Optics/Sights

Red dots on pistols continues to be one of the strongest trends in the industry, which leads to some incredible developments. Much like electronics in other consumer spaces, it doesn’t take long for what was once only an option for the rich to make its way down to us mortals. It wasn’t that long ago that an HD TV cost a fortune, with very few brand options. Now you would be hard-pressed to find a television that wasn’t HD, including the sub $200 models at Best Buy or Walmart. As goes TV’s, now so goes slide mounted red dots.

Thermal optics have long been the domain of the, uh, not poor. While some people have a job that can justify the upfront cost, it has not been a realistic option for the masses. Granted, prices have gone down. But not down to the point of accessibility to the masses. Until now.

When you are looking to combine a high-quality optic with a decent price point, then Primary Arms is likely your go-to. They make great products that don’t break the bank. The Primary Arms GLx comes in at a mid-tier price but packs Tier 1 performance. This variable optic came to me at the perfect time. Rifle season begins soon, and I have a freezer empty of venison and a new Savage Impulse Predator, with an empty optic’s rail. The GLx presented a modern solution to a modern problem.

The new infiRay Cabin CBL19 thermal monocular is now available to the US market, through a relatively new company, iRayUSA. It features a high-resolution display and a 384×288 sensor core. The result is a crisp, detailed image that’s able to detect heat out to 1,070 yards.

When I heard that Crimson Trace had come out with a new line of red dot sights, their Rapid Aiming Dots (RAD), it made complete sense to me. After all, Crimson Trace has been in the firearm laser and light business for decades, and in more recent years has introduced their scope lines, so adding electronics into optics to get new electronic sights seems to be the natural progression.

The Sparc Solar provides a very competent optic for a fair price. It’s tough to beat the Sparc Solar if you need to outfit a home defense, competitive, or hunting firearm with a red dot.

This year at SHOT Show 2022, B.E. Meyers introduced the KIJI. The KIJI is a Infrared Laser Illumination Tool. Think of it as a super-powered night vision flashlight…

Unless you like setting money on fire, you should use the most efficient sight-in method—and you can’t get any more efficient than the two-shot zero.

I had an opportunity to use the binoculars for a short time on a prairie dog shoot in Wyoming and came away impressed because the Fusion X binoculars pack a lot of functionality into an affordable package. The binoculars are backed by Bushnell’s transferable lifetime warranty, which translates into a defined life of 20 years for the binoculars and five years for the electronics.