Fort Worth, TX – XS® Sights is now offering a 30-day Satisfaction Guarantee on all pistol sights in addition to its No Questions Asked Warranty and world-class customer service. If a customer tries one of XS’s pistol sights – such as the F8, DXT2 Big Dot, or 3-Dot RAM night sights – and is not completely satisfied, the company will swap out their sight set for a different model or even offer a refund if the sight is purchased directly from the company or participating partners.
“As a family owned business, we believe in exceptional customer service and want those who have never used our sights, or perhaps are new to express sights in general, to feel comfortable trying them risk free,” said Zack Kinsley, Marketing Manager for XS Sights. “Some shoot Big Dots best while others will prefer the F8 or our 3-Dot RAM night sight because people’s eyes, training, and preferences are different. We want to make it as easy and stress-free as possible for everyone to find the sight system that works best for them and feel confident knowing XS sights are not only the fastest sights in any light, but that you can count on them for speed and accuracy when you need them.”
If the XS sight is purchased from a dealer, customers can still send their sights directly to XS for exchange. Customers will pay to ship their sights to XS, and XS will send them a new sight free of charge. If customers who purchase XS Sights pistol sights from dealers want a refund, they should work directly through their dealer. XS will exchange for a new product if one exists. Exchanges can be made up to 30 days after the original purchase date. Customers should provide a photo receipt if not purchased through xssights.com. Sights that have been installed and test fired still qualify for exchange or refund. For more information or assistance email tech@xssight.com or call (888) 744-4880.
XS offers a variety of pistol sights including the following:
DXT2® Big Dot® Night Sights – This second-generation version of the company’s popular Big Dot sights offers exceptional front sight visibility in all lighting conditions. Available in two colors – Optic Yellow™ and Optic Orange™ – the DXT2 Big Dot sights drive focus to the front sight (and thus to the downrange threat) using a large, high-contrast front and a V-notch rear sight for an unobstructed view of the front sight.
F8® Night Sights – Excellent personal defense sights for fast target acquisition in all light conditions. Featuring a figure-eight, inline sight picture for an easy two-point alignment, the F8 sights are designed to instantly increase front sight focus thanks to the large (0.160” wide) high-contrast front sight with a photoluminescent orange colored ring surrounding the tritium.
RAM™ Night Sights – The brightest 3-dot sight options for fast and accurate shooting in bright and low light. RAM (radioactive material) night sights have a traditional 3-dot tritium, notch and post sight picture. The rear sight is blacked out to increase contrast against the front sight which is available in bright orange or green. The front sight features XS’s proprietary Ember® Glow Dot technology, which absorbs ambient light and glows in low light. The front tritium lamp in the RAM sight charges the Ember Glow Dot, making the front sight glow brighter than the rear, keeping one’s focus down range.
About XS Sights XS Sights is known for making the fastest sights in any light. For more than 20 years, the XS team has created some of the most innovative sights on the market today for pistols, rifles and shotguns. Whether used for personal defense or hunting, these sights are designed and built to be the absolute best for their specific purpose. American Made. Texas Proud. 2A Strong.
If you're wondering if the author just threw the two title rifles on the bed for a title image, yes.
The internet is a wondrous place. Full of information and entertainment.
… and bored people.
So much incipient stagnation has built up that two of the internet folk rekindled the fires of the AR vs AK debate…
For fun!
This is Pandora’s Box levels of bad idea. And the good thing in the box is 20 minutes of entertainment, nothing so glorious as hope. Is it worth the risk?
…
…
…
Absolutely.
Huh, come to think of it maybe it is hope. Entertainment, raw enjoyment over a topic taken to comic extremes. Parody of arguments that at some juncture or another have been made in all seriousness, if perhaps under-informed. Finding a moment to laugh and grab a good one-liner from either bit.
AR or AK or FAL or SCAR or XCR or ACR or X95 or Bren 2 or APC or AR180 or G3 or G36 or 416 or MCX or…
If you have a quality built rifle and handgun that you take out for training and/or competition courses semi-regularly, minimum a good one annually. If that carbine and that pistol have the ancillary lights, sights, holsters, and other supporting gear to allow you to do the job you need that rifle and that handgun to do. You are set, brand and style be damned.
It’s probably not as much stuff as you think.
Carbine
Light
Sight
Sling
Mags 10x
Carrier for 2-6 mags
Belt mounted
Bandoleer
Chest Rig
Ammo
2 mags of Duty/”Social”/Protection
1,000 (ish) rotating stock for practice.
Pistol
Mags 6x
Holster(s)
IWB
OWB
Mag(s) 1-2
Ammo
2 mags of Duty/”Social”/Protection
1,000 (ish) rotating stock for practice.
All in one chunk this amounts to a hefty expenditure but there is flexibility and it doesn’t all need to be acquired in a single bite. Spending about $400 a month, averaged, over a year would have you well covered. Like, really nice.
$200 a month, again average spend, will cover you in full in about 18 months on the outside. Upkeep is covered easily with $200 a month after that. That’s ammo, cleaning and maintenance, and a training course. Continuous solid skill upkeep with dependable equipment for the price of your cell service and internet.
Maybe it’s just me slowly succumbing to cabin fever (doubtful, I love working at my home desk right next to my gun bench) but in various groups of collective inquiry the optics flag was flying high and heavy. This isn’t all that surprising with the boat load (probably literally) of new firearms that have hit the hands of consumers. So this will be the first of a series (perhaps) of “Quarantine Queries” or things that seem to trend in the information hungry interwebz while we are all more stuck at home and on the interwebz.
But this question series seemed to arise from a more mature segment of gun owners, those who have one or more fairly well fleshed out and are looking to make a change to a platform or build up a new one.
Josh narrates the NX8 review concisely and it is one of the most positive qualities about the 9-Hole content. The NX8 made it into the comments of most of the threads I participated in whether talking Aero guns, FN’s, Knight’s, or the Tavor 7.
Nearly every optic has its die-hard champions and detractors. What the engineers behind the optics all recognize is that they are incrementally improving technology thanks to rapid prototyping and manufacturing but they still generally have to pick a strong point, or a couple strong points, when it comes to a particular design.
The NX8’s focus, even with top tier material selection, was managing a small footprint unlike almost every other 1-8 available. My own March F is the only other in that space I have found and that isn’t a daylight bright optic (although they may have a fix for that with a new switch, unconfirmed.)
So in honor of those optic queries, here is an optic answer. Make sure to give 9-Hole the like and subscribe too.
Sometimes you have to break out the classics – and today’s Classic Gun Review is the 1935 Beretta in .32 ACP. What makes this gun cool? Aside from the fact that one like it was in Dogs of War, it represents a neat historical period in firearms development. It’s hard for us to imagine that a gun like this was considered acceptable as a service pistol, but in the 1935 Beretta Classic Gun Review, we’re doing exactly that.
The 1935 Beretta was actually issued to Italian soldiers during World War 2 as a standard sidearm, which when you consider what a service pistol is like today seems insane. Can you imagine rolling into a battle with a bolt action rifle and a .32 ACP as your only back up for it? The design elements of the 1935 are interesting as well, because you can see the open-top slide will eventually evolve into the legendary Beretta M9 design. One of the benefits of the open slide reliability. The 1935 Beretta is a straight blowback design. The open slide lets the empty cases out a lot easier than a traditional closed slide would.
For the 1935 Beretta .32 ACP Classic Gun review, I did some shooting on steel targets. Running traditional drills seemed silly, but the gun itself was actually quite easy to shoot. The trigger pull is a smooth, single action pull, and while the sights are certainly rudimentary, they’re still usable. It is interesting to note that part of the reason point shooting became popular in the 1930s was specifically because guns of the era had such crappy little sights. In our modern times of good sights and red dots, point shooting is completely pointless.
Ultimately, the 1935 Beretta is fun to shoot, and interesting to own. They make a great starting point for someone interested in collecting classic pistols. They’re eligible for purchase by someone with a Curio and Relic license, so why not get one and get started?
I’m sharing the Honest Outlaw video here mostly for the title. Guns he wished he didn’t buy.
Now, applying that ‘peace time’ remorse to today’s crisis I want to advice everyone who is currently looking for a firearm to do one thing.
Refuse to buy junk just because it is available
Swear it!
I am serious. I just took a look at my distributor and their is no excuse not to get a quality pistol. None. Just because the rainbow hued wonder gun is the last one on the shelf does not mean you need it. Get them to order you something that works or find someone who will. Rainbow hued wonder guns are a just for the hell of it purchases, we’re thinking in serious terms right now.
Don’t accept ‘available now’ as a descriptor for a life saving tool. Believe me, you’ll never get that money back even if you bought at fair panic prices. The peace time price will be next to nothing by comparison. And no one is going to want it, you only wanted it because you were concerned.
What if they don’t have the one I want?
Have a small list of acceptable alternatives. Maybe you can’t get you CZ SP-01 Tactical right now, but another CZ, Beretta, or IWI might be around. The Glock 19’s might be gone but you can get a 34. Heck you might just look at a duty grade .40 or .45 if all the nines are scarce for the moment. It is better than nothing (actually better, some of the goof guns are worse), and unlike the goofy weirdo cheapo option, they do work.
This is a time to place your purchase emphasis on function, then availability, and then specifically desired models. If I wanted a compact and only full size are available I will buy the full size, and so on.
Pocket Pist…?
NO!
Steer clear of those right now too, especially for you new buyers. Full size handguns, carbines, and pump shotguns for home protection. Don’t think about your CCW type pistols as first options right now, you probably can’t complete the permit process right now anyway. Think about function.
“But my wife or girlf..”
Will shoot a larger frame handgun far better and will shoot most carbines far better and far more comfortably than the handgun. Get your family an M4 (equivalent) from someone who knows how to make it, throw YouTube on in the living room and have everyone start learning and dryfiring.
Alright. Back to your regularly scheduled quarantine.
I’m bringing Gun Shop Gary back for this one folks. Reviving a dead meme because it shows a happier time… a simpler time… where you could get what you wanted from the gun store and a “Gary” would try and sell you random knickknacks of questionable quality.
Now, NICS has been down, many gun stores are closed or on reduced or by-appointment operations and the free exercise of the 2nd Amendment for one of its core purposes (self protection) has been denied to those who weren’t prepared before the COVID-19 Shelter-in-Place orders hit in full. In short because of all the “reasonable restrictions” that are in place to prevent ‘bad’ people from getting a gun.. you probably can’t either now. Because that system is broken and overwhelmed.
We are still on the uphill side of this event and already tempers are flaring and nerves are fraying. Those friction points have the potential to create life threateningly violent conditions as someone panics or blows their cool under the increased pressure of the quarantine.
Many recognized this and flocked to gun stores… and many were denied. They cannot purchase a gun, get a CCW license, or utilize any of the “proper and reasonable” channels to lawfully secure their families. Not because of their backgrounds, not because of a lack of ability or character, but because those channels are broken and overwhelmed.
Essential Operations
All of the above is prior to mentioning that, due to federal regulations on how firearms retailers operate, they can’t just close. They have to be there to take deliveries and log serialized inventory. They have to be able to receive and complete transfers, those shipments that are not a part of their inventory and aren’t their property but are delivered through their store.
Quick related note: I know there’s a roving group of busy bodies calling the cops about gun stores staying open in my area, taking up an officer’s time from responding to far more urgent calls while they operate under their own COVID-19 restrictions.
To those folks, from the bottom of my heart. Go fuck yourselves.
There are things a Federal Firearm Licensee must get done. I have a drive and file drawer full of them. So even removing the Human Rights and Constitutional arguments that people have a right to provide for their defense (because, ya know.. how important are those really?), a FFL can’t just stop and their requirements and obligations. They must work with FBI NICS and the ATF, both who are under the strain of this just as much as anyone else. That only makes it more difficult.
Opening to limited hours, limited capacity, or by appointment is socially responsible. Protecting themselves and their staff by washing surfaces, hands, and distancing is too. But these stores cannot stop being available any more than your grocer or pharmacy.
I was glad to see DHS and the administration finally release federal language to that effect and, hopefully, put an end to the ignorant nonsense that people don’t need to protect themselves during a crisis. A crisis where police response is reduced and social tensions are higher, the very type of situation where predatory behavior and risk taking have the opportunity to increase.
Are 1x prism optics better than red dots? I’m beginning to think so. Red dots certainly have their advantages and there are good reasons why red dots are the most common optic on tactical weapons. However, a 1X Prism may be the better option for you.
Red Dot Master Race
Red dots have ruled for so long for several reasons. They have lots of strengths and they’ve been used for decades now with the US Army, the Airforce, and on the patrol rifles of countless police officers.
They vary greatly in size from machine gun sized to handgun sized.
Red dots can last years on a single battery
Simple and easy to use
Many can be combined with a magnifier
Night vision compatibility
Unlimited Eye Relief
This makes them awesome tools for duty rifles.
I believe 1X Prism optics offer a number of advantages red dots do not, however.
The 1X Prism
Prism sights are nothing new, and traditionally prism sights are fixed power magnified optics. The most famous is the ACOG with it’s 4X fixed power magnification. Primary Arms Vortex, Steiner and even UTG make prism optics. A few months ago I used to think 1X prism optics were silly.
That changed when I actually used a 1X Prism sight and began to see the immediate benefits of the 1X Prism. My particular model is brand new, not even for sale at the time of this writing. This is the SwampFox Blade 1X Prism sight. Here is the down and dirty of why a 1X Prism won me over.
A Better Reticle and Mechanical Offset
It was perfect timing as I was reviewing the Ruger PC Charger and shooting a lot of close-range speed drills and getting really sick of the old height over bore issue at these close ranges. If you haven’t shot at extremely close ranges with a red dot equipped rifle or subgun you may not have ever experienced the need to compensate for mechanical offset.
Mechanical offset is the distance between your bore and your optic’s aiming point. With any rifle, the mechanical offset will cause you to hit low at close ranges. The closer you are to the target the lower the round will hit until the muzzle can touch the target and the offset on target will be equal to that of the sight over the bore.
The SwampFox Blade offers a reticle that gives you holdovers to compensate for this height overbore. One common theme through prism optics, even 1X prism optics is their ability to use more complicated reticles. That allows for additional options in dealing with offset. This, in turn, allows for precise close-range shooting.
These more complicated reticles allow you to adjust for more than mechanical offset. You can make windage calls, or even use the reticle for ballistic drop compensation.
To Hell With Batteries
Those more complicated reticles are glass etched and if the batteries die or electronics break the reticle is still there. The design for 1X prism sights still emphasizes speed for both close and moderate range shooting. It doesn’t need the illumination.
Battery-Free Reticle
If you have astigmatism you have likely seen issues using a red dot sight, the distortion in your eye distorts how you see the LED. With a prism sight there is no such worry. It always looks precise without streaks or blurriness because it isn’t a projection.
Batteries Light it Up
Some 1X Prism sights are compatible with night vision optics. The Vortex Spitfire 1X is reportedly night compatible, as are the mini ACOGs. To be fair the Mini ACOGs are 1.5x optics. The Swampfox Blade is also night vision compatible and a true 1X prism sight.
The Downsides of 1X Prism Sights
They are the same size as a full-sized red dot like the Aimpoint PRO. They also have an eye box, which means you need to have proper eye relief similar to an LPVO, which can make them a hair slower than red dots. If you can live with those, especially if you have eye issues with red dots, a prism sight might do the trick.
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow the transfer of a silencer after the end of the 90-day period beginning with the application for such transfer.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
Finally, readers, a bill we can throw some enthusiastic support behind and make ground towards ending the burdens of the National Firearms Act and its companions. I am eleven months into my latest NFA transfer request. Eleven.. Months.. Imagine waiting a year for a process as simple as getting your internet set up. That’s what this is.
“Oh! But Keith, your background check is very important. We wouldn’t want NFA items in the hands of the wrong people.”
I may.. may be a tad more inclined to give credence, consideration, or at the least hear out that argument if, in the intervening space of time, I had not acquired both my FFL and my SOT and several months more have passed since those events occurred. I can freely transfer all the Title II items I so desire. I can buy machine guns, old and new. I am the right people. I am one of the people who have to be sure all the right paperwork is done for anyone else who wants these can buy them properly.
I was granted all these specifically licensed extra privileges (for business purposes, yes, but they are tied to my name directly through the company as an RP) and yet my personal SBR, that in truth was paid for at the end of 2018, is somehow still tied up because of a background check? A background check as equally tied to my name and person as being an RP on an FFL/SOT.
But is it really the background check? I suspect not. It’s more the pile of them the ATF has to go through and the rules they must follow while doing so. Now, on this topic I have spoken with individual employees of the ATF and the general opinion is that Congress has at every turn prevented their modernization because nobody wants to touch the NFA, GCA, or FOPA. I stress that these are individual opinions and not an official position of the ATF.
The ATF would love to make this easier. They can’t. They are bound by rules 40+, 60+, and 80+ years old because only Congress can modernize or remove this process.
So the ATF cannot take the logical step of having paperwork stack A of Form 4’s reference paperwork stack B of FFL/SOT holders to expedite anything. Hell, when they tired to implement a “fastlane” for Form 4’s whose requirement was solely “fill the form out correctly” it angered enough people that they canned it and went back to date of receipt as your place in the NFA line. They’re also extremely limited as to the ways the can get corrected information on the forms, if something like two numbers of your home address are transposed for example. The form must be mailed back, redone on a new form, resigned as a correction, and returned, all by snail mail.
An NFA branch employee cannot, by law, call you and ask so they can just type in the correction. They can’t just email you and have you sign, initial, or otherwise certify the authenticity of corrected information. They are so hamstrung that can’t even overtly suggest certain things to you to point you in the right direction because it could be interpreted as giving you advice on answering one part or another of a form or violating protected personal information.
Talking with an ATF employee on these topics is like speaking to a very nice employee in Wal-Mart’s automotive section and asking them where sporting goods is. But, even though sporting goods is literally right behind you, they are not allowed to tell you. They have to hope and pray you turn around on your own. They know you’re going to be mad when you do so and they didn’t tell you sporting goods was right there, rules be damned.
And Congress (keeper of the rules) won’t modernize them in any serious way. But there is a chance at it.
SEC. 2. 90-DAY APPLICATION PERIOD FOR TRANSFER OF SILENCERS.
(a) In General.—Section 5812 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
“(c) 90-Day Application Period For Silencers.—In the case of a transfer of a silencer, such transfer may be made, notwithstanding subsection (a), if 90 days have elapsed since the application required by such subsection was filed with respect to such silencer, and such application has not been denied.”.
(b) Effective Date.—The amendments made by this section shall apply to transfers more than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 3. ANNUAL REPORTS TO CONGRESS ON TIMELINESS OF CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECKS OF PROSPECTIVE FIREARM PURCHASERS.
The Attorney General shall annually prepare and submit to the majority and minority leader of each House of Congress a written report on the timeliness of the criminal background checks conducted with respect to firearm transfer applications under section 5812 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. The report shall set forth information with respect to each type of firearm specified in section 5845(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, and include information such as the average case disposition time, the number of criminal background checks (other than of prospective transfers of silencers) that took more than 180 days to complete, and the number of applications that, when initially filed, were incomplete.
This bill has the potential to start NFA modernization and officially building the evidence pile necessary to justify the NFA’s repeal in part or full. By implementing a “Brady law” like date of transfer on stamps for suppressors and building data for a similar measure on firearms it becomes easier to say, “here is why this is working and here is why we don’t need to do this.” For reference, in 2018 there were 1.5 million suppressors on registry compared to only 345,000 SBRs. Suppressors are the big chunk of transfers and make up the big chunk of in process paperwork. If that big chunk now has a 90 day expiration date a bunch of paperwork just starts getting filed in the complete box.
Retailers could say that 90 days is the absolute longest you will wait, boosting sales and helping drive business in an item that most other gun control heavy nations don’t bother to regulate at all.
It is nice to see another firearm related bill to endorse again. Go H. R. 6126.
And yes, still repeal the NFA. Inch by inch, one bite at a time.
A confusing and overwhelming time like this brings up many questions for both civilians and guard members. The last thing we want is the spreading of false information. I want to put out some facts about the National Guard being activated and what the units and employers are doing for their National Guard employees.
Everything in this article is of the representation of myself, and not the Army National Guard.
Activation
The reason for activation is to allow guardsman to be paid under a different pot of money and enable them to help the community in a different and longer application.
Soldiers of the 2nd Combined Arms battalion – 136th Infantry based out of Moorhead, Minnesota respond to an activation by the Minneosta Governor’s office to support civil authorities around the town of Oslo, Minnesota Apr. 13, 2019.
In April of 2019 Minnesota Governor Tim Walz signed an emergency executive order activating The National Guard to provide flood relief. Within the article it states ” When ordered to state activation, the Minnesota National Guard responds as a supporting agency at the request of local authorities and the direction of the governor. Troops provide support to civil authorities as long as needed in order to ensure the safety of people, property and the environment.” The guardsmen were activated to provide flood relief, ensuring the safety of the people, property, and environment.
So why do I bring this up?
COVID-19 activation is no different. Governor Walz again issued an emergency executive order to support the Peacetime State of Emergency declared earlier in the week. Their main mission is to work on supplying and delivering personal protective equipment (PPE) to facilities and responders in need.
Will this mission change?
The guard is an entity with fluid missions. The current state will always dictate the mission. Everyday at work full time guardsmen are actually required to send up to highers if they are using their people in a different way to support the response to COVID-19. Which means that we are always using our people in different ways, but still reporting it. This also means that every rumor and misinformation you are hearing about the National Guard coming to enforce Martial Law or anything of that nature, is 100% wrong. That is not our mission.
Guard Duty States
Below is an easy to understand document from Giveanhour.org that goes over different duty statuses the National Guard can be in.
Current National Guard Employers and the Workplace
Workplace
The full time National Guard employees are still working as normal due to being essential/federal employees. IF a federal shutdown takes place, we will continue to work as needed due to having Soldiers currently activated.
We have taken pre-cautionary measures such as having less people working in a single room and disinfecting things 6 times a day. Daily updates are sent up to higher on the status of the employees. If an employee is exhibiting any symptoms of COVID-19 he is sent home on leave. If an employee is able to work from home virtually that is also allowed.
Leaders and Drill Planning
If you are in a role of leadership, now is your time to show how much you truly care for your Soldiers welfare. Weekend drills are now being held virtually to adhere to mitigating the spread of COVID-19. The awesome thing about this is that the responsibility is given to the company level by allowing the company commander to request the virtual drill.They also are ensuring that the drill still happens in order to pay their troops and still get some training out. Do what you need to do to make that virtual drill happen, no matter the training coming up. Your Soldiers and their families are more important at this time.
Soldiers
If you are a Soldier within the Minnesota National Guard please take all guidance from your line leaders. Only certain units are currently activated under this order. Just because this order was signed, does not mean that you will be supporting the current mission at this time. Please take it upon yourself to dispel all rumors that are currently going around about our organization, and do not spread misinformation yourself. If you are not told of anything new from your unit, then there is nothing new to know. If you are exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19, please let your unit know IMMEDIATELY.
We are in this together. Morale and support for our National Guard and the people of this Country needs to be held in high regard during this trying time. Do your best to keep that support coming by spreading good information.
Sig Sauer dropped onto the optics market in a manner that some may describe as… well…
Sig bringing you ALL the optics and the details all kinda blending together
O Romeo, Romeo, whyfore art there so many Romeo’s? Seriously there are like 18… I counted.
My Theory: The People Want Options!
Sig perhaps theorized that they could cover the full spectrum of the market fairly well and that even if their products started to get in each other’s way some would catch. Make the dots and the people will come buy dots.
We know teething issues existed in their optical line. The Romeo 5’s, initially winning an FBI carbine endorsement, had a rash of electronic issues. They seem to be fixed solid again as my 5 XDR is running fine and my early 5 (purchased/made prior to the FBI rush if I recall correctly) hasn’t gone out yet, these few years in.
But finally, in the history of Sig Romeo Optics we have this absolute legend…
The SAS operator who kitted up, turned on beast mode, and went to work saving lives in Kenya with his Sig Romeo 4T topped Colt Canada Carbine. Reportedly he killed half of the terrorists himself (2 of 4 gunmen) and images show him evacuating civilians from the attack site over and over again.
This, in the collective consciousness of the internet, seemed to be the turning point. The redemption of the Sig’s dot designs in the fires of battle against terror, in the hands of an operator’s operator from a world renowned organization. He Who Dares Wins, and the daring hero had a Sig dot.
So, with Sig now firmly in the “cool guy” optics camp they started floating around on the list of recommendable options. Joining names like Holosun, Trijicon, and even the Grand Pewbah Aimpoint as having competitive options.
Then they sneak this borderline Sci-Fi looking thing in on their 338 Norma Magnum General Purpose Machine Gun…
I was intrigued. I had to get one now… Oh and the dot too.
The ROMEO8T
Upon doing some digging and inquiring with Sig the new sight was their ROMEO8T, a high durability large window reflex sight. For the market segment that enjoys large window designs like the EOtech EXPS, Ravor UH-1 “Huey”, and Holosun 512 it looked like just what we wanted.
The mildly Sci-Fi aesthetic and FDE color scheme did it a couple of favors too from my standpoint.
That isn’t always the case…
BRAVO4.. Too far, Sig. Tone it back. We don’t just need angles for the sake of angles. I’m sure it works fine but I’m not equipping a Klingon disruptor rifle.
Where the BRAVO4 ‘Battlesight’ looks like it is competing for a movie inclusion by J.J. Abrams, the ROMEO8T just looked.. durable. The 8T had the ‘go into the field and do the job’ look.
Now looks are just looks, what is the ROMEO8T?
It is a high efficiency LED, premium grade material, reflex optic. The 8T combines two highly favorable design elements, the large window design (similar to what EOTech is famous for) and premium grade LED emitter systems like Aimpoint and Holosun, with a few touches of their own.
My own guess is that the 8T was envisioned riding the NGSW-AR and MG 338 from the project outset, then being able to fill any reflex optic role that a CompM4 or EXPS is sitting in too.
Behold! Working from home. Robinson XCR-L Pistol with ROMEO8T.
Quick Aside: I always thought the Marine’s decision to put TA11 ACOGs on SAWs was more hindrance than a reflex option would have been, the 8T is undoubtedly more to my liking. Add a magnifier for those situations where a closer look does benefit the shooter, but that open field-of-view “heads up display” acuity is what I want on a suppresive system like a belt fed most of the time. It creates a more situationally flexible system allowing engagement of an area quicker under most circumstances. The ACOGs are BAC but it isn’t quite the same.
Material Selection and Environmental Endurance.
The ROMOE8T uses two critical elements that place it in the military optical system category, a 7075-T6 aluminum optic body and an IPX8 waterproof rating. These, along with the normal high durability coatings for the lenses and body, fogproof purging, and field oriented ancillary factors, make the 8T far more than just a fair weather dot.
Most manufacturers of less expensive dot optics will advertise ‘aircraft grade’ aluminium without specifying either 6061-T6 or 7075-T6. The ACOG is 7075-T6. The Aimpont CompM5 is 7075-T6, previous Aimpoints were 6061-T6. Most high grade optical mount systems are 6061-T6 or 7075-T6. It’s the right metal for the role.
7075-T6 especially provides an incredible housing for optics with simpler internals (reddots and fixed power optics) and can be built to a standard that even the best variable power options cannot match. Complexity in the mechanism increases vulnerability, especially to water. That complexity also mandates a greater variety in material selection.
The IPX 8 water proofing standard is a significant claim. It means continuous immersion at depth (under water pressure). While the manufacturer sets the actual parameters the minimum is continuous beyond 1 meter, 3 meters (bottom of a 10ft swimming pool) is common. Not only can the sight get wet, Sig is telling us it can swim.
For comparison, the Vortex Razor Gen III and Sig Tango6T are IPX7 rated. They can get soaking wet without a care but swimming is not a good option. Water pressure of less than a meter depth and for 30 minutes. Wading across a stream, sure. Diving, not so much. The only variable I know with an IPX8 equivalent is the VCOG (20 meter depth)
After all of that Sig went a step further and added a titanium impact shield (EOTechs use an aluminum one) to protect the housing further still. Basically a slat armor that will take the brunt of a fall, impact, or crush and can be easily replaced if damaged, saving the optic itself from all but the most catastrophic crunches. The shroud and optical body also provide protective standoff to mitigate hitting one of adjustments on accident.
The dust lens caps are a nice design touch too. They pop off if you would rather not have them. 10/10 Grunts will lose them in the field.
LED Emitter, Sight Window, and Reticle System
Now, as an astigmatic individual I have a love/hate relationship with reflex sights. Some emitters work very well with my eyes, some give me a starburst blob thing instead of a dot. Trijicon’s MRO (Not the HD, haven’t tried that yet) is an example of a perfectly good sight that didn’t have an emitter my eye worked cordially with. It worked, just not cleanly. EOTech’s are also fuzzy since holographic is nearly always rough with astigmatism, still works though.
The ROMEO8T has a very clean and clear emitter, the LED and internal selections produce a crisp sight picture and clean dot. When using the circle dot reticle option the edges of the circle segments are sharp and well defined. The BDC reticle dot selections come the closest to blending together but still avoid it, something I could not say of my EOTech 2-2 reticle.
The 38mm sight window provides the “heads up display” quick and open acquisition that smaller optical body systems can’t quite manage. The coated glass gives incredible light transmission and a very clear sight picture. It was well chosen to minimize color distortion and transmits a much brighter image than some competing sights.
Weird observation: On higher brightness settings there is a minor glare effect producing a wide “crosshair” visible to the shooter. It’s hard to explain, but in essence on brighter settings you could see an extra bit of red glare above, below, on the left, and to the right of where the dot is positioned in the window. This narrow bit of glare, for lack of a better term, appears on the edge of the optic window at those four points and is always precisely referenced on the dot.
What you are seeing is reflection off of the edges of the ocular window, the housing there is smooth enough and has enough surface area to cause a narrow “beam” visual effect. This is because the lens is so deeply recessed that the edges catch some of the light from the LED. It tends to vanish as more light comes through the objective lens, so looking at a brightly lit target area makes it go away. No negative or distracting influence while I was shooting either, just gives it a vaguely video game-ish targeting effect. It is more pronounced if you use one of the circle dot reticles.
Controls and Rail Interface
The ROMEO8T has simple controls. Two buttons on the left side of the optic housing, an up arrow and a down arrow. Three guess what those do for the brightness settings. Clicking either will turn the optic on and holding either will turn the optic off. Holding both will cycle the reticles. Adustments are .5 MOA clicks and are accomplished with a flat head screwdriver or spent case rim.
The battery housing is on the right side. A horizontally mounted CR123 slides in and the watertight threaded cap closes it up. The cap has a retention wire so that it doesn’t go anywhere. The cap doubles as an emergency 1/2″ mounting wrench to tighten nut on the optic to a reasonable degree, it does not properly torque the mount but can get you to ‘good enough for now’
The machined housing of the ROMEO8T has recoil lugs that interface with the rail and keep the optic from sliding and it’s torque spec on the 1/2″ nut is 85 in/lbs. Yes, 85… 338 Norma Magnum Machine Gun, remember. Sig states that using this spec the optic will return to zero.
Overall
The ROMEO8T is supposed to be a robustly built reflex sight that can stand with Aimpoint, EOTech, and Trijicon. Specifically with the CompM4/M4s, the EXPS3, and the ACOG.
With its construction, lens and emitter quality, and easy control suite it can accomplish all of those things and comes in a few bucks under the competition. A quick check of current prices and you can find 8T’s for $40-60 under an EXPS3 (in the $599-$650 range) and it will be a few bills under an ACOG or CompM4/4s/M5. What it doesn’t have yet is the time on market of the others.
The 5.11 Operator Axe is a tool designed by Kyle Lamb of Viking Tactics and built by 5.11 Tactical. The Operator Axe features a few dozen functions, but the main tools are an axe head, a hammer, and a pry bar. On top of that, you have a metal cutter, some hex and socket drivers, a measuring stick, and a lovely polymer sheath.
This is a compact tool that is only 15 inches long and weighs 1 pound 10 ounces. The Operator Axe is made from SCM435 stainless steel and is 7mm thick with a 21 mm hammer. The axe is long enough to be quite functional in any of its dedicated tasks.
The Operator Axe is perfect for improvised breaching, for crash rescue, and to keep around the camp as a handy dandy tool. The quality is undeniable, and the durability is likely unmatched. Outside of the welded on hammer, the entire device is made from one piece of steel. This makes it durable and tough to break.
Now stainless steel isn’t the best for a wicked sharp blade, but it’s suitable enough. As a stainless tool, it’s more durable, less likely to chip, and more corrosion resistant.
Running Hard
Tomahawk style tools are quite popular with troops overseas. A little too popular with Dev Group, but that’s a different story. Tomahawks are handy tools to have. If you are clearing out lanes of fires, digging holes, chopping wood for a fire, or smashing open doors and breaking locks, they can be invaluable. I could see a ton of extra value in the Operator Axe in the hands of the men and women overseas.
The extra hammer, metal cutter, and pry bar add extra icing to the already delicious cake. Check the Operator Axe out at 5.11 Tactical. They have both a compact variant and the full-sized model I’m jawing on about.
There is nothing quite like a crisis to shock one into the realization that society is very very fragile and that your safety is ultimately your own. With that realization COVID-19 has produced a lot of new gun owners. I mean A LOT. NICS has been broken more than usual and stores are barren. The back stock of firearms isn’t gone… yet. It has been depleted significantly.
Reminds me of the Obama era panics… ah, those certainly were times.
(Above) Six minutes on handling the pistol overall. Thanks to Sig Sauer. Watch to completion please, you should have time at home.
Anyway for those newbies. Welcome! Now please, pay attention.
To start with, your semi-automatic pistol, Glock or otherwise, works in a manner similar to the video below. Handling it shouldn’t be a nerve wracking experience (although I know it will be for many, and that is okay) when you take it out of the box or get ready to shoot it for the first time.
Take all this available time and read that owners manual. Don’t open that box of ammunition or worry about the magazines or any of that stuffy until you do, please.
Take. Your. Time.
You may have bought a gun due to an emergency but learning about your newest tool is something to be paced calmly and as you understand any given topic.
I’m not going to hound the 4 safety rules here. They are all over everywhere else, including the literature that came with your pistol which you should also be reading.
Don’t rely on justyour one friend who knows guns to tell you all about it either. They are, probably, not a professional firearms instructor. Regardless of how well meaning and enthusiastically helpful they wish to be take their advice with a trust but verify mentality. This is where YouTube becomes an asset, it is chalk full of real firearm instructors covering various topics. The danger is that it is chalk full of everyone else too, no matter how well meaning. Look for videos by or sponsored by groups like the NSSF and the professional firearm academies. Take your time and rewatch them. Ratings are another good gauge on whether or not a video has some information worth your time.
Allow me to simplify safety into ONE rule of overall attitude and thinking.
When you pull the trigger the gun IS going to fire.
If you keep that one concept in mind while you’re learning and beginning to adsorb the other information, you will do fine. Be patient with yourself.
Another function video of exceptional detail that covers the AR-15 and M16 specifically. The details are similar with most semi-automatic rifles, minus the automatic fire parts. It will give you an excellent place to orient yourself on the various parts in any semi-automatic just as the Glock animation gives you a reference for most semi-auto pistols.
Firearms aren’t the same, but they are similar. With a knowledge base and a little GoogleFu you can probably figure out the differences between these two specific examples and your own.
Again, welcome new owners. Please take your time and ask questions, be patient, and if someone is not being patient with you ask somebody else.
51 counts of murder, 40 counts of attempted murder. A posted manifesto and a live stream weaponizing the internet too as he attacked.
Brenton Tarrant plead guilty today to carrying out one of the worst solo acts of terror in modern history. It’s a move that will likely cause both relief and confusion as this removes the looming trial. Relief for victims as they gain some closure without the spectacle of the man’s hatefully reasoned insanity dragged into the spotlight for public consumption. They won’t be forced to relive the horror in that forum, where Tarrant could bask in the attention and spew rhetoric for the grand proceeding.
And that is where confusion comes in. Why did he give that up? Mass shootings are a violent and horrific communication platform. Tarrant is a classically defined terrorist with a political goal, many listed actually, the expulsion of Muslims and foreign ‘races’ from western “white” nations among the most prominent.
The cognitive dissonance required to hold such a view set, the broken and evil mind that produces a plan like was carried out, it reeks of narcissism and self importance. A belief that they alone are ‘smart’ enough to fix the ‘dire situation’. The situation of people slightly different from themselves peaceably living their lives as citizens of the same nation.
The level of self deception necessary to believe a nearly identical act of terror to those favored by Al-Shabaab is somehow justifiable and that the act will ignite violence and descent worldwide that would magically end in a segregated utopia.. baffling.
It’s curious such a deluded mind would give up the platform of the trial. But then again, Tarrant has been cooling his heels in maximum security as likely the most reviled man in the nation. He only manged to screw thousands of New Zealand gun owners in addition to the legacy of the shattered community of Christchurch. There was no “glorious” [/sarc] bloody revolution. No one flocked to his banner, except maybe one asshole in Texas who attacked Wal-Mart. There was only derision and disgust, and I don’t know how long a mind could hold onto a delusion with such universal external pressure unabated.
That legacy of failure and the weight of hindsight, the tragic pity for a lost and broken soul, and the righteous anger burning towards him may have torched the ambition for trial stage away. We can hope.
For the community of Christchurch, especially those close to the victims, I hope he has accepted his fate and will meekly fade away to let them heal. We will see at sentencing.
Why did I want to do a Lionheart LH9 review? Because when the pistol first came out in 2014, I was fascinated by the introduction of a “new” DA/SA pistol to the US market. I got in touch with the guys out there, and we did the Lionheart LH9 review.
Fast forward six years later, and the LH9 is still available. The team at Lionheart also have added a bunch of new products to their lineup, including the fully customizable Regulus pistol. This allows users to design a pistol to their specific desires. The most interesting aspect of all Lionheart pistols is their unique DA+ system. The Lionheart DA+ works by keeping the mainspring compressed, but the hammer goes forward. This removes the majority of the initial pull weight from the first double action shot. The gun operating in DA+ mode has a long trigger travel for the first shot, but with reduced pull weight, then all subsequent shots are single action. It’s an interesting system that gives the safety of a DA pull without a heavy trigger.
The biggest drawback to the LH9, and the entire Lionheart family of pistols is the same as in 2014. Getting quality accessories for them is difficult. Yes, Lionheart sells you magazines and holsters right on their website, but that’s pretty much the only place to get them. A brief check of Galco’s website shows zero options, and neither does JM Custom Kydex, who basically make holsters for everything. It’s a bummer, because the LH9 really is a cool gun.
I liked the LH9 that I shot for review all those years ago. 2014 was a long time ago, but the gun is still available, and after looking online it’s incredibly affordable, going for around $450. It’s worth buying just because it’s interesting mechanically, and it also makes a great gateway gun for people who are DA/SA curious but might be concerned with DA trigger management. Or just buy it to be a hipster, so when people ask what you’re shooting you can say “oh this is a Lionheart, you probably haven’t heard of it.”
Aaron Cowan takes 3 of Clint Hanson’s Ballistic Advantage barrels and put them into rifles. Quality, accurate, and affordable.
I know Clint and he knows barrels. I would recommend any of the Hanson profiles you’re interested in putting into rifles. Most of the barrels at Thunder Ranch were Hanson profile and the guns performed fantastically.
Ballistic Advantage sports a variety of calibers in both AR-15 and AR-10 style barrels with both CMV 4150 Steel and 416 Stainless Steel.
The barrels exist in different quality grades with a variety of materials and finishes taking point to give you the function you desire. 4150 CMV steel is a recognized international standard in barrel steel and is often used in military grade automatic weapons with chrome lining because it handles heat well. It’s durability is considered one of the ideal mixes of strength, heat temperance, and elasticity that will produce and accurate and enduring rifle.
QPQ Nitride is a corrosion resistant and fairly lubricious finish that has been used on steel, especially in the firearm industry, for a long time. While chrome lining was the go to answer, and still is for military contracts, chrome has disadvantages the military just accepts for scale. QPQ brings the majority of chrome’s corrosion resistant and durability benefits without the accuracy degradation. It allows more potential accuracy to be wrung from a barrel because you do not have to stack tolerances for errors under an additional layer of material (chrome). Barrel life is still impressive on QPQ treatments.
416 Stainless has similar and even more precise benefits. The premier downside for in the benefits of stainless is in overall barrel life. Stainless is understood to wear at a slightly greater rate than layer protected steels like CMV chrome lined.
Emphasis on slightly, we’re in academic discussion territory at the moment. If you were running rifles almost exclusively as machine guns for entertainment value of high fire rates you wouldn’t use BA Stainless barrels, you’d use heavy chrome lined ones for pure durability to lengthen your maintenance time cycles.
But if you were looking for a highly accurate barrel with more than acceptable general use durability (aka anything other than continuous daily tourist driven mag dumps) stainless steel will provide it in spades.
And yes, Stainless can come in Black
From an assembly standpoint the attention to detail and material choice there is also a blessing. Gas blocks come installed on Hanson barrels, one less irritating chore. In the premium tiers they use nickle boron on the feed ramps to make feeding even more reliable still with a little further added durability. It’s the small sensible decisions and the attention to detail.
