Category: Reviews

Vortex Razor HD – 1-4×24

Gear, Optics, Reviews

I recently got the opportunity to get my hands on a Vortex Razor HD 1-4×24 scope. This is pretty much one of the top of the line optics from Vortex, and I have to say I really like it. It’s a little on the heavy side at just over 20 ounces. Other than the weight, it is a great optic. The fit and finish is awesome, it feels very well put together, and everything just feels like quality. There are no loose turrets or anything like that.

The “precision-etched” reticle is on the first focal plane (FFP), this allows for reticle to remain in proportion for the entire magnification range. This is a little strange at 1x (you cant see much of the reticle detail, but not that you need much more than an “X” at that magnification). But at the full magnification, the reticle and all of its detail is crystal clear. I’m a fan of FFP reticles, especially for longer range applications.

Here are all of the specs on the Optic from the Vortex website.

Magnification 1-4 x
Objective Lens Diameter 24 mm
Eye Relief 3.9 inches
Field of View 94.5-24.2 feet/100 yards
Tube Size 30 mm
Turret Style Tall Uncapped
Adjustment Graduation 1/4 MOA
Travel per Rotation 24 MOA
Max Elevation Adjustment 200 MOA
Max Windage Adjustment 200 MOA
Parallax Setting 100 yards
Length 10.3 inches
Weight 20.2 ounces

I would definitely recommend checking out one of these optics, the price point is on the high side, but if you need a great 3-gun optic, I would definitely suggest taking a look at them. You can pick one up on Amazon or at your favorite optics dealer.

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Mechanix Wear M-Pact Gloves

Gear, Reviews, Tactical Gear
Mechanix Wear M-Pact Glove

I recently picked up a pair of Mechanix Wear M-Pact gloves; I’ve heard good things about them from multiple sources so I figured why not give them a try!

The M-Pact gloves have the “PORON XRD Extreme Impact Protection” on the palms and a rubberized padding on the back of the gloves. They will, no doubt, offer great impact protection.

From an initial review, I like them, but I have a few concerns about them. Mainly that the grip “bunches up” a bit when I make a fist or try to grip anything. Basically I have to press my palm agains my pistol grip, then close my fingers. Otherwise I end up with a bit of bunched up material, and it causes my grip to be off a little. It could be my issue with sizing, but we will see. I need to get some more use out of them before I make a real decision. I just know they don’t “feel” as good as my old gloves.

Also, the trigger finger has a stitch over the end of the finger, that makes the sides a little wider than I would like. I think over time that will wear down and flatten out. It’s not a really big issue, but it is worth noting. If you are planning to use them on a firearm that has a small trigger guard, it may interfere.

Other than those little gripes, that could be related to sizing more than anything else, they seem to be well made gloves that I think I will get some good use out of, one way or another.

Just for reference, the old gloves that I have been using are some generic Firm Grip construction gloves that I picked up from a local Home Depot. They were cheep, but lasted 2 or so years and have worked really well. If you don’t like the Mechanix gloves, or are in the mood to try out something else, check your local home improvement store, they usually have something that will work well.

Check out the video below for the full review.

Smith Optics – Aegis Echo Glasses

Reviews, Tactical Gear

I recently got my hands on a new pair of Smith Optics Elite Aegis Echo protective glasses. I’ve used the original model Aegis glasses for quite some time and have been very happy with them. The new Echo series incorporates a redesigned frame that is made of spring steel and is only .6mm thick on the ear pieces. This allows for easy use with over the ear, ear protection. Check out the video below for the full review!

 

Specifications

  • PivLock Lens Interchange Technology allows for fast lens exchange
  • Super thin alloy temples fit cleanly under ear pro without breaking the seal
  • Temples are moldable for the best fit
  • Meets US Mil Spec MIL-PRF-31013 and ANSI Z87.1 standards
  • Designed for extended wear – eliminates pressure points
  • 100% protection from UVA/UVB rays
  • Compatible with all Aegis lenses
  • Tapered Lens Technology corrects distortion
  • Anti-fog and scratch resistant coating on all lenses
  • Available as a complete kit or as a replacement frame
  • Good fit for hat size 7 1/4 or greater

Color Options

  • Black
  • MultiCam
  • Tan

Check out all of the details over at Smith Optics Elite.

If you are interested in picking up a pair, you can order them from Amazon.

 

Velocity Systems Light Weight Plate Carrier

Reviews, Tactical Gear

I recently was able to get my hands on a Velocity Systems Light Weight Plate Carrier in Multicam. I was looking between a few models, but this one seemed to have the most reasonable prices (that I could find) and worked the best with the gear that I already had.
The Velocity plate carrier uses a SwiftClip system that allows for easy adding of various other equipment such as the Haley Strategic D3 Chest Rig, something that I currently use. So this allows me to have a full plate carrier setup or just a chest rig with the same load out that only requires using a couple of clips and some Velcro to change between.
Here are the specs for the carrier from Velocity’s website.

  • Made with 500 Denier Nylon Cordura® outer material
  • Made with 400 Denier Nylon Packcloth inner material
  • Integrated admin pouch on front plate pocket
  • Cumber-bunds made of light weight mesh for air flow
  • Utilizes Velocity Systems new patent pending SwiftClip™ attachment system to don/doff chest rigs and additional equipment.
  • Colors: MC = MultiCam, CB = Coyote Brown, BK = Black, call for others
  • Sizes: Small/Medium, Large/XLarge

Overall, the fit and finish on the carrier is awesome. Everything is double stitched and appears to be very well made. Also, the Velcro seems to be very high quality and should last a long time.

For a detailed review, check out the YouTube video below!

BLACKHAWK! CQB/Riggers Belt

Reviews, Tactical Gear

A quick review on the BLACKHAWK! CQB/Riggers belt; the belt, so far, has been amazing! I’ve used it through multiple trainings and through various shooting activities and it’s worked flawlessly.

It was noted on various websites that the sizes run small, but if you are truly a size 33″ or smaller waist, the small belt will probably work for you without any issues. I ordered the normal size, for up to 41″ waists, and it’s a little bit big. It wraps over a little far and gets in the way of my holster so I have to fold it under the belt loop. If you take a look at the video review, you can see what I’m talking about with this.

Bottom line, this is a great belt. If you are in the market for a new shooting belt, it’s definitely a great choice.

Here are the basic specs:

  • 1.75″ webbing
  • 7,000-lb. tensile strength (solid colors) or 5,000-lb. tensile strength (MultiCam®)
  • Hook & loop secures running end

Check out the video review below for more details! Thanks!

 

CED7000 Shot Timer

Gear, Reviews, Training

The CED7000 is one of the few shot timers on the market (there isn’t a lot of options out there). But it works quite well, and has a lot of options available, including the ability to add external buzzers and various time displays for competitions, etc.

If you’ve watched any of the Jerry Miculek videos on YouTube, from what I can tell, he uses the CED7000 timer. So unless you are doing some real crazy stuff, it should do everything and more than you could want.

I was turned on to this timer from a training class I attended with SWORD International. After getting a chance to use the timer in a real world training situation, as soon as I got home, I went online and ordered one from Midway USA!

The main thing I really like about using a shot timer is that it adds a sense of urgency, and heightened sense of awareness while training. It’s almost hard to describe, but when you hear that buzzer, it gets your heart pumping! Also, it gives a really good way to measure improvements and can help you balance that blend of speed and accuracy, down to the hundredth of a second.

For the actual use of the timer, it’s much nicer to have another person be able to start the timer for you, so it’s not in the way, and it’s a little more of a surprise. But, it comes with a wrist and neck lanyard, they also make belt clips for it, something that I may pick up soon. But for now, the neck lanyard seems to work ok for training on your own. There are multiple modes on the device, the mode that i mainly use is the standard IPSC “Comstock” mode with the buzzer set to “Random”. For training on your own, the random mode is the best. It basically boils down to when you hit start, it will randomly buzz anywhere between 2 and 5 seconds. This helps keep you from jumping the start and helps with that adrenaline burst you get.

There are also various other modes of operation, including Par times, silent mode, timer mode, … if you are interested in checking out all of the features, check out the owners manual.

An interesting point I found when going through the manual was that the timer will remember a string of up to 39 shots. So what that means is for any given set of shots (up to 6 sets) will contain 38 shots with splits, then any number over that will be the 39th shot. So if you fire 50 shots, 1-38 will be the first 38 shots, but the 39th shot on the timer will be your 50th shot. I’m not sure when you would want to time something that was more than 39 shots, but just so you know, if you need splits on all of the shots, you’ll need a different device. But I think for standard applications, this should work just fine.

To wrap it all up, if you are not using a shot timer during your training, you should be. The CED7000 is a great timer that has more functions than most will ever use and is the perfect addition to any training regimen. Go pick one up or find someone that has one and ask if you can try it out!

Here is a quick snap of me using the timer doing some shooting and reloading drills.

Haley Strategic D3 Chest Rig

Reviews, Tactical Gear

I recently purchased the Haley Strategic Disruptive Environments (D3) chest rig in the Kryptek Highlander camouflage pattern.

My first impressions of the rig is that it’s nice and well made, and for the most part, does and holds all of the things that they mention on the site.

Here are the basic specs off of the Haley Strategic site, http://l.santsys.com/155sDR7.

  • 4 fully loaded magazines (M4, M16, AK) with Hypalon® magazine retention tabs
  • 2 Multi-Mission Pouches with Hypalon® magazine retention tabs
  • 2 flapped GP pouches
  • 1 STUFFIT™ pouch
  • 500D Construction

I put 4 AR-15 mags, 2 Glock 17 magazines and a flashlight into the rig without any issues and there was room to spare, as I would have imagined there would be. I tried stuffing some other magazines in there, and the only mags that didn’t really fit well were shorter stubby mags like my Glock 36 mags. They are too short and a just didn’t fit well. But with 1911 mags, and the Glock 17 and 23 mags I tried, they worked perfectly.

One of the things that was pointed out in some other reviews that I saw was that there are a lot of dangling straps once you have the rig on and pulled tight, and there definitely are. Depending on your frame, you end up with anywhere from an inch or two to 6-8 inches of extra strap on each side. This isn’t really a bad thing, but it will get annoying. You can use some rubber bands or some velcro strips to wrap up the excess if you need to, I know I will be doing that.

The shoulder harness that comes with the rig is pretty basic, it doesn’t have a lot of webbing on it (3 webs on each strap), but I wouldn’t suggest attaching too much to the straps, they are pretty floppy. Also, there is no padding or anything like that in the straps, so with a full loadout, the straps may not be the most comfortable things. To me, it looks like the straps seem like you can use them if you want to, but it is really designed to hook into a plate carrier. So that’s great if you have a plate carrier, but if you don’t, you may end up not liking the shoulder harness if you have to use this rig regularly with a heavy loadout.

Other than the harness being a little less than expected, I think this is a great rig, and you can really mix and match it with a lot of different gear. Also, the 500D construction should hold up pretty well. I’m hoping to take it out and run it through it’s paces doing some shooting and see how it holds up when it’s getting banged around.

 

AR-15 Build – Follow Up

Firearms, Reviews

I finally got my California bullet button and my Optics mounted and was able to hit the range with my new rifle.

Just for follow up, the rifle is a Coronado Arms lower, PSA lower parts kit, Bravo Company upper and bolt carrier group and a Vortex SPARC Red Dot.

Everything functioned flawlessly, there were no failures of any type and everything was accurate and held together amazingly.

I was able to get everything sighted in without issue, and in less than 10 rounds.

Over time I plan to get a lot more range time with the rifle, but from initial first impressions, and minimal use, it’s an amazing build, and I plan to build out a few more in similar fashion.

Check out the video review and some action shots below! And don’t forget to subscribe to the YouTube channel!