GearExpert

The Secret of Accurate Night Shooting!

Dec 31 • News • 6848

Whether you’re a hunter, soldier or police officer, there’s a good chance that at some point you’re going to have to find a target in the dark. This can be really tricky, as there are a number of options available. Most rifle scope manufacturers boast about the size of their objective lens and the amazing lens coatings that provide superior light transmission. These are very important for shooting in low light conditions, but they have their limitations. That limitation is your eyes. If it’s too dark to see without a traditional optic, it’s going to be too dark to see with an optic. That’s where night vision comes in handy.

Night vision comes in multiple generations, with each more powerful and capable than the last, but you have to consider a number of factors when selecting a night vision rifle scope. A NV binocular or monocular an be a great help, but when you need to take a shot, you need your scope to give you a clear view. As most of you know, there are a number of factors to consider when buying a rifle scope. When you buy a night vision rifle scope you need to consider those same factors AND the features that are specifically for night vision.

The Night Optics Gen 3 Rifle Scope combines all the features of a great rifle scope with high tech night vision!

If you take a look at the Night Optics Gen 3 4x100mm Night Vision Rifle Scope, you can see the important features for a regular scope, with the inclusion of high tech 3rd Gen Night Vision. 4x magnification will help you take an accurate shot without distorting the image. The large 100mm objective lens will collect a lot of light. Since the night vision technology in this scope amplifies light, it’s important the lens collects as much light as possible.

When you buy a rifle scope, no doubt one of the most important features you consider is how tough it is. It doesn’t matter if you’re in the military, a serious hunter or a target shooter who never roughs up his scope, toughness is crucial. Even if you don’t bang your scope around regularly, it needs to be tough enough to stand up to recoil. Night Optics made sure their Gen 3 Scope is more than tough enough to handle recoil and whatever punishment you put it through. This extends to waterproofing as well, so don’t worry about getting a little moisture on your scope. It’ll still give you all the performance you need.

Of course, there’s a trade-off when it comes to toughness, and that’s weight. You could make an indestructible scope if you didn’t mind how much it weighs, but keeping the weight down requires a lot of clever work and the use of incredibly advanced materials. Night Optics uses some of the world’s best materials in all of their scopes to provide all the toughness while maintaining a comfortably lightweight

The Night Optics Gen 3 4x100mm Night Vision Rifle Scope was designed for anyone who needs the absolute top of performance. Police and military pros, hunters and more love this scope.

So what’s the secret of accurate night shooting? Make sure your night vision rifle scope has the features you require of a regular scope, but with added durability to accommodate night vision technology. Night Optics has what you need.

OpticsPlanet • 4 Comments on The Secret of Accurate Night Shooting!

Protect Your Hunting Gear Like the Pros!

Dec 22 • News • 4520

I talk a fair amount about the various cases Pelican has brought out this past year, especially their Hardback Cases for Laptops and Tablets, but while those are some really great new cases, a big part of why they’re so impressive is because Pelican has taken their bread and butter, which is making insanely tough cases for hunters, boaters, the military and more and adapted the designs for electronics. But tough waterproof gun cases are still what they’re best known for.

These are the cases the pros use. From hunters to soldiers, Pelican makes the cases they trust to protect their gear. There are a number of options available that satisfy a number of different needs. You might not be carrying a ton of gear and want to save on space. Maybe you just want to pack a single rifle. Maybe you have a ton of gear and want it all secure in an exceptional case, so there might be a rifle, spotting scope, tripod, magazines, and more in a single case. You may have a collapsible stock on your rifle and don’t need an extra long case. There are a ton of different possible load outs, so there are a ton of different cases.

The Pelican 1700 Watertight Protector Rifle Case can safely protect a wide variety of gear and has foam inserts!

For instance, take a look at the video above for the Pelican 1700 Watertight Protector Rifle Case. It has foam inserts that can be cut to perfectly fit your equipment. As the name of this case implies, it’s watertight, but it’s also airtight, dustproof, resistant to chemicals and corrosion proof. Add in that its nearly unbreakable and you have a case that Pelican has made sure covers almost all bases. That’s important because, let’s be honest, you guys put your gear through hell and you need a case that can take anything you throw at it.

On a side note, if you’ve never cut a foam insert in a gun case before, or you have and it didn’t go as planned, check out the second video below, which features our Director of Product Intelligence, Steve Ledin. The video covers how to Prepare the Foam in a Pelican Case. Steve really knows his stuff, and while there is more than one way to prepare the foam, he’s traveled all over the world hunting and this method has served him well.

Pelican has earned their reputation for toughness, so when you use one of their Gun Cases you can be sure that it’ll perform up to, if not beyond, expectations. Soldiers throw these cases out of helicopters and they withstand that with ease. There’s a lot a Pelican Case can withstand, so the next time you need to protect your gear like the pros, make sure you use Pelican.

OpticsPlanet • 4 Comments on Protect Your Hunting Gear Like the Pros!

Hunter’s Corner with Leupold Optics – a Beginner’s Guide

Dec 21 • News • 5029

Many beginners and novice hunters are sometimes stumped by what equipment to choose and how much to spend. Those that are just discovering the thrill of the hunt may be more budget oriented. This is why I’ve decided to offer some Leupold gear advice for those that are attempting to conquer the great outdoors and fill some deer tags. The main gear that I will discuss is the rifle scopes and the accessories for them, range finders, binoculars, and other essential tools. For the beginning hunter, this gear should be enough to get you started.

Leupold Rifle Scopes

If you have your rifle or shotgun picked out, you can now begin looking at optics and other gear that you will need to fill your tags. First and foremost will be a rifle scope. It is indispensible in modern hunting, as a quality scope that is sighted in properly assures a quick and humane way to take game. Leupold 3-9x40mm rifle scopes are the most popular magnification and objective lens set up used by hunters. One thing to remember with shooting optics and optics in general is that quality equals more money. Leupold rifle scopes will serve you for a life time. Dishing out a little extra cash for high quality optics will make a difference.

The Leupold VX-1 Rifle Scope line presents some high quality options starting under $400. This is a great price range to explore when putting together your first hunting rifle system. When browsing through rifle scopes, it is easy to get overwhelmed with information. Leupold 3-9×40 rifle scopes offer a great value and great optics that are fully multi-coated, fog and water resistant and will withstand recoil from all types of typical hunting calibers. Hunters stand by Leupold quality and I urge you to save up a bit and invest in a quality scope, rather than rush into purchasing a low quality optic that will quickly lose its zero.

Leupold VX-1 3-9x40mm Rifle Scope

Rifle Scopes Accessories

Depending on the type of a firearm you will be using to take your deer, you will need to find the correct attachment for your rifle scope. Bolt action rifles will typically need to have a rifle scope base, a mount, and rifle scope rings. A base allows the mount to be attached and the rifle scope rings to be mounted. Higher quality rings, mounts and bases allows the scope to remain securely attached to the rifle without losing the zero, corroding, or damaging your firearm. Depending on the rifle scope’s objective lens size and your preferences, you will need to choose the height of your rifle scope rings. As a general practice, it is better to have the scope mounted as low possible. Leupold selection of rifle scope rings, mounts and bases offer a wide choice for accessories that will last you a life time.

Leupold BX-2 Cascade 10x42mm Roof Prism Binoculars

Alex S. • 4 Comments on Hunter’s Corner with Leupold Optics – a Beginner’s Guide

Who Else Wants a Thermal Imager That Fits in the Palm of your Hand?

Dec 20 • News • 4596

ATN has solved one of the challenges facing Thermal Imaging today: making a powerful and tough imager that’s also compact. The new ATN Odin Thermal Imagers satisfy all three of these. They’re Tactical Thermal Imagers that are the exact same size, weight and shape as ATN’s extremely popular PVS-14 Night Vision Monoculars. That’s a perfect size for either handheld or weapon-mounted use. Soldiers and police officers all over are enjoying this quality, but soon they’ll be able to do more because the Odin Thermal Imaging Monoculars will give them that same great size!

Thermal Imagers are pretty serious hardware, with a ton of great uses for hunting, home security, tactical operations and more. While there are some good units on the market today that aren’t too big, it’s a challenge to find a compact unit that give good performance and can withstand a degree of abuse. We’ve been blown away time and again by ATN’s ThOR Thermal Imagers, which we covered at SHOT Show and a few more times over the past year right here on GearExpert. They have a ton of features to make them useful for many situations, and we love that. The one drawback from having all these features is that they force the units to be a bit bigger and heavier. This isn’t really a big deal in many instances, but if you want to use the thermal imager with headgear it might be a bit too heavy.

The Odin doesn’t have this problem. It’s designed to work very much like the PVS-14, with a number of different ways to mount it, either on a firearm or on headgear. All these mounting options played a big part in making the PVS-14 so popular. You get a ton of great performance without being weighed down or constricted. Having a thermal imager with the same potential is huge.

Whatever you mounted your PVS-14 on you can Mount Your Odin!

What makes the Odin even cooler is that ATN designed it to complement the PVS-14. If you already have one of these great night vision units and the various helmet mounts, headgear or weapon mounts, you can use the same equipment with the Odin. That’s HUGE! I love that. Let’s be honest: you put a fair bit of time into getting your gear just right, whether that be through sighting in a scope or adjusting headgear to your particular head. Not only that, you also train with that gear. You get used to a particular feel and performance, and how well you perform is largely based on your muscle memory and how well you can do something without thinking about it. That’s the whole point of training, so if you get used to working in the dark with a night vision device that fights or works in one way, then have to switch it up and get a totally different feel, you probably won’t perform at the same level. Granted, thermal imagers don’t do the same thing as night vision, but you’ll still be on familiar ground if you’re using a similar system.

ATN proved the quality of their designs with the PVS-14, so you’re already more than capable of trusting their performance. Add in some truly phenomenal thermal imaging technology and you have one of the most exciting new products to be released this year! If you’re not sure if the Odin is right for you, or maybe you’re looking for something else from ATN and can’t decide. Check out my earlier post on ATN’s new Interactive Night Vision Catalog. It has a ton of great info for selecting night vision. And make sure you get your night vision at the web’s best source: OpticsPlanet.com!

OpticsPlanet • 4 Comments on Who Else Wants a Thermal Imager That Fits in the Palm of your Hand?

Crimson Trace Rail Master Universal Tactical Light

Dec 20 • News • 5394

Crimson Trace, famous for their great laser sights, is now moving into the rail-mounted flashlights segment and let me tell you, they’ve done a wonderful job. The Crimson Trace Universal Rail Master Weapon Light that they’ve developed is something that shooters of all calibers will enjoy. Catering to all market segments and demographics, carrying citizens and armed professionals alike will appreciate the value of a polymer rail-mounted light on their favorite pistol, long gun or shotgun.

I want to talk about how to find the right weapon light for your firearm and things to consider when purchasing one. First things first – what will you be using this light for? If you are a home owner and keep a pistol in your night drawer next to the picture of your lovely wife, this light is perfect. With its ambidextrous, adjustable activation switch that only requires a tap of your finger, it’s ideal for identifying any unwanted house guests in the middle of the night. The 100 Lumens output of the Crimson Trace Universal Rail Master Light will be enough to disorient the burglar or assailant, giving you plenty of time to react.

Concealed carry requires some more self-analysis. Carrying a firearm with a weapon light attachment will create more bulk, may require you to purchase a new holster, possibly re-train to utilize a light at the draw (if this is your first gun light) and a myriad more points you should consider. Don’t forget to take your body size into account. Larger persons find it easier to conceal larger firearms without printing, while smaller individuals may have a problem with the bulkiness of certain firearms. The Universal Rail Maser Weapon Light, although small, still adds some bulk to the firearm. Carrying this in an IWB holster may be difficult. The choice is yours, but do consider these factors.

The great thing about the Rail Master Universal Tactical Light from Crimson Trace is the transferability. It truly is universal. As long as there’s a Weaver or Picatinny style rail, you can slap this bad boy on there. The compact rugged design, polymer construction, and adjustable ambidextrous activation make this perfect for professional shooters. Quickly transfer this tactical light from a pistol to a shotgun, and you have yourself a powerful, blinding 100 Lumens at your fingertips waiting to light up a room. The Crimson Trace Rail Master Universal Tactical Light is more than ideal for all home defense purposes, even if a shotgun is your weapon of choice.

Running on one (1) CR123 battery with a white LED bulb, you will greatly enjoy the features of this compact, yet very powerful light. The light comes in black and coyote tan finishes and can be found on our main store here.

Alex S. • 4 Comments on Crimson Trace Rail Master Universal Tactical Light