Haven't tried it yet, I picked up my bike from the shop yesterday. Truth told, I'm being a pansy because I feel like I got real old since the last time I rode and the seat hurts my ass. Going to man up and get going this afternoon, though.

That sucks about the helmet fit. What size pads are you using in it? I'm using the thinnest that came with mine, or I'd try the 4D pads. Those are supposed to be the pure sex option for the Ops Core. If the heavens don't part and angels don't sing when you put the TW on, you might look at the 4D. It's "break out another Benjamin," but it might be worth it.

3X for the PVS14? Or a magnifier? No experience with the former, only the latter. All I can say is whichever way you go, if you wanna shoot with it, you'll likely have to dick around with the diopter.

Congrats on scoring the PEQ. My laser deliberations may have just gotten real easy for me. Posted yesterday.


They're flopping their dick out on the VCSEL table and it's either the biggest or the shortest, depending on what metric we're scoring by. Word on Reddit from their lead US sales guy is it will be "well under" the $1k price some of the guys were tossing around in the thread about it. I know. I know. I'll have Chicom shit on my rifle. But hey, if the US market wasn't all "oh, we can't charge civilians less for stuff we sell to the government and they have that taxpayer fund firehose they can turn on us, so you get to pay four thousand dollars for some diodes in an aluminum box" I'd be more willing to buy US. If someone wants to throw a free NGAL or PEQ 15 my way, I'm not gonna say no, but the best performance I can afford is probably going to end up being the Wish.com version of the OGL, and that's ok with me. How many of you have seen or heard of a Holosun laser shitting the bed? Yeah, me neither.

Night Club is a go. Events planning for all kinds of hikes plus Urbex - possibly checking out an abandoned airfield or even a Titan II silo are in the works. With permission, of course, no trespassing antics. Waiting on confirmation for the night shoot tomorrow. This is blowing up.

I was reading about the IRIS earlier. I'll definitely be getting one, maybe two for some other firearms if they maintain that promise to be under 1K.

Eotech coming out 2K more than their original proposed price will show me their greed. Some estimates are over 3K at release now, and I wouldn't be surprised.

The hikes and shoots sound fun. We've got some public land set aside to do some night shooting, practice some stuff we learned at military shooting schools, just at night.

quote:

Originally posted by OttoSig:
Eotech coming out 2K more than their original proposed price will show me their greed. Some estimates are over 3K at release now, and I wouldn't be surprised.

I stand by my guess that it'll be priced between the MAWL and the NGAL. Eotech is probably waiting to see who bumps their prices to come in between the two.

quote:

Originally posted by OttoSig:
The hikes and shoots sound fun. We've got some public land set aside to do some night shooting, practice some stuff we learned at military shooting schools, just at night.

Yeah, I'm pretty stoked on this. It's a good mix of dirty civvies and some active duty and retired military guys, so a good opportunity to learn.

A bummer about the MFALs is their size. I like to put my light/laser on the side of the gun; most MFALs are more-or-less designed to be top mounted. The Holosuns, while good performers for the money, are big ol' boxes. The form factor of a laser on top and light on the side is fine; you put a laser on the side, and there's no more room for a light. So, you've got crap on both sides, or you do some weird bottom-mounted light setup.

I admit this is a pretty personal problem. I just prefer not to have the giant box in the bottom 40% of my FOV; it's a big deal with any variable power optic on 1X. The OTAL/Vampire combo I use lacks some capability, but manages to stay small, and all on one side of the rifle.

If I used a high-mount red dot, I'd have no objection to the top mount. Maybe I need to look into a taller scope mount. Lately I've been using an Elcan though, and they don't have that option. I wouldn't be opposed to riding the Elcan on a riser, if I didn't switch to an Eotech so often; but I do; and I refuse to put the (non-negotiable) QD Elcan on a QD riser; that's too much QD.

The MAWL is about the only way around the big MFAL box problem. But it's spendy, and still not a small or light unit.

Have you looked at BCM's A/T optic risers? Or am I misunderstanding the situation you're in?

Something like that would be great to sit the Elcan on top of, but then my Eotech would be too high. I suppose a work-around would be a lower Eotech mount, but then I am investing that much more. I need to put the Elcan on a 1/2" riser I have, and see if it would even do much in reducing the laser's presence in the FOV.

quote:

Originally posted by KSGM:
The Holosuns, while good performers for the money, are big ol' boxes.

Yeah, the LS series sit pretty tall. The LE, less so. I'm trying to decide how big this is compared to either of the prior. It's tall, but it doesn't seem to be quite as bad as the LS series.

quote:

Originally posted by KSGM:
I wouldn't be opposed to riding the Elcan on a riser, if I didn't switch to an Eotech so often; but I do; and I refuse to put the (non-negotiable) QD Elcan on a QD riser; that's too much QD.

quote:

Originally posted by KSGM:
The MAWL is about the only way around the big MFAL box problem. But it's spendy, and still not a small or light unit.

Well, and the DIR-V. Spendy, but less spendy.

Stuff like this has me really looking forward to tomorrow night. Should be some representation of Holosun, Steiner, and FP PEQ 15's, plus whatever the industry guys are using to get an idea what all this shit actually looks like in person so I can make some better decisions about what tradeoffs I'm prepared to make.

Running the FAST mounts on the Kahles, Eotech, and Aimpoint, I cannot see the PEQ at all.

Plus it’s very easy to use with the PVS14.

You gotta get on that 2.26” mount.

Oh shit. This thing is tiny. Picture with an OGL and a RAID XE.

The Banshee is quickly becoming a favorite weapon. That's perfect for the limited rail space.

I'll definitely be getting one of those, timing might work out well with the form 1 also.

quote:

You gotta get on that 2.26” mount.

Oh, I am fluent in High Mount; my Eotech optical centerline is about 4.5" over bore. I just haven't made that leap in the way of magnified optics yet.

quote:

Originally posted by KSGM:

quote:

You gotta get on that 2.26” mount.

Oh, I am fluent in High Mount; my Eotech optical centerline is about 4.5" over bore. I just haven't made that leap in the way of magnified optics yet.

4.5" GD, I'd need a step stool.

Well, the bug bit me last night. I'm all-in on this. Met up at the tail end of a big event. There had to be several hundred people there, complete with a Humvee that had a minigun turret and a display of a DShK, M249 and other fun stuff. Got to watch from guys from Noveske burn up some steel on full auto, various drills and competitions. I think I was one of very few dressed in just street clothes. Very cool atmosphere.

The guys from my group all linked up and we went and got dinner at a restaurant. Then it came out that the industry shoot wasn't supposed to start until 8:00, and it was already more than dark enough at 6:00, so we opted to just head out there early.

Me being me, I was the first one to get to the site. As it turns out, it wasn't the site, it was just a place some people have gone shooting before. In the end, that worked out better for us, because as the other spot a quarter mile down the mountain range filled up with vehicles, it was like an open-air disco with all the white light and lasers. Not our scene.

I think all told, there were somewhere around a dozen of us for the duration with a couple extras showing up and then leaving to join the main group. I got to check out a Steiner DBAL of some flavor that didn't have an illuminator, and also a MAWL. I get why people like the MAWL now, but that is more than I want to spend on a laser for the foreseeable future, and that's for one big reason: Shooting several drills with the loaner rifle equipped with the DBAL, I didn't find it to be any faster than shooting passive. In fact, I shot a lot better passive without having to first find the laser and then put it on the target. The times I fully shouldered the rifle, I was basically already looking through the dot anyways.

I get that it gives you the capability to shoot in unorthodox positions, and all that. I also know that a quick test drive isn't going to tell me everything I need to know about it. But I also don't think it's something I need to spend thousands on.

There's a guy in my group with a Holosun LS321 with Z-Bolt IR light slaved off an Axon switch, and his IR light was as good, or better than the MAWL. Straight up. The MAWL beat it in terms of flexibility for different settings, but the Z-Bolt had better throw, and a good balance of hot spot and flood at all the same ranges we compared them at. He was into a setup that was every bit as usable for a hell of a lot less money.

Random takeaways and thoughts:


• My helmet setup is solid, I just need to duplicate it fully instead of stripping my bump to outfit my ballistic for shooting.
  
• I've gotta get some lighter plates. With a full hydration bladder and three mags, my carrier was killing my knees after about five hours.
  
• For my current and perceivable future needs, a cheaper LAM is going to be just fine.
  
• Full power illuminator = awesome. Full power laser = not necessary in the slightest, and blooms at the target too much to be all that useful. I'm not target designating for air strikes, here.
  
• I'm retiring the current 6933 setup in favor of my 11.5 URGI. A short quad rail just ain't it.
  
• My Surefire M952V isn't bad, but it's really heavy and oversized for the performance. It's also useless past about fifty yards. 2010 chic is about a generation too old and I need to spend some money with Arisaka.
  
• Eotech XPS3-0 isn't quite the chonky, heavy beast I thought it would be.
  
• The only thing an Aimpoint realistically buys me over my Holosun is that I get to say "it's an Aimpoint."
  
• "Poortonis" 4G's aren't nearly as bad as people like to say they are. The ones I looked through had an even hue, not blurred at the edges, and were every bit as usable as my Gen 3's out in the dark, dark desert. If I'm being totally honest? It was a clearer image.
  
• As much as I don't like dots on pistols, I'm going to put together a night pistol setup. Getting to sit out drills because I couldn't effectively use blurry, bloomed-out tritium sights sucks.
  
• Airsoft Hel Stars work just fine, and better than the Nitecore that fell off and got lost before I got a chance to use it.
  
• The 2" chemlights are actually pretty useful for marking off firing lines and other such things in the dark in a group setting. Blue worked better than red for being less visible to the naked eye, but actually a lot brighter under NV.
  
• I need to bring my knee and elbow pads next time, because scrambling down prone onto rocks and back up in the dark under a shot timer sucks. Hard.
  
• Check your shit and bring spares for everything. Everyone else assumed someone would be bringing targets, so we only had two steel poppers until someone shot the 2x4 holding one of them in half, and another guy's gel cups failed and only one of us had spare foam plugs to give him.
  
• My used ComTac III's either don't like non-lithium batteries or I need to send it back to 3m for service because it ate through a set of alkalines in about three hours.
  
• It's a good thing I brought Brownell's AR mags because I got to do real-time malfunction clearing about a half dozen times. None of the three rifles I used them in liked them.
  
• Pmags still just work, period, and that's what I'll use for night shooting going forward. When I switched to Pmags, all my failures magically just stopped.
  
• Shooting passive isn't appreciably harder than shooting with a dot in the daytime, especially with a riser. It's functionally the same.
  
• I need to buy a shit-ton of 5.56 and 9mm because...
  
• I'm going to get out and night shoot as often as I can. I love this.
  
• I'm going to strip a lot of the collection down to make all this happen. A well thought-out, clean, consolidated rig is my goal.
  

quote:

Originally posted by OttoSig:
4.5" GD, I'd need a step stool.

LOL

This message has been edited. Last edited by: P220 Smudge,

Hell yeah! Thanks for the thoughtful report.

Thoughts on your thoughts...

I agree with your assessment of passive aiming. A modest LAM is enough to enable engaging in conditions that don't permit passive aiming.

In looking at Z-Bolt, I don't see VCSEL heads; only LED. The LEDs look slick though; much smaller than my TNVC Torch. However, it would mean losing white light ability, if I wanted to keep the same footprint, and that's a no-go.

Did this event require plates and a ballistic helmet? I have both, but I don't wear them with any regularity; I'm just not crazy about them, and the benefits aren't worth the burden, outside of a direct-action scenario.

I agree that "restricted" lasers are no value added.

What are you referring to, when you say Hel Stars and Nitecore? Strobes? If so, what is the purpose of the strobe?

quote:

Shooting passive isn't appreciably harder than shooting with a dot in the daytime, especially with a riser. It's functionally the same.

Again: YES.

Z-Bolt doesn't have a VCSEL head out just yet - that's coming, and the rumor is, they're also going to be coming out with an IR LEP head. That should nicely undercut the market for the KIJI. If you aren't familiar with LEP, definitely look into it.

I just checked, and this is the head my buddy was using:
https://www.z-bolt.com/blazer-...red-illuminator-head

So yeah, LED. And yeah, just IR. He had that on one side, a white light on the other, and a LAM on top. It's not what I would do, but it worked well for him.

For putting both on one side, have a look at these:
https://arisakadefense.com/dua...e-scout-mount-m-lok/

https://www.z-bolt.com/dual-light-bodies.html

If Phantom Hill actually had the capacity to meet demand, the CTF3 would be ideal with one of these Blazer heads in IR and one in white. I'm not sure where I'm going with lighting yet, but I do have a Weltool LH2 I picked up last fall that is so damn powerful that the spill on anything gates my tubes, and it leaves dark spots after I shut it off. It kinda scares me.

The daytime event didn't seem to require ballistic equipment, and the guys who did both the event and the night shoot didn't wear plates during the day. They did at night. Where we shot, there was a guy robbed and murdered last year while he was out picking up brass at night. Border Patrol passed me on the dirt road on my way in, and halfway into the shoot, a 4x4 with a bazillion lights on and guys in the truck bed went roaring past blaring mariachi music. I knew it was a little spooky at there at night, and it just seemed like having a modicum of protection wasn't a bad idea. Only a few of us weren't wearing ballistic stuff, so I guess we mostly all had the same thinking. I also figured if I had a ricochet zip through my bump, if it didn't kill me, I'd feel stupid for not having worn my ballistic. Besides, I have all this shit and never use all of it, you know?

And yeah, IR helmet IFF lights. Couple guys had their set on strobe, the others were set to solid. The purpose on a range is basically extra visibility so you don't get shot. You don't know how good someone else's tubes are gonna be, or even if they're going to have them on when they approach the firing line. It was very informal and just big boy rules, so being at the firing line, or downrange to set up, move, and remove targets was a little different, especially being used to having RSO's and chamber flags and all that. The guys who had them turned them on at the firing line, and going downrange. I know I said we're not marking targets for air support, and conversely, I know we don't need this stuff to keep from getting bombed by same, but being more visible to the guys you're shooting with (especially not knowing anyone) seems to be a good idea. I also noted in a few places I was searching online that a lot of places that do night shoots and classes require either a visible green helmet light or a chemlight on your helmet on the range, and this practice is trickling down to amateur stuff.

So yeah, basically larp level 11/10, but it was a lot of fun.

The dual light bodies are cool. If I get over my aversion to the LAM on the top rail, I'd likely be looking into one of those for the side.

The spill from illuminators is definitely one of the subtler problems of NV stuff. It's something not noticed as much on an open range scenario. In the woods, or a furnished and/or tight structure interior, you can make your idea of the target worse by adding illumination, when your intent was to make it better.

quote:

Besides, I have all this shit and never use all of it, you know?

I understand. When it comes to helmets, if I'm going to wear one, I'll wear a ballistic. I have no need for a bump helmet. I get it from the range safety perspective too, of course; both helmets and armor.

The strobes make perfect sense, in the context of range safety. Something I hadn't thought of.

I didn't get the appeal on these 10 and 3 degree heads until I got the LH2. Spill off things between you and what you're trying to light up is no joke, it creates photonic barriers instead of punching through them.

Yeah, last night had me questioning my need for a bump until I realized it was still January, and for hikes in a hundred degrees, I'll appreciate the added ventilation.

I also forgot an added purpose for the IFF light. Our hike organizer set down some safety rules, and one of them is a requirement for such a light. In case one of us gets separated from the group, we'll be easier to find, be it by the group, or God forbid, search and rescue workers. Most of us have ComTacs or Sordins and radios, but comms integration is a long-range goal and IFF lights are easy to understand and implement.

To anyone reading this: If you're considering the Nitcore NU06 MI, be aware that the base that the light attaches to that's meant to attach to helmet fuzz is janky. The light itself will stay very securely in that base. The velco that it comes with is heavy duty, and won't easily detach from your helmet. That Velcro will, however, very easily come loose from the base because there's a thin layer of really cheesy adhesive strip holding it on there. It's a total dogshit way to do what they were trying to accomplish. For potentially life-saving safety gear, this is inexcusable. Mine fell off and disappeared somewhere on the trail before I got to actually use it and I won't be buying another. This base has loops on either end of it that will easily weave into shock cord or paracord, so as long as you use these, it seems like a really good unit in all other categories, especially for the price.

Oh, one guy had a Unity Spark. Those seem cool, but apparently suffer the same problem with easily separating from the Velcro backing, plus you can't change the battery. For something meant to be disposable and go on and come off once, I guess that's fine. But they were $15 last year and now they're $24, so they're creeping past that comfortable "disposable" price point.

The Unity Spark still doesn't seem bad, even at the current price. 65 hours blinking and 60 on constant-low. These are decent too, if you can find them for cheap enough...

https://www.ebay.com/itm/12619...tkp%3ABk9SR5LpguilYw

quote:

for hikes in a hundred degrees, I'll appreciate the added ventilation

Nightcap!

quote:

Originally posted by KSGM:
Nightcap!

If I had a PVS14 in addition to what I have, I'd pick up a Nightcap without hesitation. That's a combo I could store in cargo pockets for night strolls on trips. As it is, I already have the bump.

So PSA finally got me by running specials on the Sight Mark Wraith HD 4-32x50 Day/Night Riflescope.

Waiting to get it out in the woods, but so far I like it for what it cost.

The Good
Easy to use with very few buttons and easy to read screens. Very powerful with up to 32X. Uses either AA batteries or an external power pack. It does video and photos with up to a 64 Gig MicroSD card. It has a day mode, green mode and white mode. Only $349 at PSA. Most likely I will only use this a few times a year. Looks like it will be fun.

The Bad
This thing is pretty heavy. Might have too much magnification. Lowest setting is 4x and then 8X..16X and 32x. Under 50 yards the 8X is hard to find a target. Taking photos is tough keeping the scope steady, but works okay. The IR Light that comes with it sucks so I'll buy something nicer.

If I was to buy again I would go with the 2x16-32 version of this optic.



White Scale Mode


Day Mode




Green Mode