Table of contents for January/February 2025 #76 in Recoil

01 REAL AVID RAV-7 MSRP: $50 URL: realavid.com Real Avid is known for quality tools and equipment that help armorers and DIY gunsmiths repair, upgrade, and maintain their firearms. Now the company is expanding into the knife world. Its RAV-7 is an everyday-carry tool that could fill a variety of needs, including tactical, outdoor, and survival. It features a 3.25-inch blade made of 8Cr13MoV stainless steel with a titanium finish for increased durability. The drop-point profile is well balanced for cutting, slicing, or thrusting. Though the thumbhole placement is a little too close to the pivot for our liking, the knife feels good in hand once opened, thanks to an ergonomic shape and G10 handle scales. The RAV-7 offers sleek aesthetics, solid performance, and versatility at an affordable price. 02 DANGER…

Unlike the other two direct-impingement guns, the SIG MCX Regulator is topped by SIG’s battle-tested, short-stroke gas-piston MCX upper. The MCX upper is already self-contained, so it works as-is on SIG’s new ranch-style lower. It has a level of refinement that you can only expect from a Goliath like SIG. Like the others, the lower is stretched to accommodate a traditional stock (Mossberg 500 in this case), but it’s carefully crafted with several niceties. The bottom of the lower between the magwell and the trigger guard is machined into an integrated ARCA rail so you can clamp in to a tripod. The trigger guard is canted upward and the trigger shoe contoured to match, placing it higher and making it more comfortable to access when gripping the traditional stock. The…

One of the great things about the gun industry is the people you meet along the way. It’s part of belonging to a club that’ll always be regarded as outside of the mainstream, something not mentioned in polite company, yet its aficionados always seem to acknowledge each other in social settings. My older gay friends will no doubt relate. Readers may not recognize the name of Jan Lucansky, but you’ll probably be familiar with his creations — he’s the designer behind two of the most iconic firearms of the 21st century, namely the CZ Scorpion subgun and the Laugo Arms Alien pistol. In addition to the Stinger 9, he’s currently working on a couple of other designs that will no doubt raise a few eyebrows. Instead, the Scorpion arose from…

EDITOR’S NOTE We’re delving deep into our back catalog in this column, revisiting designs that first surfaced over a decade ago to see what’s become of them. In this instance, Faxon Firearms has evolved from a one-trick pony to one of the biggest barrel makers in the business, as well as making their own Glock clones and Remington 700 pattern bolt guns. We asked Bob Faxon if there were any plans to resurrect the Arak 21 and his reply was in the affirmative, following restructuring the defense side of the company. “That is one of my first goals as back in the business,” he said in a recent conversation. We look forward to seeing the revised version. What does the Mars Rover have in common with a piston-driven AR? Read…

Dahmer, Bundy, Berkowitz, Ridgway, Gacy. When you hear names like these, it elicits feelings of horror and lots of questions. Are they monsters? Were they born without empathy, a conscience, or remorse? It’s easy to answer yes, but what we should be asking about all violent offenders is, “What made them that way?” Was it inevitable they’d commit horrible acts against other human beings regardless of their upbringing or did traumatic circumstances awaken some primal beast inside them? Society desperately yearns to know how these kinds of criminals think, if they can be rehabilitated, and if we’ll ever evolve enough as a society to proactively mitigate a murderous pathology from developing. Laura Brand has had these same kinds of questions on her mind as well and is driven to see…

WATCH OMEGA VINTAGE 1994 SEAMASTER PROFESSIONAL 300, JAMES BOND CUSTOM STRAP URL: omegawatches.com SUPPRESSOR ASE UTRA SL6I-SMG MP5 URL: aseutra.fi CAP LUCANSKY ARMS ORIGINAL TRUCKER-MULTICAM ARID URL: lucanskyarms.com PISTOL GLOCK GLOCK 17 GEN 4 FDE WITH ZEV TRIGGER AND SUREFIRE X300 ULTRA URL: us.glock.com INSIGNIA CZECHOSLOVAKIA From WWII British battle dress, used by Czechoslovak units fighting in the British Army and RAF against Axis forces. COAT OF ARMS CZECHOSLOVAK LION Used by Czechoslovakian Army and Air Force 1920-1938. SKULL AND BONES Official insignia of 1st Strike (Assault) Battalion of Czechoslovak Legions in Russia used during 1917-1920. BAYONET MIKOV CZECH ARMY MK I. TACTICAL BAYONET FOR BREN 2 URL: mikov.cz SIGHTS LUCANSKY ARMS TRIDENT SIGHTS URL: lucanskyarms.com CAMO CZECH VZ.95 DESERT CAMOUFLAGE Standard issue UBACS shirt, plate carrier is rare prototype…

In 2014, I was a retired DEA Special Agent working for the U.S. government in the Counter Narcotics (CN) program as a mentor to a Counter Narcotics Police Afghanistan (CNP-A) National Interdiction Unit (NIU). Gone were the days when active-duty agents mentored the host country counterparts. I was stationed in Herat, Afghanistan, at a CN base just a couple of hundred yards from NATO Camp Arena. Our camp was the source of speculation for the inhabitants of the arena. All that most knew was that there were a couple of armed, plainclothed Americans who lived there, and there would often be unmarked helicopters that would land inside the compound. Being in Herat for several months and learning about the area, I knew one place I really wanted to visit was…

With apologies to Cormac McCarthy, the XM7 is the embodiment of the military’s tendency to be prepared to fight the last war it was in. Don’t get us wrong, SIG delivered everything the Army wanted, and did it with their usual efficiency — but if you ask the wrong question, you’ll get the wrong answer. The MCX Spear is the civilian version of the XM7 — the result of the Next Generation Squad Weapon program, colored by a decade-plus quest for the answer to U.S. infantry overmatched by people in Korengal without running water but armed with PKMs, who would initiate contact from outside the effective range of M4 carbines. This morphed into an effort to punch through commonly fielded body armor of our near-peer enemies, specifically Russia and China.…

CMMG has been manufacturing ARs since 2002, always looking to provide quality at a good price while continually enhancing the platform and supporting a wide variety of calibers. A few years ago, CMMG introduced their bufferless Compact Action in their Dissent line, for use as a pistol or with folding stocks. The Compact Action’s bolt carrier group is shortened so it doesn’t extend past the rear of the upper, with dual guide rods and springs above it. Since that’s where the charging handle usually lives, it’s moved forward to the handguard as a side charger that can be placed on either side. To adapt their Dissent uppers for use with a traditional stock, CMMG designed a new lower. Think of it as a regular AR lower with the rear stretched…

Ruger introduced the Mini-14 in 1973, and we’d be remiss if we didn’t include it in this article. As its name suggests, it was positioned as a smaller version of the M14 service rifle, though its fixed piston gas system is actually more like an M1 Garand. Ruger has been manufacturing them ever since, updating them over the years and releasing and discontinuing various models and calibers. Today, Ruger offers traditional Mini-14 ranch rifles with 18.5-inch barrels, tactical models with 16- and 18.5-inch barrels as well as optional folding stocks, and Mini-30s chambered in 7.62x39mm. Our sample here is a current production standard blued ranch rifle. It comes from the factory with an 18.5-inch, cold hammer forged, non-threaded barrel and optional synthetic stock. As is, it’s legal just about everywhere.…

What is it about H&K? Does any other mainstream gunmaker have their legendary reputation? Just think about it. The full-page ads of the ’80s with the Tier 1 operator coming out of the water with his piece of Teutonic steel. The first company to build a plastic wonder-nine, beating Gaston to the punch. (Yes, look it up.) And how about the legendary mystique of “The Gray Room?” No other company has a sacred place of prototypes whose fans would give their left nut to visit. (Been there, and both my boys are intact.) And then there’s the MP5. ’Nuff said. Sure, there are other iconic submachine guns. I love my Sterling SMG, in large part because I carried one in the British Territorial Army. It’s a superb submachine gun —…

For those of you who own a fifth wheel or motorhome, we’re sure you can count on zero fingers the numbers of times you reached your destination and said, “Well honey, we’re finally here … surrounded by a bunch of other RVs, confined to the limits of where asphalt can take us!” If tailgate parties with other like-minded individuals in a glorified mobile home park is your thing, then more power to you. Some, however, like a way to be a bit more isolated and surrounded by nature without losing all the creature comforts of home. Many of those big six-figure coaches are certainly rolling palaces, but getting one stuck off-road is pretty much a wasted vacation. They aren’t really built to traverse terrain that isn’t flat, paved, and predictable.…

The U.S. Military small arms ammunition landscape is currently in a state of flux, and from the outside looking in, there appears to be a situation whereby the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing or, if it does, thinks it can do it better. USSOCOM is currently casting around for vendors to convert their M240s to 6.5 Creedmoor, after selecting Geissele’s submission in this caliber for a mid-range gas gun for their snipers in 2023. DEVGRU guys are running around with small-frame ARs chambered in 6ARC, and there’s recently been a down selection in the long-running quest for a .338 Norma machine gun to supplant the venerable M2 Browning. Then, of course, the NGSW program guns have recently been fielded by the first units of big…

Foxtrot Mike aims to create innovative firearms at reasonable prices. Their second-generation uppers are bufferless, with dual nested springs and a recoil rod that threads through a counterbore in the abbreviated BCG’s carrier key and seats into the rear of the forward charging handle rod. They then designed a ranch-style lower that extends further back to take a Remington 870 stock with the trigger guard brought back within reach. The safety is a reversible crossbolt unit, nicely positioned to deactivate it with your trigger finger but inconveniently far forward on the other side to put back on safe. Unfortunately, the gun doesn’t come with ambidextrous controls; we can forgive the bolt catch but an ambi mag release is a must have on a rifle like this. We added JP Enterprises’…

In the world of sniper rifles, few calibers can boast the long-range effectiveness of .338 ultra-long-range confirmed kills to excellent anti-materiel capabilities, few rounds can compete. Because sometimes you need to hit a man-sized target at a mile with the same energy as a .44 Magnum at the muzzle. One of the newest precision rifles chambered in this hard-hitting caliber is the new Steel Core Cyclone MSR. Designed and built in Great Britain, the Cyclone MSR (and Steel Core as a whole) has its roots in long-range precision competition shooting. The company’s heritage and design shine through on the Cyclone MSR because it’s clearly built with two things in mind: precision and ruggedness. But the market for these sorts of rifles is relatively limited, and there’s already a good amount…

We’re entering the third year of our twice-annual entirely suppressed CANCON event, and it’s only getting better. With dozens of shooting lanes, hundreds of silenced guns, and more ammunition than we can count, CANCON is unequivocally the largest and best silencer shoot on the planet! And we do mean silent — every single one of the firearms available to shoot at the event, from the smallest rimfire to the biggest beltfed machine gun (yes, belt-fed machine guns), are equipped with cans. No need to bring your own guns, suppressors, or ammunition — all of that is provided for the duration of the event. Just pay your entry fee and start shooting. We have everything you need to shoot, test, try, and buy — but there’s even more. PROS VS. JOES…

If you want to get opinions on rifles, go to a deer hunting camp. As I’m writing this, I’m sitting in a deer camp at the Lowrance Ranch in Truscott, Texas. This is mostly flat, open country, and you’d expect those who live, work and hunt this ground to be partial to a bolt-action rifle chambered for a flatshooting cartridge. Given that, you might be surprised what the ranch hands there said about the Marlin Dark Series 1895 when I showed them a picture of it. I limited these deer hunting cowboys to a one-word description of the Dark Series 1895. One old timer, who’d just showed me a photo of his pride and joy lever gun—a Winchester Model 71 chambered in 348 Winchester—described it as the “terminator.” Another…