2015 Course Calendar
March 2-4, High Risk Warrant Service, Spokane County, WA
March 5-6, Ballistic Shield User, Spokane County, WA
April 13-15, Carbine/Submachine Gun User, Kent, WA
May 25-27, High Risk Warrant Service, Kent, WA
June 15-19, Pistol Instructor, Kent, WA
August 17-21, Basic SWAT School, Spokane County, WA
Sept 14-16, Tactical Pistol, Kent, WA
Oct. 19-21, Carbine/Submachine Gun User, Spokane County, WA
Oct 22-23, Tactical Pistol, Spokane County, WA
Nov 16-18, Hostage Rescue, Spokane County, WA
Dec 14-16, SWAT Team Leader, Spokane County, WA
Late last year Samson manufacturing (http://samson-mfg.com/) put out a notice on Facebook that they were looking for people to test, evaluate, and then write about their products. I threw my name in the hat and was selected to take part in the process along with a bunch of other gun enthusiasts, competition shooters and hardcore MF’ers like myself. The group is a great mix of people with different uses and requirements. A side benefit to a large group is that we are all discussing the product in a closed group on FB, so you are actually getting some info in this review from their perspective and insight. It’s like 100 reviews in 1 package. Pretty badass.
The first products that Samson sent were their 3.5X magnifier and their mount for it, the R.A.M. I will break them down into two reviews. At Samsons website linked above they torture test the RAM mount pretty well. I froze the magnifier and mount overnight in the freezer, left it in a bowl of water overnight, and bashed it from a variety of directions simulating getting in and out of vehicles, doorways, and rapid prone position. The RAM flip to side was not affected by any of these with one exception. On one occasion going from standing to prone and smashing the magazine into the ground, I was able to get it to flip to side just from hitting the deck. I will say that I was trying to do this and was only able to make it happen once out of ten attempts. No lasting issues, I just rolled it back up into the locked position. After soaking in water, I shook it off but did not dry it. The small pin that holds the rotary lever in place showed signs of rust the next day. Hit it with a brush and some lube and it has not returned. The mount locks up tight on the gun, you can adjust the tension to make it immovable. I cannot get the mount to shift at all in any direction with considerable force being applied. It’s a pretty badass mounting system.
The magnifier itself has excellent glass. I was able to compare it with an Aimpoint 3X and it is easily on par with clarity. Behind a T-1, dot “smear” is about the same with both units. The Samson has screws on it that will allow you to adjust the dot to the center of the glass and it works well. I also compared it to a Vortex Viper PST 1-4X on my DM gun and glass clarity was on par with that and a Trijicon fixed 4X as well. The glass is impressive for the price, I have no idea who Samson is using to scratch the lenses but it is quality. Do not think that this is a Sniper scope, it isn’t, when used with RDS it will magnify or alter a crisp dot so it is not the same. It has a diopter ring for individual focusing of the image which is a plus. As a lefty rifle shooter, I mounted it to flip to the left. The flip actuator was very tight to the rubber coating and it was difficult to actuate without getting my thumbnail in there. I could not do it with gloves. The answer was to trim the rubber coating with a razor allowing relief in that spot to get access. It took all of five seconds and made a world of difference. Right side flip is already relieved at the factory.
When you consider that Samson has a list price of just $389 for the magnifier with the RAM mount, it is an incredible deal. Compared to Aimpoints with mounts costing twice as much, it really does make it affordable as an individual and for teams working on a budget. This is a huge plus for cops that might be assigned as a perimeter unit on one job and then entry on the next. The RAM mount is easily removed with gloves so the unit can be used as a monocular to obtain visual intel and also to discriminate targets without pointing a gun at anyone. With the flip to side option, officers could leave it mounted for entry work where only the red dot is needed, or pop it off and throw it in a dump pouch. I would leave it on the gun for active shooter events where I might want the magnification in hallways, and then flip it to side to enter classrooms, offices or stores. My team cleared an extremely large shopping mall a few years ago after a homicide. Witnesses were reporting that the suspects were still in the mall somewhere. The ability to see down the halls at distance and then enter stores with only the red dot would have been awesome and would likely have increased confidence to release a pill, or ten, with longer shots. Great product and I highly recommend it.
Last piece is this: you might think that I have to write a good review in order to get free product. Not so. Samson reps made it very clear to us that if the product sucked we were absolutely required to report that. In addition, those that know me personally will tell you that I would not fan boy junk when lives could be at risk. I have been using this thing on my duty carbine for the last few weeks because it’s an awesome piece of gear. Check one out, you won’t be disappointed.