All posts by David Zakar

Site News

Big Changes – But I’m Still Around!

1 Comment

As I hinted to in previous blog posts, my family is making a big change this year: we’re moving to Houston, TX! There were a lot of reasons for this change, but one side benefit is much-improved gun laws and shooting scene.

We are still in the process of moving, and as anyone who’s done one of these long-distance moves before knows, it’s never 100% smooth. I am already down here with the kids in a short-term rental; my wife is following along soon once her job hunt winds up. We are building a house, and it looks quite amazing – but it’s not also not done yet, so we’re pivoting as required.

Unfortunately, this has meant a lot of time-consuming packing and planning, and the only gun I could really bring with me was my trusty P365X (yay for Constitutional Carry!). It also turns out moving is expensive, which has cut into my gun budget somewhat. This blog has thus taken something of a backseat for the time being. I haven’t forgotten it, and will continue to post once I’m in a more stable position.

Industry News

SMSLaser 3-in-1 MFAL announced

Leave a comment

You’re tired of hearing me talk about SMSLaser, I know. But let’s face it: I love these guys, I love the HFXC, and I definitely love that they’ve just announced a follow-on device.

No name for this device yet, but let’s talk about the high points:

  • It’s a 3-in-1 MFAL ala the PEQ-15, NGAL, IRIS, etc., with an IR illuminator, IR laser, and visible laser. It omits the white light that was on the HFXC.
  • It uses a center mount. The lasers looks like they will be slightly off-bore, but not a ton.
  • There is, supposedly, a built-in defuser cap.
  • The mode selector, battery compartment, and crane port are all on the sides of the device. This is reminiscent of the BE Meyers DAGIR.
  • It keeps the power level buttons, and centerlines the fire button, but now has a top-mounted slider to control the illuminator focus. Also on top: much bigger zeroing turrets.
  • It is supposedly going to CR123s. In a perfect world, I’d rather have 18350s, but it’s certainly workable.
  • It is still a somewhat sizable device compared to the IRIS or NGAL.
  • It is supposedly more waterproof than the HFXC.
  • They have implied it is coming out next month (July).

All in all, it looks pretty good, and will probably dominate the budget market just like the HFXC did. I’ll certainly be grabbing one as soon as they come out.

Reviews

Upgrading the Masada Slim to the Elite grip

1 Comment

To be totally honest, I’ve been waaaay too busy to shoot much lately. Between family commitments and other events to be revealed this year, I just haven’t had much time to get out there and get at it. I’m hoping that I’ll have this resolved by the end of the year, but for now, I’m suffering through a real shooting drought.

However, when the “back in stock” email for the Masada Slim Elite grip came floating through my inbox, I just knew I had a project to do. Now that it’s after Passover, I found time to do a quick grip swap with my Masada Slim. You’ll recall it from my review, where I found it to be a reliable micro-compact that took common mags and had somewhat mediocre iron sights.

Well, IWI released an “Elite” version that fixed a few problems with it, and nicely enough, the grip module is fully backwards-compatible with the original Slim’s FCU… time for an upgrade.

Continue reading Upgrading the Masada Slim to the Elite grip →
Site News

Three Hundred Posts of Hebrew Hammer Blog

Leave a comment

As it turns out, Hebrew Hammer Blog recently hit the three hundred posts milestone! While I’m posting somewhat less these days (see Kosher Epicurean Society for more of my writing), I’m still very committed to the site and looking forward to a really great 2025!

2025 is going to be an exciting year, and I’m looking forward to finding out what’s coming out at SHOT Show this week. I doubt I’ll be getting much in the way of new guns, but I do hope to have some articles up on things I’ve been experimenting with in regards to stuff I already have.

I admit that 2024 was very night vision focused, and that’s not necessarily something that everyone is interested in. On the other hand, those articles were also very popular, so it seems like there’s a market for writing on that topic. But besides the inevitable goon stuff, I’ve got some other things I’d like to write about:

Galil ACE GenII 5.56 retrospective. I’ve shot my ACE GenII a bunch, and while it hasn’t been perfect, it’s an interesting enough rifle.

B&T USW-G thoughts. My article on the KPOS Gen2 is about a decade old at this point, and my SBR’d Glock really never went anywhere. Well, I recently procured a B&T USW-G chassis to see if a more modern solution would work better… stay tuned.

.22 TCM experimentation. I’ve always had a bit of a love affair with the .22 TCM cartridge – it’s a much more reloadable cartridge than 5.7×28, and can be formed from common 223 brass. It also has practically no recoil, and has a lot of blast – tons of fun.

SMSLaser HFXC update. I have a new HFXC v2 on order, and I’d like to post an update on whether it fixes the small issues found in the v1 device.

Industry News

RovyVon GL4 Pro Refresh, GS4, and GL5 Pro News (plus GL8 Pro teaser)

Leave a comment

Got a few new releases from RovyVon, and they’re pretty cool. An updated GL4 Pro, and even more exciting: the GL5 Pro with the GS4 tapswitch!

This one is going to take some explaining, so hang on tight and click that read more button.

Continue reading RovyVon GL4 Pro Refresh, GS4, and GL5 Pro News (plus GL8 Pro teaser) →
Reviews

SMSLaser HFXC Review

2 Comments

You may recall that I reviewed the SMSLaser XK68-IR in a previous post. The XK68-IR was an interesting attempt at converting a budget white light device to IR, and while it overall missed the mark, it was a good enough try that I felt SMSLaser had some promise and was a company worth watching.

Well, fast forward a year from the review, and SMSLaser has sent me a new device to test and evaluate: the HFXC. The HFXC is a 4-in-1 device that combines a white light, IR light, IR aiming laser, and visible aiming laser. You don’t really see a lot of 4-in-1s that are popular because they tend to do something badly (generally the illuminator(s)). As you’re going to find out, SMSLaser did their homework in a big way on this device, and I think it’s going to surprise you.

Continue reading SMSLaser HFXC Review →
Industry News

RovyVon GL4 Pro Lever Change

Leave a comment

If you’re having problems with your RovyVon GL4 Pro not locking as tight to a Picatinny (1913) rail as tightly as it probably should, it’s not just you (assuming you’re using the right lug “key”). The first run of GL4 Pros appears to have had their rail grabber based on the (proprietary) Glock rail. This version of the grabber works really well with Glocks, but is just a teensy bit loose on Picatinny rails. You can sometimes shim it, which is what I did, but this winds up introducing some alignment issues, and is otherwise not a very satisfying solution.

But, good news: RovyVon has a new version of the lever that’s on newer GL4 Pros!

As you can see, the new lever has cut-outs that allow it to clamp MUCH harder. If you own an original GL4 Pro, you can email them for a warranty replacement if it’s causing you demonstrable problems.

As a reminder, the GL4 Pro is my budget go-to recommendation if you need “active IR” capabilities on a pistol. It’s under $300, it has very usable functionality across all its capabilities, and it’s more-or-less compatible with XVL2 holsters (sometimes with minor fitting).

It would also be my recommendation for shorty CCs… but I may have something else you should look at. Stay tuned.

Reviews

Some thoughts on the Tavor 7

4 Comments

I bought an IWI Tavor 7 with 20″ barrel a few months ago. It was one of those embarrassing “this bid on Gunbroker could never win” moments, but I have to admit, I was sort of happy I did. I was an early adopter of the US version of the Tavor SAR, and it continues to be one of my favorite oddball rifles. I’ve been shooting it a bit lately, and the Tavor 7 feels like an upgraded version of the the original Tavor, and seems like the rifle the X95 should have been.

Continue reading Some thoughts on the Tavor 7 →
Industry News

External Focus Lens for the RovyVon GL4 Pro Available

Leave a comment

If you’re like me, and in love with the RovyVon GL4 Pro, but think the IR illuminator just doesn’t throw far enough, Villain Weapon Systems and Cold Harbour Supply have just what you’re looking for: an External Focus Lens for the RovyVon GL4 Pro/XL/FP.

As you can see, it clamps on to the illuminator head, which means that it’s probably not going to be compatible with holsters (and thus not much of a pistol solution). However, if you’re running a GL4 Pro/XL/FP on a PCC or similar, this is going to be a game changer for the IR illuminator. The photos on the CHS website show a marked reduction in flood and increase in throw, much like the EFL for the VIR II has. It’s not necessarily a super clean IR illuminator spotlight, but it’ll do the trick.

The price is $132 USD, which is not cheap, but for a 4-in-1 solution, a GL4 Pro+EFL is still cheaper than any other option. Remember that you can use the XVL2’s remote switch with the GL4 Pro to improve the control scheme with rifles/PCCs.