Gear Reviews

The Streamlight ProTac Rail Mount VIR Pro stuffs a powerful white light and serious 940nm IR illumination into one flexible rifle light for around $248. After testing it from dark barns to targets hundreds of yards away, I found plenty to like and a few limits worth knowing before you mount one.

The DNT ThermNight TNC635R packs 640 thermal, digital day and night vision, a laser rangefinder, IR illuminator, and ballistic calculator into one optic. After extensive range work and several nighttime hunts, the surprise was not how much it does, but how well those systems work together.

Here is the itch: you already own a Springfield Echelon 4.5 and it is a good pistol. What you do not want is to torch that investment on a whole new PDW-ish gun just to get rails, a rear Picatinny, and something that shoots flatter when you brace it. Strike Industries’ SMC Bravo chassis is [...]

The Project 47 Force 360 takes a machine-shop solution to a decades-old scope-mount problem, using collet-style 360-degree clamping and a clever built-in leveling system. After installing it, shooting with it and digging into how it works, I came away impressed.

The Steiner MPS 2.0 keeps the original optic’s rugged enclosed-emitter design, then attacks its biggest weaknesses with up to 90,000 hours of battery life, larger controls, and a stronger mounting interface. It is not a reinvention, but the upgrades make this duty-grade red dot considerably easier to trust and run.

The 22 Creedmoor launches heavy .224 bullets fast, shoots brutally flat, bucks wind, and delivers almost no recoil. This former wildcat has become a serious option for predators, PRS competition, long-range steel, and even deer-sized game.

A red dot is only as useful as its zero. Follow these five simple steps to get your rifle or pistol optic on target, stop chasing shots, and save yourself from burning through a pile of ammo.

The InfiRay BOLT TH50C packs sharp 640×512 thermal imaging, intuitive controls, and dependable battery life into a familiar riflescope form. It is expensive, but after a week of night hunting, sending it back still hurt.

The FN Reflex combines a surprisingly good trigger, .85-inch best-group accuracy, and flawless reliability in a palm-sized carry gun. This little 9mm ran clean, dirty, and gritty without giving us the first problem.