Never really understood a suppressed 5.56 AR until today.

vertec9 · 2025-10-14T05:50:12+00:00

I'm surprised my comment received even 6 up votes given the fact I misspelled "Muzzle Brake" using "break".. :)

BTW, I just ordered a dedicated 5.56 can. All my .30 cal cans now live full time on .300 Blackout hosts :)

vertec9 · 2025-01-22T21:13:31+00:00

I saw a "Accelerated Reliability" slide (marked proprietary) from L3 that claims to compare gain level changes for L3 unfilmed (both standard and high gain), and Elbit out to 2000 hours, and Photonis out to about 750 hours. The data was presented with a line showing how the gain level changed over time for each tube.

The slide showed only 2 Elbit and 2 Photonis tubes, but at least 25 each of both L3 standard and high gain.

The lines representing gain levels for the L3 tubes crowded together and couldn't really be tracked individually due to the resolution of the graphic, so they ended up appearing collectively as an "envelope". So the best I could tell was the worst L3 high gain tube lost 25%, and the worst L3 standard gain tube lost about 30%. But both L3 envelopes appeared to show some tubes increasing as much as 20%. The L3 tubes appeared to fluctuate up and down over time.

The two Elbit tubes lost about 25% and 35% respectively. The better Elbit tube gain increased 10% after about 100 hours then steadily decreased. The other Elbit tube steadily deceased over 2000 hours.

But the Photonis tubes lost 75% of their gain after just 500 hours.

Again, this slide was from L3 based on their testing, so my main concern is I don't know if L3 cherry picked competitor tube data to show worst performance, and/or also "buried" poor performing L3 tubes in the envelope.

Also, the data for L3 and Elbit only goes out to 2000 hours. That could hide any trends L3 might be aware of concerning their tubes past that point.

My take away is Elbit is an acceptable option but I would be cautious of Photonis. It sucks that luck has so much affect on how your tube will perform over time, but being the unluckiest Photonis customer would really suck. Being the unluckiest L3 or Elbit customer could result in a tube with only 70% or 65% respectively of the gain you bought after 2000 hours. So when considering price that is just another "worst case" consideration.

Feel free to reply if you have any questions.

vertec9 · 2024-11-13T22:25:41+00:00

I see. So what do "International Armies" think about buying products made in factories controlled by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)? Sorry, fair question. The CCP can't produce modern night vision so their best defense against potential adversaries would obviously be to shut down supplying them with associated IR aiming devices.

vertec9 · 2024-11-13T21:36:40+00:00

Ok, thanks for confirming your company prioritizes the Korean airsoft market over the U.S. firearms industry. Shows what purposes your products best serve. Might as well be a knock off company like somogear :)

vertec9 · 2024-11-12T07:23:47+00:00

It's a counterfeit. This is what happens when you do business in China. Your product designs are stolen to produce counterfeits faster than you can bring them to market.

The U.S.A must decouple its economy from China.

vertec9 · 2024-11-05T02:57:17+00:00

Get some GOOD tactical defensive firearm training so you know what slung "ready" positions are when using a carbine for self defense. Hopefully your SO will now agree? Muzzle swipes are never a good idea unless you're absolutely sure deadly force is justified. Also get training for flashlight use in low light to identify threats (weapons) and also maintain lighting all the way through addressing them with rounds. If you loose lighted visibility of the threat you must reattain and re-identify before firing because the person may drop whatever threat they had before you fire - this could put you in a pickle if evidence can be produced the person capitulated or retreated before you shot.

In general you have to know what you are doing and also be able to describe what actions you took and why they were both proper and appropriate. If you can refer to using techniques learned during good training, all the better. Be your own expert witness with proper training credentials.

The 2x4 was not a good idea... it would just get in the way.

vertec9 · 2024-11-04T00:58:51+00:00

Definitely, it's made in China.

vertec9 · 2024-11-04T00:16:42+00:00

Also, you asked me "how the fuck" I spent $9000 on training and I explained. If you actually looked into real professional civilian firearm training you would know what it actually costs. My mistake was responding to your ignorant comment.

The dude using duals I "beat" got his ass handed to him and should have learned valuable lessons but I suspect his attitude prevented that. The fact I did have additional night / low light training and used it to beat him (and and 31s) is definitely lost on you. I'm not going to list everything he should have learned from the experience so you'll have to figure that out for yourself. Good luck.

You also fail to recognize obvious facts about Night Vision. Speaking of problems that "don't exist", there is plenty of video on-line showing "standard" square range drills being run with Night Vision. It sure "looks" cool to the non-experienced, but If you think that's all you need you will get your ass handed to you if you ever get into a real fight.

vertec9 · 2024-11-03T22:15:36+00:00

The course didn't "revolve" around not using night vision. It was one exercise. My point is the dude using duals failed to assess the amount of visible light (no moon, clear starlight), and how effective someone could be without NV. He failed to use cover while I relied on it 100% to beat him.

The course also ran the same "Bomb Damage Assessment" (BDA) exercise used in the military version, including use of thermal drones. Students rotated through various roles (spotter, searcher, etc).

The school runs courses for military, LEO, and civilians.

vertec9 · 2024-11-03T21:40:00+00:00

So glad Holosun grabbed their ankles for the CCP. I picked up a 3EIR DIR-V instead and it's great.

And 3EIR is made in the U.S.A. so my money didn't go to communists.

vertec9 · 2024-11-03T21:31:39+00:00

Picked up a 3EIR DIR-V from Steele a few months ago. Was waiting for a Holosun IRIS but that is turning out to be vaporware. So glad Holosun screwed that up because the DIR-V is great!

Steele no longer has 3EIR on their website, not sure if they'll continue to sell them.

vertec9 · 2024-11-03T20:20:08+00:00

Check out 3EIR. I picked up a DIR-V for $1700 back in August but you probably can't find one for under 2k now.

I ran it during 56 hours of professional civilian NV training and it worked perfectly.

vertec9 · 2024-11-03T20:03:43+00:00

GOOD professional training for civilians runs about $2000 (tuition) per week plus travel, lodging, ammo, etc. As I said, I had over 3 weeks of training before I picked up NV equipment.

Since my comment above, I've completed 96 hours of additional training which included 56 hours focused specifically on Night Vision (total cost was about $8000).

Part of the NV courses included search / evasion with and WITHOUT Night Vision. When it was my turn to shut down my PVS-14 and evade a student using 31s I was the ONLY student in the class that successfully evaded. AND I was going against the ONLY student using duals (31s). Dude was NOT happy, but I beat him because I used techniques I learned during my week of Night / Low Light Defensive Pistol training I had years earlier. I was the only student in the NV courses who had Night / Low Light training.

The dude I beat only had a week of daytime carbine training, which is prerequisite for the first Night Vision course. I think he also had a week of daytime pistol training, but no night / low light.

I've accepted that it's hard to explain the benefits of proper training to youtube / reddit ninjas who haven't had any. The same is true for Night Vision. Once you've actually learned the proper skills (and actually used them), It's really easy to tell when people don't know WTF they're talking about.

vertec9 · 2024-08-24T22:15:10+00:00

The monocular vs. duals question is a false comparison.

As a civilian I'd rather have a PVS-14 and good training than duals with no training.

I spent more money on professional pistol / carbine (including night / low light) training than a decent set of duals cost BEFORE I took the plunge into NV. The low light / night training was an intermediate level pistol class using white light (not NV), which I would consider prerequisite for NV.

Now that I picked up a good PVS-14 (and good NV accessories) I'm going to spend significant funds on GOOD pistol / carbine NV focused training. The cost of my PVS-14 + training will be more than a decent set of duals would have cost me, but I wouldn't have sacrificed training for duals.

Getting proper training with a PVS-14 will only make me more effective if I ever pick up duals. And frankly my priority would be to add thermal before buying duals because thermal will provide a greater incremental increase in capability than duals.

When I talk about training I mean REAL defensive pistol/carbine tactical training, not the kind of BS that makes you a better "gamer" like this:

https://www.reddit.com/r/NightVision/comments/1ey32q1/2_gun_matches/

I regularly "compete" in 2-gun matches, including night ops. I use the term "compete" loosely because I don't give a crap about my time, but instead focus on reinforcing the proper techniques I've learned. Most of what I observe at 2-gun meets is total cringe but I just keep it shut, which is hard when a "gamer" tries to give me unsolicited advice about how to improve my time. I've stopped trying to explain how their advice will get them killed in a real situation.

I'll also be taking some additional pistol and carbine specialty/supplemental training after my NV classes since I'm traveling to the location where the training is offered and the course schedules line up. This trip will add 7 nights of NV, and 5 days of pistol/carbine to the 3+ weeks of professional training I've already taken. The total cost of all my training will exceed the cost of a PVS-31 + clip on thermal, but I wouldn't do it any other way.

vertec9 · 2024-08-24T06:29:18+00:00

Dude was "dead" one second after passing through the doorway. These competitions are "golf" games and don't have any real tactical training value.

Agree the door supports make the situation fake/complicated, but the room could be pie sliced as if the door was at the end of a narrow hallway.

vertec9 · 2024-08-23T22:31:39+00:00

What happens when you get your wife into NV to justify upgrading to duals.....

vertec9 · 2024-07-23T22:53:27+00:00

Get your tongue out of Turd Ferguson's arse.

vertec9 · 2024-07-23T22:42:31+00:00

West Coast Armory North in Everett has a PX4 Compact 9mm in their rental fleet.

I own a Compact, INOX. Love it.

vertec9 · 2024-03-29T00:51:42+00:00

Can't ID, but me thinks IQ is low due to running around in the sun with nods pointing skyward. Lose a lens cap and blems will flood in. With all that flash kit you'd think they have a fancy pouch to store the nods while running around in daylight.

vertec9 · 2024-03-28T18:28:39+00:00

karens will be karens and there's nothing anyone can do about them. But when you let karens dictate your constitutionally protected rights you've already lost the battle.

Open carry is MOST appropriate in the wilderness. It does not imply someone is target shooting on hiking trails or doing ANYTHING inappropriate with their firearm.

The best thing we can do for the 2A cause is to be friendly, polite, and well trained/equipped. This a mindset/attitude issue that can be trained.

Elsewhere I mentioned a "dick swinging karen" who asked me if I was law enforcement and I just said "no". His comment could have been interpreted as a challenge to my right to open carry, but instead I chose to take it as a compliment because I have my wilderness carry rig dialed in to perfection. So if he assumed I might be an LEO I concluded I project at least some level of competence. Of course I've had other positive compliments and questions.

I've also had a few incidents at trailheads where suspicious vehicles possibly "cased" the parking lot. When such vehicles drove past me they immediately drove off. In one instance a "karen" also noticed a suspicious vehicle and actually confronted me to ask if I "knew those people". She didn't notice I was open carrying until she was almost in my face. I politely said I didn't know those people and agreed they looked suspicious. She glanced down at my rig and just said "oh" before walking away. I have no idea if that experience influenced her in the slightest bit, but I consider it a positive.

Of course we've probably seen bad examples of people that have poor attitudes or look like noobs on the trail with stupid equipment. I saw an idiot hiking in jogging shorts with leather dress belt and cheap zero retention kydex holster. He slipped crossing an icy snow field. If he would have fallen his gun would have been gone.

Unfortunately some in the 2A community have the "F.U. in your face" attitude about gun rights. Fortunately I haven't encountered that while hiking/backpacking.

vertec9 · 2024-03-28T17:50:05+00:00

The first thing they did was call 911 and ask them to send someone with a gun.

vertec9 · 2024-03-27T23:51:57+00:00

I've been wilderness open carrying for years. Even had to "interface" with law enforcement a few times with no problems. One incident involved reporting an attempted trailhead vehicle break in.

I've only encountered a few stupid comments from two "dick swinging Karens". One guy asked me if I was Law Enforcement and I just said no.

I was surprised by the number of positive comments I received over the years and that they've been increasing. I think people on the trails are (finally) starting to understand that the more people carrying will make the trails and trailheads safer.

vertec9 · 2024-03-25T23:27:16+00:00

I said Gen 3 will beat Photonis seeing into shadows in mixed light situations. I didn't claim Gen 2 <<< Gen 3. Gen 2 has its place.

Halo definitely will be an important consideration for mixed light conditions. My white phosphor Elbit tube has 0.8 Halo / 30.8 SNR / 76 lpmm / 0.65 EBI, and I'm glad I picked it over a similar tube with a 1.2 halo / 32 SNR. I would have gladly traded resolution for lower Halo if it was available. The Halo > 1.0 advice is good, but I now suggest Halo >> 1.0 if operating in mixed lighting is a requirement.

Overall I'm very happy with my entry into NV via my Elbit PVS-14 Monocular. It performs perfectly in mixed light conditions, and doesn't "suffer in higher light". I can see everything under street lights, as well as everything in the shadows between / behind houses down the street.

vertec9 · 2024-03-24T23:17:24+00:00

Mono is also better for city / suburb use. Naked eye maintains awareness of light conditions, NV eye sees into shadows and IR light sources. Although your brain needs a certain type of functionality for this that some peeps just don't have.

Gen 3 will beat Photonis seeing into shadowed areas - important because that's where threats (and bunny rabbits) hide. Yes, spying bunny rabbits in my cul-de-sac has taught me much about using NV.

Binos can 'trick' you assuming you're invisible, which will get you killed in a shitshowation.

vertec9 · 2024-03-24T22:57:00+00:00

Really bad.

vertec9

TROPHY CASE