May 05, 2022
By J. Scott Rupp
1. Leupold Performance Cheyenne (Photo courtesy of Leupold)With a low-profile frame, Leupold Performance Cheyenne Eyewear is great for those of us with smaller faces, and the full wrap maintains visibility and airflow so they won’t fog up inside. The polarizing film is between two lens layers for years of use, and it’s ANSI Z87-2+ rated, which meets or exceeds ANSI high-velocity impact standards. The lenses have both a hydrophobic lens coating to shed moisture and grit, and a Diamondcoat for scratch resistance. Available in matte tortoise/bronze mirror (shown), matte gray/blue mirror and matte gray/shadow gray.
$180–$190, leupold.com
2. Hoppe’s Ready Roll (Photo courtesy of Hoppe's)This versatile kit can be rolled out flat on a shooting bench or wrapped around the inside of a five-gallon bucket courtesy of an integrated drawcord. It has MOLLE elastic webbing to hold rods, bore brushes and small solvent and lubricant bottles. There are other pockets for patches and miscellaneous cleaning gear. Its ripstop construction will withstand heavy use. Available as a standalone kit or preloaded with Hoppe’s cleaning tools.
$37 (standalone), $52 (with tools); hoppes.com
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3. Butler Creek Element (Photo courtesy of Butler Creek)This innovative scope cap system features interchangeable cap disks: clear, black and ballistic data. The latter will prove particularly useful for those who like to have a dope card on hand, and the ballistic disk should be incredibly handy—enabling you to consult your card with the cap up or down. The Element features 180- and 270-degree lip-open positions so you can read it in the 180-degree position, then 270 forward puts it out of the way. Eyepiece cap is available in 37-42mm or 42-47mm sizes. (Objective caps are sold separately.)
$30, butlercreek.com
4. Hornady RAPiD Ready Vault Wifi (Photo courtesy of Hornady)Part of the Rapid safe line—which uses RFID technology for access via various RFID-tagged watchbands, key fobs and phone decals—the Ready Vault ’s wifi capability allows you to keep tabs on the safe’s condition via the Hornady Security app. You’ll receive an alert whenever the safe is unlocked. Constructed of heavy-duty steel with five hardened locking lugs, it features the Square-Lok organizing system, which uses hooks to configure the safe however you want. Exterior dimensions are 52.2x20x15.1 inches; interior is 51.8x19x12.7. Weight is 165 pounds.
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$1,027, hornady.com
5. Springfield Levar Ratcheting Charging Handle (Photo courtesy of Springfield Armory)If you shoot an AR, you know what a pain it is to have a cartridge stuck in the chamber. This new charging handle features a ratcheting lever that provides a 3:1 mechanical advantage over traditional handles. Just press a button on the top of the handle to rotate the arm outward, then pull back on the arm to free the case.
$99, springfield-armory.com
6. SnapSafe Safe Dehumidifier (Photo courtesy of SnapSafe)Keep corrosion at bay in your safe and protect your collection with this plug-in dehumidifier. Available in medium (shown) and large sizes, they contain moisture control crystals. When the crystals turn green, simply plug them into a 110 outlet until the crystals turn orange again, and the unit is ready to reuse. (I use two, keeping a recharged unit in a resealable bag and swapping them out when the one in the safe needs to be plugged in.)
$30 (medium), $33 (large); snapsafe.com
7. XS Henry Rail/Ghost Ring (Photo courtesy of XS Sights)XS now has a rail and ghost ring sights for Henry .45-70 round-barrel rifles. The rail is CNC-machined anodized aluminum and has Picatinny slots for easy optics mounting. The ghost ring sights are XS’s white-stripe models for fast, sure acquisition and great iron-sight accuracy, and they promise to stand up to hard use. The rear fits on the rail, and for the front, you have the option of dovetail or screw-in, depending on which sight set you buy.
$70 (rail), $100 (sights); xssights.com
8. Real Avid Bore Max (Photo courtesy of Real Avid)With a newly designed bore brush, jag and patches , this system promises quicker, more thorough cleaning. The Speed Brush has double the bristle density of standard brushes, and the bristles are made of nickel-plated phosphor bronze. The Speed Jag delivers more than four times the surface area of standard jags, and it is paired with caliber-specific Speed Patches (.22 to .30 caliber). The setup maximizes patch contact with the bore, and the patches themselves are made of synthetic material with great absorbency and is fray-resistant. The jag and patches must be used in tandem, as they don’t work with standard jags and patches.
$10 (caliber specific jag, patches, brush), realavid.com
9. Hodgdon 2022 Annual Manual (Photo courtesy of Hodgdon)Hodgdon is celebrating its 2022 annual manual , its 19th. In addition to the Hodgdon, IMR and Winchester powders, it also now includes loads for Accurate and Ramshot, and the resulting manual is 24 pages bigger than past editions. It lists data for more than 50 rifle and pistol cartridges, encompassing more than 5,000 loads. Available at newsstands or at the company’s website.
$15, hodgdon.com
10. Grey Man Tactical Hunting Gun Rack RMP (Photo courtesy of Grey Man Tactical)Keep all your hunting gear secure and together with this rack that mounts to the vehicle’s seat . It’s made from injection-molded, glass-filled nylon so it won’t sag. The whole package includes the rack, top and bottom buckle strap, backpack hook, two cinch straps, buttstock cup kit, extension bracket, fore-end clamp and utility pouch.
$299, greymantactical.com