Gun Blog Forum Reviews and News

Blackhawk 30mm 4-20x50mm Scope Review

Accessories, Featured Posts, Gun Reviews, Optics

Introduction Earlier this year Blackhawk introduced a new line of riflescopes available exclusively through Cabellas. Blackhawk offered 30mm and 1” versions, both with various models with different magnifications. We were lucky enough to receive their flagship, 4-20x50mm magnification scope sent to us to try out for a few months. When the scopes were first announced [...]
DPMS REPR Review

Featured Posts, Gun Reviews, Gun Videos, GunBlog.com Exclusive, New Products, Rifles

America’s love affair with the AR platform is a relationship that isn’t losing its steam anytime soon. Since the USMC’s adoption of Knight’s Armament’s M110 for a Semi-Automatic Sniper System, America’s fondness has only grown for Armalite’s original .308 AR design that they presented to the DoD over 50 years ago. Although the 7.62 AR-10 [...]
Aimpoint PRO Review

Featured Posts, Gun Reviews, GunBlog.com Exclusive, New Products, Optics, Rifles

Red dots have almost become an automatic purchase accompanying a new carbine or rifle. Going to the range, almost every single gun I see has some sort of optic up top, the most common (quality ones) being Aimpoints and for good reason. Yes, there are the overabundance of new shooters who have yet to realize [...]

Optics Planet OPMOD Spotting Scope Review

Categories: Accessories, Featured Posts, Gun Reviews, Optics, Rifles
Posted on: January 23rd, 2012 by: Jeff

The spotting scope is a constant companion to almost all long-range shooters–its kinda tough seeing your shots at long ranges without one. And like all things in the gun industry, there is a wide range of prices that usually correlate to quality. Most spotting scopes I’ve seen that are worth using cost upwards to $400 plus. Optics Planet sent us one of their new limited edition OPMOD spotting scopes to check out and the first thing I did (like many people) is I checked out how much it cost. So when I saw it was under $200, I was skeptical–was this a gun-show-special optic that would collect dust after realizing that one should just fork out the extra dough for something usable, or was it a deal too good to be true?

We’ll get to the quality of the OPMOD spotting scope in a minute, but I must say you get a lot for $200 with Optics Planet’s Spotting scope. It comes with a soft case, objective and eyepiece lens covers, a small tripod that has vertical and horizontal movement, and a cleaning cloth. The spotting scope can be a tight fight in the case, but fits in snug along with the tri-pod which is separated by a padded cloth insert. The tri-pod itself is suitable, but it’s not the most robust piece of hardware. I can see a leg bending if given the right amount of pressure; however, it would take a significant amount of force to do so as if to intentionally bend it.

The OPMOD spotting scope seems to be well constructed. It has a rubber like coating while maintaining a sturdy and durable feel. It features a built in sun shade that extends over the objective lens. Controls are where you would expect them to be with the focus on the right hand side of the housing and the zoom control around the eyepiece. The OPMOD spotting scope has a 20x-60x magnification rate and it features an adjustable eyepiece so that a user can set the desired eye relief “sweet spot.”

So for the price, material wise you’re getting a good bang for your buck with the OPMOD spotting scope–but the real and most important question is as with any spotting scope, the optical quality. Considering the price of the OPMOD spotting scope, there’s nothing I can say to ding this thing. The picture is crystal clear, I would of never guessed that I was looking through $200 dollar glass. Even on a rainy cloudy day, the light capture was superb. I was able to distinctly see my grouping at 200 yards at the range and out in the desert I was easily able to see my partner’s shots at 700+ yards in order to give him adjustments. Honestly, I wanted/expected to say something about the glass since I would of never considering owning a quality spotting scope for under 400 bucks, but the OPMOD’s glass was a surprise–again, if you look through this thing, you’ll never guess it costs under $200.

Picture from approximately 800 yards away at a mountain approx 750 ft high at full 60x zoom

Optics Planet’s OPMOD Spotting Scope definitely surprised me to say the least. I’ve seen some lower end spotting scopes within the same price range as the OPMOD and I would of never given them a second look. The OPMOD does seem to reign supreme within the given price range, and it would even give some higher end spotting scopes a run for their money. Now is it as good as, lets say a Leupold Gold Ring? Well, no but we’re talking about a spotting scope that’s 4 or 5 times the price, and not all shooters have the need, or the bank account to justify that type of purchase. But if you’re a Saturday shooter or a regular range warrior, and budget is a concern, then the OPMOD Spotting Scope would be a perfect choice. Its durable, easy to operate, and the glass seems to be a few levels above its price point. For a fraction of the cost of high level spotting scopes, now the average range warrior can finally have a spotting scope worth looking through.

Tags: Spotting scopes

FNH Ballista Bolt Action Rifle

Categories: Gun Videos, New Products, Rifles, Shot Show
Posted on: January 18th, 2012 by: Jeff

One of the finest looking rifles at SHOT SHOW 2012 I’ve seen so far has to be the FNH Ballista. The Ballista is FNH’s submission to SOCOM’s PSR solicitation and lucky for us, they’ll be offering it on the civilian market as well. There’s one common theme amongst all the new bolt action rifles I’ve seen at SHOT this year–modularity. FNH’s new flag ship bolt action follows suit.

Using a few tools (stored on board) and losing a few bolts, an operator can change out the caliber of the new FNH Ballista in about 2-3 minutes and FNH claims that each barrel remains true to the receiver’s centerline. The Ballista can be configured in 3 calibers: 338 Lapua Mag, .300 Win Mag, and .308 Winchester. It has a fully adjustable trigger that can be set between 2 and 5 pounds.

FNH’s Ballista has a barrel length of 26 inches (with the .338 Lapua Magnum barrel installed), an overall length of 49 inches with the stock fully extended (47.75 collapsed), and the length when the stock is folded is only 37 inches. It weighs 15.8 pounds with a fully loaded magazine. The Ballista rifle system will retail around $8,000 and will come with all three caliber kits (I believe, inferring from the video below). I got a chance to shoot the Ballista at the SHOT SHOW Media Day Range Event, and I have to say I completely loved the 5 or 6 rounds I got to send down range with it. I tagged a 60″ steel plate at 900+ yards a couple of times, so needless to say I was happy. Check the video below to see it.

Tags: .338. modular, FNH, Precision Rifle, Sniper Rifle

Sig Sauer P224

Categories: Gun Videos, New Products, Pistols, Shot Show
Posted on: January 17th, 2012 by: Jeff

The concealed carry movement isn’t slowing down, and neither is SIG Sauer’s Exeter, NH plant–they’re pumping out a new concealed carry pistol for 2012, the SIG P224. In a nutshell, Sig pretty much cut off an inch from the front and the grip of their P226; in fact, that’s exactly what they did to prototype the idea. The result is a sub-compact pistol that’s in between the size of a P226 and a P290.

Any SIG owner, or frequent shooter of SIG’s P226 or P229 will be instantly familiar with the operation and features of the SIG P224. The P224 will accept newer P229 magazines which will allow owners to carry a full capacity magazine as a spare, which a lot of concealed carry practitioners like to do. Sig’s new sub-compact will also feature full size SIGLITE night sights and a Double-Action-Only trigger. Other common features include an overall length of 6.7″, overall height of 4.5″, overall width of 1.3″, a 3.5″ barrel length, and it weighs 24.5 ounces. The SIG SAUER P224 will be available in 9mm, .40, and .357 SIG. Suggested retail of the P224 is between $1,100-$1,200 depending on the model.

SIG will be putting out 4 different versions of the P224:

The SIG Anti-Snag (SAS) model features a de-horned slide and frame, and the new
ergonomically enhanced one-piece grip. SIGLITE Night Sights will be standard in the Nitron®
coated slide. The short-reset trigger (SRT) will be available in the DA/SA version.
A Nickel model will sport a black hard coat anodize frame as a contrast to the nickel slide and
controls. Custom Hogue® G-10 grips and SIGLITE Night Sights round out this package.
As part of the Extreme family of handguns, the P224 will feature the distinctive black and grey
Hogue Piranha grips, SIGLITE Night Sights and the SRT (in the DA/SA version).
The P224 Equinox® features the same two-tone accented Nitron slide treatment as the rest of the
popular Equinox series. A Tru-Glo® fiber optic front sight is paired with a SIGLITE Night Sight in
the rear. Nickel controls and Hogue black diamondwood grips make the P224 Equinox as striking
as it is reliable.

See the video below for a quick look at the P224 at SHOT SHOW, along with some footage of me shooting it at the Media Day Range.

Tags: P224, Sig Sauer

HK45 Compact Tactical Video

Categories: Uncategorized
Posted on: January 16th, 2012 by: Jeff

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Shooting the H&K MR762A1

Categories: Gun Videos, New Products, Rifles, Shot Show
Posted on: January 16th, 2012 by: Jeff

Tags: 7.62x51, H&K

Shooting the Ruger SR22 at SHOT SHOW

Categories: Gun Videos, New Products, Pistols, Shot Show
Posted on: January 16th, 2012 by: Jeff

Tags: Ruger

New HK MR762A1 and HK45 Compact Tactical

Categories: New Products, Pistols, Rifles, Shot Show
Posted on: January 12th, 2012 by: Jeff

Heckler & Koch has a few new products to offer us this year which they’re debuting at SHOT SHOW next week. There’s nothing really ground breaking here, but nevertheless cool. The two new German guns that will be available to us civilians are the MR762A1 and the HK45 Compact Tactical.

If you were on the fence for buying the HK MR556A1 because you wanted it in a .308, well then the MR762A1 was what you were waiting for. As the name suggests, its chambered in 7.62×51 (.308). The MR762A1 is manufactured here in America but with German HK parts. Basically, its a civilian version of HK’s HK417. The MR762A1 shares a lot of features with its 5.56 predecessor such as HK’s buttstock, a gas piston system, and HK freefloating quad picatinny handguards.

One aspect of the MR762A1 that I found particularly interesting is that the barrel is “swagged” with a smaller internal diamter at the muzzle end than the chamber end–which according to HK has a positive effect on bullet accuracy and velocity. There’s also a two-stage trigger set between 4.5 and 5.6 pounds. The MR762A1 has a 16.5″ barrel with an overall rifle length of 36″ (39.5 with stock fully extended) and it weighs 9.94lbs empty. Those wanting their 7.62 HK rifle over the 5.56 version will have to shell out $1,000 more–the HK MR762A1 has an MSRP price tag of $3,995.

HK’s other civilian offering is the HK 45 Compact Tactical. The new HK45 Compact Tactical is a smaller version of the HK45 with a threaded barrel. This new silencer friendly .45 has an 8 round while the V3 model will have a 10 round magazine–all HK45 magazines will work with the new HK45 Compact Tactical. Other specs include a double-single action trigger set at approximately 4.5 lbs for the single action, and 11.45 lbs for the double; the HK45 Compact Tactical has a 4.5″ barrel and weighs 1.82 lbs empty and sports a picatinny rail for attaching a light or laser. Price for the new HK45 Compact Tactical should be slightly above the 1k mark.

Now, lets tease you guys (and girls) with something that most of you will never shoot unless you enlist in Germany –check out the new HK G28 pictured below. It’s HK’s new DMR (designated marksman rifle) for the German Army. The G28 was based on the European HK MR308 civilian competition rifle (which is a variant of the MR762A1) but it has some notable enhancements. The G28 has the new STANMAG 4694 NATO handguards which extend a bit further for attaching night vision devices in conjunction with a day scope. It also has a chrome-lined cold-hammer forged barrel, a two-stage gas regulator, and a raised cheek piece. The paint job is more than just for looks, it has a low IR observable finish, making it harder to see with NV goggles on. No price, because you can’t buy it anyway, so just sit there and drool or join the German Army.

Tags: .308, .45, H&K

New Ruger SR22 Pistol

Categories: New Products, Pistols
Posted on: January 11th, 2012 by: Jeff

Ruger is rolling out a new .22 lr semi-automatic pistol named the SR22. Even though it has the SR moniker on it, the SR22 has some significant differences from its bigger brothers.

I would of thought that the SR22 would just be a 22 chambered SR, but it’s not. The controls are different as you can see from the pic and its quite smaller in size. Also, it has an external hammer and it’s a double-single action as opposed to striker fired. Some other features of the SR22 pistol include an adjustable sighting system, picatinny rail for tacti-coolness, and interchangeable rubber grips. The SR22 has a 3.5″ barrel, weighs just 17.5 ounces, and comes with a 10 round magazine.

At first glance, for a half second or so, the SR22 reminds me of another .22 pistol, the Walther P22. The lines seem similar for me. If the SR22 can function reliably (.22 LR automatic pistols can be finicky), then I’m sure Ruger has a winner on its hands. Personally, I’ll wait until they have a threaded barrel model–shooting a silenced .22 is just plain fun. You should see the SR22 very soon at your gun store for a price around $400.

Tags: 22 lr, Pistol, Ruger

Company Overview: Strike Industries

Categories: Accessories, Gun Reviews, Pistols, Rifles
Posted on: December 20th, 2011 by: Jeff

Strike Industries reached out to Gunblog.com about a few months and sent us a sample of their polymer products for us to take a look at. We were lucky enough to receive a set of their 1911 grips, an iPhone cover, and a non-polymer product, their pyramid angled rail adapter. Well after playing with them for a while, its time to tell you guys (and girls) what we think, and why I’m not sending the 1911 grips back to them.

Ok, we know, there is a plethora of polymer gun products out there, and you’re probably asking what makes Strike Industries stand out. For us, two things always grab our attention for any product–First it’s quality, second price. The quality of the polymer used for Strike Industry’s products seems to be first rate. They’re extremely rigid and can stand up to a significant amount of heat while still maintaining their durability; check out the video below to see an example of this durability. Second the price is deceiving, I would expect a lesser quality product at the low price point Strike Industries offers.

Strike Industries is a homegrown company made up of hobbyists and gun enthusiasts who wanted to offer a different type of polymer, so they developed their own. They believe what sets their polymer apart from others is the process in which they construct it–they directly inject the fibers into the polymer rather than mixing it or layering it. They claim that the process is cheaper and produces a result that has a similar rigidity as the polymer used in popular 1911 G10 grips. From my short time of handling their products, seeing the prices on their website, and viewing the videos, I see myself becoming a quick believer of their claims. Take a look below to see what they sent us to play with.

Yes, of course, there has to be a tactical iPhone case if you make polymer, and Strike Industries is no exception. Their iPhone case is a little different though; the tactical loop makes pulling it out of a mollle pouch and taking a quick phone call in between reloads a tad bit easier. No, but seriously, if you do keep your phone in a molle pouch of some kind, or some deep pockets, it is quite handy. The hexagonal engraving on the back looks pretty sweet too. The phone also has complete functionality with all the buttons and camera functions.

The one non-polymer product they sent us was their Pyramid Angled Rail Adapter. At first, it thought it was quite peculiar, but I could see a few rifle owners really liking this item. It allows a user to mount a grip at a 17 degree angle either forward (for an AK style foregrip) or reward (for a MK43 style grip). Although its main purpose is attaching grips at an angle, almost any picatinny accessory you wish to be at a 17 degree angle could be attached to it.

And now my absolute favorite accessory Strike Industries sent us, their 1911 grips. When first contacted by Strike Industries, I checked out their website and looked at the grips. I saw the price tag of 16 bucks and was expecting to get some sort of glorified gun show special grips. Well, I was wrong, and I’m glad I was wrong. The golf ball dimple grips they sent fit my 1911 full size perfectly, and more importantly, they felt spectacular when gripping it. Their a little thicker than my other grips (not by very much), but I prefer the slight thickness since I have larger hands. The only thing that over shines the quality of the polymer is the look the grips give my 1911–personally, I love it, and they’re staying on.

You can purchase the products shown here and see what else Strike Industries has to offer over at their website. Their products, particularly their 1911 grips, left an impression on me, and I’m anxious to see what they roll out with in the future (hint hint, high capacity magazines for the AR-15).

Tags: 1911, AR-15, New Products

New Gunblog.com Sponser: OnTargetAuctions.com

Categories: Featured Posts, Media
Posted on: December 19th, 2011 by: Jeff

We would like to introduce you guys to a new gun auction website, and Gunblog.com’s newest advertiser, OnTargetAuctions.com. There are a few online gun auction sites out there right now, but OnTargetAuctions.com puts a unique spin on the typical eCommerce world of auction sites.

We’re all pretty much familiar with online auctions; most of them are similar to Ebay. If you’re the highest bid, and the price reserve is met, you win the item. OnTargetAuctions.com has a sort of collective bidding system. People pay for bids on the site and just use “bids” to bid on the item. The person with the last bid, wins the item. There are also auctions for bids themselves; so instead of paying about a dollar a bid, you can get 25 or 50 pack of bids on the cheap.

If you don’t win the item, and you placed a bunch of bids, those bids don’t necessarily go to waste. You can apply those bids to purchase the item. I’ve seen some guns go for pretty low prices. The best deal I’ve seen so far has to be the Springfield XDm .45, and the winner probably paid less than $100 bucks in bids. It’s sort of high risk/high reward system, but if you’re the tenacious bidder, you can come away with some crazy deals. As the site grows, I’m sure the inventory and deals will too. Check them out, and stay tuned to Gunblog.com as we’ll probably have some special deals available here for bid packs and items–expect a promo code soon. Also, OnTargetAuctions.com is doing a giveaway this month so stay tuned for that too. Be sure to check them out.

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Gamble Tactical LA Holsters

Categories: Accessories, New Products, Pistols
Posted on: December 15th, 2011 by: Jeff

A problem with having tactical accessories on your pistol is finding a holster that can accommodate it. There are companies that make them, but prices are usually expensive and wait times are usually long. Also, sometimes you’ll have to get a custom holster made to accommodate your specific setup. One company is trying to help compact Glock owners make it easier to find a holster with their new LA Tactical Holster.

Gamble Tactical’s LA Tactical holster has a unique design that will allow an owner attach almost any light/laser to their Glock compact. As you can see from the pictures, the complete underside of the holster is pretty much cut away, leaving it open. The pistol is actually held in by a 3 point retention system–a small column that goes into the muzzle, an polymer strap that’s formed around where the backstrap meets the slide, and the areas around the triggerguard/frame. The pistol is released when grabbing it; the top of your hand moves the strap which releases the gun from the holster.

Gamble Tactical’s holster is constructed from a glass reinforced nylon and can host a variety of belt clips. The holster is also adjustable so it can provide specific cant that an owner may want.

The design of the LA Holster has an obvious advantage–it provides a holster for those wanting to put accessories on their Glock 19 or 23. However, from looking at the video below, it seems that it forces somewhat of a non traditional draw. You have to come back a little bit then up, rather just just straight up as with most of the holsters currently on the market now. But unlike most other holsters, you can’t attach any accessory you want, and/or switch out that accessory and still use the same holster. With a little training and some time getting used to it, I’m sure the unorthodox draw wouldn’t be a difficult obstacle to overcome.

Hopefully, Gamble Tactical will be offering their new innovative holster for more models of Glocks or even different manufacturers of pistols. I’m sure there’s a market for the same type of holster that could accommodate other striker fired pistols such as the S&W M&Ps and the Springfield XDs (it would be difficult to make a similar holster for pistols with an external hammer such as a Sig P226).

For a light bearing holster, the price seems very reasonable at only 30 bucks and is available at the sportsmanguide.com.