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Review: MagPod Prototype

By on February 22, 2012 in Guns, Reviews, Tactical Gear

I was lucky enough to be able to spend some quality time with the upcoming MagPod. MagPod provided me with a prototype that is already a few revisions old but I was able to get a very good idea of what the MagPod is all about.

The humble little MagPod is big on functionality.

I Don’t Care What You Were Told

First, like I did in my first MagPod post, lets take care of the elephant in the room. The MagPod is designed to allow shooters to use their Magpul PMAGs more efficiently as a mono-pod to steady their rifles in the prone position. So, it promotes resting the magazine on the deck which many people wrongly believe will cause their rifles to malfunction. This is simply not the case. It has been shown over and over by several instructors who teach this technique and oversee hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of rounds being sent down range that this is a valid technique that will not cause malfunctions with a quality magazine and quality rifle. There, I feel better.

This loop is perfect for extracting magazines from deep pouches.

Questions Answered

My time with the MagPod has been brief (but productive). I have enough time to get a good feel for how it functions. I do not have a lot of rounds on it but I do have a lot of rounds through ARs using the magazine mono-pod technique. In fact, I sold all my bipods but one a long time ago. There is just no reason to bother carrying the weight once you get used to this technique.

The biggest questions that I had were: Does it help when the rifle is held at angles other than perfectly level? Does it really add stability beyond what a standard PMAG baseplate provides? Does it function well as a magazine manipulation aid? How is it on uneven ground? Does it make the rifle sit too high off the ground? I am happy to say that my impressions were positive on all questions.

While the MagPod does have the most contact area when the rifle is held level, it does provide improved stability when the rifle is angled up or down as well. It is made from a hard plastic with a hard rubber pad on the base. This set up seems to have some give to conform to various surfaces and angles.

Lots of contact area but also enough of a gap to handle uneven surfaces.

It is noticeably more stable than when using a PMAG without the MagPod installed – the carbine just seems to rest more naturally with the MagPod in place. The extra stability is subtle at some angles but noticeable.

I think my biggest surprise was how well the MagPod worked as a magazine manipulation aid. The hole through the front of MagPod is positioned perfectly to allow use of your index finger to pull the magazine out of a pouch. The aggressive texture on the sides is a great grip enhancer for those who “beer can” grip their magazines when yanking a magazine free of the magwell (especially when clearing a double feed).

The design of the MagPod was obviously made to handle uneven ground. There is a front and rear pad that make contact with the ground with a small gap between them. This gap allows the MagPod to span debris like gravel and still stay relatively stable.

The concerns that I have read from some concerned onlookers about making the rifle sit dangerously high off the ground are unfounded. When level, the rifle is only about 1/8″-3/16″ of an inch higher off the ground than it would be with a standard PMAG baseplate. I will take that slight height increase as a trade off for more stability and more positive manipulation.

How stable is it? Stable enough to balance your rifle on the magazine with ease.

Conclusion

I like to think of the MagPod as a tool that is similar to a MagPul Ranger Plate but with twice the functionality. It provides improved handling of the magazine in a variety of grips and it also has the huge bonus of making a very stable shooting platform. I thought I was impressed before I tried it. I am even more impressed now that I have been able to experience the nuances of the MagPod.

The MagPod will be available soon. While you are waiting, check out MagPod on their website and their Facebook page.

Paper Targets from TacStrike

By on February 22, 2012 in Guns, Tactical Gear, Tactics and Training

TacStrike is well known for their steel targets, but that just isn’t good enough for them. They want to provide all your training target needs! They have begun ramping up a huge selection of paper targets that can really take your training to the next level. The new line up of targets includes target overlays for IDPA and precision shooting, a ton of realistic scenario targets, training targets from VTAC, and more.

Check out their full line of paper targets at TacStrike.com.

BAD-CASS-SA Now Available from Battle Arms Development

By on February 20, 2012 in Guns

It has been several months since I reviewed a prototype of the BAD-CASS-SA from Battle Arms Development. I was seriously impressed with its combination of the proven lever designs of the BAD-ASS and the new robust dovetail attachment method. Well, after all these months, I am happy to say that the production version is finally available.

The dovetail design stems from the BAD-CASS-SA’s combat ready heritage. It is a semi-auto revision of the original BAD-CASS-3P which was Battle Arms Development’s idea of what a bomb-proof 3 position selector switch should be. The dovetail interface of the levers takes all the stress off of the screws that attach the lever to the selector core. Even if a screw was to break somehow, the fit is tight enough that the lever can actually be retained through hundreds of cycles (see my review).

Many of the same lever options that make the BAD-ASS great are also available on the BAD-CASS-3P. My preferred set up is to use a “Standard” lever on the bolt stop side and a “Short” lever on the ejection port side. This configuration keeps the ejection port side lever mostly out of the way of my trigger finger but still provides plenty of surface area for positive manipulation on my support side. You can choose 2 out of 4 available levers when you purchase the BAD-CASS-SA.

The best news of all might be that the BAD-CASS-SA will also be available in a short throw version. The BAD-CASS-ST-SA features Battle Arms Development’s pioneering 45 degree short throw core design. I have reviewed the short throw version of the BAD-ASS and I think it is probably the way the selector should have been designed in the first place. It is excellent.

This is probably my favorite Battle Arms Development selector yet. You can get your own BAD-CASS-SA or the short throw BAD-CASS-ST-SA at BattleArmsDevelopment.com.

Magazine Management

By on February 17, 2012 in Guns, Tactics and Training

Many shooters spend time on the range honing their emergency reloads into smooth, efficient actions. But, how many shooters spend time on the range practicing magazine management as an underlying structure and strategy for success with their reloads? There are actions that you can take before the emergency reload that can increase your efficiency, or better yet, preclude the need for an emergency reload all together.

Magazine management is simply the act of rotating your magazines in your chest rig, belt rig, or plate carrier so that you maximize the chance of having a magazine in the optimal position for reloading when you need one. It is a dynamic decision making process that is happening at each reload and with just a little forethought and practice, it can be second nature.

Fast, Faster, Fastest

Each shooter’s strategy for magazine management will vary based on the way that they carry magazines, the shooter’s strong hand, and other factors. The first step toward developing your strategy is identifying where your fastest reload comes from.

As a general rule, your fastest reload will come from the pouch that is closest to your support hand (non-dominant hand) simply because this will be the easiest to reach. Open top pouches will be faster than those with flaps or retention of some kind. Additionally, it is generally faster to reload from belt level than from chest rig level. This combination of factors is why many shooters will place an open top magazine pouch on the support side of their belt to serve as a dedicated emergency reload location.

Once you have identified the fastest reload location, you should order the rest in terms of speed and ease of use. Generally, the closer your magazine pouch is to your weapon side (dominant hand), the slower and more difficult it will be to reach.

This chest rig shows the available reload locations numbered from fastest (1) to slowest (3) for a right handed shooter.

Lets look at the simplified example of a 3 cell chest rig. The fastest reload will be the one closest to the support hand which is the pouch marked with a 1. The slowest reload is closest to the weapon hand which is the pouch marked with a 3.

Now that you have ranked your pouches in order based on speed and ease of reach, you have already done much of the work. You can use this information to develop your magazine management strategy. Remember, the goal is to always have a magazine available in the fastest reload location. This is accomplished by choosing which pouch you reload from based on the situation and rotating magazines when possible.

Choose the Pouch Based on the Situation

Speed is not the emphasis with administrative and “tactical” reloads so they should come from your slowest pouches. Using our example chest rig from above, this means that an administrative or tactical reload will come with pouch 3. By choosing to complete your reloads that do not require speed from your slowest pouches, you help ensure that there will be a magazine available in your fastest reload location during an emergency reload.

Top Off

Let’s carry our example further. You have just completed a administrative reload from pouch 3 and completed a course of fire. Before you start the next course of fire, it might be wise to complete another tactical reload from pouch 2 so that you can start the next course of fire with a topped off rifle. By keeping your rifle topped off from the slowest location, you accomplish two things. Most importantly, you reduce the chance that you will need an emergency reload at all and secondly you keep that all important fastest pouch ready to go with a fresh reload.

Rotate, Rotate, Rotate

What if you run through a course of fire that requires an emergency reload and find yourself with a moment before the next course of fire begins? This is an excellent time to rotate magazines. Top off your weapon, then take the magazines from your slowest pouches and move them over to your fastest pouches. Remember, the goal is to always have magazines ready in your fastest pouches.

Back to our example chest rig. If you emergency reload from pouch 1 and you find yourself in a lull in the action, rotate the magazine from the slowest available pouch (2 or 3) into pouch 1. Now you are ready for another emergency reload.

Layered Approach

If you have magazines in multiple locations like on a belt and chest rig, it can help to think of your gear in a layered approach. I choose to use a belt rig as my base line since I carry a firearm daily. It makes sense for me to reinforce going to the belt for my reload in training since the same motions will work for reloading my handgun or my carbine. If I am taking a carbine course, I will always have my belt rig on but I usually only have a chest rig on if the round count and pace of the course requires additional magazines.

My belt is typically going to be my fastest reload location. I think of my belt as my main support gear while my chest rig is secondary. The belt feeds my rifle and the chest rig feeds my belt. I am constantly rotating magazines from my chest rig to my belt to ensure that there is always a reload available in my fastest location.

Conclusion

Magazine management isn’t rocket surgery. Identify your fastest reload locations, choose your reload location based on the situation, top off, and rotate. Identify your strategy at home, practice it on the range, and soon it will be second nature.

BAD-MRAD RAPID BRAKE and BAD-DBM Remington M700SA Bottom Metal

By on February 16, 2012 in Guns, Tactical Gear

Battle Arms Development could probably sit back and rest confidently in the knowledge that they make the best AR-15 selectors in the world but that just isn’t how they do things. They are pushing into new platforms with their newest products – the BAD-MRAD RAPID BRAKE and BAD-DBM Remington M700SA Bottom Metal.

The new BAD-MRAD RAPID BRAKE is a unique brake that is designed by Randy Cain of R+D Precision specifically for precision rifles. The RAPID BRAKE features a “pinch” design that allows it to be timed without having to worry about torque. It can be easily removed for cleaning or suppressor mounting and then re-installed just as easily. The ports are angled 10 degrees up to eliminate ground signature. The RAPID BRAKE fits 5/8″-24TPI, Class 3A threaded barrels and is precision CNC milled from 1144 “Stress Proof” Bar Stock Steel.

The BAD-DBM Remington M700SA Bottom Metal is also designed by Randy Cain. The BAD-DBM is a bottom metal set designed for Remington M700 short action rifles. Its key feature is a low-profile, snag-free, and completely ambidextrous magazine release lever that can easily be reached with the trigger finger without loosening your firing grip. This bottom metal set accepts the industry standard Accuracy International 5 and 10 round magazines.

Stay tuned for more upcoming gear announcements from Battle Arms Development.

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