Table of contents for March/April 2022 #59 in Recoil

We took the idea of Franken-building to the next level for this build, as there are scant few matching manufacturers among the parts and pieces used. Ultimately what we ended up with was a rifle that looks a little unusual — a 13.7-inch barrel is rarely paired with a precision stock like the B5. But fear not! There’s a method to this madness. 3rd Gen Tactical has been selling precision-machined receiver sets for some time now, and the upper you see here was originally part of a matched Humboldt set. We liked the stylization and subtle lightening cuts on the Humboldt upper and thought it would be fun to match with a different lower. SilencerCo SCO-15 lowers are about more than just the lasered brand name; the major standout is…

Arizona’s Big Sandy Machine Gun Shoot is a biannual event that takes place in October and March at the Big Sandy Test Center and Range. The event occurs in the boonies and hills off Highway 93 between Kingman and Wikieup. The location is isolated from the rest of the world and sports a quarter-mile-long firing line perched atop a substantial ridge, with targets on the opposite side and on the ground of the adjacent valley. The Big Sandy’s roots can be traced back to August 1987. Attendance was sparse in the early years; the informal event drew roughly 20 people per shoot, and news of the event was spread via word of mouth or by phone call. The shoot was first held near S P Crater, north of Flagstaff, Arizona.…

The Second Amendment Foundation is approaching its 50th birthday. They’ve spent that time wisely, and are today positioned to have a major impact on gun rights in the U.S. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, they advance the 2A through educational outreach, legal action, and assistance, and have a publishing catalog of over a dozen books. There are innumerable pro-gun groups in the U.S. and abroad, with diverse goals and areas of focus. They do outreach, training, lobby legislators, or opine on resultant legislation. All of that is necessary, and deserving of support, but it’s worth noting that one of the most direct ways to influence your rights in this country is through the court system. We sat down with Alan Gottlieb, who in addition to being a prolific publisher and activist…

Many of us can credit our initial firearms encounters to family members who wanted to ensure that experience was positive — the parent who took us to the range for the first time, the uncle who took us hunting, the grandparent who gave us a 22. Ask yourself what your perspective might’ve become without those formative experiences. It’s pretty clear that many of those who didn’t became just another vitriolic protestor who thinks activism is a sure way to gain acceptance with the in-crowd. Raise your hand if you know lots of people who started forming false assumptions about firearms because they never had any formal exposure to what they’d like to pretend they’re an expert on. We thought so … The only way to preserve our rights is by…

For a while, it seemed like Springfield Armory was getting a bit stodgy, content to rest on the laurels of its line of XDs, 1911s, and M1A semi-autos, but having been read in to their plans for the coming year, it’d seem that the company has been given a new lease on life. The gun on this magazine’s cover is evidence of that, and having seen not only the end result but also the design and production facility behind it, we’re pretty impressed. These past few months have seen a flurry of new product introductions, as gun companies in general have transitioned from getting product out the door as soon as possible to having time to perfect the projects they were working on before COVID upset everyone’s plans. Yes, sales…

Back in Issue 48 of RECOIL, we showed you Rodney Dial’s personal APC — proof that the average citizen can (and should) be able to own a military vehicle. Since many of us can’t afford to come out of pocket for an Alvis Saracen or Oshkosh JLTV, the good folks at the National Association for Gun Rights felt it incumbent on themselves to give the average citizen a chance to be the proud owner of a 1959 Ferret Mk 2/3. That’s right! This lovely old girl could soon be sitting in your driveway, while your electric-car-driving neighbors can only look on with envy. If you’re not familiar with the National Association for Gun Rights (NAGR), CEO Dudley Brown describes the 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization as follows: “We do what you really…

The U.S. market has never been particularly receptive to the concept of the bullpup, but in certain applications they offer significant advantages over conventional layouts. If you’ve ever tried manipulating a 16-inch barreled AR-15 in and around vehicles, or inside a building, you quickly come to appreciate the merits of an SBR, despite giving up a significant amount of muzzle velocity and downrange ballistic performance. With its 16-inch pipe, the Hellion is the same length as a 10.3-inch Mk18. Let that sink in. No tax stamp, no “mother may I” note to transport to another state, and about five times the fragmentation range for M193 ball. If (God forbid) the “AFT” gets its way and outlaws pistol braces, then the criterion of short overall length can be met in other…

The Ruger 10/22 rimfire rifle was first launched back in the 1960s and has been in continuous production ever since. Reminiscent of an M1 carbine, it first sported an 18.5-inch barrel, wood stock, and iron sights. It was a big hit and has remained popular as the epitome of a fun, versatile, and economical gun. The 10/22 features simple blow-bolt handle reciprocates and is on the right side of the gun. The safety at the front of the trigger guard is of the cross-bolt variety, right next to the bolt hold-open latch and the magazine release. It’s a timeless design that’s well proven. One of the 10/22’s innovations was how the barrel is installed in the receiver. Originally conceived by Bill Ruger to simplify manufacturing and reduce production costs, the…

Rifle technology has advanced steadily since the sunset of the fraudulently named “Assault Weapons Ban” in 2004. These modern sporting rifles provide the ability to defend your home, compete in matches, and hunt North American game with just one firearm. From 25 to 1,000 yards, one firearm can do it all … mostly. Capability, once the domain of purpose-built bolt-action rifles, can now be found in semi-automatic magazine-fed rifles. Some would contend that rifles such as the Knight’s Armament SR-25 series of rifles have been doing this for years. Unfortunately, the entry price of KAC SR-25 rifles, such as the ECC, are well into the $5,000 range. But Knight’s Armament isn’t the only company that offers this type of capability. Another world-renowned company, Heckler & Koch, also offers an intermediate-caliber…

01 FIX IT STICKS BRASS PIN PUNCH SET MSRP: $30 URL: store.fixitsticks.com If you were pennywise and dollar stupid, you’d buy cheapo tools to save a few bucks only to have them break or dull too quickly, which requires you to fork over more money for better-quality replacements. Well, you won’t have that problem with the gun tools from Fix It Sticks. Take its Brass Pin Punch Set for example. It’s precisely machined from solid bar stock and designed to work with the modular Fix It Sticks System. The six robust pin punches have steel inserts so they can be used with any standard ¼-inch driver, magnetic or not. They include the most common sizes, including 1/16 inch and 5/32 inch. It’s an affordable investment for a long-lasting and well-designed…

Coming from the firearms world, most of us are familiar with the ergonomics of a rifle, shotgun, or handgun right down to the checkering, knurling, texturing, or stippling. For some guns, it makes perfect sense; for others, not as much. It’s pretty much the same with regard to folding knives. On the tactical side of things, most handle material commonly used is naturally grippy. G10, Micarta, and other man-made materials have, for the most part, taken over from horn, ivory, antler, oosic (Google that one if it sounds made up), and even wood as superior materials for knife scales. When knife customizers first started taking Dremel tools to their custom and factory knives with G-10 handles to add texture, many thought they were nuts and were only ruining good knives.…

There are things only the jungle can teach. Stressors like humidity, sand, rain, and an aggressively vibrant insect population are all lessons largely lost on those of us who live outside this environment. Whether military forces deployed to high desert or urbanite concealed carriers, most of us aren’t required to get up close and personal with swamp conditions. This is one of the unique, and highly effective, learning points provided by Deep Woods Ranch. We had the opportunity to spend several days at this hidden gem of a training ground located in central Florida. Deep Woods Ranch is a privately owned training site that isn’t open to the public for general use but does host a number of open-enrollment classes and events throughout the year — or may be booked…

.450 Bushmaster has an interesting history. It was first designed by the late Tim LeGendre of LeMag as the “45 Professional.” He started by cutting and trimming a .284 Win-chester parent case in order to insert a 300-grain bullet. The idea was to use it in a dangerous game rifle in the form of an AR-10 or a bolt-action. Bushmaster Firearms liked the round, and the idea behind it. They liked it so much they turned to Hornady to further develop the ammunition. During the process, Hornady shortened the case from 1.77 to 1.7 inches, with an overall length of 2.26 inches to allow it to be chambered in an AR-15 instead. Same idea, now in a much more common (and inexpensive) rifle. The round was renamed .450 Bushmaster. WHY?…

Thermal cameras aren’t new, but they’ve always been cool. And relatively expensive. In recent years, we’ve seen prices come down to near-Earth-orbit and more consumer options opening up. In a world of people concerned about COVID fevers, we’re even seeing thermal sensors integrated into access control systems at small and medium businesses. This increase in demand has created a temporary shortage of sensors but has caused a doublingdown into research and development. The InfiRay MH25 is a mini thermal imager with a lot of technology onboard, much of it previously unattainable both at this price and form factor. The center of the unit is an InfiRay Micro II Core with a 12 micron, 640x480 resolution sensor. 640x480 doesn’t sound like much in terms of resolution when we’re talking still images…

Maxim Defense started as a one-man operation in 2013 with an idea for a new PDW stock. That stock begat a PDW brace, and then acquisition of an awful lot of talent. Three years ago in RECOIL Issue 41, we showed you their PDX, a 5.5-inch barreled PDW — because a PDW stock needs a PDW to live on. But what really impressed us is that the PDX actually functions properly, even chambered in the difficult-in-ARs 7.62x39. At the end of that article, we said there was a lot more to come in the future, and here we are now in the future. Some of what you’ll see in these pages are previews, and most are pre-production prototypes but should be representative of what you’ll soon see on store shelves,…

Among the Vets Vices companies we’ve covered, it’s pretty common to see determined former war-fighters turn their hobby into a business. We’re not sure we’ve seen one who has turned their therapy into a business. But that’s the genesis of Cider Corps, a two-man operation that has blossomed into the state of Arizona’s single largest dedicated cidery. Jason Duren was a heavy equipment operator in the Marine Corps. While working a route clearance mission in Helmend Province, Afghanistan, he was caught in not one but two IED blasts that eventually led to an early medical retirement from the Marine Corps. Says Jason: “I started making cider with my brother Josh during my recovery process. It started as a hobby and form of therapy, but I really enjoyed the challenge and…