Category Archives: Shooting Sports

Firearms and shooting sports

Gadgets, Shooting Sports

Tarantula LRF 25-256 Thermal Scope

To be honest, I’d never heard of the Vistaget brand before they approached me to test their thermal hunting scope. The Tarantula is a thermal scope with a heavy-duty body and recoil abosorbing integrated picatinny base. It provides day/night performance with an OLED display and a built-in laser rangefinder.

Build in rangefinders are the new must-have when hunting with night vision as determining the range to a target is critical when adjusting for ballistic drop. The Tarantula can also store up to 10 different ballistic profiles and adjust the reticle for point of impact. Unfortunately the laser ranging button is also the MENU activation and selection button which caused numerous mistaken function when I tested it.

Its controls and adjustments aren’t intuitive. The optical focus knob is at top of the scope insead of a side focus more commonly found in optical scopes. Instead the side knob is the digital zoom which would be better placed near the eye piece. Ergonomics overall are an area for improvement with this scope.

Despite its ergonomics, its thermal performance and resolution and were excelent under 50 yards and good enough to spot racoon at over 100 yards; you would be hard pressed to differentiate a dog from a coyote at that distance. It had a good variety of false color options. You can record video and photo still in its internal 32GB memory accessable via USB-C and wifi connectivity to phones.

Best of all, it has a dual-power system allowing it better than average endurance. Night vision and thermal optics are notrious for their short battery life. But the Tarantual has a built-in battery allowing its primary CR123A cells to be hot-swapped.

While not perfect, the Tarantala is a solid thermal optics for hunting and game observation.

SHOP

Coupon Code 8% Off: VGSCOPE8 (valid until Jan 31, 2027)

Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GRVDJ4VX?ref=t_ac_view_request_product_image&campaignId=amzn1.campaign.32GP6J9LDI2VJ&linkCode=tr1&tag=moondogindu05-20&linkId=amzn1.campaign.32GP6J9LDI2VJ_1788272355392

SPECS

TARANTULA LRF 25-256

Objective Lens: 25 mm

Glass: UHD

Thermal Resolution: 256 × 192 pixels

Thermal Sensitivity: ≤ 15 mK (25 °C)

Magnification: 3.49×

Close Focus: 3.5m

FOV: 281 fr. @ 1000 yrds

Display: 0.49-inch OLED 1440 × 1080

Laser Rangefinder: 1000m max

Recoil Rating: 1200G 

Waterproof: IPX67

Dimensions: 6.5″ x 5.1″

Weight: 32 oz

Shooting Sports

OSight R

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 an Aimpoint T1/T2 compatible AR co-witness height mount. At launch, OSight offers a promo package that includes a high 1.93″ mount. It’s fair to say it’s a knock off Holosun AEMS but it’s about hundred clams less.

 OLight designed the R with a 7075 body, able to hold zero over 10k rounds and survive a 1-mile height drop (or so they’ve tested, I have not). 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. I didn’t notice it at the range, but my sample did have edge distortion along the top edge of my window. 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. 

SHOP

Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0H417MDMT?ref=t_ac_view_request_product_image&campaignId=amzn1.campaign.2RWVHXWHCS61G&linkCode=tr1&tag=moondogindu05-20&linkId=amzn1.campaign.2RWVHXWHCS61G_1790132739581

SPECS

Magnification: 1x
Window Size: 1.10 × 0.87 in
Eye Relief: Unlimited
Reticle: Red 2 MOA Dot, 65 MOA Circle
Brightness Settings: 9 daylight / 3 NV
Windage Adj: 50 MOA
Elevation Adj: 50 MOA
Click Value: 0.5 MOA
Battery Type: CR2032
Max Runtime: 83,000 hours
Housing: 7075-T6 Aluminum
IPX: 8 waterproof
Dimensions: 2.72 × 1.42 × 2.52 in
Weight: 7 oz

Shooting Sports

BART Lets Glow! 2026 Anime Festival

https://youtu.be/JTgp0jYdIeg

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?

Shooting Sports

OLight PL X GL

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.

RETAIL SOURCES

Amazon https://amzn.to/45sDCX6

SPECS

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

Gadgets, Shooting Sports

Votatu G2L laser weaponlight

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.

SHOP

Amazon https://link.amazon/B07otosT4

SPECS

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

Shooting Sports

Maxdone Solar WiFi Trailcam

https://youtu.be/kP8mCtHqMIg

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.

SHOP

Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DQTYHRZW?ref=t_ac_view_request_product_image&campaignId=amzn1.campaign.1B2SPJ9783IJB&linkCode=tr1&tag=moondogindu05-20&linkId=amzn1.campaign.1B2SPJ9783IJB_1787168639763

2-Piece Solar Trailcam https://amzn.to/4gnc3Uc

SPECS

PH9702

Lens FOV: 100 degrees

Max Image Resolution: 64MP

Max Video Resolution: 4K

Frame Rate: 30fps

Video Format: MP4

Nightvision: IR up to 65 ft.

SD card: 32GB

Max storage: 256GB

Opperating Temp: -20°C to 60°C

Dimensions: 2.76 x 1.97 x 5.51 in.

Weight: 9.9 oz.

Waterproof: IP66


Shooting Sports

Nitecore EDC15

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.

SHOP

Amazon https://youtu.be/B5lnGGCwSns

SPECS

EDC15
Max Lumens: 1200
Max Throw: 208m
Max Runtime: 200h (ultralow)
Lighting Modes: 5 white / 3 UV
Length: 111mm / 4.37″
Width: 28mm / 1.10″
Height: 21mm / 0.83″
Weight: 85g / 3.00 oz

Shooting Sports

CVLife EagleVanta 6-24×50 FFP

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.

SHOP

Amazon https://amzn.to/4A3FuUA
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SPECS

  • Magnification: 6-24x
  • Objective: 50 mm
  • Tube: 30 mm
  • Reticle: FFP Christmas Tree
  • Illumination: Red 11 levels
  • Eye Relief: 3.9″
  • FOV @ 100 yds: 21.3-5.4 ft
  • Click Value: 1/4 MOA
  • Elev Adj: ±70 MOA
  • Wind Adj: ±70 MOA
  • Parallax: 15 yds – ∞
  • Battery: CR2032
  • Length: 14.2″
  • Weight: 24.4 oz

Shooting Sports

Last Days of Summer, Ocean Beach

https://youtu.be/dwc1MB4_Nkc

Ocean Beach is like like a local secret. This three-and-a-half mile stretch of Pacific shoreline just past the western edge of Golden Gate Park and The Great Highway. Hundreds of yards of soft sand extend from the parking lot to the ocean. Above the sea wall, a multiple walking paths run for about mile between the Cliff House ending in sand dunes.

This beach attracts local in San Francisco and experienced surfers from around the world. The water looks inviting until you remember it’s usually 52–57°F year-round and the currents have a long, documented habit of sweeping people out, so be careful when walking near the water if you’re visiting.

Before the neighborhoods of the Richmond and Sunset filled in, this was a vast dune wilderness. Steam trains and later streetcars brought city people out to the edge for fresh air and amusement. The Cliff House has stood in various forms since 1863, watching over Seal Rocks. Adolph Sutro’s enormous glass-roofed baths once filled a cove just north of here; the ruins still sit there, atmospheric and photogenic. Playland at the Beach—roller coasters, fun houses, the original It’s-It ice cream sandwich—ran until 1972. At very low tides you can still spot the weathered ribs of the ship King Philip, wrecked in 1878 near Ortega Street. Between 1850 and 1926 roughly twenty vessels came to grief along this stretch.

Today the beach is quieter, part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. The amusement parks are gone, the dunes partially restored, and the place is chill.

Enjoy 10 minutes of zen that I filmed at one of the last days of Summer 2026.

Gadgets, Shooting Sports

Vector Optics Owlset HEIM ES X-NANO RSS08

At the Vector Optics booth at Shot Show 2026, I discovered the smallest thermal optic I’d ever seen, the Owlset HEIM ES X-Nano RSS08. This thermal optic has an ACRO and is sized between an enclosed pistol red dot and an EOTech holosight.

The RSS08 is powered by an 18280/CR2 battery and came with 3 cells in the box along with a USB-C combatible charger. Each cell is rated to run the unit for up to 3.5 hours (in standby/sleep mode). The unit can also be powered and recharged using a USB-C port.

The RSS08 is not just a thermal imager, but it is also a thermal camera, allowing the user to record video and photo stills. The unit has about 14-16GB of internal memory. The RSS08 model can be connected via WiFi to an Owlset mobile App to control the camera and to download files. Or you can download the files via the USB-C port to your computer.

Its 1.4″ LCD display screen is a touch display which allows for gesture controls and access to the menu. Two external control buttons allow additional access the menu and activate/deactivate the unit. The RSS08 offers 6 false-color modes to display hot/cold objects and 10 reticle options for targeting. The default PURE MODE setting must be deactivated before the reticles are available.

Nighttime, hand-held testing did reveal the unsuitability of using the RSS08 as a pistol optic. I was able to clearly ID human and varmint-sized objects in complete darkness over 100 yards away. But the rapid movement of the LCD screen under recoil would make it unreadable in rapid fire. On a rifle, it would necessitate very slow semi-fire. On a pistol slide, impossible.

Moreover, the light spill from the screen would easily give the user’s position away to another human. To an animal, this wouldn’t be as alarming as the noise we make walking around at night. And before using this thermal on a firearm, you should consult your local hunting and gun laws.

One major drawback to using the RSS08 as a combat or patrol optic is water. The RSS08 is IPX6 water-resistant, able to survive rain and water spills. But as anybody with a phone knows, moisture renders LCD touchscreens inoperable until they can be wiped dry.

Where I see this mini thermal being used is co-mounted to a red dot or other optic. The box comes with an ACRO to Picatinny adapter plate, and Vector Optics makes a selection of adapters. The RSS08 isn’t the firearms optic as I’d originally hoped, but it is a capable and affordable full-featured thermal camera.

BUY

Vector Optics get 12% Off using code: MOONDOG
https://vector2007.com/VEOT-RSS08

SPECS

X-NANO RSS08

Infrared Resolution: 256×192 / 12μm

Frame Rate: 50Hz

Magnification: 0.5x /1x

NETD: ≤40 mK

Detection Range: ≤ 600m (656.17yds)

Recognition Range: ≤ 150m (164.04yds)

Angular Field of View: 13.5° × 10.1°

Focus Range: 5m – ∞

Display Screen: 1.4

Pseudo-Color Modes: White Hot, Black Hot, Hot Iron, Rainbow, Iron Red, Cold Color

Reticle: 10 Reticle Options with 5 Color Modes (Black / White / Red / Green / Yellow)

Weight: 123 g / 4.34 oz

Dimension: 51×43×46 mm / 2.01×1.69×1.81 in

Wi-Fi & App Support: Yes

Waterproof: IP66

Shockproof: 1000 G

Battery Type (Not Include): 16280, 900 mAh

Operating Duration: 3.5h

Charging Interface: USB Type-C, 5 V

Operating Temperature: -20°C to 60°C / -4°F to +140°F