In observance of the Labor Day weekend there will be no Weekend Edition on Saturday, September 5, and we will not be distributing any of our services on Monday, September 7. We will resume our normal distribution schedule on Tuesday, September 8. Due to the holiday weekend, we request you submit news for Tuesday's editions no later than 2:00pm ET Saturday.
Vortex Optics released its Fall/Winter apparel collection from Barneveld, WI, featuring the Ridgeway Hunt Vest with stretch fabric and DWR finish, new blaze orange options, and the "Pride of the Prairie" design for upland hunters. The collection also includes new Vortex logo wear and species-themed t-shirts and caps.
Bushnell's R7 4-20x50 FFP riflescope won Editor's Choice as the top hunting scope of 2026 in Outdoor Life's annual Optics Test, competing against 25 other brands. The scope impressed reviewers with its ED Prime glass, Hybrid Dot Tree reticle, and durability, maintaining zero through the test's inaugural drop test.
SIGHTRON ambassadors Adam Migel and Jeremy Pepin placed 1st and 3rd respectively at the 2026 Pyramyd Air Cup Gunslynger competition held at Cardinal Shooting Center in Marengo, Ohio. Both competitors utilized SIGHTRON's S-TAC 1-6x24 AR1 Riflescope, praising its precision and reliability in the fast-draw, bracket-style competition.
SLG2, Inc. will bring its Shoot Like A Girl experience to Professional Bull Riders Thunder Days on September 4-6, 2026, at Thunder Ridge Nature Arena in Ridgedale, Missouri. Sponsored by Bass Pro Shops, the mobile range will offer firearms, archery, and outdoor product demonstrations in the Fan Zone, with certified instructors emphasizing firearm safety and responsible ownership.
NSSF, The Firearm Industry Trade Association, announces the second semi-annual Gun Storage Check Week (Sept. 1–7), coinciding with National Suicide Prevention Month. In partnership with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and the Department of Veterans Affairs, NSSF encourages firearm owners to review secure storage practices through the "Make Sure It's Secure" campaign, featuring resources, a sweepstakes for a Lodestar Technology LNK9 Kit, and promotional materials.
ATN Corp announced its largest sale starting September 1, 2026, offering up to $1,500 off the ThOR 6 Elite thermal riflescope and pricing the ThOR 6 Mini under $700 for the first time. The entire Generation 6 thermal lineup, including the TICO 6 and BlazeSeeker 6, features approximately 25% savings across the board.
SHIELD Sights is offering up to 25% off its entire product line through September 30th at participating dealers. The UK-designed and manufactured red dot optics promotion aims to help shooters prepare for peak fall shooting season with premium optics at significant savings.
Bass Pro Shops announced plans for a new 100,000-square-foot destination retail location in College Station, Texas, expected to open in 2028. Founded by Johnny Morris, the store will feature immersive outdoor experiences and employ over 125 Outfitters, bringing Bass Pro Shops' Texas locations to 20.
KDG is showcasing its latest firearm accessories at the Worldwide Fall Show in Reno, Nevada, following a successful NBS Fall Market debut. The company is highlighting its new BOM Series Optic Mount for the Aimpoint COA and a rail extension for the Springfield Armory Kuna, marking KDG's entry into the Worldwide Buying Group.
Steiner Optics will exhibit at the 2026 National Tactical Officers Association Conference in Nashville, showcasing professional-grade riflescopes, red dots, and tactical optics including the T1Xi red dot, MPS 2.0 micro pistol sight, and T6Xi tactical riflescope designed for law enforcement professionals.
Pursuit Channel highlights its "Sportsman Sundays" primetime block presented by Spypoint, featuring hunting, shooting, and outdoor lifestyle programming including McWhorter Rifles' Precision Hunting TV, Ted Nugent Spirit of the Wild, and Americana Outdoors presented by Garmin, airing Sunday nights at 8 p.m. ET.
About three months ago I got my hands on the then brand-new ZeroTech Trace H.A.L.O. Enclosed Reflex Sight with a bright, crisp, green reticle and I’ve run it on a bunch of different guns since. The verdict? It’s a definite “yes” from me.
[ZeroTech has provided our readers a coupon code — SNW20 — good for 20% off on their website They sent this nearly two years ago after a previous review, and it’s still active as of this writing.]
First of all, just look at this kit. Seen in the photo above are some of the shims and screws that the H.A.L.O. ships with. Not only does it come with effectively every length and thread size screw you’ll need to mount the Shield RMSc footprint H.A.L.O. to your pistol, but they’re all in nicely labeled bags that detail which pistol models each set of screws is compatible with. This is awesome.
But wait! There’s more! The Trace H.A.L.O. also ships with a Picatinny rail mount, which allowed me to pair it with far more firearms than the handgun footprint alone would have. ZeroTech makes compatible risers, too, should you want to run the H.A.L.O. on a firearm like an AR-15 that needs the optic mounted higher above the Pic rail.
H.A.L.O. stands for Heavy-duty Aspherical Lens Optic. It’s an enclosed emitter style, meaning the LED emitter is inside of a sealed and purged ‘box’ with both a front and rear lens (as opposed to a reflex sight, which has an exposed emitter and only one lens). The housing is machined from 7075 aluminum.
What you get from the H.A.L.O.’s aspherical lens design is a super wide, entirely distortion-free field of view that’s extremely forgiving. Your eye can be way the heck off-center in any direction without losing sight of the 3 MOA dot. A parallax free design, that dot stays dead on your point of impact even if your eye isn’t aligned with the firearm. A demo of this can be seen at about 1:15 into the video embedded at top.
The fully multi-coated glass lenses are crisp, clear, and bright, with no noticeable color or other distortion.
ZT’s H.A.L.O. packs some premium features into a tiny, well-priced optic, including auto sleep and shake-awake functionality, a 50,000-hour lifespan (particularly great for a green dot!), an IPX7 waterproof rating, 80 MOA of adjustment, and more. Not to mention that great mounting kit and a solid warranty.
Dan and I shot it on the Henry LASR for that review (on YouTube HERE, coming to the SNW website soon).
I shot it on my ridiculous little Rossi Brawler SBR in 300 Blackout. This is where the optic has found a permanent home, in fact. It’s awesome on a handgun but it’s just perfect for me on this little thing.
We even put it on the Benelli M2-G1 for a spot of testing. I’m tellin’ you, this thing has made the rounds.
Hate having to remove your reflex sight and risk losing your zero in order to swap the battery? No such worry here, as the CR2032 compartment is located right on top of the SCUBA helmet, alien spacecraft looking (not an insult) ZeroTech Trace H.A.L.O..
If you haven’t used a green dot, it’s great! Dan and I both strongly prefer it over a red dot for everything except use in the dark with night vision / clip-on thermal (though the H.A.L.O. does have two night vision-compatible brightness settings). The human eye picks up this green color about six times better than red, and it’s less likely to blur or halo from astigmatism or other eye wonkiness.
In bright Texas high noon sunlight, even the brightest of red dots often look dim. That’s not at all the case with a good green dot like the H.A.L.O.; it still pops like crazy, yet it remains crisp. Apparently it can also reduce eye strain as compared to a red dot. That said, if you’re a red dot purist ZT makes the H.A.L.O. in red flavor, too.
I’m really happy with the ZeroTech Trace H.A.L.O. green dot and it has earned my full endorsement! If I could change anything about it, I’d say that the 3 MOA dot is great for handgun use but, given the choice, I’d go with maybe a 1.5 MOA dot for my Rossi Brawler or other rifle use.
