The Magpul CORE Team is with Casey Currie at the 2016 Trail of Missions in Baja, Mexico.
Prometheus Design Werx – EDC Short Guide Cloth
June 29th, 2016
For the 2016 Summer season, San Francisco based specialty outdoor products company Prometheus Design Werx debuts their EDC Short in a 4way stretch Guide Cloth. This is their uncompromising, high standard in a performance, technical, plain front, every day wear, utility field and street short. The EDC short is PDW’s flagship, noncargo style designed for today’s active EDC user in mind. A total of 11 pockets to stash and organize as little or as many EDC items in a streamlined, clean and tailored design. Pocket Clip DocksTM are found on the main hand pockets to accommodate the clips of folding knives and flashlights. Dual notwist custom made delta rings for keychain-carabiner clip points. Produced with industrial grade triple needle stitching on all major seams. Cut and sewn in California, USA.
The EDC Short will be an evergreen seasonal style for Prometheus Design Werx. They will be available in their proprietary Guide Cloth when they debut. Other technical fabrics to be introduced in following seasons.
The Design and R&D Team at PDW states:
“We wanted to create the short that we would wear every day on and off the grid. This is not a mass volume, compromised, lowest common denominator product. No corners were cut, no corporate budgeting committees to answer to, we stuck to the intelligent features we wanted, and secured the best in class materials to make this short. You will not find superfluous details or unnecessary affectations in outcome of our design process in crafting these shorts. Each feature and component serves a purpose for utility, versatility, movement, and comfort. The industrial grade construction was a bit overkill, but hell, our office is a metal shop. Our proprietary Guide Cloth is some of the most comfortable technical performance fabric we’ve ever developed, used and worn. We also made sure to produce these shorts locally in CA with skilled labor being paid a living wage. This is a pair of shorts that will be long wearing and worn frequently.”
The PDW EDC Short in Guide Cloth will be available for purchase in three colors on Thursday, June 30, 2016 at www.prometheusdesignwerx.com
Grayboe Announce the Renegade and Outlander Fiberglass Stocks
June 29th, 2016June 29th, 2016 –Phoenix, AZ – Grayboe is pleased to announce the release of its two flagship products, the Outlander and the Renegade. Both stocks are high quality off the shelf options for large OEM’s, distributers, custom rifle builders, and individuals looking to upgrade their existing hunting or tactical rifle stocks. Grayboe stocks are designed and manufactured with the same strength, quality, and attention to detail as custom fiberglass stocks but come in at half the price and with very short lead times.
Grayboe stocks are constructed of a proprietary solid homogenous compound of fiberglass, calcium silicate and micron sized spheres in a specially formulated epoxy matrix. Each stock is formed under high pressure and heat which creates an exceptionally stiff and high strength platform that is able to withstand all weather and shooting conditions.
Several color options are available and ready to ship. Standard paint colors include black, khaki, gray, and olive with standard Hydro-dip options of Kryptek Nomad, Mandrake, Typhon and Highlander. Additional colors, paint techniques like spider web or speckle, and specialized dipping options are available to high volume buyers. The materials used in these stocks make it possible for rifle builders to custom Cerakot these stocks to fit their specific customer’s requests.
Outlander
The Outlander is our traditional hunting stock. The Outlander is ambidextrous with a straight comb and traditional hunting style pistol grip that feels like an old friend. The Outlander is light weight and sleek for easy and efficient field carry. The slightly oversized fore end will accommodate up to a #5 barrel contour.
Barreled Action Availability
Remington 700 Long Action BDL, Sporter / Magnum Barrel
Remington 700 Short Action BDL, Sporter / Magnum Barrel (Available Summer 2016)
MSRP: $299
Renegade
The Renegade is the only authorized and licensed McMillan A5 design on the market. It uses a beavertail forearm that is wider and flatter than most stocks which makes it suitable for the bench shooter or for real world tactical deployment. Action and barrel sit lower for enhanced stability and control. The Renegade uses a trim pistol grip, helping the shooter to maintain steady rearward pressure and keeping the butt more solidly “in the pocket”. The dual purpose butt hook is fully functional for either riding sandbags or controlling the rifle with the non-trigger hand. The Renegade is ambidextrous.
Barreled Action Availability
Remington 700 Long Action BDL and DBM, Varmint Barrel
Remington 700 Short Action BDL, and DBM, Varmint Barrel
MSRP Starts at $349.
Magpul Now Shipping PMAG30 AUS Gen M3, PRS QD Footman’s Loop, and M-LOK Tape Switch Mounting Plate for the Insight PEQ
June 28th, 2016
The PMAG 30 AUS GEN M3 Window is a 30-round 5.56×45 NATO polymer magazine for Steyr® AUG/F88/F90 compatible weapons that features transparent windows to allow rapid visual identification of approximate number of rounds remaining.
Similar to the GEN M3 PMAG for the AR15/M4, the PMAG 30 AUS features a long-life USGI-spec stainless steel spring, four-way anti-tilt follower and constant-curve internal geometry for reliable feeding, and simple tool-less disassembly to ease cleaning. In addition, low profile ribs and aggressive front and rear texture gives positive control in all environments, and a paint pen dot matrix has been added to the bottom panel of the body to allow easy marking by the end user for identification. The easy to disassemble GEN M3 flared floorplate aids in extraction and handling, and is slimmer than factory Steyr floorplates for better fit in magazine pouches.
Durable, dual-side transparent windows allow for quick determination of approximate number of rounds remaining in the magazine. Utilizing a high visibility indicator coil on the spring and numerical markers on the magazine body, the MagLevel™ system provides positive verification with the added benefit over translucent magazines of displaying round-count even when the cartridge stack is obscured within the magwell.
Originally made for a DoD contract, the PRS QD Footman’s Loop is a machined aluminum replacement sling mount for the original PRS Stock.
Featuring a 1.25” footman’s loop for direct attachment of webbing as well as an integrated push-button QD swivel socket, the PRS QD Footman’s Loop is easily installed and adds a new degree of sling mounting versatility to your precision rifle platform.
The M-LOK Tape Switch Mounting Plate is a mount designed to attach Insight PEQ pressure pads on M-LOK compatible systems. It is molded of the same high quality polymer as other Magpul products providing light weight with rugged construction, and the M-LOK recoil lugs and T-Nuts make for an extremely secure mounting system.
A low profile design allows the user more mounting options without interfering with other equipment and it’s rounded and beveled edges provides a snag free surface.
Revision Helmet Saved Orlando SWAT Officer’s Life
June 28th, 2016By now, we’ve all seen the photo of the ballistic helmet that saved Orlando SWAT officer Michael Napolitano during the shootout with an Islamic terrorist at the Pulse nightclub a few weeks ago. Now, we know that the helmet was a Batlskin Viper A3, manufactured by Revision in their Newport, Vermont factory on July 29, 2014.
This version of the Batlskin Viper A3 has the midcut ‘Gunfighter’ geometry applied to an ACH style shell. Looking at the photo, the helmet was obviously fitted with a one-hole night vision shroud which was sheared off from the impact of the projectile. It is a NIJ level IIIA helmet made from aramid and was fielded with an ACH-style four-point chinstrap and proprietary pads.
As you can see, Officer Napolitano was injured, but the important point is that he survived. Events like this remond us why Law enforcement officers need access to personal protective equipment, since their jobs are inherently dangerous. Hopefully, they’ll monitor him for TBI.
Sneak Peek – Aimpoint Nano
June 28th, 2016French company TR Equipement leaked a photo of the upcoming Aimpoint Nano in their website in an article on the Brügger & Thomet USW, a new shoulderable pistol with folding stock from the Swiss company, introduced in the wake of last year’s Paris attacks. The SA/DA 9mm USW A1, based in the aluminum framed CZ 75, will be available this November, while a striker fired polymer variant is expected next year. The Nano MRDS from Aimpoint should debut during The 2017 SHOT Show.
The pictured Aimpoint Nano has been under development for the past couple of years, but even this photo is only of a prototype and is not the final product so we’ll have to wait until then for details.
Update : Below is the holster offered with the system which incorporates a shroud for the Nano.
Today’s Instagram, Tomorrow’s Doctrine
June 28th, 2016Today’s Instagram, Tomorrow’s Doctrine
June 27th, 2016
Aaron Barruga
Our attention spans are garbage. I can’t remember the last time I waited for an Uber to arrive and decided not to spend the downtime thumbing through Facebook and Instagram. As a millennial, I am guilty of forfeiting periods of self-reflection in exchange for the external stimulus provided by social media.
But is this dynamic something to be concerned with? In small doses, probably not, but my default to social media extends beyond waiting for Ubers to running errands, coffee lines, and as a work distraction (current piece included). The result, I am continuously seeking new content that reinforces “my” point of view.
The visual medium is powerful and a fifteen second Instagram video can easily accomplish what 1500 words cannot. However, substituting visuals for text comes at the deterioration of our deep focus and willingness to thoroughly examine arguments. We forgo substantiating our own beliefs with evidence (or dare I say experience), and instead reinforce our superficial expertise by simply watching a video.
Accompanying our echo chamber is the perception that we are capable, rational, and intelligent individuals; and that anyone who disagrees with us is both wrong and delusional. Our deep attention and focus already eroded by the brevity of social media, we also lose our patience for curiosity when confronted with opposing views.
Rather than first attempting to understand how our opposition arrived at their point of view, and then afterwards engaging in debate. We instead fill cognitive sandbags and entrench in our own belief system. But how are we so sure we are right? Because everyday (and for some every hour) we are bombarded with new content on social media that reinforces our point of view.
Although social media is a powerful tool that has built a community and united shooters on unprecedented levels, it is also the platform that allows for the rapid decay of objective knowledge, because we (millenials) are conditioned to constantly seek something new, and upon discovery will associate new with better.
Millenials are now more representative of average adults in America. Born between 1980 and 2000, millenials number 83 million and represent one quarter of the US population. For today’s military and law enforcement leadership, a majority of mid-level and soon to be senior leadership embodies the tech savvy, social media oriented demographic of twenty to thirty year olds.
This group of leaders will decide in the next decade what becomes doctrine for both the future of military and law enforcement training. Like it or not, social media will be a key influencer in this process. Current and soon to be training supervisors already connect with the training narratives created in fifteen second Instagram videos. This dual edged sword allows for greater access to information, but also allows for deviation away from lessons learned in the real world.
From lessons learned we build doctrine and standard operating procedures. Unfortunately, this process involves losing brothers and sisters in the line of duty. Learning from their mistakes and shortcomings, we attempt to find new and better techniques for engaging dangerous situations. However, we must exercise a healthy dose of caution in this process, and recognize that new techniques in their infancy must first survive critique and peer review before being endorsed as acceptable. Unfortunately, social media encourages us to shortcut the validation process and sanction incomplete or weak arguments simply because they are new.
Many tactical training schools made popular by social media have done an enthusiastic job of training organizations and individuals, but for the most part they have not prepared tactical shooters with judgment for the real world. Consequently, a lot of flat range training is suitable for use only on the flat range.
In twenty years, the next generation of tactical shooters will adapt our current social media influenced doctrine to address new threats, technologies, and radical ideology. It is uncertain whether platforms such as Instagram will exist in the future and how integrated they will be in our day-to-day lives. For now, social media’s inaugural authority on the advancement of doctrine can either become a platform for knowledge, or devolve into a medium through which companies exploit the naive, and users scream at each other in comment threads with pitchfork outrage.
Aaron is a Special Forces Veteran and founder at Guerrilla Approach LLC.
www.guerrillaapproach.com
www.instagram.com/guerrilla_approach
www.facebook.com/guerrillaapproach
