Seriously? If you really need to read a review on PMAGs, you need to get out more. There's nothing bad I can say about them.
Good Stuff: It polymer, so the feed lips are less prone to bending under pressure from loaded rounds. The follower is anti tilt, and less likely to jam than your standard NATO magazines. 1000% easier to disassemble for cleaning than the standard mags as well. Lots of colors make me happy too :)
Bad Stuff: Nothing. The price is about 3 times better than anything Smith and Wesson, Glock or Springfield armory put out, so really cant complain.
Installed this in my M&P9 a while ago and have been holding off on a review to see how it would break in. I won't go into too much detail about whats included in the kit since you can read that on Apex's homepage. Not here to repeat information, sorry. Couple thousand rounds later, and here it goes...
Good Stuff: When they say this kit drops the trigger pull to a smooth, crisp 2.5lbs they are not elaborating in any way shape or form. Mine weighed in at a consistent 2.65, but the smoothness of it caught me off guard to a point I thought impossible. It feels impossibly light.
I don't think it has tightened up my groups at all, but the speed with which I can dish them out is dramatically enhanced. We're not talking a matter of milliseconds, we're talking whole seconds.
The bad stuff: As with all M&P's, the length of the trigger pull continues to be a pain in the ass. Now that Apex has brought their Forward-Set Sear to market, I may have to look into it as further improvement over my current set up.
Overall: Not bad at all. Makes the M&P trigger pull a dream at the range. As the manufacturer cautions, don't EVER EVER EVER try to conceal carry a firearm with this modification on it. I haven't had any issues at the range, but under stress in the real world you sure as hell don't want this light of a trigger. May be overshadowed by the Apex FSS kit, but that doesn't mean this is a bad product.
I was looking around for some lower priced alternatives to my much beloved match kings for regular range use, and these fit the bill. I have only used the 155 and 168 grainers thus far, but the performance was pleasantly surprising. Since the 165gr SMKs out of my Savage print .38moa groups at 100 yards, stabilizing into a tidy .35moa at the 500 yard line my aim was for these lower end bullets to at least hold a half inch.
The good stuff: After a little tweaking, both the155 and 168 varieties did just that. Turns out, these are a good budget bullet for the shooter with tight purse strings.
The bad stuff: It is definitely a bargain bin looking bullet. Most of the 250 bullets in each box had very noticeable discoloration and blemishing, though it seemed to be purely cosmetic. Not the end of the world, but still something that bears noting. I haven't fiddled around enough to completely wring all the accuracy out of them, but I get a feeling there's going to be swiftly diminishing returns at around .4moa.
Overall: Bargain bullet, good accuracy for the price. Definately some clear limitations, but I can live with it. It will slam a steel target or a paint can from 500 yards, and that's all I really need from them at this point.
I won't go too in depth on this one because, well, there's really not a lot to it.
Good Stuff: Maintains grip very well. I bought the "Sand" textured version, and though I'm sure some shooters would disagree with me, I found it to be very comfortable (i attribute this to my M&P grips fitting my hand very well, with very little wiggle room to cause irritation from rubbing against the "sand"). The whole package has enough laser cut outs to cover pretty much the entire grip frame. I opted to just cover the areas shown in the picture because that's what i have found works best for me in the past, but you're more than welcome to go wild.
Not great stuff: A bit of a mess to install. Instructions recommend using a heat gun and applique roller for best results, and I wish I had done that. I applied it by hand, and while 85% of the grip is perfect, there are a few small spots that tend to pop up a little while in the safe. Not the end of the world, but again 20/20 hindsight.
Overall: Very nice product. Provides a very solid grip.
I pride myself on doing the research and shopping around so I get the best bang for my buck. Firearms products are no exception, so when I started thinking about compensating my Smith and Wesson M&P9 the first thing I did was hit the internet.
This particular combination stood out to me for a number of reasons. First, its milled to compliment the natural lines of the M&P; obviously form should always follow function when it comes to firearms, but I just can't bring myself to mount a Dawson Precision lego block on the front of my otherwise attractive firearm. Nothing against Dawson, I know they make great Glock toys, but I just can't do it.
Anyhoo, once the barrel was clean and the loctite was cured, it was time to hit the range for a real test. The results actually amazed me (not an easy thing to do these days). I tried a variety of factory and handloaded ammo, and surprisingly the one that gave me the best groups and greatest reduction in muzzle climb was <gasp> Winchester fucking Whitebox. None of my initial handloads where really geared to a compensator, so I see some serious load development happening in the very near future.
This is the video from the 20 yard line on a head-size steel plate. Given that I'm not Jerry Miculek, this was the fastest I've done this particular drill with a full caliber handgun, and in fact this time rivals some of my .22lr runs. With some load work and a little practice, I hope to cut a few more seconds off.
Good things: Very effective at reducing muzzle climb. I love the aesthetics.
Not so great things: Kinda wish there was a better way to secure the comp than with threadlocker (set screw, cotter pin, i dunno) because cleaning the thing without taking the barrel out of the slide is a royal pain in the ass. Had lots of carbon buildup in the ports as well, but I also screwed up by not oiling the comp before shooting (stupid me, I know. 20/20 hindsight...). Fortunately, i discovered a few drops of bore gel and a few q-tips (plus bunches of patience) do a good job of cleaning up the mess.
Overall: Like it. With a performance boost like this, I can live with a little headache at the cleaning table. Worse things have happened.
I've been using Pelican cases for my duty weapons and gear for a number of years now, but finally broke down and got one to fit a couple of my own personal weapons. They survive deployments and training TDYs without a hitch, and if you can afford them its 100% worth the money.
Good Stuff: One of the toughest products I have ever had the pleasure of using. I can honestly that I have never seen one of these cases fail, despite deployment and training stresses and general heavy military use. It is a touch heavier than some other cases, but considering the much better durability (and the fact that it has wheels for the weak-armed individuals out there) its a non-issue. My personal case came with the solid foam, which I custom cut to hold a couple of rifles (which saved me a few bucks) but you can also get custom made foam inserts from the manufacturer.
Bad Stuff: It would be irresponsible of me not to mention the price here. This level of protection doesn't come cheap, so your looking at a couple hundred dollar investment.
Overall: Probably don't need a Pelican case for the occasional trip to the range or once a year trip to deer camp. However, if you have some serious travel (airline or otherwise) in your future or will be seeing some tough conditions, then Pelican is definitely worth it. A couple hundred dollar investment will protect your couple thousand dollar rifles, and you will be happy. The end.
In recent days, the news media has slowly forgot how an Afghan pilot stole the lives of 9 of our best and brightest airmen in an aircraft hangar in Kabul, Afghanistan. Discussion has ranged throughout the firearms community as to how a lone gunman could take down 9 trained personnel with a standard issue sidearm without being ripped or shot to pieces.
The answer to your question is this: DoD and CENTCOM Policy, and shoulder holsters.
Military policy on base/FOB/COP or wherever is that all firearms will be either unloaded at all times, or will not have a round in the chamber unless you are outside the wire. I understand that his cuts down on the number of negligent discharges, but it also restricts your ability to return fire in self defense. It's time for this policy to change, in order to reflect the non-linear state of the modern battlefield. Let us put a full magazine in our pistols, and a round down the tube. There's a safety lever there for a reason; let us take advantage of it.
I also take issue with the way so many staff and support personnel carry their sidearms in godawful, cheaply made shoulder holster. Most of these rancid things are designed more for convenience, than for actually employing your sidearm in defense of your own life. It leads to a culture of complacency in which airmen and soldiers lose focus of the fact that there are people out there trying to kill them. If you absolutely must have a shoulder holster, then we need to issue something less restricting. Blackhawk makes a very high quality shoulder rig for their Serpa line of quick release retention holster; maybe its time for that to become standard issue to anyone carrying an M9. Otherwise, get a belt and a standard holster and carry like you mean it.
The History Channel is now casting skilled marksmen for the fourth season of its hit competition show TOP SHOT. The casting call is included below. If you'd like to post it at your organization/club, include it in a newsletter/email blast, or just pass it on to interested folks, please feel free!
The History Channel is now casting a bunch of random wierdos who think they're pretty good with daddys old 1911 and have seen to many seasons of survivor. We are desperate for people who are willing to stand up on national television and turn a perfectly good day at the range into a total drama fest.
THE HISTORY CHANNEL is seeking SKILLED MARKSMEN for SEASON 4 of its hit competition show.
We need 16 warm bodies who can manage not to shoot themselves in the knee while looking good on camera at the same time.
You’ve seen some of America’s best shooters take on the Top Shot challenge, and now it’s time for YOU to join their ranks.
We need you to act like a hormone driven high school student for a month so we can attract outdoors and shooting sports companies to buy advertising. Even though we don't give a rats ass about the second amendment.
With production on season 3 gearing up, The History Channel is NOW CASTING SEASON 4 of its electrifying marksmanship competition show. Producers are looking for anyone with unrivaled shooting skills and a big personality to take on exciting physical challenges with multiple guns and mystery projectile weapons. If you are skilled with a pistol, rifle or any other firearm, you could win $100,000 on TOP SHOT 4.
If you are a self centered jerk, can talk at length about your self-described 'skills', get along poorly with others, and generally act like a teenage cheerleader we need you! Anyone who can spray bullets at larger than life targets and pray that one of them makes contact, you could take home $50,000 after taxes (plus remember the money was received in California, so that's another 10% transfer fee surcharge!).
It doesn’t matter if you’re a professionally trained shooter or a self-taught average Joe or Jane. As long as you’re in good physical shape, have mastered a firearm and can adapt to new weapons and demanding physical situations, you could be America’s next Top Shot.
Anyone is welcome, so long as they fall into our strict criteria for racial and and economic backgrounds. Everything you say and do while on camera becomes property of our network. It will be edited together as we see fit, and then endlessly replayed, analyzed, nitpicked and photoshoped. Any and all disagreements or simple misunderstanding are subject to being thrown way out of proportion in the name of good television. This is not reality. This is reality tv.
Simply email TopShotCasting@gmail.com with your name, city/state, phone number, a recent photo of yourself and a brief explanation of why you are America’s next “Top Shot.” If producers want to follow up, they will contact you for more information. If you have questions, please call our casting hotline: 818-478-4570.
Here is our email address and phone number. We don't actually return calls or answer emails, so don't get your hopes up. We'll probably go through about 40 of these applications before we get tired of it and pick 16 at random, then rig the challenges in one or the other competitors favor until we find one person who won't pull a richard hatch stunt on us. last thing we need is some asshole winning this thing, and then getting caught with 10 dead hookers and a kilo of blow.
I imagine the most "extreme" feature of these rings was their ability to piss me the fuck off trying to install them. First time around, got them mounted up with a mid-range 3-9x40 Bushnell. First trip to the range and i cant even get a group out of it, much less zero the scope. The rifle and loads have delivered .33moa groups in the past, and the scope hasn't given me any trouble either, so the only new factor here is the rings.
Took it back to the workbench, pulled the scope off and started tinkering. My most noteworthy findings where 1) the base bolts for both rings where set at different depths, which turns out to be the reason point of impact was skewed so far to the right, 2) the rings where only making about 15% contact with the scope. Took me a half hour with a lapping bar and 220 grit compound to get it into the 80-85% range, at which point it became clear I was nearing the point of taking off too much material. I was hoping for at least 90% scope/ring contact, but will settle with what I've got for now. 3) The finish is garbage. It looked tough in the package, but it rubbed up against a strip of velcro on my range bag, which was sufficient to put a big ugly nick in it.
Long story short, I really have no good things to say about these rings. I only bought them out of curiosity, but at this point I've all but written them off. I hope the next range visit finds that all the extra work paid off, but I won't be holding my breath. From now on, I will be sticking with good old American steel. Shame on me for straying from the Leupold PRWs that have treated me so well in the past.
This will be a short one. Its a rifle rest. It does what its supposed to do.
It's cheaper than a lot of the competition and does just as good a job as 80% of the other rests out there. It doesnt have a lot of extras on it and its not going to be the end-all answer to your target shooting/ varminting/ benchrest need, but its solid, its simple, and its easy to adjust (three things that rate good marks in my book). It does what it was designed to do at a price even I can afford. Although probably not what you would be using if you where planning on going toe-to-toe with some of the best shooters in the country, this will more than suffice for day-to-day zeroing of rifle, whiping out your average prairie dog town, and friendly to moderate target shooting and competition.
So the long story short, I have been in the market for a long, heavy barrel 308 winchester rifle for longer range work for the better part of two years now and nothing really caught my fancy (at least, not that fit into my income bracket). I finally decided to settle on the Savage 12 FVSS, and I am sure glad I did. I have always prided myself on researching my purchases very carefully in advance, and it paid of in spades this time around.
Good stuff: Throw a good scope on this sucker and you are good to go. I chose to go with a Bushnell Elite 3200 3-9x40 with their DOA reticle because it was the best in my price range, but I can see where better glass would make this an even better shooter. As with any other heavy contour varminter, its very front heavy and most at home riding a rest or bipod. If you buy this rifle thinking you will carry it across mountain tops, then maybe you should re-think your options, as this model definitely has some heft to it.
As accuracy goes, I havent had a chance to work up any handloads just yet, but the Black Hills and Hornady Match ammo I ran through it chalked up several VERY impressive groups (best was ~.5MOA at 100 yds, and actually appeared to tighten up at longer ranges; I managed to Clang the head of a 500yd sillhouette target that is no more than about 5 inches wide, so its more than adequate for what I want to do).
Bad Stuff: As with all savage actions, I wouldn't want to use this for anything requiring rapid follow up shots. Because it re-cocks on opening, it makes unlocking the bolt hard tough enough to unseat the rifle on the rest when you finally qrench it open. Hopefully this will smooth out a bit with use. Its not the end of the world since this will be mainly a target rifle, but its still a bit of a pain. My only other complaint is really not related to the rifle, but to my own retarded slip up; I didnt think to measure my cleaning rods before I bought this rifle, and managed to overlook the fact that none of them would reach down its 26" barrel, much less the additional 11" of boreguide. So mark that one up to me failing to pay attention to details, and let it be a reminder to anyone else who is in the market for this rifle.
Overall, a very good rifle for under $800. Can't wait to see what it can do with some good handloads; I have a selection of Matchkings and Nosler Custom Competition BTHPs ready on the loading bench, and a pound of Benchmark, so we'll see how far that gets me. Definately recommend this rifle it to anyone considering it.
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It took me a while to fine tune my hand loads with this setup, but it paid of in the end. I have the 18" model with one of Larues modified Harris Bipods and topped with a 3.5x ACOG. It's all fitted to a standard lower reciever assembly with a two stage trigger and some other goodies that aren't really relevant to this post. The barrel is a very fast 1 in 7 twist, so heavy bullets (75 grains and higher) are highly recommended.
Good stuff: The fit is awesome in all respects. I use a accu-wedge with other kids of upper receivers, but the stealth upper fits so tight to my Rock River lower that it isn't necessary. The full length rail handguard is a bit heavy, but this is not a product intended for room clearing or fast-paced competition shooting. At its core, it is a precision marksman rifle so its right at home shooting off bags or a bipod, making the weight much less of an issue.
It took me a good amount of experimentation, but once I got my handloads dialed in I was punching .30 to .35 moa groups at 100yds and beyond (Turns out it likes 77gr Sierra Matchkings and Benchmark powder. Dunno what everyone else is using, but this particular load seems to do the trick for me). My local range maxes out at 550 yds, and I can confirm that it will hit a man-sized target center mass at that distance with relative ease.
Bad stuff: A little tough to get dialed in if you don't handload. Utilizing this set up to its full potential requires some real customization in regards to ammunition, and the only way to do it economically is to roll your own. Other than that, I really can't say anything bad about it. It's heavy for an AR but as stated above, its meant to be a precision marksman rifle,
Overall: If you are the type who hoses down 25yd targets with a hundred rounds of bulk pack Wolf ammo, this upper is probably not for you. On the other hand, if you want to blast a prairie dog between the eyes at 250yds with the first shot this is about as good as it gets. AR handloaders everywhere rejoice!
I've had a a pair of these on my wish list for a while now, and finally got ahold of them at a good sale price ($50 beats $60 any day of the week). Honestly, I wish I had just bit my lip and paid retail price a year ago. These things are awesome.
Good stuff: They fit under standard issue military helmets very comfortably, so its a much more affordable option than a pricey set of Peltors. When I turn the volume up, I can actually hear a bit better than normal, which will make hunting season that much easier. Another benefit is the inclusion of a standard headphone jack, enabling you to hook up your Ipod or whatever else. This is great, because now they can double as noise canceling headphones (I used mine while mowing the lawn, and can see where they would be a godsend on a airline, in the back of a C17 or near a high-activity airfield).
Bad Stuff: The battery cover is a bit too flimsy for my taste. Mine hasn't been knocked loose yet, but I'm still going try to avoid that with a bit of preventative black duct tape. The headband length adjustment is also a bit loose. Using the very same roll of duct tape, I adjusted the size until I liked it and then taped it in place.
Overall, a great little piece of equipment. I know its designed for the shooting range, but I can see myself using it in a wide variety of applications as well. Definitely worth the money, and a better value (in my opinion) than the more expensive peltor models.
