The MAP 3500 is a great pack and it’s on sale for a great price at Katylist – just $90!
Author Archive | Matt
X Products Can Cannon
I have no need for a device that turns my AR-15 into 12oz can launcher that is accurate to 100-150 yards and yet my desire to own one is not diminished.
The Can Cannon utilizes blanks and a special barrel to launch cans in the coolest way possible. X Products is currently mulling the idea of actually producing these in kit and complete upper form. I hope they do because the X Products Can Cannon is all I have ever wanted. Now I just need them to make a high capacity can magazine to go with it.
Manticore Arms Eclipse 24mm
Some of the finest AKs (both AK-47s and AK-74s) ever imported into the USA have 24mmx1.5 threads and yet, it is one of the most neglected thread patterns in terms of muzzle devices. Thankfully, Manitcore Arms makes 2 excellent options in the previously reviewed NightShroud and NightBrake. The NightBrake is a solid flash suppressor that performed well in my testing but it is outclassed by pronged flash suppressors like the Manticore Arms Eclipse which I tested for the AR-15.
Now, the Eclipse is coming to the AK and specifically those with 24mm thread patterns. One of the features that really sets the NightShroud apart is the inclusion of locking notches around the entire circumference of the device. This ensures a solid fit and this feature will also be included on the Eclipse 24mm. It has 3 long prongs that are slightly twisted.
I have not tested this device yet but if it performs anywhere near as well as the AR version, it will be excellent. Check out Manticore Arms.
LUTH-AR Modular Buttstock Assembly
Precision shooting calls for extreme consistency. Many shooters use an adjustable buttstock to ensure that their stock fits them perfectly and allows for as much consistency as possible in the placement of the eye behind the optic. These stocks are usually heavy and expensive… usually.
The LUTH-AR Modular Buttstock Assembly fits most AR-15 and AR-10 pattern rifles. It is adjustable for length of pull (10 3/8″ to 11 1/2″) and cheek weld (additional 1″ of height). It also features a club foot shape that allows the shooter to support the rear of the stock with their support hand when shooting from a bipod. The stock is aggressively skeletonized design takes its weight down to just 1.62 pounds.
The LUTH-AR is available at Rainier Arms for $132 which is extremely inexpensive compared to stock with similar functionality.
Review: Geissele SD-E
I built an AR-15 last year with the intention of using it as a light precision set up. I just wanted something that was capable of stretching the legs of the 5.56 to the useable extremes of the cartridge from a 16” barrel. A set up like that requires a quality trigger and so I set out to choose a trigger for the build.
Around that time, I was experimenting with Geissele Automatics’ Super Dynamic – Combat trigger. The flat trigger bow immediately made sense to me after use so it seemed logical that I should try the enhanced version of that same trigger on the precision build.
Overview
Many of Geissele Automatics’ non-adjustable 2-stage triggers can be separated into two camps: Combat and Enhanced. The internals are largely the same and come from the same proven pedigree, the SSA, but the various triggers differ in the shapes of the trigger bow. The Combat versions typically break with 4.5# total weight that feels carrot-like while the Enhanced versions of the same triggers break with a 3.5# total weight that is crisper, like a candy cane. The carrot and candy cane descriptors are Geissele’s own terminology and they describe the feel of these triggers very well.
When you start to understand all this, the Geissele naming conventions start to make sense. The Super Dynamic – Enhanced (SD-E) that is the subject of this review, reveals just about all its secrets in its name. The “Super Dynamic” portion of the name denotes the use of Geissele’s flat trigger bow and the “Enhanced” denotes a 3.5# (mine averages 3.5# on the nose) with a candy cane like break.
Observations from Use
Everything that I loved about the SD-C is present in the SD-E with the exception of about 1# of pull weight. The flat trigger bow and all its benefits are the star here. The flat trigger bow as designed by Geissele Automatics has two main benefits for me. The first is that it actually increases the trigger reach slightly, especially at the center of the trigger bow. This encourages proper finger placement. The second benefit is that it feels exactly the same from top to bottom allowing the shooter to slide their finger down to the bottom of the trigger to increase leverage. This functionally reduces the pull-weight of the trigger.
Geissele’s candy cane analogy is very fitting since it is noticeably crisper than the SD-C but still not quite like the proverbial glass rod or icicle break. The first stage take up is very light and terminates sharply at the point at which the second stage begins. This differentiation between the stages is easy to feel in spite of the fact that the second stage weighs in at only about 1.3#. The second stage of the trigger processes just the slightest hint of creep (hence the candy cane analogy) before it breaks cleanly. That little bit of creep doesn’t really register with you until the trigger is already breaking.
I have spent several months now with both the SD-C and SD-E. The difference between the two is easy to feel but harder to quantify since they both are basically at home in the same roles. Both offer notable refinement over a standard AR-15 trigger group. In spite of the SD-C’s heavier break, I find it to be extremely controllable and I wouldn’t hesitate to use either of these triggers in a light precision AR-15 build. The SD-E however, with its notably lighter and crisper break is even more effortless and very well suited to situations where you really want to stretch the legs of whichever cartridge you are shooting.
Basically, the SD-E is kind of like the friendlier of two really friendly, good looking twins. They are both nice to look at and have personalities to match but one is just a little easier to talk to. You can tell the difference immediately but you wouldn’t mind getting a date with either.
Wrap Up
The SD-E lives up to its candy cane-like billing and pull weight specs. It is notably more refined than the SD-C and is exceedingly easy to control. The flat trigger bow offers tangible benefits to the shooter and just might spoil you for curved trigger bows. This is a great trigger.
Check out the SD-E at Geissele Automatics and at Brownells.