In this video I go over my recommendations for hunting scopes, including general guidelines of what to pay attention to and how to look at things. This is by no means an exhaustive list and there are additional recommendations on my legacy website. If you have specific questions about a specific scope, please Join and ask via the community board.
2:24 General Guidelines 7:40 Over $2k 16:40 $1.5k - 42k 21:50 ~$1K 32:50 ~$600 39:05 Under $400
This is not a regular edition of DLO Live!
Since Iran launched a fairly notable missile and drone attack on Israel, I figured I should offer some thoughts on the latest developments in the war in the Middle East as it pertains to us in America and to our allies, like Israel.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nApkJGqqmX0
Join to support this channel:
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Here is a quick look at the Field Optics Research Tripod I have been using for the last few months. I have a lot of tripods, but this one is easily my favourite. I use it for both shooting support and photography.
In this video, we go over the PRO32 tripod, F-Picatinny clamp that works for both Arca-Swiss and picatinny rails and the Gunpod gun vise for guns that do not have a standardized interface.
The tripod weighs 4.6 lbs with 75mm bowl top and 115lbs weight capacity (I misspoke in the video).
F-Picatinny clamp discussion starts at 1:10:
https://youtu.be/T8V9CuSDWYM?t=68
A little more about the tripod itself starting at 2:50:
https://youtu.be/T8V9CuSDWYM?t=171
A discussion of the High Angle Bracket starts at 4:15:
https://youtu.be/T8V9CuSDWYM?t=255
Overview of the Gunpod Vise starting at 8:35:
https://youtu.be/T8V9CuSDWYM?t=515
Final thoughts at 11:34:
https://youtu.be/T8V9CuSDWYM?t=694
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8V9CuSDWYM
This was streamed Live on Nov 19, 2020
I have been busy moving, so no time to make new videos and edit them. However, a discussion of scope mounts is way overdue, so I decided to do it in a livecast format. My office is still not quite set up, but it should do in a pinch.
Here is the Fix-It Sticks kit that I use:
https://alnk.to/4Mt8CLz
It lives in my range bag and turned out to be so useful, I am thinking of getting another one.
Before stumbling onto the FixIt Sticks, I used a kit from Borka Tools and still do. It has worked very well for many years and lives in another range bag I use. That way, whichever one I grab, I have something with me.
I have the original one, but they have re-designed it for more adjustability since:
http://shooterstools.com/Pages/BTD/bt...
For scope leveling on picatinny rails, Fix It Sticks Scope Jack turned out to be very useful:
https://alnk.to/ehU3AQI
As far as mounts and rails go, there are many good brands out there.
Aadmount that I like so much is not very easily available, but here is some info on it from a guy who designed it:
http://www.aadmount.com/30mm/index.html
https://www.swfa.com/mounts-rings-and...
If you find one of these for sale, I highly recommend it. He also makes the best scope caps in existence.
Of the more available stuff, I have had very good luck with Badger Mounts and rings:
https://alnk.to/90rkaxw
Lately, I have been using quite a few Burris XTR Signature (the "Signature" bit is important, plain XTR rings are nothing special) rings and those plastic inserts keep scope tubes unmolested. Also, I can add in extra slope without having to get a different rail. The self aligning rail clamp is also a clever feature.
https://alnk.to/clPIO6o
I am also testing the AR-Signature PEPR mount from Burris and it is kinda growing on me:
https://alnk.to/2QoNQbo
I have a lot of mileage with Warne rings, but I would not use their vertically split ones on precision scopes. The new Mountain Tech line does look pretty good and I liked the rings. They also make a Howa 1500 rail (there was a question about that):
https://alnk.to/2QoNQe1
Generally, with inexpensive picatinny rails, I have really had good luck with EGW:
https://alnk.to/3cejNVW
They also make a picatinny rail for CZ 527:
https://www.egwguns.com/scope-mounts-...
I am not a huge fan of CZ's direct mount rings (or other direct mount rings from Warne). They work OK if you are not planning to dial, but I would just bite the bullet and get a picatinny rail with NATO/STANAG rings.
There are couple of others hailing from Europe (Rusan and Contessa), but they are a bit expensive:
https://amzn.to/392YE2O
This was taken with a cellphone using an external lapel microphone. Let me know if this legible enough.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYyWGm3NpkM
Join me at www.darklordofoptics.com for further discussion.
In this video, I take a look at Russian-made Dedal riflescope. There were a couple of quirks, but overall it is better than I expected. To be fair, I am generally prejudiced against Russian-made products having grown up there, so my skepticism is not unexpected.
Still, the scope held up well and while there were a couple of QC misses (tracking was 3% off and the reticle was not perfectly centered), the scope adjusted the same away every time and stayed zeroed.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCsGq1zdRsk