Osprey Global 8x42 Monocular For Christmas I received a brand new Osprey Global 8x42 monocular to help me better see the placement and groupings of the rounds that I fire at the targets downrange. Ok – I actually gave the monocular to myself for Christmas – but it’s the thought that counts.
For years I’ve used a set of binoculars at the range; but to be honest two aspects have always bothered me: their weight and the amount of time it takes to properly line up the eyepieces with my eyes to get the field-of-view to accurately point at the downrange target; even after I’ve initially sighted them in and focused them on the target. Since monoculars are generally found to be best in situations where you only need to take a quick view at a distant object, and don’t need to continuously observe moving objects, I decided to give a one a shot. It’s smaller, more compact and lighter – which allows it to actually fit into my range bag. In addition, the fact that I only have to line up one eyepiece allows me to more quickly see the target and where my rounds are hitting. The Osprey Global 8x42 monocular comes with a fabric case, wrist strap, front/back lens covers and a microfiber cleaning cloth. You can read more about it on our Shooting/Range Items and Tools page.
0 Comments
Osprey Global In-chamber Laser Boresights (9mm, .223/5.56mm and 7.62 x 39mm)One of the biggest challenges for all shooters is sighting in their forearms. It’s a process – and if you don’t know how to systematically approach it you can get very frustrated. Luckily, over the past couple of years laser boresight devices have come a long way, in physical form, range and accuracy, to help support you in your efforts to sight in a firearm.
Until recently we never bothered with laser boresights because of a variety of issues: (1) had to be bolted on and aligned prior to use, (2) too bulky, (3) not strong enough to illuminate a target either outside or beyond 20 yards, (4) insufficient accuracy and (5) poor battery life. However, because of recent technical improvements, we decided to give it a go and purchased three Osprey Global “in-chamber” laser boresights: a 9mm Red Laser Boresight, a .223 (5.56mm) Green Laser Boresight and a 7.62x39 Red Laser Boresight. Each of these boresights is constructed like a round for your firearm and is made from high quality brass to ensure reliability and durability. To use the boresights all you have to do is screw off the base (equivalent to the “rim” on an actual round), insert the batteries, screw the base back on, load the boresight into the chamber of your firearm and close the breech. (Note: Once you insert the batteries the laser will activate and project from the front of the boresight – so be careful where you point it as you load it into your firearm; and don’t insert the boresight into the chamber if the firearm is hot.) After you have the laser boresight in the firearm, point it downrange at a target and adjust your sights to align with the laser dot on the target. The laser, which has been calibrated in the cartridge, is projected down the firearm’s barrel and will get you within a couple inches of center so that you can adjust your sights as appropriate. From there you can remove the laser boresight from the chamber and proceed to make the final fine sight adjustments. The “red” lasers use three LR41H/LR41/AG3/392A Alkaline 1.5V batteries and the green laser uses six (6). There are several in-chamber boresights currently on the market and we liked both the Sightmark and Osprey Global products – but purchased the Osprey boresights since they were immediately available. The boresights are backed by a lifetime warranty. You can read more about these in-chamber laser boresights on our Shooting/Range Items and Tools page. MTM Ammo Can Mini (AC15)At the range it always seems like there are odds and ends that you need near you – maybe not in your range bag – but at least in your car or truck. To keep all these small items together you need a versatile carrying case. We’ve looked for cases over the years and have used a variety of what we found in stores (e.g. tool boxes, tackle boxes, small plastic bins, etc.,), but we never loved them - since they were either too heavy or too flimsy. Recently we saw that MTM Case-Gard had come out a new “mini” sized Ammo Can; and we love MTM containers – so we tracked them down and bought a couple of them.
The mini ammo can is built just like their full sized cans – but is significantly smaller with internal dimensions of 6.7"(L) x 3.4"(W) x 5.9"(H) and external dimensions of 8.4"(L) x 4.4"(W) x 6.8"(H). It will carry 12 pounds and has the same strong handle, heavy-duty latching system, water-resistant O-ring seal for dry storage and double padlock tabs for security. Although we use our mini-can for “odds and ends”, MTM says that it will hold: 700 rounds of 9mm bulk ammo. 400 rounds of 45 ACP or 223 bulk ammo, 100 rounds of boxed 28ga. or 410ga shells, or 60 rounds of 12ga. 2-3/4” shells. Like all MTM ammo cans the mini-can is designed for stacking and made of rugged polypropylene plastic. Ours are “Dark Earth” in color so that we can easily locate them – but they also come in Forest Green, Black, Orange, Red, Blue and Purple. You can read more about the MTM mini ammo can on our Shooting/Range Items and Tools page. Vedder Holsters LightDraw™ Kydex OWB - S&W Shield 2.0 with Green Crimson Trace Laser When we purchased the M&P Shield 2.0 with an integrated Green Crimson Trace laser two years ago we also wanted to get a new OWB holster since the laser changes the form of the handgun. Unfortunately, although we could find a IWB holster, we couldn't find an OWB holster that fit the hand gun and met our standards for usability/comfort. So, because we had three other Vedder Holsters, every once in a while we checked to see if Vedder was producing the OWB holster that we were looking for. Recently they finally began to produce just such a holster. You can read more about this OWB holster on our Shooting/Holsters page.
Lifestraw Personal Water FilterIf you carry water with you on a day hike you probably won’t need to locate any additional water to drink. However, in an emergency you may have to. Because of this we think it’s a good idea to have the ability to purify water with you. Of course the problem is how to balance the need to be prepared for an unlikely occurrence with the weight and bulk of carrying “just one more thing” in your day pack. Because of this we've added a Lifestraw Personal Water Filter to our hiking day pack. You can read more about the Lifestraw on our Hiking/Emergency Supplies page.
MecArmy X2S Stainless Steel LED Flashlight With the recent advances in LED and rechargeable battery technologies the ability to have a bright flashlight in a very small form factor improves every month. Most of them can even be recharged using your cell phone charger. Because of this we decided to add a small micro USB rechargeable flashlight to our Hiking daypack - since you never know when you might get caught in the dark - and if that happens you're going to be glad that you have a light with you. After looking at several of the best small flashlights on the market we purchased the MecArmy X2S Stainless Steel LED Flashlight. The X2S measures only 1.75 inches long by .57 inches wide and weighs only .75 ounces – but will throw a maximum of 130 lumens almost 200 feet. You can read more about this powerful, but tiny, flashlight on our Hiking/Emergency Supplies page.
5.11 Tactical Men's Military Trainer Belt Earlier this week we were at the outdoors range (yea – the Spring weather is finally here in New England) and got into a discussion about the best belts to support your holster and tactical activities. So, although we don’t normally spend much time discussing the clothes you need for Hiking, Camping and Shooting since they vary too much by local environment, since belts are a little different – we added some information about the belts that we’ve been using for the past 4 years (after trying lots of other belts through the years) to the Shooting/Holsters page. If you need a good belt for your holster, and other EDC gear, you should take a look.
Wolf Performance 9mm 115 Grain FMJ Steel Case AmmoWith the price of our standard 115 and 124 grain 9mm ammo skyrocketing we decided to add some 9mm steel case ammo to our inventory - specifically for our Kalashnikov KR-9S 9mm AK carbine. Two years ago we had investigated 7.62mm steel case ammo in detail for our MAK-90 (see our blog on "Steel Case Ammo - Is Steel Ammo Good or Bad?"). Back then we ultimately chose Wolf ammo, so this time we only looked to see what Wolf ammo was available in 9mm. Ultimately we purchased some Wolf Performance 9mm 115 Grain FMJ Steel Case Ammo (MFG: P919FMJ – UPC 645611919213) - even though the prices on it have skyrocketed too (from ~$7.99 per box to ~$25.50 per box) - albeit not as much as brass case 9mm ammo. You can find the details about this 9mm steel case ammo on our Shooting/Ammunition page.
Condor MCR5 RECON Chest Rig Most people that do a fair amount of shooting have magazine holders for extra handgun ammunition, just like skeet shooters have pouches for their extra shotgun shells. So, if you begin to participate in rifle or 3-gun activities it’s only natural that you need some way to hold your extra rifle magazines. After looking at many, many options we selected the Condor Recon Chest Rig (MCR5). You can find the details about this chest rig on our Shooting/Holsters page.
HellStorm Battle Wolf Beowolf Fingerless Gloves These days there are lots of tactical gloves available on the market – some great, some good, some not so good. If you need a set of shooting gloves that allows you to have good manual dexterity, protects your knuckles and the back of your hands, and allows you to get a good grip on your firearm, then you should look into purchasing a pair of HellStorm Battle Wolf Beowolf Gloves. You can find the details about these fingerless tactical gloves on the Shooting/Range Items and Tools page.
|
What's On This Page?Here's where we post reviews, questions, answers, thoughts and other information that's of general interest to our followers in a blog format. Categories
All
Archives
August 2023
|
|
Copyright 2016-2024 Hiking, Camping and Shooting |