U.S. Optics got its start back in 1992 repairing and maintaining the US Marine Corp’s sniper rifles. Fast forward to 2023 and they’re in the rarified top tier of brands like Nightforce, Leupold, Schmidt & Bender, and Tract; producing +$3000 rifle scopes. Among this elite tier of scope makers, they are perhaps one of the least well known. But in terms of the Industrial Design of their turrets and tubes, they are one of the more progressive and stylish.
The Foundation 5-25×52 is available on Amazon through my Affiliate link: https://amzn.to/3IFNCAt
New Otis Cleaning Rod Kits
Otis Technology is known for making full featured pull-through cleaning kits. Their kits are the standard AR cleaning kits issued to to grunts in the US Army which should attest to their ruggedness and dependability. At their booth at SHOT Show 2023, they showcased their first rigid rod systems. Caliber specific sectional rod kits and solid rods in brass and coated stainless stee.
I asked them why they didn’t also offer carbon fiber rods and their answer was for rigidity. If you have to tap out a slug or blockage, you don’t want the flexibility of carbon fiber; and if you want lightness of carbon fiber, you should just use their pull-through cables. Makes sense.
Their multi-caliber sectional rod kit is available through my Amazon Affiliates link: https://amzn.to/3FksDSW
New Hi-Lux PR5 5-25×56 FFP
Hi-Lux is well known for their Leatherwood hunting scopes and Malcom vintage reproduction scopes. But they also make modern tactical and target scopes. At SHOT Show 2023 I got a chance to see the PR5 5-25x56mm FFP, their newest precision tactical scope that is ready to compete in both NRL22 and PRS competitions.
The PR5 has all the features you’d want in a long-range scope like HD glass, 32 Mil-Rads of internal adjustment and a modern FFP Christmas Tree reticle. In addition, the PR5 has a more modern digital controlled illuminator with auto shut-off, a feature found in most red dots but still lagging in even more expensive rifle scopes.
What sets this scope apart from bigger brand name PRS scopes, is that the PR5 has a minimum parallax focus distance of just 10yrds. That means it’s perfect for airgun competitions, NRL22, Precision Rimfire, and indoor ranges. While far from a budget scope, it still manages to come in at a street price bellow $900, which is remarkable for all these features.
At the booth I also got a walk-through of Hi-Lux’s vintage scope line. With the recent heightened interest in lever action Western guns, Hi-Lux is one of the few scope makers that offers vintage looking optics that utilize modern mounting standards and contain HD glass.
Hawkway Green Laser Bore Sighter
I was sent a Hawkway green laser bore sight tool to test and evaluate. This battery powered laser it shaped like a .223/5.56mm cartridge and fits inside the chamber of your rifle projecting a visible laser dot through your bore that you can use to aim and calibrate your scope or optic reticle. The case and cartridge appeared to be identical to the Marmot laser bore sighter I reviewed last year, except this emits a green colored laser which is much more visible in daylight.
The unit is powered by a 3x of LR41 which are wrapped together into a convenient battery pack. The kit comes with 3 sets. Battery pack fits into a chamber in the back of the unit, who’s screw on cap is shaped like the rim of a bullet cartridge. There is no off button and the unit will stay on until you remove the battery pack. While I did not test overall battery life of each pack, I used my test unit for well over 45 minutes without completely draining a battery pack but your millage may vary. It’s always a good idea to cary spares of any button battery.
Unfortunately the laser, while brighter than the Marmot red laster, wasn’t bright enough to see in bright daylight. It was bright enough to see in shade or indoors at 10-15yrds which makes it quite usable in your garage, basement, or at an indoor gun range. The unit appeared to be aligned well enough to use as a reference point with which to achieve a rough zero with your optic that you could reasonably get on paper at 100yrds and refine your zero.
The green laser’s performance is still disappointing when compared to the highly visible green laser dot projected by stem type laser bore sighters that fit onto the muzzle of your barrel. The muzzle-type use a larger CR2 battery to power their lasers and are visible at 100yrds.
Where the Hawkway and similar bullet cartridge sized laser is unequaled is in safety. Because they fit into your gun’s chamber, there is absolutely no risk of accidental discharge when it use, as the laser takes the place of any bullet. In addition, its small size makes it easy to store and transport. The entire kit fits into a mag pouch, your pocket, or tossed into a range bag. It weighs next to nothing and you can take it with you anywhere.
The Hawkway is available through my Amazon Affiliate link: https://amzn.to/3EXIWVS
New Primary Arms SLx LPVO
Texas based Primary Arms has grown into an online retailer offering everything from ammo, firearms components, and tactical accessories. They started as an optics company specializing in ARs and innovators in tactical reticles. Their innovation of the ACSS reticle was instrumental in the rise in popularity of LPVO’s in America’s sporting rifle. At SHOT Show 2023 we got a first look at their newest LPVO, the 1-6×24 SLx, which promises a “true daylight bright” reticle.
SHOP
Primary Arms https://alnk.to/9xjE2Pt
Amazon https://amzn.to/3J8EPJ7
New Monstrum Cyborg Prism
At SHOT Show 2023, I stopped by the Monstrum booth and was introduced to Cyborg, their new line of prism optics. The Cyborgs will be released with 1x, 3x, and 5x models with ACOG style horse-shoe reticles, shake-awake activation, and digital brightness controls. Overall, they look similar to their boxier Gen2 Marksman prism line which are nearly half the weight of their previous Gen1 Marksman prisms.
Southern California based Monstrum Tactical is one of the most underrated brands in firearms. Largely lumped together with budget brands like CVLife, Feyachi, and the plethora of random clone brands. They make some of the best value scope mounts, with features like recoil lugs in their bases. But their red dots and rifle scopes looked like Nightforce and SIG optics but were heavier and with budget level glass.
In the last couple years they’ve quietly been improving the quality of their optics. Their newest designs no longer look like knock offs but are uniquely styled. Their glass has gotten better. They still need to improve their turret quality and reticle options, but they’re putting out decent scopes.
Cyborg Prism scopes are available on the Monstrum Tactical website using my Affiliate link: https://alnk.to/5ud6d8E
New Monstrum Tactical Flashlights
Monstrum Tactical is mostly known for their budget oriented tactical optics, LPVOs, and exceptionally good value scope mounts. They have also carried a line of weapon lights that maxed out at 400 lumens, which by today’s standards is low power. At SHOT Show 2023 Monstrum introduced their new Tracer EDC laser and flashlight which has a max 1000 lumen output. And they showed me a prototype angled foregrip with an integrated laser and weaponlight that outputs 2000 lumen. At time of filming, it didn’t have a name but maybe they’ll call it the Moondog.
Monstrum tactical lights is available through this Affiliate link: https://alnk.to/8PBuQJC
New iAiming iA-612 Thermal Scope
I have very little experience with thermal optics because they’re so damn expensive. But what I do know is that cheap thermal scopes are pretty much a waste of time. I stopped by the iAiming booth because it was literally across the isle after my visit to Athlon and it was well worth my effort.
iAiming is an Australian based company with US sales offices in Texas. The showed me their newest scope, the iA612 which MSRP’s for $5799 with a street price closer to $5500. One of the nice things about SHOT Show is getting hands on with products I in no way can hope to afford.
The ia-612 has a digital zoom from 2.4x-19.2x and a digital viewfinder with 1024×768 resolution. It offers the user the ability to range find and to choose one of 6 different reticle types. It has built-in WiFi which allows you to broadcast the scope’s view a phone App so your friends can see real time scope views and potentially spot for you.
The newest feature that iAming was showcasing with the ia-612 is an automatic 1-shot zero feature. When you set it up on the onboard menu, the self-zero feature detects the heat signature that a bullet leaves on a paper target. The scope will automatically re-zero the reticle to that hole and Bobs your uncle, you’re zero’d out. That’s something I’d like to test out myself.
Short Elon Musk randomly gifting 1000 shares of Tesla to Twitter users with “moon” and “dog”in their handle, it’s not likely I’ll get a chance to test one myself. There is hope that iAiming might send me an evaluation model but we’ll see.
This scope is available on Optic Planet using my Affiliate Link: https://shrsl.com/3yk3j
New PSA Soviet Arms AKs
If Variety is the Spice of Life then Palmetto State Armory (PSA) is the howling Ghost Pepper of AKs. PSA used to be known as a retailer of budget AR components and AK kit guns build by small regional manufacturers but in the last few years, PSA has branched out into becoming its own legitimate gun brand. This year they’re debuting not just one or two new AK models, but a half dozen.
These new AK’s under their Soviet Arms brand span a range of historical AK like the Norinco Type 56 Chinese AK to to modern variants of AKMs and Kinkovs used by Russian special forces. PSA has long been known for making military and historical clone guns including Vietnam era AK’s and M-16’s and this year a new 5.56 chambered clone Stg 44!
If PSA is releasing a half-dozen different new AK variants wasn’t impressive enough, this same year they’re also releasing a similar number of new AR rifles under their Sabre brand. These AR’s will retail for under $1000 but come pre-installed with premium components like an ambi charging handle, 3.5lb trigger, and a low-profile hand guard. It’s going to be a busy year for PSA.
I end with this paradox: Is an AK clone of an AK clone still a clone?
2023 Hawke Vantage LPVOs
Hawke Optics is the UK’s biggest maker of airgun and hunting scopes. With the popularity of LPVO (Low Power Variable Optics) in the AR and sporting rifle market, Hawke has expanded their scope lineup with 3 new LPVOs. You have 4 different reticle options, including their new Fiberdot LPVO utilizes a fiber optic illuminator. It claims to be truly daylight bright with a super fine pinpoint for precision shooters. The Vantage Fiberdot scopes are due to be available in Q2 or Q3.