Changing of the Guard

My carry Glock 19 w/Raven Vanguard II holster

I've carried a Glock 19 for many years.  I have always liked the Model 17, which is the G19's bigger brother, but found it to be a bit to large for comfortable concealed carry.  I find the G19 to be a good compromise of size, weight and capacity for use as a daily carry pistol.

The G19 is a boringly reliable handgun that I've learned to shoot very well, however it lacks features found on more contemporary designs.  Things like ambidextrous controls for the slide stop and magazine release have never appeared on later generations of Glock pistols.  Glock has made some effort to modernize the design of its aging pistols, but I've not been impressed with these modernization attempts.

The user replaceable backstraps that appeared in the Generation 4 Glock pistols were a bit disappointing. The Glock design doesn't have a user replaceable backstrap per se, it has user installed backstrap additions that make the already bulky Glock grip even bulkier.

Glock attempted an ambi-magazine release with the Gen 3 Model 21SF, but it was destine to failure.  As soon as it was released, reports of broken magazine catches and dropped magazines started flying.  Glock quietly dropped the G21SF with the ambi-magazine release.

I've never really progressed past the Gen 3 Glock pistols, I stopped buying them once the Gen 4's were released and had numerous issues with failures to feed.  I felt that Glock's decision to go with a dual recoil spring system was misdirected and unnecessary.  To me it seems as though Glock is floundering, unable to come up with purposeful updates to the basic Glock design.  But that's fine, I'm mostly content with the Gen 3 Glocks.

M&P w/Raven Phantom Holster

Despite being mostly content with my G19 as a carry gun, I'm always keeping an eye out for any new developments on the defensive handgun market.  I expect someone to eventually build a better mousetrap.

The first pistol to come along that piqued my interest as a possible replacement for my Glock 19 was the S&W M&P 9mm.  I didn't jump on the bandwagon early with this pistol, I want to take a "watch and see" position during the roll-out.  As with all new pistols there were reports of various problems including the magazine unexpectedly falling out of the pistol while firing.

S&W moved quickly to remedy these issues and once I was satisfied that all was well in M&P land, I bought my first pistol for evaluation.

Right away I noticed the ergonomics of the M&P were a substantial step forward from the Glocks' rather pedestrian erogo's.  The M&P features a nicely contoured grip that fits your hand like a custom fit glove.  It has, by far, the best feeling grip of any handgun I've owned previously.

The pistol is a natural pointer, you can instinctively point the pistol and hit targets at standard combat ranges quite effortlessly.  The sights are common, but easy to pick up and use.  Things were going great with the M&P except for one minor issue.

My finger hooking the M&P trigger

The trigger.

The M&P's trigger is the weak point in the design as I see it.  It's designed for people with much smaller hands than mine.  The reach from the back strap to the trigger is so short that I'm forced to hook my finger around the trigger when I shoot.  This is not conducive to good accuracy and it's uncomfortable.

Another problem with the trigger is that it lacks a tactile and audible reset, meaning you can't feel or hear when the trigger resets for the next shot.  This drives some people nuts, myself included.

I've been trying to work around the issues with the M&P by shooting it regularly.  I was on the fence trying to decide if this pistol was worthy of taking the daily carry title from my G19.  After considerable thought, many rounds fired and even taking the pistol for a few test runs out on the town in my Raven Phantom holster, I've decided this pistol isn't the right choice as my daily carry gun.

I had resigned myself to the fact I could not find a suitable replacement for my Glock 19.  I'm not heart broken by any means, I'm content with my Glock 19.

Or so I thought.

Caracal F w/Raven Phantom holster

Then I stumbled upon the Caracal 9mm pistol.  When I first spied this pistol, I didn't have very high expectations.  It looked like a Glock clone, and clones hold little interest for me.  Then I picked one up at my local gun shop.  Ok, it's nice.  It feels familiar, like a Glock, but improved.  Hey, it has a ambi-magazine release!

A few weeks pass and I pick a Caracal up from my friends over at 21st Century Firearms to test out.  Once I started shooting the pistol I realized this is what the Glock should be today, after 25+ years of evolution.  It's more ergonomic.  The recoil is straight back into your hand since it has a very low bore axis.  The sights are easy to pick up.  The trigger is lighter, cleaner and more crisp than a factory Glock trigger and the reach is perfect.

I'm back on the evaluation train again.  While I'm not 100% sold on the Caracal as my daily carry gun, it is the best candidate so far.  In a couple of months I will decide if this pistol will officially replace my Glock 19 I've been carrying for years.  I'll keep you posted.

To Trace, or not to Trace

Tracers going down range

Tracers are nothing new.   The modern tracer was first developed by the British in 1915 for use in their .303 caliber rifles and machine guns.  Tracers were developed so soldiers could adjust their fire onto enemy targets by visual cue.  These modern tracers produce a visible trail of light to the target that the soldier (and their enemy) can see.

Before the advent of modern tracers, soldiers were forced to watch for bullet impacts on the ground in the target area to see where their rounds were hitting.  Seeing a bullet impact is hard enough without adding the stress of combat into the mix, so this method was obviously not the best solution.  Various attempts at devising a workable tracer were tried before we arrived at the modern pyrotechnic tracers we see on the battlefield today.  

One failed design was a smoking bullet.  The smoking bullet would leave a barely visible white smoke trail through the air.  The smoking bullet had to give up considerable mass in the creation of a visible smoke trail, so the ballistics of the bullet didn't match the trajectory of ball rounds.  Another failed design was an exploding bullet that left a puff of smoke where the bullet impacted.  These were deemed to be in violation of the Hague Convention which banned exploding projectiles that weighed less than 400 grams.

Composition of a modern tracer

The modern "hot" tracer, or pyrotechnic tracer, solved the problems encountered with earlier designs.  Military tracers closely approximate the flight path of a standard ball round and are visible in a wide variety of light conditions.

The pyrotechnic tracers currently used by the worlds militaries use a composition that burns at high temperature and is visible to observers 360 degrees around the bullet.  

Since pyrotechnic tracers are burning, they can cause fires.  Pyrotechnic tracers are not safe for use on indoor ranges as they pose a very serious fire risk.  Many outdoor ranges ban the use of tracers because of the fire risk they pose as well.  Some states, such as California, have an outright ban on the use of tracers within the state by civilians.

9mm Glow Ammo

Another issue with pyrotechnic tracers is the fact both you and the bad guy can see your tracer.  You can walk your rounds in on the bad guy, but the bad guy can trace the light trail back to your position and return fire.

Enter Glow Ammo and their cold tracer technology.  Glow Ammo uses a non-pyrotecnic compound that glows a bright red color once the bullet is fired.  Since it's non-pyrotechnic, the tracer compound does not pose a fire risk and is non-destructive to the bore of your firearm.   Glow ammo is also safe for indoor range use.

Another benefit to Glow Ammo is that only those standing behind the bullet will be able to see the trace. If the bullet is coming at you, the tracer will not be visible to you.

However, as with all things there are some limitations to Glow Ammo's capabilities.  The tracer is only visible in low light and darkness.  The manufacturer doesn't hide this fact, they're actually very forth coming with this information.  They advertise the ammo as being visible from "dusk until dawn".  It's also visible in most indoor lighting conditions.  

Glow Ammo .45 ACP bullet

Since Glow Ammo is non-pyrotechnic it doesn't give up any of its mass to produce light.  That means it will retain its original bullet weight throughout its flight.  This makes Glow Ammo suitable for defensive purposes.  

Right now Glow Ammo only comes in one color, red.  In the future Glow Ammo intends to offer additional colors which might be useful for various tactical scenarios.   They also say defensive ammo loaded with hollow point bullets will become available in the future as well.

Stay tuned for a video review of Glow Ammo to be posted on the Military Arms Channel.

The American Enfield

US Service Rifle, Cal. 30, Model 1917

Here's an interesting fact about WWI some people don't know.  The M1903 Springfield wasn't the most common rifle used in Europe by American Doughboys during the Great War.  That honor goes to the "United States Rifle, Caliber 30, Model 1917", or the M1917 as it's affectionately called.  Sometimes the rifle is inaccurately referred to as the P17.

When hostilities broke out between Germany and Great Britain, the Brits found themselves in a bit of a predicament.  They were in the process of adopting the SMLE rifle but were facing some difficulties with production and the new .276 Enfield cartridge. As a contingency the Brits had been working on a back-up rifle design in case they couldn't get their SMLE project off the ground.  That back-up rifle design was the Pattern 14 Enfield.

The P14 was based on the famous Mauser rifle design and chambered for the aging .303 Brit cartridge.  When hostilities broke out, the Brits found themselves short on rifles.  They couldn't produce rifles quickly enough, and their SMLE rifle wasn't ready for production.  They were forced to reach out to the United States for assistance.

Remington markings

The United States quickly tooled up three factories to produce P14 rifles for the British government.  Remington, Winchester and Eddystone (a subsidiary of Remington) began producing the P14 in massive quantities.

When the United States enter the war, we found that we also had a shortage of rifles.  At the time of the outbreak of hostilities for the U.S. the official rifle of the U.S. Military was the Model 1903 Springfield.  The U.S. Army Ordnance Department decided that to meet the demand for service rifles they would need to make modifications to the P14 design and push the rifle into service.  Remington Arms set about to redesign the P14 by re-chambering it for the 30-06 cartridge and making a few other minor alterations to the basic design.  The result was the U.S. Service Rifle, Caliber .30, Model 1917.

Remington, Winchester and Eddystone produced millions of rifles during the years of 1917 and 1918.  It's estimated that around 75% of the rifles in use by American forces were M1917's by the end of the war.

Sgt. Alvin York used a M1917 Enfield during the action that earned him the Congressional Medal of Honor.  Hollywood took creative liberty, as they often do, in their 1940 movie classic "Sergeant York" and armed Gary Cooper with a M1903 Springfield instead of the M1917 which Sgt. York actually used.

The M1917 wasn't particularly well suited for the trench warfare of WWI given it's 3'10" length and 9.3lbs weight.  The rifle with it's 16.5" bayonet affixed was often times taller than the soldier that carried it!

Rear sight

While soldiers often complained about the weight and length of the rifle, few complained about the accuracy.  With an increased sight radius over the standard Mauser design on which the M1917 was based,  it was found to be a very accurate weapon.  The M1917 not only had a lengthy 26" barrel but it also sported a rear sight located at the rear of the receiver giving it a sight radius advantage over the German Mauser it faced on the battlefield.

After hostilities ended in November of 1918, production of the M1917 rifle ceased.  A large number of rifles were released for civilian use through the NRA after the war.  Many of these rifles were sporterized for hunting and target shooting.  The sporterization of many M1917's put a big dent in the number of unmolested military configuration rifles on the surplus market.

The M1917 was once again called into service in limited numbers when WWII broke out.   After WWII ended, the M1917 ceased being used as a front line rifle but did serve as a sniper rifle during the Korean War.

Stay tuned for a video review of the M1917 rifle on the Military Arms Channel.

Bump-Fire Wars to Heat Up?

Slide Fire Solutions SSAK47

Slide Fire Solutions was the first to come to market with an innovative bump-fire stock for the AR15 series of rifles which they called the SSAR15.  Their design is simple, light weight and works amazingly well.  As a testament to the innovative design, they have been selling their original SSAR15 stock as fast as they can make them.  Towards the end of 2011, Slide Fire Solutions introduced their new SSAK47 stock which performed the same bump-fire magic for the AK family of rifles.

Finger Stabilization Device

The concept of a bump-fire stock isn't new.  Bill Akins pioneered the concept with his Akins Accelerator stock for the Ruger 10/22 and SKS rifle back in 1998.  The Ruger 10/22 stock was sold to the public for a short time, about 200 units, before the ATF ruled the device was a machine gun and confiscated springs within the Akins stock that made it a machine gun under the law.  The SKS version never made it out of the prototype stage and was never offered on the commercial market.

Back in August of 2000, Bill Akins was awarded a patent on his bump-fire stock concept.  Bill contends that his patent covers the finger rest necessary for making bump-fire possible.  Bill has posted online that his patent protects this "finger stabilization device" and cites claim #19 of his patent.  All bump-fire stocks on the market rely upon this finger stabilization device to work.

Fostech Bumpski AK stock

In 2011 Bill Akins transfered the ownership of his Patent to Fostech Outdoors.  Fostech recently announced their Bumpski stock for the AK rifle as well as the AA2, which is a recreation of the original Akins Accelerator for the Ruger 10/22.  The AA2 lacks the spring found in the original Akins Accelerator and instead relies on isometric tension supplied by the shooters non-shooting hand.  This keeps the device legal in the eyes of the BATF.

On January 27th a press release went out from Slide Fire Solutions stating the US Patent Office had issued a Notice of Allowance (NOA) which states they are entitled to a patent under US law for their submission.

For immediate release 

SLIDE FIRE SOLUTIONS, LP RECEIVES NOTICE OF PATENT ALLOWANCE 

January 27, 2012 

Moran, TX - Slide Fire Solutions, LP today announced that the United States Patent Office has issued a Notice of Allowance concerning its patent application "Method of Shooting a Semi-Automatic Firearm." The allowed patent claims will give Slide Fire exclusive rights to make and sell gun stocks that enable a shooter to repetitively discharge a firearm incorporating Slide Fire's sliding stock technology. 

"We are thrilled that the patent office has agreed that our invention deserves patent protection," said the inventor of the Slide Fire gun stock, Jeremiah Cottle. "We have several other patents pending based on the same technology, both in the United States and internationally. We are optimistic that the patent office will issue patents on those applications as well." Cottle is the president Slide Fire Solutions. 

About Slide Fire Solutions: Slide Fire Solutions is a privately held company based in Moran, Texas and owns all rights in its ground breaking "slide stock" technology. Building on principles of "bump firing," Slide Fire's invention allows a shooter to discharge a firearm such as an AR-15 or AK-47 as quickly as desired, without springs and without automatically functioning mechanical parts. The exclusive design offers many hours of entertainment for recreational shooters. The Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms has concluded that the Slide Fire device is not regulated as a firearm under the Gun Control Act or the National Firearms Act. 

For more information, please visit www.slidefire.com.

Contact:
Laura Shackelford
Director of Operations
Slide Fire Solutions, Inc.
325-945-3800

Since both Slide Fire Solutions and Fostech are now in possession of what appears to be conflicting patents to the laymen, one can only speculate what this might mean.

I will keep you posted of any new developments as I learn of them.

New Russian Service Rifle?

Russian Marine with an AK-74M

It is being reported that the Russian military will be adopting the new AK-12 rifle to replace the AK-74M service rifle.  The Russian military has been saying for some time now they wanted to move away from the AK-74M and adopt a more modern design. With the AK-12 it would appear they've found their replacement.

I haven't read any concrete reports that the Russian military has officially adopted the AK-12, so far only reports in the blogoshpere have surfaced.  If the reports are true, hopefully the western mainstream media will pick the story up and include more details.

Let's take a look at the features of the AK-12.

AK-12 Spec Sheet

• The new rifle sports an ambidextrous forward charging handle.  This would seem to imply the operator can move the charging handle to either the left or right side of the rifle.  This is a feature found on modern western designs such as the Bushmaster/Remington ACR and FNH SCAR.

• A smaller ejection port is being used.  I'm not clear on what the benefit is with this modification, I hope to learn more regarding this tweak to the design in the future.

• A new ambidextrous selector switch allows the operator to select between safe, semi-auto, 3 round burst and full-auto firing modes while maintaining a firing grip on the rifle.

• The rifle employs a hinged top cover which has become a popular aftermarket modification to AK rifles here in the US.  The Russians first employed this system with their AKS-74U rifle.

New AK-12 Rifle

• The rifle has a monolithic rail that runs the full length of the receiver.  Rails are also present on the side and bottom of the hand guards.  It appears another rail, that isn't at the same height as the monolithic rail, is present on the top of the gas block just behind the front sight.

• A new stock is used that is adjustable for length of pull and folds to the side for storage.  The pictures I've seen seem to indicate the stock will fold to the right side of the rifle, just under the ejection port leaving enough room for the operator to engage the trigger while it is folded.

• A new pistol grip that appears to be larger than the AK-74M's "paint brush" grip is mounted to the rifle.  The contour of the grip reminds me of a Hogue grip.

• A new muzzle brake is used.  It seems a bit long so it's not clear to me what additional functionality might be intended with this new device aside from being a brake.

• The literature also indicates an "improved barrel rifling" is used. Again, it's not clear to mean what exactly this means.  I hope to learn more in the future.

It's being reported online that the new rifle will be available in 5.45x39, 5.56x45 (NATO) and a "heavy" caliber such as 7.62x51 (NATO).  If true, I find it interesting that the Russians would chamber their new service rifle in NATO calibers such as the 7.62x51 and 5.56x45mm while maintaining the 5.45x39 as their primary cartridge.

The new rifle leaves much to be desired in the aesthetics department, but functionality over form is the primary goal of any military arm.  The new rifle looks like an afterthought, as though the Russian designers were clinging to the basic AK design while trying to lump on as many modern features as they could.  This is the same path I fear the US government might take in choosing a new service rifle for the US Army.

I hope to have more information about this new rifle in the future.

UPDATE:  3/20/2012
I have it on good authority that the AK-12 will likely not be the next official Russian military service rifle.  The rifle is only a prototype and may not see full production and there has been little interest by the Russian military in adopting it.  At best the rifle may be sold as an export item assuming it ever goes into production.

New Magpul PMAG announced

New PMAG 30 M3

Have you noticed lots of sales on the current generation of PMAG?  I have, and I've taken advantage of the price cuts to stock up on a considerable number of the popular magazines.  It would seem the sales were the result of Magpul clearing the way for the next generation of magazine.

The new magazine is called the PMAG 30 M3.  The original PMAG had a few issues that users brought to the attention of Magpul.  One of the most pressing issues, which ultimately spawned a separate product line known as the EMAG, was the incompatibility of the PMAG with foreign weapons systems like the SCAR, MR556A1 (416), SA80 and others.

If you're a subscriber to my YouTube channel you may remember a video I posted showing how to modify your PMAG to work with a SCAR 16S so that it wouldn't cause severe damage to the bolt of the rifle.  That was an extreme example of the incompatibility of the PMAG with some rifles designed to use standard STANAG M16/AR15 magazines.  If you're the proud owner of a HK MR556A1 you might have discovered your stash of PMAG's wouldn't seat in the rifles magazine well.

The original PMAG could be over inserted by forcibly slamming the magazine home causing the weapon to malfunction and in some cases making the extraction of the magazine very difficult.

The sides of the original PMAG's floor plates featured a wide ledge that made extraction from a double or triple magazine pouch difficult.

Ranger Plates

All of these issues have been addressed with the new PMAG 30 M3 magazine.  The new magazine is touted as being compatible with most rifles designed to use the M16/AR15 STANAG magazine.  The new magazine also features a new over travel stop to prevent it from being over inserted into the magazine well.  Finally, the new magazine has the ability to use different floor plates to suit your needs including the popular Ranger Plate or a new plate that is narrow for use in double or triple magazine pouches.

The magazine uses the same basic polymer construction with some design improvements to the geometry to improve durability and feeding reliability.  It also features a new paint pen dot matrix on the bottom of the magazine designed to allow the user to mark the magazines for easy identification.

The new magazine isn't on the market yet, it is planned for release in the spring of 2012.  No price has been set at this time.

Stay tuned for an evaluation of the new magazine once they release.

Bushmaster ACR barrels about to drop?

The new Bushmaster catalog is listing (3) new barrels for the 5.56 rifle and (4) new barrels for the up and coming 6.8 SPC rifles on page 59.

New ACR barrels

The 5.56 barrels will be available in 10.5", 14.5", 16.5" and 18.5".  The new barrels do not have the M4 style profile and appear to have a slightly smaller diameter.  This promises to improve the balance of the ACR rifles by reducing the forward weight of the rifle.  The 10.5" and 14.5" barrels will feature 1/7" barrels with AAC Blackout flash suppressors (non-suppressor model) while the 16.5" will feature a 1/7" twist and a suppressor mountable AAC 51T flash suppressor.

The 6.8 SPC barrels will be offered in 10.5", 14.5", 16.5" and 18.5" lengths.  No mention is made of the rifling twist rate.  The 6.8 SPC barrels will all feature A2 style birdcage flash suppressors.

I'm looking forward to the release of these barrels in 2012 so I can finally SBR one of my ACR's.  I guess I better get that paperwork started now.