Optics

Steiner has made very high-end optics for the military for a very long time, but I haven’t seen a lot from them on the civilian side. That ends now.

Burris makes great riflescopes. That’s not news to anyone. What I’m really excited about is that the XTR II is now available in flat dark earth. The color change is a welcome addition. If you are hunting or in the tactical business, a scope all in black is a pretty big object that sticks out. Painting one is always nerve racking, no matter how well you taped it off. At least with a rifle, if you screw up, you can scrape the paint out of the trigger group.

ATN is well-known for its night vision and thermal gear, and it had some really interesting products on display at SHOW Show 2017. I had a chance to talk with ATN’s Steve Lemonov about some of the more interesting offerings they had on hand.

By far the most exciting product from Burris is the new spotting scope. The most interesting features include modular eyepieces and the integrated mount for a red dot. Burris will offer different eyepieces that are marked for MIL, MOA and with Burris’ SCR competition reticle.

The Bullseye AmmoCam camera is a easy and fun way to see your target without having to walk downrange. It transmits video of the target up to 1 mile away.

Magpul has a great reputation for quality, and their MBUS polymer “irons” are reasonably priced at $57.95 for the rear sight and $39.95 for the front sight.

Scopes these days can cost as little as $60 and as much as $4,000—and that’s not even considering thermal and night-vision optics. Most shooters are looking for something in the middle, a reliable sweet spot that won’t break the bank. Enter Primary Arms.

After a long battle, Pennsylvania recently passed new legislation allowing hunters to hunt with semi-automatic guns. The black rifle has gone mainstream.

Let’s be honest. Gun owners got the only Christmas present they really needed on November 9 when Hillary Clinton gave her concession speech. Donald Trump’s victory likely saves us from another two years of ammo shortages and, more importantly, another four years of “assault weapon” ban threats. Still, AR-15s have been on my mind ever since the primaries. I started purchasing AR parts when the first election polls showed Trump losing by double-digits, and I went into full prepper mode in the days before the election.