September Staff Picks: Targets, shooting rests, Call of Duty inspired optics and one very expensive month for Craig
September has been another busy month, although the wider world has managed to provide plenty of distractions along the way. We've had the usual collection of increasingly strange headlines, from the UK's new space strategy and billions being committed to the industry, to software problems causing chaos across the UK's air travel network. Important? Certainly. Mildly interesting? Definitely. Relevant to what we do? Probably only in the sense that we'd quite like our own warehouse to have a launchpad and a slightly better logistics department.
Back at Vector Air, things have been a little more grounded. We've expanded into premium knives, received another shipment of EPIC VISION rifles that has nearly disappeared before we've had a chance to enjoy having them in stock, and taken delivery of several thousand APOLLO products which are already making our available floor space look increasingly theoretical.
So, let's get into what's been happening.
We've Started Selling Knives... And Craig May Never Recover
The biggest change to Vector Air this month has probably been the most obvious one if you've been browsing the website. We've made a slight pivot into premium-quality knives and tools, something we touched on in our recent website and catalogue changes blog.
So far, it's going rather well.
A lot of you seem to have enjoyed the range we've put together, with quite a few customers apparently deciding that their collections, tool belts and pockets were all missing a little bit of premium steel. We've had a particularly good response to the Dachs Knives range, which is no surprise to us because they're rather lovely things.
We're still approaching this in much the same way as everything else we do. We'd rather bring in interesting products from smaller manufacturers that we actually like than fill the website with hundreds of interchangeable products simply because we can.
There is, however, one slight problem.
We think we've nearly bankrupted Craig.
Not through any sensible business expenditure, obviously. He's just been buying knives.
EPIC VISION: Buy One Before We Sell Those Too
Speaking of things that are disappearing almost as quickly as we can get them, the demand for the EPIC VISION has been rather impressive.
Our latest shipment has nearly gone already, which is fantastic for us and probably a little more stressful for EPIC. Unlike a huge commercial manufacturer, EPIC is a relatively small company producing relatively small batches of rifles. That means there is a very real limit to how quickly they can increase production without compromising the thing we actually want from them: properly built rifles that have been through the appropriate quality control.
Vector Air is currently EPIC's largest customer worldwide, so when we place an order, it isn't exactly a case of adding another couple of rifles to a pallet that's already being made for everyone else. Our latest order for the next batch is already over 100 rifles, and that order was placed while the current batch was still being anodised.
That's quite a significant production run for a small manufacturer.
We've never wanted to put pressure on a manufacturer to skip QC or rush production simply because we're selling through stock faster than expected. We'd much rather wait for EPIC to build the rifles properly than have a conversation six months down the line about why something wasn't checked properly because everyone was in a hurry.
The result, unfortunately, is that VISION lead times aren't something we can magically solve by shouting at EPIC.
At the moment, we're looking at approximately 6 to 12 weeks for the next batch.
And that's an estimate, not a promise. The rifles still have to go through the various stages of production, including anodising, and if the anodisers decide to make life difficult for poor EPIC again, that window can quite happily stretch.
So if you've been looking at a VISION and thinking you'll get around to ordering one eventually, we'd suggest doing it sooner rather than later.
Because once this batch is gone, there isn't a warehouse somewhere full of them waiting to be released.
There is a small Czech manufacturer making them.
And we're asking them for rather a lot of them.
APOLLO Has Arrived... And Is Already Disappearing
Then there is APOLLO.
Our latest shipment has landed, and we've once again managed to achieve the increasingly familiar Vector Air trick of announcing that products are back in stock before almost immediately having to tell people they're getting low again.
With EPIC, moving 100 rifles is a substantial order. With APOLLO, we're talking about a few thousand pieces, so you'd think we'd have plenty of stock to play with.
The problem is that we still have to put the things somewhere.
We simply don't have enough indoor storage to keep bringing in enormous quantities without eventually reaching the point where we're stacking cardboard boxes in places where cardboard boxes really shouldn't be stacked.
We're not quite at the stage of ordering them and putting them outside under a tarp while hoping the cardboard is somewhat waterproof.
Yet.
For our trade customers, this is why you may occasionally order something like card targets, see that we've got plenty available, and then find that the stock is already looking rather thin by the time the next order comes around.
That's what happens when you bring products into the UK that people actually want to buy.
The downside is that they sell quickly.
The upside is that they sell quickly.
We'll take that problem.
Anyway, onto this month's picks.
This month appears to have somehow become Accessories Month, with shooting rests, targets, shooting sticks and even a rather cool little reflex sight and magnifier combination making the cut.
Not a single member of the team has selected an air rifle.
We're not entirely sure whether that's growth or a warning sign.
Tee’s Pick: APOLLO Electric Automatic Moving Target Shooting Gallery with Variable Speed
We're not entirely sure whether Tee was actually here when these first landed with us. We have had them before, and they have appeared in Staff Picks in the past, but it has been long enough that we're not sure she ever properly encountered them.
This time, however, she has. And Tee is entranced.
The APOLLO Electric Automatic Moving Target Shooting Gallery runs a moving target along a 480mm track at variable speeds, giving you something considerably more interesting to shoot at than a paper target that has the audacity to remain exactly where you left it.
It is one of those products that makes perfect sense once you've seen it running. The target moves, the speed can be adjusted and suddenly you're having to react rather than simply settling into the same shooting position and punching holes in a stationary sheet.
Tee seems to have discovered this particular joy rather enthusiastically.
Craig, meanwhile, has discovered the other side of the product.
The demo unit in the shop makes a rhythmic noise while operating, and after hearing it repeatedly for long enough, Craig finally reached his limit.
It has now been turned off.
We suspect Tee will turn it back on.
We also suspect Craig will notice.
Karls’s Pick: Manbily Telescopic Shooting Stick with Support Base
This one was actually Karl's idea to bring into the range, so there is a reasonable chance he's picked it because he needs to save face if they don't sell.
Or, alternatively, perhaps the item is considerably more useful than we initially gave him credit for.
The Manbily Telescopic Shooting Stick is a very affordable shooting support that combines a telescopic monopod with a Y-shaped shooting yoke and a three-legged support base.
It's a little bit like a microphone stand, except instead of supporting this week's Guns N' Roses cover band, it's considerably more useful out in the field.
For HFT, pest control or general field shooting, it gives you a lightweight and portable way of getting some support without carrying a full-sized shooting rest around with you.
The three-legged base gives it considerably more stability than a conventional monopod, while the telescopic section means you can adjust the height to suit the shooting position.
It's one of those products that is easy to overlook until you actually think about where you might use it.
For us, it also has one other potential use.
It's a very long prodding stick.
Which is exactly the sort of sophisticated technical assessment you'd expect from Vector Air.
Craig’s Pick: APOLLO G-Rest Heavyweight Shooting Sledge with Adjustable U-Shaped Yoke
Now, some of you are going to look at this and immediately think:
“That's a tan Caldwell Lead Sled.”
And you'd be partially right.
It is tan.
It is also a shooting sledge.
But no, it isn't a Lead Sled.
The APOLLO G-Rest Heavyweight Shooting Sledge is designed to provide a stable shooting platform with an adjustable U-shaped yoke, giving you a substantial front rest for bench shooting, zeroing and general supported shooting.
The concept is broadly familiar. It's a heavy-duty shooting support designed to take some of the movement and wobble out of the equation when you're trying to concentrate on the actual shooting rather than whether the rifle is sitting where you left it.
We're told it's made to a tighter budget than some of the more expensive options on the market, which is exactly what APOLLO does well. Take a product concept people already understand, produce it to a sensible specification and bring the price down without turning it into something completely useless.
And yes, Craig picked it.
We suspect this has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that he has already spent most of his disposable income on knives.
Luke’s Pick: VictOptics SRD SOM Reflex Sight with Flip-to-Side 3x Magnifier Combo
Luke, as many of you will know, is, or at least was, our resident airsofter. He's been doing it for around 18 years, which means he's had plenty of time to develop an unhealthy appreciation for things that look cool on a replica.
One of those things has always been the flip-to-side magnifier setup.
If you've played enough Call of Duty, you'll probably recognise the general idea. Somewhere around the Modern Warfare 2/3 era, the hybrid sight setup became one of those things that made you think your digital soldier was considerably more tactical than you actually were.
And for a surprisingly long time, getting a decent real-world reflex sight and magnifier combination meant spending a fairly uncomfortable amount of money.
Not anymore.
The VictOptics SRD SOM combines a reflex sight with a flip-to-side 3x magnifier, giving you a compact setup that can be switched between close-range and magnified shooting without removing the magnifier from the gun.
Of course, it isn't an EOTech. We're not going to pretend it is. But that's also rather missing the point.
For airsoft, where you might be running around a field or woodland rather than conducting military operations, you don't necessarily need to spend several hundred pounds on a sighting system. This gives you the basic functionality at a considerably more approachable price.
And it's not exclusively an airsoft product either.
For those using suitable airguns for light pest control or general short-to-medium-range shooting, having a rapid transition between an unmagnified sight picture and 3x magnification can be genuinely useful.
There's a reason this style of setup has been used extensively on real firearms. The ability to switch between rapid close-range target acquisition and a magnified sight picture is useful.
The VictOptics version simply makes the concept considerably easier to get into without requiring you to spend the sort of money that makes you frightened to actually use it.
And that's probably why Luke likes it. It looks cool, it does something useful and it doesn't cost the sort of money that makes you question your life choices every time you knock it against a tree.
So, What's Your Pick?
So there we have it.
September's Staff Picks have somehow managed to avoid selecting a single air rifle, despite the fact that we are still, technically, an airgun company.
Instead we've got a moving target gallery, a shooting stick that may or may not have been selected to save Karl's reputation, a heavyweight shooting sledge and a reflex sight/magnifier setup that has apparently been waiting fifteen years for its price to become sensible.
We've also started selling knives, nearly sold out of another EPIC VISION shipment before we've properly got the next batch on the way, received several thousand APOLLO products and discovered that a warehouse is apparently only as big as the number of boxes you can physically fit into it.
So, all things considered, a fairly normal month at Vector Air.
We'll see what the team picks next month.
Assuming Craig has any money left.
Which one gets your vote?
Poll Time
Who had the best pick this month?
Tee’s Pick: APOLLO Automatic Moving Target Gallery
Karl's Pick: Manbily Telescopic Shooting Stick
Craig’s Pick: APOLLO Shooting Sledge
Luke’s Pick: VictOptics SRD SOM Reflex Combo
Let us know which one you'd pick, and perhaps more importantly, tell us what should have made the list this month.
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Think we missed something? Let us know in the comments below.
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