At Shot Show 2023, I was introduced to Leupold’s update to their laser finder binoculars. The BK4 are fixed 10x binoculars with bright, sharp, HD glass and a built-in laser rangefinder system. The BK4 has a remarkable maximum range of over 2000m on reflective objects and over 1000m for soft objects like deer and trees.
The new BK4 features updated external design case with user customizable ambidextrous control buttons. The only thing missing is a Bluetooth connection to more easily integrate this scope with App based ballistic software.
Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary is one of San Francisco’s most infamous and most visited tourist attractions. Yet, in all the years I’ve lived in San Francisco or visited San Francisco, I’d never gone to Alcatraz. Until now.
After it was closed in 1963 Alcatraz became a museum administered by the National Parks Service. The only way to visit island is via a commercial ferry service from Pier 33 near San Francisco’s Fishermans Wharf district. Entry to the Prison’s various museums and audio tour are included with the ferry ticket price.
The ferry has a snack bar and food for sale but no food or beverages are available on Alcatraz island. No food or drink is allowed to be consumed within the Prison museum but you can consume food and drinks onboard the ferry or at the dock waiting area on the island. In front of the Pier 33 entrance, there are numerous street food vendors vending sausages and hot dogs.
Arriving on the island, we disembarked on the dock which has restroom facilities, information displays, and a gift shop. There are Park Service Rangers who give talks at various times and locations on the island. Visitors can choose to follow these rangers or explore on their own. I and the majority of visitors chose the later.
Walking up the main road from the dock up to the prison, you pass through administration buildings, staff barracks, and facilities, some of which date from when Alcatraz was a coastal fort. Civil War era coastal battery canons are on display in various parts of the park. It is a reasonable walk uphill to the prison but those with disabilities can take a free tram up to the prison.
The prison’s former laundry building has been converted into a museum hall containing an exhibit on the 1969 occupation of the island by Nativist protestors. Their protest graffiti is still present (or reproduced) throughout the park on signage and on the island water tower.
In a morbid reminder, on the walk up to the former Maximum Security Federal Penitentiary, all visitors must pass the prison’s Morgue, a small building just outside of the main prison complex. Entering the prison, all visitors enter a large intake room where everyone is issued a complimentary headset and a digital audio player to listen to an Audio Tour.
The audio tour was well-produced and informative. It was narrated by guards and former prisoners of Alcatraz who gave personal insights as to life in the prison. Sound effects and ambient sounds created an immersive experience. The only issue was a poor user interface and faulty equipment maintenance that didn’t allow me to reliably pause, rewind and forward sections of the audio.
The prison interior was creepy and oppressive in a way that only old run-down brutalist 20th-century buildings. I knew prison cells were small but the 5ft x 5ft cells looked even smaller in real life. Most of the cells were closed to the public except for “The Hole”, the isolation cells in D-block where rule violators were sent as punishment.
The most unsettling part of the whole prison tour was at the end: the gift shop. The large gift shop was filled with Alcatraz logo wear, replica eating utensils, and table wear. Why anybody would want to make another human’s incarceration, even if that human was a criminal, something to “enjoy” in their home is disturbing.
I tied for 3rd place in my first Falling Plates rifle competition hosted by the Coyote Point Rifle and Pistol Club. For the match I wanted to try out the Monstrum Spectre LPVO I recently reviewed. It’s the perfect type of optic to use for these short to medium range action shooting competitions. It offers a wide field of view of a 1x red dot with the ability to dial up the magnification as the engagement distances pushed out from 30 yards to 45 yards.
I had competed in a Falling Plates pistol competition a few months so was somewhat familiar with the format but this was my first rifle match which was a little different. This match involved 2 back-to-back rounds of shooting six 6″ steel plates. Each shooter was limited to 6 cartridges of ammunition, so any miss meant an a lower score. The shooting string had to be completed within 10 secs at 30 yards, 11 secs at 35 yards, 12 secs at 40 yards, and 13 secs at 45 yards. The target distance increased after each stage.
I rarely managed a perfect round, missing at last 1 plate every time. I rushed the last shots. I failed to properly pace myself and give myself the maximum aiming time. Often my last shot was a miss and 2-3 seconds would elapse before the timer ran out, which meant that I should have used those precious extra seconds to take more careful aim.
Steve, the other shooter who I tied with had the same complaint of his performance. We both had the pistol competition in mind which only allowed half the time to a complete each round. I hope I’ll know better next time.
The biggest surprise of the day was how well the Monstrum Spectre 1-6×24 LPVO worked during the match. In my previous target testing, I had some concerns that the Spectre’s thin target-style reticle wouldn’t provide sufficient visual boldness to quickly sight a target. But with the reticle illumination turned on to medium power, it easily allowed me to acquire a sight picture. I take back every negative comment I made about it.
I wish you and your family a wonderful Christmas time and look forward to a better new year. This year was amazing with my new gadget channel Moondog R&D reaching over 1000 subscribers and launching my new travel channel Moondog Go. Moondog Industries has exploded doubling my subscribers by 100%. I hope this growth continues with my next visit to Shot Show 2023.
If you have any suggestions for booths or brands you’d like me to visit at Shot Show, leave a comment on my video on YouTube.
Does a premium brand BCG (Bolt Carrier Group) shoot better than a budget BCG? I thought I’d find out. I picked up a new black nitride Aero Precision BCG on sale. I wanted to compare this premium BCG to a budget Anderson BCG I own.
For the test I used my AR which I built using an Aero Precision ATLAS 20″ complete upper (chambered in 5.56mm NATO), mated to a budget build Anderson lower receiver with a Timney 2-stage 4lb competition trigger, and a HERA CQR (California neutered) stock. Up until now, I’ve been shooting it with an Anderson black phosphate BCG for the last 3 years and about a 800-1000 rounds.
Swapping between the Aero Precision BCG and Anderson BCG while firing on a target at 100yrds. I found no significant difference in groups between these two BCG. And there were no reliability difference between the two.
The only appreciable difference between the two BCG’s is the glossy black-nitride finish of the Aero is easier to clean than the matte black finish of the Anderson. Or maybe it’s not really easier to clean? Maybe it’s just that shiny surfaces look clean after cleaning, whilst the rough phosphate surface looks the same either way.
Anderson makes completely MISPEC components for their AR’s and are used by thousands of gun owners and have earned a reputation for being a “as-good-as” budget brand. I originally chose to use many Anderson components in my AR build specifically for components that were not important for accuracy or durability. The BCG is a critical part of the function of an AR but apart from reliable firing, ejecting, and cycling of a round, it plays no normal role in the accuracy of a bullets trajectory.
Based on my test results, I feel vindicated in choosing a cheaper Anderson BCG in my original AR build. But for superficial aesthetics, I will keep the Aero BCG in the Aero upper because it just looks shiny and pretty.
Airguns are much quieter than airguns, barely topping 82db because they are powered by compressed air not exploding gunpowder. Most of the noise associated with firing an airgun comes from the piston slamming in receiver in the case of a pump or break barrel pellet gun, or the crack of the projectile breaking the sound barrier.
So why do commercial break barrel airguns in the US come with an integral baffled suppresser integrated into their barrel? Does it really reduce the sound it makes? Does the suppresser adversely effect the performance of an airgun?
With the help of my friends at the Coyote Point Rifle and Pistol Club, we set about testing a .22cal Benjamin Trail XL Magnum rifle using a PAC professional chronograph. I fired 5 shots of Benjamin Discovery 14.3gr lead pellets with the factory suppressor attached to the rifle. Then, I removed the suppresser barrel sheath and fired 5 shots with it off.
The sound of the rifle firing was noticeably louder with the suppressor removed. Using a phone App, we measured a 80-82db sound reading directly behind the rifle when firing with the suppresser. With the suppresser removed, the noise jumped up 10-15db (above OSHA requirement for hearing protection).
Measuring with the chrono I got an average velocity of 786.1 FPS with the suppresser attached and 785.8 FPS with it removed; a difference of only 0.3 FPS. Not only was the difference negligible but the velocity was higher with the suppresser attached. So all in all, we discovered that its better to have a suppresser on an airgun than not (at least for this rifle).
Chances are if there’s a scope on an AR at the range, that scope is going to be an LPVO (Low Power Variable Optic). LPVO’s are a cross between a traditional 6-10x magnified rifle scope and a red dot because LPVO’s have a low end of 1x, 1.2x, or similar. An LPVO allows you to use them with both eyes opened to quickly engage targets up close at 1x and crank up the magnification to engage targets at 200yrs or more (and especially helpful for older eyesight).
Monstrum is a Southern California based importer and designer of tactical accessories and red dots. I’ve helped install one of their scope rings on a friend’s rifle and was impressed that it had features like Torx screws and recoil lugs. I was aware of the Monstrum brand but didn’t know much about it so I was surprised when Monstrum reached out to me and offered to have me test and evaluate their newest LPVO, the Spectre 1-6x24mm.
The Spectre ships with some nice accessories like flip up lens caps, a kill-flash filter, and one of Monstrum’s excellent cantilever offset mounts. The scope has a 30mm tube, is made of 6061 aluminum, and is nitrogen purged. On initial inspection, the body and components appeared solidly constructed and well made, though I did find some nicks and rough edges on the magnification wheel which was disappointing.
The other big disappointment was that the elevation turret’s MOA markings didn’t line up with the the scope center indicator. This is common with budget scopes and has even been known to occur with better known scopes but it’s always disappointing when it happens. The windage was spot on to the zero so it’s not like Monstrum’s factory couldn’t make better built turrets.
The turrets are 1/2 MOA per click and the clicks were moderately audible and tactile positive though soft. There was a bit of slop in the elevation clicks but when pushed down, they did lock solidly. Both turrets are resettable with a coin.
The magnification dial turned smoothly but was difficult to turn. An LPVO’s central benefit is that it is the word “variable” so not being able to change you magnification easily is beyond frustrating. Thankfully it does have a large fin that helps assist in leveraging the dial but only time will tell how quickly it will loosen up?
The scope has an illumination knob opposite the windage. It is CR2032 powered with 5 brightness settings in red and green which illuminates the center octagon and dot of its MX1 Reticle. The reticle has thick outer T-style hunter crosshair lines a very thin and fine central crosshairs with MOA hashmarks. I found this central reticle structure too faint to use for action shooting without full illumination.
The scope itself performed quite well in my range tests. It has a decent 4″ eye-relief and the forgiving eye-box typical of lower power scopes. It returned to zero in my box test and probably passed my nipple-twister turret test but my results were not definitive.
In target testing at 25yrds it was able to hold its zero after being subjected to repeated hits from my polymer ammo can to simulate heavy recoil. In practical tests with rapid fire on steel plates, I was able to quickly and accurately place my shots (any misses were entirely shooter error). But as mentioned earlier, I found the reticle was too thin to use without illumination.
I came in with low expectations because I really didn’t know Monstrum’s optical products. In overall build and performance the Spectre lives up to the quality and value of Monstrum’s scope mounts and accessories. If you’re hesitant of trying a Monstrum because of their lack of reputation in optics, consider that the Spectre has a street price under $200 and a lifetime warranty from a US based company, and don’t be afraid of this monster value.
The short answer is yes. Though the devil is in the details. And as we shall see, it’s takes much more work and potentially requires a bit of crafting.
I recently tested a Lyman and Wheeler trigger gauge. One was digital and the other mechanical but both essentially measured the weight of pull on a trigger. So if they both measured weight, it got me wondering if I could use a cheap luggage scale to measure trigger pull?
I have a cheap digital luggage scale that I bought to well, measure the weight of luggage for airline travel. I don’t remember if I got it at TJMax or a Brooklyn dollar discount store, but I’m certain I paid less than $8 for it. It’s actually cheaper today on Amazon (see link below).
It’s reasonably accurate when testing the dead weight of a soda. A full-sized can of Diet Coke contains 12oz of liquid and the empty aluminum can itself weighs about 0.5oz; so a full can should weigh about 12.5oz. The readings from my cheap scale gave me a 13oz. While not a precision scientific instrument, this is pretty darn accurate for my purposes.
My cheap scale comes with a small built-in hook to hang a luggage handle from. I made a trigger extension arm from an 1/8″ metal rod to transfer the force from the gun trigger to the hook and scale. This is a similar setup to the built-in metal arms of most commercial digital trigger gauges, like the Lyman.
Unfortunately my luggage scale requires a 1-3 second pause to lock in a final weight. As soon as the trigger broke and I released tension, the scale went back to zero. I had to closely read the displayed weight on the display in real time to try and estimate the final trigger break weight. It can be done but requires vigilance and concentration. Exact, this is not.
The Lyman digital trigger gauge was much easier to use because it displays the maximum force applied without resetting itself. But that convenience comes with a cost easily 5x more than the luggage scale. And it’s not like I need to measure a trigger every week, so the Lyman will get far less use than the luggage scale.
Would I rely on my luggage scale for a trigger job? Probably. I’m more interested in figuring out if a trigger adjustment put me closer to 4lbs than 8lbs, than if a trigger is closer to 4oz. than 8oz.
Athlon is known for being a top value brand in sporting optics; offering competitive performance at a lower price-point. A year ago I bought and reviewed an Athlon Talos 20-60×65 and found it easily outclassed other budget spotters under $150. This year, Athlon offered me an opportunity to test their next tier up: the Argos 20-60×85.
The Argos package comes with a soft padded scope case that is designed with zippered cut out to allow you keep the case wrapped around the scope even while it is mounting it to your tripod. Hunters and birders are able to move and carry the tripod without disconnecting the scope. With the case ads extra impact and weather protection around their optic when repositioning your glassing location.
The scope is well armored with textured plastic coating around the tube and body. External build quality appears excellent without the uneven seams and fitting found on budget scopes. The kit comes with rubber lens covers which seal almost too well.
The scope comes with an Arca/Swiss compatible 360º rotating mounting color, built-in sun shade and eye-cup. The optics focus ring is a large collar around the whole tube. Its large size allows for both fast and fine focus.
The scope features HD glass and a large yepiece with a 1″-2″ eyebox. Despite the almost oversized eyepiece, its eye relief is a somewhat disappointing ~18mm. At maximum magnification, my eye-glasses touch the eyecup.
Looking through the scope I was pleased with a bright clean image. Glassing objects over 1000yrds I found the image to be slightly less sharp than the cheaper Talos. But at the rifle range, glassing reference target at 100yrds, the resolution of the Argos was as good as scope that cost 2x or 3x more. Only the Argos’ chromatic aberrations, hazy cast and tight eyebox keep it firmly in a Mid-Tier performance class.
But don’t just believe me. Outdoor Life magazine choose the Argos as one of the Top 8 spotting scopes of 2022. While they were underwhelmed by its graininess and lack of brightness, they were still impressed enough to rate it a Great Buy. The Argos is a well built HD spotting scope with decent optical performance with a street price of about $340, which rates it a Great Buy to me too.
Power: 20-60X Obj. Lens: 85 mm Eye Relief: 19.5-18 mm FoV Angular: 1.9-0.9⁰ FoV ft @1000Y: 102-48 ft FoV m @1000M: 34-16 m Close Focus: 39.4 ft Exit Pupil : 4.2-1.4 mm Weight: 70.0 oz
