Hey guys anyone have any info on the pvs-14rc from modarmory? I can't find any info online about it. Just wondering of the pic quality is as good as the pinnicle and omni viii. It's price reflects that it is just as good if not better. I'm not sure why modarmory is the only one selling these too.
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Night Vision Mod Armorys 308 pvs-14rc
- Thread starter mikeltee
- Start date
We will be be letting this cat all the way out of the bag shortly. But, in short, this a Super PVS-14 that has a Fimless based Recoil Compensationg tube that Can stand up to Recoil on a .308 platform. In addition it has an upgraded mounting point in the form of the infinity focus stop. The battery pack can take either CR123s or AA batteries. In short, this is as good as it gets PERIOD!
And no this isn't just a marketing gimmick! This is a whole new tube design that is patented.
Yes you read that right.
Mod Armory isn't the only seller, Ident Marking and I also sell these units.
EDIT: just got off the phone with Camelle, and she was a great help. This is pvs-14 TO HAVE. I will be placing my order as soon as I have the funds. I am glad I waited and did my research!
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Thank you for giving us a call today! The PVS-14RC's are ordered to the exact same specifications as the ITT Pinnacle or L3 OMNI 8 System.
MODArmory stocks:
Image clean systems - no spots in any zone, no chicken wire, no shading, etc
Resolution: 64 lp or higher
Signal to Noise Ratio: 23 or higher
MODArmory stocks:
Image clean systems - no spots in any zone, no chicken wire, no shading, etc
Resolution: 64 lp or higher
Signal to Noise Ratio: 23 or higher
Any one that has worked with us knows that we are a straight forward company. To clarify and to also mention I2 Technologies post above; these are in fact "super tubes". The tubes meet the minimum specifications of mil spec intensifier tubes sent to Naval Special Warfare (NSW). These are measurably better in performance than other milspec tubes on the market with better highlight and lowlight performances. This is why the captain "beyond milspec" is marketed.
Although my favorite part of this system is that it is warrantied for .308. ICT Laboratories tested the unit on a SCAR 17 and put 10,000+ rounds through the unit.
Although my favorite part of this system is that it is warrantied for .308. ICT Laboratories tested the unit on a SCAR 17 and put 10,000+ rounds through the unit.
Their website says $4200not sure it is worth it if the only advantage is the 308 recoil rating. The image would have to be pretty sweet to justify being +1000 more than a very good Omni VIII tube. I guess if you want to mount a mono on your 308 its this or a $7000+ clip on though. I guess the question is how much better than a current Omni VIII tube are these?
I honestly don't believe there is a recoil issue even on thin film tubes if your running them on a heavy gun with a suppressor or brake. There's just hardly shit there for recoil and I know plenty that are running pinnacle tubes on 308 and such with no issues. I doubt I would do a mag dump on a gas platform 308 with one mounted. My 18lb 308 suppressed had no more felt recoil then a light 556 gasser. So, I guess I will wait to see if these will wow me from my omni7 pinnacle tube.
These look like the sh** to have for 308 guns using a weapon mounted pvs-14. That said I prefer helmet mounted NV and IR laser myself.. MOD armory also has the mil-spec ultra pinnacle 14 listed on their website for around the same price. I have systems with the ultra tubes and screaming high specs very,very impressive performance to be honest I would have a hard time passing the ultra tube for around same money if weapon mounting wasn't a thought. Anyway can't wait to see some more info and user feedback on the new filmless systems the L3 filmless tubes I've owned all provided a nice rich contrast to the image.
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I am driving down to C Springs today to take a look at this unit. Really excited to see this and the completed dual PVS mount.
I am bringing video and stuff to record the day, so post up any questions now I as I have several hours before I will be there.
I am bringing video and stuff to record the day, so post up any questions now I as I have several hours before I will be there.
I would like to see a side by side with an omni vII/III tube and also both units coupled up to a decent variable power optic at mid range. Night force, USO, razor or Schmidt whatever ya got if you have a coupling system. Any details of the recoil compensation would be nice to know as well.
How am I supposed to test the recoil ?
I am visiting not bringing an an engineering team ?
We are going shooting tonight and they do have the iPhone Adapter so I can get some video through the scopes and hopefully you can see a difference. But it'd be really hard to show recoil differences. I was planning on bringing my KAC EMC there, so no suppressor, no muzzle brake just birdcage on it, that might help a bit, maybe I can break a non-rated one
I am visiting not bringing an an engineering team ?
We are going shooting tonight and they do have the iPhone Adapter so I can get some video through the scopes and hopefully you can see a difference. But it'd be really hard to show recoil differences. I was planning on bringing my KAC EMC there, so no suppressor, no muzzle brake just birdcage on it, that might help a bit, maybe I can break a non-rated one
I didn't ask you to test the recoil. I asked you for any details on the system pertaining to recoil compensation that they may divulge. Miscommunication. An iPhone picture will work fine and I doubt you will break a non rc model but give it the ol' grunt try and see what happens.
I am interested if you could comment on the dual 14 mount and how exactly the adjustments work? I am curious if the adjustment or positioning of the nvd's is with friction or if it has certain points with "stops" so to speak within its range of motion. Also wondering if the 14's can sag or shift with movement during use. Any insight or thoughts would be greatly appreciated, thanks!!!
The website says that it employs a new power system that detects vibration, and when the max allowed jolt occurs, it cuts power to the tube, thus helping to safeguard the tube. Maybe you can beat the hell out of them, but when powered, they are susceptible to sudden death.
Yeah I think I was wondering if there was any type of shock absorption in the housing system at all and curious what the halo specs are for these new tubes.
I bought one two weeks ago from Pete at I 2 technologies and its awesome. Had a great omni 8 milspec that I sold because of this 14. It just seems to have better clarity and definition in shitty conditions. Buy with confidence from Pete, he's taken good care of me.
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OHHHHH there very much is a recoil issue out there. I can show you stacks of recoil damaged tubes that we have collected over the years. I blew up an ITT tube. In fact, said tube was one of the prettiest tubes I have ever owned and definitely one of the nicest I have ever seen. If this tube had been a woman, it would have been Olivia Munn wearing nothing but Lip Gloss, High heels and a smile!!
This is what it looked like... BEFORE
This is the story reposted from 2010.
Here we have a view through a FACTORY, ITT, PVS 14. This WAS a very pretty tube, notice I said WAS... I had not had a chance to shoot it till just recently. So on a Coyote blasting trip to Oregon I brought it with me as I finally had the chance.
The First night we were sighting guns in and checking Zeros. My buddy has an old Airfield on his ranch and has plates set up from 100 yards all the way out to 900 yards. So I pull out my M4 carbine, it had a Gemtech suppressor mounted on it. I then put this PVS 14 (with a 3X) behind an Aimpoint M4s and sighted in on a steel plate at 100 yards. I took the first two shots and was pleased by the nice thwacks and sparks from the plate. The third shot looked suddenly like the objective had been sprayed with oil. I secretly prayed that it was back blast from the suppressor but I knew in my gut it wasn't. I reached up and wiped the objective of the Aimpoint and it was clean. Pissed at this point I took one more shot and the emission point showed up on the side of the upper middle spot. In addition if you look closely you can see a large number of smaller emissions points.
This is what it looked like, AFTER! Damn I still wanna cry even today!
All of that from just 4 shots of 5.56 through a suppressed M4. Now this was not an Auto-gated tube and ALAS it was out of Warranty...
DAMN IT JIM ! ! !
So ITT of course did not cover it. In my conversation with the Warranty Department, ALL Autogated Pinnicle tubes from ITT are ONLY rated for and warranted for weapons use up to .223.
Yep you read that right Boys and Girls .223 (5.56)! So fast Forward to Shot show and I have Mark Robinson of ITT cornered (basically against the ITT trailer) and I am giving him a serious WTF?!?!?!?! question session and he reiterates exactly what the Warranty Department had told me earlier. 500gs was it, Max rating! End of discussion. When I wrote about this I was resoundingly ridiculed from many corners. I had not made this information up I had gotten it directly from the manufacturer ITT! No one wanted to hear that that current production tubes were suddenly "delicate."
Now to your question, will these wow you from your omni7 pinnacle tube? More on that in a second. As far as Recoil resistance of the ITT Pinnacle tube? Well there are people running around that have shot them on all kinds of larger calibers and never had an issue. There are a BUNCH more, that like me, have killed a tube. What the RC tube does is stack the deck in your favor of never having to replace a tube. It hurts to shell out a couple of grand just because you pulled a trigger, one dark night and it all went wrong! Take a long look at the before and after pictures I posted above. If you owned THAT tube and had it blow up on you... How would you feel? Then how would you feel shelling out the couple thousand to replace it and hoping you get something as nice... which by the way, I didn't!
We took one of the prototypes to last years International Sniper comp at Ft Benning with a Leupold mark 6 1 to 6 on an OBR and it looked good. Alas I didn't have a chance to stick an iphone on the back of the 14 as there was a line of shooters waiting to get on the gun. Your concern is "how does this tube look?" Well its Filmless technology based and in normal conditions it has this "Is it live or is it Memorex?" sharpness to it along with increased contrast. Now where these tubes REALLY SHINE (no pun intended) is in very low light conditions and in very high light conditions. If you want to hear from someone who has looked through on of these units in Horrible conditions, May I suggest, contact the owner of Machine Gun Tours, and ask him to tell you about last years Crimson Trace, Night Three gun match and ask him about getting to look through the prototype PVS-14RC on the last night of the match. The range is miles from Bend Oregon in the middle of NO and Where and a thunder storm had rolled in on a no moon night and all of our ITT stuff couldn't see hardly anything at all.
Recoil Compensation System, Without divulging all kinds of technical details that are proprietary, in short it is Electro-Mechanical in nature. The new ARC technology is revolutionary in its approach to dealing with recoil and shock. This stuff just flat WORKS!
It is a Friction fit Like the NVD BNVDs or the PVS 15s. Infinite adjustment is what the Germans like to call that. Can the 14s sag? Not really, our Monocular Mounting Arms (MMAs) are pretty robust in nature and the fit is very precise as compared to a USGI J arm.
The Recoil compensation is all contained in the tube itself and Halos are running .7 and up
LOL you know what they say, Lock a Marine in a closet with two bowling balls and come back 30 minutes later, He will have broken one and lost the other! Ya know, Every Jarhead that I tell that too laughs cause we all know its true!
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Well now all you guys waiting on the elusive WASP have an option for your 308s. It appears you are going to get a better sight picture as well, and save a couple stacks too!
So from what I gather, the pvs-14RC can handle recoil from more than a 308. Would one of you dealers kindly list all calibers this system is warrantied for?
So from what I gather, the pvs-14RC can handle recoil from more than a 308. Would one of you dealers kindly list all calibers this system is warrantied for?
Ok are you referring to this part of the MOD Armory Add?
"A night vision monocular specifically designed for recoil ruggedness and shock protection, the PVS-14RC is rate for .308 Winchester and larger calibers depending on custom configuration."
The custom configuration part means that if the tube is installed in a weapons sight with some form of Shock Mitigation the recoil it can handle safely and effectively can be raised to easily .50 BMG.
At the moment, mounted in a The PVS 14 housing, it is recoil rated to .308 Winchester.
Pete,
thats very good info and I appreciate you taking the time to answer that. Given that you trashed a pinnacle tube on a 5.56 weapon system that this tube is reportedly rated for tells me it either had a rediculously small halo letting the Mcp smack and cause damage? I guess this is interesting to me with all the pinnacles I know running on heavy bolt guns with no issue. Is there in fact a couple issue with gas platforms generating different recoil with suppressors attached along with the forward recoil of the bolt carrier/buffer and spring causing a slap effect on the tube as opposed to the single recoil of a bolt gun? I realize its more to do with the acceleration factor of the recoil they say but seems as there is a little more to it then that IMHO.
None the less I will wait to hear reports on this system and hopefully get a chance to see one sometime.
thats very good info and I appreciate you taking the time to answer that. Given that you trashed a pinnacle tube on a 5.56 weapon system that this tube is reportedly rated for tells me it either had a rediculously small halo letting the Mcp smack and cause damage? I guess this is interesting to me with all the pinnacles I know running on heavy bolt guns with no issue. Is there in fact a couple issue with gas platforms generating different recoil with suppressors attached along with the forward recoil of the bolt carrier/buffer and spring causing a slap effect on the tube as opposed to the single recoil of a bolt gun? I realize its more to do with the acceleration factor of the recoil they say but seems as there is a little more to it then that IMHO.
None the less I will wait to hear reports on this system and hopefully get a chance to see one sometime.
Thanks for the reply Pete, I think I am going to give one of these a try!
Yes Peter, that was the phrase that I read which lead me to believe that calibers above 308Win could be used. Thanks for the reply.
I see Pete is answering a lot, we spend the day at MOD Armory and then the night shooting the units
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Take me a bit to edit the footage together I have a lot of it, but I will have a complete video and write up ...
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Take me a bit to edit the footage together I have a lot of it, but I will have a complete video and write up ...
We appreciate the vids LowLight. That top video has some great detail and clarity! Was the bottom one the same unit as the top?
So whats the final word? Is it worth the extra grand? Is it better than any tube that you have seen in the past? Is it indeed a "super tube"?
I know I know... Ill read the review once you post it.
So whats the final word? Is it worth the extra grand? Is it better than any tube that you have seen in the past? Is it indeed a "super tube"?
I know I know... Ill read the review once you post it.
I can answer some of your questions Mike. I was also involved in the development with Mod and I^2. Like Killswitch stated people have had mixed results with recoil on ITT tubes (and L3 tubes as well)- some people don't have an issue with NV on a .308. Because we are geographically in a good location (Texas) to see heavily used NV of all types from literally thousands of customers we saw a significant amount of recoil damaged tubes in all types of weapon sights. The problem was getting worse- not better- as the tube manufacturers improved the performance of the tubes (lower halo, etc..). This was a common topic on many of the NV forums in 2010 and 2011. There was a little information out there but no one (including us) could really speak definitively on recoil issues because even the tube manufacturers themselves had a limited amount of research done on the problem. Two years ago, Mod I^2 and our company decided to identify the problem and design a solution (if it one was even possible). We did that and it was a big undertaking. Some of the most intelligent US night vision companies in the country and several very experienced engineers/PhDs were brought in to help. A considerable amount of money was spent on research, design, test and production. During the course of the development a company bought the design and we became distributors of the RC tube and systems that use the RC tube.
What we found out was there is a lot variables when it comes to recoil and if you have a ITT tube that is hanging in there with higher caliber rifles then great. With what we now positively know we would also say that using it this way is outside of the design envelope and is a definite risk to use an expensive, late model image tube with a .308 caliber rifle regardless if it is made by ITT or L3. L3 tubes are slightly stronger but neither tube is patently safe at .308 levels unless the NV system could attenuate shock in some way. I say 'levels' because unless you test each rifle for its individual shock curve you have to generalize the shock patterns into ranges of calibers. What we also know now is felt recoil is completely different from the damaging transient shock events that destroy NV tubes. Killswitch is in error (and i'm not knocking him for it, we just have a huge amount of data to look at) when he says a that a .308 gas gun with a suppressor would be a safe platform for NV. The worst shock profiles we (and others) saw were with a semi .308- more interesting was adding a suppressor that weapon actually increased the shock placed on optics, rather than attenuating it. (I lost that bet) The .308 gas gun produced much more recoil that some .338 and .50 BMG rifles, bolt or semi. You have to add a number of other variables to start seeing the big picture but it was obvious that any serious improvement to recoil harden a image tube was going to have to be able to withstand a significant amount more recoil that current tubes today.
Shorten all this up and the RC tube is major improvement. It easily handles .308 recoil across the board and a 5 year recoil warranty should give the owner confidence. It's capable of withstanding higher calibers and we will continue to uprate the RC tube as we get the data but we don't just test one .338 Lapua rifle and call it good- its a long process. You want a hard number on recoil? Its over 1500 Gs, at the tube. That doesn't account for any attenuation from optic housings, mounts, shock mitigation employed in the system, etc. In the future Mod will probably post some of the general shock profiles obtained from rifle platforms that people are familiar with. People here can see a general idea of what their rifles are producing but like I said, it will simply give you an idea of what your individual weapons produce as far as recoil- each rifle is different.
In addition to recoil the RC tube has several other improvements:
The tube gates about 10x faster than other tubes, allowing for better highlight resolution and decreases the chance of image burn when the tube is exposed to bright light sources.
Halo diameter is typical .7 to .9
Contrast is typically higher than in other tubes. This is more from the the type of tube design rather than the power supply but its noteworthy.
The EBI is typically very low.
The PVS-14 RC not only a uses CR123/AA battery housing but it also has a brighter onboard CQ illuminator.
Finally, the RC was developed because heavy rifle platforms are getting more popular, NV is getting more popular, good NV equipment is very expensive and users are risking thousands of dollars pairing NV with heavy caliber rifles. I don't think every person with a non RC tube is going to damage it on a .308 but you can now buy a tube with very high specifications and it is designed to work with heavy rifles. It's a few more dollars but if you are already spending the money on good NV then its a really a small amount to ensure it will work when you need it to.
Ident
Camille rockin the SCAR 17! Woooo WHO ! ! ! Love to see sparks in the dark! The SCAR 17 is one platform I would NOT put anything but an RC tube on!
The videos are not from the RC Unit but just a regular PVS14 we had hooked up to the iPhone. You maybe able to see the weather move in and we called it early which was still around Midnight. I had two separate units on, we have more video I gave commentary with. The Rifle was using the RC unit also.
There is more video, all shot from the same PVS unit, the difference is the way the iPhone focuses and the way the extra illumination was used. So to say, one video is "better" than the others is incorrect, it is all the same. That goes to show you how hard it is to "judge" by showing you footage. That footage can look different at any given moment.
in the video Shot indoors at MOD Armory Huntler goes into details on some of the difference between the upgraded RC version and others out there. YOU HAVE TO decide if that is worth the extra money I am not here to make the decision for you. It's your money, it's your use and you decision. I can only gather the facts and tell you what "I" see when looking through them or using them.
So understand what you see is out of a unit I took off the table the table and connected to my iPhone, it was not cherry picked or anything it was just there.
There is more video, all shot from the same PVS unit, the difference is the way the iPhone focuses and the way the extra illumination was used. So to say, one video is "better" than the others is incorrect, it is all the same. That goes to show you how hard it is to "judge" by showing you footage. That footage can look different at any given moment.
in the video Shot indoors at MOD Armory Huntler goes into details on some of the difference between the upgraded RC version and others out there. YOU HAVE TO decide if that is worth the extra money I am not here to make the decision for you. It's your money, it's your use and you decision. I can only gather the facts and tell you what "I" see when looking through them or using them.
So understand what you see is out of a unit I took off the table the table and connected to my iPhone, it was not cherry picked or anything it was just there.
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Ident, I think you have misunderstood and i wasnt clear enough. i am referring to using a 14 on a heavy bolt gun only. i do not think a 308 gas platform suppressed would generate less recoil for a system. I meant my heavy 308 bolt gun suppressed has little felt recoil and seems comparable or less then a 556 gas gun. Acceleration and g's are not something I can measure so I am going by what I can feel. Thanks very much for your info on the system. It seems to quite an advancement for the mono systems.
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If there is such thing as too much fun, this is it!
My short sales pitch is that I know MOD personally has a PVS-14RC that we have been shooting for 2 years on .308 platforms and have not had any issues. We stand behind what we manufacture and distribute from other companies. We do not spend time selling/talking products that are not available or will not perform as advertised.
My short sales pitch is that I know MOD personally has a PVS-14RC that we have been shooting for 2 years on .308 platforms and have not had any issues. We stand behind what we manufacture and distribute from other companies. We do not spend time selling/talking products that are not available or will not perform as advertised.
Hey I was just wondering if the cool guy that started this thread and got the word out on the RC could receive 20% off on a hand picked 72res unit?
lol
lol
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I don't know, blasting across the desert in a TomCar completely blacked out (no supplemental IR AT ALL, WHOSE YER DADDY?) on dual tubes would be close second....
LOL nice try! ! !
Yes you are right. I didn't think that mattered until I saw that it has to be removed to load a round. After seeing surgeon-shooter talk about making 1000yd hits with a pvs-14 and 20x magnification. I thought that for 4k why would some spend 14k on a clip-on... Especially now that it is rated for 308.
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Eye relief and cheek weld are issues that can be worked around through various methods. I will say that I've had my 14 coupled up to my scope beside a of same quality scope with a Pvs 22 out front and I will say I don't think there is anywhere close to another $4-5k in performance to justify it along with I can adapt myself to eye relief and cheek weld issues for the difference in price. If I was in a mil unit obviously the best you can get is what you need but for dogs, hogs and things that go bump in the night this set up works excellent and if any recoil issues can be further mitigated even better.
on a side note the usmc had a t&e on coupling the 14 up to the unertl on the 40. It does work fwiw.
TAGGED. If you can't afford a clip-on NVD and you're running a stock with an adjustable length buttstock this could work using a monoloc/coupling device.
I was under the impression from using a monocular off the ocular it was only usable up to 8x magnification before issues in resolution started effecting the sight picture?
I was under the impression from using a monocular off the ocular it was only usable up to 8x magnification before issues in resolution started effecting the sight picture?
20x off an S&B is possible according to surgeon-shooter and another guy on here. I'm sure the high end optics plays a huge role in that. He also thanked the help of a peq-15 to light it all up.
I have shot up to 16X in the past using a high spec Omni 7 pinnacle pvs-14 on a ar15 platform with moon light or IR Illumn. On dark nights around 6X worked best with my day scope but as stated above good glass makes a big difference. Sure a good clip on is going to out perform a PVS-14/Day scope combo it just comes down to price. For me I perfer to just use a true 6X night scope such as the D-760 on a night rig or IR laser setup I've tried about everything NV wise, but Im a hunter not a tactical guy so my needs may be different than alot of folks here.
Here is 3 minutes with the PVS 14RC
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with a teaser at the end highlighting the upcoming Dual Mount Unit
<iframe width="853" height="480" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/VQwBZbFWqHY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
with a teaser at the end highlighting the upcoming Dual Mount Unit
I'm glad you mentioned being able to use one side of the dual mount and have the selection to go dominant or non dominant eye. I wouldn't have even considered purchasing one of these until you mentioned that.
So was the filming done with an RC?
So was the filming done with an RC?
The film was not shot with an RC, it was just a standard demo unit. It's the unit shown above.
If you watch the beginning they move the units from the helmet to the Rifle then switch the non-dominant to the dominant on the helmet. So the versatility is huge not just with the RC but with the Dual Helmet Mount as you can pre-position the weapons mount DLoc without it getting in the way.
If you watch the beginning they move the units from the helmet to the Rifle then switch the non-dominant to the dominant on the helmet. So the versatility is huge not just with the RC but with the Dual Helmet Mount as you can pre-position the weapons mount DLoc without it getting in the way.
Thanks for the great video Lowlight!
The dual mount looks awesome, I have been on the fence thinking about one but this just pushed me over. I am going to have to order one from MOD on Monday.
The dual mount looks awesome, I have been on the fence thinking about one but this just pushed me over. I am going to have to order one from MOD on Monday.
My PVS-14 will be shipped to them on Monday and they are selecting a second and we are doing the dual mount system.
Hunter and Camille and Mod Armory are good to go, and a pleasure to work with. Nice video Frank. What distance were you shooting steel at in the video.\??
Hunter and Camille and Mod Armory are good to go, and a pleasure to work with. Nice video Frank. What distance were you shooting steel at in the video.\??
The target is very close, just 100 yards.
The Dual Mout piece at the end is just a teaser, I have much more in depth footage coming up.
The Dual Mout piece at the end is just a teaser, I have much more in depth footage coming up.
I look forward to seeing it as I am having one made for me next week. Allready talked to Hunter about it. Will be using the best tubes out there short of the RC. I do not intend to weapons mount on anything to exceed 6.8.
And 100 yards is a good distance.
thanks Frank
And 100 yards is a good distance.
thanks Frank
