Category Archives: Product review

Products and equipment

CZ Ultralight hunter 12gauge

August 3, 2022Product review, Shooting hardwarecoldboremiracle

Introduction

I’ll be the first to admit that I am a CZenofile. From the beginning of my development as a gun nut, I have always had a found feeling towards CZ’s firearms and their brand in general. So it came as a great surprise to me when I was handed a CZ over-under twelve gauge, I didn’t even know they made shotguns. I was more familiar with their bolt-action rifles and their classy pistols. But like the true gun nerd that I am, I embraced this new knowledge and set of barrels. Today I present to you the CZ Ultralight hunter 12gauge.

The Upland Ultralight

I was quite surprised when I opened up the box, not only was it different than what I expected, it was also green. Surely I thought someone had left their spray-paint unattended in the company of this CZ, but to my surprise it appeared to be a factory Cerakote job. Not out of this world I guess, but not something I expected to see in a double barreled European shotgun.
The barrel set was twenty-eight inches long, and came with a full set of hand-installed chokes. Over-under shotguns are such simple mechanical devices, so it comes as no surprise to me that they are all so very similar in their function and controls. I say simple, but they are beautifully simple as I found out upon disassembly. Necessity and my child-like curiosity both managed to remove the receiver from the buttstock, and the mechanical beauty of pins and levers inside the gun impressed me.

The Mechanics of the CZ Ultralight hunter 12gauge

The barrel lock and safety are the only controls besides the trigger itself, the latter being mounted in the tang of the receiver. The safety is slid forward with the thumb to disengage and fire the gun, but in the safety button itself there is a smaller selector to determine which of the two barrels goes off first. There is a very brilliant and simple connection that shifts the triggers movement between the two different sears.
The barrel lock engages the bottom of the barrel block, securing the action closed. Somehow despite the simplicity of the mechanism, I managed to goof it up. The engagement seemed off somehow, but everything seemed to lock up and function as it was supposed to after reassembling the receiver.
In my journey to the center of the receiver I noticed something that I had missed. The Upland Ultralight is light for a reason, one of those reasons is the aluminum alloy receiver. I noticed during my recreational investigation that the barrel hinge pins are steel pressed into the aluminum receiver.
The furniture on the CZ was a traditional wood, to be honest quite plain. I suppose the designers at CZ were thinking this gun would be more of a work horse than a delicate mantle-piece. That would also explain the Cerakote finish I suppose. The butt of the gun featured a simple rubber pad.

The Huglu barrel set was also made to work more than show off. The absent middle rib surely reduced additional weight on the gun, as did their twenty-six inch length. The ejectors that typically toss spent shells from the chamber were not spring loaded, they simply lift the shells from the chambers for the shooter to remove and put in his pocket.

12 gauge over and under shotgun — **Fiocchi ammunition** worked great in the CZ Ultralight

Time to shoot

Once again I sought the shooting company of my Father, his seasoned input on shotguns and their various virtues would come in handy.
After switching out the two full chokes that came in the gun for something a little more modified, it was time to start throwing birds.
I love the challenge of hand-thrown clays, there is so much more finesse and the ability to really mess with the shooter. Dad and I have been throwing targets by hand since I was old enough to shoot a shotgun, so today was surely going to be a fun time. And just to have something to compare it to, Dad brought along his Browning Citori.
After warming up on some pretty straight forward trap targets, we decided to start mixing it up a bit with report pairs and other angles. Throwing targets from way off to the side of the shooter greatly resembles the speedy Green-wing Teal that I enjoy chasing through the muddy marsh. The lightweight CZ is very quick to shoulder, and despite its ultra-light weight the recoil didn’t seem unreasonable at all. To be fair we were shooting one-ounce loads, but that didn’t stop us from hammering a whole lotta clays.
I found that I wasn’t as good with the CZ as I’d hoped to be, I’d like to blame it on the gun not fitting me or something but it’s more likely due to my lack of practice. Speaking of fit, I didn’t have an issue with it, but my dad did mention the comb was a bit low for his face. He does enjoy adjustable combs on most of his doubles, so it could just be he’s a bit spoiled. Continue Reading Here…

12 gauge over and under shotguns — the CZ next to my father’s **Browning 12 gauge**, with a little more rizz

My main complaint when shooting the CZ was due to the friction it takes to open the action. New over-under shotguns are pretty stiff and can require some break-in before they loosen up. I don’t know if this gun just needed to be shot more, or if it is just that stiff.

PROS AND CONS

The Upland Ultralight would make a great gun for jumping grouse and partridges in the desert mountains where I do much of my hunting. The lightweight is definitely a big plus for someone who is trekking all over upland bird country. I found the trigger to be perfectly suitable for hunting terrain like that, and with sling studs built into the gun, the shotgun can be easily carried over the shoulder.

cz 12 gauge shotgun — classic simplicity is one way to describe the CZ

The OD green color that surprised me at first actually grew on me a bit. If I’m going to be traipsing all over the mountain in potentially poor weather, I don’t want to deal with a high-maintenance blued finish. The Cerakote makes much more sense. But if you’re going to put a good all-weather coating on the exterior of the gun, perhaps synthetic furniture is also in order?

I must say from the get-go, I was a bit nervous about the barrel lock on this gun. The lever didn’t seem to close enough for my taste. I know they tend to loosen up, and the lever comes more and more to the center as the gun wears, but this was more than that. I can’t help but think there is something slightly out of adjustment on this gun, and its likely something easily remedied. And if that is the case, my biggest concern with this gun is of no consequence.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Fondness for doubles is in my blood, so I feel drawn to this gun despite the few things I hold against it. Sure, there are things I would change about it if given the chance, but I also feel like I’d love to take it out for a hike and shoot a limit of doves. I think upland hunters would enjoy this gun, and it would make a fine companion on a long day in the field.

-CBM

So you’re a fan of over & unders? Check out this one

The CMMG Banshee 9MM Mk4 AR Pistol

August 1, 2022Product review, Shooting hardware9mm, ar pistol, banshee, cmmgcoldboremiracle

Introduction

Nine millimeter carbines have become extremely popular over the last few years, and with ammo prices maintaining their ridiculous highs it should come as no surprise that people are looking for less expensive range guns. Today we are talking about the CMMG Banshee 9mm Mk4 AR pistol, it is a nine-millimeter carbine that is a bit different than everything I’ve ever tried before.

The CMMG Banshee is a nine-millimeter AR style pistol, it features a five-inch Chromoly barrel with a 1-10 twist. A pistol brace is mounted at the back on the buffer tube, and using both 6061 and 7075 alloys for the upper and lower receiver help keep the weight of this little pistol down to four-point-seven pounds.

Overall length of the pistol is just under twenty-one inches, making the Banshee Mk4 a very mobile and handy weapon. Other features such as custom furniture and six different Cerakote colors to choose from put the Banshee on many shooters want list.

Many of the nine-millimeter carbines on the market today are of the blowback type. This simple design operates much like a semi-auto pistol. Utilizing the recoil and pressure generated at the breech of the barrel to open and cycle the action.

It is less expensive and requires fewer parts in most cases which makes it a good option for entry-level priced pistol caliber carbines (PCC’s).
More advanced designs like the MPX utilize a gas system like those seen in many AR pattern rifles for more reliable function. And still others like the old roller guns from HK utilize a different locking bolt and a gas-operated system for their legendary reliability.

What makes the Banshee scream?

The Banshee utilizes CMMG’s Radial Delayed Blowback system to improve several aspects of the carbine. One of the many complaints with blowback systems is the heavyweight that is typically required to hold back the bolt long enough for the bullet to get down the barrel. Heavy bolts made from blocks of steel are usually the culprit.

Another of the complaints heard about blowback-operated guns is the recoil impulse felt by the shooter. With nothing holding the bolt closed but its weight and spring pressure, a blowback gun begins moving and opening the action as soon as the shot is fired. This added to the heavy cyclic weight of the bolt increases the feeling of recoil and motion.

More advanced designs of the gas-operated systems don’t start operating the action until the bullet has left or nearly left the muzzle. And with their lighter bolt carriers they feel much smoother in operation.

The radial delayed system of the Banshee allows greater reliability than traditional blow-back designs. It also makes the weapon more stable and controllable by reducing the recoil impulse with its lighter bolt carrier group.

The Banshee

The CMMG Banshee has several features that will make it extremely popular for AR-style rifle enthusiasts.

-Radial delayed blow-back system. The flagship feature of the Banshee series of rifles is the CMMG’s patented radially delayed system. The beveled lugs on both the bolt and barrel extension cause the bolt to be pushed open as it pivots inside the carrier, the time it takes to rotate the bolt out of battery allows chamber pressures to drop to much lower pressures before opening. This feature also allows the Banshee to use much lighter carriers than traditional blow-back designs.

-Ripbrace “not-a-stock”. The pistol brace that comes with the Banshee has several locking points that are locked into position using the common rocker lever under the “stock”. The difference between this one and others is that the Ripbrace has beveled pin bosses in the rear-pulling direction. This allows the stock to be pulled as far to the rear as the user would like without the need to push any release rocker. It makes for fast and simple deployment of the weapon.

-Threaded barrel and compensator. The Banshee comes with a linear compensator to reduce muzzle rise, and underneath the muzzle was threaded 1/2-28. This is a must nowadays, as suppressor have become extremely popular.

-Standard AR mags with adaptor. The Banshee Mk4 utilizes standard AR 5.56 sized magazines. The 9mm cartridges are made to fit using a magazine insert that uses its own internal feed ramp and follower.

Controls

-Sixty vs. ninety degree safety. Most AR’s can take a an ambidextrous safety, but the ambidextrous safety provided by CMMG has a reversible center barrel that allows you to choose either sixty or ninety degrees of motion to safe or fire the weapon.

-Ambi mag catch. Magazine catch controls are located on both sides of the receiver, allowing ambidextrous control of the magwell and it’s contents.

-Extended mag release. The Banshee comes standard with extended magazine release buttons, I found them more than adequate and added ease when dropping the magazine.

CMMG has offered a wide selection of configurations for the Banshee. Including six different Cerakote colors; black, green, tan, bronze, grey, and titanium. The Mk9 series of Banshee utilizes pistol magazines, but that’s for another story.

On the range with the CMMG Banshee

After mounting up a Sig Sauer Romeo on top of the Banshee, and grabbing a few accessories for it, I headed out the door with great expectations. I don’t much care for proper ranges, and I avoid them as best I can. So into the mountains I fled with a Banshee under my arm.
I began loading the curious magazine, which was much easier than I had anticipated. The inner mag adaptor has feed lips that mate to the existing P-mag feed lips, the front of the magazine adaptor is a long feed ramp. Stuffing thirty rounds into the magazine went quick, and it was time to empty it.
Shouldering this tiny little pistol felt so easy. The lightweight and size of it make you almost ball up into a a solid mass of pistol, elbows and arms bones. I started popping off several rounds, and the bumping of this little banging Banshee felt like just like I hoped it would feel.

Light weight was matched by the CMMG Banshee’s light recoil, and before I knew it I was back to fumbling fresh cartridges into the magazines. I made a few adjustments to my Romeo, and went right back to shooting. The linear compensator wasn’t particularly noticeable. It’s hard to say how much of a difference it made with such light recoil anyway.

My nine year old had come along with me, and as kids often do he started hinting at interest in shooting the Banshee. He’s shot plenty of other guns so this wasn’t a big ask, but I was supremely pleased as I watched how simple it was for him to handle and manipulate the gun. I collapsed the brace to better fit his little stature and off he went.

Shop all the Banshee model here

Shooting the CMMG Banshee Suppressed

Since I am not one for making a racket, so it was time to see how this pistol would do suppressed. I had brought along my Yankee Hill Machine R9 suppressor. I knew it was up to the task and easily swapped out the muzzle threads to fit the Banshee.

Shooting 124 grain supersonic ammunition I wasn’t expecting it to be extremely quiet, but it did seem to be quieter than I expected. Most of the PCC’s I have shot in the past were blow-back designs. Delayed guns like this Banshee seem to be quieter still due to their breech staying closed longer.

The Banshee with the **Romeo red dot** and the YHM R9 suppressor

With the Romeo and the YHM R9 suppressor installed, we spent a good portion of the day making little piles of brass all over. I’m not sure what kind of accuracy you might expect from a 9mm carbine such as this. But hitting things like soda cans and six inch steel plates at fifty-yards seemed pretty easy. I would have liked to try some different ammunition in the gun to see if it had a preference for one over another. But the way things are at the gun counter right now I was lucky to get what I could.

Pros and Cons

There are quite a few pros when it comes to the CMMG Banshee, many of which I’ve already mentioned above. For me, the best pros of the Banshee are the weight and controllability. It almost felt like a toy compared to a CZ Scorpion or an MP5. It was easy to control with almost zero muzzle rise when suppressed.

The quality of the Banshee felt at or above its price point, with smooth fit and sexy finish. And all the little things like the extended mag buttons and such made this rifle feel perfect in my hands.

I suppose there are a couple things that I could call cons, but I’m not sure they can be blamed on the Banshee’s design alone. Short guns like this can be more than a little handy. But if you aren’t careful with your hand, you may find it has some new holes in it.

CMMG put a good little hook at the front of the handguard to keep you from getting your fingers to close to the muzzle. It is still close enough that a careless move could cost a finger though. This is of little concern to me as I will probably always use a suppressor on the gun. I’m still unsure if I would prefer the Mk9 Banshee over the need to put adaptors in several P-mags, but that is another thing to evaluate. Continue Reading Here…

Ammo Used with the Banshee

We shot quite a bit of 124 grain Hughes Precision ammunition through the Banshee, and it seemed to love every bit of it. I also shot some Magtech 115 grain ammo through it that also performed flawlessly.

If I had my choice I would stick with the heavier loads. I would even prefer some heavy sub-sonic ammunition to shoot the Banshee suppressed. The delayed operating system would be ideal for super quiet subs when used with a suppressor.

BANSHEE MK4 ACCESSORIES

I feel like the Banshee is a perfect place to use the Sig Romeo. I also used the US Optics TSR-1X which also was a good match for the Banshee. The suppressor was an absolute must-have for me. The R9 from Yankee hill was a great match for compact and quiet shooting.

Another great option to add to the Banshee is a good sling like the padded Magpul MS1 model. Since the Banshee is not a heavy load to carry, having a good sling to drop the gun in favor of a secondary weapon is a good option. I suppose the only other thing I would add to the Banshee is a good set of backup sights. I like the Magpul MBUS Pro’s for this purpose.

The Banshee functions like a standard AR-15

Conclusion

CMMG’s Banshee is an outstanding little AR pistol. It runs flawlessly and bring comfortable easy shooting to an extremely compact firearm. Simple and convenient operation as well as the magazine situation make the Banshee and excellent traing tool as well.

While it may be a touch expensive for a little 9mm pistol. I think it is well worth the price. Tell us what you think of the Banshee below!

-CBM

Canik SFX Rival 9MM

July 27, 2022pistols, Product review, Shooting hardware9mm, canik, pistol, rivalcoldboremiracle

Introduction

Canik keeps throwing out one banger after another, I have followed them somewhat closely watching eagerly to see what comes next. I bought a Canik TP9 Elite Combat (EC) a year or two ago, and I was very pleased with how it functions. The latest thing from Canik to cross my path is the new Canik SFX Rival 9mm which is the subject today.

The SFX Rival

The Rival is being marketed as an IDPA competition gun, with both its size and weight restrictions meeting the standard for most competitive circles. The Rival does this while bring all the many features from all its Canik siblings, with things like ambi-slide release, reversible and extendable magazine release, flat trigger-shoe, undercut trigger guard, magwell-flare and a picatinny accessory rail up front. In addition to these features, the Rival has deeply cut slide serrations, as well as a fluted barrel. Like many of the TP9 family it also comes optics ready, with an assortment of baseplates and sight options. All this with two custom Cerakote color schemes, mine has the Rival grey with gold accents.
As usual with Canik, the pistol came in a hard plastic case with an assortment of tools for cleaning and maintenance. It also came with a Kydex holster and spare magazine pouch, as well as a couple magazines.

First Impressions

My very first initial thoughts of the Rival were pretty flashy, it seems quite busy to the eyes. But I wanted to find out quickly though if the busy looks matched up to a busy time shooting targets.
As I expected, the Rival felt nearly identical to my TP9 in the hand. A good thing in my estimation as both of the pistols feel great filling the hand and giving a good textured grip to control with. I actually rubbed the Cerakote off of my other Canik doing draw drills, shooting and reload drills constantly. And after all that, the Rival felt like an old friend. My fingers instinctively landed on every control with perfection, and it didn’t take long to notice just a couple things.
The first thing was the ambidextrous slide release, I think perhaps the Rival uses a stronger spring because there is more felt resistance on the slide than my other guns. This translated into just enough extra effort to annoy me, but that’s all.
I also noted that the extended magwell-flare seems to be a better fit than the one on my other Canik, this made reloading even easier than I anticipated. Magazines were easilly slid into place with little to no effort.
The trigger felt fantastic, which has been my typical experience with these higher grade Canik pistols.

Continue reading here…

Once I was on the firing line with the Rival, I decided it would be a good idea to compare it to its well-known relative, the TP9 EC with a Vortex red dot. With a stack of ammo on the tailgate, we went to town. The first order of business was to adjust the Holosun red dot for proper impacts, which didn’t take very long. In less time than it took to empty the magazine, I was hitting my pop-can targets.

Going back and forth between the Rival and the Elite Combat, it didn’t take long to feel and see the differences between the two pistols. The triggers felt very comparable, as they should. It seems they are the same in everything but their colors. The grip area on the Rival was a bit more generous, allowing for more engagement with the grip.

The mag release on all of the TP9 family seem to be reliable and easy to manipulate. The Rival shared that trait, but it did feel ever so slightly stiffer than the others. This could have simply been that it was newer and not worn in. The dual slide-release levers on either side of the frame felt significantly stiffer than other TP9s I’ve shot.

Pick out your own Canik, because you deserve one

Then again, after shooting several magazines through the gun, that seemed to loosen up. One thing that I felt was a significant improvement on the Rival was its flared magwell. Blindly stabbing the magazine into the gun took nearly zero focus to get it right. I quickly became proficient at fast and smooth reloads. This was a definite improvement over the EC, and not an insignificant one.

The Rival plowed through an expensive pile of Magtech 124-grain ammunition and Winchester 115 grain, showing no failures or malfunctions during the shooting other than an ammunition malfunction confirmed in several other pistols. The bluish-grey Canik Rival finish was losing its shine in the afternoon sun, exchanging it for a powder-burned darker shade.

Pros & Cons

The overall experience shooting the Rival was an outstanding one. It offered flawless function and very predictable, accurate hits. The quality and just plain performance of this pistol is quite evident, as good as almost any striker-fired poly-framed pistol I’ve played with over the years. The aggressive serrations of the slide as well as the engraving details bring a bit of “noise” to the gun’s image, but for me, it just works. The ease of reloading the pistol, the filled palm with a great grip, the smooth trigger, and the short reset all just make this pistol feel like it truly is an excellent Rival for others.

Buying yourself a Rival is not, however, a sure shot to becoming the next John Wick. Still, at the price, it isn’t going to kill you either. The adjustable grip backstraps, extra magazines, and extra sight mounting options are also a fantastic value. The modularity of the mag-release buttons also help the shooter perfect their fit.

The Holosun 507 was a perfect companion for this pistol. I’ve used many slide-mounted optics now, and this one seems to be a great option for not just the Rival but any pistol. The various mounting plates that come with the Rival will allow you to mount whatever optic you choose.

There are a couple of things I would change about the Rival if given the chance. First of all, it seems like a chance was missed to port the barrel to match the fancy slide cuts. Not only would that have added to the mall-ninja factor, but it would also have helped a bit with the recoil. For a full-size pistol, the Rival did seem to climb a bit more than I expected from a ported slide. Even a built-in compensator up front would help with that. The fluted barrel itself seemed fine, and I expect that friction is reduced as well in that weight loss.

Conclusion

For a pistol directed at the competitive shooter, I feel like the many features of the Rival are an absolute win. It is affordable but feels like you are getting so much more for your money. The many extras just keep coming as you get into it, and those included extras allow many gun owners to do what they love most – customize their gun.

The beauty of this pistol is that it is flashy and handsome right out of the box, and it is indeed ready to lay out one target after another with speed and comfort. I have to say, Canik continues to bring us consumers new options, and the Canik Rival is a great option to consider.

-CBM

Why Classic Sig Sauer pistols are still great

July 20, 2022pistols, Product review, Shooting hardware22lr, 45acp, 9mm, mosquito, p220, p239, pistol, sig, sig sauercoldboremiracle

Introduction

Sig Sauer perhaps leads the market with a plethora of new firearm products every year, and of course among those many items are their always popular pistols like the Legion series and the countless models of the Sig P320. With all these hot releases and choices, it can be easy to forget some of the old standby pistols that Sig has made in the past. At the risk of sounding like the old guy trying to convince you to trade your Glock for a 1911, today I’m here to tell you about a few classic Sig pistols and why they deserve your time.

The P220

The P220 is an aluminum framed single stack pistol, chambered in the Automatic Colt Pistol caliber .45. It uses a double action (DA) trigger and an magazine with room for eight rounds. As with many of the older Sig pistols, this P220 is safety-less. The controls are extremely simple using only a trigger, slide-lock, and a de-cocking lever to safely lower the hammer. The mag release is in the traditional spot, all these controls are comprehensive and easily manipulated. It also has a low-slung accessory rail up front for installing weapon lights.

sig sauer p220 suppressed — the P220 fitted with the **SilencerCo Octane 45**

This P220 happens to be one of the fancy German made ones, and it also features a threaded barrel for installing a suppressor. I intended on running my Silencerco Octane 45 to see how they played together. With a few boxes of 230 grain ball ammo, the 220 and the Octane in hand I hit one of my shooting spots.
I don’t shoot much .45ACP very often, but it sure felt powerful coming out of this Sig. The full-size pistol felt perfect in my hands, its grip and angle match my natural point of aim. Hitting targets with the heavy and slow bullets was very enjoyable, even more so once I installed the suppressor. The naturally subsonic bullets of the 45 made shooting the suppressed P220 pure joy, I could have perhaps benefitted from taller sights but had no problem hitting what I aimed at.

The P220 has everything from classic firepower to the iconic looks of a service grade pistol. The trigger still feels fantastic all these years later, and the pistol’s function was flawless. The gun is obviously a little heavier than more modern pistols, and everyone but the old 1911 guy would probably like more magazine capacity. But despite those few things, I absolutely love this pistol. The heavy weight tames the movement of the gun significantly, making it smooth and deliberate in every motion.

The P239

One of the reasons that the P220 was so easy and familiar to me, was that it has the identical controls and design as my P239. I bought this pistol shortly after Y2K for those old people out there who remember phones with cords, though none of that had anything to do with my purchase. I bought the P239 because I was a freshly minted CCW carrier, and my taste then was just as good as it is now. Years later I found while reading that the P239 was frequently used as a concealable or backup pistol by agents and SEALs.

Much like the P220, the P239 is a single-stack aluminum framed DA pistol. The aforementioned identical controls are easily manipulated, and the only changes made over the last two decades has been a Hogue grip. The soft edges of the pistol and its low profile sights make it an easy option to conceal and draw.

I’ve carried the P239 for nearly half of my life, so nothing could feel more comfortable to me when shooting. And like it always does, the 239 functioned flawlessly during my latest trip afield. Shooting both 115 and 124 grain ammo, the P239 was right at home hammering targets. The eight-round magazines are solid and easily changed, and having several of them made reloads and multiple engagements quite fun. My wife who is significantly more petite than I also found the P239 to be easily handled and fun to shoot.

I typically carry this gun with the hammer down, which is easily done using these pistols. One need only pull the trigger whilst whistling Dixie. Both the 239 and 220 proved to be quite accurate, but the P239 and I have pulled off some near unbelievable shots over the years. Including the decapitation of a rodent on the first shot from sixty-nine yards, whether you believe that or not, you can certainly count on this gun shooting accurately.

The Mosquito

Before the Sig P322, there was a Mosquito. The Mosquito is a .22LR chambered pistol that basically mimics the P series of pistols. It does use a polymer frame however, with an alloy slide and this one does have a safety. Not sure why, perhaps due to the idea that it may be used by young shooters. Other than the safety, the Mosquito is again identical in its controls and function to the other two pistols mentioned here. It does feature a pic rail for adding your favorite accessories under the front. The single-stack ten-round magazine is familiar and simple, much like every other 22 pistol from that era. Continue Reading Here…

The Mosquito has been known for being finicky about ammo. I have found this to be true as well. In order to keep the little pistol popping, I always run high-velocity ammo through it. Ammo like Velocitors or other rounds that run at 1200+ fps offer reliable loading. Other than that, and the limited 10-round magazine capacity, the Mosquito is a great little pistol.

CLASSICS STICK AROUND

These are just three of the older Sig pistols that can be found all over the world. So, while you may be fawning over the latest Spectre Comp or P320X, keep in mind that there are some truly classic pistols out there that can really make you appreciate what a pistol can be.

It’s true that they sure don’t make them like they used to, so it may not be a bad idea to grab one of these older pistols while they are still relatively easy to find. Regardless, I can guarantee you that these three aren’t going anywhere soon.

-CBM

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Bergara B-14 HMR 6.5CM

July 15, 2022Product review, Shooting hardware6.5creedmor, b-14, Bergara, HMRcoldboremiracle

Introduction to the Bergara HMR 6.5CM

If you missed my last article on the Bergara BMP, do yourself a favor and go check it out after this one. I was pleasingly surprised by that rifle, the very first Bergara I’ve had the pleasure to shoot. So it should come as no surprise that when this HMR showed up, I was quite excited to see if it too would exceed my expectations. What I couldn’t have anticipated was how deep down the Bergara hole I would fall.

The HMR

The Bergara B-14 action is the heart of many of their centerfire rifles, the HMR model is one of those. Bergara’s B-14 action shares some the best features with the Remington 700 action, which allows it to utilize the large aftermarket support that it inherited from Big Green. A two lug ninety-degree bolt throw locks up the one piece bolt into the action. It is retained by a left-hand side bolt stop machined into the back of the action.

The B-14 uses a trigger of Bergara’s making, but can be easily replaced by one of the many suitable aftermarket options. I found it to be completely unnecessary as the factory trigger feels fantastic. The safety is located just right of the bolt shroud, in a standard pull for safe, push for fire configuration. Underneath the action is the detachable box magazine, a standard AICS pattern. The rifle came with a five round, but I also ran some of my ten-round Magpul units as well.

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More Features

The mags are released in typical fashion by pushing forward a catch at the front of the trigger guard. Bergara’s famous match grade barrel is of a heavy contour, and threaded 5/8-24 at the end. It came with a nice radially ported muzzle brake, or it can be removed to install a suppressor which is a better idea. I tested the 6.5 Creedmoor model which featured a twenty-four inch barrel with a 1-8 twist, which is ideal for stabilizing most factory loads. The B-14 is perfectly rounded out with a quality twenty moa scope base, and a handsome sniper grey Cerakote finish.

A fiberglass molded stock is built around Bergara’s mini-chassis, and hosts a few of its own features. It has a fully adjustable length of pull and adjustable comb, the former is adjusted by removing or adding spacers. The comb is adjusted with a wing-nut on one side of the buttstock. Both are easy enough to adjust and I believe that Bergara got it right by making the comb adjustable while taking the simple spacer path for the LOP adjustment. There are sling attachment cups at both the front and rear of the stock. As well as double front sling studs if you choose to go that way. The whole thing is finished with a cunning paint scheme that is only flashy to the human eye.

Bergara B-14 HMR Rifle — The Bergara bolt ran smooth, neatly piling brass beside me, and I had ample accuracy with my U.S. Optics scope.

A good rifle needs a good scope

I was very excited to get this rifle warmed up, but first I needed a good little scope to mount on it, I chose the US Optics TS25X.
The TS series of US Optics scopes are lightweight and have all the features a rifleman needs. I mounted the scope in a pair of Warne rings, and bore-sighted the rifle before heading out to shoot it. I picture this rifle as a perfect companion for a hunter who means real business, someone who aims to get what they’re after. The five to twenty-five power range of the TS25X gives serious marksmen all the power they need. And the JVCR reticle is handy for measuring corrections at whatever range a hunter may need them. The hunter I have in mind must be a serious one, because at just under twelve-pounds he is going to need to be serious to pack this around.
Once the scope was mounted and leveled, I threw on one of my Harris bipods and stuffed the rifle in a case.

Going Hot

The sun had been shining all morning long, and the wavy rays of mirage were quite visible on the flat desert plain where I lay. My shooting mat was already warm to the touch as I prepared to fire my first shots. I lay there stuffing a few cartridges into the magazines for the HMR. The cartridges were Winchester Deer Season Copper Impact, quite a mouthful if you have to repeat it more than once so remember that. This ammunition featured a one-hundred twenty-five grain Copper Extreme Point bullet. A lead free projectile that utilizes a red polymer tip but is NOT made by Hornady.

After loading my magazines, I laid behind the rifle and peered through the scope at my distant target. Moisture began to accumulate on my cheek as I rested on the stock of the HMR, slowly adjusting my hold to get the very best and solid position. The curved shoe of the trigger felt perfectly mated to my finger as I pressed, and I watched the impact of my very first shot impact through the target. My bore-sight job had been on-point, as almost no adjustments were needed.

I sent a couple magazines of ammunition through the rifle, quite pleased with the results. Running the bolt on the rifle was smooth and easy, extracting spent cases with ease. The brass piled up so neatly next to me as to think someone had placed them there with care. I pushed the rifle out another couple hundred yards, with hits coming easily as I went. The feeding and ejection of this rifle are very reliable, as is the clean break of the trigger. After a couple boxes of ammo spent, I was very happy with the HMR.

Let’s Hunt

A few days later I took the rifle to another one of my spacious hides, the high alpine forests of the rocky Mountains. There I wanted to see how the HMR would fair as a rugged mountain rifle. As I knew that walking back and forth from a truck to a blind wasn’t much of a challenge. The thin air at nine-thousand feet taxes your lungs and circulatory system for sure, but it also helps bullets fly better and farther. So I figured this was a place the HMR would shine, perhaps reducing my effort by exchanging the distance of walking for distance covered by bullets.

I hiked into a large bowl carved from rock and filled with both snow and pine trees. It may have felt like summer was almost here, but it snowed more than half a foot just a few days prior. I found a comfortable spot to set up my gear and began searching for prospective targets, preferably hares, marmots, and squirrels.

In the meantime, I figured I would test my aim on the other opportunities before me. I picked a distant slope that had exposed soil and found one of many small patches of snow that was quickly melting under the morning sun. The snow was perhaps the size of a clay pigeon, and I decided to play a little game with myself.

Changing it Up

Each of the snow patches I found represented the kill zone on a potential monster buck. I wanted to see how I would do engaging random “bucks” at varying distances and angles while fighting the switching wind. The first one was at 375 yards, a very likely distance to find a deer in these mountains. I had changed up the rifle just a bit since my last trip out, and it now featured a Yankee Hill Machine R9 suppressor on its muzzle.

I had since run out of the Winchester ammo and was now shooting some Desert Tech Munitions 140-grain Match ammunition. Resting the rifle on the bipod legs I settled in on my first snow patch. I had adjusted the TS-25X scope for the anticipated drop over the distance. All that was left to do was estimate a few other corrections if needed. There was a stiff breeze blowing from right to left, but my shot would take the bullet under the wind and parallel to a rock rim, so I gave just a slight favor to the right.

I also knew that my drop chart was for a lower elevation, so I chose to favor low expecting the shot to hit a little high. With everything in place, I began my trigger press. Leaning into the bipod, I anticipated the gentle recoil, hoping to see everything. The trigger broke clean, and I focused on steadying my view to see the impact. To my great pleasure, I watched the small pile of snow explode and scatter in the dry dirt around it. I ran the bolt on the HMR and smiled.

I repeated this process over and over as the day went on, picking out new targets and testing my ability to make first-round hits.

CONCLUSION

I’ll not bore you with the rest of my day in the mountains. I missed a few for sure. But the evidence in favor of the HMR was overwhelmingly positive. This rifle and scope combination just shoot. The only things I could find to complain about were very small. There was the slightest gritty feeling when closing the last few degrees of the bolt throw. It’s certainly possible I got some dirt in there somehow, or maybe it just needs to be greased. Either way, it wasn’t a big deal. Twelve pounds is also not most people’s ideal weight for a hunting rifle, but it would make an excellent weight for a match gun.

If anything, it’s a bit light for such a chore, but that’s it. I just plain like this rifle and most things about it. I would feel extremely confident taking this rifle hunting or to a match knowing that any failures would be my own. If you haven’t yet, get on the Bergara train. The price is very affordable, and the results are worth every penny.

-CBM

Continue Reading Here…

Beretta A300 12 gauge shotgun

July 11, 2022Product review, Shooting hardware12 gauge, a300, Beretta, outlander, shotguncoldboremiracle

Introduction

It’s hard to imagine a good lineup of autoloading shotguns that doesn’t include something from Beretta, the European manufacturer is one of the oldest pillars in the firearms business. The firm is well known for many notable firearms, but they are known in these parts for their shotguns, and the Beretta A300 Outlander is the one we are playing with today.

Autoloading Beretta’s

My Father is a bit of a shotgun junkie. Being things as they were when I was younger, I was exposed to some very nice shotguns. I also got to shoot many of them, Dad wouldn’t let me bring my two-hundred dollar Remington 870 when he had a couple fancy Italian’s on standby. And whether it was a fancy double barreled gun or a handsome auto-loader, I was happy to give it a go.
Beretta makes a broad assortment of semi-automatic shotguns, whether it is an M9 for tactical scenarios, or today’s A300 field gun, there is a Beretta to fit your needs.

The Beretta A300 Outlander

The A300 Outlander like many of Beretta’s semi-auto guns is a gas operated system. The action is operated by gas pressure vented from the barrel to a piston, which pushes an operating rod disengaging the bolt and cycling the action. It sounds pretty simple, because it is. Perhaps the reason why it is such an effective system used by so many. The gun is fed from a tubular magazine that can hold up to three two and three-quarter inch shells with the plug removed.
This model came with dark wooden furniture, but the gun is also available with synthetic options and camouflaged coatings. The twenty-eight inch barrel features a three-inch chamber which allows you to shoot any two and three-quarters or three-inch loads. And the muzzle utilizes an assortment of replaceable chokes to adjust your shot pattern to the ammunition and expected shots.

The controls of the Outlander mirror most semi-auto shotgun patterns, so whether you are learning on the A300 or coming from a different model you will find the controls familiar and easy to operate.
I grabbed a few boxes of Winchester and Fiocchi ammunition, both of them with one-ounce loads of 7.5 and 8 shot. And with a couple cases of clay targets my Dad and I headed out for an afternoon of bustin’ clays.

In the field

Of course Dad was going to bring a couple of his own guns, something we could compare the A300 to. A Benelli SBE and A Winchester SX3 would make great company to the Outlander, as well as something we were both familiar with to compare it to.
We started throwing targets to get a little warm up going, and before long we switched over to throwing doubles and report pairs.

The Beretta felt great in my hands, I felt a little bit of a squish on the cheek to get a good view down the rib. As I continually swung the gun after targets I found that old familiar feel of pacing the flying target with the bead. To my surprise I did quite well shooting the A300, better than I had done with the other guns present anyhow. A good bit of time passed before I managed to miss a target, and as it invariably happens the gun wasn’t at fault.
Following the faster targets that came from the side I was able to maintain a good sight picture down the rib, and it felt great to watch those clays turn to dust. The modest recoil from the one-ounce loads was easily manageable, and follow-up shots were quick to get on target.

Proper shooting with any shotgun requires a proper setup, we did change out the full-choke for something a little more open. Hand thrown clays can often be more challenging to hit than mechanically thrown targets, and many of the shots we made were fairly close. So before we started, I swapped the choke out for a modified for a little broader pattern.
I managed to talk my Dad into putting his gun down for a minute, to see how what he thought of the Beretta. He too was able to make good hits with the Outlander, and his old guy hmm haw of approval was well deserved. Continue Reading Here…

Aftermath

After cleaning up a pile of shells and heading back to the house, it was time to clean up this beauty. Disassembly of the A300 was quite easy, resulting in an easy cleanup. Removing the barrel is done by removing the magazine cap and sliding it out. The piston assembly and spring are easily serviced if needed, and the bolt and operating rod can also be removed to get all the gunk out. I’m a bit of a clean freak with shotguns, but I do come by it honestly.

Growing up, I spent countless hours in the marshy wetlands around the Great Salt Lake. Bad weather always made for the best hunting days back then. So, it was common to bring home my old shotgun with both water and other marsh crud attached. It usually required a near full disassembly to get everything clean. If I were to do it all again with the A300 Outlander, I think it would have been easy for a 16-year-old me to get it torn down, lubed, and put back into shooting order.

Beretta A300 Pros & Cons

The Beretta A300 seems to be an entry-level autoloading shotgun. There are surely less expensive semi-auto 12 gauges. But while it’s not a cheap gun, the reputation that comes with a Beretta makes it fairly priced. The controls of the Outlander also made it very easy to shoot. The safety is a bit larger than many, which I found to be a pleasant departure from the norm.

The gun is also a bit no-frills, which is okay if you’re just trying to bust clays. I would have liked a brighter bead on the rib, perhaps a fiber-optic type. But I also would have probably gotten one of the various camouflage-coated models as well to better fit the kind of hunting I would likely do. Of course, these aren’t marks against the Outlander, but it is nice to know you have the option.

Conclusion

There are so many great options for shotgunners in today’s market. You can spend as little or as much as you’d like. That said, I think the Beretta A300 Outlander is an easy bet to win. No doubt it will serve your needs in the marsh or the wooded hills in search of feathered game.

-CBM

Looking for more? Check out the Beretta A400 Xtreme

Bergara BMR 22 Long Rifle

June 20, 2022Product review, Shooting hardware22, 22lr, Bergara, bmr, rimfirecoldboremiracle

22 Rimfire

I never got to shoot a large amount of 22’s when I was younger, I kind of skipped towards centerfire stuff. So it has been very refreshing in the last year or so to revisit a good spread of rimfire rifles, and today I’m here to tell you about yet another one; the Bergara BMR.

The BMR

The Bergara Micro Rimfire (BMR) is a bolt action rifle in a synthetic stock, it utilizes either a five or ten-round detachable box magazine. The model I tested here is all steel, but there is also a carbon fiber barreled version. The BMR seems to have been designed with the competitive rimfire shooter in mind, and as such competitions rage across the countryside it should come as no surprise. It features an eighteen-inch barrel, threaded 1/2-28 at the muzzle and came with a steel thread protector installed. The magazine is released by a paddle-type lever at the front of the trigger-guard, very reminiscent of centerfire competition rifles. It also utilizes a bolt-release similar to many centerfire competition rifles, built into the left rear of the bolt raceway.
The trigger on the BMR was outstanding, I was surprised at how clean and free the sear dropped. There was little left to do other than get this handsome little rifle to the range.

Action details clockwise: Bolt stop/release, five and ten round magazines, safety and cocking indicator, trigger and adjustment screw.[/caption]

Optics Selection

If this BMR shot as good as I’d hoped, I wanted to give myself an edge with a great scope to go on top of it. I have a bunch of good scopes, but was torn as which one to use. I would feel almost silly mounting a two or three thousand dollar scope on a rimfire rifle with a street price between five and six-hundred fifty dollars (depending on what features you order). I ended up using my Vortex Gen2 PST 3-15X44, and I’m glad I did because they are a perfect match for each other.
>I mounted up the Vortex into a one-piece mount and leveled it up on the BMR’s 30 MOA scope mount. A quick and dirty boresight job was all that was left before heading to the range. I also added a bipod to aid in steady shooting while I zeroed the rifle.

Time to burn some powder

With a fine selection of ammo from Federal, Winchester, and CCi in hand, I made my way out to the dry desert where I intended to shoot. My boresight had put my point of impact a foot or so high, so after making a few adjustments the rifle was hitting right where I wanted it to. Within the first few shots after confirming my zero, I was absolutely in love with this rifle. I was picking out smudges on my steel target, and covering them up with shiny lead circles. I could quite literally aim for the previous impact, and hit the same spot with amazing consistency. After leading up the steel at fifty-yards, I decided to take it out a bit further.
I know that there are plenty of people who shoot their 22’s to some incredible distances, but I figured that for my purposes a 22 would not really be utilized much beyond a hundred or so yards, and certainly not beyond two-hundred.

Shooting targets at two-hundred yards quickly made me reconsider my envelope. Even with some wind on the range, I found hitting pop-can sized targets pretty repeatable at the two hundred yard line. I knew that I was going to need to try some additional tasks with this little rifle, there were definitely some varmints that could use some diet pills.

Continue Reading Here…

SHOOTING SUPPRESSED

Bergara BMR .22 Rifle — And, especially suppressed, the gun is more than willing to claim game and provide accurate shooting for fun plinking.

The threaded muzzle begged to be suppressed. In general, .22s are amazing fun when they are suppressed, with bullet impacts often making more noise than the shot itself. I installed my Yankee Hill Machine Phantom 22 suppressor on the rifle, and just like that, I knew this rifle was never going to leave my collection. The subdued report of the rifle was so soft and insignificant that I couldn’t help but smile every time I pulled the trigger. The minuscule amount of added weight from the 4-ounce YHM ensured it would likely never leave this rifle’s muzzle.

Shop Bergara Rifles

Firearms Depot also has a good selection

After burning through a couple hundred rounds out in the desert, I decided it was time to brave the winter snow that remained up at 8,000 feet in search of rodents. My favorite varmint species was waiting there for me, like they do every spring anticipating the latest guns available from Guns.com. They weren’t happy to see this little Bergara, though.

UNHAPPY VARMINT

After goofing around for a bit picking little pebbles off of the hillside, I went for a hike into a deep Rocky Mountain alpine canyon. After a modest hike and some quick glassing, I spotted one of the rusty-colored critters soaking up some sunshine on top of a flat rock. My rangefinder put him just shy of 200 yards, which was a bit further than I would have liked, but there was no doubt I could hit him.

I laid down on the warm sunny ground. It had been covered in snow only a week or so prior. I spotted my prey through the scope. His keen eye seemed to be aware of me, yet he laid still obviously unaware of how crisp that Vortex is.

I evaluated the breeze, and the shallow declined angle, and decided to favor a few inches left and just below his vitals. Then, when all seemed right, I pressed the trigger and sent the 36-grain Winchester hollow-point bullet his way.

My shot drifted slightly downwind, impacting slightly further south than I would have liked, but it did the job just fine. My furry little prize rolled over and fell about 12 feet to the bottom of the snowy draw. I extended my hike a few hundred yards more to make a recovery and inspect the damage. As I suspected, it was nothing too fancy, other than a completely predictable impact on my target.

ALL DAY LONG

My wife and I spent the rest of the afternoon plinking away with the little BMR. It was obvious how addicting this little rifle was, and my wife didn’t want to put it down either. She made some similar comments about shooting the Bergara and mentioned it was smooth and easily operated. I couldn’t agree more. I frequently feel a slight bind in rimfire bolts due to their short travel. She also mentioned how nice it was to watch the bullets impact with nearly zero recoil.

These are just a couple of the pros. For me, the number one positive aspect for this rifle is the accuracy. The confidence that comes from extremely consistent shooting is perhaps the greatest aspect of any rifle. The flawless function of both five and 10-round magazines, immaculate trigger, and the other operational features of this rifle are just icing on the cake.

CONCLUSION

I combed over the BMR looking for something I could call out as a negative. But, in all honesty, I could not find one. This rifle seemed to dot every I and cross every T for me. I will not be letting this rifle go. For the $500 asking price, I feel it is an absolute bargain, and it’s a price I will happily pay for a performer like this.

An average ten-shot group from the BMR, at fifty yards with bulk packed cheap ammunition

-CBM

Check out more 22 rimfire rifle reviews here

2026 Update: after may years of shooting this rifle, I love it even more. The rifle’s accuracy hasn’t faded, and it continues to be a reliable source of fun for both myself and the family. Last weekend, I shot this squirrel from about 150 yards. Perfectly and predictably took him down in one shot.

Kahles K318i Ultrashort precision rifle scope

June 14, 2022Optics, Product reviewk318i, kahles, riflescope, scopecoldboremiracle

Introduction

When I was a child, I spent a good amount of time under the tutelage of my Grandfather. One of the many things I spent time doing with grandpa was shooting, he always made it fun and ensured that I came away having learned something. The very first time I heard the name Kahles, it was uttered my my grandpa, and probably like most Americans in the early eighties he pronounced it wrong. He said it just like you’d expect a cowboy raised in the desert would: Kales.
All these years later, I’ve managed to become quite familiar with Kahles and their high-quality riflescopes. Something I think grandpa would have enjoyed.

Shopping for Kahles 318i?

The K318 mounted on a Surgeon Scalpel 300WM

The K318i riflescope

Kahles is one of the oldest riflescope manufacturers in the world, so it should come as no surprise that they make a good product. They have taken over the competitive rifle circuit like a storm over the last ten years or so, and with good reason. The Kahles K318i is a more recent development from Kahles, its short length I can only assume was designed to be competitive with other short scopes from several other manufacturers. The short length of the scope makes it a perfect match for a rifle you may want to keep a little more compact. This without giving up much if any performance.

The K318i is a 6X variable zoom optic, it utilizes a thirty-four millimeter tube with a fifty millimeter objective. The K318i utilizes many of the same features found in other top-tier Kahles scopes; features like first-focal-plane reticles, MOA & MRAD models, an illuminated reticle, and the ability to choose which side of the scope you want the windage turret on. And the choice of which direction you want said turret to rotate. Quite a few options there if you are a finicky shooter, I myself am pretty easy going, so however it comes to me is perfectly suitable.
The reticle itself is also an option you can select, mine came with the SKMR2 which I think is just about as good as you can get. But there are other options as well if this one doesn’t meet your fancy.

Perhaps the most curious feature of this an other Kahles scopes is the position of the parallax adjustment. The adjustment knob is at the twelve o’clock position underneath the elevation turret itself. A larger knob with clear printed settings makes it very easy to set the parallax for whatever shot you might need to make.

Other features like a zero-stop and turret rotation indicator are also very handy, the indicator is a small red pin that pops up on the top of the turret giving the shooter both a visible and tactile indication of which rotation of the turret you are on. The elevation turret itself is a boastful sixteen MRAD per turn, which decreases the likelihood of missing your rotation anyways. It also allows the majority of practical shooting to be done without ever going into the second rotation of the turret.

There is one last cunning feature, which is Kahles’ Twist-Guard windage turret. A free-spinning end to the turret prevents the turret from being inadvertently turned when rubbing or pushed into something such as a barricade.

In the Field

I’ve run many a Kahles scopes over the years, but I was just a little excited to see how this newer model looked. I have always been impressed with the optical clarity of Kahles scopes, and I was curious to see what this little 318 had in store for me. I’ve lost track of how many different rifles this scope has ridden in the last year, but they were not just a few. Like any good scope should, the Kahles was easily transferred back and forth, rezeroed, bore-sighted, torqued, over and over again. And it has never skipped a beat.

For a time the scope directed fire for my 257 Blackjack, a mostly carbon fiber rifle with a sharp recoil impulse that is lightning on animals. It also spent some time on my Desert Tech SRS M2, getting a large variety of testing on various calibers like 300 and 338 Norma. In more recent adventures the chubby little Kahles was the scope of choice for my Tikka T3 TACT A1 in .260 Remington, which made an unstoppable combination. At the moment the scope is mounted on a Bergara BMP 6.5 Creedmoor where it has been for the last month or two. Wherever I put the K318 it seems to shine, I love the moderate magnification range. I rarely set my scopes above 16X unless I am looking at or shooting something really far out there. For average everyday shooting inside a thousand yards I find the 3-18X range to be ideal.

Picking out small targets on distant hillsides is not hard with the bright and clear image from this scope. The impressive transfer of the image from across the canyon to my retina comes with great ease. The eye-box is plenty forgiving for my taste, I’ve only used it on one rifle that didn’t have an adjustable comb. Nevertheless I always found the scope easy to get behind, and very quick to ascertain a good full image.
Shooting the K318 in the field I was quickly enamored with the turret tension and detents, just easy enough to turn without becoming a problem. And the clicks are crisp and audible, I can almost feel it in my cheek-bone as I look through the scope. The zero-stop on Kahles scopes has always befuddled me, there is always four clicks under zero. Perhaps there is a reason to which I’m not privy, but it seems like it would be better to just stop at zero.
The illumination turret is opposite the windage turret on the erector housing, it is a variable rheostat so there are no numbered settings like many other brands. The brightness of the reticle increases as the knob is turned. The SKMR2 reticle is particularly useful for field shooting, where corrections and holdovers are needed. With .1, .2, .5, and 1.0 MRAD subtensions to use for various measuring purposes, and even-numbered graduations for those significant hold-points.

Pros & Cons

I know it says pros & cons just now, but I have had a hard time finding anything to hold against this scope. With a street price around $3350.00 I guess you could say the cost is a bit of a challenge for many people, but if you are in the market for a scope like this you probably were ready for that price before you got here. Being that the 5-25X sibling to this scope is only an additional $200, it almost seems a premium to pay this much for “less” scope, but again I think prospective shoppers for these scopes know what they are getting into. The K318 is no lightweight, at just over 33 ounces it is heavier than many of its competitors. But said competitors also don’t boast as many feathers in their cap either.
Pretty much everything else about the scope is as advertised, the very robust turrets are accurate and repeatable. The optical clarity is as good as any scope I’ve ever used, particularly with lower light conditions. Granted, the lower power range tends to give the appearance of brighter image than comparable larger magnification scopes. Generous adjustments and solid construction just seem to make this scope feel bulletproof.

Final comments

If you haven’t gotten on the Kahles train, its worth your time even if it’s just for a few stops. I think there is good reason and evidence as to why so many competitors and pro’s use the Kahles line of precision optics, I’ve run this scope all over the mountains, and I’m not easy on equipment. The scopes perform like a professional scope should, I think that whether you are engaging steel targets in world class competition or shooting with lives on the line, you will be happy with this one. The short and compact K318i will likely never leave my collection, its just that good.

-CBM