Category Archives: Optics

New Lucids

Lucid sent me two new optics to review. The first is the Third generation of the HD7 red dot.  This one in Flat Dark Earth.
Initial impression is good.  I love the original HD7, and I am seeing an improvement in the Gen 3.
The new other optic is the new L5 rifle scope.  This is the 6.5-20X50, with a 30mm tube, side parallax focus, and a nice ballistic drop/hold over reticle.  Again, initial impression is positive.  I like the L5 reticle and am a huge fan of hold over reticles anyway.  So I’m digging this scope so far.  Clarity and Brightness seem on point.
I’m looking forward to testing both of these optics on top of Crusader built guns.

 

EDIT:  GEN 3 HD7, not 2.

Optics

I replaced my Rock River AR with another rifle.  Another AR-15 type gun.  Having just upgraded it. Again.  Oh well.  The new rifle is lighter, which is good, and what I was looking for.  So all is good, yes? 
Well, the new rifle has a couple flaws.  It has all the recoil that 5.56mm can muster… which is no great lot, but its much more than The Rock had.  It’s pencil thin barrel gets really hot fast.  These are things that quite different than what I’ve been spoiled with.  And the Rock had a much nicer trigger.  Which is to say, it had the best AR trigger I’ve ever felt.  This trigger, is not that trigger.
Now, I’ve got to make two choices with it.
A.  What color scheme does it get?  Camo? Solids? Desert? Urban?
I have to decide.
B.  And this is the more important one… what optic?
I put on my trustworthy old EOtech.  And you know what?  I like them.  I do.  Just one issue.  Their insatiable thirst for batteries.  Other than that… groovy.
Well, the other issue isn’t one of optics, but natural man… me. My eyes.  I need some magnification. 
So I threw on a Trijicon 3-9 Accupoint. That will do for now.  Getting some better accuracy testing.  But its not what I want to run. 
I’m thinking I should have kept that lucid HD7.

A Zeiss scope for the Cheater

Don’t get me wrong… when it comes to shooting, I’m all about Cheating.  I’ll take any advantage I can.

Such as this… The Zeiss Diarange rifle scope.  It may not be cheap… but it’s like an FPS Cheat Code for real life.

It’s got a very solid mounting system, one like none other I’ve seen before… The adapters connect to any Pic or Weaver rail, which is fine…. easily adjustable to fit any length action.  All good.

They slide in the groove under the scope body and can be turned around for optimal fitting as the shooter desires.

It has a built in laser rangefinder, 999 yards, hence the name… and combines that with the excellent Rapid-Z reticle system.  This is an awesome combination.  The only thing it can’t do is dope the wind for you.  The glass is typically Zeiss quality… meaning it’s about as good as it gets.  Eye relief, clarity, brightness, strength of the glass and action.  It’s a great scope.  The readout is clear and bright.

If there is anything wrong with the scope, it’s the price.  It’s Tony Stark Level.  But man… if you have the means… this is it.  A good customer of ours came in and ordered this.  Its not something we would have normally stocked.  It’s that expensive.  This is in a town where the rich guys will buy a teenager with a new license a Lotus Exige and their daughters trips to Paris for a Back to School Shopping Spree. But this is still one of those “If you want it, we’ll get it for you” things.

Scopes Fail

I’ve seen scope failures from every scope maker.  Zeiss, Swarovski, Leupold, Trijicon, Huskama, Nikon… Everyone.
A Rifle Scope is a precision instrument mounted on something that recoils and gets knocked around.  Every scope, no matter what, will eventually fail.
That’s just a fact.  Death and Taxes. 
So just because someone on the internet bitches and moans about their brand x scope failing, doesn’t mean you should turn up your nose at a brand x scope.  These things happen.  What you don’t know though, is if the scope was abused, improperly mounted, or an inappropriate selection for the rifle. 
Recoil, Temperature, Age, Impact… all of these things will destroy a scope. It’s just a matter of time. No one makes the perfect scope.
The mark of a good scope maker is how they back up their scopes.  Also, the shope you got it from, how helpful are they when you bring it in.  
At where I work, we do everything.  Customer doesn’t have to worry about it. 
Nikon, Bushnell, Swarovski, Trijicon, Burris, Vortex… These guys are the best in dealing with repairs, and repair or replace without question.  So if you are Leary on optics, these guys are the best bets.

Crusader & Lucid, one scary accurate combination

Crusader Weaponry has teamed up with Lucid to provide a very good optical gunsight for our rifles.  When I first tested the Lucid HD7, it impressed the hell out of me.  It was clear, solid, and did everything I wanted an optic to do.  In fact, it did better than I had hoped.  I put it on a number of guns, trying to break it.  Including a 12 gauge with slugs.  It held up.  As far as accuracy goes, it actually improved my accuracy with my own M4.



We recommend the Lucid for the best bang for the buck solution for all our 5.56mm rifles. When you order your Bones, Partisan, Templar, or your own custom configuration, ask for the Lucid to come with the gun as a package.

Weaver

All the new scopes and Binos I’ve been seeing from Weaver has really been impressing me.  Their quality for the prices they are offered at Retail… Very impressive.  ATK has done very well to make Weaver a serious optics brand again.

Kudos!

I can say that Weaver has a couple good scopes and a Bino that I would love to own… hell I’d even be willing to spend my own money on them.

Illuminated Reticle Scopes?

I was asked about options for Illuminated scopes.
There are a lot of them out there… Burris, Leupold, Vortex. And they are all just fine. The Vortex Crossfire Illuminated with a MilDot, can be had for only 200 bucks. But it’s not my favorite by any means.

The one I really like is the Trijicon Accupoint. No batteries, no switches, and very clear “Zeiss-Like” glass, which is critical. You need a illuminated reticle when it’s dark out… and when it’s dark out, you need to transmit as much light as possible. The Accupoint does that. And that’s why it’s my recommendation.

 

Scope Dance.

I just did the Scope Dance.  Normally I give my buddy Fenris hell for always moving his scopes around… and now here I did it.

I pulled my EOtech off my M4, my Bushnell Holosight off (one of) my 870 Tactical, and my Lucid HD7 of my Sterling.  I never liked the thing on the Sterling and only put it on there for further accuracy testing.

So now the Bushnell Holosight is now on the Sterling because it’s the lowest mounting optic of it’s type.  The Lucid is on the M4 because I like the precision accuracy I got out of that combination when I was testing the Lucid… and that EOtech is now on the 870 Tactical.    I really like the way these guns are set up now.  I was going to Scope Dance a few more guns, to shake up the combinations but these are the 3 guns that needed it and it all worked out flawlessly and are probably the ideal options out of what I have in inventory.

The only gun that is still needing a better optic on it, is Killswitch, my Savage 93R17 HB.  The optic that’s on it now is the Bushnell Elite 3200 2-7×32.  I need to go up to at least a 4-12 on that sucker.  It can reach farther, with more precision than this 2-7 can deliver.  Great scope for what it is.  But P-Dogs are small and a bit more magnification would be a boon.

Red Dot: Vortex vs Lucid

Had a question about the Lucid HD7.  Would I take it over a Vortex.  (Strikefire or SPARC)  Hands down I’d buy the Lucid.  Again.  Not a lot of people really know much about the Lucid.  It’s pretty new in the market still, but it’s a good solid unit that’s given no problems and shoots with astonishing accuracy.