Table of contents for July/August 2013 in Recoil

01 RIFLE BRAND: Patriot Ordnance Factory MODEL: P308 MSRP: $3,000 URL: www.pof-usa.com 02 MAGAZINE BRAND: X-Products MODEL: X-25 MSRP: $275 URL: www.xproducts.com 03 OPTIC BRAND: Aimpoint MODEL: Patrol Rifle Optic MSRP: $453 URL: www.aimpoint.com 04 SLING BRAND: Viking Tactics MODEL: Original Sling MSRP: $35 URL: www.vikingtactics.com 05 VERTICAL GRIP BRAND: Tango Down MODEL: BattleGrip Quick Detach Short Vertical Grip MSRP: $94 URL: www.tangodown.com 06 FLASH HIDER BRAND: Smith Enterprises MODEL: Vortex Flash Eliminator MSRP: $85 URL: www.smithenterprise.com 07 FIXED BLADE BRAND: Medford Knife and Tool MODEL: EOD-1 MSRP: $500 URL: www.medfordknife.com 08 HANDGUN BRAND: Colt MODEL: Rail Gun MSRP: $1,188 URL: www.coltsmfg.com 09 HOLSTER BRAND: Galco MODEL: Stryker MSRP: $65 URL: www.usgalco.com 10 GLOVES BRAND: Patrol Incident Gear MODEL: FDT-Alpha Glove MSRP: $35 URL: www.skdtac.com 11 BELT BRAND: Safariland MODEL:…

1 A sexy woman. Few images are more pleasing to the eye…except a sexy woman with a firearm. Artist and designer Andrew Bawidamann has illustrated this fact quite effectively in a set of lithographic prints that combine gorgeously rendered ladies with various modern military weapons — all in a cool WWII nose-art style. Each fourcolor illustration is printed on 120-pound uncoated stock with rounded corners. BRAND: Andrew Bawidamann MODEL: Modern Warfare Set MSRP: $25 URL: www.bawidamann.com 2 This carabiner won’t exactly help you scale Mount McKinley, but it is a handy little tool that comes with a Phillips head, flathead, and a semi-serrated blade with an ergonomic frame. Though not suitable for climbing, the carabiner comes with a screw-lock for secure attachment. Need a lightweight tool for light-duty tasks? Keep…

I had first heard of the Sphinx family of pistols 20 years ago through several write-ups in various gun magazines. The rave reviews and stellar photos made me seriously consider purchasing one, until I started asking about them at the local gun shops, shooting ranges, and people I knew in the industry. Most people had never heard of them, and the Internet was not the resource then that it is now. In making my weekly visits to the local gun stores back in the day, I came across a used Sphinx in a pawnshop. It was a used compact version in .380 ACP called the AT-380 and had an $800 price tag on it. I loved the fit and finish, but could not justify the price for one at the…

A firearm is not a laser gun that emits a perfectly straight beam of destruction. Think of throwing a baseball from center field to home base; you release the ball upward and it arcs up and down to the catcher. Similarly, the muzzle of a weapon is elevated relative to the line of sight. So as a bullet goes straight out the bore and departs the muzzle of your weapon, it then travels in an arc — initially up, then back down again — as it hurtles toward your intended target. As a result, if you don’t know how far away your target is, you will be hard pressed to hit it as the distance increases. Some weapon systems will shoot flatter than others, but they all launch projectiles in…

Competition skills translate to performance on the streets. Some say no. I beg to differ. When was the last time you were seated in a car and fired your pistol through the windshield at a target? Or practiced shooting your AR-15 from a low barricade with one hand while the other applies pressure to your friend’s sucking chest wound? Not lately I’ll bet. Unless you’ve been out shooting competitions. There will always be debate on the value of competition as training. To truly assess the pros or cons, you have to know what valid training really is. Where one may see value, another may see a road toward bad habits. Training is best accomplished by time on task with a qualified instructor/observer, if possible, and the motor programs you build…

George Santayana’s aphorism is often cited because it holds much truth: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” That’s why the National World War I Museum at Liberty Memorial in Kansas City, Missouri, stands as a beacon of freedom and is committed to inspiring public involvement and informed decision making among present and future generations — lest we forget the sacrifice and courage of those who served in WWI. The United States’ entry into the First World War in April of 1917 helped change the tide for the Allies and ensured the defeat of Germany and the Central Powers. While no one American city can claim to have played a greater role in the war than any other, Kansas City was chosen to be the site…

It seems like everyone and their brother is making a piston AR these days, but it wasn’t always so. Patriot Ordnance Factory was one of the first companies to bring to market a system that combined some of the best qualities of Stoner’s design along with bits borrowed from elsewhere and has held a patent for a piston bolt carrier since 1992. We got the inside scoop on their operation from company founder and president Frank DeSomma, then took one of their 12.5-inch barreled full-auto carbines to the range to see what kind of performance it turned in. And in what’s fast becoming a RECOIL tradition, we managed to bugger it up. Let’s face it, these are not cheap guns. But a Porsche isn’t a cheap car, either, and —…

With every shooter and his mother hunting down ammo as if the Zombie Apocalypse is already upon us, popular calibers like 5.56mm, .45 ACP, and 9mm have in recent months become endangered species. And when they are seen in the wild on store shelves or online, they’re painfully expensive to acquire. For some shooters, those weekly trips to the range have become monthly events. For others who’ve run low on both cash and ammunition, there probably won’t be any live-fire training for the foreseeable future. Suddenly, the Great Firearms Famine of 2013 has made .22-caliber conversion kits look quite appealing. Grab a handgun from your arsenal, remove the slide, slap on the kit, and — bang — you’ve just transformed one of your favorite handguns into a training tool that…

Statistics tell us that we’re far more likely to get lost in the mountains during a hiking trip than we are to encounter a catastrophe or undead outbreak. Whether your SHTF moment is worthy of a J.J. Abrams movie adaptation, one thing is for certain: knowing where you are and how to GTFO will dramatically increase your chances of staying alive. Sadly, your average cubicle jockey wouldn’t find his way out of a paper bag. With the proliferation of GPS units and smartphone navigation, there’s been an overreliance on technology. But what happens if your batteries die or you lose a satellite signal? Or an electromagnetic pulse kills all digital devices in the area? No worries, you say, because you have a compass. Well, it’s one thing to have a…

“Where liberty dwells, there is my country.” — Benjamin Franklin We are eternally grateful to all the brave people, and their families, who have served and continue to serve our country to protect our freedoms and liberty. Your sacrifices will never be forgetten. Respectfully, RECOIL Magazine As this issue hits newsstands, the Fourth of July is right around the corner. And while the sights and smells of the holiday festivities will soon be upon us, there’s something else weighing on our minds and hearts: upholding our patriotic duty of keeping a close watch on our politicians. While some proposed anti-gun legislation have been shot down recently due to lack of support, that doesn’t mean it’s time to relax. The assault on the Second Amendment continues. Whether it’s a ban on…

MAKE: Tomcar MODEL: TM5 YEAR: 2009 ENGINE: 1.4L Diesel DRIVETRAIN: 2WD WHEELBASE: 101 inches If at first blush you thought this was just another sandrail, dune buggy, or UTV, we regret to inform you that you couldn’t be more wrong. While it could be used to haul coolers and ditzy girls while you’re hanging out at Glamis listening to Crazy Town, bro, the Tomcar is a military-grade off-road vehicle that’s the culmination of progressive engineering and practical accessorizing. In other words, when shit gets hairy in the field, the guys at Tomcar have anticipated the contingencies and designed the vehicle around them. While the Tomcar is available to the public, the TM5 model we’re showing you is an example of one created as part of a fleet that was deployed…

WARNING! When handling firearms, always observe safety rules and the precautions set forth in the firearm’s owner’s guide. Be certain that your firearm is unloaded and made safe before proceeding with this DIY. After 2,500 rounds or so, the bolt on your AR is probably feeling its age. As part of routine maintenance, you should know how to inspect it, tear it down, and replace any wear items to keep the system running at peak performance. Note that if you ever feel the need to become a hand model, don’t try running an AK at speed before the photo shoot… INSPECTING To inspect your bolt for wear, first remove the complete carrier from the rifle. With the bolt in its forward position, stand the carrier up on a hard surface.…

When it comes to optics, can you really have your cake and eat it too? In recent years, low-power variable scopes have really come of age. These jack-of-all-trades optics are traditional riflescopes that start at 1x (no magnification) and zoom up to 4x, 6x, or more. At zero magnification, with a suitable reticle and/or good illumination, they can perform nearly as well as red-dot optics to engage close- and medium-range targets. With the twist of a wrist, you can dial them up to properly identify targets, make precise shots, or engage targets at distance. We’ve assembled a collection of impressive optics that are pushing the boundaries, ranging from 1x to 6x, 8x, and even 10x. There’s a wealth of information offered by scope manufacturers, but which bits of it do…

Few names in the world of competitive shooting draw the admiration, reverence, and respect as Miculek. In our world this family is royalty, and seeing that surname on the list of competitors for a shooting event is akin to seeing “Andretti” at an IndyCar race lineup, “Manning” on a football team’s roster, or “Gracie” on an MMA fight card. The Miculeks come to win, and they always win. Perhaps that’s overstating it a tad bit, as on any given day anyone can win or lose out on the range, but if you had to go with the odds, they are your best bet at easy money. Jerry Miculek, the patriarch of the clan, needs no introduction. For evidence of his unparalleled greatness and consistency, one need only know that he’s…

For months now, our friendly local Wal-Mart has been completely sold out of 12-gauge ammo of almost any type. But sitting forlornly on the shelves were boxes of 20-gauge shells. So, we thought to ourselves, why not give 20-gauge a try? Mossberg sent us an SA-20 shotgun, and we got to work seeing what we could do with the cool little Turkish-made blaster, utilizing just the tools one might have in a typical garage. Could we entrust it with three-gun and home defense duties? The Mossberg SA-20 really felt like a 12-gauge that had been left in the dryer on high for too long, and sure enough most everything on the gun looks like a scaled down version of a 12-gauge auto loader. Our gun was also a Bantam model,…