How To Sight Rifle Scope For Long Range

Alex

If you are a shooter looking to improve your shooting skills, it is a powerful skill to add to your arsenal. The installation process involved in sighting a rifle scope needs a technical understanding.  If your scope is not properly sighted in, you risk missing your target or, worse yet, making a kill that we consider unethical. We want to give you a simple-to-follow tutorial so you can have your scope set up correctly and ready to go because this is such a top priority for a good hunter. Read on! 

How To Sight Rifle Scope For Long Range

So, What Is A Rifle Scope? 

A rifle scope is a crucial shooting gear that enables shooters to hit long-range targets accurately. A reticle and several magnification lenses are used in the construction of scopes. A reticle is a tool that shows the area of the target where your ammunition should strike it. Together, these tools enable more precise shots to be taken at a distance.

Why You Should Get A Rifle Scope 

Most gun enthusiasts today employ an optical sighting system on most of their weapons. They don’t use a scope only on rifles but also on shotguns and handguns. This is for a very good reason: simplicity. One-third of the difficulty of aligning iron sights is fully eliminated when aiming through a scope or red dot sight. When using metallic sights, you must align the target and the front and rear sights. With a scope, all you need to do is align the reticle with the target. Since most rifle scopes also provide magnification, your mark will appear closer, allowing you to fire a more accurate shot. Scopes are also much simpler to learn to use than iron sights.

Why Do You Need To Site In Your Rifle Scope 

Sighting in your rifle scope is the most effective way to get accuracy on your shots. Hence, you need to take time and learn how to sight in your rifle scope because that knowledge will surely improve your long range shooting. The next paragraph will highlight some of the reasons why you need to sight your rifle scope. 

  • Better Accuracy 

When you sight your rifle scope for long range shooting, one of the advantages it gives you is the fact that you won’t be limited by distance. A well-sighted rifle scope can allow you to hit a 100-yard target very easily. 

  • Long Range Shots 

Most scopes come with powerful magnifications. Hence, when you sight your rifle scope, the high magnification helps you hit targets from afar. 

  • Better Confidence While Shooting 

When you sight your rifle scope, there is a confidence boost it gives you. This confidence comes from the fact that you know that you can now hit targets more accurately. 

  • Better Safety 

When hunting at night, you must have a good scope that you can trust. With a well-sighted rifle scope, long-distance shots become easier at night. Also, some scopes come with night vision. 

  • Competition Edge 

If you enter a competition without using a rifle scope, you put yourself at an instant disadvantage. If you are going to come out tops in a competition, you must use the best rifle scope. 

How To Sight Rifle Scope For Long Range

We have gotten to the important part of this guide. It doesn’t matter if you are using a precision rifle; if you don’t use a good hunting scope, you will be missing shots and wounding your targets instead of giving them a quick, painless death. 

No matter what you are hunting, it would help if you had top-notch equipment. The best rifle scope must be precisely sighted to be ready to shoot any big game. The following paragraph will explain using a step-by-step guide on how to sight your rifle scope. 

Step 1 

The first step is to set up your rifle scope. Hunting optics for rifles are common. A good long range rifle scope gives hunters a great vantage point to assure a quality kill; therefore, it’s in your best interest to use them properly.

The first thing you should do is to check the scope mounting one last time before you begin sighting in your scope. Rings must be torqued and tightened to the recommended levels. Safety comes first; therefore, ensure your eye relief is set correctly to avoid being hit by the optic during recoil. If you don’t set your eye relief correctly, the optics may rebound from the force of recoil and hit you in the eye, causing a black eye. 

Step 2 

The next step is to be boresight. You need to slow down and stop. Before firing a gun, spend some time boresighting a new scope. It will help you save time as you get to work.
Read this guide for full guide to boresight a rifle scope from Accurate Ordnance.

It would help if you started clearing the gun while learning to utilize a bore sight. As you begin, the rifle must be unloaded, and the barrel must be clear.

The bolt or magazine must be removed after you are satisfied that the rifle is clear and unloaded. The barrel will be pointed downrange while you mount the weapon in a safe resting place and continue with the cleaning process. Once that’s completed, you can proceed to the following action.

Step 3

Next, you need to rest, center, and bore the scope. You must set the rifle on a shooting rest to boresight the rifle scope. Most businesses with an outdoor, shooting, or hunting department carry shooting rests. Also, they are often not extremely pricey.

The first thing you want to do is stand behind the rifle and look into the bore or through the rifle barrel once it is set up on rest. The objective is carefully to move the rifle while making small adjustments to center the target in the bore.

Without moving the gun, the next step is to center the sight. The target you are aiming at down the bore should be in the center of the reticle.

Step 4

A boresight isn’t very accurate. Making sure it is accurate enough to hit a paper target at a closer range should be your aim. You will know you are doing fairly when shooting your rifle at 25 yards hits the paper.

There is also the option of using a laser boresight if you’d rather not manually bore sight. It performs the same function and fits into the rifle’s chamber. Making your primary arms precise does make things easier, but it is not required.

Step 5

This step involves you focusing on the reticle. It would help if you focused the reticle, or crosshair, on the sight after it has been tightened. When looking through the scope, you must train your eyes to focus intently on the crosshairs.

Furthermore, you need a stable background to focus the reticle; the sky serves this purpose perfectly. You can start by aiming your scope at the sky, then turn your head to look at a distant cloud or tree. Finally, return your gaze to the long range scope.

It is important to ensure the best long range scope is sharp and focused when you turn your attention back to it. It needs to happen faster since you don’t want to wait for your eyes to adjust. 

Step 6

You are ready to start shooting once the scope has been tightened and the reticle has been focused and adjusted.

Here’s an expert suggestion: whenever you test your rifle, use the same ammunition you want for hunting. You’ll get a fair notion of how it will respond when you’re out hunting from it.

You can start shooting at 25 yards, as bore sighting is meant to get you on paper at that distance.

Use sandbags or a shooting rest to hold the rifle stable to make this simple. Fire a shot while keeping your aim in the target’s center. The shot will be fired, and the gun will recoil. Action open, bring the weapon back to the center of the target.

Hold your rifle steady as much as possible while looking through the scope and setting the crosshair to the point of contact until it’s back in the center and stable. If more shots are needed, make an elevation adjustment, fire another one and repeat the process. Proceed to move out to a different range after the shot is in the center.

Step 5

Please make sure that you adjust the distance. Understanding how to sight a scope at various ranges requires making extremely minute changes that move the scope by one-quarter inch MOA, or minute of angle, for every hundred yards away.

Ensure that your shot is often moved by a quarter of an inch for every additional hundred yards. You can fine-tune for targets that will be farther away once you can consistently shoot grouped rounds close to the bullseye at each distance. Don’t fire too quickly; some rifles tend to “walk” shots as the barrel warms up. Giving your barrel time to cool between bullets will prevent your rifle from hitting the precise target you aim for if you shoot too quickly.

Step 6

You need to set your MOA. A 360-degree clock’s minute hand is a moa or minute of angle. With a reference of 1/60 of a degree each minute, accurate shooting angles are possible. Making adjustments and setting your zero involves several steps. Given that you will need targets placed at a variety of distances greater than 50 yards, you might find it to be the easiest to complete at an outdoor long range shooting range. Additionally, it would help if you had a mount to keep your rifle steady when making adjustments to your MOA.

You are allowed to make adjustments to the crosshairs in most rifle scopes in 14 MOA steps. At 100 yards, this translates to 14″ of movement with each click. The most popular MOA click values for hunters are 1/8 inch and 1/4 inch.

You must crank the elevation or windage knob four clicks for your ammo impact to travel one inch or one MOA at 100 yards. For every 100-yard increase in distance, the click value increases by a quarter of an inch.

How To Fix the Issue Of Hunting Scope Losing Zero After Firing 

Your scope mount can lose zero for several reasons. One of the reasons can include mechanical problems, poor mounting, and blocked barrels. Below are some things you can do if your scope mount doesn’t hold zero after firing. 

  • Start by setting up your long range riflescope and firing your shot. 
  • Hold your rifle still immediately after you are done shooting. 
  • Then, line up your crosshairs with the bullseye. 
  • Next, adjust your scope and line up crosshairs with the target. 
  • Release another shot. Repeat these steps for long range shooting. 

Final Thoughts 

Every good rifle sharpshooter knows the importance of learning to sight rifle scopes for long range. An accurate rifle scope can mean distinguishing between winning a shooting competition and crashing out miserably. Some advantages of properly sighting your rifle scope include better accuracy, more confidence, and becoming a better night shot.

Safety Tips: Pay attention to safely re-holster your handgun

Alex

Drawing your gun when danger looms is quite exciting and fun in a way, but reholstering can be more dangerous if you are not careful enough to follow the rules. Although holstering may not be particularly exciting, it is most important to be guarded as taking it for granted equals a self-inflicted injury.

I could remember a scene I witnessed a long time ago. There was a breakdown of order in my neighborhood which caused many people to lose their lives while severely injured. Police and citizens exchanged shots at each other for a long while before things were called to order. 

After the events went down, a police officer wanted to re-holster his handgun, but out of impatience or what I called negligence, he mistakenly pressed the trigger, and that was it; his left thigh was torn apart.

Imagine the pains and regrets because of an unintended mistake.

You need to carefully consider how and when to holster a gun back if you carry one. Knowing when to re-holster a pistol is quite simple. When you are sure there is no danger in your environment, or there cannot be an emergency any time soon; then, it is the right time to put your gun back to the holster. This idea is particularly effective if you just used your firearm for self-defense or someone else, and you are sure the police are responding to the situation already.

It is only fair that you conceal your handgun before the police arrive because if the firearm is still in your hand when the police arrived, you might sure be creating an unfavorable scene for yourself as you can be tagged as a perpetrator, hence the need to holster the gun back to avoid this tragedy once you are sure there is no imminent hazard. 

Here are the safety tips to re-holstering your firearm:

The Easy way

To prevent putting a hole through your leg, you must know the easy way to holster. It would help if you were sure the gun is safe while it goes back to the holster. Your finger should be entirely out of the trigger since keeping your finger on the trigger might mistakenly press it, thereby giving a blow-up.

There is no benefit whatsoever in rushing or stuffing your gun into the holster without adequate procedure; you will only be digging a deep hole in your body. It is only crucial that you take your time to holster your firearm correctly.

Thick fabrics can also cause an accident during holstering so clear the holster path before the steps.

Proper grip

For good reasons, it is best to hold your pistol in a proper shooting grip with your trigger finger positioned along with the frame. In contrast, your other three fingers stay on the grip under the trigger guard right from the moment you clutch your pistol till it is secured in the safest posture.

This gives you better control when drawing, shooting, and holstering your gun. If your holster does not stay firm when you draw your gun, there are two things to do.

  • You either check your holster before inputting your gun or
  • You remove the holster from your waistband( IWB or OWB) to re-holst it.

You should follow the above process if you use an elastic holster that depends on traction to maintain its space and holsters covering the handgun’s trigger guard alone.

A renowned Singleton of Singleton International instructor once said, “If you are not certain your world is safe, you should not consider using holstering.”

Knowing fully well that your world is safe, why don’t you take a second to lock your pistol into the holster while at the same time ensuring your concealing garment does not hinder the process, then make sure your fingers are off the trigger?

This careful but straightforward act could save you from an unintentional discharge that may cost you your life if care is not taken.

Good positioning

Yank the pistol close to your body into a retention posture to have absolute control over it. After you would have checked your front for another menace, now check behind you again to be sure you are entirely safe. You can use this time to check if you need to reload.

Safety on

Activate your handgun safety if it has one and put your thumb pressure on the safety while pushing it gently in its secure path. Do this until your firearm is in the holster or there is a need to fire again.

Rotation

Now is the time to rotate the muzzle to 90 degrees so that it points to the ground. Take your finger off the trigger guard to keep thumb pressure against the safety. 

This action is necessary to avoid accidental discharge, which may cause you to be imbalanced for life.

Retention strap

Initiate a retention strap if your holster got one after releasing your pistol. Avoid the mistake of using your support hand to assist in holstering when the gun is yet to be correctly placed in the holster. Some shooters make that mistake. You should not because it is synonymous with losing your fine toe, If not all.

Balance checking

After safely holstering your handgun, the next thing is to check for balancing on every angle. Walk back and forth to feel the comfortability and to also ensure proper holstering. You can also sit to check out the position while sitting.

Also, get a friend to check for the concealability while walking to ensure it is not exposed from behind.

Conclusion

After safely holstering your firearm, you can now enjoy life and merry. Holstering should be a controlled and conscious action and not banging without caution, except you want to pity yourself. Above all, move slowly and safely; the speed rate you used to bring out your handgun should be different when holstering it back. A close shot at your thigh, leg, or foot can get ravaging results in which the scar will remain for life.

Essential Gear for Range Shooting

Top 7 Essential Gear to Bring for Range Shooting

Alex

There has been a huge increase in gun sales over the past few years. With increased sales of guns, gun owners need to learn safe gun handling. Regular range shooting practice is recommended to become a pro shooter. However, range shooting does not just require a weapon. There are several fears to carry to a range shooting practice.

Gun enthusiasts and patrons usually have their own shooting range equipment. While you can always rent these gears, it is important to own. In this post, we discuss essential shooting range gears to consider buying.

Essential Gear for Range Shooting

Range bag

Apart from the weapon, a range bag is by far the most essential gear to consider. Selecting a quality range bag is essential for a successful trip to a range shooting. A range bag will carry all your essential gear to the range. Consider a sturdy and durable range bag that can accommodate all range shooting gears without wear and tear.

The ideal range bag should have enough space to fit all essentials. Consider bags with Velcro straps for easy carrying. The bag needs to feature a large volume and more side pockets to fit mugs and other accessories. You need a decent range bag to fit all your essential gear.

Eye and Ear Protection

Safety is crucial for any range shooting. You need to carry with you shooting glasses and earmuffs. Accidents can happen and the last thing you want is an accident in range shooting. If the worst comes, you need to have your eyes and ears protected. All shooting ranges have eye protection and ear protection as a requirement. The loud noises from weapons can be deafening to the ears.

If you’re a regular shooter, consider owning a pair of glasses and earmuffs. Rarely will you be allowed in the shooting range without these essentials.

Shooting stick

A long day outdoors in the wild at range shooting can be exhausting. This is why you need to consider shooting sticks. Shooting sticks are versatile range shooting tools that combine a walking stick and a folding chair. These sticks are used as short-term seats when shooting at a range. They feature a narrow saddle that provides a comfortable seat. The sticks also feature an extending metal shaft with a plate to dig into the ground.

You can adjust the height of these sticks to provide a comfortable sitting height. These sticks are versatile help you trek in the wild while offering a comfortable place to sit and rest. When choosing a shooting stick, make sure you consider its quality and maximum user weight. The sticks must also feature smooth finishes for comfortable use.

Cleaning kit

A cleaning kit is essential especially if you’re carrying your gun to the range. Whether you have a brand new gun, or some old gun, a cleaning kit is essential. A decent cleaning kit ensures you shoot all day with minimal pauses for cleaning your rifle. It is important to clean your gun regularly after use. This can prolong its lifespan and improve your shooting performance.

You don’t need to invest heavily in cleaning kits as they are affordable and readily available. Moreover, these kits take minimal space in your range bag.

First aid kit

A first aid kit is a must-have essential gear whenever heading outdoors. Earlier, we said that accidents can happen when in the range. You need a first aid kit to help perform any medical aid before paramedics can arrive.

Take an extra step and check the essentials inside the first aid kit. Some of the important things to consider include tweezers, gloves, plasters, sterilize gauzes, bandages, safety pins, and much more.

Pen, tape, and camera

The three items appear pretty basic but are quite essential for range shooting. Most novice shooters might forget them but experienced shooters never miss them. A pen is essential for documenting your shooting. You can note down your scores and misses. This is important if you want to keep improving. You also need tape to hold targets in place. Lastly, you need a camera to record your memories of the range.

Proper clothing

Lastly, you need to make sure you dress properly for range shooting. A good range shooting experience is only possible when shooters are comfortable. First, make sure you have a pair of durable closed shoes. You also need to dress to match the weather. The shirts and pants must be a little loose to let you feel comfortable. Shooters perform better when they feel comfortable and at ease. It is advisable to carry a heavy coat as the weather can change greatly in the wild.

Final verdict

In conclusion, these are the most important range shooting gears to consider. They are must-have gears to ensure a successful rage shooting experience. Well, these are just a few of the essential gears to carry. Other important gears include a ranging scope, targets, magazine pouches, and much more.

Night Vision vs. Thermal Optics – What is the Ideal Setup?

Night Vision vs. Thermal Optics – What is the Ideal Setup?

Alex

The ideal setup between Night Vision vs. Thermal Optics depends significantly on the type of hunting intended. Night vision or image intensifiers and Thermal Optics each have unique performance abilities. Night vision is best for identifying objects, while thermal helps in detection. Individually, both works great, but when working together, you can’t stop them. Although it is difficult to buy all at once, it’s an investment worth making. You can use the thermal to scan for targets or threats. When you use thermal imagers and night vision together, it guarantees you cover all bases and effectively monitor, identify and engage. 

Night Vision vs. Thermal Optics – What is the Ideal Setup?

Night Vision

If you’ve never viewed a target through a night vision optic, you must have seen military clips on TV with a green-colored screen. Night vision collects light, moonlight, sunlight or any other light in the sky and intensifies it so you can see in the dark. Most night vision optics come together with an infrared light that helps you illuminate a target or field in the blind darkness, especially nights when there’s no moon. You can see The infrared light with the eye but using a night vision scope resembles a spotlight. High-end night vision scopes don’t depend on the infrared illuminator, unlike the cheaper ones. 

Gen. 1, 2 or 3 Night Vision: If you look through night vision devices, you’ll discover that they have different ratings; Gen 1, 2 or 3. Simply put, Gen 1 is a budget-friendly scope. The following steps up from Gen 1 will cost you more, but you’ll get a better image, more clarity and more extended detection, as well as less ambient light with a more comprehensive battery and shelf life. Gen 2 and Gen 3 models are your top-level scopes. 

Digital Night Vision: Night vision has a new classification, and that’s digital night vision. Unlike conventional night vision, which uses an intensifier tube, digital night vision detects light using an objective lens and processes it using a charged coupler device. It then transfers an image to an LCD screen. Digital night vision is displayed on the LCD screen as black and white, unlike the typical green and black traditional night vision. It is also cheaper than normal night vision and offers a clearer image. You can use digital night vision during the daytime. 

Night vision offers an excellent tool for night hunters, so you don’t have to shine any light into the field. Though it has its limitations, you can expect to identify targets over many hundred yards, depending on the power of infrared light used and the optical quality. Nonetheless, night vision can’t see through smoke, fog, foliage or tall grass. So, if you want to scan through a field with tall grass, you may only see a short distance, just like shining visible light into a misty area. 

Thermal Optics

Thermal Optics, unlike night vision, can read heat. They have high-tech processors that can detect the most minor and most significant heat difference and create a digital image of the landscape and object in the optic. Thermal Optics often have color pallets that are switchable, like black-hot, white-hot etc. Thermal Optics that read heat signatures show animals as White or grey when viewed through the optic. When it’s in white-hot mode, cold objects appear darker while hotter things appear cool. So, if you go into a field on a cold night and look through your best thermal optic, the ground or grass will look black or dark, while a warm-blooded animal like a hog will look. Like a spotlight, bright White against black surroundings. 

Thermal Optics has an overnight vision because you can see through anything; fog, smoke or tall grass because it does not use light to see the image; instead, it reads heat. Warm-blooded animals are always detected by thermal unless they stay behind a cover. 

Also, thermal optics has the advantage of detection range overnight vision. Thermal Optics can detect warm targets at a greater distance. With a high-end thermal, it can sight friendly blooded animals at a distance beyond 1,000 yards. Although you may not quickly determine if it is a cow, pig or deer at first, you’ll know there’s an animal at a distance, so you can either choose to go closer to confirm the target. 

But, it’s important to note that these advantages have a price attached to them. Top-notch thermal optics cost some thousands of dollars, while night vision can go for a few hundred dollars. Night vision optics can also cost more, especially top-shelf units. 

Difference Between Night Vision and Thermal Imaging

  • Night vision requires visible light to function well. In comparison, Thermal Optics don’t need any light for proper functioning. 
  • Night vision amplifies visible light. On the other hand, Thermal Optics uses infrared sensors in detecting temperature differences in objects along its line of sight.
  • Night vision gets a scene and intensifies its light, then translates it to images of green tint. Thermal Optics translate heat readings into clear pictures of view and shoes object with higher heat signatures as orange, bright yellow or red. 
  • Night vision is affected by conditions like rain, fog, dust, smoke and cloudy nights. Thermal Optics is not affected by these conditions and can view objects in total darkness. 
  • Night vision is outdated technology, although it is still in use. It is also cheaper but has lower quality. Thermal imaging is a highly advanced technology that, although it is expensive, can improve safety at night more than its competitors. It is also very affordable.

The Bottom Line

Which is Better, Night Vision or Thermal Imaging?

You can see the notable difference between night vision and thermal optics. A combination of both is a formidable force to reckon with and use in your shooting. Clear night vision and thermal heat sensors are perfect for any hunting experience. 
Source: www.ellettbrothers.com
https://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/#

Fab Defense USM Mount For Handgun

Alex

Are you using a handgun? Here is something exciting for you. This is literally probably one of my very favorite handgun accessories to date just because it’s so simple and it kind of fulfills a handgun fantasy I’ve had for a long time.

So let me back up and give you a little bit of an idea what i’m talking about.

M&P 9

This is my smith and Wesson M&P 9 pro series, I love this gun. This is my absolute favorite gun to shoot, I could not find a way to mount a red dot sight onto it, I did find one company that would actually mount the red dot. They would mill the slide for me that costed a couple hundred bucks but the issue was like a three-month wait on it and I don’t know, you know that I shoot like multiple times a week, I can’t send this thing away for three months and just to get the slide milled, so op atlantic reached out they said we have got this thing for you which is the handgun universal scope mount made by fab defense and it’s just a super simple man. It like this slides onto the Picatinny rail on your handgun, this gives you another Picatinny on top of your handgun to mount a red dot or whatever you want and it does still allow you to attach an accessory underneath as well. So I thought that was pretty dope, this thing is seventy bucks by the way we’ll talk a little bit more about that price. So seventy bucks as opposed to a couple hundred dollars and waiting three months, I was like send it out man let’s give this thing a try,

This is made from 6061 t6 aluminum original sites remain operational, easy to install facilitates prompt sight alignment compatible to standard Picatinny rail design sights. Thing is 80 grams, it is 40 millimeters wide, 68 millimeters high at a hundred and two millimeters in length. That’s kind of really all it is but I kind of like that about it, it’s just to do one thing so how you use this thing as you slide this over the end of your gun, it’s got some grooves that line up with your Picatinny rail and then one end is threaded and the other end is open and it does come with this little bolt.

I’ll line this up with the Picatinny slot throw that right in and then just use a screwdriver to tighten that down. I do like how it doesn’t have like a washer or something on this side that you have to keep tract of it, just screws right into the other side so I think big thumbs up there. But so that’s all it is and then up on top, you can see we’ve got this Picatinny, so I’ve got a sight mark red dot that I’m gonna throw on top and we’ll do a review specifically on this sight mark, but for now, we’re just talking about the fab defense mount.

I’m gonna throw this thing up so you can see how it looks, so there it is with a red dot mounted up on top and as I mentioned, there is that Picatinny rail down below, so if you still want to throw you know a weapon light or something like that you can do, that just like that so pretty simple, the ability to mount a red dot up on top of your gun without having to worry about milling the slider or anything like that was a huge plus for me.

Pros and Cons

Cons

I think the biggest kind of in-your-face that first you notice is that the thing is pretty big, it’s pretty bulky, it’s extending out the slide, it’s it’s definitely going up, you’re never gonna be able to kind of Tuco witness with your sights. If that’s something you’re worrying about because you know it’s obviously raised up above your slide but in terms of bulk and size you’re not gonna be concealed carrying with this, that’s just the the simple truth. For me that wasn’t an issue at all, this isn’t a gun that I ever have concealed carry or plan to conceal carry, this is just a gun that I enjoy shooting at the range shooting steel with and the ability to have this on there without worrying about the slide is super nice, but I can’t throw it in my my range holster anymore like my outside the pant holster or everything like that.

These things have been used in competition for a long time so I’m sure that they have some competition holsters or something that would accommodate this style but it is certainly something to keep in mind, holstering it would be a pain. I’m not super worried about that though with that out of the way.

Pros

Let’s get into the to the pros because honestly I think pretty much everything else is a pro for me, so the first thing is the fact that this isn’t attached to my slide meaning that red dot isn’t going to go back and forth with my slide, so while that slide moves, that red dot stays put exactly where it’s at, so as long as you can kind of keep your sight picture, you’re always gonna have that red in sight you’re, not trying to find it as the red dot is moving, I think that’s a really big Pro.

The other big Pro is that I like that it’s non-destructive, it’s not something that you’re committed to with this gun on this slide, if I want to resell this gun at any point, it’s still a standard MMP pro series, the other thing is I like the ability to be able to switch this between guns so I can go out, I can shoot this gun and then I can just unscrew this thing swap it over to my Glock and shoot with the red dot on the Glock and still be somewhat sighted in, and it’s literally just having a flathead screwdriver with me that’s as simple as it is.

I think that’s pretty dope man, the ability to carry this across all your guns and to use a red dot on all of your guns now. You only have to buy the one red dot and you can carry it across all your other guns. Econo will tell you is that this thing is pretty big, the actual, the mount are pretty big and you can see the hole is all the way at the end of this thing. So it doesn’t mount on smaller guns like I have an mmp-9 compact, it doesn’t mount on it. The rail is too short, it does mount on a Glock 19, it does not on an XDS that’s really no surprise, but I think you’re definitely at least in the compact to full-size handguns for this thing to work out. It’s not gonna go on your sub compacts and stuff like that and then lastly is the price as I mentioned, this thing is $70, I think that can be seen as a pro or a con. I guess it might seem a little bit expensive if you just look at the product itself, but when you think about it in terms of context, it is made out of good grade aluminum stuff like that, but beyond that is when you compare the couple hundred dollars to mil your slide for me having to wait three months for it and the other accessories plates whatever you want to throw on top your slide, if you have other guns seventy bucks to be able to throw a red dot on any of your full-size handguns, I think is a pretty stellar deal.

I would consider the price a pro, so anyways that is my review of the fab defense handgun universal scope mount is that what’s called handgun universal scope.

Conclusion

I’ve always wanted to shoot with a red dot, I can shoot with the red dot and I don’t have to wait so if you’re interested in one of these, there is a link down below and OpticsPlanet was kind enough to offer a 5% discount on anything on their entire store. I know that doesn’t seem like a ton but it’s better nothing, and an OpticsPlanet is everything you could ever want from optics to mounts to accessories or everything like that.

If you’re in the market for anything like that, this 5% coupon code will work across the board on optics planets websites.

If you want one of these things though pick them up. I’m pretty stoked on it, I’m pretty happy with it.

If you want to learn more about handguns, rifles, or optics. I recommend you to visit Moderhuntsman. It’s a good blog for rifles and optic sights

Irons Sights and Red Dots on a Rifle: Which is the best?

Alex

In this article we’re gonna go for red dots versus your iron sights on your rifle and we’ll see which one is the best choice for you.

You’ll know that I’m a big advocate of technique / technology, I think proper technique is the way to go. I think it’s the way to begin and I also think that it’s the way to sustain yourself. Am i against red dots on rifles? No absolutely not, I’ve got red dots on some of my rifles on a lot of my rifles though I simply have iron sights like this rifle below.

This is my predominant practice rifle, I’ve been working this one for a while. Now I’ve got a few thousand rounds this with just iron sights and I’ve been focusing on my technique. I’m a big proponent of technique, technique is going to be superior over technology and things. The argument with a red dot of course is that, it’s so much faster at close distances and it’s more accurate at farther distances well,

This is a $500 AR-15 rifle with red dot mounted, a Smith & Wesson M&P 15. There’s nothing special about it, I like it and it’s been great, it’s been reliable, it works well for me.

It’s not an endorsement of Smith & Wesson, it’s just the fact that I got a rifle for $500 that I could beat the crap out of and do demos in front of students and also practice in my spare time . At 7 yards, this is typical room distance in your house if you think about that this could be a hallway engagement this could be a room engagement , so what we’re looking at here on this valor Ridge target is that we’re gonna look at his nice clean thing and there’s not a bullet hole on there.

I’ve got my timer, so we’re gonna see what the time difference is between an iron sighted rifle in this red dot one. I’m gonna utilize the same technique for both and I’m gonna show you the time after each shot as I said clean target. Let’s work proper technique here, so as you’re gonna see at all it starts with your stance, I’m a big proponent in that also starts with your buttstock placement, in your shoulder, if it’s different every time.

If you keep moving, you’re gonna be searching for it so keep that buttstock in the same part of your shoulder each and every time I don’t change this whether I’m running slick or running body armor, it doesn’t matter it stays the same for me.

Once again hand placement stays the same when I’m standing, it stays the same when I’m in a kneeling position and it would stay the same if I was in the prone position. I’m not getting down prone, I’ve been have my legs are tired anyway but it’s this stays the same so consistency guys . As I said that I’m gonna get some good shots into this guy at the 7-yard mark or you can even do this closer if we wanted to, the argument is that the red dot is faster up close , I don’t know, let’s see if that’s true or not. I’m gonna put this on the timer using consistent technique, I’m going to put these rounds right where they need to go and I’ll show you an example of each challenge position that was in point seven and I took my absolute time on doing that.

That’s right in the center of the spine boxes you can see that right there, so that’s in less than a second, I don’t know how much faster that you would want to do something in a home defense situation. If I did it again it would be just as fast if not faster I deliberately took my time on that one to make sure is dead center. Let’s see if we can pick that up same right there. Point seven four just a little bit quicker but not much so we’re talking three-quarters of a second, I can push that even faster if I just wanted to keep it in the circle but I want some good spine box hits.

Let’s check out the red dot. What I’ve got here is a red dot sight that’s the aim point t one. Everybody knows that’s my favorite red dot and I’m gonna see if there’s a difference. I’m gonna try to put it in the center of the spine box as well, so the red dot is on and as you can see my rear side has folded out of the way like I like it. I’m gonna use the red dot to see if there’s any different same technique. That’s a point eight and I took my time made sure is dead center, let me give you one more so that we can get an aggregate once again right on the money point eight.

So for me the technique is that the iron sights and the red dot are about the same in fact. I was a little bit quicker on my iron sights so not much of a difference, I don’t think a tenth of a second has anything to write home about and as you can cheat this target, these rounds are all dead center.

The spine box that’s nice and high on the spine box but every single one of them right in the middle of the spine box, these are good hits at 7 yards, if I move up to 5 yards this is gonna be even faster and that’s a typical room size engagement, so the other argument is that red dots can be a little bit more accurate at distance well.

Some guys shoot iron sights great at distance others shoot red dots better, it’s gonna be up to you but I’m gonna show you that you can get the job done with either one. I’m gonna just do a three-round group here at 200 yards on the C’s own steel is what that is. So I’m gonna get in a position, get my natural point of aim and just do some good shots with this iron-sighted rifle and it’ll be on the orange target. Shooting with the red dot on the sky-blue or for you guys out there that were born after the 1980s powder blue, so this target like I said not my best group. If you can see it’s right like you guys in California and Hawaii are like jumping up right now is in heck but that’s literally what we’re looking at. So just to give you a perspective that group is this big ,this is an example of a bad position gear won’t make up for a bad position whether you run an iron sights, red dots variable, or power optic, it doesn’t matter.

So if you’re shooting and you have a bad position you can expect for it to string out like this. You wil see this is bad for me, if I have a group like that’s bad so this target is from earlier today with the iron sights. When I shot those iron sights , I had a good locked-in position, I had a good natural point of aim and that’s what you’re looking at right there, that’s the group that was being shot but this one that’s what I’m used to with a good position so as you can see the iron sights better than even the red dot was alright on this group much better. About this size group as you can see that’s what I’m used to shooting at this kind of distance and that’s a good position that felt much tighter for me. It felt like the sights were coming right back into recoil .

So just to iterate, it doesn’t matter what you’re running on your rifle, if you have proper technique proper mechanics proper fundamentals you’re gonna do good shooting regardless of what you’re using . It’s the technique as the old adage goes, it’s the India not the arrow.

I go over a lot of these concepts in my American Rifleman book and that’s available, I’ve got that in the description box below these crazy times, it’s always a good idea to know how to shoot your rifle.

USEFUL TIPS FOR BUYING THE NIGHT VISION SCOPE

Alex

There are plenty of ideas to take into consideration for vision scope. On the other hand, they have been sophisticated. The optimal method to solve this issue would be to split it into small fundamental elements that help you gain a deeper understanding of it. We believe that you will select the best one that fits you a lot. Let’s follow us to raise awareness about this scope below.  

FUNDAMENTAL INFORMATION OF NIGHT VISION SCOPE

Before jumping into the world of night vision equipments, we prose all three factors which are seen as the essential elements for your scope. All of them are the pictures, range as well as gain. Moreover, the crucial ones could identify the influence of factors above, which transform significantly from the older generation to the others as well. Last but not least, finding out about them is beneficial for you to approach your device conveniently one day.         

Image Source: https://usfclass.com

The range of night vision scope     

Since night vision scopes rely upon red lighting. Thus, some people will choose to take the most advantage of projectors, which is intangible for your lovely eyes. The others respond to ambient light. However, it does not work effectively in some cases. No matter what is the origin of light, this IR will control the limited range which it could convey to brightness.   

The distance of this scope could be partially regulated for the level of sensitiveness of light. However, it can not take effect in some cases. Compared to a flashlight, the light can fade to the shadow with the availability of range as well. Moreover, IR light could do it very well and sharply.

Besides, this night vision scope can take control of the light from the spectrum. In this article, we won’t go farther more about the characteristics of light.

The gain of night vision scope

The range could cope with the external lighting effects. The other element in this scope is gain. This is an area which brings the dim spread over 60 yards range and make it change to the bright light for people to experience. The quantity of the rise is that gain. However, it is tricky for you to understand its specifications because it is a part of the technical field.

Nevertheless, it is critical to raise awareness about how effectively your scope will keep working, particularly for at night or even the goals that signify less IR lighting. In other words, the greater scopes gain are contradicted to both landscape and goals as well.

At this moment, some questions are put like why don’t you possess the amount of high gain for your night vision scopes at all? The answer is that they may be sensitive when they clean or wash, and everything will be blurry as well. Besides, several shooters specialize in some gain, which they want to grab for serving their purposes. Therefore, it assists me in record my night vision as well as offering the edge if possible.  

Pictures 

When we discuss more about the quality of the pictures, it must complete with brightness, clarity, and comparison, which all stuff originates from the general appearance of lenses along with any solutions they need to possess. Besides, with the assistance of this vision scope, the resolution will be the first issue to discuss. There is a big range of it which may have some impact on the visual quality, compared to other modern TV and old television.  

Obviously, this picture quality is changed by the gain as well as a range which control the brightness of the picture.        

Magnification

At this time, there are a lot of night vision scopes without magnification as well. As you know previously, The advantage of night vision scope is to experience in the shadow. Besides, increasing the high degrees of magnification will make your gadget more difficult to use. Some people claim that some scopes can provide low degrees of magnification, which is nearer the actual vision scope.

As usual, the high ones are the cutting edge gadget, which is installed firstly, and its picture can be affected by the high magnification as well. In this case, we highly recommend that you should go with the ranges that you can determine for a night scope. Moreover, there is no need to choose the higher levels with boost up more than a minimal level of magnification.  

OTHER EXTRA THINGS

After scanning through all about some elements above, we make sure that you will raise a lot of awareness about the night vision scope. The first essential thing to consider is IR light. On the other hand, this IR light is the most crucial thing which can make your scopes operate effectively.

The other factor of this night scope you need to care about is the recording function. It is very simple to use, like switching on the recording mode on your mobile phone or other gadgets. 

how to draw from a concealed carry holster?

How to Draw From Concealed Carry Holster?

Alex

Carrying a concealed firearm as a way of self-defense does not guarantee your safety. In fact, carrying is just half the battle. Drawing your gun when in a situation is considered the second most dangerous thing when handling handguns. Re-holstering your gun is rated the most dangerous act when handling handguns.

Drawing your gun to defend yourself is of critical importance. This is even more crucial when you conceal the gun. Most self-defense experts will tell you that handgun drawing is the most crucial part of self-defense.

Why a handgun draw is important?

First, it is worth noting that drawing a gun at somebody is very stressful. This is the case, especially when drawing the gun at somebody for the first time. It even gets complicated when your life is in danger. You will be fearing for your life and can handle the gun in a shaky manner.

Muscle memory and speed are crucial here to prevent making accidental shots. Chances are you might end shooting yourself or shooting someone different. This is why learning and practicing how to draw from a concealed carry holster is important.

In this post, we will learn how to best draw from a concealed holster. There is no need of carrying a concealed if you cannot draw it properly.

9 Steps to draw from a concealed carry holster

Clearing the garments

For concealed carry, the handgun is usually covered by clothes. You need to clear any garment on the way of the gun. Let’s take for example Glock 43 ankle holster which is known to offer perfect concealment a backup weapon. You need to raise your trouser a few inches to gain free access to the handgun. Imagine if a car hijacking incident and the push and shove gets out of hand. You have to reach for your handgun on the ankle holster.

Quickly move the garment out of the way to reach the handgun.

Grip

Once the garment is out of the way, you need to hold the handgun firmly and properly. The thumb needs to point up and forward creating a gap for later hand support. You also need the three lower fingers together while the index finger needs to be pretty high on the backstrap.

Lifting the handgun

This next step is very crucial to avoid dragging the Glock 43 from the holster. Make sure the other hand is ready with a finger ready to support and shoot. You need to lift carefully without rotating the elbow out of the way as this can also cause drag.

Rotate the handgun to face the threat

Next, you need to rotate your handgun to the front side facing the threat. While rotating to the front, try and raise the gun. However, you need to do this without sweeping your support hand.

Make a two-handed grip for support

 You need to move the support hand to meet and support the strong handgun. This will help you switch off the safety and access the target area quickly. The gun muzzle needs to be pointed towards the target area to avoid any accidental shooting.

Extend arms

Make sure the arms fully extend and move straight with the target on sight. You can then place your finger on the trigger. Next, you need to hold your breath before shooting the trigger. In some instances, you might not have even the time to hold the breath.

You only need to take the shot is a deadly threat exists.

Remove the finger from the trigger

Once you’re sure there is no threat, you can remove the finger from the trigger. Lower the gun muzzle and scan the area for further threats.

Engage safety and re-holster

Lastly, you need to switch on safety and carefully re-holster your gun.

Practice

While these steps might appear simple and easy, the real draw process might be a bit daunting. This is why you need to practice regularly to master the basics.

Before starting the practice, unload your gun and all magazines. You also need to move to a private room to ensure there are zero chances of an accidental shooting. If you want to practice with ammo, then use dummy ammo. It is better to be safe than regret.

Add various seasonal obstacles on the way like a heavy jacket during the practice. This gives you the real scenario of what might happen in case of real danger. You need to be able to draw your gun under different garments. In some instances, your hands will not be free in case of danger. Practice drawing with your hand holding a phone, umbrella or any other item.

Final verdict

Almost all concealed carry requires one to clear the garment for easy and quick access. Some of these procedures look simple and basic but are quite necessary. Not every draw will be clean and smooth. Always have a contingency plan in case something goes wrong. For example, once you have the firearm firmly held, the garment might fall over the gun.

Night Vision Scope vs Goggles

Alex

If you can only shoot during the day, you are missing out on a lot of additional hours. Being able to shoot at night adds a whole other dimension to shooting and hunting. 

Thankfully, there are several options for you that will enable you to extend your time on the range into the night. You can purchase optional accessories for you and your gun that will enable you to shoot at night. You are able to choose between night vision scopes and night goggles. But how do you know which is right for you?

Before you can decide which one is right for you, let’s take a closer look at them.

What is a night vision scope?

A night vision scope is the kind of scope that will utilize special technology that will allow you to see your surroundings in a nighttime setting. This means you’ll be able to utilize such light types like Infrared (or IR) or even ambient light (like moonlight). The scope will even rely on the scope’s reflective abilities to ensure that you will get a better image picture quality that will be easy to see with the help of this kind of night vision lighting.

What about goggles?

Night goggles are designed to be worn by the user, not mounted on a gun. The aim of night goggles is to be the user see in the dark, using both eyes. Goggles do not provide magnification. 

There are 2 different types of night goggles; a 2 eyepiece that views through a single image tube and a stereo vision. Stereo vision is using a 2 eyepiece to view through a dual image tube. A pair of stereo vision goggles will have better depth perception to them. 

The great part about using goggles is that there is no need to spend time learning how to use them. Simply strap them on and go. They are a great asset when you are trying to navigate your way around terrain at night. 

What are some pros and cons of using a night vision scope? 

If you are using a night vision scope, it will definitely help you to see your targets. This is because any light will cause the target to be sighted and show up on your screen. This is helpful at night and if the prey is trying to camouflage. You also have the ability to zero your scope out to a comfortable shooting distance for you. This means you can remain in a stable position, and still get a clear shot at your target. 

When you use a night vision scope it is important to remember a few things. After you mount your night vision scope, you will need to zero it. What this means is that you are going to adjust your scope so that you can hit the target, taking into account factors such as bullet drop. 

Ideally, 100 yards is a good zero since most rounds will not have bullet drop at this distance. However, it can be tough to try and zero at 100 yards with night vision right away. 

It might be easier to start with your zero at 25 yards at night. And then you can move that back to 100 yards as you get adjusted. 

You will not be able to use your scope to navigate the terrain as you walk around in the dark. And you will need to zero your scope at night; using it during the day can severely damage it. 

What are some pros and cons of using goggles?

Goggles are a great tool to use when navigating dark terrain. The purpose of the goggles is to allow the user to use both eyes to see. This is a very helpful feature when hunting at night. 

A drawback to using the goggles is that the user must wear them. This may not seem too bad at first but after a while, the extra weight can become burdensome. This fatigue can affect your shooting. Another drawback to using goggles is that they do not magnify objects. This means that you will not be able to sight your target at a distance. If you are in close range with your target, it may flee. This can be cumbersome. 

Factors to consider

When you are considering adding accessories for night hunting, there are a few things to keep in mind. 

When you are considering a night vision scope, be sure to purchase one that can be mounted on your rifle. Be sure to purchase any necessary mounting hardware. In addition, be sure to sight your scope to zero before your first use. This will have to be done at night so that you do not ruin your scope. 

If you are purchasing a pair of night-vision goggles, consider the weight. Since this is an accessory you will be wearing, weight is an important factor.  Goggles can be mounted on to helmets and if that is what you prefer be sure to check how it is mounted. There are different chin straps and mounting hardware that can be used. 

Conclusion

Being able to hunt at night opens up many possibilities for you. With the right equipment, you can enjoy target shooting and hunting under the stars. The key to a successful night is having the right accessories and knowing how to use them properly. 

treestand-hunting-tips for beginners

Tree Stand Hunting Tips for Beginners

Alex

A tree stand makes the perfect hunting scenario for various reasons. You have a high vantage point with a good view of the area. Besides, tree stands are easy to set up as opposed to ground blinds. They are also portable and easy to carry to the desired spot. A properly set tree stand gets you sitting or standing in a comfortable position. For bow hunter, you can spot target animals and accurately measure the distance using a bow hunting rangefinder before taking the shot.

However, getting started with a tree stand is not easy. There is a lot involved until one is comfortably seated on a tree stand and scouting the area. This is even more difficult for beginners using the tee stand for the first time.

Our tree stand hunting tips for beginners will make your hunting trip a lot safer and successful.

Tree Stand Hunting Tips Every Beginner Must Know

Choose the right stand

You must be able to choose the right tree stand that fits your needs. There are usually different types of tree stands in the market with varying features. Some tree stands like the ladder stand only support standing while others support both standing and sitting. The three main types of stands to consider are the climbing stand, hang on stand and the ladder stand.

The climbing stand is the most common and comes with a seat and floor platform. These stands are quite portable and pretty easy to setup. We also have the hang on which can hang anywhere on the tree. However, one must first climb the tree and find a place to set it. Lastly, we have the ladder stands which require stable trees to set up. This is basically a ladder that is nailed to the tree with platforms to stand. They are heavy and take time to assemble.

Choosing the right spot

Once you’ve chosen the most suitable tree stand, the next step is finding a suitable spot to set up the stand. This is a very crucial step since this is the area where you will be hunting. You must set the stand in a location with a likelihood of finding your target animal. It is best to scout the area a week before and see if there is a possibility of the target game there.  You can make use of trail cameras to gain useful insights into the animal paths, routes, and spots. If you’re hunting for deer, look for signs of deer traffic in the area like footprints, droppings and tree rubs.

Water and food sources are great areas to set up a tree stand. You can also set up your stand between a food source and a water source. These are areas you’re certain the game will pass.

Silence is gold: Pick the right tree

Silence is gold since wild animals are easily alerted by squeaking sounds. You need to pick the right tree that does not produce any squeaking sound. One must be able to get down without the stand producing any noise. You can lubricate the joints where possible. Another great way to silence your stand is to cover with rubber.

The selected tree needs to be alive and healthy. You don’t want to compromise on your safety by choosing a tree that might break. The tree bark must be healthy and rough for a firm grip on the tree stand. A semi-rough tree bark will provide a secure fixing on the stand. The tree should also offer easy climbing without many clustered branches. You can cut some of the branches but make sure you don’t expose yourself.

How High To Go?

The best thing about a tree stand is that it gets you off the ground reducing the chances of your scent drifting the way of the game. You need to set the stand at a perfect height from the ground. The stands must not be too high or too low to the ground. A height of 20-25 feet is usually considered perfect for most deer hunting. Going too high is not as good as you risk falling and injuring yourself.

Safety Tips

Finally, you have to safety when using tree stands. Safety starts in the selection of the tree stand. Choose a stand that accommodates your weight and sets up securely. The stand must also be set on healthy trees that will not fall. Dead or diseased trees are not ideal since they risk falling. The tree bark must also be in good shape to hold the stand without slipping.

In addition, you must check to ensure the stand bolts, carabiners and clasps are functioning and in good shape. The screws must also tighten to keep everything steady and firm. You also need to perform a visual inspection of the stand before climbing to ensure everything works perfectly.

Conclusion

In conclusion, using a tree stand is all about getting the basics right. This is choosing the right stand, good spot, and a perfect tree to set it up.