When Arken introduced the EP5 three years ago, they disrupted the scope market by offering quality long-range optics at what many considered a budget price; they helped bring PRS to us Poors. This year, they brought out the EP-5 Gen 2.
Externally, the Gen 2 improvements are subtle changes. The battery cap was redesigned to comply with Federal child-safety regulations requiring devices powered by coin batteries to be only accessible by tools. The Gen 2 has a slightly larger diameter diopter lens, improving the eye box (though the EP5 still has a tight eye box). The Gen 2 retains the EP5’s quality turrets with its simple and repeatable zero stop.
The key improvement is in the performance of its ED glass. The Gen 2 offers more contrast and a truer color balance. The difference is subtle but noticeable when comparing the Gen 1 and Gen 2 side by side.
The EP5 Gen 1 is still an excellent scope and if you already have a Gen 1, I would stick with it. But the Gen 2 is demonstrably better, and well worth the price.
Let’s geek out on the anime, Shangri-La Frontier. This Livestream is sponsored by Aura.com. 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.
This episode is sponsored by MattHat jerky. Use code: MOONDOG to get 15% Order a free sample using my link https://matthatjerky.com/products/sample-pack?ref=moondog
This classic video game brand derives its name from the ancient Japanese board game Go; it means “to hit a target” in Japanese. It created iconic video games such as Pong, Combat, Adventure, and Asteroids.
DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE
Shangri-La Frontier[c] is a Japanese web novel series published in 2017, which was adapted into a popular manga in 2020. An anime television series adaptation produced by C2C aired in Japan from October 2023 to 2025. An English dub was released on Crunchyroll in 2023 but I didn’t discover it until last week.
The series main character is Rakuro Hizutome who’s in-game handle is Sunraku (サンラク, Sanraku). He’s a Japanese teen in the near-future where fully immersive “full-dive” VR games are played.
The series covers his in-game adventures in a triple-A MMORPG named Shangri-La Frontier with his online and IRL friends.
• Unlike every other Isekai, this series isn’t a reincarnation scenario or a story where the user is “trapped in a video game world”. It’s just a video game, where the players have real lives. Unlike romance video games shows, the video in-game is the main story and the mechanics and play is realistic.
• Realistic gaming details from MMORP and RPG video games like Boss Battle mechanics and combat tactics.
• The hero skips and ignores the tutorial info and missed out on key upgrade mechanics and only learns about these basic game mechanics later at level 40.
• Negatives: Does have Rei Saiga who falls into the Shonen female love interest clichés
• Inspired by games like Roblox, Fortnite, Grand Theft Auto (GTA) and World of Warcraft
– WoW came from the game Warcraft, which was a failed attempt to make a Warhammer 40K game.
I’m helping my sister-in-law battle breast cancer. This month, I’ll be hosting a mega contest with a dozen prizes worth over $1500 in prizes. Watch the prize drawing on my TMI LIvestream on Wednesday, August 5, 20206.
Leapers Integrix is their high-end optics line which features scopes made in Taiwan using German-made Schott ED glass. In build quality and optical performance, it holds its own with some of the top scopes on the market. At SHOT Show 2026 they showed off their new fixed focus scope for Service Rifle competitions with a fixed 4.5x and designed with the input of the the top Service Rifle shooters in the country.
Get an early peek at The Etruscans exhibit I visited at San Francisco’s Legion of Honor museum. This Livestream is sponsored by Aura.com. 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.
This episode is sponsored by MattHat jerky. Use code: MOONDOG to get 15% Order a free sample using my link https://matthatjerky.com/products/sample-pack?ref=moondog
This Italian luxuryfashion house was founded in Florence, Tuscany in 1921. It got its start by making high-quality leather luggage before expanding into luxury clothing and accessories.
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E Pluribus Unum, Semper Fidelis, these are words that define America. But they are not English, they are Latin. They come to us from the Roman Republic. But Rome didn’t emerge from orphan twins raised by a she-wolf, it came from an older Italian culture and civilization, the Etruscans.
At the San Francisco Legion of Honor art museum, I visited a new exhibit The Etruscans. Many of the pieces were lent for the exhibit from the Vatican museum and are examples of Etruscan art, burial artifacts, and personal items. It also included a copy of one of the oldest pieces of Etruscan literature that was recovered from an Egyptian mummy.
• The Roman arch and aqueduct are Etruscan inventions
• Roman numerals are actually Etruscan numbers
• Our alphabet comes from Latin, which was derived from the Etruscan alphabet, which is a simplified form of the Greek alphabet (minus some letters like omega and xi)
• Words like “Person” and “Rome” are Etruscan words
• Etruscan, Basque, Finnish, and Hungarian is not Indo-European. But there are no modern Etruscan speakers.
• Etruscan means people of Etruia or Truia; what is today Tuscany (Tusci < Trusci < Etrusci). The Tuscan dialect of Latin is the basis for modern Italian.
This Italian fashion brand has become synonymous with luxury. Its name has become military and urban slang for high-priced or top-tier equipment.
JULY CONTEST
BREAST CANCER GOFUNDME
I’m helping my sister-in-law battle breast cancer. This month, I’ll be hosting a mega contest with a dozen prizes worth over $1500 in prizes. Watch the prize drawing on my TMI LIvestream on Wednesday, August 5, 20206.
They say, you get what you pay for. In the case of the Discovery LHT, you’re also getting less because this is one of the lightest 6-24x scopes I’ve tested; it is 4 oz lighter than the Vortex Viper. The LHT has the slim profile of a traditional 3-9x hunting scope, with cross-over tactical features like a FFP reticle and exposed locking turrets.
This LHT 6-24×44 is nearly identical to the LHT 3-12×42 scope, but with a longer tube section forward of the turrets. Its glass performed like a budget optic. It has noticeable distortion and softening on the outer edges with some chromatic aberration. But its higher top end of 24x provided acceptable resolution at the center of its image to identify target rings at 100 yards.
What makes LHT scopes stand out is its value. This LHT has a street price of $150, making them a better value than Walmart-grade scopes. Its light weight and above-average performance make this a serious upgrade to modern or vintage rifles. I’m putting this on my Glenfield 60.
Wuben flashlights are exquisite examples of futuristic industrial design. The new X5 is their flat/blade-style EDC made popular by the Surefire Stilletto and the OLight Arkfeld. The X5 feels better in the palm than expected Despite its angular cyberpunk looks.
Its flashlight and UV mode controls are in a simple-to-use selector dial. I wish simple analog controls were also used for brightness control, which still requires cycling the activation button. Thankfully, it has mode memory. Next to the activation/brightness button is a laser button, which independently activates a green laser pointer.
The X5 is powered by an internal battery pack, which is recharged through a USB-C port. The X5’s most handy feature is that the battery pack can be replaced by 4xAAA batteries. In my tests, the X5 output over 1200 lumens with a substantial runtime of over 3 hours starting on high.
The X5 is a great option for those who are looking for a bright blade style EDC that doesn’t look like every other flashlight. Or anybody who’s into Star Wars cosplay.
A few months ago, I tested CVLife’s tiny rechargeable magnetic laser boresighters. Now, they’ve added this device to an even bigger kit, which includes spirit levels.
The key tool in this kit is a barrel-mounted spirit level clamp. After you have visually leveled your rifle, you clamp the level onto your barrel. Should you accidentally cant your rifle while installing or tightening down a mount or scope, the level will indicate a shift.
The kit includes 2 additional magnetic spirit levels that you can use to confirm the level on your rifle rail, scope mount, rings, or the turret on your scope. Aligning these levels to your barrel-mounted level, easily lets you align your scope reticle to your rifle.
Meet the creators of FlikTok, a new App that lets you earn Crypto by watching movie, TV, and video game previews. This Livestream is sponsored by Aura.com. 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.
This episode is sponsored by MattHat jerky. Use code: MOONDOG to get 15% Order a free sample using my link https://matthatjerky.com/products/sample-pack?ref=moondog
EARLYBIRD Clue:
SPECIAL GUESTS
BEVERLY HILLS, CA – MAY 04: Monica Brady and Producer, Golden Trailer Awards Evelyn Brady-Watters attend the 17th Annual Golden Trailer Awards held at Saban Theatre on May 4, 2016 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images for The Golden Trailer Awards )
Sisters Evelyn and Monica Brady are the founders of the Golden Trailer Awards and now the creators of FlikTok a new App available for Android and Apple iOS that allows users to earn Crypto for watching trailers.
This is the oldest surviving film studio in the United States. Founded in New York in 1912 it has produced legendary films such as E.T., Jaws, Jurassic Park, Scarface, Frankenstein, and Psycho.
This motion picture company was one of the first to offer tours of its filming backlot. Today, their Studio Tour is one of the top tourist attractions in Los Angeles and one of the most popular amusement parks in the world.
JULY CONTEST
BREAST CANCER GOFUNDME
I’m helping my sister-in-law battle breast cancer. This month, I’ll be hosting a mega contest with a dozen prizes worth over $1500 in prizes. Watch the prize drawing on my TMI LIvestream on Wednesday, August 5, 20206.
Poor Man’s PEQ or Airsoft Cosplay? If you want a full-featured laser, flashlight, and infrared (IR) multi-function device, you could drop a couple of grand on an L3Harris unit. But the V848 offers these features for less than $100.
Out of the box, the V848 feels surprisingly substantial. It features an all-metal housing and comes with a 3ft pressure switch cable. It measures roughly 4″ long, 2″ wide, and 1″ thick, and weighs less than half a pound. It’s actually smaller and lighter than a phone power bank.
The unit comes with a Picatinny mount but this can be removed to allow it to bolt it directly to an M-LOK handguard using the included hardware. The unit has a built-in battery, which is recharged using a proprietary magnetic USB cable. There is a small digital display which shows the charge remaining in the battery and the V848’s selected illumination mode.
Testing its white light performance, the V848 was just a little above the stated 1,700 lumens. Using a Gen 1 equivalent IR security cam, the V848’s IR flashlight provided a bright beam out and IR laser.
I am not going to claim that the V848 has the proven combat durability of an L3Harris PEQ-15 box. However, for less than $100, the Votatu V848 completely delivers on its performance as a rifle flashlight and IR laser.
