Magpul drops two bombshells - PMAG D60 and PMAG17 mags

With SHOT 2015 kicking off,  Magpul has dropped two big product announcements.

The D60 - 60 Round PMAG



The D60 gives us the hope for a sturdy, 100% reliable 60 round drum at the $100-ish price point. It's made of Magpul's super sturdy, polymer, easily dissembled, lower profile than a Surefire 60 and has a special loading mechanism. A reliable drum mag or two ain't bad to have around, especially for those bump-SAWs out there.

The PMAG17 - Glock 17 mags



A Glock mag that will likely have a street price in the $12 ballpark - with Magpul's track record of rugged reliability? These things will sell faster than bricks o' .22lr! Count me in for ten of these.

New J-Frame Grips: Hogue Tamers

The set of grips (sometimes called stocks) on a revolver can really dramatically change its characteristics--from really low profile for greater concealment to big, bulky rubber things to soak up recoil and increase shooting comfort.

Of course, having those choices leads you down the inevitable goldilocks path to find the grips that are just right.

The Smith and Wesson J-frame revolver has a multitude of aftermarket grips, but many suffer from one shortcoming or another. I've tried a several of the best aftermarket grips on the market and did a quick review on them a while back.

Way back then, I wrote about wanting to try out the Hogue Tamers, which are essentially the same grips that come on Ruger's LCR line of pistols. They looked like a pretty good happy middle ground. I put in an order with Hogue, which ended up getting cancelled due to backorder status. Then, the Tamers were out of stock everywhere.

Eventually I forgot about 'em, mildly satisfied with my old school wood and Tyler T-Grip combo. A range trip a few weeks back ended up with a thumb bleeding after getting scraped during recoil...this time around, the Tamers were in stock. I ordered some up, uncertain with how well they'd do.

Haley's Venti 100 Shot Drill

On the occasions that I do get out to the range, I have a bad habit of just plinking away with the couple hundred rounds that I've brought. Here, Travis Haley shows an excellent 'warm up' using 100 rounds and focusing in the on the shooting fundamentals.

Compact Cleaning Kit

Off-the-shelf cleaning kits are pretty crappy. I don't ask for a whole lot.  I don't need a giant bag full of cleaning gear, and I don't want something that is 3 feet long. Nor do I want to rely solely on one of those little snakey Otis wires. I'm primarily concerned with having a solid rod that I can use to dislodge an obstruction from the barrel, should I need to. Other stuff is gravy.

This minimalistic kit, based around an extended length OscarDeltaGo Tube has been pieced together components from various places. It fits snugly and securely, nice and self contained, no rattles and no worries about the elements.

From top to bottom, left to right:

• GoTube lid with a length of shock cord
• GoTube - this is an extended length. SnakeDr will hook you up if you ask nicely. Wrapped with:
•  Battle Tape 
• Mossy Oak Gorilla Tape
• Snare wire protected by more Battle Tape
• Space for more...had some cordage wrapped on, but I never have good luck with that staying put
• Single serving of Frog Lube
• Spare battery for my Aimpoint - expires 2021
• Cleaning patches
• Brush and patch loop thing from a USGI-style cleaning kit
• Glock 9mm nylon brush
• 3 cleaning rod sections from the same USGI-style cleaning kit

A Public Service Announcement on the SIG SB15 Brace

In case you hadn't heard, MAC lays out the latest on the AR-15 'brace' and the BATF.

Remington R51 - DOA

I know many of you were looking forward to the release of the R51 gun after it debuted at SHOT Show, but MAN, it looks like Remington's rapidly growing reputation for shoddy workmanship is holding true here.

If they have any kind of QA process, it's pretty damn broken if something like this could slip through. 

Reader Question: AR-15 Pistols

Dear TEOTWAWKI:

I've been reading your blog for quite some time and thoroughly enjoy the information you put out. I did a quick search of your blog and couldn't find anything specific about AR pistols. What is your opinion of them? 

My interest was peaked when I read about one of the character's AR pistol in "You Took Away Tomorrow", and now I am looking to possibly get one of my own, possibly starting off with a Kel Tec PLR 22 since it allows me to try it out without breaking the bank.

AR pistols are interesting really only due to some of the silly federal firearms laws and ATF rulings here in the U.S. 

Ideally, you would just have a short barreled rifle (SBR) with a normal stock - but, that requires a ATF approval, $200 tax stamp and so on. And, in most states you cannot legally carry a concealed rifle, SBR or not.

AR pistols allow you to have an "almost SBR", without having to go through the ATF/tax stamp process. You still have the buffer tube, which you can use for that important third point of contact. You get the short barrel and handy size.

The ATF has also recently ruled that 'arm braces' intended to stabilize shooting an AR pistol one handed are not stocks. Yes, you can put one of these on and AR pistol and it is still just a pistol and 100% legal per the ATF. I'm on the fence about whether or not these braces are too good to be true/likely to lead to trouble OR if they'll be legal and on the 'ok' list for the long run.

And, because an AR pistol is legally/technically a just pistol, if you have a carry permit, you may be able to legally carry a concealed AR pistol...just like you could legally carry a Glock or J-frame. 

Know your local laws. And 'legal' doesn't always mean 'good idea.' Despite being legal, a run in with an LEO while carrying an AR pistol around in a backpack is probably not going to be as simple as a quick, pleasant conversation.

So, an AR pistol is an interesting niche due to ATF rulings.

In YTAT, Jack used his AR pistol much in the manner I see them being useful - during a disaster situation, for low profile/vehicle operations, where law and order is still somewhat in effect and you're concerned about staying legal. That is a fairly narrow niche.

You could also use one as a home defense weapon - the shorter barrel/handier size being a virtue indoors, though the shorter barrel 5.56 would not be gentle on your ears. A 9mm AR pistol would probably be better for this purpose. You would want to think through the ramifications and potential legal complications if you did ever use an "evil black, short barreled military pattern assault pistol" in a home defense situation.

I have zero interest any other 'pistol' versions of rifles...an AK pistol, for example, lacks the buffer tube to use as an improvised stock, making it heavy, awkward, loud and generally inaccurate to use (though they to make a 'brace' for AK pistols, too - if you want to go down that path). 

Specifically, the Kel-Tec guns fall into the same camp of heavy, awkward, loud and generally inaccurate...and they are Kel-Tecs, which have a generally horrible reputation. If you want something as a range blasting toy though, then have at it. 

Useful Links:

Jerking the Trigger - AR-15 Pistols - Clearing up Misconceptions 

Gabe Suarez used to have a couple good blog posts on AR pistols up on Warrior Talk News, but it looks like it is down/in transition right now, and my Google-fu is weak. This product page, though, shows two techniques for making use of the buffer tube.

The ARFCOM AR Pistol forum has a wealth of information, FAQs and so on. Your best bet for a deep dive.

Thoughts on Fighting Gear: Guns

Thanks to all those who have commented so far on the 'question' post from Monday. It's good to get a gauge for where everyone is before launching into any discussion on a topic.

Based on those comments, I wanted to talk through the firearm part, since several folks seem to be figuring that out. There's no reason to worry about a holster before you've bought the handgun, a sling before you've bought the rifle or how you will carry magazines if you have neither.

And, I will preface this and future conversations by recommending having some emergency savings, food and water storage and other basics before diving into the deep end of fighter gear. I'd also recommend an assessment of risks that you see yourself facing and whether you would play an active role in the defense of your community or whether a support role might be more appropriate.

If you are skeptical of the need for a citizen to take up arms in defense of his community, religion, nation or liberty, please keep your skepticism to yourself and do a little bit of reading on both historical and current events.

Anyways, onto the gun talk!

The Glock 42 - Dead before arrival?

Note: Glock - please pay someone to help with your videos. Please.

So, the Glock 42 that folks were all excited about turns out to be a six shot 380 ACP that no one is excited about and nobody really wanted. People have been asking, hoping for a Glock single stack 9mm for years. This ain't it.

Maybe in 2005, this woulda been exciting. Really, we've had pocket 380s for a looong while now, and most folks who wanted one have bought a Kel Tec P3AT, LCP, Sig 238, Kahr 380 or any of the many, many other 380s out there.

Ok, it's a Glock, so you've got the reputation for reliability. But, let's just look at the dimensions of the Glock 42 (via Guns & Ammo):

• Length (overall): 5.94 in.
• Width: 0.94 in.
• Height (with magazine): 4.13 in.

And then, for context, compare those dimensions to what is probably the most popular 6+1 380 ACP out there today, the Ruger LCP:

The Devil's Advocate: Rifle Only?

Leave this at home when the crap hits the fan? Crazy?

The Devil's Advocate series seeks to explore ideas that run against the mainstream, accepted wisdom. We're not recommending a particular course of action, but instead exploring alternatives.

In full apocalyptic battle gear, with a rifle in hand and a load of mags to back it up, carrying a sidearm is still considered pretty standard wisdom. If your primary goes down, at least you've got a pistol to turn to, right?

Of course, at standard rifle engagement ranges, a pistol isn't worth a whole lot. Better than throwing rocks, yes, but a guy with a pistol versus a guy with a rifle is not an especially fair fight...put 50 to 200 yards between 'em and it just keeps getting worse. At that point, you better hope you brought friends.

You did bring friends, right?

Ares Armor RAD Pack - Pack to Plate Carrier in Seconds

From dude wearing a backpack to armed and armored in a couple seconds. Very cool product...can hold SAPI rifle plates.

I know I've been hitting the YouTube videos hard this week, but there's some good stuff out there...

Review: G-Code/Haley Strategic INCOG Holster

First up, I've gotta get this off my chest, as it is separate from the actual product and reflective of G-Code's ordering experience. I was not impressed. Here are the bullet points:

• Order was placed shortly after product release. There was no mention of any kind of delay at time of order.
• The order confirmation e-mail said that the product could take up to 3 weeks to ship. Sad.
• After 3 weeks with no updates, I send G-Code an e-mail asking about a product update. No reply was given or has been given since.
• After 4.5 weeks, the holster arrived on my doorstep, without shipping notice/order tracking being sent.
• The following day, I received the shipping noticed/order tracking. Yes, for the product I had already received.

While I'm sure G-Code was slammed with volume during this time, the poor communication was unimpressive to say the least. I will be wary of any future orders placed with them.

Now, onto the holster.

The Incog is a kydex, adjustable depth/cant inside-the-waistband holster. The belt hooks have a unique design that helps push the holster in closer to the body and aid in retention. The holster body is covered in a kind of felt material to help with comfort and to help it stay in place. Mine is for a Glock 17.

Snub Nose Gear Round Up

Ryan over at TSLRF asked if I'd give a run down on some of the snub nose revolver (642 Airweight J-frame, specifically) related gear I've gone through. If you missed my original overview post on snub nose revolvers, check it out here.

Grips:
A revolver allows you to swap out grips and dramatically change the handling/concealment characteristics of the handgun. Bigger grips offer more controllability, smaller grips offer better concealment - it's a trade off.

642 with Dymondwood and T-Grip.

• Stock 642 Boot Grips: The grips that come with a stock 642 are pretty sucky. Exposed back strap and narrow grip, not cut to function with speed loaders, not comfortable to shoot. They are ok for concealment. Ditch them fast - even if just for the inability to use speed loaders.
• Pachmayr Compac Grips: Big, beefy rubber grips with a covered backstrap that make shooting the airweight a lot more comfortable - pain free, even. But, they add a lot of bulk to the J-frame, making it more difficult to pocket carry and generally conceal. Not cut for speed loaders, either. Amazon link.
• VZ 320 Black G10 Boot Grips: These are small and smooth and good for concealment. Properly cut for speedloaders (yay!). Not very comfortable to shoot - exposed back about on par with the stock boot grips. Very nice looking.
• S&W Dymondwood Grips & Tyler T-Grip:  This combo has an old school look and the smooth wood conceals and draws quite well. Despite the exposed backstrap, this combo is more comfortable for me than the boot grips - the grips are wider in the back, which spreads out the recoil and makes shooting more pleasant. They're not specifically cut for speedloaders, but they work well anyways. The T-Grips are out of production - you'll probably need to hit eBay; the Dymondwood Grips are available from MidwayUSA.

For concealment and looks, I'd go with the Dymondwood/T-Grip combo. The Compacs are great for extended shooting and practice, but the lack of speedloader cuts is a deal breaker, even the added bulk was not. I might take a knife to mine and see what I can do. I haven't found a "perfect" J-frame grip yet and am still searching - something slim, rubber, with a covered backstrap and cut for speedloaders. Hogue has a version of their well reviewed LCR grip out for J-frames now that I might give a go.  I'd also like to give the Crimson Trace laser grips a try, but haven't wanted to spend the $250 to play.

The Snub Nose Revolver

The short barrel, snub nose revolver has been a self defense staple for decades, and they remain a viable option today, even in the face of stiff competition from pocket sized .380 and 9mm semi-autos. A snubbie - a S&W 642 - has been my personal daily carry handgun of choice for going on two years, and my recent pocket dump has sparked a bit of interested around snubbies for conceal carry, so I wanted to give a quick run down on some of the pros, cons and things to think about when looking at a snub nose revolver for your personal carry.

And by snub nose revolver here, I'm talking about J-frame Smith & Wessons, Ruger SP101s and similar size guns from the other makers like Taurus and Charter, with a ballpark 2-inch barrel. I realize that you can have larger revolvers with a short barrel, but those are a different discussion entirely.

Jan 2013 Pocket Dump

Ryan over at TSLRF is having himself a lil' contest of every day carry pocket dumps, so I had to enter :). This is my "special edition" version with a few added tidbits from my initial entry and likes to past blog entries.

Pocket dump contents is of course backed up with my EDC bag and vehicle kits.

Contents are:

Smith & Wesson 642 with S&W grips and a Tyler-T Grip. I've found this combination quite good for concealment purposes and controllable when shooting. While the Smith isn't an ideal weapon, it is easy enough to conceal in a wide range of clothes and carry methods--pretty much anywhere, any time--and gives 5-for-sure rounds of respectable .38 Spl. A decent enough compromise.

I'm not a die-hard snubbie guy and am well aware of the short comings, and would be hesitant to recommend them to anyone without setting expectations - heavy DA trigger, bad sights, recoil, slow reload time, etc. I will eventually pick up one of the new pocket 9s and see how they fare. But, this is what I run at the moment and I'm not losing sleep over it.

Magazines & Haley Strategic Incog IWB Holster

Received a shipment of Black Dog 25 round, steel lip magazines for the .22lr conversion that I've yet to purchase - more concerned about the actual magazines than the conversion kits. Ordered from Palmetto State Armory on Christmas Eve, so that's a three week and two day wait. You're going to have to be patient these days and rejoice when the orders/backorders ship.

Was perusing ARFCOM, which I rarely do, when I read that DSGArms had FDE 20 round PMAGs in stock, at normal prices. I am fine for AR mags, but, really, a comfort zone of a dozen or two additional wouldn't be bad. So I moseyed on over to their site, which, after loading painfully slow, DID have said magazines in stock. I loaded 10 into my cart and proceeded through their checkout process - and yes, you have to sign up for an account, which I hate. The website chugged and churned and crawled along as I'm sure 1/2 of AR15.com was descending upon it. Finally, I entered in my CC info and clicked to finalize...and then taken to the homepage?

Wait, no order confirmation? Hey wait, the magazines are still in my cart? What gives? Let's see if my "order" is showing up under my newly created account...nope, no history of orders. Ok, let's try to check out again, see if that works...no, wait, the system just removed the magazines from my cart! And they're out of stock.

LAME!

Needless to say, not a happy. Understand that such things happen, but that doesn't mean that I'm happy about it, and I'll probably be hesitant before trying to order through DSGArms again. For those still looking for magazines and want to roll the dice with DSG, they do currently show Pink magazines in stock for $20 (yep - pink!).

I continue to kick myself for passing up deals in the normal days - PMAGs for $12 all day long? I have enough of those...Glock magazines for $22? Oh, I don't really need any more...and on and on. Was literally at a gun show the weekend before the madness began, passed up plenty of decent prices and left with nothing. Not that I'm in a jam or anything as far as magazines go - but there's enough and then there's really enough.

Haley Strategic Incog IWB Holster
A recent e-mail exchange with Ryan from TSLRF  reminded me of a glaring omission in my gear kit - a good concealment holster for my grip chopped Glock 17. There's a long story behind this, but basically I haven't found a holster that had a slim enough profile and offered the adjustability that I was looking for. Today, Haley Strategic and G-Code holsters came out with the Incog, which they collaborated on for design.

Image via G-Code Holsters

The holster is adjustable for depth, cant and tension, and can work in a variety of positions - appendix, as shown above, strong side, behind the hip and crossdraw. The slim construction and adjustability were exactly what I've been looking for. I took its release as a sign and ordered one up - should be here early next week. EDIT: Just read my order confirmation, and it looks like holster companies are getting hit hard by the panic buy, too...which continues to boggle the mind. So it might be a couple weeks...

I tend to like Haley's stuff because the designs, in my experience, are well thought out and put through their paces. Travis & crew test them constantly and refine their stuff multiple times before bringing them to market. For example, they've had a chest rig in the works since before the summer of last year and have run it in classes for months, sent it down range with spec ops guys and made refinements in the design...and they're still working on it. It's not the case of slapping a name and a logo on something and calling it good. They're running and gunning and going through thousands of rounds of ammunition and hours and hours of use with this stuff. That's the kind of thought and effort I like to see going into product design.

Should be one of the first Incogs out in the wild, so stay tuned for an initial rundown sometime next week.

Alexander Wolf's Signature Apocalypse Weapons

Here's one I owed you guys - my end-of-the-world, the Nazi Zombies are marching load out. AR-15, Eagle plate carrier with Level III plates, Glock 17, ESEE-4 and Church & Son's forged Skull Cracker.

Review: Operation Z Volume 1: Introduction to Handguns

Here's a new one for you. An introduction to handguns course, set against a fictional backstory of a zombie outbreak in Los Angeles. Chris Costa, real life firearms instructor, tells the story of his fictional deployment and survival in the aftermath of the zombie outbreak. We're watching a "training program" that's being taught in case of a future zombie apocalypse. That's Operation Z Volume 1: Introduction to Handguns.

This isn't a joke either--the zombie apocalypse is taken very seriously; Costa does an impressive job weaving in stories of dealing with infected in with his firearms instruction, and there are survivor interviews and "found footage" interspersed between different segments of the training.

Every entry from the Signature Apocalypse Weaponry contest!

From COBB - Another excellent entry in our latest contest!

Here it is - all of the entries from our wicked awesome Signature Apocalypse Weaponry contest in one place - for archiving, linking and your enjoyment! Again, great work everyone, thanks for your support and engagement on this contest.

Aside from gratiutous gun/knife/gear enjoyment, there's also some merit in checking out what others are going to be running after the apocalypse. Sure, more than a few entries went extra heavy on firepower, but when you're hunting for zombies, that can be a good plan. We had 32 entries, which is a decent sample size. Of those, we had:

• 13 entries running some variety of 12 gauge shotgun, either as a primary or backup
• 10 entries running an AR-15 or variant
• 4 AKs and 1 SKS in 7.62x39mm
• 9 with pistols in 9mm
• 7 with pistols in .45 ACP
• 6 with pistols in .40 S&W
• 3 running a pistol as their primary
• 5 with .22lrs of some variety - 2 running a .22lr as a primary, three others with a .22 in a secondary role
• 4 entries without any kind of firearm - two from Europe, one new prepper, and 032125, who chose to go with heavy Viking steel
• Biggest bore rifle was SC's .30-06 bolt action; I was a bit surprised to see nothing in .308. Guess JWR needs to get on his battle rifle soap box more often these days.
• Biggest bore handgun was Neuro's .454 Casull Super Redhawk
• 2 entries had body armor (plate carriers with plates)

If we take this as a somewhat representative sample of preppers/survival types, 12 gauge is the most common across the board, AR-15s are the usual rifle of choice, and pistols in 9mm tend to be a bit more common than .45s or .40s, though not by a wide margin.

I've got to round up my gear and channel some of the creativity seen in this contest to show you guys and gals my personal selections for when the Nazi Zombies come knocking. Stay tuned for that, though you've seen most of the pieces at some point or another here on T-Blog.

This will take a while to load - if you've got a slow connection, you have been warned!

Signature Apocalypse Weapons Update #11 - Last one!

Here's the last one! Thanks again to all who entered. I'm planning on pulling all of the entries together in one place - then they'll all be together for your perusals down the line.

This has been my favorite contest thus far - way to step it up, loyal readers!