New Gun On The Way

Joined
Oct 8, 2019
Messages
2,956
Sucks when you pretty much have all your bases covered yet want a new firearm.

I said the hell with it and just ordered a Springfield XD-M Elite in 10mm. My "rationale" for grabbing it was I could take it with me while hunting black bear in AZ as well as when hunting solo near our southern border.

I also ordered a few boxes of Buffalo Bore Outdoorsman for it. Since there was no change in shipping costs, I went ahead and grabbed some boxes of Outdoorsman in 9mm as well as a couple of boxes of hard cast in 380 ACP. Tomorrow I'll order up some "cheap" ammo for practice as well as some Federal HST (self defense) for it.

I do have a question related to red dots. At what distance should I zero the red dot? Any difference between targeting a charging animal versus a 2 legged critter?

Any recommendations for a holster that attaches to an AGC binocular harness?
 
OP
A
Joined
Oct 8, 2019
Messages
2,956
Just wanted to provide an update.

My Hex Dragonfly may have an issue. Cannot dial it "down" enough as the dot is still near the top which is a PITA.

* Shot 10 rounds of Sellier and Bellot 180 gr FMJ using the Hex. It sucked as I had major issues acquiring the dot.
* Removed the Hex and put the XD-M back to its stock configuration.
* Shot the remaining 40 rounds of S&B. Took a bit to get used to the XD-M. There was some "jerking" and "recoil anticipation" on my side. But once I settled down, things started to look good.
* Shot 20 rounds of Federal HST 200 gr. There was a step up in recoil over the S & B 180 gr but still pretty manageable.
* I then shot 20 rounds of Buffalo Bore Heavy 220 gr Outdoorsman. Felt recoil was comparable to the HST.

First impressions are very good. Recoil is not nearly as bad as I had expected; it still recoils. Accuracy was good and thankfully the site picture is the same as my Berettas.
 

toehead

FNG
Joined
May 11, 2022
Messages
76
Have you thougth about the new Primary Arms red dot with their "Vulcan" reticle? It has a big circle around the dot that you do not see when the dot is in the center. The circle can only be seen when you're not aligned and it helps guide you to re-aquire proper alignment rather quickly. Not sure if I explained that well so check this screenshot:

1652821163330.png
 
OP
A
Joined
Oct 8, 2019
Messages
2,956
Have you thougth about the new Primary Arms red dot with their "Vulcan" reticle? It has a big circle around the dot that you do not see when the dot is in the center. The circle can only be seen when you're not aligned and it helps guide you to re-aquire proper alignment rather quickly. Not sure if I explained that well so check this screenshot:

View attachment 412000
As this was a "mostly" impulse purchase I did not do my normal homework. In hindsight I should have just grabbed the model without the red dot (but still OSP).

First, still unsure how effective a reflex sight will be with a PO'd bear charging you at 13 yards per second. Much easier and potentially faster to just use natural point of aim. The Dragonfly and exiting sights do not allow for co-witnessing so natural point of aim isn't 100% accurate. Was high every shot but windage was spot-on. Took the Dragonfly off and things were pretty good.

Second, the dot on the Dragonfly is too small (even on brightest setting) in bright conditions (ex: AZ sun). A larger dot or a different setup (ex: Holosun) would be better. For that matter, green instead of red would also work better (ex: option on Holosun).

For the time being, I'm sending my Dragonfly in to see what they say. In the interim, I'm just going to run the XD-M without the site and do the homework that I normally do before making a purchase.

As far as Primary Arms is concerned, it looks to be an interesting concept. My only potential concern would be frustrating during a high-stress moment and fretting about seeing the circle. But I'll take a deeper look into it.
 

toehead

FNG
Joined
May 11, 2022
Messages
76
You're right, if the bear is close enough you won't have time to aim. You're just going to point and shoot but if there is enough time it might, at the very least, help you get an accurate first shot.
 

BjornF16

WKR
Joined
Dec 12, 2019
Messages
2,518
Location
Texas
Have you thougth about the new Primary Arms red dot with their "Vulcan" reticle? It has a big circle around the dot that you do not see when the dot is in the center. The circle can only be seen when you're not aligned and it helps guide you to re-aquire proper alignment rather quickly. Not sure if I explained that well so check this screenshot:

View attachment 412000
Thanks @toehead !...this is being installed on my G20 this week!
 
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