The Journal
Buying guides, comparison charts and plain-English explainers written for UK shooters — with the primary sources linked wherever the law is involved.
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01
Dot size, colour, open or enclosed, and how high to mount it — the four decisions that matter.
02
Magnification, focal plane, turrets and zeroing, explained without the jargon.
03
Lumens, candela, batteries and switches — what the numbers on the box actually mean.
04
What needs a licence, night vision, deer and import duty — with links to the primary sources.
Trijicon's proven toughness, Holosun's features for the money and SIG's pistol-matched ROMEO-X: a fair comparison of footprints...
Read the guide →Ring height, eye relief, levelling and torque decide whether your scope performs as designed. How to measure clearance, avoid s...
Read the guide →What NV-compatible really means: why normal settings bloom under a tube, how many NV settings each maker offers, the EOTech 2 a...
Read the guide →Motion activation, solar backup and efficient LED emitters explained: what each really does, where the headline figures bend, a...
Read the guide →CR123A primaries win on shelf life and cold; rechargeable lithium-ion wins on cost and output. Manufacturer figures, voltage ca...
Read the guide →What torch specs really mean: step-down and sustained output, EDC against duty size, switches, battery chemistry and waterproof...
Read the guide →A methodical zeroing sequence: boresight for free, chase the group not the shot, dial the full correction with metric click val...
Read the guide →Duplex for speed, mil grids for measuring, BDC and ACSS for holds, and illumination done right. What each reticle family does, ...
Read the guide →Low power variable optics give red dot speed at 1x and real reach at 6x or 8x. What true 1x means, the costs in weight and eyeb...
Read the guide →Match magnification to real distances, understand exit pupil, tube diameter, turrets and reticles, and spend where it counts. A...
Read the guide →UK deer law sets calibre, bullet and energy minimums but says nothing about day sights. The figures for each nation, and where ...
Read the guide →Choosing a stalking scope for British ground: why the bottom of the magnification range matters more than the top, the exit pup...
Read the guide →Choosing optics and lights for night foxing in Britain: illuminated reticles that dim low, candela over lumens for lamping, inf...
Read the guide →Choosing a scope for a .22LR: 50 yd parallax, why big scopes are wrong, verified Burris and SIG options, 11 mm dovetail mountin...
Read the guide →48 of our 93 rifle scopes sit under £800. What each band buys, from 3-9x40 hunting scopes to 1-10x LPVOs, and what only premium...
Read the guide →Exactly half of our 120 weapon lights sit under £250. The best by job, with manufacturer-verified candela, rechargeable versus ...
Read the guide →Every red, green and gold dot sight we stock under £300, chosen from a count of the whole catalogue: rifle and pistol picks, wh...
Read the guide →Choosing optics for a GB straight-pull AR: LPVO, prism or red dot by course of fire, verified picks with mounts in the box, mou...
Read the guide →Optics for UK practical shotgun: which IPSC divisions allow them, circle-dot, enclosed and prism options we stock, mounting, fo...
Read the guide →What VAT, duty and courier fees add to an optic posted from abroad, the £135 threshold and its planned end, why no firearms dea...
Read the guide →Air rifle optics are unlicensed across the UK. The rules that do apply to the rifle in England and Wales, Scotland and Northern...
Read the guide →Owning night vision or thermal is unlicensed across the UK. Using it on deer at night is not, and England, Wales, Scotland and ...
Read the guide →Scopes, red dots and torches are not firearms in UK law, so no certificate is needed. What is certificated, the 2026 moderator ...
Read the guide →Clean lenses without scratching them, keep weapon light contacts and cells healthy, check torque and zero, and store kit dry, w...
Read the guide →Prism scopes explained: how the etched reticle and diopter work, why they suit astigmatism, a spec table for the 1x, 3x and 5x ...
Read the guide →SureFire against Streamlight on beam, build, rechargeable options, range breadth and price, with manufacturer-verified figures ...
Read the guide →A 1/4 MOA click moves 7.3 mm at 100 m, a 0.1 MRAD click 10 mm. How MOA and MRAD work, converting between them, and which suits ...
Read the guide →Recalculated red dot zero charts for .223/5.56 and .22 LR in metres and centimetres, with the effect of mount height and why a ...
Read the guide →What makes a good shotgun red dot, with verified Holosun and SIG Sauer circle-dot picks, mounting and zeroing advice, and UK no...
Read the guide →First vs second focal plane explained: how each reticle behaves with zoom, the SFP holdover sums, and which to choose for an LP...
Read the guide →Why red dots starburst or smear for shooters with astigmatism, a quick phone test to tell eye from optic, and the fixes that ac...
Read the guide →Streamlight's TLR names decoded, with verified lumens and candela on SL-B9 and CR123A for every family, and picks for the rails...
Read the guide →How big 1, 2, 3 and 6 MOA dots and 32 to 68 MOA circles really are at 10 to 100 metres (plus yards), and how to choose the righ...
Read the guide →Holosun's three enclosed pistol sights compared on Holosun's own figures: footprint and plates, width, window, weight, reticles...
Read the guide →A decoder for Holosun model numbers: HS vs HE, single dot vs Multi-Reticle System, the platform numbers and the C, K, T, M, G a...
Read the guide →The IP code decoded for optics and weapon lights: what each digit means under IEC 60529, real ratings from the sights we stock,...
Read the guide →Lumens are flood, candela is throw. A candela-to-beam-distance chart recalculated from the ANSI FL1 formula, plus manufacturer ...
Read the guide →Model-by-model battery chart for the Holosun, Trijicon, SIG, EOTech and Primary Arms sights we stock, with quoted runtimes, coi...
Read the guide →Every common red dot mount height in inches and millimetres, with height over bore on an AR-15 upper and which height suits whi...
Read the guide →Dot coverage and click movement for 1/4, 1/2 and 1 MOA and 0.1 MRAD from 25 to 300 m, with yards alongside. Every cell recomput...
Read the guide →Every pistol optic we stock mapped to its footprint: RMR, RMSc, Holosun K, 509T, DeltaPoint Pro, ACRO, Docter and pistol-specif...
Read the guide →The best budget red dots under £250 for rifle and pistol, from SIG, Holosun and Primary Arms: what to look for, what each offer...
Read the guide →Absolute, lower 1/3 or 1.93 in? What co-witness means, what each height looks like through the glass, and how to choose for a s...
Read the guide →1 MOA is 29.1 mm at 100 m (1.047 in at 100 yd). What that means for red dot size, turret clicks and zeroing, with metric figure...
Read the guide →The Trijicon range explained: the RMR Type 2, RMR HD, SRO and RCR red dots compared, how to mount an RMR on a rail, and where t...
Read the guide →3x vs 4x vs 5x vs 6x red dot magnifiers compared on field of view, eye relief and weight, with how to match the magnifier's hei...
Read the guide →How EOTech holographic sights work, the 68 MOA ring and 1 MOA dot in centimetres, what XPS and EXPS model codes mean, battery l...
Read the guide →SIG's ROMEO red dots explained family by family, from the ROMEO5 to the ROMEO8T-AMR, with batteries, footprints, MOTAC and JULI...
Read the guide →Choosing a Holosun by footprint, emitter and reticle: the 507C, 507K, EPS, 509T and SCS for pistols, and the HS510C, AEMS and A...
Read the guide →Choosing a compact red dot for a slim slide in the UK: RMSc vs Holosun K footprint, body width and overhang, enclosed or open, ...
Read the guide →ACSS explained: how Primary Arms' horseshoe, chevron, drop and wind holds work, the Raptor, Aurora, Nova, Griffin, Cyclops and ...
Read the guide →Best weapon lights for rifles, shotguns and compact rails, with manufacturer-verified lumens and candela, switch and mounting a...
Read the guide →Open or enclosed emitter? How each copes with rain, mud and lint, the real weight and window differences on Holosun's figures, ...
Read the guide →Step-by-step: choosing the mount height, torque and thread locker, bore-sighting, and zeroing at 25 m then 50 m, with click val...
Read the guide →Our LPVO picks from SIG, Primary Arms, Burris and EOTech, with 1-6x vs 1-8x vs 1-10x, FFP vs SFP, tube sizes and which scopes i...
Read the guide →Green, red or gold dot? What actually differs: daylight visibility, contrast against foliage, battery life on current Holosun m...
Read the guide →The best pistol red dots in 2026 by slide size and use, from the Holosun 507C and EPS Carry to the Trijicon RMR and SRO, with v...
Read the guide →Red dot, holographic sight or LPVO compared on weight, battery life, eye relief and magnification with manufacturer figures, pl...
Read the guide →RMR vs RMSc footprints in plain English: which pistol red dots use each, why Holosun's K footprint is close but not identical t...
Read the guide →Red dot, LPVO, prism or holographic? The best AR-15 optics for UK straight-pull, .22 rimfire and airsoft AR-pattern rifles, wit...
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