Archive | Guns

Vickers Tactical Glock Extended Magazine Release

This is a product that I have been using since it hit the market. The standard Glock magazine release is small, low profile, and can be somewhat difficult to hit without really shifting your grip. Glock makes an extended magazine release that may be fine for competition but it is too large for a carry gun. I have seen it interfere with holsters or even cause the magazine to be dropped when the Glock was gripped aggressively or laid on a flat surface.

Larry Vickers recognized the need for functional Glock magazine release that was larger than the stock part but not so large that it causes more problems than it solves. The result is the Vickers Glock Extended Magazine Release which is made by Tango Down for Vickers Tactical. It is available for the 9mm/.40S&W/.357SIG/.45GAP sized frames and the .45ACP/10MM sized frames.

The Vickers magazine release is on the left.

This release is perfect for a carry gun. It is long enough that it makes reaching the release much easier but no so long that it interferes with grip or holstering. All of the edges are nicely rounded which is nice considering how sharp some aftermarket magazine release can be. This is basically the only extended magazine release that I know of for Glocks that is suitable for carry.

This magazine release, along with a good set of sights, and maybe my favorite trigger set up is all that a Glock really needs.

Check out the Vickers Extended Mag Release For Glock at Brownells.

Original Magpuls Alternate Use

The Original Magpul was Magpul’s first product which launched them on their way to becoming the giant that they are today. These handy rubber finger loops were designed to be stretched onto the bottom of a magazine creating a loop that would allow the user to quickly extract magazines from magazine pouches. It is basically a more formal approach to the old duct tape and para-cord loop trick that became popular with A.L.I.C.E. gear.

However, I find that because my more modern magazine pouches are cut lower, so I rarely use the finger loop to extract the magazine. It just isn’t necessary. Even though I didn’t use the finger loops, I left the Magpuls on my aluminum magazines because I found that the rubber surface wrapped around the base of the mag really improved grip and the loop acted as a shock buffer when the mags hit the deck during reloads. The problem was that the loops made the magazines longer which could cause issues with some covered mag pouches.

Consider using your Magpuls like the one shown on the right.

My simple solution was to turn the Magpul 90 degrees. I have since come to find out that I am not the first person to do this, so I really can’t claim it as my own idea. The Magpul is stretched so that the loop is running front to back and pulled tight to the magazine base. This cures the pouch fit issues. It also retains the enhanced grip and buffering advantages. In fact, it acts more efficiently as a buffer since now the loop covers nearly the entire baseplate.

The best part is that it enhances the ability of the magazine to be used as a monopod. The 30 round AR-15 magazines lend themselves very well to being used as a monopod, but aluminum GI mags tend to pick up dirt and debris between the magazine body and baseplate. However, with the Magpul turned 90 degrees the baseplate is protected from debris.

I still keep about 40 or so aluminum GI magazines on hand even though I use PMAGs almost exclusively these days. I find that the PMAGs do not really need any grip enhancement or buffering from impact but I wouldn’t run my GI mags without the Magpuls. They really do enhance the function for me and they aren’t terribly expensive.

If you have Magpuls, try turning them 90 degrees. You might like them better that way.

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New Barrel Profiles from BCM

BCM is continues to expand their already broad array of available barrel profiles. They will be releasing 3 new profiles this summer.

  1. 14.5″ Midlength Light Weight
  2. 14.5″ Carbine Light Weight
  3. 16″ M4 SOCOM

I am really excited to try the 14.5″ midlength light weight. It should end up weighing right around 2 pounds 10 ounces give or take a few ounces even with the permanently attached flash suppressor. Couple a light weight upper like that with other light weight components like Magpul MOE hand guards and you would have one very capable, functional, and extremely light weight carbine.

BCM is really positioning themselves as the premier supplier of AR-15 rifles. Their quality is second to none and their array of barrel profiles should satisfy just about anyone.

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BCM EAG Tactical Carbine

Bravo Company Manufacturing (BCM) makes some of the best AR-15s that money can buy. Pat Rogers of EAG Tactical offers some of the best carbine training that money can buy. EAG also does a lot of T&E on BCM products and highly recommends them. So it seems only natural that the two companies should collaborate on a carbine. Afterall, what good is a great carbine without great training.

The BCM EAG Tactical Carbine is basically set up the way Pat Rogers sets up his own training guns. It features a Magpul MOE stock, Tango Down Battle Grip, Surefire G2 LED in a VTAC mount, Tango Down QD vertical grip, and many other excellent features. All you need to do is drop on an optic (Pat Rogers likes the Aimpoint T1 in a LaRue mount). There will also be some special EAG Tactical markings on the magazine well. The upper will also be available for purchase on it’s own.

Best of all, each package will come with a $200 certificate redeemable for training with EAG Tactical.

Check them out at Bravo Company.

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Review: Mount-N-Slot Accessories from Impact Weapon Components

The best ideas are often the simplest, especially when it comes to weapon accessories. Nearly anything that you can do to remove weight, bulk, complexity, failure points, and cost from a weapon is a good thing. Mount-N-Slot Direct Attach Mounts successfully do all of those things. Do I have your attention yet?

The Mount-N-Slot experience starts with the box. It looks like any other box on the outside but...

Concept

To understand Mount-N-Slot Direct Attach Mounts, you have to understand Magpul MOE Hand Guards. MOE Hand Guards are plastic hand guards for the AR-15 carbine length gas system (midlength and rifle length hand guards should be out soon) that are slotted in strategic locations in order to provide the user with a means of attaching sections of rail. The rail is then used to attach all the standard necessities like slings and flashlights. The MOE hand guards have become very successful for two simple reasons: they are inexpensive and they work.

Impact Weapon Components (IWC), the creators of the Mount-N-Slot line, build on the success and functionality of the MOE Hand Guards by removing the need for the rail sections. Their mounts are designed to mount directly to the slots in the MOE, FN SCAR, and Bushmaster ACR hand guards. It sounds simple enough, but lets think a moment about what that really means…

  1. Reduced Cost – There is no need to spend extra money on a section of rail to attach to the hand guard. The mounts cost about what you would pay for normal rail mounts.
  2. Reduced Weight – No rails means less weight. Less weight is always a good thing.
  3. Reduced Bulk – The sling mount is 25% lower profile than a sling mount on a rail. This reduces snag points and bulk in general.
  4. Reduced Complexity – When it comes to mechanical objects, especially life saving mechanical objects, it is best to have the least amount of parts possible. When you reduce parts count, you reduce failure points. That is perhaps the most compelling reason to consider the Mount-N-Slot Direct Attach Mounts.

When a company takes this kind of care with their packaging, they have probably taken great care with their products as well.

Execution

A great concept is worthless without great execution and the Mount-N-Slot line delivers. These mounts are beautifully machined from 6061-T6 aluminum and Type III hard anodized right here in the USA. Hard anodization yields a very hard surface that resists scratching. It also gives a matte black finish to the mounts. There are less expensive types of anodizing but they are not nearly as durable.

IWC took great care in the design of these mounts. The threaded holes that the mounting screws engage are all neatly chamfered. All unnecessary material has been milled away to keep weight down. This isn’t apparent until you turn the mount over and see that large hollow areas have been machined into the mount. The mounts also have no hard edges. There isn’t a snag point to be found. There is some serious attention to detail in these mounts.

How sure is IWC that these mounts will function for you? Their warranty holds the answer. If your mount breaks, return it and they will refund your money including shipping fees! I have never heard of a company that will refund your shipping fees. That is an amazing warranty.

Unfold the box further to find the included hex key and information about the product and company. This is some very cool packaging.

Installation

They attach via two  head screws which are provided along with a hex key. You simply place the mount over the slot that you choose, and then screw in both mounting screws with the washers on the inside of the hand guards. A monkey could mount these, though you would probably want to supervise the monkey while it applies the thread locker. I always use a thread locker like Loc-Tite on all screws that will be on my rifle. I would suggest applying some to the provided screws as I would any accessory with screws.

Notice the lack of hard edges. Great care was taken to make sure these mounts were snag free and wouldn't abrade the hand.

In Use

Sometimes, I think the best thing that you can say about a product after you have actually used it is that there were no surprises during that use. They performed as well as they look. There are many products that look cool but end up being useless, non-functional, or, even worse, dangerous on the range. That is not the case with these mounts. They work as advertised.

I was graciously provided one of the new rotation limited QD sling mounts, a 360 degree QD sling mount, and a bipod mount. All three performed admirably.

The new rotation limited sling mount was easily my favorite of the bunch. QD sling mounts without rotation limiters work just fine, but the sling can become twisted, especially when the rifle is not slung. It isn’t as much of an issue when the rifle is slung. The rotation limited model just does away completely with any possibility of the sling twisting. It is a nice feature.

I use the VCAS Sling on most of my rifles. It is a two point design that requires a mounting point somewhere on the hand guards. I mount mine as close to the receiver as possible for both the front and rear mounting points. I find that this allows much more range of motion with the rifle to perform things like malfunction clearances. The Mount-N-Slot sling mounts work perfectly for this style of sling mounting. There are slots on the MOE hand guards that will let you place the Mount-N-Slot sling mounts just about anywhere.

The bipod mount is perfect for those who need a bipod mounted full time on their rifle. It mounts securely to the bottom slots on the MOE hand guards and provides plenty of surface area to contact the bipod. I was pleasantly surprised with how light the bipod mount is. It looks like it could be quite heavy but care was taken to hollow out unnecessary metal from the underside of the mount. I could really see this mount and bipod being ideal on a Bushmaster/Remington ACR with the longer rifle length hand guards or the rifle length MOE hand guards once they are released.

The one thing that I really wanted to check was that the mounts wouldn’t move forward and back once they were mounted in the slots. They did not move at all. I mounted the sling mounts all the way to the rear of one of the slots so that it would be impossible to move it to the rear, but I couldn’t even get them to move forward. These mounts aren’t going anywhere (especially if you are handy with the Loc-Tite).

Here are the mounts with sling and bipod attached. The sling mounts work perfectly for mounting the sling close to the receiver.

Conclusion

This is the kind of idea that I wish I came up with myself. I tend to make things more complicated than they need to be. I wish I could simplify things the way the people at IWC have with these mounts. If you have MOE hand guards on your AR-15, I am not sure why you would mount a sling any other way. This concept just makes too much sense. You cut out the need for the rail which means you cut out failure points, bulk, weight, and cost. Why mount a section of rail just for a sling mount when you can just attach a sling mount directly to your handguards?

I would love to see where this product line goes in the future. There is a lot of potential here for things like vertical grips, hand stops, flashlight mounts, and who knows what else. These type of mounts can also be designed for other hand guards like the Troy Extreme Battle Rails and VTAC Rails. Jerking the Trigger will certainly keep you updated as new products are announced.

Purchase yours directly from the IWC web store.

Remember to use the coupon code “triggerjerk” at checkout to receive 5% discount at IWC.wordpress hit<br /> counter

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