All posts in Magazines

Is a 6.8 SPC worth getting?

That is a question we get quite often around here and we always throw a question back to a customer.   People call or show up wanting us to give them advice but there are a lot of liabilities in telling people what to get or do.   So much of gun accessories and firearms has to do with the job at hand and a persons gun skills.   I’ve heard people claim that you can’t shoot long range with a 5.56 gun but I see it done all the time at local gun clubs.   Sure there are instances of high wind where a 5.56 bullet isn’t going to do very well, but sometimes only a 50 bmg is going to get the job done.

Even the trusty and reliable Mini 14 is an often over looked hunting Carbine, but I’ve seen white tails taken up in Vermont with 75gr expanding rounds.   The 6.8SPC would be a more powerful round than what the military is using today but it’s not really going to solve all of your problems.  Most of my friends that own them are using them for hunting rounds and not even for Carbine training ect.  The only problem you may run into when changing uppers in with the gun magazines.  The 5.56 round is better than any handgun round if you use the right kind of ammunition and the AR15 platform gives you lots of caliber options that are really best for upgrading your gun for better hunting.

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Magpul gun parts and magazines

Magpul gun parts and accessories as well as the famous Pmags are outstanding gun parts.   There are so many modifications that you can customize your M16 or AR15 variant in multiple color patters or configurations.    Everything from gun grips, rail skins or rail covers, trigger guards ect are high quality and combat worthy if you install them properly.  Because of the numerous accessories that you can put in an M4 you can’t really just buy 3 rail covers and expect them to fit in the accessory pattern that you want.   Some of the accessories might cause  you to need medium covers or full length.  Sometimes the quad rail configuration is useful, but if the job does not need all of the lasers or light attachments why carry the weight.

There are several patterns of rail covers and there are several companies out there making good stuff but just remember that you are carrying a combat weapon and the more you attach, the more things fall off.   Magpul pmags are the number 1 rifle magazine in our book and we highly recommend them to all of our fellow shooters and customers.  The 30rd magazines with the windows seem to be very popular but in my opinion I don’t think it’s that necessary to know if you have 8rds left in a magazine or not.   The answer is to carry enough mags to know a tactical reload is possible instead of looking to see you have 8 left.

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Changing gear and changing gear

I recently got a letter from Magpul Industries about some of the new products and colors that are available for their gun accessories.   There are many M4 manufacturers out there that are making gun accessories that easily attach to a firearm, but I have already found out personally that they are not something you will want to take into combat.   If people stop and think about it, most of these products are pretty easy to pick out because they are cheap.   Mostly things like fore grips and flashlight mounts.

The age old, “you get what you paid for” is the reality of firearms especially combat worthy.   I’ve read lots of posts on gun forums about guns being “hobby” firearms from gun instructors because people trick them out and think they will hold up.   Magpul pmags are the number one selling AR15 magazine because they are tough and reliable.  Recently we started carrying more of the stocks, stock accessories and magazine accessories.  Be very careful that you don’t compromise your tactical vests or magazine holders when you chang out your floor plates because some tactical vests will not work with the changes.

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10rd magazines for 1911s?

This is something I’ve only delved into once and it wasn’t a great experience.   Back in the early 1990’s we had all of that assault weapons ban BS and and aftermarket gun magazines were everywhere.   Some of us that owned certain firearms ended up with unreliable firearms that should have been durable.   $90 Glock magazines were not uncommon and $14.99 for a jamming Mini 14 30rd magazine from USA magazines, which I believe is been long out of existence.   Many people fell back on revolvers and there was a big upsurge back into the 1911 because it was one of those guns that was originally designed for fewer than 10rds which was what the Assault Weapons Ban limited you to.

So some of us messed around with aftermarket 10rd magazines and all of the ones I tried failed pretty quick.   We tried to make the 1911 into it’s highest capacity that we legally could, but the balance pretty much got messed up.   Gun magazines, even a few rounds bigger than standard capacity can make the gun imbalanced or make it harder holster.   There are a lot of reasons to use 10rd magazines like Wilson Combat magazines or Chip McCormick which have a good reputation in competition shooting, but they will protrude considerable.   This may cause snagging on shirts ect if you are considering using one for CCW.   If you’ve ever practiced with you’re gun, which you should have, firing 8rds and reloading is probable a better CCW than thinking a 10rd magazine is going to give you more protection.

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Announcing that you are there with all of those things on your M4

There was always something that bothered me about the Trijicon ACOGS when they first started hitting the civilian market in the 1990s.   I couldn’t really figure  out why I didn’t like them at first and it wasn’t just that they cost as much as an actual Bushmaster AR15.   It finally dawned on me a few years ago when I was at a gun club, about 500yds down range and I saw the glint of someones rifle scope.   What i never liked about the Trijicon ACOGS was that the loun neon colors announced that you were there and it was my hunting instincts that were trying to tell me that.  When we are bow hunting we have on cover scent and camo but when you send the military into some parts of the world they have neon strands on their guns.  Something wasn’t right about that.

With all firearms and accessories there has to be a balanced achieved between prevailing in a fight and and not compromising your ability to defend yourself or take cover or concealment.   When it comes to using gun magazines, the hottest sellers are the Magpul Pmags with the window, but again, this is something that can announce you are there when the shiny brass cases are showing on the side of your black firearm  and the sun hits in on that perfect angle.   That is something that can be picked up from hundreds of yards away.  Flashlights, optics and gun parts can help you in getting your bullets on target but be careful they don’t compromise your ability for concealment.

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Philadelphia Mob’s it’s only a matter of time

Today I was listening to a local talk radio host who had a local reporter on and they were talking about the Flash Mob stuff that was going on there.   In some people’s minds these incidences are not racial, but that is absolutely absurd.   We’ve had at least 3 mob incidences against young white males or old white men and it’s always black on white.   In some camps of our society, racism only applies to things that a white man can do and not the other way around.  Racism exists in all societies and cultures but only those living in the world that Political correctness has created think it only exists when a victim is black.

One of the callers challenged the local news writer about what the news article would be if a gun owner shot one or more of these individuals when they were committing the crime.   The news reporter basically said it at this point it would say something about a “gun owner defends against a mob” I’m paraphrasing, but I thing it was bullshit.  We know that if a gun owner shot one of these individuals and reloaded with using spare gun magazines that it would be excessive or bull  shit that someone that trained to shoot shot 5 or 6 of the criminals and it was unfair that someone would do that against un armed youth.   Considering the ages groups of some of these Flash mobs it would probable not sound justified if a 65yr old man shot 11yr-19yr olders, but the reality is it may well be if things keep up like this.

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Did they take your Legos away from you too?

I have noticed for a very long time that there is a strong correlation between the guys that can’t stop accessorizing their M4 Carbines or AR15s and there previous childhood hobby of playing with Legos.  One thing that I always consider when putting something on a firearm is knowing if it is combat worthy or not.   There are a lot of things that are sold at gun shops and gun shows that are just downright trash, and others will hold up if you mount them properly.  Now that everyone has a rail or A3 model, you need to buy rails to protect them when not in use.

Now that you need new rail skins or rail covers, you have to pick out the pretty colors you, do you want Field Green, Dark Earth, OD Green,  Black or Tan on your M4 Carbine?   Magpul Pmags also come in many colors and sometimes people can get pretty particular about which colors they want.   I guess you want your gun to look nice when it’s pointing at someone.   I admit that it does get a little messy when you have mismatched color firearms parts and accessories, but as long as you don’t have rainbow colors on them it won’t be the end of the world.

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Magazines that aren’t flush fitting

I have never really liked the feel of having a pistol magazine protrude out of the bottom of the gun unless it is because the gun grip is too small for me.  I’ve seen a few of my friends do this on their Glocks, namely the Glock 26 because it is such a small gun.   I did put an extension on a Sig 239 which is the  only gun I currently own that has this.   The first gun that I owned was a Colt 1991A1 and it only came with one pistol magazine.   It was a Colt magazine which i thought would be the best gun magazine to have, but that turned out to not be true.   After having a few problems with the slide stop not catching, I found out the magazine tab was bending and causing the issue.

I believe it was at a gun show that I picked up 2 Wilson Combat magazines and my Colt 1991A1 ran flawlessly with ball ammo.  The gun magazines really ran well with hollow point ammunition but I found the gun to be too picky with hollow point ammo that I pretty much gave up on worrying about it.   If you look at the velocity that a 45acp is flying at, I don’t think you’ll have massive over penetration issues compared to 9mm ball.   Wilson combat magazines have varying base pads and from my experience this is mostly a concern for competition shooters.   If the magazine drops free I don’t need to worry about gripping it and pulling it out for a fast reload.

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As a former AR15 hater, I give to you the bringer of salvation

I spent an awful lot of my young adult years watching guys with loads of money show up at gun clubs and firing ranges with their fancy guns and bash anyone that had an AK, SKS or a Mini 14.  I was often ridiculed for owning a Mini 14 because according to most AR15 owners, it couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn at 100yds, but I was hitting 2 inch groups all the time.   These guys would always rave about how accurate the AR15 was and that they never had reliability issues, but I was always watching these guys clear malfunctions or blame magazines or ammo for all of their jams.  I will tell you that I got tired of the mentality and avoided AR15s for a very long time just because I could get the job done with a Sturm Ruger Mini 14 for just about every job I ever need it for.

I did notice that shortly after Pmags started showing up on firing ranges the amount of jamming I saw dropped by 99%.   I don’t know when the last time it was that I watched an M4 or AR15 jam that was  using Magpul Pmags.   These magazines are virtually indestructable.   I’ve seen youtube videos of guys driving trucks over them and they still worked.  I have heard of a few problems with them not dropping free from magwells of some manufacturers, but that’s a minor production issue and not really the magazines fault.   Even if you live in a un gun friendly State, you can still get 10rd magazines.

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Keeping a good marking pen handy

I was recently watching the Make Ready with Paul Howe DVD about Tac Rifle Operator, and it’s a good one.  I definitely put this one up with the must get collection with Magpuls Art of the tactical carbine.   I won’t get too into the DVD because I’d rather you buy them, but one point that came up is something I kind of slack off on.   The topic about marking or putting a strike on a gun magazine when it fails was something that should be monitored.   Most people know to rotate gun magazines, but when do you give up on it and toss it?

I was one of those that had a hard time tossing magazines and usually spent the money to replace followers and magazine springs, but some magazines really aren’t worth keeping around.  When the mag wells get bent or they are absurdly worn, don’t get too caught up in keeping it with your primaries.   When gun magazines even something as tough as Magpul pmags are used, they are a step closer to wearing out or breaking, sometimes they don’t completely crap out on you, they just start to have intermittent malfunctions.   One of those that can occur is a worn magazine follower.   Three strikes and your out is a good philosophy, and keeping a good marking pen around to document this is a very good idea.

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