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Category Archives: Shooting Sports
Firearms and shooting sports
July 31 OSS Talos Contest
July Contest: OSS Talos
NOTE: We had to re-issue this prize because of Federal trade restrictions on shipping optics outside of the U.S. and the winner of the June contest was in Croatia.
Win an Athlon Talos 20-60×80 spotting scope with OSS lens cap, provided by OSS. Entries must be received no later than 12pm EST on July 31, 2024. Entrant must reside in the US. Buy your own OSS lens cap on Etsy.
CONTEST INSTRUCTIONS
1. Subscribe to my travel channel on YouTube: Moondog Go
2. Take a screen shot showing you’ve subscribed.
3. Prove you have the skills to fill out a form and upload that screen shot
https://forms.gle/fDW5tUNLdaFvrA6h9
This prize supplied by OSS (Outdoor Sporting Solutions)
RULES
NO PURCHASE IS NECESSARY TO ENTER. YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING DO NOT INCREASE WITH A PURCHASE. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED.
1. Eligibility
Void where prohibited by law. Must be legal resident within the USA. Moondog Industries employees, subsidiaries, affiliates, suppliers, advertising and promotion agencies, employees’ immediate family members, are ineligible to participate in the contest/giveaway.
Entrants must be willing and able to appear on YouTube to discuss the contest and post images of the prize on their social feed should they win the contest.
2. Sponsors and Platforms
Moondog Industries (known as the SPONSOR) is a video Edutainment producer and game promotor based in San Francisco, CA. YouTube, TikTok, Rumble, and online video platforms (known as PLATFORMS) are not SPONSORS or in any way affiliated with the contest or content.
3. Agreement to Rules
By entering your contest, participants agree to abide by the SPONSOR’s Official Rules and decisions. The SPONSOR retains the right to refuse, withdraw, or disqualify entries at their sole discretion. By submitting an entry, the participant agrees to accept the decision of the SPONSOR as final and binding.
4. Entry Period
Contest email entries must be received between:
12:00pm EST 3 June 2024
and
12:00pm EST 31 July 2024
5. How to Enter
This contest requires your skill in navigating your phone or computer controls to screen capture an image of the following YouTube channels/Social Media accounts. Subscribe or Follow and make a screen capture of those pages showing a greyed out Subscribe button or indicator that your account is Following that page. Send a screen capture image file of any of those sites to contest@moondogindustries.com . One entry per person or per Social Media account. Fraudulent methods of entry, photo retouched, or other methods of circumvention of the rules may result in the SPONSOR invalidating a participant’s entries.
6. Prizes
Winner must be able to receive the prize by e-mail or by physical mail. Prize may be substituted at the sole discretion of the SPONSOR. Acceptance of the prize grants SPONSOR permission to use the Winners entry, name, and likeness for advertising, promotion, and trade without further compensation or remuneration unless prohibited by law.
7. Odds
The odds of winning is dependent upon the number of eligible entries received.
8. Selection and Notification of the Winner
The winner will be chosen at random by the SPONSOR from among the entrants that demonstrated the skill to navigate the electronic entry and have met the minimum requirements. Winners will be contacted via the email used to enter the contest no later than December 31, 2024. Winner must have a legal address within the US to ship the prize.
SPONSOR is not liable for the winner’s failure to receive notification of winning if he or she provided the wrong email address or if their email security settings caused your prize notification to go into the spam or junk folder. If a winner does not respond within 24hrs of sending a notification, the SPONSOR will select an alternate winner. Receipt of the prize is upon the condition of compliance with federal, state, and local laws.
9. Rights Granted by the Entrant
The SPONSOR, upon submission of an entry into the giveaway or contest, has the right to use the participant’s submission, voice, likeness, image, statements about the contest, etc., for publicity, news, advertising, promotional purposes, trade, and so forth, without any further notice, review, consent, compensation or remuneration.
Participants shall defend or settle against such claims at their sole expense, and shall indemnify, defend and hold harmless the SPONSOR from any suit due to damage of or by the prize.
10. Terms & Conditions
The SPONSOR reserves the right to modify, suspend, cancel or terminate in the event that non-authorized human intervention, a bug or virus, fraud, or other causes beyond your control impact or corrupt the security, fairness, proper conduct, or administration of the contest/giveaway.
11. Limitation of Liability
Entry into this contest constitutes the participant’s agreement to release and hold harmless the SPONSOR and PLATFORMS, subsidiaries, affiliates, employees, etc., against all claims liability, illness, injury, death, loss, etc., that occurs directly or indirectly from participation in the contest or use/misuse of the awarded prize.
12. Disputes
As a condition of participating in the promotion, the participant agrees to resolve all disputes with an arbitrator designated by the SPONSOR in the state of California, without resorting to any form of class action. Entrants waive all rights to punitive, incidental, or consequential damages, and waive all rights to have damages multiplied or increased.
13. Privacy Policy
Participants agree to abide by all privacy and NDA laws in the State of California and any federal laws of the United State of America.
14. Winners List
Participants may request a list of winners by submitting a request in writing to Moondog Industries for up to 30 days after the contest ends.
15. Social Media Platform Rules
Winners will agree to post a photo of the prize on their social media channels in such a way as does not violate any rules of that platform. The winners also agree to appear for an interview where they will discuss the prize and its performance. If there are functional problems with the prize, the winner agrees to make a good-faith effort to resolve all issues with the SPONSOR prior to posting reviews or opinions about the prize.
16. Affirmation of Acceptance of and Agreement to All of the Official Rules
By entering the contest, the entrant has affirmatively reviewed, accepted, and agreed to all of them.
Improved Monstrum Panzer 1-6×24
If you’ve feeling de’ja vu, it’s because I reviewed a nearly identical Monstrum Panzer 1-6×24 FFP LPVO two months ago. The main criticism I had about the Panzer was it’s middle reticle illumination (to be fair, it is typical for most LPVOs). Monstrum listed to the feedback and came up with a new illuminator and sent me a sample of their first daylight bright FFP reticle. This new illuminator only outputs in red (the original version offered both green and red) but improves upon the the original version by having an OFF setting between each of its 6 intensities.
Apart from the illuminator the rest of the optic remains unchanged. Same glass, body, tube, mount, and reticle. Which is why they’re choosing not to call out the change but instead quietly rolling out all new batches of Panzer with this illuminator. They won’t be calling this Gen2, the name remains simply the Panzer.
Panzer, is the German word for “tank” or “armor”. This is why the Monstrum Panzer has tank tread inspired designs to its turret caps and magnification ring. These ‘treads’ provides a useful grippy surface beyond its unique aesthetic.
The Panzers come with a user replaceable fin on the magnification ring which can be swapped out for the included throw lever. In addition, the package includes a quality, high-recoil, cantilever mount and basic flip up caps. The turrets are capped and resettable with a hex key.
The Panzer now offers two choices in FFP reticle. The Panzer 1-6x I tested has their new CM3 reticle which has a tactical style BDC reticle with a tree style set of windage holdovers below a circle dot. I previously tested the CM2 reticle which is an MOA range finding reticle.
The most common comment I get about this LPVO is does it hold zero? This test with a .50 cal rifle should prove that it does. https://youtu.be/J8sXKSiBIr8
BUY IT
Amazon affiliate https://amzn.to/3UzK9cC
RESOLUTION
@100yrds: Element 6 / Group -2
SPECS
Magnification: 1-6x, 1-10x
Objective Diameter: 24 mm
Tube Diameter: 30 mm
Max Windage Adj: ±70 MOA
Max Elevation Adj: ±70 MOA
Adjustment Increments: 1/2 MOA
Eye Relief: 4.0-4.5 in
Weight: 17 oz
Length: 11 in
Lens Coating: Full Multi-Layer
Materials: 6061 Aluminum
Will a Panzer hold zero?
I’ve tested the Monstrum Panzer against the military grade LPVOs. I compared it head-to-head against both the SIG Tango6T and the Vortex Razor HD Gen3 and discovered the Panzer was a surprisingly good for a budget FFP LPVO. No, it’s not just as good as the SIG or the Vortex for a street price under $200 its an amazing value.
One most common question about the optic is, does it hold zero? Over the course of five months, I’ve put the Panzer through hundreds of rounds of 5.56mm and it’s held zero. And it’s not just me, regular viewers of my channel have posted similar results shooting the Panzers on their .308 AR10s. But rather than argue the number of rounds shot or the caliber of rifle tested, lets just cut the chase and see if a Monstrum Panzer can hold zero under the biggest civilian rifle available, a .50 cal.
I asked my buddy Mark on the GD Boomer Channel if he would try a Monstrum Panzer on his Barrett M107A1 rifle to see if it could handle the recoil of 50BMG. I contacted Monstrum Tactical and they agreed to sponsor the video to reimburse GD Boomer for the ammo he would use. Monstrum ordered a brand new Panzer 1-6×24 from Amazon and shipped to him directly.
At his local rifle range, GD Boomer zero’d out the scope with a lazer and set up a two small targets at 100yrds. The challenge with a 6x SFP LPVO at 100yrds, is that the center dot of the reticle covered up the target bullseye. The groups he printed were not his best but they were consistent; proving the Panzer held its zero through all 10 shots. The budget Panzer could handle the recoil of event the largest bullet cartridges.
AFFILIATE RETAIL LINKS
Monstrum Panzer 1-6×24 LPVO on Amazon: https://amzn.to/4f65ELU
Monstrum Panzer 1-10×24 LPVO on Amazon: https://amzn.to/4bDH2Hj
Pump Action AK47?!
One of my range buddies brought out an oddball rifle to the range the other day: his pump-action AK-47. You heard that right, pump-action. This is a Romanian PAR-1, chambered in 7.62×39. It was developed in the 90’s as a result Clinton’s Administration’s Assault Weapons Ban.
As odd as it looked and seemed in concept, it functioned as you’d expect. It fed from a 10rnd CA plugged 30rnd magazine. Everything else on the rifle was standard, including the AK’s notoriously thin leaf iron sights. I was able to get all of my shots on paper at 100yrds without any difficulty.
I can’t say that I know how to feel about this rifle. On the one hand it’s cool that somebody built a unique rifle. But putting a pump action on an AK only makes sense in a post-apocalyptic Fallout setting.
SIG vs Monstrum 1-6x FFP
Monstrum Tactical asked me to compare their new Panzer 1-6x FFP to the LPVO that was chosen by the US Army, the Sig Sauer Tango6T 1-6x FFP. Monstrum sent me samples of both LPVOs new in the box. You can about each LPVO in greater detail in my previously posted reviews of the Tango6T and Panzer 1-6x
As a quick overview, the most striking difference between the two optics was the color. The Tango6 comes in a metallic Flat Dark Earth (FDE) color which was a US Army requirement. Their was far less difference between the two LPVOs when looking at their specs. One notable difference was that the Tango6T comes in MRAD and the Panzer comes in MOA. Moreover, the Panzer’s turrets have a range adjustment more than double that of the Tang6T.
Optically both are great but the Tango6T was ever so much better in brightness, flatness, detail, and sharpness despite having more visible chromatic aberration than the Panzer. Both had pretty good eyeboxes (for LPVOs) but again the Tango6T was just a little bit better, a bit more forgiving.
All in all both LPVOs preformed quite well in my range and live fire testing, holding zero. The Tang6T offers true daylight bright illumination of it donut-of-death. This new release (Gen2?) of the Panzer, just months newer than the model I tested in March, now offers daylight bright red illumination on par with the Tango6T.
Whilst the Tango6T is hands down the better optic, the Panzer is still a solid LPVO. But the Tang6T costs more than 10x the price of the Panzer. Yes, the Tango6T is a better but I don’t think 10x better. If given $2000 and the choice between the two, I’d pick the Panzer and use the left over money to buy Level 5 body armor, digital night vision nods, and extra ammo.
AFFILIATE RETAIL LINK
Tango6 on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3V2A5ug
Tango 6 on Optics Planet: https://shrsl.com/4ja69
Panzer on Amazon https://amzn.to/3UzK9cC
RESOLUTION
TANGO6T @50yrs: Element 1 / Group -1
PANZER @50yrs: Element 6 / Group -2
TANGO6T SPECS
| Focal Plane | First |
| Magnification | 1-6x |
| Objective Lens Diameter | 24 mm |
| Reticle | DWLR-556 |
| Adjustment Increments | 0.2 MRAD |
| Weight | 22.1 oz. |
| Maintube Diameter | 30 mm |
| Travel Per Rotation | 20 MRAD |
| Parallax Setting | 300 m |
| Field of View High/Low (@100yds) | 105.8/17.7 ft. |
| Eye Relief High/Low | 4.1/3.9 in. |
| Exit Pupil High/Low | 11.4/4.0 mm |
| Diopter Adjustment Range | +/- 2.5 |
| Waterproofing | IPX 8 |
| Ocular (Rear) Outer Diameter | 1.81 in (46mm) |
| Objective (Front) Outer Diameter | 1.18 in (30mm) |
| Internal Gas Purge | Argon |
| Illumination Settings | 9 Daylight/2 NV |
| Total Elevation Travel | 31 MRAD |
| Total Windage Travel | 31 MRAD |
| Battery | (1) CR2032 |
| Illumination | Red |
PANZER SPECS
Magnification: 1-6x, 1-10x
Objective Diameter: 24 mm
Tube Diameter: 30 mm
Max Windage Adj: ±70 MOA
Max Elevation Adj: ±70 MOA
Adjustment Increments: 1/2 MOA
Eye Relief: 4.0-4.5 in
Weight: 17 oz
Length: 11 in
Lens Coating: Full Multi-Layer
Materials: 6061 Aluminum
SIG Tango6T 1-6x LPVO
In 2019 the US Army selected the SIG Tango6T as the optic for their HK Designated Marksmen Rifles and for use by Special Forces. The model I tested is the civilian version, differing in its markings but effectively identical to the Army version. I have read conflicting articles stating that the DMR rifles is an SFP version of the Tango6T but I can not confirm this. Of the two Tango6T samples I tested, one lent to me by Monstrum Tactical and another was the personal optic of a friend in law enforcement.
The Tango6T is finally built with subtle body details that speak to extra time milling. The Tango6T has an Flat Dark Earth (FDE)/burnt bronze flat anodized finish specified by the Army. Its control surfaces have fine diamond checkering pattern for grip.
The scope came pre-installed on a SIG Alpha4, a high quality cantilever mount with convenient printed torque specs. Contrary to internet scuttlebutt, the Alpha4 is not a Geiselle mount (though superficially similar in look). The Alpha4 was designed by SIG for the Tango6T, fabricated in California and assembled at SIG’s factory in Oregon.
I had an opportunity to compare the newest model of this LPVO to a pre-DOD selection model of this optic. Superficially it appears identical save for a slightly darker shade of FDE which appears more burnt than bronze. After contacting the folks at SIG, they were very helpful in giving a historic background on the various versions of this LPVO. There are a number of configurations available from SIG, the current Mil and civilian reticle is the Hellfire DWLR-556 reticle.
The Tango6T has 11 levels of brightness on its illumination, 9 visible settings and 2 which are night vision compatible. It has a unique illuminator locking ring on which prevents the knob for changing or turning on or changing setting when engaged. The reticle appeared daylight bright though not quite the “red dot bright” intensity found on the Nightforce ATACR or Vortex RAzor. The unit is powered by a common CR2032 coin battery.
It has capped turrets which are wide diameter but low profile; the down side is that the area only allows for small font numbers which may be hard to read for some folks. Each click is 0.2MIL and is audible and tactile positive so you can infer your changes by click feel if you can’t do so visually.
The Tango6T’s DWLR6 is a BDC design with a Christmas tree of holdovers for long range shooting beyond 500yrds. As with most FFP LPVO’s the 1x seems to be an afterthought, feeling a bit too thin and easily lost against a dark or complicated background. The bright illumination makes up for this. It’s central horse shoe of death is intensely illuminated with a slight outline on the rest of the stadia elements.
Optically the LPVO had excellent brightness, and clarity. Even though it had noticeable chromatic aberration, I was still able to resolve detail at 6x that would only see in LPVOs that were 10x. At 1x the image was flat and much better than Razor or Riton FFP LPVO’s I’ve tested. This scope is world’s better than SIG’s similarly named Tango MSR 1-10x LPVO which I was underwhelmed by a few months ago. Save for it’s thin 1x reticle this is one of the best LPVO’s I’ve tested.
AFFILIATE RETAIL LINK
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3V2A5ug
Optics Planet: https://shrsl.com/4ja69
RESOLUTION
@50yrs: Element 1 / Group -1
SPECS
| Focal Plane | First |
| Magnification | 1-6x |
| Objective Lens Diameter | 24 mm |
| Reticle | DWLR-556 |
| Adjustment Increments | 0.2 MRAD |
| Weight | 22.1 oz. |
| Maintube Diameter | 30 mm |
| Travel Per Rotation | 20 MRAD |
| Parallax Setting | 300 m |
| Field of View High/Low (@100yds) | 105.8/17.7 ft. |
| Eye Relief High/Low | 4.1/3.9 in. |
| Exit Pupil High/Low | 11.4/4.0 mm |
| Diopter Adjustment Range | +/- 2.5 |
| Waterproofing | IPX 8 |
| Ocular (Rear) Outer Diameter | 1.81 in (46mm) |
| Objective (Front) Outer Diameter | 1.18 in (30mm) |
| Internal Gas Purge | Argon |
| Illumination Settings | 9 Daylight/2 NV |
| Total Elevation Travel | 31 MRAD |
| Total Windage Travel | 31 MRAD |
| Battery | (1) CR2032 |
| Illumination | Red |
Daylight Bright LPVO’s real or hype?
Not a few years ago, when a scope’s illumination was described as “daylight bright” that just meant that you could see a color cast on the reticle on a cloudy day. With advances in technology, daylight bright really means you can see it in daylight. Engineers embedded a fiber optic thread inside a reticle cross hair. This projects dot to in the center of the reticle that can be as bright as a red dot.
This fiber optic reticle was first rolled out on premium optics but in short order, budget tier optics like the Monstrum Banshee now offer daylight bright reticles. Some premium LPVOs like Vortex and Nightforce have developed a way to illuminate floating FFP reticles so that it is also daylight bright at 1x. This brightness does come at a premium with the Razor and ATACR costing around $2000. If a you don’t need a FFP reticle, a daylight bright budget fiber optic LPVO can be had for less than $200.
These optics are available on Amazon through these affiliate links which support my channel:
Banshee https://amzn.to/424Kfwz
Viper PST Gen2: https://amzn.to/48DwR4X
CVLife WolfCovert Multi-Reticle RMR
CVLife offers one of the most affordable multi reticle micro red dots I’ve found. While many budget companies make RMR-style micro sized red dots, almost none allow for the change in reticle style. The WolfCovert allows you to choose between a typical 2MOA red dot, to a 32MOA circle (with a sunburst), or a 32MOA plus red 2MOA red dot configuration.
Personal tastes in reticle design aside, the large 32MOA circle burst benefits shooters with astigmatism (such as myself) who have trouble resolving a pinpoint cleanly. To me most red dots have a smeared or star-burst appearance which can make pinpoint accuracy impossible when not wearing corrective eyeglasses. The unit has 9 levels of brightness and lowering brightness helps improve finer resolution of the reticle. CVLife only offers red illumination but is working on a greed version.
The WolfCovert has some premium features like motion-activation and 4-minute auto sleep to conserve battery life. The unit has a stated 50,000hr (10year) battery life. The battery chamber is accessible from the top of the unit so you don’t have to unmount it. It is built with an Trijicon RMR footprint and comes with an RMR to Picatinny and a RMR to Glock MOS adapter.
The reticle can be adjusted using a small flathead screwdriver (a flathead tool is included). The adjustment screws are faintly audible, tactical positive and distinct, with no slop. Each click is 1MOA. In my testing with 50rnds of 115gr 9mm on my Glock 17 the unit held zero.
ONLINE RETAIL AFFILIATE LINK
Amazon https://amzn.to/3x9FWVp
Get 10% off with code: moondog10 https://www.cvlife.com/products/cvlife-wolfcovert-multiple-reticle-rot-dot-sight
SPECS
Style: Multiple Reticle 2MOA dot / 32MOA circle
Material: Aircraft grade aluminum
Mount Type: RMR Footprint, Picatinny, and MOS
Length: 1.81″
Width: 1.06″
Height: 1.02″
Weight: 1.34oz
Range of Adjustment: 45 MOA
Click: 1 MOA
Waterproof: IPX-7
Battery: CR1632
Battery Life: 50,000hrs
Warranty: 3 years
Maven S.1A 25-50×80
Maven is a new optics company that is arguably makes the most stylish premium sporting optics available. They sent me their top of the line spotting scope to test. The S.1A is an angled 25-50×80 spotting scope with a removable 5x eyepiece. The checkerboard texture pattern on its focus and power rings, look like the fine workmanship of vintage European photographic lenses from the 1950’s.
In my testing this scope checked all of the boxes for a premium higher end spotting scope. It was clear and bright and exhibited only a moderate amount of chromatic aberration. On the USAF-1951 chart the S.1 was able to resolve details comparable to a 60x scope. Its large eyepiece provided a generous eyebox for a spotter. It can be swapped out for either an MOA or MIL reticle tactical eyepiece for spotting in long range precision shooting.
The standard model comes with a grey rubberized armored body with black or orange metal accent rings that form the joins of its body sections. The body armor and accent rings can be individually customized on the Maven website to allow the buyer the widest possible aesthetic selection. No other optics company or sporting good maker comes close, not even Nike.
While this customization may seem like a gimmick, if you’re going to spend around $2000 for a scope, why shouldn’t you have a say on how it looks? Given that most major brand scopes in this price tier perform remarkably similar (eg. Vortex, Leupold, Nikon, Kowa, etc.) aesthetics may be the most significant differentiator.
AFFILIATE RETAIL LINK
Maven S.1: https://alnk.to/8tOMbpp
Amazon (Angled body): https://amzn.to/4ccrJGe
Amazon (Straight body): https://amzn.to/3VBFmt1
RESOLUTION
Element 6 / Group 1
SPECS
| Magnification Range | 25x-50x |
| Obj. lens diameter | 80mm |
| Exit pupil | 3.2mm / 1.6mm |
| Field of View (FOV) | 2.2° / 1.6° |
| Apparent FOV (FOV x Power) | 55° / 80° |
| Field of view (ft/1000 yds) | 115ft /84ft |
| Brightness | 10.24 / 2.56 |
| Twilight factor | 44.7 / 63.2 |
| Multi Position Eyecups Y/N | Yes |
| Eye relief | 17mm – 18mm |
| Eye piece construction | 5 group 7 element |
| Near focus | 5m |
| Dimension WxHxD | 14.9″x6.3″x3.9″ |
| Weight | 64.5 oz |
| Prisms type | Schmidt-Pechan |
| Prism reflective coating type | Dielectric Coating |
| Phase correction coating | Yes |
| Lens coating | Oilphobic + flat multi |
| Pressure tested to what pressure | 1m for 30min. (IPX7) |
| Storage temperature | -40°~158°F |
| Functional temperature | -13°~140°F |
| Frame material | Aluminum / Polymer / Magnesium |
| Internal gas purged | Nitrogen |
| Objective filter thread | 82mm |
| Focus system | Vari-speed focusing system |
| Lens type | Fluorite glass |
| Origin | Japanese components assembled in the US |