Break barrel hunting airguns are notorious for destroying even the highest end scope because of their jarring 2-way recoil. So any scope that can hold zero on an airgun has to be exceptionally well built. Hawke Optics may not be as well known in the US as Burris, Bushnell, Vortex, and Leupold but this British optics brand is the largest maker of airgun scopes, which says a lot more about their durability than a mere warranty (and yes, they too have a “No-Fault Lifetime Warranty”).
At their Shot Show booth I got a chance to inspect their newest scope in the Frontier line with a 34mm tube. This scope’s feature set and price put it in competition with Vortex and Leupold top-tier offerings for long distance optics. I hope to get my hands on one when they release it later this year.
Shot Show 2022: Smith and Wesson M&P 12
The Smith and Wesson created a stir with their launch of the M&P 12 last Fall. A high-capacity dual magazine-tube pump bullpup design which competes with the KelTec KSG. Superficially it appears similar to the Standard Manufacturing DP12 but is lighter due to its single barrel design. It’s pistol grip incorporates the changeable back straps found in it’s M&P pistols though grip size has really never be much of an issue with shotguns (which aren’t precision weapons to begin with) as they are with pistols, so that seems to be more of a gimmick.
Shot Show 2022: Leapers Integrix
Leaper’s UTG brand has had a spotty reputation among some gun owners who consider it to be a low-quality Chinese brand. But I think that reputation in optics and accessories is worse than it deserves; certainly not as bad as brands such as NC Star, MidTen, Feyachi, CVLife and the like. I’ll grant that UTG rifle scopes like their BugBuster 3-9×44 are certainly not high-end optics but their quality features are often on-par or better than similar rifle scopes in the $90-$140 price tier.
At this year’s Shot Show, Leapers debuted their new Integrix brand of tactical optics featuring Japanese and German glass, high quality turrets, and precision reticles. While their UTG brand targets beginners and budget buyers, Integrix is meant to compete with brands such as Vortex, Athlon, and SIG. Their products will be shipping later this Spring and I hope to test one and see if they truly live up to their claims.
Shot Show 2022: Zeiss LRP S5 5-25×56
Zeiss is a legendary optics manufacturer in industry, photography, science, and in hunting; creating world-class rifle scopes, binoculars, spotting scopes. If you own a high-end or +$1,000 scope that boasts “German made glass”, chances are that glass was manufactured by Zeiss.
Zeiss’s rifle scope offerings have been largely catering to heeled hunters. Their rifle scope models start at just under $900 and go up into $4000 depending on your region. They have been slow adopt features from the tactical and LRP world. Most of their scope models remain SFP.
At this year’s Shot Show, they showcased their new “LRP” S5 models which address the growing long-distance shooting market. These scopes feature beefed up locking turrets, a FFP reticle, and a 140 MOA / 40 MilRads of internal elevation adjustment, and of course Zeiss’ famous Shot Glass with 90% light transfer.
While Zeiss claims “best-in-class” elevation adjustments I know that Riton and Vortex have scopes with more than 40MILs of elevation adjustment. Maybe they consider their “class” to be scopes with MSRPs over $3K?
Order this on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3IlJu7r
Shot Show 2022: Riton x5 Primal
In addition to making excellent rifle scopes, Riton has come out with some light, high-performance hunting spotting scopes. And an innovative binocular with a double-hinge design.
How to use a Laser Boresighter
In my previous review of the Wolfroad green laser boresighter, some of the comments I had doubted the suitability of the device because it wasn’t spot-on when installed. In this episode, I show how to use a bore sighter to sight in a scope, optic, or open sights.
Laser bore sighters, which fit into the muzzle of your barrel, are not 100% dead nuts center on your bore. There’s a certain amount of looseness in the tolerances, from the laser diode to the straightness of the stem, to threads of the screw on the caliber adapter. It’s normal that they’re just a few degree’s off.
But by using a little practical geometry we can get around this imprecision. By rotating the bore sighter while attached to your barrel, the laser dot traces a circle around the center of its axis; your barrel. You can either estimate the center of that circle or simply position the dot at the nadir of the curve, you can aim the vertical/elevation centerline with your barrel.
This will almost certainly get you on paper if nothing else. Once you get holes on paper you can make finer adjustments to zero your sights.
WOLFROAD BORE SIGHT KIT
https://amzn.to/3t8CBle
MIDTEN BORE SIGHT KIT
https://amzn.to/3JSQc61
Shot Show 2022: KALI-103
The AK47 is the most widely produced firearm in history. Legendary for their reliability, even in the harshest conditions. And now, even the most inhospitable environment: California. At the Kalashnikov booth at Shot Show I dropped in and asked about their new California compliant AK the Kali-103, a 7.62×39 chambered AK with a featureless grip, covered barrel compensator threads, and a 30″ overall length.
Shot Show 2022: Rock Island Armory SK100
Rock Island Armory (RIA) is best known for making value tier 1911’s, they debuted their first Glock platform pistol, the STK100. This all-metal pistol is reported to be fully Glock compatible though the extent of compatibility with after-market parts remains to be seen. The Philippines has a long history of gun making and have repaired and built 1911’s since their adoption into the U.S. Army. RIA has a reputation for making quality 1911’s and revolvers at budget prices. The STK100 has an MSRP of $599 and is expected to have a street price about a hundred less.
Unfortunately, I live in California where our infamous Pistol Roster law makes it impossible for civilians to purchase any pistol released after 2007 and many older pistols brands/makes that chose not to apply for California’s onerous registration process such as Colt.
Shot Show 2022: Zippo Heatbank 6 Pro
I was a bit surprised to see Zippo at Shot Show but when I thought about it, they are a brand closely related to the U.S. military history and for most of the 20th century, were as much a part of a guy’s every-day-carry as a pocket knife.
I’m guessing most of the orders they took at the show were for custom logo editions of their iconic lighter. When I asked what “new” products they had, I was shown their newest electronic hand warmer. It’s MSRP is over $50 which is a bit pricy for a 5200mAh power bank (typically hi-capacity power banks are 10,000mAh or more). I’m not convinced that their brand halo justifies premium pricing on a unit that doesn’t appear as physically unique as their lighter?
Available on Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B091B4FYRL/ref=emc_b_5_t
Shot Show 2022: Walther Competition Rifles
I visited the Walther/Umarex booth at Shot Show to take a look at their competition rifle offerings. While I may never put down the money for one of these beautiful rimfires, it was still worth seeing them. What was interesting was that Umarex bought the high-end airgun maker Hämmerli and now use it as their entry-level brand below Walther.
Most Olympic sports would be better if they were like the Biathlon and included a rifle portion.