V5: the Vampire Companion

The 5th edition of Vampire: the Masquerade debuted August 1, 2018. More than two years later, players finally get to see the 5th edition rules for the Ravnos, Salubri and Tzimisce in this free book, the Vampire Companion. 

Executive Summary: Well... it's free. If I had paid more than a few dollars for it, I would be quite upset at the lack of quality in this book.  

Part I: The Clans and Their Aptitudes 

Ravnos

Well, the good news is that they've gotten past the racist "all Ravnos are gypsies and all gypsies are thieves" clan weakness that's been around since the early days of the game. 

The bad news is that the clan's new Bane and Compulsion are tied into 1999's Week of Nightmares where the clan founder died and nearly all Ravnos went mad and killed each other and then themselves. 

So, setting apart the fact that nearly every single VtM GM that I know of has said "Sod that, the Week of Nightmares was the result of the game publisher shutting down the game line. I hate what they did and I'm going to ignore that garbage"... what if your game is set pre-1999? This is a clan that's been around for thousands of years, and yet there's no provision for pre-WoN Ravnos characters. So if you want to play a Ravnos any time before, you're either stuck with a dumb weakness or have to make your own. That's not just sloppy writing, that's an outright failure of game design.

My Ravnos writeup is superior, as it allows you to play the Ravnos in any era. 

Speaking of my writeup, I am amused by how close the "official" Discipline mix came to my writeup. The original was Animalism, Fortitude, and Chimerstry (illusion powers); I rightly assumed that Chimerstry would be an amalgam of Obfuscate and Presence. I replaced Fortitude with Celerity because I felt it fit the concept better; for some reason, the designers felt that Animalism fit them better instead. I don't care for it, but I suppose I could live with it in a game. 

As for the amalgam powers themselves, they're also pretty close to mine except for the following:

• There are only 2 of them instead of 3. 
• The first is a second-level Discipline, which I dislike. 
• There is no high-level power where you convince someone the illusion actually hurt them. 
• They use Manipulation instead of Resolve. I get why they did that -- you are after all trying to manipulate someone into believing an illusion is real -- but given the difficulty in crafting an illusion which must be believable, and to some degree persistent, falls more under Resolve in my book.

Salubri

Thanks, I hate it. 

Here's a clan which, in canon, has a wholly unique power of healing, protection, and peacemaking. It's also one of the original clans. This means that more than any other, it deserves its own discipline, right?

Nope! the Companion replaces Valeran with Dominate, and you get three powers which are amalgams of Auspex/Dominate and Auspex/Fortitude. About the best thing I can say about this is that the authors thought to have a power which healed Willpower damage, and I didn't. My version is still better, though, as it gives you a lot more choices in how you want to build your character: healer, guardian, or peacemaker. 

Their weakness is similarly stupid. In previous editions they were portrayed as the most humane of all vampires, and and such if they fed upon the unwilling they literally damaged themselves. This made sense. However, their new V5 weakness is that their blood is delicious and if another vampire starts to drink, they find it very difficult to stop. 

I'll say that again: This clan, which lasted for THOUSANDS of years, somehow managed to do so with a giant "Eat Me" weakness. No. It's dumb. Go away. 

Their clan compulsion, at least, isn't terrible. But that's because it's close to what I use. 

Tzimisce

Sigh. 

Look, guys, this shouldn't be difficult. Nearly all of the work has been done for you over the past 20 years. Just convert them to V5 and make sure they are properly creepy, inhuman Dracula-type  vampires and you're good to go. 

Sadly, this isn't good to go. 

On the good side: They've given them the exact same discipline mix as I did (Animalism, Dominate, Protean) for exactly the same reasons. They've also made the Fiends' signature fleshcrafting abilities an amalgam of Dominate and Protean, like I suggested. This amuses me. 

As for Vicissitude, again the designers insist on making the amalgams start at level 2, which bothers me because these were signature powers in previous editions and so I feel they ought to be accessible early. That said, they have the same spread I proposed of "Change yourself, change others, turn into a monster," although some powers don't quite line up. I will go over this later in greater detail because I think there's some good meat on these bones that could be put to use in my version. I do think I covered more rule cases then they did, and so I expect errata for these powers will come out at some point. There's also a Level 5 Animalism/Protean amalgam, One With the Land, which I had not thought of and will cheerfully steal for my own use. 

On the 'meh' side: Well, I don't hate their Bane of "must sleep surrounded by something the define as theirs, be it land, a chosen kind of people, etc" and could live with it in a game. I think that it totally misses the point of a Bane, because there really isn't much of a penalty at all during play unless the adventure calls you out of town or the GM decides to screw with your haven, and it doesn't do anything with the notorious Tzimisce codes of hospitality. Again, I did it better. 

On the bad side: the clan Compulsion is stupid. "Hurr durr. We're called Dragons, and so our Compulsion is to covet and hoard shit like a stereotypical dragon on a pile of treasure." The writers are reaching too far and trying too hard to be cute. 

On the ugly side: Here are sample stats for Szlachta and Vozhd. No, there are no rules for making your own. Worse, apparently all Vozhd and some Szlachta require Blood Sorcery to make. Did I mention that Blood Sorcery is not one of the Tzimisce's disciplines?

Right. So, to make these iconic servants, they need a power which isn't native to them and there are no rules for how to build them in the first place. Fuck you, game designers. This isn't just sloppy, this is outright insulting. 

Also, there is mention of the Sabbat and the Tzimisce membership therein, but nothing specifically about this sect. I can't really call this sloppy as the Sabbat really needs its own companion volume like the Camarilla and Anarchs received, but this absence of information about what the sect is up to in the V5 era is certainly conspicuous and jarring. 

Part II: Clans and Coteries

This is about 2/3rds fluff, 1/3rd crunch. That said, it's fairly good fluff and somewhat useful crunch; the fluff is "how stereotypical clan members act in coteries (read: PC party) and treat the other members (read: player characters)," which is good information for people new to the game and a useful guideline for the GM to show problem players.

The crunch is a clan-specific merit which benefits the coterie in a direct, mechanical way. While interesting in theory, some merits are more useful than others: the two point Tzimisce "Old World Hospitality" merit grants everyone in the coterie an extra recovered Willpower point if they stay the day in the Tzimisce's haven, but the two point Ventrue "Kindred Legacies" merit means that once per session a player can as the GM to reveal a piece of relevant information about the history of a single vampire with whom they’ve come in contact. If you ask me, the former is vastly more useful than the latter, and they both cost the same. 

Oh, fun fact: Despite being introduced in this very book, there is no coterie merit for the Salubri clan. Sloppy, sloppy, sloppy! There's no excuse for this. 

Part III: Mortals and Ghouls as PCs

Mortals

For the most part, this is exactly what it says on the box. Character creation is simple and to the point, and I don't know why this was left out of the main book. 

I would have enjoyed a more in-depth treatment of what is involved to make mortals who are vampire hunters, but there are already books like that out there in previous editions. What we needed was a mechanical update, and we got one. 

The most interesting thing about this is that the rules specifically state that even though humans don't have to worry about their bestial hunger driving them to commit acts of predation, dominance and cruelty like vampires do, they still have a Humanity Rating and that it can go down. Some of you are saying "Well, duh" but I recall more than one hard-headed Person Who Is Wrong On The Internet making the claim that all humans have a Humanity of 10 by virtue of being human. Yes, they really are saying that serial killers have a higher Humanity score than vampires who take pains not to hurt humans. Sit on this and rotate, jerks. 

Ghouls

Again, why was this not in the main book? We have some good fluff about what it's like to be a ghoul, how they interact with vampire society, and so forth. Character generation is almost identical to that of mortals, so I don't understand why it was repeated. 

There are some interesting ghoul-specific rules here, which are nice to see. I was curious how ghouls would work mechanically since the "leaky gas tank" system of previous editions is gone. I personally think more thought could have gone into this, but since a lot of games treat ghouls as speed bumps or staff to handle things offscreen, I can understand why they wouldn't go into more depth. (I, however, might do so later...)

Short version:

• Ghouls heal twice as quickly as mortals, excepting fire damage. Since they no longer have "blood points" to spend to heal, this is a nice simplification. 
• Upon ghouling, they get a level one power in any Discipline possessed by their master. 
• They don't actually have Disciplines, but are considered to have one dot for purposes of using the powers. 
• They can buy more level 1 powers for 10 points each, even powers their masters don't have. 
• They cannot buy powers in Disciplines their masters don't have.
• If they ever have to make a Rouse Check, they take 1 point of aggravated damage instead. 
• There is no specific ruling on what happens to those powers if their masters die or they get new ones. The Rule of Fair indicates that XP spent in such a manner should not be lost, but whether those points are refunded for reallocation or the old powers remain is left unstated.  

Finally, there are some ghoul-specific merits and flaws. 

This is by far the best and most useful section of the companion, and I feel that it should have been one of the first supplements introduced. 

Part IV: Errata and Rules Update

Why has it taken over two years for errata to have officially been released? That aside, here are the changes:

• Blood Surge increases by one for all Blood Potency values. 
• Bane Severity increases in the same manner. 
• Compulsions now canonically can result from Messy Criticals as well as Bestial Failures. (I say 'canonically' because my GM and others have been using this rule for as long as I've been playing V5.)
• Taking Half has been introduced as the V5 version of D&D's Take Ten. You count your dice pool, cut it in half, and apply that number as successes. 
• The "Lingering Kiss" power has been rewritten. 

In Conclusion

The content that most players were waiting for was done poorly, and the good parts weren't long enough. 

It's probably good that it's free, because if people paid money for this they'd be incensed. On the other hand, if it were a paid product maybe the publishers could have afforded to hire better people to write this farce. 

MAG40: an LGBTQ review

Back in February, I had the pleasure of attending a MAG40 class taught by Massad Ayoob himself. Since I am queer, I decided to review the class based on how friendly it was to LGBTQ students.

Disclaimer 1: I met Massad Ayoob before taking this class. I don't feel justified in saying that we are specifically friends -- for example, I've never hung out with the man, drinking beers and sharing stories -- but I feel it's safe to say that we are friendly with each other. We're on a first-name basis, and I hope that I can get to know him better. 

Disclaimer 2: I grew up around military people, so I am used to things like inappropriate humor, the "command voice", and things like that. If you haven't been exposed to these then they might shock you if you aren't ready for them. I didn't feel any of it was rude or hateful or needlessly aggressive, and no one was singled out. As an example, Mas says "You don't need testicles to 'have balls' or a vagina to 'be a pussy'." I don't consider this offensive. 

Disclaimer 3:  I attended the classes en homme, aka in drab. I had some pretty solid reasons for doing this, mainly because it takes me 2-3 hours to go from ugh to reasonably female-looking and the classes start at 8 am and go until 6 pm or later. I didn't want to deal with the hassle of dressing up and then maintaining my appearance while sweating off my makeup at the shooting field. I decided that I was there to learn and not to pass as female. However, please see Is the MAG40 course LGBTQ-friendly? below. 

Is MAG40 a good value for your money?
It absolutely is. I realize it costs a lot of money (if it hadn't been for an angel offering to pay my way, I wouldn't have been able to afford to attend the $800 course), but what you get out of it is AMAZING:

1. 20 hours of firearms training by a highly skilled shooter and a greatly respected member of the firearms community and his hand-picked cadre of instructors. This is akin to getting training in "how to throw a football" by a quarterback whose team won the Super Bowl multiple times. 
2. 20 hours of classroom instruction on when to shoot, when not to shoot, and what to do if you are involved in a defensive shooting, taught by a man whose resume includes such jobs as "police officer" and "expert witness". 
3. A guarantee that if you are put on trial for murder or manslaughter in a self-defense shooting, Mas will look at the details of the case and, if he agrees that your shooting was justified, will testify in your defense. Not only is Mas an expert witness when it comes to guns and self-defense, but he can also testify to the training you had and therefore why you acted the way that you did. 

What if I can't afford to attend?
$800 is a lot of money, I won't deny that, and taking a 4-day weekend to get 40 hours of instruction may not be possible for people with busy jobs or lots of children. Fortunately, there is a solution: the MAG40 class is also offered as two blocks of instructions of 20 hours each separated into Classroom – Armed Citizens’ Rules of Engagement and Live Fire.

If you can only afford one -- and I strongly encourage you to take both -- then I recommend the Classroom portion. My rationale here is that any trainer can teach you how to shoot, but you can only get the Armed Citizens’ Rules of Engagement from a MAG class.

Is the MAG40 class LGBTQ-friendly?
It is. When I applied for the course, one of the requirements was to provide proof of a clean criminal record (in my case, this was accomplished by sending a copy of my Concealed Weapon Permit). The reason for this is so that Mas can ensure that his class is taught only to "certified good guys" and not by people with criminal records who are looking for ways to get away with murder in the name of self-defense. I understand and applaud this, but for those of us who are transgender yet haven't changed our legal name or gender marker, this presents an awkward if not embarrassing situation.

In the email where I submitted my paperwork, I included the following statement:

Also, you may not know this but I am transgender. I bring this up because I have not completed transition and my legal documentation is still under my biological name. I do not want any special treatment; I'm just letting you know so you aren't confused or surprised. 

This was the response:

Thank you for your MAG 40 registration material that I have received by email.  Your preceding email noting that your legal documentation is still under your biological name is also appreciated. 

Since the inception of Lethal Force Institute and MAG (MAG – Massad Ayoob Group is LFI’s successor organization), Mas Ayoob has insisted upon requiring incoming students to show evidence of a clean criminal history.  His stated intention is that he is not going to teach people how to “murder” other people and get away with it.  Thus the insistence upon some proof of current clean criminal record.  I have no problem with this requirement, in fact, I support it wholeheartedly and believe that you do also. 

Here is our problem (that is not a problem), and a suggested workaround.  I have received your registration material in good order in the legal name of [name redacted]. If it is OK with you, I will log your registration for the desired February 2017 MAG 40 class.  That registration will be logged in your legal name – because I have all the supporting documentation for clean criminal history in that name.  When you complete the MAG 40 class, we will be aware that you wish to have your completion certificate made in the name of Erin Palette.  That is fine with us, because we will know that [legal name] (for whom we have documentation) and Erin Palette are one and the same good person.  (My wife, who makes out name tags and neck tags for students, will make all your desk and range material as Erin Palette.  You will thus be addressed as Erin Palette in the class.)  

I hope that this workaround will be “workable” for you.  If it is not, please let me know.  

We look forward to seeing you soon.

I found this to be a perfectly reasonable response and was quite happy with the workaround.

Some of you may be thinking That's all very well and good, Erin, but you still appeared cisgender and your name is ambiguous, so you benefited from social camouflage. This is a true enough point and I won't refute it. All I can say is this:

• I am rather sensitive to feeling singled out or picked out. Not ONCE did I feel like I was looked down upon or treated poorly for being trans by the instructors who knew my situation (which was most of them, and nearly all were male and more than half were what you'd consider "older white men.")
• There was NO casual homophobia, racism or sexism. Not even an offhand use of "gay" as a synonym for bad. In fact, both Mas and Gail Pepin, his girlfriend, invited me to speak to the class about Operation Blazing Sword so I know they're comfortable with LGBTQ people and topics. 
• While Mas and the rest of the instructors have no control over the behavior of other students, my gut feeling is that anyone who was rude to another student would disrupt the SAFE (Secure, Asshole-Free Environment) that Mas requires for his class and they would be given one warning to cut it out before being asked to leave. 

Therefore, I feel 100% comfortable in recommending the MAG40 course to all LGBTQ students. 

Product Review: the Glock “Gadget”

http://tinyurl.com/k5frgo4

The Tau Development Group’s Striker Control Device, also known as the “Glock Gadget”, is a device that can be added to any double-stack Glock pistol to prevent an accidental discharge while holstering.

Overview
The Gadget is a metal two-piece hinged design that replaces the plastic slide cover plate. The moving portion has a protrusion that rests against the striker.; when you pull the trigger, the striker moves backwards, which causes the hinged back plate to move. By applying pressure with your thumb to the striker control device, you can prevent an accidental discharge, such as when you are holstering your pistol and something gets caught inside the trigger guard.

By keeping your thumb on the Gadget while you holster your Glock, you will feel pressure against your thumb as it resists the striker going backward. This not only alerts you to the problem of something within your holster depressing the trigger, but it also prevents an accidental discharge (and therefore a potentially serious injury) by slowing or halting the backward motion of the striker.

Despite adding more moving parts to your gun, the SCD doesn't introduce an opportunity for extra malfunctions. It is designed to "fail unsafe", meaning that if it breaks it does not interfere with the ability of the pistol to fire.

Installation
It's very simple to install the Gadget: just (carefully!) remove the stock slide cover plate from your Glock and replace it with the SCD. It took me longer to research how to safely remove my back plate than it took to actually swap them out.

It is noteworthy that, once installed, the SCD has a tendency to flop about and make noise when tension is not being put on the trigger bar. This is not a problem for me, but it might be for you.

Use
I bought mine several years ago via the Indigogo crowdfund campaign for it, and I received it in time to use it at MAG40. I’m pleased to announce that not only did the Gadget function flawlessly that weekend, with over 500 rounds of ammunition fired, but it also integrated perfectly with how the instructors taught us to holster our pistols. Those with hammer-fired pistols were told to keep their thumbs on the hammer while holstering in order to prevent accidental discharges, and this is precisely how the Striker Control Device is meant to be used.

In fact, during the class one of the Range Safety Officers came up to me and said “Hey, Erin, the back plate on your Glock looks broken.” I just grinned and said “No, that’s a safety modification! Let me show you how it works when the range goes cold.” I demonstrated it for him, and he seemed impressed with it.

Price
At $79 (plus $5 shipping), it isn't what I would consider cheap. However, it's far less expensive than an AD that shoots a hole in my leg.

My Rating: A+
I heartily endorse the Striker Control Device and I recommend it to anyone who carries a Glock daily. It’s easy to install, easy to use, and it survived a MAG40 course with no problems at all.


Dear FTC: I bought this with my own money, so bugger off. 

Traveller Tuesday: Cepheus Engine Vehicle Design System

Short version: If you play Mongoose Traveller, get this book.

My use of Traveller setting and dress falls under
fair use guidelines for both Mongoose and Far Future Enterprises.

Longer version: Mongoose cannot make a good vehicle book to save its life. The first version of the 1e Vehicle Books (split into Civilian and Military volumes) was a complicated mess involving cubic meters, mass per cubic meter, mass multipliers, and percentage of base volume. It was in fact so bad that the publisher had to re-work the design mechanics and issue it as a new version.

This combined version was all right in that it was merely an awkward if workable kludge instead of a tedious exercise in mathematics, using conceptual "spaces" -- the vehicular equivalent of using dtonnage to design a spacecraft -- instead of absolute volume. While a good idea in theory, the execution was terrible because each vehicle had a fixed number of spaces based on chassis type. For example, a light grav vehicle (like an air/raft) could have no more than 10 spaces; any more than that and it was forced into the heavy grav category, which increased its cost and decreased its performance. What's more, those spaces added up very quickly. I could never make the kind of vehicle I actually wanted; I just had to find a design I could accept.

I never tried the Mongoose 2e Vehicle Book, because I refuse to pay $30 for a PDF, and so should you. In fact, all of the 2e PDFs are overpriced.

But then there's the Cepheus Engine Vehicle Design System, and it is good. So very, very good.

Why is it so good?

• It's based on the Open Game License Mongoose 1e game, not the terrible 2e version.
• It's less stingy with spaces: you get 12 per dton of vehicle. 
• It doesn't pigeonhole craft into categories. Instead, you just choose how large you want your vehicle to be using a handy chart that says "chassis code [whatever] displaces this many dtons, has this many spaces, and has a base cost of that much."
• It tries to make vehicle design as close to starship design as possible. For example: performance is based on a familiar matrix of chassis and engine code. 
• It's only five dollars. Actually, that's not quite true; it's "pay what you want", but the average price was $4.61 last I checked, so I rounded it up to $5, which is essentially my threshold for an impulse buy. Based on what I see here, I got my money's worth and then some; in fact, I was so happy I went and bought the Cepheus Engine core rules as well. 

This isn't to say it's perfect. The layout isn't what I'd call optimal, as charts aren't ordered in an intuitive way and the order in which material appears doesn't match the sample checklist at the beginning. But it's five dollars, and more than that, the vehicles you can design with it are better than the ones from the 1e book. 

As an example, here is a grav speeder done using the 1e Vehicle Handbook, and here is the same speeder using Cepheus Engine. Performance is nearly identical (the Cepheus version is actually slightly better), it only cost half as much, and -- this part is the critical bit -- I was able to design a craft I liked without tearing my hair out. 

Buy good games and good rules, not overpriced crap. The Cepheus Engine isn't crap. Buy it.

Palette's Product Review: PMC .223 Battle Pack

Over at Blue Collar Prepping!

Palette's Product Review: Bondic Liquid Plastic Welder

(This is an expansion of the Plug of the Week from yesterday's podcast)

I'm fond of pointing out that preparedness isn't always about being ready for disaster; it's also about being able to handle the small emergencies of day-to-day life.

As an example of a tiny crisis, have you ever had to repair something tiny and fragile and precious to you or someone you care about? If so, you know how difficult that is to do, because you ultimately end up with having to affix a tiny little contact surface that doesn’t hold much glue to another tiny contact surface. You basically need three hands to fix it: one to hold the base unit steady, one to keep the broken part in place long enough for the glue to bond, and one to wipe away the excess glue that always seeps out between the cracks. Use too much glue and you get a mess; don't use enough glue and the object falls off.

My solution to this dilemma is Bondic, the liquid plastic welder.



If you’ve ever gone to the dentist and they’ve used UV light to cure a resin filling, you already know how Bondic works -- it's a pen-sized applicator that squeezes out drops of resin on one side and has a little UV light on the other. Apply what you need (up to a millimeter in thickness), then cure the liquid into a solid with a quick application of ultraviolet light from the lamp on the other end. The plastic bond is transparent even after curing, although it can be sanded and painted if necessary.

This works great for repairing tiny fragile things, because I no longer have to worry about using too much glue or having to hold the items in place. Instead, I just apply a small amount of glue, then secure the pieces with Bondic. The plastic weld holds the pieces together while the glue sets, and it serves as additional reinforcement as well.

Bondic has other uses, too:

• You can fill holes with it (this is where the sanding and painting becomes useful)
• You can create parts out of plastic (if you're patient -- the UV light can only penetrate 1mm in depth, so if you're building something large you have to do it layer by layer)
• You can even use it on electronics as non-conductive solder, or to insulate exposed pieces. 

About the worst thing I can say about it is that its base layer doesn't have much tensile strength. If you use Bondic to repair something that gets a lot of flex (like frames for glasses), you need to use a lot of it, or else the thin plastic will snap.

I apologize if I sound like an infomercial for Bondic. I just really love mine because it's made my life so much easier when it comes to fixing my mother's damages collectibles -- which also means this helps repair upset feelings and maintains family harmony, too. If you're the "Mr. Fixit" in your family, I encourage you to add this to your toolbox.

You can get the Starter Kit from Amazon for $18 plus Prime shipping, and with that you get two tubes of liquid plastic and a UV light. The 12-piece DIY Kit has all that plus a variety of sanding blocks, sticks, and needles for just $25 and Prime shipping.

http://amzn.to/2iXAdLd

FTC disclaimer: I bought this item with my own money. I wasn't paid for this review, despite the fact that I gushed over it. Don't you have better things to do than read blogs looking for infractions?

Product Review: the Hard Charger

I've been using the Hard Charger side-charging handle system ($154.00 & free shipping) for the past 7 months and I love it to death.

I apologize if this review isn't as detailed as some of the others I've done. To a certain extent, there isn't much to say beyond "It's a side charging handle, and it does everything it says it will do and it does it really, really well," but I have endeavored to go into more detail for my readers.

What It Is
The Hard Charger is an accessory that mounts to any standard flat-top forged upper, replacing the standard charging handle and occupying the first Picatinny rail slot. As you can see from the photos of my AR, you can still mount optics with the Hard Charger and their installation does not prevent its use.

It also comes with a selection of handles (one all-metal, one coated in cushioned plastic) which gives the shooter the ability to tailor the system to his preferred shooting style and comfort level.

Hard Charger with red/green dot sight and BUIS.

Hard Charger with BSA Sweet .223 scope on a QD mount.

What It Does
As the embedded video shows, the Hard Charger gives an AR-15 operator the ability to work its action using his left hand (or belt, or other body parts, or bits of the environment, or etc) while still retaining the ability to use the charging handle in the traditional manner.

While I do not expect to use this in combat with a wounded arm, I like being able to chamber a round without fumbling around and under my scope's eyepiece for purchase. I can also see the appeal in working the bolt without having to take my hand off the pistol grip.

Installation
This is ridiculously easy:

1. Open your AR-15 for maintenance;
2. Remove the bolt carrier group and charging handle;
3. Install the Hard Charger receiver on the picatinny rail;
4. Insert the pull handle into the Hard Charger receiver;
5. Insert the Hard Charger charging handle as demonstrated in the video;
6. Insert your bolt carrier group as usual;
7. Close rifle and perform function check. 

Your Hard Charger is now ready to go. 

Other Versions

There are currently other versions in development, such as those which mount in the middle of the rail and at the end, as well as a version for left-handed rifles, but those are not yet for sale. 

My Verdict
As I mentioned above, I've been using it since May and I really enjoy mine. I like the options that it gives me, it does not interfere with any of my optics, and it continues to work flawlessly.

What's more, Devil Dog Concepts is veteran owned and operated. In fact, the design for the Hard Charger was formed from the combat experience of the founders both in the Middle East and as SWAT team members, and so I'm inclined to listen when combat veterans say that this is a good idea.

About the worst thing I can say about it is that, at $154, it's rather spendy.

If you are at all interested in having a side-charging system for your AR-15 rifle, I strongly encourage you to investigate Devil Dog Concepts and their Hard Charger.

Dear FTC: I received this product free for review. I did not promise a good review, nor did I receive anything in return for a good review. Also, tell your mom I said hi. 

Aboriginal Tool Roll Review

I meant to post this video on Monday, but I got sidetracked and the video wasn't edited until Wednesday.

So I'm posting this on Thursday but backdating it to Monday, because I can.

The Apocabox Shop may be found here.

Monday Gunday: the .380 Hi-Point Carbine

Today I had the pleasure to test-fire the Hi-Point 3895TS, kindly loaned to me by Oleg Volk.

Read more about my experience with it at Blue Collar Prepping.

Palette's Product Reviews: LaserMax Manta Ray

Faithful readers of this bill have no doubt noticed that Fridays have been a bit sparse around here lately. This is because, for the past month or two, Friday has (for some reason unknown to me) become a bad day to write: either I'm exhausted, or I'm stressed out, or I have a headache, or whatever.

On the reverse, after a nice restful weekend Mondays are now very good for me. So in order to keep up productivity, I've decided to switch to Mondays for my Blue Collar Prepping blogging.

Go read today's article and tell me what you think, either here or there.

Archangel OPFOR Stock for the Mosin-Nagant

Today I'm doing something I really should have done sooner, but I felt I needed to test it thoroughly before I reviewed it. That feeling of "needing to test it a bit more" lasted for over a year. During the course of that year, not only did I shoot it extensively, but I allowed other people to shoot it as well and they all had good things to say about it.

As I am not a hunter I did not take it hunting, nor did I deliberately abuse it as I do not believe in testing to destruction. However, it is my opinion that this stock is rugged enough to take whatever punishment you dish out, as the plastic is definitely not flimsy.

Archangel Mosin-Nagant Rifle Stock

[This space is reserved for all the purists who will undoubtedly object to modifying an old rifle. Consider your opinions voiced, noted, and ignored.]

The Price: 
$205.75 MSRP, $174.95 Amazon, $152.99 MidwayUSA
I'm going address the elephant in the room first: Why would anyone buy a stock that costs as much as the rifle it goes on?

The first and best reason is "Because of the magazines." Archangel has created a 10-round detachable box magazine for the Mosin that is still reloadable from the top via stripper clips. The sheer convenience of this is not to be underestimated:

• Do you have a scope over the action that prevents you from using stripper clips? This solves your problem permanently. 
• Do you get tired of loading via clips and wish there was a faster, easier way to reload? This is your answer. 
• Would you like to double the ammunition capacity of your Mosin and you haven't been able to get in touch with Riflemods to order an extended magazine? Not only does this answer your prayer, you get a more convenient way to reload your rifle. 

A word of warning: Archangel makes both 5-round and 10-round magazines. If you buy the stock, make sure you get one with the magazine you want! I believe the stocks on Amazon are 5-round magazines only. Price at MidwayUSA: $13.79 for a 5-round magazine, $16.49 for a 10-round.

The other two reasons are "Better ergonomics than any other Mosin stock out there" and "It automatically floats the barrel." Combine this with being lighter than the typical wooden Mosin stock and the ability to pick the color you want, and it's a winner.

Now, if you were to ask me "But is it WORTH paying the cost of a second Mosin?", then I'm afraid I can't answer that, as worth and value are not the same thing as price and cost. What I can tell you is that for about $350 to $400 and some elbow grease, you can buy a surplus rifle and turn it into a really nice shooter. It may not perform as well as a $1,000 Remington 700, but you'll also end up paying half that Remington price.

What You Get
The basic package comes with a single magazine and a stock that "Fits most M1891 rifles, hex / round receivers on 91/30, Soviet M-38 / M-44 / Chinese T-53 carbines" and "Fits Finnish M39 models with some modification". However, given the large variation in styles and manufacturing standards of Mosin Nagant rifles (especially WW2 era), some mild fitting may be required.

The stock also comes with two action screws, a wrench for same, and a barrel tensioner (in case your barrel doesn't shoot properly while floated and needs to be seated).

Installation

Other than one issue explained under "Cons" below, installation was drop-in simple for me. I understand, however, that this is not the case for everyone, and some fitting may be required. 

Pro:

The stock comes pre-inletted for a Timney trigger and bedding pillars, so no extra work is required to install those either initially or later.  

Con:

The stock does NOT come pre-inletted for a bent bolt, which will require modification. This is nothing that a Dremel tool won't solve, but it is both annoying and a strike against the product in my book, because 

1. A notch for the bent bolt should have been part of the design from the beginning, and
2. There is a hex screw for a completely pointless "OPFOR" plate right where the bolt goes, and
3. The plate covers an even more pointless hole into the action of the rifle. Simply removing the plate would not be a good idea. 

So not only will you need to Dremel out a notch for your bolt, but you will also need to remove one of the screws. Fortunately, the OPFOR plate is just plastic, so a single screw will hold it in place. 

Ergonomics

This is where the Archangel stock shines. The gooseneck pistol grip with palm swell feels great in my hand and makes reaching the trigger far more comfortable for my Hobbit-sized hands, and the adjustable comb riser allows me to achieve a proper cheek weld instead of my previous chin weld. 

Similar to the comb, the buttstock also extends for anyone who desires an increased length of pull (for my readers who don't speak Gun Lingo, length of pull or LOP is the distance from the trigger to the butt of the gun. If you're a short person with short arms, you want a short LOP; taller people with longer arms will be happier with a longer LOP).

There's also a groove for you to place your support hand under the rear of the stock, sniper-style.

Pro:
Everything feels comfortable and natural, which helps improve accuracy.

Con:
If you are kind of person who needs to elevate the comb for a good cheek weld, you had best memorize how many clicks you need to get there, because after 15 there is no way you are removing the bolt for maintenance without lowering the cheek pad.

Other Features

Pro:
The stock comes with a half-inch thick rubber recoil pad already installed. However, the 7.62x54R cartridge can weary a shoulder quickly after a day of shooting (especially if you're shooting more often due to the convenience of magazine changes), and so I am pleased to report that a large (one inch thick) Limbsaver pad will fit over the buttstock for added comfort. 

There is also a small storage compartment within the pistol grip itself, suitable for holding things like hex wrenches, lens cleaning cloths and broken shell extractors.

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41uEFTzWJwL.jpg

Con:
Notably absent, however, is a rail system for mounting accessories like a bipod. For that you must separately purchase and install a forend rail. At $16 and Prime shipping from Amazon it's not a major dealbreaker, but (aside from the principle of the thing) installation requires you to remove the action from the stock. If you think you will want the rail, get it along with the stock and install it at the same time to save yourself the hassle.

Both:
Neither good nor bad is the sling attachment system. Rather than providing eyelets for traditional sling swivels, the stock instead sports three cups (one in front, 2 on either side of the buttstock) for quick-detach push-button swivels. If you have these kind of swivels lying around, that's great; if not, you're going to have to buy a pair before you can sling your rifle. 

Magazines
I know I talked these up earlier, but I want to address a curious feature about how the magazines interact with the rifle. I may end up horribly butchering firearm terminology while explaining this, so please forgive and correct me if I do.

The Mosin-Nagant has an internal magazine, and because of this there is a feed interrupter inside the action which prevents all of the cartridges from ejecting up and out every time the bolt pulls back. However, this feed interrupter has made devising detachable magazines for the Mosin tricky at best.

http://www.archangelmanufacturing.com/#!AA76R 02/zoom/c188b/image_1v34

Archangel gets around this dilemma by making the feed interrupter in integral part of the mechanism instead of trying to bypass it. When a magazine is inserted, the feed interrupter interacts with the magazine and causes the top cartridge -- which had been held in place with a retaining loop --to come out of the magazine and advance upwards until it is stopped by the ejector.

If you aren't certain what I'm talking about, watch this video starting at the one minute mark for a better explanation.



What this means is that when you insert a magazine, that top round is going to pop free regardless of whether or not the bolt this closed. If you then decide to remove the magazine without chambering that top round, it's going to be loose and will fall away. This can result in lost ammunition.

There is a way around this, however:

1. Move the bolt fully to the rear. 
2. Apply downward pressure to the topmost round until it fully depresses into the magazine. 
3. Eject the magazine before re-seating the bolt. 

The magazine is ejected via an AK-47 style release lever that is easily worked by the thumb of your supporting hand, but the magazine does not need to be "rocked" in or out like AK mags. Here is a video of the magazines being swapped. 

My Grade: A
I would have given the Archangel Mosin-Nagant OPFOR Stock an A+ if it had an already inletted notch for a bent bolt and came with a forend rail standard.

I think that this stock is definitely a worthy upgrade to an already dependable rifle. Having detachable magazines that can still be top-loaded via stripper clips is worth the price alone; that fact there are other ergonomic features and performance improvements (like the floated barrel) make this stock worth getting.

As an example, here is the tightest shot group I have ever made with this rifle, and it was made with this rifle stock installed.

I cannot say how much of this grouping is due to the performance increases made by the stock, and how much is simply my shooting technique improving over time. The answer is likely some degree of both. What I can say is that the Archangel OPFOR stock is incredibly comfortable, and that makes everything about operating the rifle easier.

Con: 
Stock costs as much (or nearly so) as the rifle.

Pro:
The stock improves the rifle immensely. The entire magazine system is, in my opinion, enough to justify buying the stock.

I recommend this stock to all Mosin-Nagant owners, despite its price tag. 

Pop Packs by Triumph Systems

Triumph Systems' Pop Packs were something I discovered during the Big 3 East Spring Media Event. They are essentially Capri Sun-sized bags of brightly colored gel, but that does them a disservice. Let me explain what they are and why they're awesome.

They're Distinctive
As you can see from the picture above, they come in three bright (practically day-glow) colors and have a variety of shapes and numbers on them. The picture above is not exclusive in that manner -- for example, not all pinks are circles or have a number three on them.

These were mine, until we shot them. 

This is useful because you can perform "call out" drills with them: you can say "pink triangle" or "green two" or even "first one to shoot all the yellow wins", and not only does it give  a challenge, but it's more decisive than many of the non-reactive competitive shooting targets out there.

They're Fun
Oh my, these are fun. When you shoot one in the center, its explodes in a shower of brightly colored gel. You KNOW you hit it, and there's a visceral thrill in making things go boom and splat. And the best part is that the bigger the caliber, the bigger the splat; when I was at Big 3 there was a woman there who was shooting them with an AR, and it was like being at a Gallagher concert -- gel went everywhere, including onto the spectators, and it was awesome and hilarious. 

They Don't Make a Mess
But despite all of this, and unlike a Gallagher concert, they aren't messy. Sure, gel sprays everywhere, but it's non-staining and water-soluble, so it washes right out of your clothes. (I know this from direct experience-- my 'Princess Luna dual-wielding TAR-21s' shirt got sprayed good and hard, and it washed out good as new.) It's also bio-degradable, so if it doesn't wash away in the rain it'll break down in the air and sunlight. And unlike watermelons, there aren't large pieces to pick up; when The_Jack and Oddball shot the ones I brought to the East Tennessee Bloggershoot in May, the ruptured packages were still in one (admittedly ruptured) piece, making it easy to police the range afterwards.

They're Great for Kids
This ought to be self-evident. They're bright, they explode in a good way, there's no concussion like with Tannerite, they don't stain and cleanup is easy. These are all-around good clean fun, and that makes them perfect practice targets for kids who are leaning how to shoot, as the instant feedback of shooting is married to a "Wow! Whee!" factor.



They're Inexpensive
You get a dozen of them for $19. That's roughly $1.60 for a single target, which is probably what you'd end up spending if you mixed the gel yourself and put it into baggies, but then there'd be more work involved on your part. It will add up if you buy a bunch and burn them all at the range, sure; but the same can be said for ammunition. Plus, these strike me as more of a "special occasion" kind of thing rather than a regular target.

Buy them through Triumph Systems' website rather than from Amazon; shipping is only $7, while the ones I've seen on Amazon start at $26 and then require $4.50 in shipping.

They were designed by a Navy SEAL

That's me at Big 3 East with Jared Ogden: Navy SEAL, Ultimate Survival Alaska participant, Eagle Scout, and all-around great guy. Yes, I am a fan.

My Recommendation:  A+, will buy again. 

Carry-On Vocal Booth Pro: a Thank You and Review

March 11 was my birthday, and I wanted to take a moment to thank everyone who wished me well. I had a fantastic 3-day weekend, and I understand that National Erin Palette Day has gone both international and inter-continental, with celebratory rumpuses (rumpi?) being performed in Canada, the UK, and Australia/New Zealand.

While I got some very nice things, including this nifty scope and mount for my AR-15, the main thing I want to talk about (and issue a formal "Thank You" for) is my lovely new portable recording studio!

On March 3, Sean Sorrentino (head honcho of the GunBlog VarietyCast) sent me an email saying "We need to figure out how to afford one of these for you."

"$200 and you've got a sweet on-the-go audio booth. No more Blanket Fort." Apparently Sean was tired of dealing with the hard echo and other sound artifacts that were the result of me recording in my church's office, despite crawling under my Blanket Fort of Preppitude for each session, and decided that a fundraiser to get me a portable studio was the way to go.

I looked at the price, gave a low whistle, and then threw a Hail Mary by saying "Post it to my wall. Someone might feel generous and buy me one."  He did, with a link to the GBVC's Paypal and saying "If you want to contribute, earmark this for Erin and we'll get her one." I thought that maybe we'd raise the money in time for Christmas.

As it turns out, we got half of our goal within the day (Thank You, Anonymous Donor!) and over the course of the week more donations continued to flow in ( Thank you, John and Ian! Thank You, donors whose names I don't know!) such that Sean was even able to upgrade me to the Pro version with extra goodies.

And so it came to pass that entire vocal booth was funded in a week, and it reached me the Wednesday before my birthday. Let me tell you, I was thrilled at this! Not so much because "Swanky new recording studio", but because this is a physical representation of the fact that enough people think highly of me and the work that I'm doing with my GBVC Blue Collar Prepping segment that they though buying this for me was a worthwhile investment of their money. Thank you so, so very much!

For the record, Sean likes it too. The first time I talked to him from inside the Vocal Booth To Go, he said that my voice sounded like it was "wrapped in a soft, velvety cloud." If you've listened to the last two GBVC installments, you've heard the difference it makes.

Overview

This is the "You Are Here" view of my new workspace, the Carry-On Vocal Booth Pro. It's basically a folding tent made of sound-absorbing blankets, and it comes with customizable features like a mic holder, script/tablet holder, a pop filter on an adjustable arm, and a no-noise LED light (not seen, it's at the very top).

The cables run between the velcro closures to the laptop on the left which records my side of the Blue Collar Prepping Gunblog Varietycast segment. As you can see, there's plenty of room inside the studio "tent" for things like a drink to prevent drymouth and a mouse to control the laptop.

Here's what it looks like from the outside. This picture is from the Vocal Booth to Go website and is of their 2.0 model, but it looks almost exactly like the 1.0 model I received.

It folds down into a convenient 23"x 23" x 5" travel form which, while somewhat bulky, is ergonomic enough that carrying it isn't a hassle, and at 12 pounds it's light enough to easily carry between my car and the church office.

Setup
Setting up the Vocal Booth is very easy (see video, below). Just put on a stable surface (it comes with an adapter for mounting to a music stand, which is a big plus for singers), unzip it, lift up the hood, and swing the support arms from the back to the front. After that, set up the microphone/ light/ pop filter/ etc according to your personal preference and you're ready to go!

When I first got the Booth it took me a while to get everything configured the way I wanted ("Hmm... do I want the microphone here in the center, or offset?") but now that I have everything the way I like it I can get set up in under 2 minutes. Teardown is similarly quick.

Performance
This one is very simple to demonstrate:  listen to a segment recorded with the booth, and then listen to the one just prior. There's a noticeable improvement in audio clarity.

Criticism
There are two things I do not like about this booth, and they're quite minor.

The first is that mine did not come with instructions on how to set it up. Forunately, there was an instructional video on the product website, but I would have liked instructions. At the very least, a link to the video ought to be included!

The second minor complaint is that after a few minutes, it gets rather hot in the booth. Which makes sense, given that it's made from blankets and I'm projecting a lot of hot air into an enclosed space!

Fortunately for me, I don't need to have my head under the hood; in fact, that's too close to the microphone. Instead, I sit with my face just at the edge of the booth and talk into it. This allows me to back off to get some cooler air if necessary.

Recommendation
Would I recommend this to others? Bearing in mind that I have no experience with vocal booths other than this one, I absolutely would. It might not be up to the needs of a professional voice actor, but if you're a podcaster or a YouTuber then this is a simple, effective, low-cost solution to eliminating background noise.

Really, the best thing I can say about the Vocal Booth To Go is something that I didn't say at all: Sean liked the improvement in my vocal performance so much that he bought one for himself. 

Vocal Booth Pro to Go: A+
I really ought to knock it down to 'A' for not having the instruction manual.. but I can't bring myself to do that. It's not like it was hugely difficult putting the thing together, and there was a video that I easily found by Googling "Vocal Booth to Go setup video" that answered all my questions. 

Okay, okay. A and half a plus. 

Monday Gunday Product Reviews: Laserlyte Red Center Mass Laser vs. LaserMax Micro II G

Once again I have a head-to-head pistol laser comparison, this time between LaserLyte and LaserMax. These lasers were tested on my mother's Kel-Tec PMR-30. This is because 1) she's wanted a pistol laser for a long time now, and 2) it's the only pistol in the house with an accessory rail.

Disclaimer 1: I have a friendly relationship with the various LaserMax representatives. I try to review things objectively, but it's possible bias might creep in, so please consider my review with that in mind.

Disclaimer 2: I have favorably reviewed products from both companies in the past. I genuinely like both companies and the products they make.

Disclaimer 3: People are inevitably going to ask "Erin, why didn't you review a non-Center Mass laser from LaserLyte, or the red Micro 2? Isn't that like comparing apples to oranges" and my response is "I reviewed what I was given. They send a green, I review green; I get a CML, I review a CML." I have tried to review them both on their merits as pistol lasers, while pointing out that each have less expensive alternatives.

Price
The LaserLyte Red Center Mass Laser retails for $164.95, but is available at Amazon for $99.95.

However, if you don't want the Center Mass effect and just want a single laser, you can get the LaserLyte SCV4 from Amazon for $64.99. They both have central dots for point of impact; the more expensive CML has a ring of 8 other lasers around it.

The LaserMax Micro II G retails for $199, but is available at Amazon for $167.23. The LaserLyte comes out looking better in this regard, but notice that I'm comparing a red laser to a green laser.

LaserMax also makes a red version of the Micro 2, which is exactly the same other than beam color. It sells for its MSRP of $119 at Amazon.

Winner: LaserLyte, but not by much
(see below). 

Battery
The Red CML takes three 357 silver oxide batteries, with a life of 2.5 hours constant-on and 5 hours of life on pulse. The Micro II G needs only one lithium battery, with a life of "over an hour" for green and "4+ hours" for red. 

Given that the Micro 2 Red uses the exact same battery as the green, you get nearly twice as much life as the red center mass laser for a difference of $20 -- and that's constant-on time, not pulse time. (You can make the Micro 2 pulse as well by turning it on and then pressing and holding the switch for 5 seconds. Pulse life for green is still "over an hour", although I would think it would last somewhat longer than on constant; red on pulse extends its life to 4.5 hours.)

The Micro 2's battery is easier to replace, as well: the cover is a spring-loaded lid that just pops open and snaps closed, as opposed to a circular plug that must be unscrewed with a coin or screwdriver (but don't use too large a coin, or you'll hit the mounting rail). 

Both lasers come with auto-off features: the CML after 6 minutes, the Micro 2 (both versions) after 10. This helps to prevent battery drain after accidental activation. 

It's worth noting that both lasers come with batteries included, which is a nice touch. 

Winner: LaserMax, but also not by much.

At this point we have "cheaper price and annoying battery installation" vs. "more expensive but easier to replace, and if you use the red Micro 2 you get better battery life."

Installation
Both slip onto an accessory rail and install quickly. The Micro 2 uses a flathead screw, while the Center Mass Laser uses a hex wrench (which is included in the package). The instructions for mounting and using both are clear.

Winner: a tie.

Adjustability
Both come with a tiny hex key for adjustment, which is a good thing because the CML key is so tiny I don't have one in any of sets. The Micro 2 uses a 0.05" key which I happen to have in my set of Stanley hex wrenches.

Both sets of adjustment screws suffer from what I call "gummy screw syndrome", where the screws just move the laser without giving you any feedback like MOA clicks. I realize this is standard among laser sights, but it's still annoying to me. However, the Micro 2's screws are just slightly tighter than that of the CML, meaning I felt like I had more precision when dialing it in.

Winner: Lasermax, but just barely. 

This is because their screws were slightly better and because they used a wrench size I own. That's important, because we all know how easy it is to lose teeny-tiny hex keys. 

Operation

Both lasers have ambidextrous controls, which is great as I'm a rightie and my mom (whose gun the lasers were on) is a leftie. I preferred the controls of the Micro 2, as they are switches on either side of the casing; mom preferred the rear pushbutton controls of the CML. I believe that makes control placement a matter of personal preference. 

Winner: another tie. 

Performance
This is the part you've all been waiting for.

Micro 2

After I dialed the sight in as best I could, this is what I achieved at 25 feet, unsupported. The first three are in a nice stitch across the X, and the other 17 are kind sloppy because I'm not an experienced shooter and my hand gets tired. You'll note that all but two are 9-ring or better.

[It is worth noting that time passed between these two shooting situations, as .22 WMR became hard to come by for a while. This explains the differences in targets, and possibly an improvement in my shooting. Ammunition was the same, however.]

Red Center Mass Laser

I had significant problems sighting this laser in at 25 feet; all of my shots were dropping about 3 inches low, no matter how I adjusted the laser. (I didn't photograph the original target that's full of low holes, but if you want to see it let me know.)

I am willing to state for the record that the problem in zeroing it may have been me, since the procedure for both is the same. I'm not sure why it gave me trouble; it simply did.

After about 50 rounds of this I gave up and moved the target to 10 feet, the minimum distance the range allowed. I figured this would probably be the range that my mother would be engaging a bad guy in a self-defense situation*.

*Yes, I know all about the Tueller drill. Mom is old, carries in a purse, and doesn't practice her draw stroke. I can't change any of these factors. 

The first five shots in the head are me using the fiber-optic sights. This was to prove that the gun itself was accurate and that I could shoot worth a damn. (Why add a laser, then? I hear you ask. Well, just because I can shoot better with the iron sights doesn't mean my mother can, and I was doing this for her carry piece. She has trouble with sights in general.)

The three shots in the chest are from me zeroing the sight. The high one is before laser adjustment; the middle one is after. The bottom one is from when I went "Okay, I have this zeroed, let's move it back some" and I moved it to about 18 feet out. Those extra eight feet caused a drop of one inch.

Now, I'm not saying it's the laser's fault; it might be my fault as I don't claim to be anything more than an enthusiastic amateur when it comes to shooting guns. But that was the point where I went "Clearly my shots are dropping for some reason, so let's just go back to mom's likely engagement distance and try it out."  That resulted in the cluster of shots around the thorax.

Why the thorax? Because 1) it was a place I hadn't yet shot, and 2) I was thinking of the "White Triangle of Death". You see, if shots are going to fall 1-3 inches at 25 feet, then let's aim at the thorax; if they hit there it's good, but if they drop then they're still within the center of mass.

I do think it's weird that I shot better without the laser than with it, though.

Winner: Depends on who you ask.

Mom really, really likes the big red Center Mass ring that the LaserLyte puts out. She has terrible vision -- has astigmatism, wears trifocals, and had cataract surgery recently -- and so the big pattern of the CML is a draw for her, despite the fact that for me it yielded less precise results.

I prefer the LaserMax Micro 2, because I found it easier to turn on, easier to adjust, and had better accuracy with it.

But Erin! If this laser is for your mother's pistol, 

why hasn't she shot with it?

That's an excellent question, and it deserves an equally good answer. Sadly, I can't give you one. Mom is full of good intentions but can never quite find the time to go shooting with me; first she had neck surgery, and then cataract surgery, and then it was the holidays, and then it was cleaning up after the holidays. At this point, I frankly don't know if she's just reluctant to go because she's afraid to find out she's lost a lot of progress, or if she just can't find the time to go, or if it's something else entirely.

But I'm a dutiful daughter, so if she wants me to install the laser she wants, I install it. I can't physically drag her to the range to get her to practice with it.

Which One Should You Get?
Again, it depends. If you asked me this question in conversation I'd answer with questions of my own: Who is it for? What is their skill level? Is this for target practice or self-defense?

These are both fine lasers, and if you get the red versions the prices are comparable once you factor in battery life. If you like the one dot, get the Micro 2; if you like the big Center Mass Ring, then by all means get the one from LaserLyte. I prefer the one I'm more accurate with (obviously), but if you have poor vision then the CML is clearly a better choice.

The biggest difference is the red vs. green. The green Micro 2 is $30 more expensive than the red, and you get increased daytime visibility in exchange for a greatly reduced battery life. There was no real way for me to compare the red Center Mass Laser against the green, because the green CML (see my earlier review here) is far too large to mount on a pistol. For a long gun, size won't matter much, but again the price issue comes up:  $99.95 for red vs the now-current $147.48 Amazon price.

TL;DR version:  Unless you absolutely need the green, get the red version of whichever model suits you best.

Obligatory FTC Disclaimer:  I genuinely like both products. Both were given to me for free for reviewing purposes. I was not paid to give a good review. Go away and fight some real crime.