Emdom-MM Immediate Access Pouch (IAP)
Kit Up! Puts SCAR Controversy to Bed
New Stuff from Sierra Designs for Spring 2011
Beyond Survival: Around the World Eight Times With Les Stroud
Classic Adidas Hiking Boots Get the Wookie Treatment
Archive for the ‘weapons’ Category
Beating a Dead Horse to Death
Wednesday, August 18th, 2010FNH USA does it yet again. They issued a press release on August 16th that says essentially…SOCOM informed FNH that the Milestone Decision Authority (MDA) made a Full-Rate Production Decision Review which occurred on July 30, 2010. Well, duh. The MDA made a Milestone C decision back in April and FNH USA made sure we all knew about it. This latest press release really means nothing without the revised Basis of Issue Plan (BOIP) which dictates how many and of which type of SCAR, SOCOM will purchase. To take it at face value, a reader would assume that SOCOM is going to buy oodles of Mk 16 and Mk 17 rifles along with Mk 13 grenade launchers. But the truth is, we don’t know how many they will purchase if any at all since SOCOM has said that they are going to purchase different numbers than originally planned.
The other issue with this press release is the following paragraph…
“FN Herstal, a worldwide recognized firearms supplier to generations of soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines since 1897, has ramped up production and assembly at its manufacturing facilities to meet the delivery orders placed by USSOCOM.”
Does this mean that the SCAR will finally be manufactured in the US? We don’t think so, but based on the context of the overall subject matter, it would leave the casual reader to make that assumption.
None of this would really be that big of a deal if FNH hadn’t run out and posted it on every military and firearms message board they could find. FNH continues to try and twist this thing and every time they publish another one of these ill conceived press releases they hurt their credibility and beg more scrutiny. Actually, it would explain a lot if the same folks who are writing their press releases were working on the SCAR program. If this is the case; stop.
We miss the FNH that was on top of their game building great machine guns. Please come back.
Feel free to read the entire thing here.
M150 Rifle Combat Optic
Wednesday, August 18th, 2010Much ado has been made about the lack of lethality of the M16 and M4 at the increased ranges encountered in Afghanistan but you can’t hit what you can’t see. One of the Army’s answers to this quandary is the M150 Rifle Combat Optic (RCO) which is is designed to increase the probability of a first-round hit at distances up to 600 meters.
Adopted in 2007 for use on the M4, M16A2, M16A4, and M249 weapons in addition to increased range, it also allows the use of reflexive fire techniques. When a target is acquired, the ranging reticle can be used to get an accurate range to the target. Then, the range aiming point on the bullet drop compensator can be used to engage the target.
Manufactured by Trijicon, the RCO features a 4 x optic illuminated by fiber optics and tritium. The reticle is of a chevron pattern and is red in color both day and night. Naturally, the issue item also incorporates a laser and anti-reflection filters as well as an integral Mil Spec 1913 attachment.
Foreign Weapons Training
Sunday, August 15th, 2010Blackheart International is well known for their foreign weapons manuals, but their sister company Mid-Atlantic Training Resources, LLC also offers a comprehensive curriculum of basic and advanced foreign weapons training.
General Foreign Weapons Familiarization – based around the most prolific firearms encountered in the various theaters of conflict. This includes but is not limited to PKM machine guns, AK variants of all flavors, common pistols encountered, scoped rifles and submachine guns.
Additionally, M-ATR offers Weapon Specific Courses –
PKM marksmanship and gun team drills
AK Rifle marksmanship and general usage
Scoped Rifle marksmanship and general usage (SVD and FRK/PSL)
Pistol marksmanship and general usage
They also are preparing to offer a DShKM course
Finally, they also have Train-the-Trainer Courses for all of these weapons.
For additional information as well as a complete list of the choices of firearms please visit www.ma-tr.com.
Be sure to stop by booth #821 at this week’s TREXPO East at the Dulles Expo and Convention Center in Chantilly, VA to see all of BHI’s offerings.
EMA Tactical’s AKMR
Thursday, August 12th, 2010We’re not big on the AK74 or other AK variants, not because there’s anything intrinsically wrong with the weapon, but because there’s only so much money or ammo and gear unless you eat Ramen noodles for every meal. Now, Ramen noodles are good but they’re not that good, so we’ve spent most of our money and time on M4 and AR15 clones. That being said, the AK breed has seen an incredible Renaissance in after-market accessories and modifications over the last several years—that’s a Good Thing if you’re a shooter that owns one of the estimated eleventy-five gozillion AK47/74/SKS rifles floating around out there.
EMA Tactical has developed several pieces of kit for the AK, and one of their most popular (and least expensive) pieces is the AKMR. That’s the AK47 Polymer Magazine Release Extension, said to “provide easier access to the magazine release and quicker magazine changesâ€. It’s intended to allow the shooter to release the magazine more quickly, by providing a larger surface area on both sides, the front and bottom of the trigger guard. This could, conceivably, make the difference in a fight under stress, when fine motor skills degrade. We believe this piece of kit potentially qualifies for the Mad Duo TactiCAL designation (as opposed to TactiCOOL).
Mounting the AKMR doesn’t require a gunsmith and does not interfere with the trigger or trigger function. It’s made in Israel, of polymer, so far only in black (though why color would be a deal-breaker we don’t know, unless it was a choice between pearlescent salmon and chartreuse).
We asked Jay Portz about the AKMR when we first got word it was available in large numbers. “Boys,†he said, “the best trivia I can give you about the AKMR is that our dealers are ordering them fifty or a hundred or more of them at a time. There are so many AK47s out there, and the AK was designed at a time when ‘ergonomic’ and ‘ambidextrous’ weren’t part of the language, so the demand for a product like this is great.â€
From everything we’ve seen and heard, that appears to be a spot-on assessment. We haven’t shot one ourselves (yet; we will be using one at a Sonny Puzikas class in November) but once we have the opportunity we’ll advise further. The shooters we have talked to advise the AKMR makes magazine changes much smoother and thus much faster. “No more fumbling for the mag release, it’s right there, wrapped around the trigger guard next to your trigger finger,†one told us (he’s 1/1 scale, not 1/6 like us if you were wondering) so we definitely want to check it out.
The EMA Tactical AKM is available at their website www.ematactical.com or any number of other distributors. They retail for $14.99 at most places.
If you decide to get one for your rifle, do us a favor. Mention that you read it on Soldier Systems in a piece by the Mad Duo. We’ve arranged for special prices with other companies before (like 5.11 Tactical, Duostock, Wellco Boots and the Weyland-Yutani Defense Industries Division.).
If you have any ideas for us to review, drop us a line at BreachBangClear.com or FaceBook.com/MadDuo; unless you’re going to complain about our opinions, writing style or philosophy in which case don’t bother. MAD DUO OUT!
BHI PKM Accessories in Upcoming Movie
Saturday, August 7th, 2010
The upcoming movie “RED” starring Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman and John Malkovich features Blackheart International’s PKM accessories including the PKM soft ammo bags, PKM tri-rail fore-end, canted vertical fore-grip, and PKM folding-stock.
The attached image is from one of the recently released movie trailers. The weapon in the background (the one with that has the large muzzle flash) is the PKM with their accessories on it. It looks like they cut the front sight tower off of the barrel.
“Red” is set for release on October 15th, 2010. For the best in foreign weapons accessories visit www.BHIgear.com.
Big News from Wilson Combat
Wednesday, August 4th, 2010Wilson Combat has just unveiled their latest undertaking; custom ammunition! Bill Wilson has been handloading and sending rounds down range for decades and decided to put everything he’s learned to good use. His philosophy can be summed up below:
“I’ve been reloading ammunition since 1966 and over the years feel like I have become a knowledgeable and experienced handloader. Over the years I have handloaded over a million rounds for my own use plinking, hunting, self-protection and competition shooting. By producing and shooting this volume of ammunition I’ve learned how to develop maximum performance loads for a variety of uses. I’m using this knowledge and experience now to develop high performance loads for the new Wilson Combat line of self-defense and competition ammunition. I think you will find this ammunition to be very accurate, reliable and to deliver Peerless Performance.â€
President / CEO – Wilson Combat
Bill Wilson
Ammo is available in a variety of calibers. Look for additional details at ammo.wilsoncombat.com.
50 BMG Shell Carrier
Monday, August 2nd, 2010New from Shaddox Tactical is the 50 BMG Shell Carrier. Filling a niche, it is built on a stiffened nylon frame sheet with elastic loops to carry ten rounds of .50 BMG. Measuring 6 inches wide by 8 inches tall it is designed to fit in a standard USGI SAW gunner ammo pouch.
Available in Black, Coyote, OD, and MultiCam, to order, visit www.shaddoxtactical.com.
