Shooting Sports

Can you see a .22 cal bullet in flight?

While competing at a 100yrd match with my new CZ457 with a 6-24×50 Vortex Diamondback Tactical I noticed a flash of something when firing at the bullseye. At first I didn’t know what it was but after seeing it again the next time I fired, I couldn’t believe that I was seeing the bullet in flight to the target.

I know you can see the shockwave mirage of a bullet in flight at long range (over 500m). But in 40 years of shooting I’ve never heard nor seen a bullet at 100yrds. Much less a tiny bullet like a .22cal.

After the match, I set up up my camera on the scope and tried to capture what I was seeing. It requires the right lighting conditions (the sun was directly at my back) and a high-quality magnified scope with ED glass, but this footage shows that it is possible.

Gadgets, Product Reviews

Liberfeel Wireless Powerbank

The Liberfeel is a 10,000mAh wireless powerbank sent to me by Peakode to test and review. It has a decidedly feminine aesthetic with rounded edges somewhat reminiscent of a bar of Dove soap. It comes in a choice of 4 pastel colors: pink, blue, purple, and beige.

It features a wireless fast-charging plate (it will only fast-charge if wireless charging only 1 device) with a built in magnetic to help keep your phone in place while charging, though not strong enough to keep a phone attached to the charger if held up sideways. In addition it has a built-in Apple Lightning, a USB-C charging cable, a USB-A output port, and a USB-C in/out port, allowing it to charge up to 5 devices simultaneously. It can also recharge itself via it’s USB-C port, while charging 4 other devices at the same time. This makes the Liberfeel a useful travel charger.

Product Reviews

Screw Toy Battery Covers

Every toy that requires batteries nowadays has an annoying screw, locking down the battery cover. Even if the battery cover has a latch or hinge that will keep the battery in place, they add a screw to the door! Every time I have to replace the battery, I have to remove the screw or leave off the screw entirely next time (as I think many of you probably do).

I mostly see these on kids toys or devices. So I assume it’s a regulation to keep kids from getting into the batteries. I’ve searched the interwebs and have only found a regulation requiring a child protection mechanism for devices that use ‘button’ batteries; not the AA/AAA cells that power most kids toys.

I created this video to rant about this issue and hope that somebody can share a link to a specific US consumer product regulation.

Gadgets, Product Reviews, Shooting Sports

Add Bluetooth to your old Earpro


Comsoon J25 Bluetooth Receiver allows you to add Bluetooth audio to your old wired headphones or earbuds or your car through its AUX audio port, for less than $20. Far less than the cost of a new pair of Bluetooth headsets or even the cost of a J25 and a new pair of non-Bluetooth earpro.  

It’s small enough to mount directly onto your earpro and with the right connector cable, you can get the firing tucked away and even make it look like original equipment.

PRODUCT LINK
J25 https://amzn.to/3k6wWWJ
Right-angle cable https://amzn.to/3nZr04N
Velcro dots https://amzn.to/3CVEl2s

Shooting Sports

AT3 ARO Red Dot

AT3 ARO (Adaptable Reflex Optic) is a micro red dot optic and mount system. For those who aren’t familiar with the AT3 brand (which up to this point included me), AT3 is an AR parts maker and retailer based in Minnesota. They sent me an ARO to review.

I found the fit and build on the ARO to be excellent. There was a slight blem in the paint job of the co-witness mount, it was not visible when the red dot was mounted. It was designed to fit Burris Fastfire/Vortex Venom compatible mounts and slides (check their website for a list of compatible pistols and slides).

The ARO retails for about $150 with the co-witness mount. The Sig Sauer Romeo Zero is about the same price but doesn’t come with mounts. Unlike the Romeo, the ARO lacks any printed markings or design on the rear of the unit, which would allow it to be used as a rear iron sight when mounted on a pistol slide.

The ARO has 6 levels of brightness. While plenty bright for indoor range or CQB use; in mid-day outdoors, the dot is not bright enough. If AT3 could double or treble the max brightness, they’d have a serious competition to the Sig Sauer Romeo or Vortex Viper.

AMAZON LINKS https://amzn.to/3kmofZ8

THE GOOD
Upon testing at the range, I found the ARO to hold zero even after banging it up with a plastic ammo box. On the riser adapter, it co-witnessed to my KAC flip-up sights.

THE BAD
Even at its brightest, the red dot was hard to see in bright daylight. With only 6 levels of brightness, it is too dim for outdoor and seems better suited for indoor range or CQB.

Gadgets, Shooting Sports

SANAG A11S Pro Headsets

A marketing Rep with SANAG contacted me and offered a pair of sports headphones for me to test out. They appeared to be bone-conductive headsets but the Rep said they were not. Oddly the box says they are but my tests seem to indicate that the Rep was correct.

My first impression was positive. The box made it look like a piece of electronics that you would spend +$50 on (MSRP $80).

My initial impression upon taking it out was also positive. The headset appeared well made and completely covered in a rubber-like coating which would be expected from a “sweat-proof” headset.

Bluetooth pairing was easy. It also comes with 32GB of onboard memory so you can play music directly from the headset by loading up songs from your PC or phone via the included USB-C cable. It came with about 40 pre-loaded Mandarin songs (ummm ok).

Its audio quality was disappointing. The sound was thin and distant, like when you pull your earbuds out of your ear and hang them. The sole positive feature is that as over-the-ear headsets, these allow you to hear your real-world environment while listening to tunes. But for the price, I’d want better audio fedelity. 

SPECS

• 8hr battery life

• 10hr standby time

• Bluetooth connectivity

• IP67 Waterproof

• Sweatproof

• Noise Reduction microphone

• 32GB internal memory

• Weight 26g

Amazon https://amzn.to/3yytIC7

Gadgets, Product Reviews

Wybenz Solar Christmas Lights

WYBENZ sent me a set of Solar Christmas String Lights to test and review. I own a similar set solar-powered lights but these have much heavier duty wiring. These look quite nice and beautify our exteriors without having to be plugged. This makes them much more versatile in where you place them around your house.

SPECS

  • Length: 66ft
  • Control Wire: 6ft
  • Strand LED: 200
  • Setting Modes: 11
  • Battery Capacity: 1200mah
  • Waterproof: IP65
  • Solar Panel: 2V 400MA
  • Working Time:Up to 15hours

MODES

  1. Steady On White
  2. Steady On Warm White
  3. Steady On 50/50 Mix White and Warm White
  4. Slow Flash White
  5. Quick Flash White
  6. Slow Flash Warm White
  7. Quick Flash Warm White
  8. Slow Alternate White to Warm White
  9. Quick Alternate White to Warm White
  10. Slow Flash 50/50 Mix White
  11. Quick Flash 50/50 Mix White
Product Reviews, Shooting Sports

A2 PG Grip Plug

Missouri Tactical sent me two of these grip plugs to test out. It allows you to convert any Ar15 MilSpec A2 grip into a handy storage space. It features a storage holder for a CR2032 or similar sized coin battery and a hole for a small allen/hex wrench. This is very useful if you run illuminated optics or red dots because it’s all too common to forget to turn them off and you end up with a dead red dot.

It comes in either black or FDE colored silicone.

Available on Amazon
Black https://amzn.to/3roNPRx
Tan https://amzn.to/3D8qEgL

Gadgets, Product Reviews

AEGIS 300 Body Cam

My Geko Gear sent me their new Aegis 300 Body Cam to test and review. This is a professional grade body camera with password and encrypted footage and a rugged splash-proof body. It is an upgrade from the Aegis 200 (which I reviewed a few months ago) featuring such improvements as 1552p resolution, a removable/swappable battery pack, GPS, wifi, and electronic image stabilization (EIS).

On the last feature, the results were somewhat disappointing. The footage I got out of the camera were still shaky. In fact, not really any better than without the EIS.

Is the Aegis 300 worth the $50-$80 premium in price from the Aegis 200? If the EIS had significantly improved the footage quality, that would be an unequivocal yes but lacking that, I’m somewhat on the fence. It’s external battery packs are an improvement but they are proprietary and replacement packs are not yet available through MyGekoGear website.

Despite that, with essentially all-day battery life and recording capability, this camera (which is about the size of an old-school Nokia flip-phone) makes for a rugged alternative to most action cams.

AMAZON https://amzn.to/3kMa008

MyGekoGear: https://shop.mygekogear.com/collections/body-cameras/products/aegis-300

Get 35% off using coupon code: BLACKFRIDAY35

Gear Reviews, Education, and Adventure