Archive | Guns

The CSAT Rear Sight for the AR family of weapons is a concept born from the mind of Paul Howe of Combat Shooting and Tactics (CSAT). It adds a sighting notch above the small aperture of a same plane A2 sight. This notch serves as an aiming reference that compensates for mechanical offset for closer shots where speed is of the essence. It is a more formalized approach to the technique of holding the front sight above the aperture for closer shots.

Until recently, this sight was only available for sights that used the A2 aperture which left most folding back up iron sights out in the cold. Now XS Sight Systems makes a version that will work with the premier folding sight on the market – the Troy Folding Battle Sight. It should also work on the newer Troy Fixed Battle Sights as well.

You can learn more about the CSAT sights at the XS Sight Systems website.

I recently reported that many shooters are finding the Lone Wolf Extractors to be a fix for the reliability problems with late Generation 3 and Generation 4 Glocks chambered in 9mm. Reports have also been very encouraging for a product from White Sound Defense called the H.R.E.D. or High Reliability Extractor Depressor.

The H.R.E.D. is basically a complete redesign of the stock extractor depressor plunger. The extractor depressor plunger works to keep tension on the extractor so that it can maintain a grip on the rim of the chambered cartridge. If consistent tension cannot be maintained in any and all conditions, then the pistol in question can suffer inconsistent extraction which may lead to reliability problems.

White Sound Defense tweaked the materials, orientation, size, geometry, mass, and mass distribution of the system in order to provide consistent grip on the cartridge over a longer period of time which should equal more reliable extraction. While all of that may not make much sense, you will notice at least some of the differences between the H.R.E.D. and the factory parts immediately. For instance, the H.R.E.D. is installed the opposite way that you might expect based on the factory parts. The shorter part of the H.R.E.D. is toward the muzzle unlike factory parts where the shorter part is installed toward the rear of the gun. It is also immediately noticeable that the H.R.E.D. is made from stainless steel instead of plastic.

The bottom line is that there are people with thousands of rounds on these units that are seeing reliable extraction in Glocks that displayed extraction issues from the factory. I hope that it can do the same for me. I have a Generation 3 RTF2 Glock 17 that has been completely reliable but does show signs of inconsistent extraction. It will kick one case out over my right shoulder as it should and lay the next one right onto my forearm by my wrist. I plan on installing the H.R.E.D. in this gun to see if it makes ejection more consistent and I will let you all know how it works out.

You can read a much more technical explanation of how the H.R.E.D. works on the White Sound Defense website.

I have used various magazine couplers over the years and have generally found them wanting. Most couplers work by clamping two magazines together tightly enough that they do not slip. The problem is that they eventually do slip or they are clamped so tightly that the magazine body pinches causing feeding problems. I eventually gave up on trying to find a decent magazine coupler.

I recently had my interest piqued once again in magazine couplers when I came across a new design that is all together different from anything else I have seen. The FASTMAG PMAG Couplers from Springer Precision work by replacing the baseplates of the magazine instead of clamping them together. That is not only innovative and interesting, it should completely do away with all the issues of clamp type couplers. It is obvious that a lot of thought went into this coupler.

The FASTMAG PMAG Couplers are machined from aluminum and then hard anodized for durability. It must be durable since it replaces the baseplate and it will take impacts from being dropped during magazine changes and from being used as a monopod. The magazines are not staggered as they are with some couplers. Staggering is usually unnessary and placing the magazines at the same level allows for a broader, more stable base for the magazine monopod technique.

Springer Precision offers 3 different models of the FASTMAG PMAG coupler: a model for .308 PMAGs, a model for 2 30 round 5.56 PMAGs, and a duty model for a 30 round and 20 round 5.56 PMAG. The duty version is very intriguing. It is designed to couple a 20 round PMAG with a 30 rounds PMAG. It weighs less and is slightly more compact than the standard 2x 30 round FASTMAG PMAG Coupler. It gives you the flexibility of having a reload on board with your rifle without the full weight and size of another 30 rounds magazine.

I am really impressed with this magazine coupler.

Glock handguns, especially the 9mm models, have had some very public reliability issues recently. Generation 3 and 4 Glock 17s and 19s that were made starting in 2009 have exhibited extraction issues that have been attributed to changes in the extractors. These new extractors may or may not be the issue but several people are reporting that Lone Wolf Distributing’s (LWD) Glock Extractors have cured their reliability woes.

It appears that the new potentially problematic extractor first showed up in the Gen4 Glocks and found its way into the Gen3 Glocks as early as 2009. The LWD extractor is based on the earlier Gen3 extractors with the loaded chamber indicator which proved to be a very capable and reliable extractor.

If you have a 2009 or later Gen3 or Gen4 Glock that is experiencing reliability issues, you might want to look into the LWD extractors as a potential fix. You can find the extractors on the LWD website.