After we finished filming this video I ran over to the booth across the way and profusely apologized to the guy there, who I had drawn a perfect bead on accidentally while demonstrating the eye relief on the Advocate 1x prism. Everyone knows the guns are deactivated, everyone knows that you are going to get "muzzled" or "flagged" a thousand times during the event, but it's still never EVER my intention to aim an Mp5 at a very nice vendor whom I am certainly not willing to destroy. Bad rule four violation, Mike! I'm so happy to see all the positive reactions to this video. Hooray!

@zyblex

4 ай бұрын

Thanks for mentioning this - I've never been to a gun show and since I don't know how the weapons are deactivated, the way people handle and mount them there looks terrifying. Ian's gone over gun safety precautions at shooting matches and ranges many times, maybe a brief bit on gun show safety would be good?

@johneden2033

4 ай бұрын

You should have drawn on him again later on, just to put doubt in his mind and make him check over his shoulder for the rest of the day.

@trains4ourkids

4 ай бұрын

It was interesting because I was kind of waiting for it to happen one way or another. Seems like a niche someone could fill for accessory vendors. 3D printed and brightly colored, obvious "non-weapons" to have a way to mount optics and other such devices. edit: the show could pick a standardized color (training weapon blue, for example) and that way everyone knows "oh he's waving around his giant inert blue fake."

@douglasb5651

4 ай бұрын

Inadvertent flagging aside, Thanks for taking the time to share your knowledge and enthusiasm with us!!!

@user-mn8lz7gf6d

4 ай бұрын

thank you for the passionate and informative talk!

I said it on the last video and it’s worth repeating: this guy is a breath of fresh air. Candid, unpretentious, and a little funny. Thank you for bringing him to those of us that didn’t even know Gideon existed Ian.

@ticket2space

4 ай бұрын

Yeah this guys great I've only seen him twice I think and I'd be happy to see him more often

@workingguy6666

4 ай бұрын

I missed the last video he was in, so this was a real eye-opener for me. Wholly agree, more of this guy (who knows his shit, and is entertaining to boot), less of the rather recent boring interviews, please.

@WalterBurton

4 ай бұрын

@@workingguy6666 : It's worth hunting down. 👍 Dude's cool.

@windsnowandstatic9075

4 ай бұрын

While I think he did well (booth presentation is a whole skill unto itself) I know that ACOG’s lack of focus adjustment is a durability decision. Not because they thought all mil dudes have the same eye shape. That’s just not humanly possible with that amount of people (and the fact issued corrective eyewear is a thing). The other one that rubbed me wrong but I fully admit is probably a booth interview issue is that some prism configs can absolutely do high magnification in a small package. Just that those don’t tend to make for very good combat small arms optics.

@derekbroestler7687

4 ай бұрын

EXACTLY... Last video dude was pretty much like, "if you're doing HALO jumps into the ocean, this is NOT the product for you, but you're probably not ever going to do that, so you should give us a try."

Hearing this guy nerd out on prism scopes for 13 minutes was more fun than I ever would have expected. With the added benefit of demystifying their internal workings some. Its nice to hear someone who's passionate about a subject do the talking rather than someone who's just trying to sell what their boss told them to sell on that particular day.

@hoplophobia7014

4 ай бұрын

Yes, his excitement is fantastic

@Ol_Durty_Badger

3 ай бұрын

right?! So much so i just purchased their Omega red dot for my 10mm

Finding a line of work that is complimentary to ones specific ‘tism is the true secret to happiness

@dickdastardly4236

4 ай бұрын

And then, having someone who wants you to lay that 'tism on them in a two sided conversation. Pure bliss. "You... you want to talk about the thing I love?!"

@AdamantLightLP

4 ай бұрын

True indeed. It’s the wonderful thing that makes the world turn.

@roflchopter11

4 ай бұрын

And with prism sights and scopes, one can use one 'tism to compensate for one's other 'tism.

@evenwagner2839

4 ай бұрын

Amen brother and this man is near enlightenment

@clamum9648

4 ай бұрын

I got bitten by computer programming bug in junior high when I kinda figured out some super simple BASIC programming on the class computers there and instantly knew what I wanted to do for a career. Have been doing it about 15 years and still have software projects I work on in my free time. Tism ftw

It's always enjoyable to listen to someone so enthusiastic about their work.

Tl;dr: prism scopes are astigmatism friendly and can be used without a battery compared to a red dot. At low power magnification, prism scopes can have a wide field of view, forgiving eye relief and be smaller, lighter, and cheaper than traditional scopes.

@sloth7ds

4 ай бұрын

Yea i was wondering what the advantage of prism was vs red dot

@georgesheffield1580

4 ай бұрын

" low magnification " .at high power they require a higher standard of assembly . The prism also absorbs more light and don't work well with asemritic lenses

@RT81775

4 ай бұрын

The bit about astigmatism isn’t even always the case. In some cases, given the severity of astigmatism, the direction of the vision flaw, and the reticle type, you may still experience issues with a prism scope. The original 1x Primary Arms prism scope was not really much better for me than a red dot. The reticle was tiny and I believe the issue was with the length of the tube working with light transmission. OTOH the Burris AR-1X was fine, for some reason. ACOGs are technically prism scopes and unless I’m looking at a target 300 yards away, they’re essentially useless. They don’t have any diopter either, as stated in the video. TLDR: prism scopes are not a guaranteed solution for astigmatism. Don’t give up on red dots until you try them outdoors in the sun and see how they look.

@freakingabagool3510

4 ай бұрын

@@RT81775face that matches the opinion. Try running and gunning with a red dot and an astigmatism. Or just try running in general.

@onpsxmember

4 ай бұрын

Without the magnification, the etched reticle is tiny. With added magnifcation the eyebox gets smaller and the weight increases. So without severe astigmatism, rds for me. I'd love to see a smaller 4x Magnifier. They're dying out. Everything is either 3x or 5x. Got a Juliet 4x which is fine and tough but less weight would be nice.

I much appreciated the diagram. I had never considered how much bouncing around the light has to do in a pair of binoculars or a prim before.

This dude knows his shit - he is way more than just a SHOT Show salesman with that knowledge.

I like how dude isn't being a salesman. Just giving out information

Mike! Mike and I hugged at NRAAM 2019, special moment. We will always have Indianapolis.

This guy is great. Clearly he has the prism 'tism.

@GideonOptics2023

4 ай бұрын

LOL I'm stealing "prism tism" for use in a future video.

Bro needs his own channel or needs to get yoinked by one of the big boy manufacturers and thrown a fat salary...he knows his stuff, has an awesome personality and is an excellent presenter. One of my favorite guests you've had on here, well done Mike!

@PavewayJDAM

4 ай бұрын

I'm buying a Gideon optic just based off this dudes enthusiasm and clear he is a SME. Is it my SHTF optic, no, but when you 12th Rifle stashed for Zompocolypse is looking to upgrayedd, why not.

@johnb.6468

Ай бұрын

Lol did you fail geometry or something?

Dude, you can tell he really loves what he does and how excited he is to talk to Ian about prism scopes. And I love to see that kind of passion when it comes to the industry. Thank you for your info Gideon and Ian!

Thanks for doing this video. I live in the wild wild eastern United States where we don’t have a lot of wide open spaces. My 2.5x Primary Arms ACSS is all I need for an optic. I don’t even need the ACSS reticle because if I zero at 50 meters, the bullet doesn’t drop out to 200 meters which is as far as 99.9% of my shots. I do need an etched reticle. Even high end red dots are hard for me to see on bright sunny days. Also I have corrected astigmatism. Prism sights and iron sights work best for me.

@coser293

4 ай бұрын

I enjoy mine I got right before they ended production for 100$, only problem I have is without the illumination on I can barely see the middle dot because it's so small

The last time i was this early, I'aan ibn Khalaami had the secrets of Kraut Space Magic revealed to him by the spirit of Georg Luger in the H&K Grey Room

@wierdalien1

4 ай бұрын

Thats funny

@jamesallred460

4 ай бұрын

It was funny yesterday too.

@Heathen7

4 ай бұрын

Lisan al-Gaib!

@randomwarehouse4702

4 ай бұрын

@@Heathen7 It's more based on the Islamic story about how the Quran was revealed. I made a joke about Ian being Gun Jesus* and now I'm expanding it. Dune is based on Middle Eastern politics/resources and culture but it isn't connected to this in particular. Making a Dune joke about Igak Muad'ollum is a fantastic idea, however. *Under a previous video. referencing the Three Wise Men

@skoolynugenator1802

4 ай бұрын

This went over my head.

Am I the only person being driven totally nuts by the twist in Ian’s lanyard?

@steveh1792

4 ай бұрын

Yes.

@leewilkinson6372

4 ай бұрын

Yup. 😂

@collinculberson202

4 ай бұрын

Nope

@mattsimm1981

3 ай бұрын

Just had to mention it didn’t ya

@declineofthewest.

3 ай бұрын

Yes. Seek help

You should have this guy on for a serious sit down interview. He seems like an honest businessman selling optics, and we could use more people like him.

it's so great listening to industry experts. Thank you for this.

@frosty3693

4 ай бұрын

Yes, I talked to Mac Gwinn Jr (RIP) some years ago at SHOT in Orlando, it was a privilege and joy.

Another great interview Mike. I first saw you on TFB with James Reeves, and you did a great job there too. The three of you should do a collab called something like ”Optics for dummies” or “Optics 101”. It would be a massive box office.

he is that guy with who you will never get bored.. he is literally a optic nerd and clearly loves his work

I really like hearing Mike Branson talk, he's so enthusiastic and knowledgeable! Great content.

I have a Primary Arms prism attached to the rail on my 5.56 and I don't think I'll be going back to a red dot anytime soon. The view is incredibly clean, you know exactly where the impact point is when shooting at the zeroed distance, and being able to use it without even being turned on is convenient for the times I've accidently run the battery down.

@frosty3693

4 ай бұрын

What power? I have their LPVO ACSS and like them and am considering a 3X prism for my next build.

@alexhassell5743

4 ай бұрын

@frosty3693 it's only a 1x because I don't shoot at very long range generally. But I've got buddies with the higher magnifications, and they're just as clear to see through. I can heartily recommend them. Especially the green reticle, very visible.

@Smurfman256

4 ай бұрын

I have the 5x Micro prism with the ACSS Aurora reticle (the one that Primary Arms put in their TA31 collab). Super clear, the reticle is super readable, max brightness is daylight visible in bright, cloudless upper Midwest weather, and when I took it out to a long range to verify if the BDC marks were actually accurate for a 16" barrel with 62 grain 556, not only did they line up very well, but I also made hits ot at 500 yards with a 25-30MPH back wind. And that was my first time shooting anything past 100 yards period.

I'd love to see more of Mike... He's a great representative for Gideon. At shot show (any trade show) guys stay on task selling. Mike just talk about his passion and let the product sell itself. It was so fun learning about the history of prisms. He hardly talked about that 1x sight.. But Knowing Mike is involved in the product gave me every confidence in it... he didnt over sell it. it is what it is and its good enough for your application.

I have the Primary Arms SLX3x32 with the ACSS Gen 2 reticle. It’s a great prism with the ballistic drop marks for out to 600 yds. I used it on a horrible windy rainy day, it was able to help me get hits out to 600 yds, and I even got a hit with some guess work on a 2/3 silhouette at 700 yds. Prism scopes rock!

@Jorgen03

4 ай бұрын

Great optics at a great value. Their 3x micro is really good but the 3x you own is way more rugged.

@jdp22960

4 ай бұрын

@@Jorgen03 For sure, I bought it because it has many of the advantages of a Trijicon ACOG without the price tag. The thing is a tank too, one of my favorite optics.

@Jorgen03

4 ай бұрын

@@jdp22960Exact same reason why I got the 5x. 👍🏻

@patrickclark9430

4 ай бұрын

The 2x is the ideal ak optic imo. Super forgiving for the types of mounts you have to use

@jdp22960

4 ай бұрын

@@patrickclark9430 that’s good to know. AKs are a whole other beast with optic mounting. I tried to help my buddy put a red dot on his but then you couldn’t even chin weld to see through it

Have him on again please!!!! His excitement, his knowledge His nerding out is amazing

I have astigmatism and I wanted to add: For most people with astigmatism, red dots are still usable. The trick is to turn the brightness down and cowitness it with BUIS. Same goes for EOtechs, etc on rifles. Cowitness with BUIS (1/3 or absolute cowitness).

This Gideon guy is awesome. He's so open and helpful and bleuuuhhhhhh! Let it all go out there. He knows a few things too, and I love that he's willing to share with others to just help. Good for him for starting a company to do just that and offer a, hopefully, competitive product at a competitive price. I'm gonna go look at their website now. This is the second video I've seen with him at SHOT show, and thank you, Ian, for creating this series. This is useful, interesting, engaging stuff. You've gauged your audience well. This feels real, and that matters.

The SUIT sight we used on the SLR was a prism sight, which offered the unusual feature of the aiming needle coming down from the top of your sight picture.

@GideonOptics2023

4 ай бұрын

Have used the SUIT, and a couple of friends have asked me to develop something similar, with like a German style post coming from the top instead of the bottom. This way as the rifle recoils upwards you can hopefully continually monitor and track your target in the clear and unobstructed bottom half of your field of view. Makes a lot of sense, but I'm afraid it wouldn't sell because almost nobody in the USA market has experience with that configuration and they would all question it, say it's too weird and different. In other words... the American shooter isn't ready for 1970's British reticle technology? Hahahaha PS I have an FAL but mine is a "metric" style, not an SLR, and I love the gun but it is a real boat anchor. I can fight with it! I can run with it! Just... don't make me fight with it right after I finish running with it ok? Can we just stop and take a few minutes to rest before the shooting starts please?

@geodkyt

4 ай бұрын

Yeah, the SUIT reticle arrangement was a neat idea, but I don't think the advantage of not having the post obscure the target during recoil outweighs the advantage of being able to track the target as you bring the rifle up from a low ready - honestly, most troops really aren't tracking the target during recoil, and the SUIT was made for line grunts, not precision riflemen. It's like BDC cams on line infantry rifles - multiple studies by multiple nations (and multiple forces within nations) have shown that, by and large, PVT Snuffy isn't dialing range in combat (and the days of the lieutenant shouting, "Set your sights to 300 yards, lads!" as the wave of spear armed locals pass the appropriate range stake are long gone), he's holding off. So, there is little point in designing a sight with more than the simplest and most rugged BDC, *if* it is intended for the PBI (Poor Bloody Infantry), much less the 80% of the force that aren't even riflemen by trade. Save those fancy features for the guys who will actually make use of them, unless you can incorporate them into the "line" rifles without loss of other functionality, features, or ruggedness.

@aaronfarnsworth7653

4 ай бұрын

@@geodkyt It isn't target obscuration during recoil that is the problem being solved with an inverted post reticle. Although, with a light recoiling rifle, it could be an extra benefit for witnessing impacts and target movements. It doesn't obscure your target at range when one needs to add a bit of kentucky elevation or windage in the field. Nor during initial alignment. It would take some practice to become accustomed to an inverted post but it is no different than learning anything new.

@aaronfarnsworth7653

4 ай бұрын

@@GideonOptics2023 Yes, people get dogmatic in their preferences, training etc and are skeptical of different ways. The 'new' ways have to prove themselves for better or worse. You would have an easier time with the minds of new shooters. I think being able to track target movement and possibly projectile impacts is dependent on a light enough recoiling rifle so your scope view is minimally disturbed. I see inverted posts as more beneficial in unobstructed viewing during initial targeting as well as clear viewing while applying kentucky windage and elevation. Ok, we need new rules of war. A time-out can be signaled where all ballistic dodgeball activity must halt. Everyone must stay where they are at that moment so that the time-out callers can catch their breath. No changing or charging of weapons or magazines allowed during the time-out. When the whistle is blown, the ballistic dodgeball game is resumed and all previous restrictions are removed. 🥸

@dude126

4 ай бұрын

@geodkyt thanks for that very detailed insight. I just thought the needle coming down from the top looked a bit odd and it does take a bit of getting used to. It would would be a niche market of old school veterans that would be interested in this.

I've been using a Vortex Spitfire 3x Prism on my AR. It's wonderful, and the eye relief is HUGE.

@randomnobodovsky3692

3 ай бұрын

It is, but adjustment is 1MOA/click, for some reason. Which is quite... coarse? (It's 0.5MOA per click for most red dots). I'd rather be able to do the occasional precise shot at small-ish target with high confidence.

What a lovely chap and a great interview.

I would love to see some testing with a 1x prism and a magnifier. Seems like an ideal solution for my astigmatism eyes.

@wnemethvargo284

4 ай бұрын

you do it.

@GideonOptics2023

4 ай бұрын

Good idea! I have a Vortex 3x magnifier lying around here somewhere. I'll make a KZread on our channel about it. Yay! --Mike

@Tolandur

4 ай бұрын

@@GideonOptics2023 that would be great, astigmatism really messes up red dots for me and i'm looking at 1x prism sights but would like the ability to magnify the optic if needed.... a 3x would be around the sweet spot for a lightweight rifle at 2-300m ranges.... anything further and i'm pulling out the big boys with LPVOs on them

I sincerely appreciate that there are vendors that aren't marketing the lates, greatest, ultra expensive stuff but affordable and reasonably priced gear

Mike is genuinely a good dude.

I was literally "given" a medical discharge from the Army because my vision at the time precluded using prism optics. This was in the early 90s, when the only prism optics were in Artillery (gun sight + collimator) LASIK fixed it in mid 2000, but I was screwed out of the career I wanted to pursue.

@GideonOptics2023

4 ай бұрын

Ugh, that sucks! After 9/11 I tried to quit law school and join up, but like a fool I sent in my medical records to MEPS and they saw a lifetime of asthma medications and said nope, we don't take your kind. Not being able to serve my country in our armed forces is one of a very very short list of regrets I have in my life. --Mike

@squidwardo7074

4 ай бұрын

Yeah i mean i wouldnt want some guy who can't see shit to be watching my back

3:58 This makes me wonder how primary arms makes that 5x microprism work.

@leewilkinson6372

4 ай бұрын

I hate you. Lol😂 now I can't think of anything else...... haha Let's see..... I am thinking, after thsi video, that they have to have added another magnifying lense behind the prism. It would explain the reduced eye box from 3x and reduced field of view.....

2:30 is giving me sweet memories of the Great War of 2016

Such a great interview and explanation.

I was sad to see Mike leave Swampfox since they're doing a lot of good things for budget optics, but it looks like Gideon snagged the right guy for the job if they're interested in rolling out a line of prism optics.

This guy's enthusiasm got me into Swampfox now it's going to be Gideon

I have astigmatism and swapped out to a prism on my AR and love it. That little 1X at $230 will have to replace the red dots on a couple of 9mm carbines I have!

@theflypilot

3 ай бұрын

How did it help exactly? Do you red dots starburst?

@kodiakkeith

3 ай бұрын

​@@theflypilot I you have astigmatism red dots won't be round. I get a comet shape... Many/most people don't know they have astigmatism until they get a red dot. Perfect vision otherwise.

@theflypilot

3 ай бұрын

@@kodiakkeith Yeah I definitely have astigmatism. My Romeo 7s starbursts bad plus I wear glasses. I imagine the prism is much better. At least I hope it solves my issue.

It's a pleasure listening to an optic enthusiast and Ian, it provided me with very useful insight about prism optics.

I choose prism as my base optic due to the simple fact it is almost exempt from the effects of an EMP. Second consideration is my astigmatism is bad enough that red dots are almost useless except for uber close range... As the gentleman said, they are low fixed power and can take care of business to 300 yards easy. For longer range I go with variable optic usually in the FFP type. I look forward to seeing the 3 power from Gideon when it becomes available. Cheers!

@KarsenKeith

4 ай бұрын

I'm not a red dot user but EMPs are a rather unrealistic concern

@lutherpayne9957

4 ай бұрын

@@KarsenKeith I see it as the 4 wheel drive truck saga. Buy a 4x4 and never use it. Some will say you wasted your money on an unrealistic plan. Don't buy a 4x4 and need one just once and you may be ridiculed for not planning properly. I was in the military 40+ years ago and they worried about it then. The last time I checked, not a single country has given up their nukes and many more have now become part of the nuke family of nations. I'm just trying to cover the bases. Enjoy your week. Cheers!

@randomnobodovsky3692

3 ай бұрын

If seriously worried about EMP, you may want to keep your red dot and other electronics in Faraday's cage (including a proper strongbox). Having working electronics (night vision/thermal?) in post-EMP collapse seems worth it.

This guy is very interesting and fun to watch, and really enjoy forgotten weapons

What a lovely guy! I instantly like him! Mike seems to be that kind of guy that is just really excited to talk to you about what he likes! ❤

Just got my first prism a couple weeks back! Definitely recommend

Great Video with an amazing pair of storytellers!

I really hope there’s more videos with Mike! He really enjoys talking about optics, and I’m totally here for it. Plus, he has a sick beard.

This guy is great! Prism scopes are awesome for several other reasons. I used a 1x for a few years as a cop. I loved not having to turn anything on or worry about what magnification I was on. I also never had to worry about my white light washing the dot out 👍

Thanks for this. Answered a couple of questions I've had for a while. I was an ACOG guy for a long time but my developing astigmatism eventually turned the reticles into mush or double images. I always wondered why they didn't have the diopter adjustment and now I know why. No old fart eyes in military rifledom. I've gone to Primary Arms 1x and 2x prisms and haven't looked back.

It's always interesting to listen to someone who's super passionate about their work and have them explain the nitty gritty of what's going on.

Even in hostile situations with adverse weather conditions 3x is plenty good out to expected engagement distances unless you're the guy hanging back and reading peoples names of their dog tag before you put a toe tag on them.

I agree this guy's enthusiasm is golden (and he has an mp5 variant so you already know he's cool)

Love guys like this i could listen to them for hours lol. Great guest

Oh nice I was hoping we would see Mike again

Glad to have this guy back on!

Based on these two videos, the lifetime warranty, price point, and features of the optic, I purchased the judge pistol reflex sight today. It fit exactly what I was looking for at a better price point. Thank you immensely for introducing me.

Having him as a guest with prepared questions for him to answer at length would be a very nerdy. and I would enjoy it. I recently bought a Monstrum 4x prism and had no idea how it actually worked, but knowing now what is actually going on inside, I am nervous about how well my purchase will hold up considering the price.

He really is a massive nerd for optics. And I'm here for it! I genuinely appreciate his thoughts and views on his products.

Finally a video about optics friendly to my astigmatism

@FuzedBox

4 ай бұрын

I can only use 1moa dots, anything larger becomes a starburst. Love my Vortex Spitfire 1x (gen1) and Primary Arms SLx 5x w/ ACSS Aurora reticle. Prism optics are a game changer for anyone with astigmatism. I just wish there was a way for us to enjoy holosights, but that will never happen.

@Carnage1138

4 ай бұрын

@FuzedBox I can use a holosight, I have an Eotech on my AK, but I have to concentrate for it to stop blurring, something I never have to worry about with the Primary Arms slx 1x I have on my AR. Then again, the Eotech was something I bought before I found out about my astigmatism, so oh well.

@KarsenKeith

4 ай бұрын

@@FuzedBox an interesting thing I found about holograpics sights is while the reticle looks like garbage to me naturally, having a magnifyer basically fixes everything. Probably a simple science there but I'm too lazy to look it up.

I'm very glad to see you covering companies like this. I picked up their Prism and man, it very well might be my favorite "dot" I have.

What an enjoyable interview

Sounds interesting, and I like people as this guy, that is a nerd in his topic and doesn't talk down on other manufactures or specific products. Just "we have this product and you get these benefits". He seems like a person you could talk with for hours.

Love this dude! Unpretentious and knowledgeable!

I just recently bought two prism optics, one for a friend's AR, and since I was waiting in the Primary Arms showroom, I decided to get a 5x for myself. My nephew has significant astigmatism -- to the point he just gave up trying to shoot the AR I helped him build. I bought him a Vortex Spitfire (?) prism optic in green, and that made all the difference. He really enjoys shooting his AR now, especially suppressed. I'll take a look at Gideon, as I can think of an AR I can put that on. Thanks for this video.

I just love this guy. Hope this company can succeed

These have been some excellent optic conversations! We're going to need a dedicated Q&A sometime 😉👍 I'm also thinking of trying the growing trend of testing the use of a primary red dot and an offset 3x-5x prism scope... It sounds backwards, but when do you want to take time canting your weapon to where the optic is inline with the bore? longer ranges where time and precision is often an option or from 1ft-100+ yards, which slows down your time to your first aimed shot when using an offset dot... Jeff Gurwitch on his "modern tactical shooting" channel has a great video on the topic... If I'm going to mount a tube optic for more primary precision use why take the weight penalty (and other problems) of a 1-8x LPVO that really still requires an offset dot when I could have much more magnification for the same or less weight while still having a decently low 2-5x low end while still having much better high magnification primary use capabilities, along with the offset dot... Basically a basic carbine setup vs. DMR setup by just swapping the placement of the two optics... Especially if you want NVG capabilities for the carbine, or want clip on enablers for the DMR which would be wasted on LPVOs or Prisms (even though I still like primary 3x+ prism setups for certain things, but this is a do all type philosophy)... The offset magnified prism concept is really just now a possibility to try for the entire firearms market... Given availability, size, weight, lower prices, and more mounting solutions of the newest generation micro prism scopes... Basically that magic 1-4x/1-6x Elcan concept, but no levers, no POI shifts, no fussing with magnifiers (magnifiers definitely aren't a perfect solution, just another optic in the way of your primary aiming optic 😉), or LPVO levers that usually go from min-max... A good proven primary do all dot, with the additional capability of magnification by just canting the rifle consistently is an interesting concept, atleast to me... I know it sounds backwards, but you should definitely have a look at Jeff's video on the topic and his test platform/results so far! 👍

Very likable and informative guy.

This guy is great! He's not out to sell you on his product, he just wants you to know everything about it so you can decide if it's right for you. Always a pleasure to listen to someone that is incredibly knowledgeable and passionate about something.

His honesty is very refreshing.

Probably my fav optic I've purchased over the last 10 years has been the Primary Arms 3x that I have mounted on my 5.56 Galil Ace. Was landing first shot hits from 200 out to 500 with the ACSS reticle, big fan of it.

Ian, the Iook at the Airgun world, Immersive Optics does sights up tp a14x50 prism sight. reasonable weight and size. problem is you need to be at almost contact to the eye range.

These guys make a good team

I picked up the Advocate for an AP 5 after seeing the first video with this guy and it works really well in that application.

I’ve put a 4x prism on my lever gun. Love it.

Very cool video. That guy really knows his stuff.

Great content!

I like this guy. It would be really cool if you did a bunch more videos with him!

Roof prism binoculars have always been available, and cheaply. I bought my first 8X40 roof prism binoculars about 45 years ago, with kid allowance money (that I saved up for a couple months). Plus rubberized, camouflaged and floatable !!!

This guy's enthusiasm is infectious

I fucking love this guy.

Never got to try a prism scope before being at IWA last month. Tried some at the Primary Arms booth and absolutely loved it. Besides the fact that it confirmed then that i have some form of stigmatism. Their micro prism is just a great scope, and with the etched reticle is like having back up irons build in if there would be something wrong with the battery. Was looking at a Holosun AEMS red dot, which i tried also when at IWA and its a great dot and it didnt change shape at all. But just loved the prism for having the reticle, if there is enough light i dont have to turn the uliminitation on and as an added bonus. The prism scope was also quite a lot cheaper to get compared to the AEMS.

The opening explanation was cool

Great video.

I got to try one of those cheap (all relative, ~600 bucks) microbolometer, cam based thermal scopes. Useful range away from city light - well for _spotting_ I could fairly easily spot a person at a kilometer. For accuracy of aim I have no idea, but it was pretty accurate at 200m, didn't have a useful target to test beyond that. But it was surprising and positively strange in many ways. Being camera based, actually looking through a lens but into a small screen was weird. Having a big zoom range like a digital camera, on something that small, was even weirder. There was autofocus but for that kind of pricetag the default setting was rather aggressive and not perfect, at least at long range. But it was adjustable, so when turning the autofocus down it calmed down a lot and stopped hunting. It got me maybe 90% there, and the manual lens focus ring would quickly get me the rest of the way. I always imagined general mechanical stability and integrity would be a major issue with a construction like this. That at minimum it would need a crapload of fairly soft dampening, which would at least have a substantial risk of stuff not bouncing back to the exact same position. But if I understand correctly, the electronics have gotten incredibly small, and the ability to make small high precision germanium lens(es) have gotten really affordable. So it's able to cope with the forces of being stuck to a firearm, because those components are so small and light that they have practically no inertia. So as long as they're fixed well, they don't really need any notable dampening :) The little screen still has some mass to it so that has dampening, but it doesn't really matter if that happened to shift a tiny bit - because it's just a screen. In theory you could jostle and turn that display whatever way you like, heck even take it off the "scope" and hold it in your hand if there were extension wires, and it won't affect the accuracy. Because it's not actually part of the optical path. It does feel a bit gimmicky, but it's obviously a useful gimmick. I never really thought something like this would be available to civilian market, certainly not anything remotely close to this price. I think resolution of the sensor was 640 times something. There was a 50hz mode, but it seemed like there was aggressive signal amplification going on to get a useful image at longer range with that little exposure time, because there was a lot of noise. But at 20 or 24 hz I didn't notice any signal noise, at least not easily percievesble on such a small display.

Gideon deserves a good look. Very impressive and informative.

Very cool, learned a lot. I have a Primary Arms prism on an M16A1(ish) clone and its eye relief is nothing near what that Gideon optic is lol.

I love my prism sights because I don't get the spikes from my astigmatism as I do on dots. As a guy who's gotten DNF on courses of fire because my sights self destructed, and had dots die on the range... that the prism will work after the illumination fails is a genuine bonus.

the acog part makes a lot of sense now. i hated them until after lasic.

YES, We LOVE PRISM SCOPES TOO❤

I'd like to see a presentation with cut-aways, I think it would be interesting and be good content in general.

Regarding the large 5.5x ACOG, I would love to see a comprehensive break down of of its function and the viability of such a large prism optic. There isn't a lot of info about it owing to its relative unpopularity compared to its smaller siblings - though from what I've read, those who have it and use it seem to really like it.

I have a red dot on my AR. My astigmatism that has developed in the last 10 years or so makes to so hard for me to see clearly through it. So this prism 1x might be exactly what I need.

I was just asking myself this question, and here we have an answer!

While I like the guy (I too am biased toward prism optics.) I can’t help but call out that the thing about the ACOG not having an external focusing assembly was not because they thought all young folks have the same eye shape. It was a durability thing. Otherwise you’d not have to worry about issuing corrective glasses and teaching using the optical center of prismatic optics with them. And I do think the point of prisms getting big for higher magnification is struggling from short booth interview issues, in that, several prism configurations exist that can do high magnification in small packages. But, the trade offs of them would not make them good small arms optics for military use. The Schmidt-pechan prism of the ACOG isn’t as efficient but allows for greater eye relief and larger field of view when paired with a good objective lens (hence the larger body). Great for a combat gun. But slow competition optics can get up to 14x in seriously small packages not taking into account pocket magnifiers smaller than some modern phablet phones. The ACOG one I think he’s just repeating things that just aren’t true sadly, but as for the second point of small high magnification prism optics suffers from having to try to condense a lot of info into a quick booth interview format.

@GideonOptics2023

4 ай бұрын

That's kind of what I meant though. When the ACOG was first developed and issued, the policy was you either have 20/20 vision or better, or you are corrected to 20/20 vision, or you won't get the optic issued to you. You'll get something else. I'm not saying all military eyeballs are identical, but I am saying there is a military specification infantry eyeball, said specification being 20/20. I don't know if that is still true. Maybe they issue them now to guys who aren't correctable to 20/20 and the policy has changed. But when the original 4x was adopted in the late 1980s, it was 20/20 or no ACOG for you.

A truly honest gentleman!

I was in the army and got high enough to be issued an acog. We would adjust the brightness, by coloring in the fiber optic with a grease pen or hundred mile hour tape.

I have a Burris AR 1X and it works with a magnifier , but i bouhght it for two reasons, one is for the CQB aspect of a dot sight and two because of an astigmatism that doesn't let me use red dots. So if you want to shot at long range you can with a flip to the side magnifier.

Yeah, I love this guy.

Two delightful gentlemen.

Now I know who Binoculars work. Thank you Ian :)