VORTEX CROSSFIRE II CF2-31007 3-9 X40 Dead Hold BDC

 VORTEX CROSSFIRE II CF2-31007

3-9 X40 Dead Hold BDC (second focal plane)

The Box. The scope was packaged well with adequate foam. I purchased mine directly from a physical store.

It is manufactured in China. European or USA made scopes of similar specifications are orders of magnitude greater in price.

However, VORTEX say the product is guaranteed for life (excluding wilful damage or of course incorrect usage) 

Let's get down to business here. Why did I buy this scope?

The cost of scope was within my budget. The next thing I checked was how was it to look through. I could do this because I know the guy who owns the gun shop and he let me take it outside and play around with it.  My eyes aren't what they used to be** and I wanted a scope with excellent low light performance. pointing it around and checking out the shaded areas under trees around bushes etc. it was soon clear to me it was a great performer in poorly lit areas. So it was also be good in the fading light of day for hunting or under the forest canopy.

There was a choice of reticle (I chose Dead hold BDC) for hunting purposes.

Above Image courtesy of VORTEX Optics.

Nb

So up to 100 yards, it's not necessary to use the hash marks on this reticle as there is no advantage since bullet drop shouldn't be a problem, so while I mounted this scope on a PCP, I wanted versatility to be able to mount it to some more serious firearm in the future.

However, you could chose the following: V Brite and V Plex.

The next thing I wanted a good eye relief distance and this scope boasts an eye relief of about 90cm or 3". The eye relief distance is really important especially for fast target acquisition and also to avoid occlusion of the eyepiece problems by slight movements of the head/eye position.

How comfortable is it to use with one eye closed and can it be used with both eyes open? Well the latter depends upon the shooter's eyesight and the technique they are using.

A big front element is necessary for the maximum amount of light to be collected. The Objective has a diameter of 40mm.

Elevation and windage clicks are distinct and have the "right feel" of movement.

This scope can be set up for fully resettable MOAs (Minute Of Angle)

1/4 MOA as the dial indicates (the above 3 images are showing with caps off the turrets).

Easy to grab Zoom (magnification ring).

Easy peasy dioptre adjustment, which once set will not easily be shifted.

Big bright fully coated optics

Magnification range is 3 to 9X

The scope's main body is constructed from a single piece of aircraft grade Aluminium

Parallax is fixed at 100 yards.

See my video on how I went about mounting this scope and then the follow up videos on how it was pre-aligned using a LASER sighting Bore tool.

Ok lets go hunting!

** Blog on wearing glasses with scopes coming soon.

BCT

Rifle Bore LASER Alignment tool from VECTOR Optics

 Rifle Bore LASER Alignment tool from VECTOR Optics.

Vector Optics is a Chinese company specialising in the production of quality optical equipment for the hunter. Basically their motto is that they will show that a "Made In China" does not need to be synonymous with rubbish products. And they actually state this in their "About" page on their web site.

Certainly I've come across (and have been using for many years) camera equipment manufactured in China by Chinese companies, not  western companies getting their production made in China; and the equipment is quite good and competitive in price and usually well appointed.

Ok so recently I bought a Bore sight aligning tool which was laser based and it is the "VIPERAY" manufactured by VECTOR OPTICS.

Essentially it is a device where one can perform a "pre-alignment" of their rifle scope on your own premises, indeed, indoors, prior to actual real sighting in during firing at the range.

The VIPERAY, What is it?

A small red (630-670nm) LASER diode housed within a big heat sink enclosure. 

A large heatsink means the LASER can remain on and not overheat during the alignment steps. Having a decent sized heat sink is important as a LASER diode's performance will be markedly reduced and lifetime if left to overheat.

The laser has been aligned (instructions warn not to tamper with the alignment screws) within a cylindrical enclosure

made from Aluminium. By the use of plastic caliber adapters enabling a perfect fit from 0.22 to 0.270; 0.280-0.349; 0.350- 0.434; 0.435-0.50,

The above image shows from L to R 3 of the 4 calibre adapters included. The one on the right (0.50 cal) I have already inserted  the screw.

The image below shows the 0.45 cal adapter (incorrectly threaded!) Take note of the correct way to insert the supplied screws!

The 2 images below shows the 0.22 Cal and 0.45 Cal adapters threaded onto the aluminium bore tool in the correct manner.

The reason why they are threaded as such is because as one screws the adapter onto the tapered aluminium housing, this taper causes the adapter to spread out and fit the rifle bore precisely. This is a necessary step so that the LASER beam in centralised on the same axis of the centre of the bore.

Ok so I also found the customer service response time from outside of China in the Northern hemisphere to be within 2 working days. This is just fine as far as i'm concerned. Why did I have the need to contact customer service? Well, the instructions were missing in the box and customer service sent me a PDF of the instructions and some other text regarding the device and my query was dealt with.

I used the VIPERAY to pre-align a 3-9X40 rifle scope indoors at 8m (arbitrary distance), it took mere minutes. I found the centricity of the actual LASER beam to be more than accurate for such a task. But briefly, I rotated the device within the bore in several positions, this made no difference to the position of the LASER spot with respect to the actual scope reticle (I was using a Dead-Hold BDC reticle-although it doesn't really matter, as long as I could accurately position the the spot of the LASER.) 

Final points upon construction and performance.

Pros: It appears to be well-made and durable enough

Cons: I would have liked to have seen a smaller spot size although this is not totally necessary as one will be using this device indoors to pre-align their scope and not outside at some great distance, because the bigger the distance to target, the bigger the spot will become and then one must judge by eye where the centre of that spot is to align the crosshairs upon.

Note there is no manual switch for this device, once the battery compartment is loaded, the LASER is activated.

Use common sense with all LASERS as they are ALL potentially hazardous even 5mW ones such as this, it is NOT A TOY!

To see this device in action see this

You can also see the product here:

https://www.vectoroptics.com/products/view/id/LBC01.html

BCT

Extrema Ratio Expeditions Series

Coffee and Knife Talk

In this new blog  I'm, going to be discussing over a cup of coffee (my cup but you are welcome to run and get yourself one while you read this LOL)! the subject of how small can one get with a knife before it verges on the ridiculous?

In order to do this I'll be making reference to some of the knives shown above (just as examples only).

Let's look at the image below from left to right:

Extrema Ratio Folder (obviously closed)

Raidops Black Tiger (a medium sized fixed blade)

Raidops "Finger knife" LJ6GP

Pohl Force Compact One "Finger Knife"

WTG EDC Nomad, small Fixed blade

Extrema Ratio T4000C, small Fixed Blade

WTG Mt Laguna small fixed blade.

The 3  knives from right to left feature slightly reduced grips. They will just fit a size 8.5 hand and you will just be ale to squeeze all five digits around the grip. The next two knives along are being called "Finger Knives". These knives, it will not be possible to fit all digits around them and at best you will get 4 digits to cover the handles. As a comparison i shown the medium sized "Raidops" fixed blade as an example of what I would call a medium sized knife and next to this a closed "heavy duty" folder, with the capacity to "fix" the blade in an open position by Extrema Ratio. As you can see this folder when closed is basically the same length as the two finger knives without their scabbards.

Now in the above image from left to right we see an example of our "medium sized fixed blade" and three smaller fixed blades but one which one can still get a good grip upon. The bigger the handle, in other words, as the handle approaches that of a regular sized knife in the medium range, the more task in general can be done with it (in unskilled hands). I say unskilled hands because someone who is really versatile and or adept at getting the most from their tools may be able to do quite a lot with the three smaller knives as seen above.

Now in the above image we see a comparison of a large folder (large both closed and open) compared to an unsheathed "Finger Knife". Both blades are approximately the same length and the same thickness, the difference being one has a much longer handle and hence basically more useful. Now as to which one of these is more "robust", it could be argued that this small fixed blade, is the more rugged. However, what is the reality of this? The reality is which is going to be more useful. For example: here is the situation: I need to rapidly cut through a mooring hawser; clearly the finger knife will fail in this example as one can not apply the same sort of pressure upon the blade due to the lack of an adequate handle (for the task), whereas one holding the folder, with a similarly sized blade will be able to achieve the task a lot quicker. In this real word example, the probability of damaging the tool is remote because we are talking about cutting a big rope, not smashing through a fridge door to save a trapped child (even then both of these tools would be inadequate). So you can see the key phrase is: "for the task at hand".

Here is another example of two "Finger Knives" side by side, the one on the left with a hollow grind, the one on the right with a high Sabre grind. They both feature similarly sized spines, however the hollow ground knife will excel over the sabre at cutting due to reduced friction from a thinner blade profile. This I feel is actually quite important for such small knives because one will need them to cut as quickly as possible to reduce the number of hand strokes necessary to perform the task due to a decreased handle length. Having a thick blade in such small knives with short handles can not take advantage of any possibility of levering without blade damage (due to a thick blade), simply because there is not enough of handle length present to form a decent lever.

How about functioning as "small wedges" to split small bits of timber say of 1-2" diameter? yes this is possible especially if the timber is very dry and apt to split completely once the knife has travelled just part way into an end.  Green wood will be a different matter and one maybe required to belt the blade all the way though, something not practical at all with such small knives.

Now let's examine the usefulness of Finger knives Vs regular folding knives. Personally i do not believe their bulk (the finger knife) has any advantage over a decently manufactured folder as seen above (FKMD FX446 and a Kubey). In this latter example these folders features  very thick stop pins and very thick steel liners, so a lot of downwards force can be applied to the edge of the blade when cutting.

Now to finish up with a bit more candy!

BCT

 

Fox Knives FX-143MB in Niolox, Design by Markus Reichart

 

The Fox knives FX-143MB (Made in Italy) is a beautiful but functional fixed blade made with Niolox, which is Niobium enhanced steel and also features micarta resin scales of which the fibres are of natural jute (this plant belongs to the cotton family and is made from the fibres of the main stem).

The FX-143MB was release last year, so is still rather recent in Fox's line up.

Not surprisingly, the knife comes in cotton or jute? bag (inside of the usual thick cardboard boxes Fox ship their knives in).

The FX-143MB comes with a deep carry leather scabbard single stitched, and glued, no rivets, welt design, will easily fit a tactical belt eg 1.5" wide.

The spine is 4mm thick

It is a full flat grind, weight 115 grams or about 4Oz.

The FX-143MB features a slightly upswept tip. The scales are permanently secured with rivets and there is a separate lanyard hole too.This knife would be well suited to processing everything from small game such as birds and hares to skinning medium sized game such as goats, to gutting fish. Butchering medium game, it is not for filleting large fish; of course the blade is just on about 4" from the ricasso to the tip.

It just looks beautiful in my mind with the satin finish and also speaks practicality for the tasks I mentioned above. Don't talk to me about "choppers' because sometimes one wants a smaller tool for the job, one less cumbersome. This will suit both the occasional hunter and or  fisher person (did I just type that OMG, I meant fisherman!) and the regular hunter alike. it will suit someone out for a day hike or the overnight camper out for some fishing.

The handle of the FX-143MB is slim but comfortable and despite the fact it is very smooth, because it is slim, a good grip can be maintained upon it. 

This will be my first knife made from Niolox steel otherwise known as 1.4153.03./SB1 (Made in Germany). For those unfamiliar with it; here is the composition of this highly corrosion resistant stainless steel:

Carbon 0.8%

Cr 12.7%

Mo 1.1%

V 0.9%

Nb 0.7%

The addition of the element Niobium produces carbides (no kid eh), because Nb sits just below V on the periodic table group 5 elements if you remember this stuff from school!

Niolox has good toughness and good edge holding capabilities. It is primarily used to make industrial cutting blades in the food processing industry.

 It can be hardened anywhere from HRC57 right up to HRC 63!

In the case of the FX-143MB, FOX state that the HRC is: 59-61.

Some stills from field testing

Anyway stay tuned for the usual quality field review on the Fox knives FX-143MB 

Coming soon to BushCampingTools

In the meantime you can also view it here:

BCT