New Kruger Optical APR spotter: The "SpiderWeb" spotter lives!

A few years ago, Premier Reticles created quite the buzz by announcing the development of a "SpiderWeb" tactical spotter, with a projected illuminated mildot reticle and other nice features, at an affordable price. Here's a copy of an old flier.

To say there was anticipation and buzz over this spotter in the law enforcement/military/tactical/competitive circles is an understatement. All the sniper forums were discussing what a unique and innovative product this was and how there was nothing else like it anywhere.

To make a long story short, the spotter never materialized and the hype eventually faded away to become another footnote in optics history.

Fast forward to SHOT Show 2008, and I stopped by the Kruger Optical booth (they are licensed to produce scopes and binos for Columbia Sportswear) and lo and behold there is this neat looking spotter, with a projected first focal plane illuminated mildot reticle, with nice glass and what seems to be very stout construction. I really liked how the spotter performed (albeit indoors in the confines of the SHOT tent), and left my card after talking with Dan Callen, their Director of Sporting Goods Sales. Well, the move to Montana and other business distracted me from follow up, but I finally pulled out my brochure and contact info from Kruger and we are finally getting the ball rolling on stocking these. It was after posting the flyer on Sniper's Paradise that someone mentioned it looked like the old "SpiderWeb" spotter and posted the above flyer in the forum. A quick email to Dan confirmed this is indeed the same spotter. Kruger Optical owns the design and patents and decided to bring it to market themselves. The "SpiderWeb" flyer is their product and all intellectual property is owned by Kruger Optical. the scope has been reborn as the APR spotting scope, sans the "spiderweb" rubber armor pattern. Here is the latest catalog page from them:

We are excited here at Liberty Optics to bring this product to you. We have had requests to give our usual objective evaluation once the production units arrive. We will do this outdoors here in Montana. We believe the spotter will do fine.

So, there you have it. The APR promises to offer a compact, packable, fieldable, rugged, and functional spotter with a selling price well under $1K. Check back with us as we await our shipment. We will post these on our website also. As always, if you have any questions, comment here or drop me a line. We can send you a hi-res copy of the catalog page if you want.

Scott

Introducing Ellis Optics

Those who know me, know I'm a pretty critical individual. Give me time, and I can find fault in about anything. As a personality trait, I've worked on this and have become more of a "cup half full" kind of guy, especially this year. However, when it comes to my opinions on optics (and politics), I'm just as anal retentive as ever. Directly related to my critical nature is the fact I am not easily impressed. In other words, I'm the classic "tough sell".

Therefore, I'm pretty guarded about anything new coming out and all the associated hype that comes with it. More often than not, pre-SHOT Show hype has been replaced by disappointment when the product is in hand.

Having said that, I'm very intrigued about Ellis Optics http://www.ellisoptics.com/. Just prior to my departure to Montana, I met with Ryan Burrowes, the Director of Ellis Optics, to examine parts and prototypes, and learn about the company, it's products, and philosophy.

I won't get too much into Ryan's credentials, as I'll leave that up to him to share. Suffice to say, after spending time with him, I'm convinced he is a very intelligent and talented engineer, who is currently burning the candle at both ends to bring his scopes to market. Ryan knows scopes, knows how to build them, test them, and take them apart for failure analysis. He has a vision, and his MK-7 line of riflescopes promise to fill a unique niche in the shooting community; namely, reasonably priced (not cheap) illuminated first focal plane riflescopes with extended eye relief and brute tough design and construction.

The true core of Ellis Optics is Ellis Defense, which is a military contractor, and these scopes are first and foremost designed to fulfill a military contract. All the parts (including the etched reticle) except the glass are machined from top shelf materials right here in the US (Tampa-St. Pete area of Florida). A cutaway of his 4-16x50 tube revealed the thickest damn alloy tubes I've ever seen. The internals are rife with premium silicone-bronze alloy and stainless steel parts. Tubes are 35mm, and the internal optics assemblies are oversized a la IOR riflescopes. Ryan has extensively studied IOR scopes, and has concluded many of the optical prescriptions in the 6x multiplier series of scopes are inappropriate for the tube dimensions (focal length and location of the turret housing) to be optimally effective. Ryan has corrected the deficiencies in the IOR design to build a better mousetrap. The large internal optics assemblies will result in a brighter sight picture than other comparable Asian-optic scopes. The "longrange" scopes will feature a "Mil-Bar" rangefinding reticle similar to the IOR MP-8 dot A5, but with about 25% thinner lines. Any serious operator knows that a front focal plane reticle is the best way to go with a rangefinding reticle that actually gets used for its intended purpose. Dual illumination (red-green) and side focus is standard. The large external exposed knobs feature 1/4 MOA clicks, which, while not ideal with the milliradian-based reticle, is still the most common setup in the industry (Ryan stated if enough customers wanted the milrad adjustments that could easily be done). Conversion from mils to MOA are well published and present a minor inconvenience.

What makes the MK-7 line unique is the extended (4"-6") of eye relief and the hard core testing of the prototypes. Ryan worked alongside Anzio Iron Works (AIW) http://www.anzioironworks.com/ to test his scopes on lightweight 50 BMGs, 14.5mm and 20mm rifles, which are "not too kind" on scopes. When something broke during testing, Ryan would tear the scope down, find the offending part, upgrade, and reassemble to start it all over again. The testers at AIW gave the MK-7 scope a thumbs up for ruggedness, and were quite impressed with Ryan's passion and work ethic and the quality of the scopes that have emerged from the vigorous testing.

Now, we wait for the production models.

Ryan just returned from overseas, where all the American-made parts were shipped to an assembly team, which Ryan set-up and supervised to ensure a high quality assembly control process. There, the glass and reticles will be installed and the scopes will be hand-assembled and collimated, prior to shipping back to the states. We look forward to receiving and testing a 2-12x32 Designated Marksman (picture will be up on the Ellis Optics website soon) and 4-16x50 Tactical, fresh off the assembly line.

Stay tuned, as we will post a write-up and photos here.

Until then, the intrigue remains.

Scott

My real business is.....

The popular internet shoe seller Zappos has a saying that goes along the lines of this: "We are a service company that happens to sell shoes" (I didn't see it on their home page, but it was on a catalog or in an order somewhere, I swear). We are a service company too, but a recent post on http://www.calguns.net/ has got me thinking. Looks like a customer bought an Aimpoint 3x magnifier from a "well known" tactical gear/military supply dealer that has turned out to be a fake. The purchase took place at a gun show, and cash was exchanged, and no receipt obtained. Now, the victim has returned the faux optic in hopes of getting half his money back (apparently the dealer denies selling the fake as a real Aimpoint magnifier, and will only agree to a refund of the cost of a faux one...) Nothing has been resolved at the time of this writing, and the victim will not disclose the name of the dealer in fear half his money will not be returned (sort of like negotiating with a hostage taker, IMO.) While we are only getting one side of the story, this looks to be an unfortunate incident that violates the dealer-customer bond, namely, trust.

At Liberty Optics, we operate on the honor system. Our word is our bond, and we treat our customers the way we would like to be treated. We hold our customers to the same standard. We don't collect money prior to special ordering an item, and we don't monkey around with product sales or service. Our business is to earn your trust and loyalty. It's so easy for you to shop anywhere you want. Our business is to earn your business, each and every day. I find the conduct of some competing dealers to be repugnant. I honestly don't know how they stick around. But there are many others who have a peerless reputation who are worthy role models. The good guys are out there, and they can and do win.

The saying goes "In God we trust, all other pay cash". Well, if you feel sketchy about a dealer, aside from just walking away, take it from me, use a credit card to protect yourself. Chargebacks are a serious tool to be used with utmost care and sincerity (consider it customer "lethal force") but it can and does work to protect you from fraud. Here's another tip, use American Express. As a dealer, I'm not a big fan because they have the highest fees of any charge card, but they will be very prompt and aggressive at resolving your claim and making the dealer defend himself. By the way, I am not speaking from experience from a dealer perspective, just to make that clear ;+)

As always, Caveat emptor.

Thanks for dropping by.

Why do I love Vortex Optics? Let me count the ways.

Let's just get right to it........

1) Vortex Optics is an American owned and operated company, that cares about their product and customers like no other - Sure, they use Asian factories just like everyone else, but they are very hands on with the guys "over there", work hard to establish excellent working relationships with their factories, and are as fussy, picky, and proud as anyone I've dealt with in this business. Their VIP lifetime warranty? You might match it, but you can't beat it. It's not just words, it's a real committment to customer satisfaction (proof provided later).

2) Vortex Optics cares about their dealers like no other- I can honestly say I've never dealt with a better company. My Vortex reps are first class, always work with me to ensure my satisfaction, and supply me with all the little goods and perks needed to showcase their product. I'm talking hats, T-shirts, display stands for binos, business card holders, a nice Boyd's stock with plastic rings on it (so a customer can slip a scope on without marring their tube and snap the scope to the shoulder), catalogs, you name it. At SHOT show, they have always treated me with time and great respect. I'm a smaller business mind you. At this last SHOT, I had one guy at the Millett booth demand I give up a scope I was looking at because one of his "big" clients just "had" to see the scope "right then". Needless to say, I won't be selling Millett (they are junk anyway, and I don't want to soil this post with any further mention of them). The Vortex employees take the time to listen and accept feedback, even if it is constructive criticism (of which there is very little). If you are a new optics dealer or new gunstore and want to feature the best value optics working with the best people, look no further. Now, let's talk product.

3) The top of the line Vortex riflescopes are just that...without the high price tag - Nobody packs more optical and mechanical technology into a scope for this price. The glass is clear, bright, sharp, and without defect. I am of the firm opinion that the Viper 6.5-20x44 had better performing glass than the Nightforce 5.5-22x56 NXS scope I compared it to, and it was just a notch or so below the IOR 6-24x50, which is a $1400 tactical scope with German glass! One customer of mine wrote that his Viper scope had better low light performance than his IOR 6x42. Wow.

It's not just the glass, though, the the tube and mechanics are premium too. The scope tracks, holds zero, and is tough. The MAP on the most expensive model is $509. Nitpick? Give me an illuminated reticle option! Otherwise, look no further than the Viper for your next (and likely last) hunting scope. Liberty Optics offers a 3-day "no hassle" money back guarantee if you buy a Viper from us. We pay shipping, no restocking fee. We want you to try this scope!

4) The economically priced Vortex riflescopes are worth more than you pay, too - The Diamondback and Crossfire series of scopes sell for a MAP that ranges from $95 to $230. For just a little more money than the cheap Chicom generic brand scopes that so many of you like to buy, you get quality and performance many steps above and backed by a superior company with superior customer service. with these options, why would you by a NcStar, Leapers, or BSA? Beats the hell out of me. Is not peace of mind with a gunsight worth a few extra bucks?

5) Vortex binoculars - Binoculars come naturally to Vortex, as the parent company has been making highly lauded birding binoculars for years. Birders are fussy about binos, as clarity, sharpness, and color rendition can not be compromised when differentiating fine shades of color in feathers, in order to properly ID their avian object of interest. Vortex Viper binos have already won a "Best of the Best" award from Field and Stream. Gee, that didn't take long.

6) Vortex demonstrates a culture of continouous improvement and innovation - These guys wouldn't dream of resting on their laurels, they study the market carefuly, design and plan new product, and accept no compromises in reaching their goals. Look for more and more good stuff from Vortex, every year. This year, check out the Strikefire red dot. Next year, I await their first tactical scope (whose proposed is name withheld upon request). You heard it here first. I don't want to get ahead of myself, but the details I've heard paint a picture of a state-of-the-art long range scope with all the features serious shooters demand, while being a market busting value. To say I'm eagerly awaiting this scope is an understatement. I'll leak more details as the specs firm up and Vortex will allow me to say.

7) Product literature and a website that is actually useful - Not only does Vortex provide useable specs and feature info on all their products, but they provide information on optics in general. Vortex welcomes an informed consumer and does their part to educate the consumer so they can make an informed choice.

8) Vortex walks the walk - others talk, Vortex walks. The proof is in the pudding. Check this out. Vortex debuted a long awaited Fury line of binos at SHOT that sell in the $350 dollar range. These were recently delivered to dealers and customers. Apparently, there is some issue with the binos. Here is an excerpt from a letter I received from the company president:

"It has come to our attention that the diopter system and design of the internal mechanism is not to our strict standard of precision and excellence. Due to this situation, we are recalling 100% of the Fury binoculars sold."

Did you read that? An optics company recalling an optical product that isn't up to snuff. In my nearly five years of business, I've never heard of such a thing. Neither have many of my longer experienced counterparts. No doubt this will be expensive and time consuming, especially compared with the cost of the product, but I can think of no other way to demonstrate Vortex's committment to excellence. This isn't a riflescope, or any other product where a defect could have serious consequences. I've known of at least one optics company who had issues with their binos who chose to look the other way and fix the issue "on the next run". Vortex sets the standard for integrity and character here, IMO. The kind of integrity and character we adhere to at Liberty Optics.

So there you have it. Just so you don't think I'm too gushy, I will say the spotting scopes are nothing to write home about, and even the Skyline ED has received some lukewarm responses, but see number (6) above. Just you wait. Remember, we choose to carry Vortex products. This is not a compensated endorsement. If you are in the market for a riflescope or bino of unmatched value for the quality, or have a question, drop us a line. You'll likely soon be counting the ways you love Vortex too.

Through the words of a soldier, our state of affairs is captured

Vern Harrison, owner of Central Virginia Tactical, is one of the most honorable men I've ever known. A Vietnam combat sniper, and the best rifleman I've ever been around, the link to his website http://www.centralvirginiatactical.com makes a poignant statement, behind which is quite the story. You see, Vern developed a stellar reputation training military and civilian riflemen how to shoot longrange, and do it well. I personally shot accurately to over 1000 yards under his tutelage. He is a fantastic teacher and more than one soldier serving time over in the sandbox owes their safe return to the skills that Vern had taught them. His training has been lauded by military and federal, state, and local police agencies. It seems everyone understood the value of his work in defending freedom and the lives of the good guys except for the residents and county commission where he lives and conducted his training. Vern taught at a 2000 yard range on private land with permission, until he got caught in the crossfire of bad neighbor politics. A trip to the county commission for a hearing ensued. Here was a recent thread he started on Sniper's Paradise, http://www.snipersparadise.com

"Hi Everyone,

Well, the range at Buckingham, is gone. I fought the county for two months and they won. I guess because of all the Government work up there for all these years, they think there's still some kind of secret squirrel crap is still going on. Even with all the letters from Law Enforcement leaders, SWAT teams and all the Military they still painted a picture of a Blackwater wannabe. It was amazing to watch them,"Pledge Allegiance to the Flag", and 10 minutes later talk about American snipers like they were criminals or terrorists. They tried to say that because I train civilians, along with LEO's and Military that I was training terrorists. I explained that if an American citizen owned a rifle they had already been checked out by the state and the FBI. I showed them where I had a credential policy for civilians as well as everyone else. It wasn't good enough to know these were people that had "no felonies", and their own Law Enforcement agencies said they were good to go. Even board members made comments like they were afraid I was training blood thirsty snipers. I finally lost it the last night of board meetings and reminded them these were the same Marines, Soldiers and LEO snipers that were defending this country. I was told to sit down and shut up. Well those of you that know me will understand when I say I didn't take that so well. At 57 years old I don't sit down and shut up for anyone, if I have something to say. Needless to say it was over after that night. They left me with no way of making a living. I've had no income since the 1st of January. This country IMHO is going to hell, from the inside out. I have applied for Social Security disability, (probably won't get that either, without a fight). I'm looking for a new place to set up a range again. I want to finish up my schedule this year as well as do some work part time. Even if I get the SSD, I can do so much each month without problems. This will give me more time to help the young folks going over to the sand box and help some of you folks. I won't try to keep the 200 plus students a year like in the past but I'll help all I can. It's been tough trying to find a place. It seems a lot of liberals have moved in among us and we didn't even see it coming. They don't want hunting, shooting, training, practicing of any kind with a firearm. Thomas Jefferson was right, it's time to trim the tree of Freedom. Damn shame I'm old and crippled up, I'd start the process. All in all I'll be spending more time here, at my favorite websites and doing my best to help folks when I can. Please forgive me for not being around as much as usual but it's been hard times.

Respectfully, Vern"

This was the second time that Vern had been shut down due to issues with landowner politics and a lack of support from his local "leaders". An outpouring of support on SP was followed by more eloquent thoughts from Vern:

"Thank you, everyone. I do appreciate your kind words and thoughts. I'm afraid the Constitution I swore an oath to is not the same Constitution we know today. I don't remember anyone telling me I didn't have to keep that oath once I was out of the Army. It's still steadfast in my heart.

I grew up in a time when John Wayne was our hero and politicians went to Washington with the will of the people. I grew up on a farm where you worked from the time you could walk. When I wasn't big enough to work in the fields I drove a tractor. Once big enough my feet hit the ground and worked like everyone else. I knew I would go to school and work the farm until it was time to serve my country. It's just what everyone did in those days. You either stayed in the Military or came out and worked.......and worked hard. Everyday sick or well. It was hard to fight a war and come home to people who spit, threw food and cussed you. But those are the rights we fought for.

I read now about these people that show up at funerals with signs that read, "I'm glad God took your son". "I'm glad your son is dead". Yes it's their right to do this. However, you have to wonder what goes through a man or womens mind to go to a funeral of someone you don't even know and do something like this. These young men in that casket are the same young men that gave them that right. It's a damn shame we can't gather them up and send them to a third world country for about six months. Let them live in a country where the annual income is $100 a year. Where if you speak out of turn about your government your entire family is killed, in the street in front of everyone. Where you do the work your government say you will do and get paid what the government says you will get paid. We you eat what you can afford not what you want. Where you can't own a TV or radio and if you did it was government controlled. No phones. These people think we can buy our way out of trouble with these terrorist. They're insane.

The US has no money, we are one step away from being bankrupt. The very people we protected in the first gulf war are now sticking it to us with their oil pricing. Like a lot of people I believe their funding terrorist with the money their making from the oil as well. I feel ashamed that our fighting men and women have to come home to this. I feel ashamed they have to see our beloved country in this kind of shape. They're over there fighting now with some of the most insane rules of engagement ever known to man. I had a young man last week here that was home from Iraq for two weeks. He said he was in a fire fight in the middle of the street with his M4 and a shotgun. Our government has taken their sidearms away from them. He said he had no cover and was fighting when he didn't have time for a mag change he went to the shotgun. He killed two bad guys with the shotgun. 5 minutes after the fight was over, CID rolled up and tried to arrest him. They said he could only use his primary weapon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He asked, "What the "F" did you give me to shotgun for"? They said for back up, in case his primary weapon went down he was to use it. Insane!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have always taught to go to your secondary weapon if you don't have time for a mag change. As far as I know the Military still teaches the same thing. WTF? The reason I've given 32 years of my life training these young people is in hopes they would come home alive. Well once again Congress is making the decisions on how to fight a war. Something but a handful know anything about. Most of the sons and daughters don't know anything about. I'm just a old mountain boy please tell me how Congress has the right to tell our Military how to fight a war? Please!

Well it all comes back to what we are willing to accept. Like sheep we put it in the back of our minds to let someone else do the dirty work so we don't have to get our hands messy. Now the liberals have slipped in and taken over our country. They tell us "NO' you can't have this weapon, you can't shoot here, and you can't do what you want on your own land. Isn't it strange how this country started having all these problems when we took, GOD from our schools, courts, government, money and our Constitution. Folks, this is our Government not theirs, it's time we stood up and took it back. It's time we told them to put God back where he belongs and how we want things to be and stop letting them do it for us.

Sorry about the rant, flea"

"Flea" is Vern's nickname he got in 'Nam, supposedly due to his short stature. But his eloquent and passionate commentary have him standing very tall in my eyes. Bites harder than any 'ol flea too. Couldn't have said it better myself!

EPILOGUE:

At the time of this writing, Vern has found a new range from which to train. Details are sketchy, but he seems happy and excited. Train well and carry on, my friend.

Scott

Welcome, and Greetings from Montana!

Thank you for visiting my blog. I feel this is a fantastic way for you to get to know me and my thoughts and opinions on a variety of subjects. I hope to make this a cyber-stop that is worth your while!

It's cold, windy, and lightly snowing here in Kalispell, here in the Flathead Valley (hereafter referred to as "the valley") of northwestern Montana. I know the locals have had a long winter here and are ready for spring (I just moved here a week ago) but I have a smile on my face. I find the cool weather invigorating and the snow adds a little variety to things. Besides, it won't last too long, as May is just around the corner. The locals have told me this is the longest winter, with the most snow, they've had in a long time.

Besides the fantastic scenery, abundant wildlife, and clean environment, the big attraction of this area is the quality of its residents. The folks here are very hard working, and genuinely friendly. I do believe some of the locals "try" you when they pick up that you are new to the valley, and they decide quickly whether they like you or not (I believe they size up whether you will fit in longterm or not, as many new arrivals leave after a year or two). So far, so good. I can honestly say I've never had better experiences with the service at the driver license and tag bureaus. Very nice folks.

The icing on the cake (or perhaps the cake) is the freedom loving and gun friendly culture that forms the backbone of the citizenry here. To be sure, Montana has its share of issues, as many imports from urban Washington and California have fled here only to try to change things to the way things were back home (which, if you think about it, makes no sense whatsoever) or file lawsuits to protect the forests here from any type of extractive use. Sometimes they win, often they lose. A simple search on the web will reveal many articles on the battles between the "greenies" (environmentalists) and the "wise-use" guys (ranchers, loggers, etc) here in the valley, and other parts of Montana west of the Continental Divide. All in all, though, we relocated Liberty Optics to "The Last, Best Place". I look forward to the challenges and excitement ahead!

Scott