Tactical Lifeの August/September 2019 の目次

ON a very cold Christmas morning in 1776, history was about to be rewritten by a band of common men with a singular cause. Thomas Paine wrote, “These are the times that try men’s souls,” just before this day, when a defeated Continental Army retreated across New Jersey, with the British hot on their heels. Once safely in Pennsylvania, the approximately 2,000 men—many of whom hadn’t been paid in months and lacked proper winter provisions—became fed up. Their leader, General George Washington, also knew that half the Army’s enlistments were about to expire. Frank Lyons, a Revolutionary War reenactor dressed for his role as part of the Marblehead Regiment said, “General Washington knew that the revolution needed a bold stroke. This was a crucial turning point in the revolution, or…

Everyone has a different story. There are differences in the types of lives we lead and in the things that drive each of us in what we do. On occasion, we’ll meet someone who not only surprises us with their story, but impresses us as well. That turned out to be the case for me after sitting down and getting to know Don Fraley of Advanced Weapons Technology (AWT). I had heard about Fraley through word of mouth around the local gun shop, as folks raved about his gun-smithing work, and I was able to see and handle a couple of his custom 1911s that were for sale. Just from looking them over, they seemed to be excellent specimens, and I started to get curious about the man behind the…

What started out as a sneak peek at the 2019 SHOT Show ended with an early morning flight to Texas for two days of testing and technical briefings. The moving force behind this little excursion was none other than Trijicon. Few companies in the firearms world carry the name recognition enjoyed by Trijicon, and its reputation is well earned. Its Advanced Combat Optical Gunsight (ACOG) is a legend, and the company has continued to push the envelope with every product it releases. It is because of Trijicon’s reputation that my head snapped up when I was asked if I was interested in getting a closer look at a new optic the company has been working on quietly. So, away from prying eyes, a small black box was opened, and inside…

Not long ago, you only had a couple of choices for quality scope rings or single-piece mounts. Those days are over. More and more precision rifle competitions are popping up each year. Organizations like the Precision Rifle Series (PRS) and National Rifle League (NRL) hold local matches on a weekly basis. Multi-gun and carbine competitions add to the demand, along with the growing number of law enforcement officers adding scopes to their duty rifles. Dozens of manufacturers are stepping up to the plate to fulfill this need, and now you can find whatever you desire, whether its light weight or bulletproof durability. Let’s take a look at some of the industry leaders. 1. » BADGER ORDNANCE Badger Ordnance is an icon in the world of military and law enforcement scope…

It seems like everyone is coming out with their own AR-platform pistols and rifles nowadays, so much so that it has kind of become a running joke: “Federal Premium is coming out with a new product. I bet it’s an AR.” But Springfield Armory’s Saint Victor ain’t no joke. The rifle caught me by surprise when I first came across it, and picking it up, I immediately liked its feel and balance. The best news of all is that it retails for $1,073, but you can find it in the wild for under $900. That’s a great deal—a little too great if you ask me—so I wanted to see what this rifle could handle after some serious abuse. UNDER THE HALO The 5.56mm Saint Victor is the middle-of-the-road AR from…

There are certain firearms that grab our attention and hold it close, like a high school crush. Typically, this happens when a firearm is rare or offered only in limited numbers. Another way for manufacturers to ensure massive amounts of consumer desire is to designate a firearm as military or law enforcement only. This immediately angers the general gun buyer while at the same time holding their gaze and desire for long periods of time. A prime example of such a brand is Remington Defense. It’s elusive on its best day and completely shrouded in secrecy on its worst. It makes you wonder what it’s actually doing back behind the Big Green curtain, because they’re only guns, and guns can’t be that classified. Can they? I, too, have lusted over…

The concept of a pistol-caliber carbine (PCC) dates back at least to the 1860s. The first Winchester lever-action rifles and carbines were chambered for pistol-caliber cartridges like the .38-40 and .44-40. The trend continues today, as many modern lever-action firearms are chambered for the .357 or .44 Magnum. Nowadays, the focus is on semi-auto carbines chambered for autopistol cartridges. Everyone thinks it’s a new concept, but it isn’t. I can remember testing a few PCCs 25 years ago, and I don’t think they were the first on the market. They were decent guns, but they tanked because nobody bought them. So why are PCCs suddenly so popular now? Where did the unicorns go? How many angels can dance on the head of a 9mm cartridge? Why do Democrats still win…

Disclaimer: While airguns are not considered “firearms” under the National Firearms Act (NFA), suppressors are. Suppressors on airguns dwell in a subjective area of current law, even though multiple manufacturers include some form of sound moderation on many current models. This is seemingly based on a BATFE ruling letter released in 2005 and a court case settled in 2010. This article, for informational purposes only, is in no way to be construed as legal advice on the ownership of suppressors. Suppressors, sound moderators, air strippers, silencers, cans. Regardless of what they’re called, these devices reduce the loud report generated from the muzzle of a gun. Hiram Percy Maxim, son of the inventor of the portable machine gun, wanted to reduce the ear-damaging noise generated by shooting. This led to the…

The war movie has become one of the most popular genres of American cinema while also being one of the most controversial. Whether you’re a pro-military hawk or a peace-loving dove, almost everyone has a favorite war movie or, in the latter case, anti-war movie. Yet, even among film buffs, few can tell you that the 1898 short film Tearing Down the Spanish Flag has the distinction of likely being the first true war movie. It was made on a set in New York City just weeks after the U.S. declared war on Spain in April of 1898 and has a run time of just 1.5 minutes. Obviously, this pro-war film wasn’t long on story and really only consists of a hand tearing down a Spanish flag, but it started…

When it comes to shooting, my bucket list was relatively short. There were really just two items: shooting at extreme distances and shooting from a helicopter. Todd Hodnett from Accuracy 1st helped me check the first one off twice (check out the November/December 2018 issue of Tactical Life at outdoorgroupstore.com). The first time was 1-mile shooting with .308s. The second time was shooting .300 Winchester Magnums out to 2,500 yards. And Todd recently let me check off the second part of my bucket list. You may not know Todd Hodnett’s name outside of his appearance as the instructor in Magpul’s The Art of the Precision Rifle DVD, as he maintains a rather low public profile. He trains members from every branch of the U.S. military as well as numerous three-letter…

One of the upsides of being in the firearms business for decades is seeing new suppliers and manufacturers grow and change with the times. Keeping up requires dedication to quality and precision as well as a willingness to listen to your customers. Many fail, but Nightforce Optics has stood the test of time. Founded in 1992 in Seattle, the company later moved to Idaho in 1998. Its first line of Varminter scopes catered to not only varmint hunters, but also benchrest shooters because of their high magnification and precise measurements. Today, Nightforce offers a complete line of riflescopes to cater to competitors, hunters, military and law enforcement personnel and anyone who loves to shoot tight groups. These scopes are known for their rugged construction, innovative reticles and generous elevation, and…

There was a time when surplus GI weapons were actually sold to the American public. We were indeed a nation of riflemen back then. Nowadays, however, GI-surplus ordnance is melted, shredded or otherwise ripped asunder before being auctioned off as scrap. Up until recently, that meant law-abiding American citizens just couldn’t own the genuine article. Retro guns are all the rage these days. While we could scrounge up the right parts to make these vintage weapons look like the real deal, the aberrant lower receiver markings always confounded the purist. The Ghost Gunner from Defense Distributed changed that. In addition to building fully operational receivers and frames for a variety of firearms at home, this remarkable machine also guarantees our grandchildren will grow up to be free men and women.…

SPEC BOX STEYR PRO THB CALIBER: 6.5 Creedmoor BARREL: 25 inches OA LENGTH: 46 inches WEIGHT: 9.3 pounds (empty) STOCK: Synthetic SIGHTS: None ACTION: Bolt FINISH: Black, tan CAPACITY: 4+1 MSRP: $1,750 SPEC BOX REMINGTON MODEL 700 PCR CALIBER: 6.5 Creedmoor BARREL: 24 inches OA LENGTH: 44 inches WEIGHT: 10.5 pounds (empty) STOCK: Magpul PRS SIGHTS: None ACTION: Bolt FINISH: Black CAPACITY: 5+1 MSRP: $1,199 Long-range precision shooting has been part of American life at least since colonists used rifled firearms during the French and Indian War. During the Civil War, Confederate forces employed sharpshooter units. In fact, in 1864, one Confederate soldier at Ft. Sumter used a Whitworth rifle to shoot a Union soldier 1,390 yards away! Later, in 1874, buffalo hunter and Army scout Billy Dixon ended the Second…

My first experience with the LMT Monolithic Rail Platform (MRP) goes back to 2003, shortly after it was introduced. I was in charge of our SWAT team at the time and wanted to test the 6.8 SPC for entry work. The MRP-equipped CQB rifle allowed me to make direct comparisons between the 5.56mm NATO and 6.8 SPC by simply swapping out the barrel. The rifle itself was well built, and the barrels stood up to serious abuse and very high round counts. I later used a longer MRP upper to create one of the most accurate designated marksman rifles (DMRs) I’ve ever used. Then LMT released its Modular Ambidextrous Rifle System-Light (MARS-L) lower, which offered ambidextrous controls and top-notch internals. The uppers also got lighter along the way without sacrificing…

The success of the 77-grain Mk262 load in combat, and its match-grade peers popularized by the various service rifle teams, has led to the emergence of a highly popular and respected genre of commercial 5.56x45mm and .223 Remington ammunition enjoyed by shooters engaged in competition, recreation, preparation and defensive applications. Where older military ball ammo like the M193 and M855 relied on fragmentation that didn’t reliably occur, especially from shorter barrels, the open-tip match (OTM) rounds, particularly when cannelured, come apart in tissue more reliably across a wider range of velocities and with a shorter neck length, significantly improving terminal performance. “Heavy OTM” loads, as they’re often called, are available from nearly every manufacturer of commercial ammo, domestic or international. Inexpensive imported options include 75- to 77-grain rounds from Prvi…

CMMG 9 AR CONVERSION MAGAZINES Now you can run a 9mm CMMG upper receiver that uses the company’s radial-delayed blowback operating system with a standard AR-15 lower—not one specially designed for 9mm stick magazines. You simply slide the adapter inside a Magpul Gen M2 or M3 PMAG body designed for 5.56mm NATO rounds. The adapter comes set up for 10 rounds, but you can easily modify it to hold 15, 20 or 30 rounds of 9mm ammunition. (cmmginc.com) CONTINUOUS PRECISION CZ EDT The Continuous Precision Enhanced Duty Trigger (EDT) for CZ P-10 C and F pistols features a 25-percent reduction in pretravel, overtravel and weight. Crafted from 6061-T6 aluminum with a flat serrated face, these new triggers are true drop-in upgrades. Continuous Precision is working on a Precision version of…

The war movie isn’t just an American genre. The very first film set during World War I was made in France. However, in recent years the global movie industry has truly gone all out to tell stories that Hollywood likely won’t cover. Numerous lesser-known conflicts have been brought to the big screen, and the Russian, Turkish and even Polish film industries have turned out stories of their local heroes. For war-film buffs, there’s no time like the present to check out what Amazon and Netflix have to offer. The Admiral (2008): This Russian-made film chronicles the military career of Aleksandr Kolchak, a vice-admiral in the Imperial Russian Navy and leader of the anti-communist White Movement during the Russian Civil War. Admiral/Michiel de Ruyter (2015): The life and times of the…

When it comes to new optics, I’m always a little leery. When it comes to new low-cost optics, I need an extensive vetting process before I decide to mount them to a precision rifle build. Back in 2016, when the then-new company Riton Optics was presented to me, I approached with skepticism. While its products had some amazing features and a solid heft to them, I wasn’t sure how they would hold up. After my introduction to U.S. military veteran, retired law enforcement officer and Riton CEO Brady Speth, we decided to put a few of Riton’s optics into service at classes at Renaissance Firearms Instruction. Brady was gracious enough to provide us with some samples to install on guns that would be handled by more than 100 people a…

When people talk about innovation in the AR market, it’s generally met with an eye roll and expectations of a new color scheme or laser-engraved dragons. But that isn’t the case when the folks in white lab coats emerge from the secret development bunker at Patriot Ordnance Factory, or POF-USA. Well, OK, they aren’t wearing white lab coats, nor do they have a secret bunker, but the imagery is what’s important because what they developed might as well be from such a scene. And it all started with POF-USA’s owner, Frank DeSomma, saying, “It’s time for a revolution.” LIGHTWEIGHT UPRISING POF-USA absolutely changed the game when it released the original Revolution in .308 Winchester/7.62mm NATO. For those still unaware of this masterpiece, let me bring you up to speed. At…

Finally arriving on dealer shelves in quantity is the Bushmaster Adaptive Combat Rifle (ACR) along with caliber conversion kits. Say it ain’t so! Why the sarcasm? Because civilians have been hearing about this since 2010 with little actually happening when it comes to the ACR. Well, times are a-changin’ in the Big Green universe with its various brands seeking to reclaim market share. Bushmaster is part of the Remington Outdoor Company, which emerged from a short-lived bank-ruptcy and has a new leadership team focused on addressing previous shortcomings. Frankly, Remington lost its way when it failed to listen to customers and supposed it could dictate desire. This approach obviously proved flawed and resulted in difficulties leading to bankruptcy. Now there’s a new way of doing business at Remington that takes…

SOME PRODUCTS BECOME SO ENTRENCHED IN THE COLLECTIVE PSYCHE that they evolve into something much larger. Words like Kleenex and Coke are now used interchangeably for any generic tissue or soda. A little more than 36 years ago, Ronnie Barrett received his first patent for a shoulder-fired semi-automatic rifle in .50 BMG. In the years since, the Barrett name has become synonymous with a class of mega-powerful shoulder-fired rifles called upon when a whole lot of range, precision and destruction are needed. Not satisfied with just building powerful, long-range rifles, the folks at Barrett have expanded their business in several directions. Lately, they’ve branched into building high-end shotguns and sporting rifles. In keeping with their military market savvy, one of their latest designs harkens back 60 years to Eugene Stoner’s…

As I looked around the room during the competition briefing, it hit me. I was standing among some of the most elite warriors the world has to offer—men who have relentlessly practiced and mastered the art of sniping—and if not for the military setting, I wouldn’t have been able to distinguish them from anyone else on the street. A situation like this simultaneously induces humility and excitement. This was going to be an interesting couple of days. HALLOWED GROUND The U.S. Army Special Operations Command (USASOC) International Sniper Competition may be the only military event where the venue is the star and the competitors are backup singers. It’s held at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, an absolutely massive military installation with some 60,000 active-duty troops on post at any given…