Firearms and shooting sports
My old friend Sasha saw my video interview with our mutual friend Travis chatting about 22LR and couldn’t hold back his mock outrage at our lack of knowledge with 22LR precision shooting. As it turns out he used to shot competitive Olympic-style Bullseye back in the Soviet Union.
Yes, you read that correctly, the Soviet Union. Sasha was an NCO in the Soviet Army back in the day. In our chat we get into a bit of his history, as well as the history of 22LR in Olympic sports.
Whenever I get a red dot to review, I check YouTube to see who has previously reviewed that model and try to find details not previously covered by other PewTubers. But one thing noticed about most red dot reviews is that many don’t bother showing what the reticle looks like.
I totally understand. It’s a pain to set up a camera behind an optic to accurately capture how sharp (or distorted) a reticle appears to the naked eye. Very often, the reviewer may be using a fully automatic action camera or phone that doesn’t allow them to manually focus the image. This is why their red dot often appears bloated and blurry.
In my recent accuracy performance tests of 22LR ammo, I mixed ammo makes (ie. CCI Mini-Mags vs Aguila Super Extra vs Federal Auto Match) within the same test session to average out changes in groupings due to barrel heating. But 22LR precision shooters told me my testing method was flawed because I didn’t properly “season” the bore. Seasoning is a process by which the melted wax, from lead-round-nose rounds (LRN), coats the bore and normalizes the performance of that bullet.
So this time, I’ve only tested a single ammo type, Federal Auto Match LRN, in a testing session of 7 targets. I shot 20 rounds of that ammo to season the bore before measuring the groups. I’ve cleaned the bore before changing ammo to CCI Standard LRN and measured those groups.
The results I got were “cleaner” results but those results were surprisingly close to the previous test with mixed ammo types. That leads me to some possibilities or a combination of them:
• Seasoning the barrel doesn’t make a significant difference with factory standard rifles
• Seasoning the barrel doesn’t make a significant difference at 50yrds-100yrds
• My previous mixed ammo tests were valid; one ammo’s fouling residue doesn’t significantly influence a different ammo’s performance.
I’ll be honest I always thought hanging brass-catchers to be the ugliest most unappealing gun accessory. It’s like hanging a colostomy bag hanging off a rifle and I have never wanted to put one on any of my guns. Until now.
Recently I’ve found myself shooting 22LR, at a range that has a dirt floor. Sweeping up brass with a broom just causes dust storms that annoy fellow shooters and 22LR brass is too small to get picked up by standard center-fire brass rollers. Fortunately, Marmot contacted me and offered to send me one of their universal brass catchers to try out and review. Marmot Tactical is not owned or affiliated with Marmot Outdoor Clothing company (which I think also makes great gear by the way if you want me to stuff to review [wink]).
It fit on my 10/22 and all of my rifles very easily. And son-of-a-gun, it captured almost all of my ejected brass and made clean up a breeze. I’m sold. Heck at $9 I can afford to buy for each rifle bag. And if you reload and collect your brass, this will make sorting so much easier and foolproof than having to go through your brass you sweep up.
When you have a new Macbook Pro has 2 USB-C ports and a lot of older peripherals. QGeeM 7-in-1 Type C Hub to HDMI 4k, 3 USB 3.0 Ports, 100W Power Delivery, SD/TF Card Readers Compatible with MacBook Pro 13/15 (Thunderbolt 3),2018 Mac Air, Chromebook USB C Adapter. Purchased from Amazon.
Amazon Affiliate Link
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Recently I conducted a head-to-head accuracy-test between CCI, Federal, and Aguila 22LR. In that test, surprisingly (to me) CCI-Mags 36gr HP (Hollow-Point) came in last place with the loosest groups. I wondered if this result was because I was shooting the hollow-point variety.
This week I compared three different CCI cartridges, Mini-Mag 36gr HP, Mini-Mag 40gr CPRN, and Standard Velocity 40gr LRN. I tested 5-rounds of each ammo at 6″ targets 50yrds. And averaged the results of 3 sets of tests and rotated each ammo type to average out the effects of barrel heating barrel. As with the previous test, I used my Ruger 10/22 Takedown as my testbed rifle.
Here were the detailed results measured using the Range Buddy app.
Aguila Super Extra HV vs. Federal Auto Match vs. CCI Mini-Mag. Guess which ammo came in first in our test? The test results were surprising to me because CCI’s have been the gold-standard for high-quality 22LR. I rotated between the different ammo brands during the test to isolate the effects of barrel heating affecting the group size (any heating would affect all brands equally).
The results below were calculated using the Range Buddy App for Android OS.
I wasn’t expecting much out of an airsoft replica Surefire. But was pleasantly surprised by how well it was built and it’s light output. It survived my 6ft drop tests into the dirt and my pressure washer, so there’s that. When the local ranges reopen (from COVID and wildfireds) I’ll see how it holds up to 9mm recoil.
CVLife sent me their 4-Reticle red/green dot to review. I was a bit dubious as there are soooooo many knock-offs of Sightmark’s Sure Shot reflex sight. It has become the most ubiquitous budget red dot design. I do like it’s very open, almost frameless design which offers almost no obstructions to your field of view. Perfect for action sports, birding, or a range gun. The trade-off is that this design is that the thin frame is vulnerable to rough handling and drops.
PRO: The CVLife looks a lot better up-close than other budget reflex sights. Nice detailing and no blemishes on the body. Clean sharp reticles with no blooming when the reticle moves off the center. The windage adjustment gave positive clicks and seemed accurate to 1/4″ MOA per click device specifications. Held zero after 25 shots mounted on a break-barrel .22cal
CON: Windage shifted once between shots while testing tracking. Elevation was mushy and often did not give a click on adjustment so was impossible to judge how accurate it was to 1/4″ MOA?
I’m working the video review after I get a chance to do more durability testing.
Available on Amazon for around $30 https://amzn.to/2E00btb
I’ve bee ordering so many things from various online stores, I honestly forgot I ordered these over a month ago. I purchased them from the “Professional Tactical Appliance Store” on AliExpress
Mount: https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_dUrxQld
QD Offset Mount: https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_dUubppp
I did a quick install and found that the 5-position mount worked as advertised, allowing you to select 5 different angles to configure your taclight on your Picatinny rail. But the mounting foot on the Pic-rail was small (only about 1/2″) so it doesn’t provide a secure enough clamp. The material is polymer and tightened down, there was still wiggle. Acceptable for general airsoft use but the recoil from real firearms will likely loosen this. And the polymer clamp is likely not strong enough for action shooting or real-world durability.
The mounting tube for the taclight itself was a bit wide, requiring a taclight with a minimum of a 2.75″ battery tube to clear it. Shorter tacklights may require you to completely extract the taclight from the mount to access your battery or a clicky tail.
The QR (Quick Removal?) mount on the otherhand felt more robust. When mounted, there was no flex or wiggle. The mount is secured by the tension of the tight tolerance of the molding along your, secured with a cross-bar which is retracted when you press a button near the base. The mount is also almost completely polymer, so repeated removal may wear down a tight groove and loosen it over time?
I also found my particular placement on the bottom rail of my handguard problematic because my palm would press the QR button when I held my rifle in a C-clamp. Mounting it on a different position may fix that problem but your setup may vary. Apart from the C-clamp issue, I found the mount to be robust enough for use on high-recoil firearms.
