“Revolutionary” and “Game Changer” and “Innovation” are buzzwords that get bandied about, especially whenever a new piece of concealment tech hits the market. More often than not it’s either a minimal tweak on an existing design, or worse, some poorly thought out gimmicky BS that’s somewhere between a practical joke and criminal negligence. The PHLster Enigma is a true “Game Changer.”
PHLSTER ENIGMA
Now Jon and Sarah will be the first to tell you that they were improving upon the previous incarnation of the Runcible Works YP (Yoga Pants) Holster, but they truly revolutionized. With updated materials and a deep understanding of the mechanics of concealment PHLster set out to create the most modular system possible, so the concealed carrier was no longer limited to what they could hang off of their belt.
When my career change necessitated the daily wearing of suits, I had to overhaul my EDC, because gun belts were too overt, and soft loops & overhooks were an unacceptably conspicuous method of attachment. So at that point I opted for the mouse gun in a pocket holster, understanding that I was sacrificing performance for discretion.
In instances where I was going to black tie events, my solutions were either a J-frame with a Barami Hip Grip (not the most secure option), or a Shield in a fabric kangaroo pouch like Smart Carry (that was more challenging to access)
I personally never had much success just wearing a belt underneath my clothing, although I know that’s how some chose to solve this problem.
CCW With The Enigma
Well now instead of working around various appendix-ish placements I’m able to run the exact same rig whether I’m in my tuxedo, slacks & a sport coat, loungewear, or nothing by my drawers!
Aside from the attachment method itself, the true beauty of the system is the ability to control and adjust the level of tension that’s exerted on the grip & slide sides of the holster independently of one another, allowing the carrier to tailor it to their own morphology and truly maximize the concealment potential.
It also offers the most consistent placement possible. When mounting a gun to your pants belt, you’ll occasionally have to work around belt loops as well as pant rise. These two factors can result in inconsistent access. With the Enigma, that’s no longer an issue. You can always keep the pistol in the optimal position on your body, regardless of wardrobe.
This is just an introduction to Enigma and its potential. Please let me know if you have any questions, or if there’s any configurations/applications you’d like to see!
If you are in the southeast United States, you entered the first week of spring to a pollen storm mixed with being tossed back in the freezer for a final week of winter’s wrath. Admittedly, it’s not as bad as some of your weather, but hey, we didn’t sign up to be marinated and put back in the fridge. To deal with that sudden cold front, I grabbed my new 5.11 Adventure Primaloft Insulated Jacket.
The Adventure Primaloft Insulated Jacket, which is hereby known as the Primaloft because that’s too much to type, is a lightweight, low-profile warming layer. The jacket appears pretty standard. It comes with a hood and a full zip design and is available in black or brown. Mine is the black model. The outside is polyester plain weave, the inside is nylon ripstop, and in between the two sits the 100% polyester PrimaLoft gold insulation.
The jacket has two front pockets that act as hand warmers, and the inside of the jacket is massive and easy to drop items into. That’s the basic rundown of the jacket, and it might not sound special, but trust me, this thing rocks.
The Primaloft Origin Story
SHOT Show has all kinds of meet and greets, parties, and the like, and I was able to attend the 5.11 pre-show meet and greet. Upon leaving, I was given a goody bag, and inside, I found what might be my new favorite jacket. What captured my attention at first was how seriously lightweight the jacket felt. I don’t mean when worn; I mean the overall weight of the jacket is crazy lightweight. Not only that, but it’s super thin and soft. This makes the Primaloft easy to fold up and stash in any kind of bag.
The Primaloft would be a perfect hiking companion or general outdoor jacket. You start in the morning when it’s cool, but you warm up as you move and groove and want to ditch the warming layers. The Primaloft can be stuffed away with ease in your pack. It doesn’t require a ton of room. Or it can be carried into the wild or field on your back without ever taking up much room and then deployed when night falls and the temperature drops.
In my case, I got hot and draped it over my laptop bag as I maneuvered through SHOT Show, airports, and other similar Vegas-born adventures. As the spring cold front rolled in, I tucked it in my daily backpack in the front pocket, and it never disturbed my day. The convenience sold me almost immediately.
But Is It Warm?
Is it warm? It’s downright cozy. The jacket is crazy lightweight but still super warm and comfortable. It gathers and holds heat very well. It punches above its weight class, for sure. It’s not a parka aimed at sub-zero temperatures, but around freezing, you’ll keep warm. When you zip up the jacket and toss the hood on, you’ll be toasty before you know it. In fact, there has been more than one occasion where I have to unzip the jacket to let a little heat out.
I didn’t realize it while in Vegas through January and February, but during this last week of the cold front, an important revelation dawned on me. The Primaloft jacket is a poncho liner turned into a jacket! The poncho liner is my all-time favorite piece of gear. It’s a super lightweight blanket that is incredibly warm and issued throughout the military. The USMC always called it the poncho liner, but it’s also known as the wooby.
The classic field jacket liner was also a poncho liner turned into a jacket, but it lacked a hood, zipper, and pockets like found on the Primaloft. The Primaloft is the field jacket liner turned modern and made handy for the average user. If I were 5.11 Tactical, my first line of advertising copy would be, “It’s a poncho liner you wear!”
Under the Hood
The Primaloft has a few extra features worth mentioning. It’s the little things that separate it from other attempts to create a poncho-liner jacket. First, the chin guard protects you from zipper rub when you’re all bundled up and warm in the field. The hood is elastic for a slightly more form-fitting design that helps retain heat.
Inside the right pocket, you’ll find a piece of elastic cordage. Inside the liner of the jacket is an easy-to-locate locking nut. Press that locking nut and pull that cord, and you can cinch down the bottom of the jacket. This keeps the jacket tight against the body and, again, helps retain heat.
Inside the big pocket of the jacket is a mini dump pouch. You can use this to protect and retain goods. It also adds another layer of moisture protection for phones and other electronics. It’s a feature-filled jacket that adds a different layer of versatility to the design.
The Primaloft jacket has an excellent overall design. It’s lightweight and easy to compress in your pack. The jacket is downright toasty and offers a variety of modern features that make it a next-level field jacket.
The Russians really cling to the AK design. In my opinion, it’s not that the Russians can’t create and adopt a better, more modern rifle. They just don’t really want to. The AK is their brand, and they sell it all over the world. Those sales might drop if the Russian Army stopped using them, plus they are cheap to produce. That’s why the Russians are still using the AK in the form of the AK-12. I know they can make a better rifle because they have an innovation they constantly reject called balanced action.
The few folks who know about balanced action rifles likely know it in the context of the contest in which the AN-94 succeeded. The An-94 beat the balanced action rifles but ultimately didn’t replace the AK-74. It was issued to some special operations and federal forces, but it’s still a fairly rare rifle. That was in the 1990s, but the balanced action idea goes all the way back to the mid-1960s.
The First Balanced Action Rifle
The first rifle that used the balance action recoil system was the AO-38. There isn’t a lot of information on the AO-38. We know it used the BARS system, which was designed in 1965 and fired the 5.45 cartridge. The designer was Peter Tkachev, who would become a rather out-of-the-box thinker when it comes to small arms design. At first glance, the AO-38 looks almost identical to the AK-74. Upon close inspection, the gas tube and receiver cover are a bit different.
(Modern Firearms)
The gas tube is different due to how the balance action system works. On your normal AK, you have a gas tube with a gas port. The gas port redirects gas from the previously fired cartridge and redirects the gas into the gun and against the long-stroke gas piston system to allow the weapon to cycle. Long-stroke gas pistons are pretty hefty, and that weight being shot rearwards increases felt recoil.
On a balanced action rifle, there is a gas tube with two gas ports. One gas port works like a standard AK and redirects gas rearward and against the long-stroke gas piston system. The second gas port redirects gas to a secondary piston that moves a weight forward. The rear moving long stroke gas piston and the forward moving weight move at the same time. The forward weight counteracts the recoil of the long-stroke gas piston.
(Modern Firearms)
The two moving parts are kept in sync by a fairly complicated gear system. This requires some extra room, and the two moving parts require some offsetting to work right.
Evolution of the Balanced Action Rifle
Over time, the balanced action design evolved but was never widely adopted. The AL-7 and AL-4 rifles were designed in the 1970s as a competitor to the AK-74 but were too expensive to produce and lost out to the AK-74.
During the Akaban competition, the balanced action system was on full display. Several entries used the BARS design, including entries by Victor Kalashnikov, like the AL-9 and AKB-1. We also saw the AEK-971 and AEK-978 make their debut. The AN-94 ultimately won the contest, but the AEK series had some minor success.
(Gun Wiki)
The AEK rifles were adopted in small batches by the MVD Internal Troops and various Russian police agencies. Military forces also adopted small numbers of the improved AEK rifles, now designated the KORD 6P67 and KORD 6P68.
The AEK is where we really saw success with the balanced action. I’m not sure how we designate success since the rifle was only ever produced in small numbers. The Russians expanded the AK 100 series with the 107, 108, and 109 rifles that use the balance action design with 5.45, 5.56, and 7.62×39. These rifles were primarily designed for export. Saigia produced a semi-auto-only MK-107 for sport shooters.
(Modern Firearms)
The A-545 and A-762 evolved from the AEK and KORD series of rifles. The A-545 competed with the Russian AK-12, ultimately losing to the cheaper, less complicated AK-12. However, the rifle saw some limited adoption, and it even popped up in Ukraine.
Downsides To The BARS
The BARS system does complete its intended task of reducing recoil. Impressively so. Our best exposure to these guns in the West is the Polenar Tactical video on the MK-107. It seems to be very easy to shoot. The Balanced Action system isn’t without its downsides. As you’d imagine, it’s fairly expensive to produce. It removes some of the simplicity of the AK series.
(Space Battles)
The gear system is complicated, and I imagine if it fails in any way, the gun is done for. This gear system and the small parts used to secure it would seem to be a weak point. Would money and time invested in the system improve it? Maybe, but the small orders of the balanced action guns aren’t going to cause some great innovation.
Admittedly, it’s a complicated way to reduce recoil, but it is still a fascinating system. It makes me wonder, after all that effort and complicated design, did the Russian designers outside of Dragunov every consider a short-stroke gas piston?
Anything that makes my life easier is always a welcome addition. Case and point, being able to open a knife one-handed is a must, and if it can be done with speed, that’s even better. Recently I was able to try out two speedy steel knives that I am completely smitten with for different reasons. Make sure you check with your local laws regarding, blade length and types, and what actions are legal in your area.
Speedy Steel: Benchmade
The moment I opened the box to the Benchmade 3300BK-2001 Infidel I knew I was going to like it. Based on Benchmade’s popular Off-The-Front (OTF) Infidel platform, what makes this line special, is that it is only being offered for 2020 with blue anodized handles. And the 3.91-inch double-edge blade features CPM-S30V steel with a black DLC finish. With some OTF knives you’ll have some play with the blade and surprisingly to me there was almost zero play.
The main attraction to this Infidel, besides the blue handles, is how incredibly quick it is. The Infidel deploys and retracts with an extremely easy to use switch that has a very positive feel to it. Carrying it for a couple of weeks I didn’t have any accidental deployment of the blade. Which is good, considering how sharp the blade is.
The knife weighs 4.9 ounces, is 8.91 inches opened and 5 inches closed. The tough 6061-T6 aluminum handles are 0.59 inches think and feel great in the hands. The clip is Benchmade’s Deep-Carry, with the tip pointed down. Visit benchmade.com for more info and check secondary markets to get your hands on one.
Zero Tolerance
ZT’s 0357BW assisted opening knife completely caught me off guard. It has quickly become one of my favorite go-to knives. The opening action is ZT’s Assisted SpeedSafe and it is quick, it caught me by surprise the first time I pulled back on the flipper. It feels great in the hand and has this understated look — it’s a working knife built for tough conditions.
The 3.25-inches CPM 20CV blade has cut through anything that I have thrown at it (within reason). I really like ZT’s deep-carry pocket clip (which has taken a beating) for ambidextrous carry in the tip-up position. I like that the knife doesn’t stick so far out of the pocket.
The knife weighs 4.3 ounces, is 7.625 inches opened and 4.4 inches closed. The G10 black handles feel great in the hands and offer the right amount of retention. The handles are 0.47 inches thick and blade is finished in ZT’s BlackWash coating. Check it out for yourself at zt.kaiusa.com
I’m guilty of it. I’m guilty of telling people the amount of finger they put on the trigger matters; in fact, I used to think it mattered a lot. The problem was that I never really went out and tried it myself. By the time I considered myself a decent shooter, I had forgotten the importance of the trigger finger. I remember the classic graph someone made that said if you’re using too much trigger finger your rounds will hit here. If you use too little trigger finger, your shots will hit here. Does finger position matter?
Remember those diagnostic targets that were popular a decade or two ago? They advised the same thing. The question is, does it matter? Does it really? To what degree does it matter, and is it universal or maybe applies more to one weapon and one task than all of them? Before we go out and find out, I have a theory. I’m betting with a handgun within 25 yards. It doesn’t matter at all. I grabbed the Sig Sauer P365 I carry everyday and a few boxes of ammo, and went to the range.
Finger Position — Too Little & Too Much
I started with a simple printed Sage Dynamics target at a mere ten yards. I began with too little finger on the trigger and fired a simple three round group. My finger was on the trigger only enough to pull it. Not bad, fairly typical. I repeated the process with way too much trigger finger, literally as much as I could put through the triggerguard. I fired my three round group and it was near identical to the first group.
Finally, as a control group, I fired three rounds with what I figured was the perfect grip. Again, the groups were identical. I seriously have a problem keeping one round tight to the first two. I’m not sure why, but with each group, I dropped a round a good bit away from the main two rounds. That’s a major annoyance for me personally, but it’s not tied to my finger position.
I backed off to 25 yards and used a steel gong. I repeated the three-round test, with my finger position in the too little, too much, and just right positions. The end result was the same. I landed all three shots on target without any issues. Even at 25 yards, there isn’t a variable that is big enough to cause a miss. So, does finger position matter, specifically with a handgun?
No, but yes.
Let Me Explain
My finger position doesn’t matter for overall accuracy. Regardless of where it is, I can still hit the target and generate the same accuracy. When it comes down to our accuracy testing, there isn’t a problem. However, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try to use just the right finger position. You don’t have to be incredibly specific, but you should be somewhat specific.
I did a little more than accuracy testing slow fire. I ran a few Bill Drills and 10-10-10s and discovered there are some limiting factors with improper finger position.
Too little finger on the trigger means you are going to lose control of your trigger and it will slip off the trigger. When it slips off the trigger your firing cadence goes to hell. Then you have to find the trigger again and get back on target and resume firing. You’re losing fractions of a second and risking speed.
Too much trigger finger, especially on a small gun, is just uncomfortable. Too much trigger will find your finger rubbing on your support hand in a not-so-comfy manner. Plus, it might catch on your support hand and prevent you from fully pulling the trigger or allowing the trigger to fully reset.
Finger position matters a little. When it comes to accuracy, the most important thing is grip. A strong, consistent grip is what allows you to shoot accurately and consistently. You can pull the trigger any which way but loose and still shoot accurately, as long as your grip is steady.
Outside of Handguns
When it comes to precision rifles, I’d assume the trigger finger position matters a good bit more than with handguns. I’m no precision shooter, but I did some research and found plenty of precision shooters with accolades advising of proper finger position. To the degree it matter I can’t rightly say. I’m willing to bet it is more about consistency than the measurement of position. It just turns out pulling with the pad of your finger is the easiest way to be consistent.
Overall, if you want to shoot accurately, worry less about your trigger finger position and more about your grip. However, make sure the trigger finger can consistently pull the trigger without unintended interruption. It’s that simple.
The saying always goes something like “The AR-15 isn’t a military weapon, the M4/M16 are totally different.”
Really?
They are totally different? So when the US Air Force purchased select-fire AR-15’s they weren’t military weapons? The US Army adapted those into (eventually, after a snag and snafu or two) the Technical Data Package for the M16A1, and in that instant it became a totally different gun?
It magically materialized mystical military might when the ‘M’ designation got tossed on the front of it, eh?
Stop. No More.
The M16 and M4 are AR-15s. They are just specific AR-15s.
M16 Vs. AR-15
It is astonishing to me how many groups online, especially veteran groups full of people who carried these professionally, will shout at the top of their caps lock about how the M16 is totally different than the AR-15. Vastly different. Not even remotely the same. Leagues and leagues apart. Two totally separate machines that bear only surface deep resemblance.
Now if we were talking about the M1 Garand and the M14 you could be onto something. But the M16 and most commercial AR-15’s have nearly universal parts interchangeability. How is that so if they are totallydifferent?
In instances where the parts are not interchangeable, this was usually done for one of two reasons. Reason one, the part is proprietary and looks to enhance a function through its departure from the conventional design. The KAC E3 Bolt for their SR-15’s for example. Reason two is that the company is leaping through hoops of flaming pedantism to separate their product justenough from a ‘military model’ to satisfy some arbitrary rule emplaced upon them by government busybodies, while notalteringthefundamentalmechanicsofthefirearm. An example would be the Heckler & Koch SL8, which is just an HK G36 dressed like a dork because a dork makes the export people happy.
I blame the industry’s ‘Modern Sporting Rifle’ phase. Where we went so out of our way to show that these normal firearms are.. well.. normal.. that we avoided certain terms like the plague. We hid so snugly in our “Wellll ACHuaalllllyyy…” rabbit holes that we got lost within.
This is compounded by the fact that people pontificating upon the vast gulf of difference in ARs and M.. Rs? should not be doing so. They don’t know. These same folks will proudly and confidently enter Ye Olde Local Gunstore, grab literally any brand of cheap AR-15 off the wall, and then proudly proclaim how it is “exactly what I carried in _______.”
Bro, that is an ATI. The receiver is plastic and the barrel is steel in mostly a notional sense.
You can get a near 1:1 copy of your issued rifle, from a company that actually makes that issued rifle, using nearly all of the same exact parts. But it isn’t $569.
What did they change so it isn’t a “weapon of war” anymore?
Well, nothing that makes it any less useful. Just some stuff to make the folks in D.C. smugly happy they did something.
Differences
Difference one, lack of auto or burst components. These are a small selection of springs, a lever, and slightly different trigger group parts that allow the gun to fire in full auto safely. Yes, safely. You can totally turn your semi-auto AR-15 into a “fully auto” bullet hose with “a file” like the rumors say, but that is literally breaking the safe function of the rifle and is hellaciously not safe to do. Screw the illegality of it, you’re risking an unsealed detonation of 50,000 psi rightnexttoyourface because the auto/burst components aren’t there to safely regulate the automatic setting. Don’t do that. It’s dumb.
Difference two, because the M4 uses a 14.5-inch barrel, per its specification, this consumer facing model must have a “permanently” (not removable by hand or simply a wrench and torque) attached muzzle to make the arbitrary ‘safe’ length of 16 inches. This is to comply with the National Firearms Act.
In every single other respect, that is your M4. Except it is new and hasn’t been dropped repeatedly, stacked, lost, found, left in a port-a-potty, left on a mountain, cleaned excessively because staff had nothing better for troops to do, and so forth.
You can also build out a better rifle than the M4, one that uses higher quality materials, higher quality coatings, is better attuned to commercially available ammunition, better accuracy because you can use a floated barrel, and many manymany other personalizations that can enhance how this very simple and effective personal firearm fits into your life.
“But, Keith… War..”
Shut it. Stop. The AR-15 is a personal weapon and we haven’t fought wars with only personal weapons since… ever. Siege engines are in their 28th century. We’ve had siege artillery for about 24 centuries. Even when the personal weapon is the primary method of injury it is using those personal weapons in some manner of coordinated formation that facilitate the conduct of warfare. The AR-15s physical existence does not make it a weapon of war, its use in warfare by regular and irregular forces conducting their operations does.
The use in warfare does not in any way, shape, or form make something unsuitable for use by an individual not participating in a war. The AR-15 is so good as an individual rifle because it is… a good rifle. It is well designed, light, reliable, and simple to learn and use. Well designed, reliable, and simple to use are traits we desire out of every one of our tools, if at all possible. Phones, cars, computers, ladders, DIY furniture items, all of these that are worth the money you spend on them share those same traits with the AR-15.
So… Enough
2024 we stop the mind numbing madness of the M4 being this ‘wholly different machine’ (yet somehow with all interchangeable parts) from the AR-15. It’s an AR. The M16 is an AR. The Military uses ARs and so do we.
You ever have one of those days where you open up the internet and ready what has to be the dumbest thing you’ll read that day? Typically it’s a Twitter hot take, but this time it came from the mouth, or well, desk of an elected government official. A government official making $174,000 dollars to represent the great state of Florida. His name was Maxwell Alejandro Frost and he’s introduced a bill focused on closing the Zombie Guns Loophole.
Frost represents Florida’s 10th Congressional District, is a Democrat, and has worked as the national organizing director of March For Our Lives. He’s worked on numerous Democratic campaigns and received over a million dollars from Ponzi-scheme enthusiast Sam Bankman-Fried and his associated Super-PAC.
The Rise of the Zombie Guns
Yep, first it was ghost guns, now it’s zombie guns, and apparently a loophole. Of course, anything gun grabbers dislike becomes a loophole because it’s a war of vocabulary rather than actually just using any form of factual and logical arguments. If you, like me, are quite confused about what a zombie gun is, could be, or how we can close a supposed loophole.
Frost defines it for us: “zombie gun is exactly what it sounds like – it’s a gun that should not be living, it shouldn’t be able to operate, it shouldn’t be in use, and it shouldn’t be able to harm or claim another life – but it does,”
According to Representative Frost, the zombie gun loophole is a loophole that allows “gun disposal companies to only destroy one part of a gun before reselling the remaining parts as a kit that could be used in the next act of gun violence that devastates a community.” I didn’t realize there were gun disposal companies. He later clarifies via his website that:
…government agencies across the country are unknowingly fueling a secondary gun market when they send retired, seized, and surrendered guns to gun disposal companies that destroy one small part of the gun and resell the rest. In most cases, purchasers are even able to avoid the most basic requirements, such as a background check.
Oh Wait, Zombie Guns Still Don’t Make Sense
Oh, so he’s talking about companies who agree to destroy seized guns in states that mandate that and actually destroy the serialized portion of the firearm. They destroy the frame or receiver of the firearm but sell the pieces from the gun on the secondary market. Make no doubt about it. Like most anti-gun politicians, Mr. Frost knows nothing about guns. A lawmaker should know that the frame or receiver is the firearm. These companies are destroying the firearm.
The second part, regarding background checks, is laughable. Do I need a background check to buy grip screws for my gun? What about a magazine follower? He continues to elaborate by saying:
“Closing the loophole that has allowed gun destruction companies to collect taxpayer dollars for only destroying one part of the gun and not the whole thing is undoubtedly contributing to the gun violence we are seeing in our communities today. I refuse to see another life taken or another family devastated because of gun violence. We need to destroy zombie guns now.”
Education Optional
Knowledge of firearm laws would help Representative Frost immensely. If he had a little bit of an education on this, he’d know the companies are destroying the gun. That ‘one part’ of the gun is the portion considered the gun. In most cases, all of these parts can be found elsewhere and purchased as parts. Closing this supposed loophole won’t have any effect on gun violence.
The effect will just be shutting down a fairly small stream of niche parts being sold on the aftermarket. The press releases and several co-sponsors state that this bill will be effective in stopping gun violence. Do they, at any time, point to a single time when a zombie gun has ever been used in a crime?
Nope
Do I believe that Representative Maxwell Frost believes this will stop any gun violence? No, I don’t think so. It’s a vanity bill. A bill that targets a very niche thing that will get Frost media attention. I live in Florida, and I’ve never heard of this guy til now, so it’s working. Sadly, he picked one of the dumbest things he possibly could to be a vanity bill.
Is all press good press? Maybe, but man, oh man, I wouldn’t want my name on this bill. Do I think it will pass? Not a chance, but I’m betting Frost thinks the same way and he can get a double dose of fame when the bill fails and he can complain about zombie guns again. Good gosh, maybe they can target werewolf guns next. You know, those guns that become more dangerous under a full moon.
At SHOT Show 2024, Canik unveiled the new 9mm Canik TTI Combat, a gun designed and produced from a collaborative effort with TTI (Taran Tactical Innovations). This isn’t a full-on review, but I wanted to share my first impressions of the gun because the first batches are arriving from Turkey and starting to ship to dealers. I’m far from ready to pen my official review, but I picked mine up a few days ago. The next day, I had the chance to not only zero the dot but also put some rounds through it. This gun was certainly one of the most attention-grabbing items at the Century Arms booth this year.
The Canik TTI Combat on display at the Century Arms SHOT Show 2024 booth.^
Canik TTI Combat
All Canik handguns including the new TTI Combat 9mm are based on a simplified version of the Walther P99’s proven semi-auto striker-fired action. In fact, Walther itself still uses a very similar P99 action, as seen in both the Walther PPQ and the Walther PDP. And although I had some issues spring up with my steel frame Rival-S after the initial review, I still very much enjoy this pistol and think it makes a fine shooter. (These issues had more to do with the challenge of taking a polymer-frame based design and translating them into the production of a metal-framed pistol. As far as I know they’re past that learning curve, because I’m still seeing the Rival-S showing up at matches or other shooting events).
In the case of the new Canik TTI Combat, it takes after the Canik METE series. Everything about the new TTI Combat has been spec’d out by Taran Tactical Innovations themselves and this gun is also the first Canik factory handgun to ship with a compensator along with a spiral fluted ported barrel. I plan on shooting/reviewing this gun with Canik’s Mecanik MO3 reflex sight: this is their big window, competition-focused reflex sight with a 6 MOA dot. The Canik TTI Combat on display at the Century Booth [pictured above] also had the Mecanik MO3 mounted. The MO3 itself also intrigued me because I don’t see or hear much about these in general.
Canik TTI Combat Details
The Canik TTI Combat’s unique slide serrations and lightening cuts along with the combination of bronze Cerakote contrasted with black polymer frame makes the TTI Combat stand out. It’s outfitted with a very nice trigger and compared to the METE’s moderate default grip texture, the TTI Combat’s is considerably more aggressive. Lastly, the standard iron sights are fantastic and provide the shooter an awesome sight picture. The rear sight is plain with horizontal serrations and wide square notch while the front sight is tall and comes equipped with a green fiber optic insert. I fell in love with this sight picture and almost felt bad having to mount the dot, but it’s 2024.
For optics, the Canik TTI Combat’s slide is cut the exact same way as the Canik METE slide is, so it can take a Trijicon RMR-CC directly on the metal. Like the METE it includes the standardized Shield RMSc plates. Last but not least, it does include a thin plate with the Trijicon RMR/SRO footprint which is the pattern that matters to me the most, especially because that’s what the MO3 uses.
A view through the fairly-new (launched last year) Mecanik MO3 reflex sight. It has a roundish window similar to the Trijicon SRO but has a 6 MOA dot and cat ears instead.
TTI Combat Downrange
My single range session (so far) consisted of zeroing the Mecanik MO3 at 10 yards and confirming zero at 25 yards. With the zero confirmed, I shot the Canik TTI Combat off the bench along with both my handloads and factory loads next to my Labradar chronograph in order to get muzzle velocities and some groups. Once I finished gathering this data ahead of the official review, I also had some fun. I did what came naturally and shot some NRA B-8 targets at 25 yards. I shot 40 rounds for practice and warm up and then shot two 10-round strings at two separate targets for score, for fun and to see what capabilities my handloads gave me.
With my “standard” 115-grain 9mm load that consists of Berry’s 115-grain plated bullet over 4.5-grains of Hodgdon HP38, I shot a 97-1X. I shot the second target with a new load I’ve been working up that consists of 5.2-grains of Alliant Blue Dot under a 147-grain Berry’s plated RN bullet. I shot a 97-5X with a very annoying and disappointing “flyer.” But I’ll take both scores especially considering how new I am to both that red-dot and pistol combination. I know my pistol handloads won’t win any matches on the 50-yard line at Camp Perry but the confidence from knowing they can nail a B-8 at 25-yards is crucial for my purposes in cranking out these handloads.
Looking Forward
Shooting two fairly high scores (for me) with the TTI Combat on its first day out certainly gave me a great impression of the gun, especially with its easy trigger, aggressive grip and excellent iron sights that stand out. Furthermore, having never handled any Mecanik reflex sight, my initial good impression of the SHOT Show floor is still true after mounting it and shooting it 150 rounds in. I’m really looking forward to putting this pistol through its paces. In a rush to get out to the range, I also forgot to wipe down and lube prior to shooting, but the pistol didn’t seem to mind.
I’ve recently taken a renewed interest in the idea of a civilian PDW. The term PDW, or Personal Defense Weapon, has evolved over time. At first, it was a class of firearms that sat somewhere between a rifle and a submachine gun, a notable example being the P90. The Russians were the first to say let’s just make a super short rifle with the AKS-74U, but America has caught up to them. Guns like the SIG Rattler in 300 Blackout redefined the military PDW. In my opinion, the civilian PDW is a bit different, and I’ve been chewing on the idea since SHOT 2024.
(HK)
Ever since the nationwide brace ban injunction, we’ve seen a new rise in braced firearms. The new P365 Raider from Flux Defense, aka the Panty Raider, is what piqued my interest in the idea. At SHOT, we saw the release of the MP7 from Tommy Built Tactical, a Rock-based MP7 lookalike from PSA, and even a dress-up kit from FarrowTech for the KelTec CP33 that kinda filled that same roll.
These and others, fill that Civilian PDW role and got me thinking about the usefulness of a civilian PDW, what the parameters of one should be, and how would you carry, deploy, and utilise the weapon. With this all in mind, I wanted to explore the concept in a series of articles, starting with this article that lays the general groundwork for the concept.
Putting In The Research
This isn’t an original idea, and I certainly didn’t come up with it. In doing my research, I found it’s been around in a few different forms for quite some time. Arguably, the concept of a truck gun isn’t too far from this idea. YouTuber Brass Facts has a video that I watched during my research. If you’re interested in the concept, watch his video. He lays out some great reasoning, suggestions, and more.
I started with the initial concept of the PDW, which was started by NATO. The idea of a weapon that sits between a pistol and a rifle made sense. It should be small and compact but capable, easy to shoot, and reliable. For the civilian market, it would also need to be concealable for daily carry.
With this loose set of rules, I was able to come up with a few different genres of potential civilian PDWs. My plan with this series is to explore each of these categories with a series of tests that will involve accuracy, speed, ease of carry, deployment, and overall ease of use.
Potential PDWs
I’ve broken down potential PDWs into four categories.
Braced Pistols
By braced pistols I mean kits that are enveloped or engulfed by braces. This genre is mostly dominated by the Flux Raider series and the RT 20/20. I am not including the Roni kits or similiar apparatus. While those are fine for plinking and fun I don’t thing they are fantastic for serious use.
(GunMagWarehouse)
Subguns
Subguns are technically and legally pistols, but I’m separating them for clarity’s sake. These are guns like the CZ Scorpion are pistol-caliber weapons that mimic SMGs. The smallest models, sometimes known as the K models, are candidates for a civilian PDW.
Quick Attach Pistol Systems
An underrated but practical option is a quick-attach brace or stock design that can be attached to your handgun in seconds. This type of system has very limited options, but hopefully, we’ll have more than one to test. It’s pretty far from the civilian PDW but it might be capable.
Folding Rifles
Everyone knows what I mean when I say folding rifle. There are only really two, and that’s the KelTec Sub 2000 and the S&W FPC. These offer a rifle option for a PDW.
Carrying & Testing
I won’t be using a super tactical or specialty bag. I aim to use a fairly standard-looking bag. It can be tactical in some ways but should appear plain and not overly large. I have a few in mind. We plan to get this series kicked off in the next few weeks, so stay tuned and drop in to see where we’ve landed on the civilian PDW.
I recently reviewed the Tisas 1911A1 ASF single-stack .45-caliber M1911A1 pistol elsewhere which naturally entailed live-fire. The Tisas 1911A1 ASF is neat because it’s a modern replica based on the most common Second World War M1911A1 military pistol, the variant produced in Syracuse, New York at Remington-Rand.
M1911A1 Pistol
While Remington-Rand is tangentially related to the original Remington Arms Company of Ilion, New York, Remington-Rand’s core business was the manufacturing of typewriters. During WW2, they took on a government contract to produce M1911A1 pistols for the war effort. Out of the five different manufacturing concerns that made such guns (Colt, Ithaca Gun Company, Singer, Union Switch & Signal and Remington-Rand), Remington-Rand by far produced the most units from 1943 through the war’s end. As such, Tisas modeled the 1911A1 ASF on this commonly produced Remington-Rand variant. Besides the profile of the grip-safety, they did a very good job. Assembled parts fit well, slide-to-frame fit is very reasonable with only a bit of rattling, and the manganese phosphate (parkerized) finish.
There’s very few things that aren’t faithful to the original pistols made during the war. One is the omission of the original style steel firing pin for a more modern [and safer] titanium unit. The other is that the supplied magazines are different in the witness hole pattern and follower shape. Of course these magazines are also modern production items from Mec-Gar. For a gun that has a list price of $479 MSRP, it’s really not bad for the money at all. And unlike other Tisas M1911A1 catalog offerings, this handgun is parkerized instead of Cerakoted. Not only does it look right and feel right, but I think it helps in reliability. When it comes to certain critical dimensions and the differing thicknesses between surface treatments, things can get funny. Historical underpinnings aside, this might be the Turkish gunmaker’s best USGI style 1911.
NO EXPECTATIONS
This post isn’t about the Tisas per-se. Honestly, when I took on the assignment to do the main review elsewhere, I was primarily interested in the gun’s historical angle. Initially, I was indifferent at the notion of shooting yet another plain-jane pistol with crappy USGI sights and basic features. Including the lack of ambidextrous safeties. After all, this isn’t the first M1911A1 clone I’ve shot, and it probably won’t be the last.
I’ll confess that I pulled up to my gun club with no expectations. I actually ended up enjoying the review and had some fun shooting and running a vanilla 1911, even with the grip-safety burrowed into the back of my hand and rubbed my skin off in that spot. I even ran it under a shot timer for a couple of runs and managed to shoot .21 splits with 230-grain ball ammo (power factor 190.44) on some Bill Drills.
THE EPIPHANY
Again, showing up to shoot a plane-jane with bad sights and a standard 16-lb recoil spring that favors reliability over smoothness, made me feel somewhat ambivalent about it. Nonetheless I applied the finer details on handgun shooting that I picked up from Hunter Freeland while shooting this review. Freeland is a talented shooter and the way he drove his Staccato-P left an impression on me. Since I was shooting a 1911, this was subconsciously on my mind.
After all, what is a Staccato, but a modernized 1911 with double the capacity?
So as I’m mindfully going over the various skills from his course in drawing, gripping, prepping and shooting this 1911 for the review, it hits me: The true beauty of this 113-year old design. The core elements of the 1911 really do make for a wonderful shooting pistol. The 1911 draws well, presents well and points well. The proportion between the size of the trigger guard and the rest of the fronstrap is conducive to an excellent support-hand grip. And the trigger–oh man, even the basic GI trigger on this pistol is hard to complain about. In spite of the fact that it has the shorter A1 style trigger shoe, it consistently breaks at 4.5-lbs and has such a lovely reset.
Without her “make-up” and extra add-ons in the way of extended beavertails, ambi-safeties, magwells, better stocks, etc, the 1911’s true beauty and utility shined through and made itself known in a way I had never before seen. But it’s not something I’d have been able to pick up until reaching a certain level of experience. Even though this plainjane gun leaves much to be desired in almost every category such as sights, capacity, on-board features, tuning, etc, I also began to look at it in a different light after recognizing the gun for its basic virtues.
STATING THE OBVIOUS
I suppose you can summarize this whole post by simply saying “shooter of the new generation discovers what the geezers have known since the dawn of time.” But in all seriousness, it’s cool to see from my modern perspective how an ancient design can clearly show all the underpinnings needed in a performance pistol.
Unless you have a Nagant revolver or figured out a way to seal the escaping gases between the cylinder gap, a suppressor on a revolver won’t help you much. Sure, you’ll reduce the sound signature but only about one to two decibels. A better way to reduce your sound signature is by finding some subsonic rimfire ammo to work it. Aguila and CCI offer ammo to help bring your rimfire revolver bark down to suppressor levels I tried three of them to see what would work for me and my nine-shot, 4.75-inch barreled Heritage Rough Rider.
Aguila Super Colibri
This 20-grain lead bullet cartridge was hands down the quietest of the three, but it also had the lowest velocity of just 590 feet per second (fps). There is also no felt recoil at all, and it is just a blast to shoot. It is a perfect cartridge for small-game hunting, target shooting or getting someone new behind the gun.
Aguila Sniper Subsonic
This other load from Aguila is recommended for use in barrels longer than 20 inches. Of the three, it is the heaviest at 60 grains and the quickest at 950 fps. It was quieter than a regular .22 LR, but definitely not as quiet as the Super Colibri. I did get some keyholing with this load, which wasn’t surprising, as it needed a longer barrel to help stabilize the bullet.
CCI Quiet-22 Segmented HP
This CCI load was the Goldilocks cartridge for me with a bullet weight of 40 grains and a velocity of 710 fps. The bullet is designed to separate into three equal parts upon impact. As far as noise level, it was quieter than the Sniper Subsonic, but not as quiet as the Super Colibri. I find this load the best for taking care of pests and varmints around the home.
Wrap Up
I would suggest the trying out the Sniper Subsonic load if you plan to use the Heritage Rancher Carbine or a 16-inch barreled Rough Rider. The other two loads are perfect for discreet target shooting, taking small game, pest/varmint control or teaching someone new to shoot. Either way, the combination of these loads and the Rough Rider made for a fun time at the range.
The firearms industry and standardization are not good friends. For some reason, choosing one pattern for anything is often terrifying. It’s why we still have a dozen different optics cuts. One thing the industry has more or less standardized on is handgun sizes. We seem to have settled into a comfortable area for the various handgun sizes, so I figured I’d break it down for new shooters and give them an explanation of these more or less accepted sizes.
Digging Into Handgun Sizes
There are seven major handgun sizes that are more or less reserved for automatic handguns. Revolvers are a bit of their own world, of various sizes, for various purposes. We’ll cover automatics today and revolvers in another article. These sizes aren’t quite universal but are as close as we can get in the firearm industry.
Full Size
Full size is the duty-sized handgun variant. They are typically defined by a barrel length between 4 to 5 inches. These guns are typically around 5.5 inches tall and hold anywhere from 15 to 20+ rounds of ammunition when chambered in a caliber like 9mm. They tend to be doublestack firearms in the modern era. They are a popular choice for duty carry, competition, home defense, and concealed carry, with those who go a little hardcore with it.
Compact
Compact can be deceptive in its name. I’ll admit, it was the first time I saw a gun described as compact. I thought it was a bit of a bad description. Compact guns tend to have barrel lengths that are 3.7 to 4 inches or so. The height is about five inches max, and they also tend to have doublestack magazines. These guns are often considered the perfect jack-of-all-trades handgun size.
A new type of compact in the form of guns like the P365XL and the Hellcat Pro has introduced a thinner-than-average compact option as well. They are well suited for concealed carry, duty, and home defense.
Subcompact
Subcompact guns typically have a barrel length between 3.1 to 3.5 inches and tend to be 4.17 inches tall. These smaller firearms can come in both single-stack designs and doublestack designs. Most of the time, the subcompact handgun sizes are smaller versions of duty-sized and compact firearms like the Glock 26 and SIG P224.
Most companies also defined their single-stack 9mm handguns as subcompacts. Guns like the Walther PPS and Glock 43 tend to be thinner but roughly the same size in terms of length and height as their doublestack alternatives.
Micro Compact
Micro compact brings us a relatively new set of handgun sizes. These guns came about in 2018, and they were started by the premier of the SIG P365. A micro-compact tends to have a barrel length of about 3 inches and a height below 4.5 inches, depending on the magazine length. The defining feature of these firearms is their 1 to 1.1-inch wide grips with the ability to hold at least 10 rounds in a flush-fit magazine. These guns are typically reserved for concealed carry.
Competition / Long Slide / L
When we reach the bigger-than-duty size length, we start to see a mix of terms used to describe the guns. The two most popular are competition and long slide, with L often being the marker of a Long slide variant. These guns feature barrels that are typically 5.25 to 6 inches long, but they can be longer on occasion. This section of handgun sizes makes use of full-sized frames, so the height is still around 5.5 inches. These tend to be guns used for competition and hunting but are also somewhat common duty and home defense options.
X / Carry
Handgun sizes are always evolving, and one of the newer options is the X or Carry Models. Glock and SIG started the theme. Glock has the most famous model in the form of the Glock 19X, but SIG also has the P320 Carry, and the Arex Delta X is another X model. These guns combine a compact-sized slide and barrel length with a full-length grip module. They are popular for reasons unknown to me, but they tend to fill the same genre of firearms as compacts and are popular as jack-of-all-trades guns.
Pocket Pistol
The smallest of automatics are known as pocket pistols. These firearms are named because they very easily drop into your pocket. They often have single-stack magazines and feature a capacity of six to seven rounds. These guns have barrel lengths between 2.5 to 2.8 inches. They tend to be in calibers like .380 ACP and .22 LR, but .32 ACP and .25 ACP are not unheard of.
Handguns Sizes & You
In this online age, more and more people are shopping online. I often find that online descriptions are somewhat lacking. Some people may be looking for something that’s more akin to a micro compact and think the gun-size compact will fit their needs. Hopefully, this will give you a quick reference to handgun sizes and their uses.
One of the most American things you can do is to take something you own and make it personable to you. We do it to our houses, cars, trucks and even firearms. It’s an American tradition to take something stock, tinker with it, and make it yours and one-of-a-kind. Then we show it off to our friends and family with a “look what I did” grin on our faces.
BARREL UPGRADES
One of the easiest upgrades to do to your handgun is replacing your barrel. If you know how to field strip your pistol, chances are, you know how to replace your barrel. A typical aftermarket barrel will improve your accuracy by about 10% to 20%. And with the improved accuracy, you can also add some flair to your handgun. Most of the barrels are offered in various colors, threaded/non-threaded, different styles of thread protectors and several different designs of being fluted.
We’ll look at barrels for two very common and popular platforms, the Sig Sauer P365 and Glock 19. For the P365 variant, Lone Wolf has several new offerings, and Ballistic Advantage also has new offerings for the Glock platform.
Ballistic Advantage
Located In Florida, Ballistic Advantage started making barrels for ARs, eventually teaming up with Aero Precision and offering various AR barrels and receivers. New for them are Glock barrels for the Model 17, 19, 26 and 34. Some of the barrels are offered for Gen 3-5 Glocks, non-fluted, spiral fluted or QPQ Bomber fluted. All barrels are threaded and offered in various colors (iridescent, light gray, copper, gold and black). They also offer two types of thread protectors—the standard and Skull Crusher version (offered in the same colors as their barrels).
The barrels themselves have a SAAMI spec chamber, hood chamfered on three sides, and a unique cam slot positioning. They feature a 1-in-10-inch-twist rate, button rifling and 1/2×28 threaded muzzle. What does this all mean? As Ballistic Advantage calls it, “match grade performance, duty grade reliability.”
I chose the G19 Gen 3 barrel in PVD copper with spiral flutes and their Skull Crusher thread protector in the same finish. The host gun was a Lone Wolf’s 80% Freedom Wolf lower and Zev Technologies OZ9c slide with a Trijicon RMR on it. Installation of the barrel was easy breezy, and I was off to send lead downrange.
I have put almost 500 rounds through the barrel with it showing minimum wear. Shooting off-hand, I did feel that accuracy was improved. As for the looks department, I feel the addition of the Ballistic Advantage copper barrel has improved this G19 clone by 1,000%. Check out all of their Glock barrels and variations at ballisticadvantage.com.
Lone Wolf Arms
Located in Idaho, Lone Wolf Arms for years has been offering various aftermarket parts for Glocks, even recently offering their newest handgun, the Dusk19. Recently, they branched out and offered barrels and slides for Sig Sauer P365 and P365XL under their Dawn line. The barrels are offered in threaded or non-threaded and in ORB, black, FDE and Graphite Gray finishes.
All of the barrels are made from 416 stainless steel with Lone Wolf’s Dawn profile and finished in PVD. The hood pocket and profile facets help reduce the bearing surface for faster cycling and coating wear resistance. The thread barrels all have a 1/2×28 threaded muzzle.
I chose the Dawn365 in the ORB finish, which is dark copper and bronze in color. The host gun was a Wilson Combat WCP365 with a Trijicon RMRc on it. Installation of the barrel was also quick and easy, and I immediately appreciated the new look of the pistol.
The Dawn365 barrel also had almost 500 rounds through it, showing almost no wear. Accuracy, I felt, was also improved. I can’t express enough how much I like the look of the WCP365 with the Dawn365 OB barrel in it. It is a looker. Check out Lone Wolf Dawn products at lonewolfdist.com.
One Other Change
Tyrant CNC photo
The WCP365 unfortunately came with Sig’s standard mag release, which I felt was too low profile. I switched mine out with a Tyrant’s P365 Extended Mag Release, offered in black or gold. The new release fits all models of the P365 and is made of 17-4 stainless steel. The grooves help for a more positive engagement of the release, and it just feels and looks so much better. Tyrant couldn’t have said it better with, “…this extended magazine release isn’t just an upgrade—it’s a necessity.” Check out their mag release and other products at tyrantcnc.com.
The country of Haiti has recently been at the forefront of news media. The situation has escalated into violent gangs roaming the streets and ousting police and military forces. These gangs are heavily armed, and the most prominent leader is reportedly a cannibal named BBQ. (The name BBQ is not related to cannibalism, and it comes from a family member’s business.) The news media has given extensive coverage to the situation on the ground, and plenty of photos of armed gang members have circled the world.
(reddit)
These gangs are calling on Haiti’s president, Ariel Henry, to resign. Henry met that request on March 11th, and efforts to create an interim government are currently underway. I have nearly zero knowledge of Haitian politics, so I certainly won’t offer my take on that situation. However, I am fairly knowledgeable about firearms, and the guns of the Haitian crisis have been interesting to see.
The Guns of Haiti
Haiti lacks any infrastructure to produce firearms, and there are no firearm manufacturing facilities in the country. Where did all the guns come from? Many will quickly blame the United States and classify it as a policy failure. Bear in mind they are already breaking several laws, including international laws, to smuggle these weapons into Haiti. How one more law would stop this practice seems to be up for debate.
(AP)
There is certainly a degree of smuggled weapons. The aforementioned cannibal leader, Jimmy ‘BBQ’ Cherizier, is carrying some kind of PDW-style AR rifle. This seems to be an American-made rifle, likely an illegally smuggled rifle. However, the majority of the rifles I see in the hands of these gang members appear to be taken from the Haitian police and military forces.
A number of the anti-gun pieces on this subject show photos of Haitians wielding a variety of rifles and even belt-fed machine guns, but those aren’t coming from the United States. These are rifles issued to the police officers and soldiers in Haiti. Over and over, I see these articles blaming the United States while the photos they use to illustrate appear to be stolen firearms.
(Haitiinfoproj Twitter)
While I don’t deny smuggling happens. The United States has stopped numerous smugglers and seized numerous weapons. However, the guns being used by these gangs appear to be coming from the Haitian government. Whether it’s corruption or theft remains undecided.
Putting an Eye On the Guns of Haiti
The leader of the G9 Family gang, Jimmy ‘BBQ’ Cherizier, wields a short PDW-type AR, much like Bin Laden wielded that famed AKS-74U. It looks to be a 7.5-inch AR with a PDW stock. The rifle utilizes a Magpul AFG grip and a red dot and sling I can’t identify. He’s seen using two ETS magazines that are clamped together with the magazine’s integral clamping device, which now makes them clone-correct for a Haiti warlord build. His gun is the one that stands out the most.
Other weapons likely smuggled from the United States are various AK-type pistols. These guns lack stock and come in numerous sizes. This includes the famed Dracos, as well as some N-PAP designs. I even saw one with a brace adapter but no brace.
(Daily Star)
There have also been a few AR-15s that appear to be fairly standard rifles. The Haitian military does have M4s in their armory, so some could be stolen, or they could have been smuggled to the country. I think some of these are smuggled because of the lack of sights, non-standard rails, and non-standard stocks.
A few Glocks have popped up, but those are so eponymous its tough to say if they are imported or taken from the military and police.
Stolen Military and Police Firearms
One of the more interesting pictures shows a gang member wielding a shorty G3 rifle with a red dot and a folding stock. It’s crazy short for a .308, but that’s also been a weapon we’ve seen soldiers of the Haitian military utilize. I don’t think .308 offers great short-barrel ballistics, but here we are.
Another rifle that is becoming more and more common amongst the gang members in the IWI Galil. The Hatiain National Police are armed with a variety of Israeli-made weapons, including the Galil, as well as the Negev, which was seen in the hands of gang members as well.
(CBS News)
There have also been some M16A2s, which are also part of the armories of police and military forces in Haiti. The same goes for M14 rifles, which have also been seen in the hands of gang members.
The guns we see in the hands of the gangs are mostly the same guns we see in police and military hands. The Galil is the most common, but the M14, M4, shorty G3s, and M16A2s have popped up in police hands. One of the most interesting pictures shows a Haitian police officer wielding an M1 Garand.
A Failed State
Haiti has always been a bit unstable. The current crisis has been in effect since 2018 but escalated very quickly. The mish-mash of small arms comes from several sources, often given as aid. There is no way to know how the situation will end, but as of now, it seems like a lot of Haitian military and police weapons are on the streets.
The Terminator film is one of the best science fiction movies ever. It’s a thriller, or maybe a horror with elements of action. Imagine a killer robot programmed to pursue and kill you. It can’t be reasoned with any more than your toaster can be reasoned with. It comes at you, and the next thing you know, there is a laser on your chest, and some guy dressed like a homeless person is carrying an Ithaca 37 and telling you to run.
Terminator isn’t a gun film per se, but it did have some pretty cool guns for a 1980s film. One of the famed scenes is our Terminator heading to Alamo Gun Shop to arm up for his pursuit against Sarah Connor. When he’s turned down for a plasma rifle in 40 watt range he settle for Earth’s standard lead throwers. This includes an AR-180, a SPAS-12, an Uzi, and the famed AMT Hardballer Long Slide with the massive laser riding above the slide.
Lasers on guns might seem normal now, but in 1984, no one had really seen something like that. It seems ingenious to use the sight for aiming: just put the laser where you want to shoot, and a bullet will appear. You never have to worry about sight picture or focus; just point and shoot. While I have no definite way to prove it, I bet Terminator would help sell more lasers for guns than any other influence.
Keep in mind that in 1984, the laser attached to the Terminator’s AMT was a one-off design. It didn’t exist on the market. People likely wanted something they couldn’t really get until years later. Where did the laser come from? Well, that’s a bit of an interesting story.
A Terminator & A Laser
Lasers on handguns were new in 1984 and very rare. Only one existed, and they didn’t mount it to a 1911. Laser Products Corporation was the first company to produce a weapon-mounted aiming solution. The original device, the LPC Model 7, was designed to be mounted on a Colt Trooper. It replaced the front and rear sight and sat along the top of the gun.
The LPC Model 7 featured a set of iron sights across the top as well. This system required a massive battery that fit the grip of the Colt Trooper and extended the grip a fair bit. These were big devices with tape switch that activated the laser when the weapon was gripped. The LPC Model 7 was a helium-neon laser and was ruggedized for recoil.
This all comes into play because Laser Products Corporation began making other systems. This includes laser sights for the shotguns that were carried by the police standing guard at the 1984 Olympics. (These same shotgun laser devices would be shown in the Arnold movie Commando as well.) A movie propmaster saw the lasers, and something clicked. He reached out to Laser Products Corporation.
The Terminator Gets His Laser
A mount and laser for a semi-auto handgun didn’t exist at this time period. Laser Products Corporation agreed to build a laser for the AMT Hardballer. Ed Reynolds, the cofounder of Laser Products Corporation, got to work. According to Ed:
“A company called Hemdale [Film Corporation] came along and said, ‘We’ll give you the gun, and you put the laser on it,'” Reynolds recalls. “They provided the AMT HARDBALLER .45 LONG SLIDE. Our Colt Trooper .357 had the same laser configuration, so I took one of those and created a housing for it. I took a standard, off-the-shelf gun mount for a scope, modified that, and we had a product. The only thing I got out of it was the advertising, a hat, a t-shirt, and a sweatshirt.”
Ed’s custom gun didn’t have room for a battery pack. Instead, the battery and laser connected via a wire. They hid the wire in the Terminator’s jacket throughout the film. They built a second non-working model without a wire and without a battery. Ed attached the laser to the gun via a scope mount, and the system utilized a button the Terminator had to activate with his left hand.
It took 10,000 volts to fire up the laser and get it running for the film. All of the scenes in the movie with the laser being used are the actual laser. There were no special effects. It was the actual laser on screen.
Future of Laser Products Corporation
That little company, Laser Products Corporation, well, they became a little company you might have heard of. Laser Products calls themselves SureFire these days. SureFire still makes lasers, but their focus is mostly on lights, with a healthy obsession for suppressors and muzzle devices as well. They’ve come a long way from Terminator, and that Terminator likely helped sell a lot of lasers.
