Category Archives: Shooting Sports

Firearms and shooting sports

Shooting Sports

OSS Lens Caps

I posted a review of the Athlon Argos, where I complained about lens covers being too easily lost when they are not attached to the scope. After seeing it, the owner of OSS (Outdoor Sporting Solutions) contacted me. He invented and produced heavy duty retained lens covers for his Argos and he wanted to get my input on them.

Is lens caps are high quality 3D printed and available in two colors: ranger green and black. The cap is connected by stretch cord to a retaining ring that fits next to the lens shade tube on the scope. The caps were designed for most 85mm scopes like the Argos. But I found that when I tested it on my 80mm Talos, the inner rim of the caps were just a tad too wide to lock into sunshade.

I mentioned this to the founder of OSS and he said he would design future caps to be 1 or 2mm smaller so that they would fit both 80mm and 85mm spotting scopes. That kind of problem solving really puts the “solution” in Outdoor Sporting Solutions.

Shooting Sports

Aero Solus Long Action

Last year, I had the opportunity to try out Aero Precision’s first bolt action rifle; an impressive modernized Remington 700 clone. This year Areo released a Long-Action version of the SOLUS action rifle platform, for longer magnum caliber cartridges. This version will come out later this year and promises to be a hit for ELR competitors and big game hunters.

Shooting Sports

Athlon Midas G2 Pro 12×50

One of the new products that Athlon had at their SHOT Show booth this year was their new generation of Pro UHD binoculars. They had upgraded the body design and features of the 8x, 10x, and 12x hunting binoculars and I was excited when they offered to send me a pair to test out.

I got the 12×50 Midas G2 Pro UHDs with the new TBR reticle. The PRO model has an etched MIL reticle in a rotating bezel in the right tube. It provides a clean and unobtrusive reticle, ideal for long range shooting corrections and ranging. The Gen 2 update features black rubberized armor over a light-weight magnesium body and most importantly, with ED glass.

ED glass reduces chromatic aberration. In field testing, I could not see any purple fringe even when looking at wires or flag poles at the outer edge of the optics field of view. The image overall was bright, balanced, sharp and clear. They produced some of the clearest images I’ve tested from a 12x binocular under $500.

AFFILIATE RETAIL LINKS

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

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

RESOLUTION

100yrds
ELEMENT: 6
GROUP: -2

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″

Shooting Sports

Nightforce ATACR & NX8

Nightforce is one of the most highly regarded combat optics used by Special Forces and Law Enforcement officers. Their ATACR and NX8 are 1-8x LPVOs with truly daylight bright illumination. Moreover, the NX8 is one of the shortest FFP 1-8x you can buy. And while they’re over a thousand dollars, professionals say they’re worth every penny.

These LPVOs are available through my Amazon affiliate links
NX8 https://amzn.to/3SWJ4Mq
ATACR https://amzn.to/3SEfABJ

Shooting Sports

UTG Modern MP5 Handguard

The MP5 is one of the most reliable and legendary SMGs in the world. But its design is nearly 70 years old and lack the modular features of modern PDWs to allow easy mounting of tactical accessories and optics. Thanks to the industrial designers at UTG Leapers, MP5 owners can add compatibility for 1913 Picatinny or MLok by easily adding this modern aluminum handguard.

Best of all all UTG Leapers products are made in Taiwan (the good China) and their UTG Pro line is made in the good ol’ USA. So you don’t have to feel un-patriotic when you’re looking for a good value.

Shooting Sports

What is ED glass?

Some scopes and binoculars advertise the fact that they use: ED Glass. And no this is not short for ‘erectile disfunction’, ‘Dept. of Eduction’ or ‘Edward’. ED stands for Extra low Dispersion glass, a special type of glass that has been formulated with chemical compounds that are designed to reduce chromatic aberration.

Chromatic aberration is a prismatic effect caused by light passing through a highly curved lens or lenses; such as in scopes with a high magnification factor. With 1-10x LPVO’s chromatic aberration is all too common. The light is refracted and slightly separated into its component colors like in a prism. ED glass compensates for this refraction, producing a clearer image that is in register.

So why don’t all scopes use ED glass? There are some trade-offs. ED glass is more expensive, can be more brittle, and has a little less light transparency. The practical benefits of ED glass can outweigh these trade-offs in many use cases. For long range precision, having a scope that is slightly darker but clearer would arguably be better than a scope that’s better in low light but blurrier.

The scopes in this video are available on Amazon through these affiliate links which support my channel:

Panzer https://amzn.to/3NZUk8e

Razor HD Gen iii: https://amzn.to/3tZSP2K

Shooting Sports

5.11 Bravo “John Wick” Jacket

At the 5.11 booth a came across their BRAVO travel jacket. This blazer sports coat has internal secure pockets and retaining straps. This covert jacket allows you to carry various EDC gear in a secure and ergonomic manner for rapid access and deployment. It isn’t quite John Wick’s bullet proof Italian suit but I imagine it’s a suit he’d wear while on vacation from a “job”.

Shooting Sports

Discovery ED-LHT Gen2 3-15×50

Discovery Optics sent me their ED-LHT precision hunting scope. The new Gen2 features Japanese ED glass, reducing chromatic aberrations and improving overall sharpness. Or at least that’s what ED glass is supposed to do, but given the LHT’s budget price, one can get a little suspicious.

My dubiousness wasn’t helped by the fact that Discovery Optics scopes come with an outrageous amount of stuff. Not just a set of scope rings, but a scope level tool, flip up lens caps, a sun shade, a cleaning cloth, and a cleaning tool. Many budget scopes include mounts or other accessories with the scope to try and attract novice gun buyers by given them trinkets while offering mediocre optics.

But in my testing the ED-LHT out-performed some better known scopes brands I’ve reviewed. The image was clean and bright and impressivlely sharp. I was able to see detail in the USAF Optical Resolution chart at 15x that I’m used to seeing with 24x scopes.

The LHT does have some drawbacks. Its eyebox is tight and unforgiving. Is a bit heavy at almost 28oz. But it’s performance for a $300 scopes is impressive. And with all of its accessories, its even more of a value.

AFFILIATE RETAIL LINKS

Worldwide shipping direct from Discovery. Use 15% off code: moondogED3-15
https://discoveryopt.com/products/discoveryopt-ed-lht-gen%E2%85%B1-3-15x50sfir-ffp-mrad-moa-diameter-30mm-optics-scopes?srsltid=AfmBOooDsrA0lOpIkkmmOG9L036lvClUAm_6Vo9DRovdmP4UIckRtDda

Amazon 10% discount code: Moondog315 
https://amzn.to/4lIOVAM

RESOLUTION

Group -1 / Element 4

SPECS

Magnification 3x-15x
Objective 50mm
Field of View 12.6M-2.5M@100YDS
Eye relief 88mm-83mm
Exit pupil 11.97mm-3.3mm
Tube diameter 30mm
Click Value 0.1MRAD
Elevation Adj ±23.2MRAD
Windage Adj ±17MRAD
Length 333mm
Weight 792g (27.9 oz)

Shooting Sports

CVLife 360º Swivel Tilt Bipod

CVLife really needs a better name for this bipod. The new CVLife Light Weight 360º Swivel & Tilt Bipod is pretty much a knock-off of the Magpul MOE Bipod save for its name. Like the MOE, the CVLife bipod is with an aluminum alloy frame, covered with blade-like polymer telescoping legs.

The CVLife’s legs give little resistance from it’s stowed position, allowing you to quickly deploy the legs by swinging them downward where they lock into position splayed out below the rifle. Pressing down on the metal button at the top of the hinged leg, unlocks the leg to swing and fold it back for stowage.

The polymer legs have a locking button allowing each leg to extend out along index stops of the the legs metal core. Each leg has a soft rubberized foot pads which are not changeable or adaptable for spikes. Between the legs is a wide knob which loosens the ball joint allowing the bipod to tilt and swivel a full 360º.

The CVLife bipod comes in your choice of black or FDE brown. CVLife sent me a Picatinny 1913 mounting version to test. They also make an MLok and rifle swivel stud attachable version.

In my testing I found the bipod to be stable and quick to deploy with a little practice. It doesn’t have any spring loaded action unlike their knock-off Harris bipod or spring extending legs found in UTG bipods. But the simplicity is often more reliable. That said, I can not as yet report on the durability of the unit but it does appear to be better built than CVLife’s knock-off Harris bipod.

This product is available on Amazon through my affiliate link: https://amzn.to/3IPQviD
Use discount code: 10MOONDOG

Join the CVLife FB group for more discounts and opportunities to test new products. Join CVLIFE Facebook group by mentioning “Moondog Industries”: https://www.facebook.com/groups/565495247379394