Discovery recently updated their premium scope ring and scope mount offerings with their new Lightweight Scope Mounts. The “Lightwenght” typo in the first batch of boxes was not an intentional Trademark name. I pointed this out to them to their embarrassment but I won’t judge given the number of typos in my articles.
The rings are made of 7075 aircraft grade aluminum and make extensive use of lightening cuts to reduce the weight. Technically these aren’t cuts but milled indents into the surface that do not go all the way through. This allows a thin wall of material that helps keep it stiffer.
The mount comes in 30mm, 34mm, and 35mm tube sizes in 1.5″ center height and higher profile 1.93″ heights. Its my understanding that more SOF trainers prefer higher profile mounting of optics to promote a more heads-up shooting position for operators. Discovery also offers mounts with a 20 MOA tilt for long range; the mounts I tested were standard 0 MOA.
On close surface inspection the milling and construction appears of high quality. The mounts have recoil lugs, use Torx screws (star), and a unique indexing pin on the rings which in theory provides more precise alignment of the ring tops and additional stiffness without having the rely on the quality and alignment of the screw/bolt supplier. Using my Monstrum laping kit, I found the mount to be nearly perfectly aligned, requiring no lapping (Those competing in ELR will probably still want finer tolerances). Overall the mounts look as good as those made by big brand mounts for a lot less.
In a survival situation, without a means to create a fire, can you slowly die of hypothermia. Cold is debilitating and demoralizing. Plus its hard to make a decent cup of hot chocolate.
Blackbeard is a small company that was founded by Kai and his brother, who are avid hikers and outdoorsmen in Utah. They invented the Fire Starter based on trail and experiments, setting up camps in rain or after crossing creeks and rivers with wet gear. They invented a special cloth rope impregnated with a secret blend of ingredients that are non-toxic yet easy to light even after getting them wet (by accident).
The braid of black rope is in a plastic wrapper. The ends are open so the wrapper itself is not a weather seal. Cutting and peeling back the wrapper, the rope end felt like soft cotton to the touch and does not have a petroleum smell as I expected.
As a torture test, I dropped a Fire Starter cord into a pitcher of water and let it soak for an hour. During that time, the cord took in water and sank to the bottom of the pitcher. After 62 minutes I took the wet cord out of the water pitcher and gave it a quick shake and cut off about 1/2 an inch of the rope end and captured the cut fibers.
Blackbeard’s online demos advise users to rub the cut fibers together into a loose ball with the palm of your hands to fluff them. Despite the fibers being damp, to my surprise the tinder lit up without too much effort. Despite it also being a gusty day, I was able to get a small fire started.
If you’re a hiker or packing for an extreme bug-out-bag, adding a Blackbeard to your kit is good “fire insurance.”
I’ve tested the Monstrum Banshee and discovered it was a surprisingly good for a budget LPVO. No, it’s not just as good as a Leupold, Vortex, or [INSERT YOUR FAVORITE PREMIUM OPTIC BRAND HERE]. But optically, features, and performance it checks the boxes, especially for a street price under $200.
One most common question about the optic is, does it hold zero? Over the course of five months, I’ve put the Banshee through hundreds of rounds of 5.56mm and .22LR and it’s held zero. And it’s not just me, regular viewers of my channel have posted similar results shooting the Banshee on their .308 AR10s. Regardless I still get the occasional doubter challenging the number of rounds shot or the caliber of the rifle used.
To address doubters I proposed a torture test. I asked my buddy Mark on the GD Boomer Channel if he would try a Monstrum Banshee on his Barrett M107A1 rifle to see if it could handle the recoild and hold zero after 10 rounds 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 Banshee 1-10×24 from Amazon and shipped to him directly.
At his local rifle range, GD Boomer zero’d out the scope at 100yrds and set up a two targets. He was able to print a decent 5 shots group on the first and a similar sized 5 shot group on the second, with one flyer on the 9th round. He was shooting military surplus rounds so nothing close to match grade or hand loaded cartridges, or user error jerking the shot, or both. Ok, it was user error.
Hopefully this test will satisfy most folks that the Monstrum Banshee is capable of holding zero on their rifle.
Win a Bearpower 6-24×50 rifle scope. The contest winner will be chosen from all entries submitted. Winner must be present in the online chat on Hillbilly Up Guns, Beer & Therapy Livestream starting at 10pm EST. Watch Live https://youtube.com/@moondoggo or https://www.youtube.com/@HillbillyUp
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The M4E1 lower has been one of the most popular components made by Aero Precision. This year they’ve released an upgraded design which offers true ambidextrous controls on this popular lower receiver. I had a chance to shoot an Aero AR build during Industry Range Day and it was indeed easy to shoot and intuitive.
Ideagle sent me a set of their adjustable target stands to test. These steel square tube bases allow you to clamp up two vertical wooden planks to staple or hang archery or firearms targets. Unfortunately no instructions or photos were included in the generic brown cardboard box, so I had to figure it out on my own. I contacted Ideagle and they said they were still working on downloadable instructions.
The two main arm sections are square tubular frames that can adjust from 16″ to 24″ apart. The sections telescope into each other and allow the mounting of full sized and letter sized targets. At the end of each arm, one screws in perpendicular bar to form the legs to create an overall “H” like base. At each end of the H base, two rectangular sockets allow you to insert up to a 1″x2″ wood plank or steak to form the vertical stand for your target. Knob screws at the sockets lock the planks in place.
My first impression was how rough, spotting, and minimal the welding was in its construction. The edges were not finished leaving sharp edges which almost sliced open my thumb during assembling so take caution and I recommend deburring it with a file before assembly or using thick work gloves. Thick black paint covers this to provide rust protection but the spottiness of the welding, I would not recommend leaving these stands out year round exposed to the elements.
The weight of the mount should be sufficient to keep a target up. Should you be in gusty conditions, the base has slots to insert ground stakes. The box came with a bag of steel ‘U’ lawn stakes. The wood for the vertical planks can be purchased at any lumber store. Overall, it works well as a target stand at most ranges and does its job. You get a set of 2 stands so it’s a reasonable price for the pair.
While chatting at their booth at SHOT Show, I asked my buddy Matt at Athlon what his favorite new product was and he surprised me by showing me a Talos 10×42 scope. This fixed power scope is old school without illumination. But has thoroughly modern precision MIL reticle.
The turrets are surprisingly good for an “entry level” scope. Loud clicks and very tactile positive. The elevation has an updated version of Athlon rock solid zero-stop locking ring.
The advantage to a fixed power is that all things being equal has less glass elements and internal gearing than a variable power optic. This translates to less weight and in theory better light transmission, durability, and sharpness. At the range I was able see my targets as clearly as higher power scopes albeit with less detail due to the lower magnification.
For fixed bench competitions at 100yrd, 50yrd rifle or 30yrd air gun having a fixed power scope is not a negative as the target distance doesn’t change. For reliability the adage K.I.S.S. (Keep it Simple Stupid) is an explanation for why having a dependable and capable scope like this Talos has its advantages.
MAGNIFICATION: 10x OBJ. LENS : 42 mm TUBE: 30 mm EYE RELIEF: 3.6″ FOV @ 100 YDS: 11.5 ft PARALLAX: 10 yrds–Infinity CLICK VALUE: 0.1 MIL ADJ PER ROTATION: 6 MIL MAX ELEV ADJ: 35 MIL MAX WIND ADJ: 35 MIIL LENGTH: 13.3″ WEIGHT: 24.6 oz
Havit, like Anker and Mopower is a Chinese brand of headphones and personal electronics that is now available in the US. I wasn’t aware of them until they reached out to me and offered a set of their new HB655BT headphones to test out. These are hybrid noise canceling headphones with Bluetooth connectivity.
Hybrid headphones have microphones inside and outside of the ear cups to create a inverse soundwaves to cancel up to 35db of ambient noise; Active Noise Cancelation (ANC). Its battery powers it up to 76hrs and connects via bluetooth. In addition, it has a 3.5mm auxiliary audio port to provide direct wired connection to your devices.
The headphones have 3 sound modes: ANC on, ANC off, and Ambient. Ambient amplifies ambient sounds and projects them into your ears to simulate what you would hear without the headphones on. Moreover, there is a Game Mode setting which reduces Bluetooth lag by sacrificing sound fidelity (but I didn’t notice much degradation in music quality). Without Game Mode, there is a noticeable lag when watching videos with the headphones where sounds and voices do not match up with the picture.
Overall I found the headphones to be very bass heavy to a fault. While this may not be to my or an audiophile’s tastes it tdoes make the HB655BT perfect for gaming or for the majority of the pop-music listening public. Where these headphones also excel is in price, roughly a hundred dollars less than equivalent BEATS headphones.
Get 12% off until 6/8/24 at www.prohavit.com Discount Code MOONDOG12
Warbird made their reputation creating soft body armor. Now they’ve expanded their protective gear offerings with what are among the best sounding earmuffs on the market. Perhaps its not that surprising. Warbird’s founders have decades of experience in the personal protection market; they know what gear works.
The Intrepid has a built in rechargeable battery with approximately an 8hr run time; recharged via a micro-USB port. It features an energy saving auto shut off (though it’s not clear how many hours or minutes it will run before this occurs). It has a 3.5mm audio input port to connect to devices though wired connections are becoming increasingly rare. They also launched with Bluetooth compatible BT version of the Intrepid which looks identical to the ivory colored RC but in a dark grey color scheme.
The Interpid has padded faux leather suede headband, and comes with a velvet lined hard storage case. Like more premium headphones, it comes with gel earpads providing both comfort and a tight audio seal. Its has 4 control buttons; 2 for volume and its power button is thoughtfully recessed so you can identify it by touch and avoid accidentally pressing it. Its 4th button allows you to manually disable ambient amplification on the right or left earphones or both; helpful when the shooter in the lane next to you has an annoyingly loud or ported firearm.
The Intrepid has a NRR rating of 23db and in my testing was able to deliver slightly better than that. The noise cut off and reset is fast at .001 seconds. It’s built in microphones are labeled as omini-directional though this term is often misused in earpro. The Intrepid has realistic quad stereo sound allowing you to discern the direction of the sound source: left, right, front, or behind.
It’s audio performance is where this mid-priced headphone shines. The ambient sounds it amplifies were very clear and realistic. It’s internal speakers sound higher quality with better bass response than any earpro earmuffs I’ve ever tested. When plugged into a device listening to music, they sound as good as the Sony MDR-ZX110. While these are not audiophile quality headsets by any stretch they sound much better than the thin, cheap audio quality of even the boojeest earpro.
Audio quality may not seem important for firearms hearing protection. But realistic sound gives you better situational awareness as well is the ability to discern subtle but important audible details that can be missing on most shooting earmuffs. Soft sounds like safety lever being disengaged, or the direction an ejected shell casing when it lands on gravel. For hunters, this means you can not just identify the direction of moving prey but be able to tell if the rustling came is from a game in the bushes or up a small critter in the canopy.
These headphones come in at a mid-tier price point of $99 for the RC ($149 for the Bluetooth enabled BT). While not as cheap as new budget brands entering the market, the Warbirds sound as good or better than premium headphones two or three times more.
The only negatives I found was a pinching around my ears after 30-40 of wearing them due to my ears pressing up against the inside of the earcup; a problem I’ve found with all low profile earmuffs I’ve ever worn. And whats with the micro-USB port, why not USB-C? I would also like a visible indicator light that stays one while the unit is powered. The power down tone which is a low warble sound is too quiet and a missed opportunity. With the name like “War Bird” they should have used the screech of a hawk.
These headphones are available directly from Warbird using my affiliate link. Get 10% off using discount code Moondog10
NRR: 23dB 2x Omnidirectional Microphones Full Dynamic Range HD Speakers 40mm, 20 ohm Battery Life: Up to 8hrs Sound Active Reaction time: 0.01 Audio Input Jack: 3.5mm TPU Covered Gel Ear Pad Comfort Headband with Metal Frame USB-micro charging
The 2016 Macbook Pro had a fatal flaw in its hinge design. Over time and with use, the monitor wiring passing through the hinge would frey and cause the monitor to turn off when the monitor face is raised into normal operating position. Recently my wife’s 2016 began experiencing the “Dead Screen” problem which progressed to the point that she could only open the hinge about 4 inches before it would deactivate.
Fixing her screen would required replacing the entire LCD screen and display wiring which costs over a hundred dollars; almost as much as buying a used Macbook. As a hack, I purchased an inexpensive MNN portable LCD monitor from Amazon. The package includes a 1080p color screen, USB-C and HDMI cables, and a magnetic cover that can be folded into a monitor stand.
Plugging the MNN screen into the Macbook USB-C port, the LCD screen automatically synced to Mac and functioned as an extended monitor. Changing the System Prefs I was able to change the MNN to a mirrored monitor. This allowed me to functionally replace the Macbook screen with the MNN monitor.
I also tested the MNN monitor connecting it to my phone and it effortlessly sync and mirrored my phone screen. Color rendition was fair though not as intense or sharp as my Samsung OLED display. It also has built in speakers but these provide disappointingly thin sound.
