There are times when you have someone do some work for you and you are impressed with the end result. Then there are times (not very often) when you are blown away by the work done and wonder how they did it.
We sent a GLOCK 19 slide into Doug at ATEi for an RMR milling and to refinish the slide with Nickel Boron coating. We got the slide back today and to say it looks factory is an understatement. ABSOLUTELY blown away. If you’re looking to have work done on your GLOCK or M&P, have no fear having Doug at ATEi work on your guns. Now its time to go do some shooting!!
Seen here with the awesome INFORCE APL. Review of an RMR on a pistol to follow along with an in-depth review on the INFORCE APL.
When I got my AK back from Nate at Unique Armament Creations, I wanted to see if the cleaning rod would work with the new Bolton Block integrated front site block / gas block. Nate had replaced the stock Arsenal lower handguard retainer that has a hole for the cleaning rod with a new one as I cut the first one off when I installed the TWS handguard. The question was if the Bolton Block would interfere the cleaning rod or push it too far down to be usable. As you can see from the picture below it works perfectly.
It doesn’t have the secondary retainer of the front site block but it works just fine and I have not had any issues with it moving around under stress. In other words; once it’s in there it’s not going anywhere.
So the other missing piece to the puzzle is the AK74 cleaning kit. The cleaning kit is an amazing piece of engineering where every part including the case has uses for cleaning and maintenance. Jim Fuller describes all the uses in this video:
As you can see from the video the stock cleaning kit is stored in the rear buttstock of a stock AK rifle. Since I’m no longer using the Arsenal Buttstock there is nowhere to put it other than in my rifle case. Randomly thinking about the issue I emailed Chris Bonesteel about the buffer tube on his folding stock and asked him if it was hollow. He responded it was and they had tossed around the idea of making it a storage space.
In talking to a machinist friend of mine about the structural integrity of the buffer tube if I drilled out the cap he asked if we could drill a pilot hole – I said sure. From measurements taken from the pilot hole he said there would be no issue as the stock is way sturdier than a tipical M4 buffer tube and whomever designed it over engineered it in a good way for strength. Continue reading →
This is a great video where Travis Haley from Haley Strategic Partners discussed weapons lights and what advantages the INFORCE WML has over the competition. Good info on the WML but also on weapon light theory both outdoors and in a CQB scenario.
As I mentioned in the 2013 AWB AR post, I was fortunate enough to get an AR lower at before craziness prices. After the lower was all set I started to look for an upper that might work. I wanted to stay away from 5.56 due to limited availability and stumbled upon a 5.45×39 Smith & Wesson upper that was brand new in the box along with a handful of mags. The price was not crazy and even though the S&W 5.45 upper has been discontinued they still have parts and from what I can see on various forums are still covered under their lifetime warranty.
The main issue with 5.45 AR platform is the mags and they generally suck. Nobody makes a polymer AR mag for 5.45. C Products makes a steel mag that is hit or miss. There are a couple of other manufactures but you could make the case that they are re-stamped C Products mags. Surburban’s Domain did an excellent Guide to 5.45 AR Mags that I would recommend you check out if your are interested in the idea of a 5.45 upper. There has been some luck downloading 556 mags like the windowed gen 2 PMAGs and a few others but I would rather have dedicated 30 round 5.45 mags.
The upper has been stellar. It is a stock S&W M4 upper only difference being the 5.45×39 bolt and the 5.45×39 barrel, otherwise you could not tell it apart from its 556/223 counterparts. I was extremely fortunate to stock up on 5.45 for my AK74 before the current chaos, so we have been having a blast shooting at least 3 times a week. She is surprisingly accurate with about a 1.5 to 2 inch MOA with good ammo like Hornady’s 5.45 and good to go with 7N6 Russian surplus but you always seem to get one or two flyers from 7N6. The upper came with stock USGI-type handguards that we quickly swapped out for the Magpul carbine length MOE handguards. Weight was the main consideration here as we are trying to keep this rifle as light as possible.
KIT UP! has a good article about Factors for Selecting a Handgun. I just went though this experience with someone. Myself and another trusted friend tried to point a want-to-be new handgun owner to a ton of great recourse for choosing their first handgun. This is very hard for a new shooter as the don’t understand the differences in size and how those sizes effect the shoot-ability both from the size of the frame to the caliber of the bullet.
Factors for Selecting a Handgun - Have a look at KIT UP’s thoughts on the subject as they break it down into six categories:
Fit - How well does it fit your hand?
Cost of Training – Or total cost of ownership
Bore Axis – Relationship between the top of the beavertail (grip) and the centerline of the bore
Purpose of Use – What are you planning on using this firearm for?
Support - How easily are spare or aftermarket parts obtained?
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has made some changes to the prohibited items list that are helpful for EDC purposes. They are now allowing (after April 25th 2013) for small knives to be carried in carry-on luggage as long as they meet all of the following requirements:
The blade must be no more than 2.36 inches or 6 cm in length – from tip to where it meets the handle or hilt
The blade must be no more than ½ inch in width
Knives are not permitted if they have the following characteristics:
Knives with locking or fixed blades
Knives with molded grips
Razors and box cutters
Not great if you want to carry your everyday SOG or Gerber but if you have a extra Swiss Army Knife laying around its better than nothing.
