Optics/Sights

The idea of aesthetics is a bit of a strange concept for people who think of guns solely as tools to hunt with or protect yourself. But going all the way back to Sam Colt when he introduced his first revolver, the Colt Patterson, in 1836, the way a gun looks has always been almost as important to the owner as how well it can do its job.

If you are a fan of another famous Colt, the 1911, the aesthetics and look of the gun are part of what you love. Custom grips have always been a booming side industry in the 1911 community and everyone from rock stars to presidents to Nascar drivers have commissioned custom 1911s to both treasure and carry. Crimson Trace, maker of the world’s leading lasergrips, has recognized this market for some time and we have heard for a while that a custom, high-end series of grips was on its way for this class 100 year old and still popular pistol, the 1911.

If you aren’t familiar with Crimson Trace Lasergrips, you have probably been hiding in a cave for ten years, but I guess you could also be new to guns and shooting and not have encountered them yet in your travels. The Crimson Trace system is the most unobtrusive and professional of all the handgun laser devices. A Crimson Trace replaces the factory grips of the gun, integrating a red laser on the side of the grip that is activated by your fingers around the front of the grip. Several firearm manufacturers now even offer Crimson Trace lasers standard in many of their models. Crimson Trace Lasergrips are pricey, but they are the choice of most professionals.

The Master Series from Crimson Trace, MRSP $399, was created so that you no longer have the choose between aesthetics and function with your favorite 1911. These gorgeous rosewood grips that you see here on an STI Shadow have a Crimson Trace laser in them. The two 2025 Lithium batteries for the laser fit into both sides of the replacement grips and are protected from electrical connection by plastic panels on the frame. For those who carry a 1911 this was a long time coming and it is no surprise that they are listed as “Out of Stock” on the Crimson Trace website at present. I’m sure if you look around you can find them, but you may have to wait in line.

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Close quarters battle has always been the proving ground for the EOTech line of holographic weapons sights.  You will find EOTech sights mounted on just about every type of small arms tactical weapon made, and they are equally at home on the SWAT team as they are in the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan. The EOTech 553 is in U.S. military service under the designation SU-231/PEQ and M553 in the commercial market.  I got a chance to look at two new products from EOTech, the updated top of the line version of their battle sight called the EXPS-3, and a new scope that sits in front of the EOTech sight for more precise shots and flips out of the way when you don’t need it. Read More…

Out of the cool closet comes a quad-rail for side by side shotguns from LaserLyte that would make even Doc Holiday come out of his grave and get out his credit card and laptop. The OK Corral would have gone a little different if he had a laser on that there doublegun, and whether you own a Rossi Coach Gun like you see here in the pictures or a fancy engraved high grade upland game gun, your home will be a little safer with this nifty easy to use device from LaserLyte. Read More…

Bullet drop, and compensating for it, can be extremely confusing, even for those of us who are good in math. But bullet drop itself isn’t that complicated, especially if you always use the same factory ammo with the same bullet from the same manufacturer. Nikon took this realization, concept, whatever you want to call it, to the next level in their M-223 series and designed scopes that are specifically for the bullet drop of the .223/5.56 NATO cartridge. Read More…

With all the talk we have around here about long range accuracy and long distance shots, very little of it applies to actual big game hunting. Punching paper has almost no relationship to hunting in the field. Paper targets just sit there. You don’t have to work hard to find them. They don’t move. It is almost like they were made to sit there and let you shoot at them. Oh yea, they were. Most shots on deer, hogs and even most African game is taken well inside of 100 yards, and often less than 50 yards.

None of those things are true with actual game, whether it is a Whitetail deer in the Pennsylvania woods, or a hog in the Everglades, or a Kudu on the plains of Africa. Wild game is almost always moving somewhat, and they are usually pretty darned hard to find, especially the big ones. When it is time for your shot, the shot you worked really hard to get and probably prayed for by your bedside the night before, you don’t want to look down your rifle and discover that you have the wrong optic for the job. Even at 4 power magnification a moving deer 75 yards away can be a difficult target to find in your scope when split seconds count. Yet optics are preferable in many ways to iron sights, because you don’t have to align them.