weapons | Soldier Systems Daily Soldier Systems Daily

Archive for the ‘weapons’ Category

Tennessee Arms Company – The Ghost Gun Clear Stripped Lower Receiver

Friday, July 25th, 2014

This post was originally featured on Tactical Fanboy. It’s a transparent AR-15 lower receiver made from stabilized Nylon. We can definitely see the teaching and demonstration uses a product like this can offer.

Tennessee Arms Company is offering what they call the “Ghost Gun”, a clear stripped AR-15 lower receiver. Made from UV stabilized Nylon that is highly resistant to oils and lubricants, the Ghost Gun is a fully functional lower, although tnarmsco notes it is intended more as a teaching tool and for product showcase than for hard use. If anything else, it’ll definitely make for a great conversation starter at the range. Pair it with a transparent magazine or two for double the fun.

www.tnarmsco.com/ghost-gun-clear-stripped-lower-receiver

Tags: Tennessee Arms Company
Posted in weapons | Comments Off on Tennessee Arms Company – The Ghost Gun Clear Stripped Lower Receiver

Vickers Tactical – H&K VP9 Review

Thursday, July 24th, 2014

The Vickers Tactical YouTube channel has released an in-depth review by Larry Vickers of the H&K VP9 striker fired pistol. In the video, Larry goes over the pros and cons of the VP9 while comparing it to the Glock 17 and the Walther PPQ.

Vickers Tactical YouTube page – www.youtube.com/channel/UC0zNoCMMiPEAst0JrwUht0w

vickerstactical.com

Tags: Heckler & Koch, Larry Vickers, Vickers Tactical
Posted in weapons | 5 Comments »

Tactical-Life.com – Megapistols: 7 Big Firearms In Small Packages

Thursday, July 24th, 2014

This week’s story from Tactical-Life.com is a details 6 AR and AK pistols and a MAC-10 derived 9mm from a variety of firearms manufacturers. The article also partially mentions the SIG Sauer SB15 Pistol Stabilizing Brace.

You can read the full story here: www.tactical-life.com/firearms/megapistols-list

Tags: Tactical-Life.com
Posted in weapons | 2 Comments »

Grey Ghost Gear Noveske Giveaway Update

Thursday, July 24th, 2014

Grey Ghost Gear and Noveske have been giving away one upper receiver a week jointly on Facebook as part of their recently announced partnership. Two of the promised uppers have already been claimed, with three more to go in the coming weeks. The full release can be read below:

Dalton Gardens, Idaho. The Ghost Sends.

Two down. Three to go.

Last Friday Brandon D. won a Noveske Rifle Works upper courtesy of The Ghost. The Friday before that it was Michael R. In just a couple more days The Ghost will add a 3RD name. Why? He’s prepping the LZ. The Ghost has a great admiration for rifles.

Noveske Rifle Works is just the beginning.

If you don’t enter, you can’t win. If you have entered, good luck to you! If you have not entered—perhaps consider pulling your head out of your 4TH point of contact and do so now.

Go to http://woobox.com/qjgdik to enter, and stay tuned. There’s big news coming down the pike and if you’re a fan of America’s Rifle (the AR).

The Ghost just loves a good AR.

—

Additionally, Grey Ghost Gear is announcing that they’ll be offering rifles from other quality manufacturers besides Noveske, along with a few other things in the works. The above rifle, for example, is a precision AR10 that’s currently being tested and evaluated by a select group. Stay tuned for more info as it becomes available.

www.greyghostgear.com

www.shopnoveske.com

Tags: Grey Ghost Gear, Noveske
Posted in Contest, weapons | 6 Comments »

The Zev Technologies Experience – Check-In

Wednesday, July 23rd, 2014

This is the first installment in a new series that shows you what it’s like to send your GLOCK in to Zev Technologies for some work. We recently shipped these Glocksmiths a new Gen 3 G17 and week by week, the folks at Zev will share photos and video of what they are doing to it. We’re not even sure what it will look like when they are done.

The Pistol is received, inspected and placed into their tracking system.

A work order is created and it takes its place in the cue.

I can’t wait to see what they do next.

www.glockworx.com

Tags: Zev Technologies
Posted in weapons | 10 Comments »

Additional Information on the Salvo 12 Shotgun Suppressor from SilencerCo

Tuesday, July 22nd, 2014

Yesterday, SilencerCo released the Salvo 12 Shotgun Suppressor. It’s a single device that offers the user configurability based on use and preference. As you can see from the photo, you can set the Salvo 12 up in order to balance sound mitigation and weight. I had an opportunity to shoot this device and I can say, that it does perform as promised.

Timeline
The development team at SilencerCo has been working on shotgun products for some time now but about 6 months ago, the sales team asked for a specific capability and then the Salvo 12 went into full development.

Design
Let’s take a look at it in this video from SilencerCo to get the basics.

The serialized item is the back cap like on the Osprey, which is the least likely part to be damaged. As I alluded to earlier, the design is modular and scalable to the user’s needs. The Salvo 12 comes as a 12″ model but can be configured to a 10, 8 or even 6 inch version. This is because, due to ATF rules, a suppressor can be shortened but not lengthened. It is configured with the use of rods and connects to the shot gun via a Removable Choke System. The rods are readily commercially available and not designed specifically for the Salvo 12.

Removable Choke System
Here you can see the Removable Choke System attached to the gun and how the Salvo 12 connects to it.

It screws into place and is held tight with conical threads. Think of it as an adapter that has threads on either end. One end goes into the shotgun, attaching via the choke and on the other end, the suppressor itself screws on.

Why 12 ga?
The answer is pretty simple, 60% of shotgun ammunition purchased in the US is 12 ga. The others split the remaining 40% up fairly evenly with 20 ga slightly larger than the others. SilencerCo went after the largest segment of the shotgun market. As the product filters out to the buying public, they’ll keep their ears open and develop additional models as needed.

Ammunition Types
So far, SilencerCo has cleared the Salvo 12 for use with 3″ wadded slugs and all types of shot from 00 to No 9. The wadding clears the barrel during firing and I could see them falling as I shot clays yesterday.

Performance
In case you didn’t see it already, I shot this video yesterday. I didn’t turn down the audio. You can hear the steel in the background while I’m shooting. It works. The additional weight at the end isn’t horrible and you can easily still control your shotgun. One thing I noted was that the ladies who joined us for the demonstration had no problems firing a shotgun equipped with the Salvo 12. Even the ladies of small stature. Not only did it reduce noise but it also mitigated the recoil of the gun.

The advantages are obvious. Hunters will be able to go without ear pro and their dogs won’t suffer hearing loss. Follow up shots will also be a more viable option as game is less likely to be disturbed.

This chart, provided by SilencerCo lays out suppressor weights and performance.

Future Developments
Aside from additional calibers, SilencerCo continues to work with various types of ammunition to ensure compatibility. They are also looking at breaching applications and think they are about 90 days out. They still have to configure barrels for testing and work on stand off devices.

Rifled barrels for hunting are also a priority and they are working toward a solution but technical challenges exist.

They also mentioned that the MultiCam anodizing seen here could also be an option along with other patterns but this will depend on orders from their channel partners.

Price
A lot of people have been asking about price but I wasn’t sure if it was official yet, when I posted the initial story yesterday. It will be $1400 for the full Salvo 12 which includes the actual modular suppressor and removable choke system which you can see above. The removable choke system can also be purchased for $300 to accommodate other shotguns. For simplicity, it comes in packs of three with Full, Modified and Improved which are the most popular. At some point, SilencerCo will offer individual choke adapters. Until then, it’s the three pack.

Delivery
Look for the Salvo 12 to start shipping in September.

www.silencerco.com/salvo

Tags: Silencerco
Posted in weapons | 7 Comments »

Breaking – SilencerCo Announces Salvo 12 Shotgun Suppressor

Monday, July 21st, 2014

Long the stuff of movie legend, the shotgun suppressor has been a mythical beast. Sure, they’ve been demonstrated over the years to varying success but they’ve a lot of weight and length to the barrel of the shotgun making them less than ideal.

Just minutes ago, at SilencerCo’s 1st Annual F#!*ING Catalina Wine Mixer, CEO Josh Waldron formally announced the latest addition to their product line; the Salvo 12, a shotgun suppressor.

To be sure, this is great news for the tactical market, but this will mean a lot for the hunters out there as well. This is a great crossover product that I think will help to bring suppressors mainstream in the hunting market. It’s important to get the hunters on board when trying to pass suppressor legislation.

Knox Williams, President if the American Suppressor Association was present at the launch and said, “SilencerCo’s introduction of a commercially viable shotgun suppressor will introduce a new segment of the shooting public to the advantages of firearms suppressors. Forward thinking like this will help ASA and the industry transition suppressors from NFA items to the mainstream.”

Yes, it’s a 12 ga design. Considering the popularity of the 12 ga it was the right move. SilencerCo is open to developing suppressors for additional shotguns but wanted to get this out.

The Salvo 12 is scalable and can be configured by adding sections to customize the level of suppression you’re looking for. It integrates a Removable choke system to attach to your shotgun and uses a system of Rods, baffles and caps to lower the 12 ga report to that of a .22. In a video, we could actually hear the clay pigeon breaking upon impact.

Here are the performance specs provided by SilencerCo.

Coming Fall 2014.

www.SilencerCo.com

Tags: Silencerco
Posted in 2A, Industry, weapons | 37 Comments »

Some Thoughts on the SIG SAUER Staff Adjustments

Thursday, July 17th, 2014

I recently heard about layoffs of the work force at SIG SAUER‘s facility at the former Pease AFB in New Hampshire. The numbers were very high and I was a bit concerned. I contacted SIG to see if it was true and they sent me the statement you see below. You’ll notice that they refer to the action as a “Staff Adjustment”. While many will write this off to bureaucratese, I’ve taken some time since receiving the statement last night to consider it, as well as what I know about the manufacturing business.

To start with, while SIG did not discuss the numbers with me, I am certain that the high percentages reported and then deleted by another website are untrue. I was there a few weeks ago and the loss of that many positions at once doesn’t add up. Additionally, the deletion of the story from the website that initiated the story tells me that they were way off. In fact, it was that deletion that got me looking into the issue in the first place.

By no means am I trivializing the issue. To be sure, these are jobs we are talking about and their loss, if even temporary, affects those workers and their families. But, as a manufacturer you don’t want to pay people for work that you don’t need. In the case of SIG (and other gun makers) you don’t want to pay people to build guns you aren’t selling. Anyone who works in manufacturing will tell you that they’ve seen a layoff or three. It’s part of doing business. To do otherwise puts the entire enterprise at risk.

The genesis of these manufacturing positions was panic buying. To meet the increased firearms demand after the Obama Administration’s call for firearms restrictions in response to the Newtown shooting in December, 2012, SIG hired additional workers. They also moved down the road into a new facility. But, those demands have changed and along with them, SIG is adapting.

SIG SAUER® Announces Work Force Adjustments

NEWINGTON, N.H. (July 10, 2014) — SIG SAUER® has instituted a series of work force adjustments to adapt to ever-changing market conditions and manufacturing efficiencies.

The firearms market has begun to cool from the record highs experienced over the past couple of years. Additional resources, including new employees, were brought on to help meet this spike in demand. Now that sales have began to return to normal, an adjustment in staff numbers is needed to maintain an efficient and cost-effective workflow.

Additionally, enhanced productivity and efficiency at the company’s new Newington, New Hampshire, manufacturing facility has made certain positions redundant or no longer needed. In order to maintain quality and control costs, an adjustment in staffing levels is required.

These difficult, but necessary, measures will allow SIG SAUER to continue to deliver innovative, high-quality firearms to its customers. As SIG SAUER continues to grow into new business categories, including ammunition and accessory products, these market-driven decisions will play a significant role.

Become a fan of SIG SAUER on Facebook at www.facebook.com/sigsauerinc.

Just walk into your local gun store and you can see that the demand for firearms has slowed down since the Newtown shootings. Once bare shelves are now bristling with a wide variety of offerings. I’d say that sales are still up over 2012 levels, but they aren’t anywhere near what they were last year, in 2013. That’s across the board, not just with SIG. SIG SAUER is a privately held company and not a conglomeration of share holders. Also, they aren’t fixated on the next quarter’s earnings. I doubt anyone walked in one morning and said, “Ok, let them go.” Rather, they took a look along view (forward and backwards) at the market and where it was going. The last thing you want to do is lay people off, lower capacity and then have missed the cues for another surge in demand. It’s hard to make money if you don’t have anything to sell. It’s why SIG hired on extra workers, to meet demand, and conversely, when that demand has slowed, they’ve adjusted their staff to meet that new reality.

I don’t believe that the SIG layoffs are due to low quality or poor products but rather an overall drop in demand for firearms after a record breaking year. I visited SIG in June and President Ron Cohen told an assembled group of gun bloggers that SIG was going to move production of additional handgun models to the US from Europe, next year. Between that and the introduction of the MPX and MCX along with new suppressor designs, I’d say that some of those folks who were laid off will end up returning to work. To me, that’s promising. Many walked in the door knowing that their jobs were temporary. Hopefully, at least some of them will see additional employment with SIG in the future.

Tags: Sig Sauer
Posted in Industry, weapons | 16 Comments »