premium ammo types such as CCI Standard and Norma Tac22 (CCI standard is premium? love it!).

I accepted this challenge with a smile. My rifle is a factory Ruger Precision Rimfire which I bought on a Black Friday sale. I’m going to count the average sale price today which is about $400. That means the scope I choose has to cost less than $300. Fortunately for me, I recently reviewed the Discovery Optic LHD 8-32×56. A very high magnification scope for a very budget price of about $249 https://youtu.be/Jn7LcnJBsbg. For the challenge, I shot it with Federal AutoMatch a 40grn LRN round.

During the challenge run, my 3rd shot was a wildly off flyer. This inconsistency would plague the rest of my run. My best target was the 2nd with two shots going through the same hold. The rest were inconsistent. I ended up with a score of only 7 of a possible 18. Federal AutoMatch was even worse ammo in my rifle than Aguila, with which I scored 11.

Download your own target and try it yourself: https://mnshootingsports.com

BUY IT

Discovery Optics website
Get 10% Off using code: Moondog: https://www.discoveryopt.com/DISCOVERYOPT-LHD-8-32X56SFIR-FFP-Z-optics-Scopes.html

Amazon 10% discount code: Moondog832 https://amzn.to/3Ck6nu2

This article was featured on Ammo.com
https://ammo.com/bulk-ammo/bulk-22-ammo

Athlon Midas G2 12×50 at a Ballgame

https://youtu.be/v0rowRTP-hw

I reviewed the Midas G2 Pro 12×50 over a year ago and found they produced some of the clearest images I’ve tested from a 12x binocular under $500. Over the course of the year, it’s helped me spot my targets at the range and been a solid performer. Last week I took it to watch a major league ballgame at San Francisco’s Oracle Park.

Watching a ballgame is a different experience with this optic. I didn’t have a tripod or mount to steady and it was constantly scanning the field, fast panning to follow the ball and plays. In this use case, I found that the Midas was a bit more finicky to find its best focus. I found myself adjusting the focus and diapoter. I also found the exit pupil’s sweet spot to be slightly past the maximum extension of the telescoping eye-cups, so I’ll probably add some extended rubber cups if I want to use these at another ballgame.

BUY

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3VSVhDW

Midway USA: https://sovrn.co/1l9rzg2

SPECS

MIDAS G2 PRO

Magnification: 12x

Objective: 50mm

Eye Relief: 15.0mm

Close Focus : 3.5m

FOV: 281 fr. @ 1000 yrds

Coating: XPL

Glass: UHD

Prism: BaK-4

Waterproof 

Argon Purged

Weight: 32 oz

Dimensions: 6.5″ x 5.1″