Lever-action rifles were hot at SHOT Show this year, and it looks like that trend is continuing. Rossi USA just announced that it’s expanding its line of R95 45-70 Govt rifles. The new additions are the Triple Black and Laminate models.
R95 45-70 Govt Triple Black and Laminate Models
The new rifles share the majority of features but differ in the finishes and stocks. They feature an integrated peep hole sight mounted on a Picatinny rail with a windage drift adjustable front sight. Both rifles have 18-inch threaded barrels and a 5-round tubular magazine. They also have medium loop levers wrapped in paracord.
The buttstocks are finished off with a soft-touch recoil pad. The Triple Black model includes integrated sling mounts, while the Laminate model features built-in sling studs.
Rossi first offered the Triple Black and Laminate features in their .357 lever actions, followed by the .30-30 models. Now, they’re bringing those same modern features to the R95 45-70 Govt line as well.
The Triple Black has a black cerakote finish and black-finished wood stock. Overall length is just 35.5 inches and the weight is just a little over 6.6 pounds. It has an MSRP of $1363.99.
The Laminate model has a stainless steel finish and gray laminated Birch Wood furniture. It shares the dimensions of the Triple Black R95 but is slightly heavier at 6.8 pounds due to the denser laminate furniture. Its MSRP is $1287.99.
For more information on the new R95 45-70 Govt models, or the rest of the Rossi lever action line, check out Rossi.com.
The FN SCAR family has now proven itself for nearly two decades. Arguably, it has set some of the standards for what modern military rifles chambered in both intermediate and full-size non-magnum cartridges look like. One of the downsides of the original design was its lack of a non-reciprocating charging handle. It could get in the while the gun cycles and become a hindrance. Not too long ago, FN redesigned some elements in the SCAR charging handle assemblies to make a non-reciprocating handle a reality.
FN SCAR Non-Recorpocating Charging Handle
“The FN SCAR has proven itself as a leader in its class since its introduction, setting the standard for what gas-driven, semi-auto rifles should be,” said Chris Cole, Vice President, Sales & Marketing of FN America, LLC.
“The complete modularity and fast-handling character of our most versatile rifle platform continues to advance. The FN SCAR 17S and 20S were already the softest shooting gas-driven .30-caliber rifles on the market, and these upgrades deliver even more functionality to the SCAR platform.”
The NRCH makes the SCAR more traditional and, in a sense, certainly more intuitive. It allows shooters to shoot from any position, with any grip style or optic, without fear of bumping the charging handle. Combined with fully ambidextrous operating controls and an adjustable buttstock, the SCAR brings versatility.
“With the FN SCAR there’s a reason for every part, all have to work together perfectly to deliver the uncompromising accuracy, reliability, and toughness this platform has earned under fire. That’s the difference between an FN SCAR and other carbines, we are held to a higher standard than most, failure is not an option for our Nation’s most elite forces, said Benjamin Voss, Product Manager for FN’s Long Guns.
“With the semi-auto FN SCAR 16S, 17S, and 20S, we hold the same standards of quality for these commercial variants. Adding the non-reciprocating charging handles allows SCAR to be even more adaptable, enhancing an already accurate and soft-shooting rifle. Shooting positions like urban prone, from a barrier or with a CQC-style grip are made possible, and users can now run low-mount optics without interference.”
The NRCH now comes on the new versions of the SCAR 20S, 17S and 16S rifles. To learn more about the FN SCAR family, please visit FN America.com.
Library of Congress LC-DIG-ggbain-09255 (digital file from original neg.), color level (pick white and black point), cropped, and converted to JPEG (quality level 88) with the GIMP 2.6.1
There is lots and lots of gear that was historically fielded and later faded away. Things like drop pouches for revolver rounds and steel pot helmets. Some stuff just ages out, but other pieces of gear can adapt and keep up. Things like slings, equipment belts, and beyond have adapted and remain useful. Have bandoliers been able to keep up? Are they still relevant?
What’s a Bandolier?
Bandoliers are a minimalistic load-bearing option for carrying extra ammunition. They fit across the body and allow the user to access their ammo quickly. Depending on the design, bandoliers can be worn across the body or the waist as a traditional belt.
Bandoliers first showed up in the 15th century. They rose to popularity at the same time that viable handheld firearms became available. Bandoliers held flasks full of powder to charge rifles. Bandoliers increased the shooter’s ability to safely and rapidly ready their weapon for the next volley.
(GoingBang.Com)
As guns evolved, so did bandoliers. In some cases, bandoliers didn’t hold extra ammo but held extra guns. Braces of pistols were fielded by sailors and pirates alike for close-quarters fighting. As paper cartridges became popular, the bandolier evolved into a cross-body bag that carried extra paper cartridges.
The bandolier became more popular as we moved into cartridge-based firearms, where the revolver and lever gun dominated. Famed users like Pancho Villa wore cross-body bandoliers full to the brim with rifle rounds. These old-school bandoliers could carry a revolver, rifle, or shotgun rounds. These are the stereotypical cowboy bandoliers in which every spaghetti western adorns their cowboys.
In the modern era, bandoliers evolved to carry stripper and En Block clips. The belts from belt-fed machine guns act as natural bandoliers, and soldiers can easily carry linked ammo across their bodies.
As the rise of detachable magazine weapons grew, the bandolier shrunk. Belt systems that used attached pouches and Y Harnesses grew, chest rigs rose, and eventually MOLLE laden body armor became the standard with a side of dedicated chest rigs. The bandolier faded, but not entirely.
The Modern Bandolier
The Army and Marine Corps kept bandoliers lying around. I don’t just mean the cheap cloth bandolier that comes with military rifle and machine gun ammo. The Army and USMC had dedicated three-cell, dual magazine pouch bandoliers made to carry up to six magazines separate from body armor and dedicated battle belts.
Admittedly, these didn’t get much use. I can’t find any photos of GWOT-era troops carrying them. Not much use, but some. My squad leader was a huge fan of bandoliers, namely for resupplying ammo to someone who went Winchester in a fight.
He brought a USMC-issued bandolier to Afghanistan and loaded it down with six mags, and it went in our squad’s boom bag just in case. I also carried two hundred rounds of 7.62 linked in those cheap Lake City-provided bandoliers, and they held up surprisingly well. The main exception to GWOT bandoliers is 40mm bandoliers which became popular for grenadiers.
Still, do modern bandoliers have a place in the military? Not really, in niche roles I think they’re great, but the mounted magazine pouch is more effective, efficient, and intuitive. But what about everywhere else? Is there room for a modern bandolier?
The Argument for the Bandolier
There is plenty of room for the modern bandolier as a minimalist piece of kit that can be quickly and easily tossed on when needed. The most modern option out there comes from IC13 and is known as the INVRT Bandoleer. This setup uses a mix of old and new school to create a modern piece of tactical gear that uses MOLLE to attach pouches of all kinds.
Tuff Products also produces a Bail Out Bandolier, which allows you to carry a ton of extra ammunition. Blue Force Gear also produces Ten-Speed bandoliers. Vertx produces a low-profile bandolier called the Firebase Parabellum. My point is that while niche, there are options out there.
If you need extra ammo in a hurry, you toss this on and go. A bando is faster than a belt or chest rig and offers an advantage to a few different users.
The most obvious to me is a police officer responding to a violent situation who is deploying a long gun. Suppose they need to take down an active shooter and want more ammo. Grab the rifle, and you can throw the INVRT on as you respond to the sound of gunfire.
Tuff Products
The second is the PDW carrier. PDW nerds are a weird bunch, but if you’re willing to carry a PDW, you’re probably willing to carry a reload, a medical kit, and similar items. A bandolier is much smaller than a belt, chest rig, or plate carrier. (It’s me, I’m a PDW nerd.)
It’s also a great way to stash ammunition to bug out. If an emergency happens and you wisely want to bring more ammo, grab the bando and go!
A Niche Role
Niche gear is niche gear, but the bandolier’s low profile, minimalist nature makes it easier to carry, stash, and use when needed. The bandolier might not be a front-line piece of gear, but I think it’s a useful piece of kit that could be helpful when you just need a little extra ammo, and you need it quickly.
Like many of us, I have something of an addiction to packs, bags, pouches, and the like. I don’t know why. I mean, I have totes filled with all manner of carry gear, most of it quite serviceable, but I’m always on the hunt for that perfect one.
The Carry Commission Bum Bag might not be perfect, but it comes pretty damn close. If you’re looking for something to house just a few essentials when you’re out and about, you could do far worse.
Specs
The Carry Commission Bum Bag measures about seven inches across, five inches high, and a couple of inches deep. On the front, you’ll find a large loop patch that’s perfect for a couple of your favorite patches. There is also laser-cut MOLLE.
Opening the bag, you’ll find a single compartment that has two patches of loop material, allowing you to add organizers to the mix, should you see fit.
Two patches inside allow you to add organizers.
There is a single adjustable strap and the bag can be worn either around the waist or cross-body. With the latter, it’s meant to have the bag rest on your chest or your back, not dangle under an arm.
Performance
Okay, let’s call it like it is. This is a fanny pack. I’m old enough to remember when fanny packs were popular, though I don’t know anyone could go so far as to say they were ever truly in style. This Bum Bag is a tactical-looking fanny pack. Period, full stop. By all rights, this should be a goofy proposition, but I’m telling you, it just works.
I’ve found that it’s perfect for just a few odds and ends when we’re going on a quick hike. I’ll toss in a lighter and some tinder, along with a Battarix Power Card for emergency cell phone use and maybe a granola bar, and we’ll be good to go.
The only thing I don’t like is that the Bum Bag lacks built-in organizational capability. Granted, the pouch is small, so it doesn’t take long to find any specific item inside. But I still like to use an aftermarket organizer or two.
I think the addition of an exterior pocket on the back might be nice as well. I sometimes keep my cell phone in the Bum Bag when we’re hiking. That means that if I want to take a photo, I need to unzip the bag and grab the phone. An exterior pocket would be great for this purpose.
I tend to carry the Bum Bag crossbody, with the bag on my chest. This keeps everything easily accessible. And as a bonus, I don’t feel like a dad from the late 1980s.
I recently discovered that there is also an XL version of the Bum Bag. I’ve been fighting the urge to pick one up to see how it compares. But odds are pretty good that you’ll end up reading a review of that one in another month or two.
I don’t watch a ton of Gun YouTube. I watch Primary and Secondary and Gunday Brunch, of course. I also enjoy some of the odd stuff Forgotten Weapons gets, but I prefer other sources of entertainment. When you work in the firearm industry, sometimes you want a break. Somehow, I missed the advent of a new streaming service called Pepperbox TV because I was not watching Guntube.
Pepperbox TV looks to be a Youtuber-created YouTube alternative. We’ve seen lots of YouTube alternatives in the gun world that don’t often take off. The difference is that the Youtubers or Guntubers posting at Pepperbox are still creating YouTube content. It is the same content. The major difference is that they aren’t censored.
Pepperbox TV = Uncensored Firearms Content
The creators should post videos of them attaching suppressors, reloading a gun, or doing something with scary high-capacity magazines! It’s worth mentioning that it’s not just Guntubers. You do have some gun-adjacent Youtubers like the Unsubscribed Podcast, The Fat Electrician, Donut Operator, and Angry Cops on the platform. You can watch their videos, the AK Guy, Admin Results, Demo Rachn, Garand Thumb, and many more.
The main difference between Pepperbox TV and YouTube videos is a lack of censorship. They can show guns, silencers, etc, but also curse, make less-than-polite jokes, and similar bits that YouTube and advertisers don’t care for. Pepperbox TV isn’t free. It’s a 7.99-a-month subscription and is ad-free.
Another subscription service can be a tough sell. It’s cheaper than the nearly 20-dollar subs that most streaming services throw at us. Still, it’s just another streaming service that wants your precious dollarydoos. There are a few bonuses for subscribing. There are bonuses and content that are not exclusive to Pepperbox TV. It also supports creators you might like.
The Other Alternatives
While things like Patreon and Subscribestar exist, they could still be swayed to drop support from creators at a whim. The same goes for YouTube. If you like the presenters and creators on the channel, you might pitch them some monetary support.
Pepperbox TV uses an application that supports mobile devices and a wide variety of smart TVs and smart TV devices like Roku. The app is straightforward to use. You can create watchlists, zoom through your favorite creators, and all that jazz. The creators listed are rather small at the moment, but it will likely grow if successful. It’s not a platform anyone can post on, and it seems to keep an air of exclusivity for bigger, more well-known creators.
Pepperbox TV is up and at ’em now and could be a censorship-free alternative for gun content. I’m not diving in because I don’t watch a ton of gun content on YouTube. Again, my YouTube viewing habits stray from the gun industry for the most part. In fact, if someone launches a small appliance and small engine repair YouTube service, hit me up because that’s what my YouTube is full of.
However, if you’re a fan of the feature YouTube creators, then hop in and give them some support and love. The App works well, it’s easy to understand, and I have no complaints about the execution. It might not be for me, but I can understand the sentiment, and it would be nice to have a real GunTuber alternative to YouTube.
What’s more American than affordable carbines and pistols made right here in the USA? Affordable carbines and pistols in M81 Woodland Camouflage. Well, Hi-Point Firearms just announced the release of a series of pistols and carbines coated in a new M81 Dip Pattern camo.
M81 Camouflage
M81 is a term for the U.S. Woodland Camouflage issued from 1981 through the late 2000s. It’s a pattern that anyone who served during the Cold War knows well. All of my old BDUs from my time in both the Army and Air Force Reserve are M81 pattern. It was supplanted by a number of other patterns with the different branches of the service over the past 20 years. However, it’s been making a comeback though on packs, tactical gear, and gun finishes.
The M81 Camouflage Hi-Points
Hi-Points are inexpensive, but they work. They’re made in the USA, and they’re backed by a lifetime warranty. I have a 10mm JXP-10, and it’s reliable and more accurate than it has a right to be. Hi-Points are heavy and chunky, and, well, kind of plain and angular looking, too. That’s where something like the M81 Camouflage dip pattern finish comes in.
An easy way to spice up that otherwise basic gun is a new finish. Hi-Point has a history of offering a variety of finishes on its guns, but the M81 Camouflage is a new one. They’re applying it to five of their most popular models. The YC9 9mm and JHP .45 ACP pistols, and the 995TS 9mm, 4595TS .45 ACP, and 1095TS 10mm carbines. The upcharge for the new finish is minimal, so even with the trendy throwback finish, you still won’t be spending a fortune on your new gat.
In 2023, the German Military (Bundeswehr) put out a military tender in search of their “German Special Forces Pistol System” to replace older HK P30 and Glock P9A1 service models previously in use. Carl Walther GmbH just recently announced that the German Bundeswehr has selected both its Walther P14 and P14K 9mm duty pistols (based on the Walther PDP) as the new winners of this military tender.
German Special Forces Issued Walther P14 and P14K
Troops within the German Special Forces Command (KSK), along with members of the Naval Special Forces Command (KSM) and other specialized military and police units, will be issued these new Walther pistols. Both Walther P14 variants, the full-size standard-size model and the “K” compact model, are designed around pistol slides with directly milled Aimpoint ACRO P-2 enclosed emitter red-dot sights.
The Walther P14 and P14K are also outfitted with suppressor-height sights that not only co-witness with the Aimpoint ACRO P-2 but will also work with military silencers. These guns are intended for German Special Operations troops, after all.
These modern duty pistols also include Walther’s tactical magazine wells similar to those found in both their commercial Pro and Match variants. In addition, the 9mm Luger magazines tendered with the P14 and P14K include extended basepads in order to increase ammunition capacity.
Otherwise, these pistols are built around the same ergonomic polymer frames that both civilian and other law enforcement shooters have enjoyed since the first variants of the Walther PDP arrived in the American and International firearms markets in 2021.
Bernhard Knöbel, Managing Director of Carl Walther GmbH, comments on winning the tender:
“We are very proud that the Bundeswehr has decided in favour of our PDP variant. It is a personal concern of ours to equip our soldiers – who risk their lives for Germany in extreme operational situations – in the best possible way.”
I never knew much about Olympic Arms. My knowledge stopped at the fact Willem Dafoe carried one in Clear and Present Danger. I knew they made ARs, but that was about it. When I got into guns seriously, Olympic Arms seemed to be a budget AR company, and I never had much knowledge of the company and its happenings. Because of Willem Dafoe and Clear and Present Danger, I wanted to know a little more and quickly discovered this company was wild.
Olympic Arms – The Early Origins
Olympic Arms was founded in 1956 by Robert Schuetz, who originally named it Schuetzen Gun Works. They made barrels and worked with folks like famed gunsmith P.O. Ackley. In 1975, they began producing custom bolt action rifles and thrived. In 1982, they started to manufacture AR-style rifles and used the trade name Olympic Arms. This is where the story really starts.
They did a ton of revolutionary stuff with the AR market. They were one of the few companies to produce everything in-house and remained that way for most of the company’s life. It’s worth noting that AR companies in the 80s weren’t like AR companies today. There weren’t many of them, so Olympic Arms helped pioneer our current market.
Invaluable
They did a lot of interesting stuff in the early days that we’d see as standard today. OA produced ARs in various pistol calibers ranging from 9mm and .45 ACP to new kids like 10mm and .40 S&W. They moved into calibers we don’t traditionally see in ARs like .243 and .25 WSSM. They even produced some of the early free-floating handguards on the market in the form of aluminum tubes.
Olympic Arms did some really neat stuff early on that’s become standard practice these days, but they also did some wild stuff.
Getting Wild With Olympic Arms
Let’s take it back to Willem Dafoe and his odd AR-looking thing in Clear and Present Danger. Olympic Arms was also a pioneer of AR-style pistols. One of their most famous is the OA-93. That’s the gun wielded by Willem Dafoe. The OA-93 isn’t your typical AR and does away with the receiver extension and plants a long tube across the top of the gun and a top charging handle. It’s a fairly unique AR 15 lower serup.
That tube contained the recoil spring since the receiver extension was lopped off. These guns chambered 5.56/.223 and had an uber-short 6.5-inch barrel. They weighed less than some big revolvers at 4.46 pounds. These guns were fascinating. I’m sure they were concussive, loud, and not all that useful. You’re trimming a lot of velocity off of a 5.56 when shooting it through a 6.5-inch barrel.
Olympic Arms
The OA-93 became a series of weapons. Olympic Arms produced a carbine variant with a folding stock and a 7.62x39mm model. We’ll talk a little more about that model later. The 1994 Crime Bill and Assault Weapons Ban spawn two follow-on models.
To comply with the OWB, the OA-96 premiered. It featured a fixed 30-round magazine. The user opened the receiver in a shotgun style to load the magazine. Another model known as the OA-98 trimmed the weight to below 50 ounces, which, as a pistol, made it compliant with the assault weapon ban.
Rock Island Auction
Most companies weren’t this clever or troll-like. Olympic Arms was a bit like a proto-Franklin Armory in producing guns that walked the line, but just barely. I can respect them for the game they played, but it gets tough when we bring up 7.62x39mm.
The 7.62 Conundrum
The 7.62x39mm OA-93 model is one of the most controversial guns ever made. We are a nation of dumb gun laws, and those laws regulate ‘armor’ piercing ammo, specifically handgun ammo. They regulate that ammo by its composure.
The materials the ammo is made from matter. We imported tons of super cheap steel core 7.62x39mm at the time. Since it wasn’t handgun ammo, it didn’t run afoul of armor-piercing ammo importation restrictions.
Legend has it that the cheap steel core ammo was banned because Olympic Arms produced the first 7.62x39mm handgun. Arguably, this isn’t OA’s fault, and even if it is true, it’s the fault of dumb politicians. The legend states they knew it would happen and did it anyway.
Others say it’s not true. Olympic Arms hadn’t released any OA-93s in 7.62x39mm at the time the ammo was banned. They had advertised the gun as coming, but none had been sold. Gunwriter Dean Speir wrote extensively on the subject, cataloging two attempts from distributors to warn Olympic Arms and recalling a conversation he had with the folks at OA in 1994.
The ATF used evidence that Olympic Arms was taking orders at SHOT Show that a 7.62x39mm handgun existed. It’s worth noting that some small number of AK pistols were sold prior to the OA-93’s existence, but they didn’t trigger the ban.
Beyond the OA-93
Olympic Arms continued to do some interesting weapons. They brought back the too-cool Whitney Wolverine .22 caliber pistol. This new model used a polymer frame instead of an alloy frame. The company also purchased Safari Arms and began producing M1911s.
Olympic Arms
In 2013, they announced they would no longer sell products to New York LEOs after a sweeping gun ban hit New York State. They remained in the news quite a bit but ultimately closed their doors in 2017. The OA-93 in 7.62×39 fiasco has clung to their reputation, and you won’t get far in any research about OA without running into someone referencing it.
It might be OA’s legacy, which is understandable but a bit of a shame for a quite innovative company. They made some wild stuff and armed Willem Dafoe in a great movie.
On July 22nd, the City of Chicago dropped its lawsuit against Glock. Yet a day later, it filed a new lawsuit, this time including two suburban gun stores in the mix. The lawsuit, filed by the City of Chicago, with the help of the Bloomberg-funded Everytown for Gun Safety, targets Glocks specifically because of the prevalence of Glocks illegally converted to fully automatic via a ‘switch.’
Remember that according to the NFA, making a machine gun requires a tax stamp and government approval. In 1986, the Hughes Amendment banned the new production of transferrable machine guns. While both laws are unconstitutional, they show that criminals don’t follow the law, even when the punishment is ten years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Chicago and Glock Switches
The basis for the suit is that Glock intentionally sells firearms that are easy to convert to full automatic. Glocks aren’t any easier to convert to full auto than any other gun, but Glock ‘switches’ are prevalent, which allow the conversion. For a long time, these switches have been available online through outlets like Wish and Alibaba. Hell, I remember seeing them on Amazon years ago.
Glock does not produce these switches and has never produced total auto conversions. The Glock 18 is full auto but does not use an attached switch to do so. Imagine Chicago suing Ford because end users illegally modified it, and it no longer meets emission standards. Glock firearms are converted to machine guns, the same reason why we call all tissues Kleenex; it’s the most popular brand.
The original lawsuit was filed in March of this year. The original case claimed that 1,100 Glocks have been converted to machine guns and used in a wide variety of crimes. The lawsuit uses that data to sue Glock for financial damages and as a suit to ban the sale of Glocks in Chicago.
According to Mayor Brandon Johnson:
“The city of Chicago is encountering a deadly new frontier in the gun violence plaguing our communities because of the increase of fully automatic Glocks on our streets. Selling firearms that can so easily be converted into automatic weapons makes heinous acts even more deadly, so we are doing everything we can in collaboration with others committed to ending gun violence to hold Glock accountable for putting profits over public safety.”
The mayor claims they are doing everything they can to end gun violence, except arrest the criminals. Chicago swapped to a cashless bail system. More than once, a person released under this program has been charged with murder or attempted murder.
Chicago’s New Lawsuit
Chicago’s latest lawsuit names Glock and two gun dealers. The city accuses the dealers of being “the most irresponsible gun stores in the country.” According to the lawsuit, these dealers account for 13% of the guns used in crimes. It accuses Glock of selling the guns through irresponsible stores. The basis of this statement seems to be derived from the fact that these stores are Glock-authorized dealers.
According to the lawsuit, these suburban Chicago gun stores violate gun laws and look the other way during blatant illegal transactions. If so, why hasn’t law enforcement arrested the owners, and the ATF revoked their FFL? The ATF has been revoking FFLs at breakneck speed lately. Part of the suit even goes after full auto rentals legally offered by one of the businesses.
ABC NEWS
The lawsuit states that one of the stores lost its federal license in 2022 but was allowed to reopen with a new owner. That is true. The business had numerous failures to comply with Federal firearms law but was able to reopen.
The rest of the lawsuit talks about machine guns and military-grade firepower. It even mentions what the British faced in World War I. One section even digs into popular rap music, which mentions Glock switches. It’s interesting to see and seems a bit silly to mention, but hey, it’s their lawsuit to write.
Who to Sue
I believe I and every American have a right to own a machine gun if we so choose. The lawsuit is frivolous. Logically, it seems like they should be suing the people selling these switches if that was your actual goal. But that wouldn’t get the mayor those sweet gun control points and wouldn’t allow them to target the firearms industry.
Caleb is gone! Lost! Somewhere in the vast reaches of space. So I’m going to talk about rifle stuff again. Is there such a thing as the “perfect” zero?
There are testable performance standards for all sorts of protective equipment, from eye shields to body armor. So, why isn’t there more conversation about how to test your concealed carry gear to see if it’s actually suitable for the role? Look at your carry gear like you would any other piece of personal protective gear: eye protection, hard hat, steel-toed boots, etc.
Evaluating Your Personal Protection Gear
In order for them to actually fit the role appropriately, they have to meet a certain set of performance standards in the “worst-case scenario.”
Let’s use Eye Pro as an example:
It’s not considered “good” just because it stays on your face all day, looks good, and doesn’t pinch your nose. Good eye protection will stop shards of debris that are hurtling toward your face.
But for some reason, once the discussion shifts to holsters, performance suddenly takes a back seat to comfort, aesthetics, and cost.
The fact that it allows you to conveniently stuff a gun in your pants all day and have it stay in roughly the same place isn’t actually the primary function of the holster. The holster is there to support your weapon during A FIGHT!
So, it needs to be able to keep the gun in one spot during an entangled grapple but still allow you to establish a strong firing grip on the gun one-handed and deploy the firearm in the fight.
You don’t evaluate the performance of a Formula 1 car by doing 30 MPH in the parking lot.
Apple Pie and Armalite are two things that are as American as it gets. AR stands for Armalite Rifle, but as many have pointed out, it might as well stand for America’s Rifle. It’s a massively successful American rifle series that’s served our country for decades and has been the dominant rifle amongst police and the average Joe. America produces plenty of foreign-designed guns, but do foreign countries produce the AR-15? You bet. Let’s take a peek at some of the foreign ARs floating around.
Germany’s Hera Arms 15th Series
Hera Arms isn’t an unknown entity in American arms. The company produces a variety of AR accessories, including a series of grips and stocks that you either love or hate. Hera is fresh off the Tomorrow War and producing a huge series of AR-15-type rifles. They all feature Hera Arms furniture, including the futuristic stock and forward grip set.
Hera
This series includes various lengths. They have rifles and carbines, which we would call SBRs. The Hera Arms 15th series has all the modern stuff you’d expect. We get a mix of six-position stocks, precision-oriented options, M-LOK rails, and Hera’s stuff. Outside of the 15th series, we have blowback-operated PCCs, AR-10s, and even straight-pull AR-type rifles. They all retail for more than 2,000 Euros, so don’t expect affordability.
Brazil’s Taurus T4
The Taurus T4 series made its way to the United States. The T4SA, in particular, sold for a seemingly very short period during the great AR rush of the 2010s. The main T4 series are fairly unremarkable foreign ARs. The T4 series directly copies the M4 style rifle with a front sight gas block, six-position stock, and quad rail.
Taurus
Taurus also produces a shorty model with an 11.5-inch barrel in the same basic M4 style configuration. The Taurus T4S for American civilian sales features a free-floating rail and comes with a Keymod handguard. The Taurus T4 series even saw some American police sales as if there weren’t plenty of American options out there.
Chinese Norinco CQ
In classic Chinese fashion, the company Norinco copied the AR-15 design. It came to be in the 1980s and looks like a bizarro AR variant. The Chinese handguard and pistol grip look odd but are seemingly functional. The grip, in particular, looks like it came from a revolver. Legend has it that China acquired M16 copies from Vietnam and went to work creating their own AR.
Wikipedia
Somewhere in the neighborhood of 500 CQ variants were imported into the United States before the Chinese faucet was cut off after they tried to sell weapons to gang bangers. The CQ series was sold in Canada, and the Chinese evolved the weapon to match the modern options with shorter barrels, collapsing stocks, optics-ready uppers, and more. These are still made and sold for export.
Colt Canada C7 and C8
One of the best foreign AR models comes from Diemaco/Colt Canada. The famed C7 and C8 series of rifles were always forward-thinking. The original C7 didn’t waste time with a burst feature; it used spacers to adjust the length of pull, and by 1995, it even had a flat-top upper with a Weaver rail.
Since then, the series has continued to evolve. The C7A2 introduced a rifle-length upper with a collapsing stock design. The C8 series introduced the carbine design for the series that remains successful. The Colt Canada C7 and C8 remain some of the most advanced ARs out there and arguably some of the most adaptable on the market. It’s surprising that the C7 and C8 series haven’t been imported to the United States.
Russian ADAR-2-15
The Russians saw us making our own AKs and said we can’t let that one stand! Thus, they produced their own AR-15, called the ADAR-2-15. It’s most famously in Escape from Tarkov, the I’m vegan equivalent of video games for gun guys. The Adar-2-15 achieves a distinctive look by using wood for the stock and forend.
Gun Wiki
Wood on ARs looks cool, but somehow the Russians made it pretty damn ugly with a bad impression of a Dragunov stock. This might be the ugliest of the foreign ARs. The rifle uses a flat top upper design but a fixed front sight gas block. It’s fairly standard, and even the markings are just lifted from American-made AR.
The World of Foreign ARs
The world of foreign ARs doesn’t end here. It’s been copied far and wide, including by countries you’d never expect, like Iran, Taiwan, and Hungary. The AR is almost as far spread as the AK series, but they typically tend to be a bit more refined. The AR isn’t just America’s Rifle; it’s the world’s rifle.
I’ve put out a few different AMAs on various social media outlets. So, today, I take the opportunity to answer some of the questions about concealed carry, style, and gear.
What are my opinions on concealment-specific clothing alterations?
What are my preferred belts for concealed carry? What’s a good starting point for people who want to learn more about developing and improving their style? Do you currently carry at work?
“1 MOA All Day” is one phrase that makes many people’s skin crawl. I’m not a long-range shooter, so it doesn’t necessarily affect me the same way. However, I do see it as part of gun culture that leads to unrealistic accuracy expectations. I started looking into this when I saw a series of comments on a YouTube video about the weapon’s accuracy. The weapon achieved 2.5 MOA with Winchester M855 ammo.
That’s pretty good, and the shooter in the video stated as such. The comments would have you believe it’s atrocious. The number of people talking about how their AR can shoot 1 MOA all day woke me up to the phrase. In reality, I highly doubt the commenters could shoot 1 MOA all day with their ARs, especially with Winchester M855. I think we have some seriously unrealistic expectations from our rifles.
1 MOA seems to be the standard people expect, and it’s not entirely realistic.
1 MOA All Day- Right?
The United States military expects 4 MOA from an M4 rifle. That would rock the world of YouTube comments. It’s true that your base-level M4 lacks a free-floating barrel and is firing the cheapest US Contract ammo out there. Plus, government contract barrels aren’t exactly refined. When the military needed more accurate weapons, guns like the SPR/Mk 12 series were fielded with match-grade ammo.
Most guns aren’t capable of consistently hitting 1 MOA. Consistently is the keyword. Sure, you might shoot an occasional MOA group, but that’s far from the standard with most guns, especially mass-produced guns. When we shoot three shots and measure our group it’s not telling of any accuracy standard.
If we want consistent MOA, we should be shooting more than three rounds, and it should occur in the majority of your groups. No mulligans, no ‘I threw that one’ etc. If you shoot five rounds or ten rounds, it should still be 1 MOA.
The Reality of 1 MOA
To reliably and consistently shoot 1 MOA, you need three things:
A 1 MOA Rifle 1 MOA Ammo 1 MOA Shooter
Those are your necessities. You can help improve your accuracy potential with all sorts of accessories and techniques. Everything from a prone position to sling tension helps, but we can get into some really crazy stuff. Tripods, lead sleds, sandbags, and more can help eliminate human error, which is often the biggest error.
I’m a 1 MOA shooter….with a tripod. Seriously, I might score the occasional 1 MOA group with nothing more than a prone position, but to consistently do so, I often need a little help. I’m working on it, but that’s what I can do.
Most AR-15s and most affordable bolt action rifles aren’t 1 MOA guns. It’s massively impressive that most bare-bones ARs and mass-produced bolt actions are already accurate guns by most metrics. They might not be 1 MOA guns, but they are crazy accurate for their affordability. We live in an era as gun owners where an accurate rifle can be had for 600 dollars.
That accuracy might result in a 2 to 3 MOA gun, but that’s still way more than enough accuracy to hit a man-sized target at 500 yards. The idea of an inch at 100 yards doesn’t apply to most guns and most ammo. If you look at the ARFCOM 1 MOA All Day Challenge we see the type of rifles that achieve that level of accuracy.
They are high-end guns with high-end ammo. Some ammo is even hand-loaded by folks whose expertise level I don’t really understand. What you don’t see on the list of winners and those who met the challenge is your average AR or bolt gun.
Expecting Accuracy
Accuracy expectations have to be tailored to the gun. It isn’t easy to get superb accuracy from a gun with a long-stroke gas piston system. It’s not impossible to get MOA accuracy from an AR, but it’s not the standard. Realistic expectations regarding accuracy are best set before you start shopping. Getting 1 MOA gun and ammo is easy if you’re willing to pay for it, but being a good shooter takes a bit more practice.
