Seiko SSC961 – The BIG Change No One Is Talking About (Better Than SSC813)

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After lusting after this watch for a while, I finally decided to pick up the Seiko Seitona panda dial chronograph, the updated SSC961, which recently replaced the very popular SSC813. Now, I’m not going to go too in-depth about the watch in terms of specs because that’s covered by basically every reviewer, and as far as I know, they didn’t change from the SSC813 to this SSC961. So if you’re interested, you can read the specs for yourself.

What I do want to cover are some of the updates or changes that don’t seem to be listed or talked about. 

I just want to start by saying that from the videos that I’ve seen on YouTube about the SSC961 specifically, they seem to portray that this is basically the exact same watch as the SSC813, but made in a different factory. However, based on the many SSC813 videos that I’ve seen leading up to the purchase of my SSC961, I want to address a major change that will help you guys in deciding to buy this watch or not, and that is with the solar subdials.

In many of the videos about the SSC813, reviewers would point out that, because the subdials are themselves the solar cells that are utilized to capture light and help keep this watch running for so long, they give off a blueish/purplish tint, something that stands out on a watch that is predominantly white and black. Reviewers would mention that they wish that the subdials were actually black.


I can say that in my copy of the SSC961, I can’t see any blue or purple tint to the subdials. You can tell that they aren’t pitch black like the painted-on markers on the rest of the watch face, but they do seem to be a lighter shade of black. Imagine something is black but semi-transparent. That rich black tone is just knocked down a bit. I hope that makes sense. 

The other thing that I’ve noticed is that with the SSC813, you can actually see defined lines in the subdial as if that’s part of the solar cells. That was a slight annoyance for me because it’s somewhat unsightly and just takes away from the watch’s general look and appearance. However, I can say that with my SSC961, those lines are no longer there. 

So, with the updated SSC961, we seemingly get a more accurate black and white panda dial as the subdials no longer feature a blue/purple tint and the seam lines are also gone. I can’t speak for you, but those previous concerns about the solar subdials were a part of my buying decision and what made me hold off on the SSC813 for so long. So the updates with the SSC961 are greatly appreciated. 

Unfortunately for me, my particular watch has to go back, and hopefully I can get an exchange because this one actually has a spec of white dust right on the black seconds subdial, which is kind of annoying because it’s one of those things that now that I know is there, my eyes automatically look for it. 

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Full Send Ruger RXM Build Part 2 | Norsso Piranha Ported Slide & E Port Barrel

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I recently picked up the Ruger RXM and fully intended to do a heavily modified build which is made especially easy considering that the RXM is based off of a Gen 3 Glock. So much so that the entire upper assembly can be directly taken from a Glock without any changes. 

Case in point, my brand new upper assembly all from Norsso out of Las Vegas. This particular one is the N19 Piranha Ported Slide for Glock 19 Gen 3 and 4 with RMR cut and in Black DLC. I’ve personally built a decent amount of Glocks and Glock clones over the years, and I’ve looked at a lot of aftermarket slides from various companies, and I’m going to say without a doubt that the Piranha slides from Norsso are my favorite purely from an aesthetics standpoint. I love the way this thing looks. It’s super aggressive with all the design choices from the serrations to the cutouts in the nose. Front to back, this slide is gorgeous in my opinion. 

If you look back at my YouTube channel, I actually made a build in the past with another Piranha slide, but the non-ported version. But even back then, I wanted this ported version with the top cutout but didn’t go with it back then because I didn’t necessarily want a port on top for no reason. But since that video, Norsso has come out with multiple ported barrels and one that would be able to utilize this slide cut is this E port barrel.  This particular one is the N19 Gen 3-5 9mm E Port Barrel in the copper TiCN Titanium Carbo-Nitride coating. Again, just a beautiful color. I’m a sucker for stuff in the realm of a copper or bronze colorway so this was a no brainer for me. When we put this barrel into the slide, you can see that it’s a perfect pairing. The barrel and ports both seat and align properly. 

Moving to the smaller parts, I have some blacked-out Angry Bear Arms suppressor height sights that are meant to be lower third cowitness height when paired with something like a Trijicon RMR or SRO. These sights are an add on option on the Norsso website and they do have others if you don’t like these, but the blacked out sights were recommended because if you go with the ported setup, all the expelled carbon will just cover the front sights and black them out anyway so no point in spending extra on the other options that feature night sights with different colors. 

Internally, I’m running stock Glock parts, which are recommended by Norsso as that’s what their slides are designed around. 

Again, this entire upper assembly, including the sights and internals, all came from and were installed by Norsso. The only thing that I didn’t get from them to complete this upper is the recoil spring and that’s because I’m running the KynSHOT hydraulic guide rod. This thing makes a lot of bold claims, like reducing recoil by 70%. I’ve run this spring before, and I wouldn’t necessarily say that I believe that, but one claim that has worked for me is the claim that with this spring, you don’t have to do any tuning when it comes to changing out springs. If you didn’t know, when you run a suppressor, compensator, or ported barrel, you may have some reliability issues or failures that may revolve around the strength of your recoil assembly, which you may have to adjust. With the KynSHOT being a hydraulic system, it supposedly self-adjusts and so far, I can only say that I haven’t had issues with this spring on other setups that have some sort of change in barrel pressure. 

Lastly, this slide is cut with the RMR footprint. I have a few optics sitting around that I can use with this, including a Trijicon SRO, Holosun 509T, and an Osight XR. I’m leaning towards the SRO or XR, but this might be a build that I try a few different options out before settling on one. 

Overall, I’m impressed with this upper assembly. I took it to the range and had no failures within the first couple of hundred rounds. It does surprisingly well at reducing recoil and this is definitely one of the nicest feeling compact-sized guns I own. I’m excited to keep building off of this gun with some more mods so subscribe to my YouTube channel for future updates!

This product was provided at no cost for review. My opinions are honest and independent. The manufacturer did not influence or preview this video.

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Full Send Ruger RXM Build Part 1

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I can easily say that my favorite gun platform is the Glock 19 and a lot of that is because of aftermarket support which allows me to put together different builds. Which is why I’m extremely excited about and decided to pick up the RXM, which of course is not a Glock, but a Glock clone from Ruger working off the gen 3 Glock platform. The particular one I own is a compact size so based off of a Glock 19. 

To me, the interesting thing about the RXM is the fact that it has a removable serialized fire control insert, as Ruger calls it. I love it when guns have this feature because it allows you to take the insert out and put it into different frames or chassis without having to actually buy a new registered firearm, like you would with a traditional Glock, which has the serial number on the frame. With this, the FCI is itself serialized, and because it’s removable, I can take it out of my compact-size grip and put it into a full size or Glock 17 size grip and have something like a Glock 19X or 45. Or I can take the FCI out and put it into something like the Flux Raider, a PDW chassis, and get a completely different type of gun. That’s what makes me really excited about the RXM. I like the FCI idea and I’ve been waiting for it to come to the Glock platform, even if Glock isn’t directly giving it to us. 

It should be noted that Zev has the OZ9 line of firearms, which is another Glock clone platform with a removable fire control unit. I actually owned the OZ9 Hypercomp a few years ago, but got rid of it because the Zev fire control unit wasn’t going anywhere. No one was really doing anything with it, but things are seemingly going to be different for the RXM. Reputable companies have already announced things in the works and that’s why I decided to get into this platform now. 

To be perfectly honest, other than the FCI, I think the RXM is a fine gun but to me it is just another Glock clone. Again, taking the FCI out of the equation, everything else is kind of bland and ok. I don’t think it offers anything too wild or mind-blowing. It’s actually pretty average. The trigger is ok, the grip is ok, the slide is ok. The slide milling is pretty tame. It’s sort of like a slightly remixed stock Glock slide with some front and rear serrations, a little ledge that runs along the side, and that’s about it. It’s not heavily milled as you’d get from say Shadow Systems, but that can be about 3X the price. The lower, again, is ok. If you’ve purchased a Magpul AR grip, then you have a pretty good idea of what this RXM grip feels like. I personally don’t like this compact grip that much because I feel that of the Glock 19 lowers that I’ve tried, this is probably the shortest one. My hand just barely fits 3 fingers on it. I also don’t like the extra large cutout in the lower bottom. I realize there was a reason for that, I just don’t personally appreciate it. 

To me, nothing really stands out about this gun. Even being MSRP at a starting price around $400 is also kind of average. There are certainly cheaper options like the PSA Dagger. So personally, nothing would really make me want to buy the RXM except for the FCI. That completely changes the game and is where the excitement really comes into play for me.

I hope you subscribe to my YouTube and stick around because I have some crazy parts coming in for this build. Basically, everything about this gun is going to be modified except for the two take down pins and bracket that holds the FCI in place. Again, stick around because things are going to be changing quickly. 

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Jagerwerks BROS vs C&H Precision SRO Protective Shroud

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Over the past few years, I’ve been carrying with the Trijicon SRO, and it seems to be a pretty well-received optic. Generally, the only downside people mention is durability because if you drop your gun and hit the SRO from any decent height, it’ll probably crack. The circular design just isn’t that durable, but Trijicon never advertised this as an ultra-durable option. They market it for competition shooting.

That said, people like me who love the large window still EDC with it. When I do, I’ve almost always carried it with the Jagerwerks BROS, which is a protective shroud for the SRO. However, I recently discovered that C&H Precision also makes something similar, so I purchased it to try out.

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Osight XR | Rechargeable Enclosed Red Dot with Multi-Reticle System

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I just received the new Osight XR, and this is a really interesting enclosed red dot with features you don’t typically see from other companies.

One of the most notable aspects of this optic is its rechargeable battery design. Instead of using a traditional button cell battery like most red dots, the Osight XR features a built-in, non-removable rechargeable battery.

It charges using the included rechargeable hood, which provides up to five additional full charges for the optic itself. The hood is USB-C rechargeable, and it conveniently displays both the optic’s battery level and its own remaining charge. On top of that, the optic has a blinking indicator light that gives you a quick reference for battery status.

Another standout feature is the Collapsible Backup Rear Sight. With the press of a button on the side of the optic, the rear sight deploys, giving you an integrated backup sighting solution.

Then we have an industry-first multi-reticle system where you can choose between five different reticles, including options with either a 2 MOA or 6 MOA dot. That flexibility lets you prioritize precision or faster target acquisition, depending on your preference and use case.

On top of that, it uses an aspherical lens for improved optical clarity, includes shake-awake motion-sensing technology, is constructed from 7075-T6 aluminum, and offers 11 brightness settings. Altogether, it positions itself as a strong value at its $300 MSRP asking price.

I’m looking forward to finding a good host for this optic and putting it through its paces. If you have any specific questions you’d like me to address during testing, let me know.

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