Shooting Sports

Athlon Midas Tac HD 6-24×50 FFP

Athlon is known for making excellent quality scopes nearly on par with big brands such as Vortex and Burris but at a more reasonable price. Case in point, the Midas Tac has a winning combination of sharp and bright optics, a solid build, and quality turrets, and a transferable life-time warranty.

The “Tac” in Midas Tac is its ‘tactical-style’ exposed elevation turret for quick dope adjustments (with zero stop). And unusually, it has a different ‘hunting-style’ capped windage turret. This is to address a complaint among hunters and some competition shooters, that an exposed (non-locking) windage turret can be too easily, accidentally adjusted when grasping a rifle by the scope or simply resting your palm on the scope while manipulating the elevation turret.

The turrets were clear and simple to read. They had nicely loud clicks and were tactile positive. Both could be zero-reset by lifting the turret using a coin screw

The elevation turret has Athlon’s brass zero-stop which forms a ring around the inner turret pillar. The ring can be rotated into position and is locked with 3 worm/set screws after the user has set their zero. This engages with a fixed gear tooth at the base of the turret providing a solid and reliable stop. A small Allen key is included in the box.

I should also mention, not much is included in the box aside from the turret lock set screws kit, user manual, and scope. This is in line with many “high-end” scope models which eschew accessories like lens caps, sunshades, and throw levers; but a simple rubber lens bra would have been nice.

Concerning throw levers, the magnification dial has a small thumb fin but no screw hole for an optional lever. Nor does Athlon sell a slip-on throw lever as an accessory. Athlon should consider this feature as throw levers have become nearly standard for many competition shooters; if this model is to appeal to that market.

Optically, the Midas punches above its weight. While it did exhibit some slight chromatic aberration, it is bright, with good contrast and excellent resolution. I was able to make out Element 5 in Group -1 on my 8.5″x11″ USAF-51 optical resolution chart at 100yrds. This puts it on par with the more expensive Leupold Mk3 or Vortex Viper FFP.

What the scope lacks is an illuminated reticle, which may be one of the reasons it is hundreds less than Athlon’s Ares. Lacking one may be a deal-breaker for hunters in dusk/dawn situations. This omission is odd if this scope was intended for the hunting market (remember that capped turret). For the range shooter who doesn’t need or use reticle illumination, this scope is a step up in image quality from budget scopes in the $500-$600 price tier.

This Midas Tac HD 6-24×50 FFP was sent to me by Athlon for testing. It is available on Amazon through my affiliate link: https://amzn.to/3dYNfG6

RESOLUTION

Element: 5
Group: -1

MANUFACTURER SPECS

GLASS TYPE: HD
OBJ. LENS: 50 mm
TUBE DIAMETER: 30 mm
GAS PURGED: Argon
EYE RELIEF: 3.7″
FOV @ 100 YDS: 17.8 – 4.6 ft
PARALLAX: 10 YDS – ∞
CLICK VALUE: 0.1 MIL
ADJ/ROTATION: 10 MIL
TOTAL ELEV ADJ: 25 MIL
TOTAL WIND ADJ: 25 MIL
LENGTH: 14.6″
WEIGHT: 26.3 oz

Shooting Sports

JH Mini-Bubble Machine

While not my usual shooting sport or high-tech home gadget, I got a pair of these bubble machines for an upcoming Autumn Festival at my kid’s school. This device is an inexpensive way to add fun to any kids party, wedding, or event. It runs off a 5v USB power adapter cable that comes with the box or it can run portable for about a day off 4xAA batteries.

It even comes with packs bubble solution concentrate to dilute with water to create your own bubble fluid. Or you can simply use diluted dishwashing detergent or bubble bath shampoo. Just pour it into the open reserver at the base of the unit and it should last about 10-20 minutes before needing to be refilled.

It also comes with a 2xAAA 1-button control that can turn the unit on remotely for use in stage productions, or I suppose a prank. The unit also features two blue LED lights at the front so you can use the unit at night for a Halloween or Christmas display in your yard, though additional flood lights would probably be recommended.

This product is available on Amazon through this affiliate link: https://amzn.to/3DSPPIg

Product Reviews

Leather Repair Tape

Pleather or Faux-Leather is a synthetic coated fabric that looks and almost feels like real leather. It is soft, flexible, and waterproof. While not as durable as leather it is a whole lot cheaper. This is why its used in the “Leather” Kylo Wren jacket sold at the Disney Store that I bought as a Christmas present for my wife in 2020.

The jacket developed small tears on the shoulder and have started showing the start of tears under the collar. Fortunately Pleather repair tape is readily available from fabric stores, hobby shops, and Amazon.

Unfortunately the repair project failed when she first tried it on the next day. The repair patches held up too well. They didn’t stretch in the same way as the underlying fabric and tore away from the jacket leaving an even larger tear than before. Lesson learned, don’t try to repair a cheaply made jacket.

AMAZON Affiliate Link https://amzn.to/3HuaEtc

Gadgets, Product Reviews, Shooting Sports

PST35 Pistol Sight Tool

Feagle/Feyachi marketing sent me their PST35 sight tool to test and evaluate. These rigs are sometimes called “sight pushers” because there are a series of screws and plates designed to gently push off the rear iron-sights of pistol which are attached by dovetail groove and retained by pressure/tension.

This appears similar to the US made RockYourGlock sight-pusher tool. But the PST35 offers a hidden advantage. The handle of the pusher block is also a front-sight wrench, which can loosen the small bolt under your slide which holds a Glock’s front sight in place.

The PST35 is a pretty sizable rig/frame and large adjustment knobs. The frame has holes to screw/mount it on a work bench though in practice the process of sight removal or adjustment can be done purely hand-held. The frame appears to be mostly aluminum with steel screws so it seems quite robust.

After removing the slide from your pistol, you loosen the PST35 plates, and position your pistol slide in the center of the rig. After tightening the holding plates and securing the slide, you turn the main handle which pushes your rear sight off its dovetails and off your slide (depending on the design of your sights, be sure to loosen any set screws before attempting).

Installing sights is a revers of the process. The PST35 sight pusher has measurement markings (which appear to me in millimeters) to assist in aligning your sights. This is how you would also adjust your sights to properly align them for aiming your pistol.

This is a well built and useful tool if and when you need to change or adjust your sights. But like many specialty gunsmithing tools, this probably won’t be often or more than once for a typical gun owner. I suspect that this will probably get used most often when your gun buddies ask to borrow it for their new toy.

Available on Amazon https://amzn.to/3BW4KQt

Gadgets, Product Reviews, Shooting Sports

Conree Electronic Earmuffs

Conree contacted me and sent me a their electronic earmuffs to test. Hearing protection is a must when participating any shooting sport because hearing loss is caused by exposure from loud noises above 85dB and once damaged, hearing loss can not be healed. Along with eye-protection, it’s not worth it to cheap out and use a product that doesn’t provide the minimum level of protection promised.

I had never heard of the Conree brand before which is not a good start when choosing hearing protection. Fortunately, I have the tools to test the earmuffs before wearing. So if they failed to reduce noise to a safe level, I wouldn’t take them out to the range.

The Conree ME123 headphones come in a Spartan black box with an illustration of the headphones. Inside the box was a ~1.5ft 3.5mm audio cable, user manual, and the headphones. The user manual was as Spartan as the box, with very little instructional information, repeated in multiple languages.

The headphones are black plastic and light weight. The headband had a faux leather cover and allowed the ear cups to fold into a compact 5x5x4.5 configuration. The headphones run on 2 x AAA batteries, housed in the left earcup.

The earcup’s foam earpads are comfortable and provide a good air seal and sound isolation. The AUX jack can be used to connect the headphones to phone or radio. The sound level is dependent on the headphones volume level; when turned off, no AUX sound can be heard. The speakers have poor bass response and high volume output from my computer sounded clipped, so these are not headphones you would want for hifi music listening.

In my audio testing the headphones reduced ambient noise from my handvac by approximately 27dB; this is 4dB better than Conree’s stated 23dB NRR (Noise Reduction Rating). While the noise profile of a high-speed vacuum motor is not the same as that of a .44magnum handgun, it is a good enough for me to feel it safe to test these headphones on the range.

At the range, I was pleased to find that the headphones were light weight and comfortable for the 1hr I spent shooting my 9mm Glock. The headphones did respectable job. Unlike some headphones by Earmor and Caldwell, gunfire noise was attenuated (reduced) but not completely cut off, so I was able to follow people’s conversations around me rather than completely dropped out.

What I would have liked is a bit more max volume. Many of us use supplemental foam earplugs under our electronic earmuffs when we shoot indoors. The Conree’s max volume was barely loud enough to hear speech around me without earplugs, and not enough to amplify natural sounds of prey animals that are useful in hunting.

Overall, these headphones compare well against my Howard Leight Impact Sports. Not quite as low-profile or as loud but very close in audio quality and a bit better sound seal around the ears. I would recommend them for smaller heads or kids for whom Impact Sports do not provide a comfortable and secure fit.

A few days after my range test, I discovered that I had forgotten to turn off the headphones. The LED light was still on but I could hear no sound through the headphones. The unit has an auto shut-off after about 4 hours. This did work in my case to deactivate the headphones except for the LED light, but it did conserve battery life which still held a full-charge based on the reading from my battery tester.

Available on Amazon from my Affiliate Link: https://amzn.to/3RML33a

Gadgets, Product Reviews, Travel

Sunwayfoto TT2340CE Tripod

When I was offered a travel tripod by SunwayFOTO, I wasn’t expecting more than another clone Chinesium tripod that would likely last long before some screw stripped itself. What I got was a feather light carbon fiber tripod that impressed me.

This tripod comes in a black velvet pouch containing the folded and collapsed tripod and a plastic pouch containing four Allen wrenches (to tighten screw joints which work their way loose over time) and a cleaning cloth. While the velvet was probably meant to make it feel high end and protect the parts, it does make for a dust magnet.

The tripod weighed in at 1.67 oz on my scale and that includes the metal ballhead! The overall length when collapsed was barely 14″. Technically I’ve used lighter tripods but these were mini-tripods or accessory tripods; not real photo tripods that you could mount a full sized DSLR and telephoto lens with any confidence or stability, and certainly not at eye level. Fully extended, the tripod stands at 52″ in height, perfectly standard.

The ball head has a slight divot cut in the ARCA QR mount to make room for the tripod foot to rest in it, making the tripod just few millimeters smaller. Levers were used instead of twist heads for added torque on locking joints. These little design details make the SunwayFOTO stand out as a cut above typical tripods. As does it’s price, which is a around $220 as of this writing, so not as expensive as some higher-end carbon fiber tripods; it’s certainly not cheap.

The leg segments lock and unlock with a 180º twist at the feet. They utilize an internalized locking mechanism without individual locking rings at the segments, so extra care needs to be made if you attempt to retract an individual leg or segment, as twisting the outermost segment can transfer torque and unlock the previous segment. This makes adjustments on uneven surfaces tedious but this also makes deployment on normal level surfaces extremely fast.

I was able to unfold and depoly the tripod in under 19 seconds pretty much the first time without rushing it. And the leg extension and locking can be done essentially one handed. This makes this tripod ideal for guerrilla-style shooting where you have to get into position fast, get your footage an go.

The light weight, fast deployment, and compact size make this an ideal travel tripod or live event vlogging tripod. This will surely be my go-to tripod for my range videos and I’ll be sure to give those leg locks a thorough durability test in the near future.

This is available on Sunwayfoto’s website. Use this link and get 5% off using code: MOONDOG
https://sunwayfoto-store.com/?ref=pwwCNnfb

Shooting Sports

How good is a free scope that comes with a rifle combo package?

Last Black Friday, I bought a Savage Axis XP at Sportsman’s Warehouse that came with a Bushnell 4-12×40 scope and rings pre-installed in the rifle in the box. It was a great price and I assume Savage has been trying to sell through their remaining stock of the Axis now that the Axis II model has been out for a couple of years.

I didn’t hold high expectations for a “free” scope. I expected it to be about the same quality as Budget scopes by CVLife, Pinty, etc. with an unknown ability to hold up to the recoil of the .308 cal rounds the rifle was chambered for. Upon close inspection I wasn’t far off. I could not find a match for this scope in the Bushnell website? Bushnell does sell a Banner 4-12×40 but it looks nothing like this scope; with a side parallax knob instead of this scope’s AOE. It had the “Bushnell” logo on it but it looked more like a knock-off Bushnell.

I gave it a try on the rifle, going through about 50 rounds of 7.62mm breaking the rifle in and zeroing out the scope. The packaging says it was “factory bore-sighted”, which just means that you can get on paper. That I did and I was pleased and relieved to find that once zero’d the scope held its zero.

I fully expected to replace this free scope with one of the higher end scopes I’ve recently reviewed like the Hawk Sidewinder or Arken SH4. But after shooting with it, I decided to keep it on the Savage and keep the rifle stock. For a basic hunting rifle, the scope is perfectly acceptable. To their credit, as much as the Savage Axis is a budget rifle that does the job it’s designed to do, so does the scope they chose for it.

RESOLUTION
Group: -2
Element: 5

OVERALL RATINGS (out 5)
Build: 3
Glass: 3
Reticle: 3
Holds Zero: 5
Box Test: 5
Turrets: 3
Eye Box: 3
Value: 5 (It was free)

SPECS

Power: 4-12x

Objective: 40mm

Gadgets, Product Reviews, Travel

Sanag Multi-Adapter Powerbank

Anybody who has been out on a trip or stuck on location knows the utility of a powerbank to keep your devices running when you can’t plug in to recharge. But if you’ve ever forgotten to bring the correct cable for your device, knows the frustration of that moment. Thankfully there are powerbanks that come with built in charging cables and this Sanag is one of the most versatile in that respect.

I was sent a Sanag 10,000mAh travel powerbank to test and evaluate. It comes with 4 built-in cables: USB-A, Apple Lightning (iOS), Micro USB, and USB-C. The unit can charge up to 4 devices simultaneously using its various cables and plugging an additional cable to its USB-A port.

The cables are designed to fold almost flush into the shell. The shell is of the unit is black plastic with a unique faux brushed metal texture. This is both aesthetically appealing as well as practical as it provides a high-friction surface for a firm hand hold.

To recharge the unit, there is a Micro USB port next to the unit’s power button or you can plug its built-in USB-A cable to a standard USB port on a wall charger, computer, or charger hub. I discharged the unit and recharged it overnight. I recorded a total charge of 8156mAh to reach 100%, while this is approximately 1844mAh short of its stated 10k capacity, I suspect this is a safety shut-off on the unit, to keep the device from completely discharging.

This is available on Amazon through my Affiliate Link: https://amzn.to/3dgDX7N

Shooting Sports

Sig Sauer Buckmasters 3-9×40

Sig Sauer is a Swiss firearms company with an historic reputation for making rifles and pistols built to Swiss engineered quality. But recently they’ve also been releasing a line of accessories and optics at a competitive price like their popular Romeo line of red dots. Their Buckmasters 3-9x40mm is their least expensive magnified hunting scope at around $100 or under.

Unlike other budget price tier 3-9x scopes, the Buckmasters appears to be well built. It has a tight and well built tube with clear markings and smooth moving components. A good indication is the moulded SIG branded lens caps. A company that was just cashing in their brand on trash optics would have settled for unbraded caps or cheap printing on generic caps.

Typical of hunting scopes, the caps are capped which protects the turrets from the elements, moisture, and accidental bumps. The turrets are resettable using the included Allen wrench. They turn with nice audable clicks and are tactile positive, with only a little slop. In testing, the turrets returned to zero in box tests.

The scope has a BDC reticle but oddly manual doesn’t provide information as to the ammo and rifle used to establish the reticles dope markings. Perhaps this is an admission to the failure of this reticle type to live up to its promise because it’s unlikely the buyer will have the exact same rifle and use the exact same ammo. That said, I prefer reticles with any type of hold mark to provide a reference point for applying hold overs with follow up shots.

Optically, the scope’s sharpness and resolution was typical of 3-9x, in the Group -2 category using a 8.5″x11″ USAF Optical Resolution chart at 100yrds. But unlike typical budget scopes, the Buckmasters displayed no chromatic aberration and maintained an even sharpness and focus from center to edge. In addition, the scope maintained about a 3.5″-4″eye relief and decent eye box.

For the price, this scope exhibits better optics than the similarly priced Bushnell Banner and much better build quality and clarity than cheaper CVLife and other no-name scopes. It does have a limited lifetime warranty which isn’t as forgiving as Vortex’s but if you don’t abuse your gear, it should be effectively the same.

Support this publication by buying this scope on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3pFaibb

Buy on Amazon

RESOLUTION
Group: -2
Element: 5

OVERALL RATINGS (out 5)
Build: 4
Glass: 4
Reticle: 3
Holds Zero: 5
Box Test: 5
Turrets: 4
Eye Box: 3
Value: 4

SPECS

Power: 3-9x

Objective: 40mm

Weight: 400g

Tube Dia.: 1”

Tube Length: 12.5”

FOV@100y: 11.349”-34.1”

Eye Relief: 3.85”-4.17”

Exit Pupil: 4.4-13.3mm

Product Reviews, Social

Which Rumble License Should you Choose?

After posting videos explaining how to auto sync your YouTube videos to the rival video platform, Rumble and on copyrights, one of the most common questions I would get in the comments for those videos was, “Which Rumble License Options should I choose?”

When you upload or sync content to Rumble, you’re asked to choose 1 of 4 options to license your video with Rumble. Options #1 and #2 look confusingly similar as they are both titled “Video Management”. If you choose either, what you are effectively agreeing to is contracting for Rumble to manage the licensing of your video.

This is useful if you create content that other 3rd parties may want to use to create their content. These include Advertising agencies, film makers, news outlets, etc. who are looking for stock footage or content to create with. If they found a video on Rumble that was licensable, they could simply click on the “License” button and pay a fee to Rumble, who in turn would share those proceeds with you, the creator.

Option #1 give Rumble exclusive online rights which could bite you in the ass if you had previously posted your content on YouTube or elsewhere. Now if YouTube wants to continue showing your video, they have to negotiate a licensing agreement with Rumble. That could potentially cause your content to be removed by YouTube from their platform.

Option #2 excludes YouTube from Rumbles management which sounds promising. But in reading the fine print of Rumbles the Terms of Service, should you choose either Option #1 or #2 you are agreeing to give Rumble Management Rights to your video for up to 50 years! Thats means you do not have the right to remove your content from Rumble either because Rumble has a license to use your video for the term of the agreement.

This is a reminder of how important it is to always read the fine print. Or in the case of online Terms of Service, all of print. To their credit Rumble doesn’t hide any of these details or

That is why I always choose Option #3 which only grants Rumble the right to play and put advertising on (monetize) my videos. This is the same license I have with YouTube so it’s really no different. Option #4 is choosing to not monetize your content; allowing Rumble to play it but not put Ads on it or re-license it.

Gear Reviews, Education, and Adventure