World of Firepower - June 2018 USA

TACTICAL
BOOT
SNIPE ISSION
OLDIER’S LIFE
BUYER’S
GUIDE
VOLUME 6 | ISSUE 3
AAC
HALCYON
TWO RIM-FIRE
SILENCERS IN ONE CUSTOM
OWN THE
NIGHT
FINETUNE
YOURNIGHT
PCC AR BASED
VISION
SKILL PISTOL CALIBER
CARBINE
BUILD
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MAY-JUNE, 2018 5
COVER
STORY
42 The Ground Up
A full-custom AR-Based PCC Build
FEATURES
14 Own the Night
54 34 Surefire steps to proficiency with
night vision
22 Night Shade
A one-of Grey Ghost Precision Glock build
34 Halcyon Daze
Advanced Armament Corporation’s Halcyon:
Two rimfire silencers in one
54 Lace ’Em Up Good

Tactical boots for any eventuality
68 Simply Efficient
Springfield Armory’s latest Range Officer
Elite Operator 1911
80 Never in the Dark

EDC flashlights—tough, reliable and bright
88 Updating an Icon
80 22 Steyr AUG A3 M1: Up-to-date, modular and
American-made
100 Tankland USA

A visit to the American Military Museum
departments
06 First Words
08 Uncovered
10 Reload
12 Dual Blades
108 Ground Zero
112 Pocket Dump
114 Five
100
« on THE COVER
Subject: Custom PCC build
Photography: John Teator | Designer: Yekaterina Sverdlova
MAY/JUNE 2018 VOLUME 6 • ISSUE 3
EDITORIAL
Jason Mulroney Director of Content
John Scott Technical Editor
Kelly Nomura Executive Managing Editor
Karl Funke Managing Editor
DESIGN
Katia Sverdlova Design Director
the road
David A. de la Torre, Jr. Art Director
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Reuben Bolieu, Jason Davis, Michael Furrer, George Huang,
Michael Penhall, Richard Schultz, Mike Searson,
John Teator, TracerX, Chris Tran
ahead
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We think it’s fair to say that at his or her Elsewhere in the issue we outfit and test John Bartulin Account Executive
core, any firearm enthusiast is a surviv- a custom Glock 17 with gear from Grey (866) 866-5146 ext. 2746
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alist at heart. Indeed, our basic right to Ghost Precision and a handful of others, Gennifer Merriday Advertising Traffic Coordinator
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self-protection and preservation is a cen- once again proving the great customiz-
tral tenet in the American Constitution’s ing potential of the Glock platform and OPERATIONS
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Own
the
Night
Surefire Steps to Proficiency
with Night Vision
T E X T BY MIK E GL OVE R
“We own the night…”
have heard that mantra repeatedly over Understanding the importance of nighttime close—fatal range for most. Lee was the 18C
I my career in Special Operations. Our

ability to operate under the cover of dark-
ness translates to total domination of our
objectives against fully armed terrorists—and
no casualties for our team.
operational proficiency needed to “own the
night,” you would think that the training
cycle in the months leading to combat
would be saturated with nighttime training.
Unfortunately, that is not the case.
Special Forces Engineering Sergeant. Our
entire room shook violently. The sandbags
surrounding my bunk shifted and emptied;
our room filled with a thick, brown cloud of
Afghan sand.
I have conducted the containment of an I was exhausted, and my mind was cloudy,
objective by surreptitiously surrounding it,
and due to our nighttime capabilities, I came
Nightly Attacks but repetition of immediate action drills in
the event of something like this drove me
within a few feet of an armed insurgent In 2005, I was in a remote American fire to search for my gun. It is as if I operated
who had no idea we were there. base in Afghanistan. We were attacked on muscle memory alone—full autopilot. I
nightly by nasty and destructive 107mm threw on my kit (plate carrier, helmet, etc.)
The ways in which the technical and tactical rockets. I was a young 18B or Special Forces and grabbed a 240B Machine Gun. On my
aspects of nighttime warfare have turned Weapons Sergeant, and I was on a “moun- gun, I mounted a thermal scope with the
the tide in the global War on Terror are tain team” in 3rd Special Forces Group. ability to differentiate heat signatures in the
numerous. I will not go into them all, but darkness. It displayed them, bright white
we must consider night operations to be a Lee, my bunkmate, and I were thrown out against the cold black background.
crucial aspect to mission success. of our beds by a rocket that was danger
MAY-JUNE, 2018 15
Inside
Fieldcraft
Survival
Observing that the average citizen is not
properly equipped to preserve life in worst-
case scenarios and with a continual desire to
serve in some capacity, Mike Glover forged
Fieldcraft Survival in 2015. Eighteen years of
experience, coupled with lessons learned,
paved the way to provide American Citizens
with the tactics, techniques, and procedures
to survive in potential disasters. Fieldcraft
ofers information gathered by former Special
Operations soldiers and subject-matter
experts in their field of expertise to build better
Americans.
URL: FieldcraftSurvival.com
Hello, insurgents! “let us say you want

Our fire base had a battle drill for such an event, with priority being
to prevent a direct attack from the ground. From where we were on to learn how to shoot
the base, the second story of our mud hut would give us the best
advantage to keep overwatch and prevent such an attack. Lee and
I made our way up to the rooftop with night vision mounted to our
with night vision and
helmets. Along with the thermal scope on my gun, there was nothing
we could not see. As I set up, I looked through my scope and I tried to
an IR laser… Although
identify the Point of Origin of the rocket attack—the POO. Yes, the POO.
it seems like two
The 107mm rocket has advantages, depending on which end of the
projectile you find yourself. It can be launched off a rock shelf and separate and simple
stabilize itself for a flatter trajectory, which is great for a shoot-and-run
style of attack. Therefore, typically, POO sites were unoccupied; but
I was hoping for the best. In a gunfight, you want the high ground;
tasks, it is complex.”
yet as I traversed our surroundings under night vision, I saw we were
surrounded by mountainous ridgelines.
I saw a heat source that looked like a potential launch site. I began
to communicate its location to Lee so he could “paint it” in order to
provide me with an infrared (IR) beam leading me to any potential
insurgents at the site.
Thermal and night vision are very different technologies, so this was
problematic to say the least. The IR beam on Lee’s gun was not able
to translate into anything visible within my scope. I could not track
the IR beam without giving up the thermal sight picture. I could see
the IR laser through my helmet-mounted night vision, but that turned
everything green, which meant no heat signatures. I had to raise those
up to then look through my thermal scope. I moved back and forth
between optics until I built up the confidence that what I saw through
each was the same and I had a valid target.
Once I was satisfied with my sight picture, I would work, what would not, and that there
let off a short burst of 7.62mm rounds at the is a comparative relationship between you
target. Some of these were tracer rounds, and the enemy which must be understood to
rounds mixed with a very small amount of succeed.
organic fuel that causes an incendiary effect.
The round is then traceable from the gun to “Our equipment versus theirs” is one
the target with the naked eye. relationship that must be understood
immediately. How can you gain fire
As we shot into the pitch-black Afghan superiority? The rest is a learned ability to
night, it occurred to me that from the know who your enemy is and to guess what
enemy’s perspective it would be relatively their reactions to your actions may be, always
easy to identify my location by following staying one step ahead. Luckily for me, I
the tracer back to my gun, with me behind would spend nine more months that year in
it—a potentially fatal scenario. Though our Afghanistan, where I would train, learn and
enemy had no night vision capabilities, fine-tune my combat skill set while serving
tracer rounds were now a potential danger. with America’s finest warriors.
Every time I fired a burst of rounds, the
trajectory of my rounds was not only clear,
but I became a visible POO to the enemy who Training
would eventually do to Lee and me what In my nearly 20-year career in Special
we were attempting to do to them. As I was Operations, I have been to almost every U.S.
formulating that conclusion, I heard a loud Army Special Forces school available. I have
WOOSH as a 107mm rocket roared over our been to advanced close-quarters battle (CQB) proficient in such a crucial aspect of modern
heads. Before Lee and I could react, the rocket training, Sniper school, and air controller combat operations. Our training time, in my
impacted into the rear of our base—again school, where I learned to direct aircraft in mind, was not being fully optimized.
danger close. the middle of a fight—which can be a crucial
skill in large-scale nighttime warfare. I have
“That was close!” I screamed over the
explosion to Lee.
attended advanced Military Free Fall (MFF)
School and technical surveillance courses.
Transition to
Regardless of the curriculum offered, I had Fieldcraft
With such a large kill radius upon contact, had great leaders that kept me proficient by When I separated from the military and
that rocket impacted anywhere in front of us, it sending me to these schools and training me transitioned into running Fieldcraft Survival,
would have meant certain death. I looked at Lee; well. I honed my skills outside of combat. my business based in Durango, Colorado, I
we did not need to say anything for us both to Every single school I have been to never really started to realize that civilians did not have a
know it was time to get off the roof ASAP. emphasized night training paired to that skill structured process to learn the proper mindset
set. Nighttime operations were still relegated or technical skills needed to overcome what
Lesson to something we learned on the teams—

outside the schoolhouse. I remember thinking
life throws at them. The skills were there to
learn, but there was no readily available mode
Learned it was probably an administrative or safety of delivering those skills to potential students.
In this one isolated situation, I gleaned some protocol that kept us from doing a lot of night
very indispensable knowledge about modern, training, but whatever the reason, we were I started my company keeping in mind that to
nighttime warfare. I quickly learned what not capitalizing on the opportunity to become effectively impart knowledge to someone and
instruct them you must Keep It Simple, Stupid
(KISS). I came up with Isolate, Rehearse,
Repeat (IRR). The premise behind IRR is
that the end state in training is typically a
culmination of several sub-tasks, smaller skills
and specific training principles that must be
mastered individually before the student can
be considered proficient in the culminating
event.
For example, let us say you want to learn

how to shoot with night vision and an IR
laser, much as you would during nighttime
combat operations. Although it seems like
two separate and simple tasks, it is complex,
and you must understand how night vision
operates, how your gun operates and how
they operate together.
Therefore, you may start with learning the

capabilities of night vision. I would suggest
walking around with the night vision on to
NightVision
build your understanding of depth perception, vs. Thermal
loss of peripheral vision, how it reacts to
different light sources, what familiar things Thermal Optics detect radiation or heat, and
look like under night vision, so you may because the subject’s temperature is higher
than its surroundings, the thermal optic will
begin to differentiate objects—and how all
provide an image. Since they detect radiation,
of this may hinder or benefit you. Once you
thermal optics do not require visible light.
have isolated any task that is to be learned,
you will then rehearse the task until you are
Night vision requires a light source to provide
unquestionably proficient at it.
an image. In many cases, the stars and moon
provide enough light to produce an image, but
shadows make it difficult to see small details.
You are not

done yet… Heat radiation and light are both parts of
the electromagnetic spectrum, but an optic
You will repeat the task until there is designed to amplify light won’t see radiation
uninhibited muscle memory. Once you think energy, and vice versa.
you have completely ingrained that task into

your memory, conduct an honest assessment
of yourself—what we call an After-Action man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”
Review (AAR). What can you improve on? That statement is at the core of my teaching
Isolate those areas for retraining. What can philosophy and training methodology when
you sustain when translating from training I seek to mold others into becoming better
to operational environments? Every time trained and proficient modern survivalists.
you have a culmination exercise for a new The Army taught me that I could be trained in
skill, you must do this. It is the best way to anything. I could be and would be a jack-of-
constantly improve, and remember to go back all-trades, if I wanted to; however, if I wanted
to the drawing board with things that need to perfect a skill set, if I truly wanted to be
work. a master, then I would have to train on my
own—when nobody is there watching. So that
is what I did. Once I understood the concepts
Value of NVD and familiarized myself with them, I was able
Night vision is one tool of many that, when to take the specific tactics and perfect them as
utilized with other equipment, can greatly it applied to my job in Special Operations.
increase your chances of operational success. Likewise, for your own career or even
When I was in Special Forces Sniper School, we hobby, you can follow those same steps to
were exposed to a few night iterations that proficiency. Always repeating the tasks until
were more for familiarization than perfecting they are innate actions. Because I was a
a craft. The takeaway was that once you are Sniper, I started studying every type of optic,
given a taste of what right looks like, you laser, and rangefinder I could get my hands
need to take your own time to perfect your on to understand how night vision could
craft. Learning skills takes a great deal of give us the upper hand in combat. I started
personal responsibility and work ethic. You to discover, as I evolved as an operator and
will never be spoon-fed proficiency. shooter, that I was only scratching the surface.
I use this same concept when I teach survival Remember, once you receive a block of
tactics for Fieldcraft. I can philosophize instruction from an individual, institution, or
and give you really great information in a other entity, when you leave the classroom
class, but if I don’t give you the tools and that was only the beginning of the process. It
wisdom on how to implement those Tactics, is what you take away from that experience
Techniques and Procedures (TTPs) in your own and begin to train early and often that makes
environment, then I’m not doing you any good the difference in mastering that skill. You
and you will not leave the class better than do not have to be a Special Forces sniper to
you came. understand the best way in which to tackle a
problem. You just need to be teachable, and
It reminds me of the old saying, “Give a man disciplined enough to commit to and trust the
a fish and you feed him for a day, teach a process.
THE I T-BEARING HOLSTER
YO U ’ EN HUNGRY FOR.
The Omnivore holster set the bar for versatility, fitting over
230 pistols. The light-bearing Omnivore takes the accessibility
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It’s the Omnivore you’re used to – but with a bigger appetite.
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MAY-JUNE, 2018 23
A One-Off
Grey Ghost
Precision
Glock Build
T EXT & P HOTOS BY M I K E S EAR S ON
« A trade-in G22
frame provided
the foundation
for this build; the
Many of my firearms in my younger years
were built in an effort to save money.
Later on it was to build something that no
price was right
and it included one else had or in other cases a repair or
the bulk of the
parts we needed. restoration effort.
started building things when I was a
I kid. New York City is a tough place to

grow up poor and when there wasn’t
enough money to go around when I
needed a new bicycle, I built my own from
parts I scrounged.
This time was different. This time I decided
to tackle a Glock.
For many people this may seem like an

easy build, maybe even one they have
tackled numerous times in the past. In my
It was never any great feat of engineering case it was a bit different. I currently own
but I gained a better appreciation than any
of my other friends—who bought (or stole)
their bikes in the fourth grade—for bicycle
chains, how gears worked and, more impor-
tantly, how brakes functioned. That same
approach helped me later in life as my
interests turned to cars, motorcycles and, of
course, firearms.
MAY-JUNE, 2018 25
six Glocks (19, 20, 30S, 40, 42 and 43) I decided to build a Glock 17—the one mod-
and each one is pretty much a stock pistol el I had never owned.
except for the sights or another small part
here and there. I have always viewed the For a slide and barrel we reached out to
Glock series of pistols as I viewed a Honda Grey Ghost Precision (GGP). That company's
Accord or Toyota Camry. They are reliable new slides had caught my attention late in
working firearms that do their job and do 2017. I knew I wanted an RMR cut, but I
it well. also wanted the ability to run iron sights. I
did not care to have lightening slots cut in
That was my position until I started looking the slide. I wanted Grey Ghost's aggressive
around and saw what other people were hexagonal chevron serrations and their
doing with their Glocks, and for the first match-grade barrel.
The slide features
time I saw untapped potential in these an RMR cut and
Grey Ghost's
striker-fired, polymer-framed pistols. aggressive hex- Looking to the frame, I briefly considered
agonal chevron
serrations—but we building from an 80% lower when I realized
opted to skip any
lightening slots. that I could find a perfectly good Glock
frame on the secondary market. A police
«
The pistol features
a match-grade
barrel, a Velocity
arms trigger and
a ZEV firing pin
safety spring that
we feel made the
trigger pull almost
a half pound
lighter.
went this route because we lost the cursed

factory spring and had to order another one.
A Taran Tactical Ultimate Connector went on Last, we went with Strike Industries pins Bacon worked his signature “brain pattern”
our new 9mm trigger housing/ejector to to replace the existing pins because we into the grip, which resulted in a texture
pull the last bit of factory creep out of our had no idea how long the existing pins had that is not too aggressive yet yields a good
trigger. been in the pistol. hold whether you're wearing gloves or not.
I retained the finger groves since with the
Some of the other parts that we needed CUSTOMIZING undercut trigger guard they line up perfectly
were the slide plate and the guide rod/ For a build like this, I wanted an undercut for my XL-sized hands.
recoil spring. We sourced these from Strike trigger guard and a different type of stip-
Industries and found each one to be a true pling. Knowing that any attempt on my part Our base gun was really taking shape, so
drop-in fit. The Strike Industries Slide Plate would probably result in our being crowned we turned to two components we consider
allows for easy removal without tools, so the “Ugliest Gun of 2017” contest winner, I critical to a fighting handgun: sights and a
we found that to be a nice enhancement. sent the frame off to Russ Bacon of Nevada light. Glock factory sights are pretty much
The steel guide rod and shock buffer system Cerakote for him to work his magic with “place holders” until you can find some-
went in just as easily as a stock captured laser stippling in an effort to improve the thing better. One of our other Glocks, a G40
recoil spring. texturing of the frame. in 10mm, still wears the Austrian plastic in-
serts because we installed a Burris Fast Fire
MAY-JUNE, 2018 27
We found a suit-
able holster with
a Werkz Origin
Custom Kydex
unit, which fully
accommodates
the Laser Max
Spartan and the
Trijicon RMR to
make this pistol
surprisingly con-
cealable.
3 on the MOS plate, and we were prepared and in the light the dot is powered by fiber
to follow suit with this version until we optic. The fiber-optic top strap of the RMR
learned that the Grey Ghost slides will only goes nicely with our Disruptive Gray Matter
fit a true Trijicon RMR. color scheme, too.
We think the RMR is the best sight of its As I still pick up iron sights faster than the
type so we ordered a Dual Illuminated ver- dot on a handgun, we looked for a set of
sion rather than one of the battery-operated irons that would co-witness and turned
models. This sight’s dot is powered by the to Ameriglo for that company's suppres-
technology behind the ACOG: tritium and sor-height sights. We debated going the
fiber optics. In the dark the tritium lights up, threaded-barrel route to add a suppressor as
As it turned out,
the Grey Ghost
slides will only
fit a true Trijicon
RMR. But we think
the RMR is the
best sight of its
type; ours is a
Dual Illuminated
version rather
than one of the
battery-operated
models.
.
ecided to go with that option at a

later date. Werkz also
supplied a double
magazine holder
in black carbon
For the final touch we installed a Strike fiber weave to
match the exte-
Industries magazine well. The body mounts rior of the OWB
holster.
in the grip plug and secures via set screw,
and the funnel attaches to the base in the
same way.
ACCESSORIES
For a weapon mounted light we decided
on a light and green laser combination
and chose the Spartan by Lasermax. The
Spartan is lightweight, powered by a single
AA battery and installs in less than a minute.
However, its unique shape means that you
need to go the custom holster route, and very
few makers build a holster to fit any firearm
equipped with this particular setup.
As luck would have it, we found a suitable

holster with Werkz. They shipped us a
standard OWB rig in the form of their
«
Origin Custom Kydex Holster, with black
carbon fiber on the outside and blood-red
carbon fiber facing the body. This holster
fully accommodates the Laser Max Spartan
and the Trijicon RMR. Werkz also made us
a matching double magazine carrier. For
the magazines themselves we went with
MagPul G17 units.
Werkz also let us try out one of their IWB

holsters in standard Kydex. At first we
thought that a full-size pistol with a weapon
light might be a bit bulky to carry IWB, but
this well-designed Kydex rig actually was
more comfortable and concealable than we
thought possible.
For lighting, we
DOES SHE SHOOT? decided on a light
and green laser
With the new Glock build complete and combination, the
Spartan by Laser-
lightly oiled, we ran it through the paces at max—lightweight,
powered by a
our local shooting range. We tried a variety single AA battery,
and installs in less
of ammunition types, including American than a minute.
Eagle 115-grain FMJ, Remington 124 FMC
and Hornady 147-grain XTP. Our target was
set up at 25 feet.
The American Eagle brand gave us a decent

grouping and while the Remington UMC
let us down a bit, the real surprise was the
Hornady. Our three five-shot groups had all
rounds touching in a clover leaf that would
have made Saint Patrick smile.
The signature
“brain pattern”
texturing from
We suffered no stoppages or malfunctions Nevada Cerakote
results in a grip
of any kind. Our home-built pistol ran like that is not too
aggressive yet
the proverbial well-oiled machine. yields a good hold
whether you're
wearing gloves
or not.
PROBLEMS
Despite the RMR’s “always on” nature it still
took us a bit of time to acquire the dot, and
then we realized that part of the problem
Nevada Cerakote also performed work on the trigger guard, helpful for
those shooters with XL-sized hands.
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The final touch

was a Strike
Industries maga-
zine well, which
mounts in the grip
plug and secures
via set screw; the
funnel attaches
to the base in the
same way.
we faced now was that the taller rear sight As we found, than likely have us switching back to on
customizing a
had the potential to obscure the dot until Glock has a ten- the other models in the future.
dency to open a
the pistol was perfectly aligned on target. Pandora's Box; the
Another issue is that the lens coating on possibilities are All in all, this build was very satisfying a
almost limitless.
this RMR made the sight picture a bit darker aside from losing a few small springs in
than we would like, which was fine for the beginning it was almost trouble-free. Th
dot, but less optimal for our taller sights final result was an accurate and reliable
should the RMR cease to function. Glock that was unique and surprisingly
concealable with the proper holster.
We have seen other shooters have their
slides built with the rear sight mounted in The real problem now is that this projec
front of their reflex sight of choice. While a has opened a Pandora’s Box and will un-
shorter sight radius may be an overblown doubtedly lead to more Glock builds in t
first-world problem, make sure your sight’s future. At times during this process I wa
optical coating does not make acquiring thinking that it might be cheaper to buil
your sight picture difficult. a 1911, although definitely not as quick
as easy.
Or, maybe do not get overly concerned with
the ability to co-witness your sights. In ret- Yet sometimes that’s the greater reward
rospect, this was the only part of the build it comes to building something you enjoy:
I would have done differently. The RMR having a finished product of which you ca
definitely allows for tighter groups than the be proud, regardless of the time, money a
irons, but the dark lens coating will more energy it took to get you there.
ADVANCED ARMAMENT CORPORATION’S HALCYON:

TWO RIMFIRE SILENCERS IN ONE
T E X T & P H OTOS BY MIK E SEARSON
hether you call them take it down to a 3.4-inch can that weighs Multiply that by the thousands of forms being
W
Full size is 5.28
silencers, suppressors, inches with a scant 4.5 ounces. Switching back and forth processed and it adds up. Form 3 approvals
a weight of 6
mufflers or cans, we ounces, but if takes just seconds without tools just like the have been reduced from 4-6 weeks down to
you want to
have always found the keep a shorter company’s Ti-Rant 45M and Ti-Rant 9M. 24 hours and sometimes less because of the
profile you can
rimfire versions to be the most useful and take it down to a bar code. We recently had one come back in
3.4-inch can that
practical. The latest one from AAC weighs a scant When our good friends at Silencershop.com less than an hour.
4.5 ounces.
(Advanced Armament Corporation), the asked us if we wanted to try it, we leaped at
Halcyon, is one of the best of the breed. the chance and we had one ready to go in Unfortunately, Form 4 transfers are still taking
less than a week. close to a year for approval. This is a hazard of
A modular silencer, it has a removable front the NFA (National Firearms Act) and is mostly
end that allows the user to run it long or There is some good news on that front, cour- related to the implementation of 41P last July.
short. This is patterned after the company’s tesy of Silencershop.com. Owing to the staff’s However, we have seen more of the holdup
modular pistol silencers in its Ti-Rant M series. background in IT (Information Technology), on the side of the background checks taking
they recently teamed up with several industry longer than normal from the FBI/NICS desk.
When suppressing 17 HMR, 17 M2, 22 Mag- partners and the NFA Branch to develop a
num or even FN’s 5.7, you may want to run bar-coded system for ATF Forms. It reduces With the wait times involved with NFA and
a longer profile silencer for better suppres- some of the waiting period, particularly on the the $200 tax stamp, we like to take advan-
sion, and in this case that is a matter of 5.28 Form 3 (dealer to dealer) side as the forms tage of modular cans, which give you in
inches with a weight of 6 ounces. However, need only be scanned. This saves 15 to 30 essence two silencers for one price. Not that
if you want to quiet down a bolt-action 22 minutes on the part of an ATF Examiner who you can make two standalone cans from one
long rifle and keep a shorter profile you can would need to type this information manually. of these, but it gives you an option.
MAY-JUNE, 2018 35
Advanced
«
Armament
Corporation
MODEL: HALCYON
CALIBER: 17 HMR, 22 LR, 22 WMR, FN 5.7 (FULL AUTO RATED FOR ALL)
MATERIAL: TITANIUM (K-BAFFLES, MAIN TUBE),
ALUMINUM (FRONT TUBE)
FINISH: CERAKOTE
MOUNT: 1/2 X 28, ADAPTERS AVAILABLE
LENGTH: 5.28 INCHES (FULL), 3.41 INCHES (COMPACT)
DIAMETER: 1 INCH
WEIGHT: 6.1 OUNCES (FULL), 4.5 OUNCES (COMPACT)
DECIBEL REDUCTION: 42 DB
MSRP: $449
URL: ADVANCED-ARMAMENT.COM
Construction
Taking the Halcyon apart, we noted that the
baffles were K-type and made of titanium.
This keeps the weight down and reduces
sound signature. Then we noticed that they
were keyed for repeatable short alignment
in an effort to not reduce but eliminate Point
of Impact (POI) shift. The front section of
The Halcyon's the tube is made of aluminum and the rear
baffles are
K-type and made portion is titanium with steel end caps. The
of titanium,
keeping the whole unit is finished in armor-black Cerakote.
weight down and
reducing sound
signature.
AAC promises additional adapters in other
thread pitches to replace the standard ½ x
MAY-JUNE, 2018 37
As the backlog
from 41P is
clearing at the
NFA Branch
and forms are
starting to move
more quickly
through the
system, this is well as our FN PS90 SBR (Short Barreled Rifle)
probably the
best time in his- and our full-auto Uzi with a 22 conversion kit,
tory to purchase
a silencer. as the Halcyon is full auto-rated.
One of the design features that AAC set out

to address specifically with the Halcyon was
the elimination of first round pop (FRP). First
Round Pop refers to the initial air trapped
inside the suppressor. When this oxygen
burns up after making contact with the hot
gasses from the fired round it makes the
first shot sound louder as a result of being
fueled from the cooler air. Subsequent shots
tend to be quieter. It is a problem with just
about any type of sound suppressor but it
does seem amplified in suppressed 22 rimfire
cans. This is due to how inherently quiet most
of these silencers are. The AAC Halcyon has
minimalized this to such a degree that it is
barely noticeable.
28” threaded end cap. Hopefully we will see We mounted the short configuration on sev-
½ x 20” to use on European rimfire rifles and eral rifles, including a Savage 93 and a S&W
the threaded Beretta Model 71 pistols that M&P 15/22. It was so quiet on the Savage
were imported a few years ago by Century that someone asked me if I was shooting a
International Arms. Undoubtedly we will see
end caps from AAC for use on various other
rimfire handguns that have a two-piece barrel
construction and can skip buying questionable
adapters. We have heard a three-lug adapter
is in the works, too.
Another unique feature that we have not seen

elsewhere is a wave spring located under
the rear end cap that applies tension to the
thread adapter and aligns it to the main tube
in order to prevent the rear cap from loosen-
ing while firing.
What really impressed us is the fact that the

entire silencer can be taken down and reas-
sembled, as well as reconfigured from long to
short versions, without the use of tools. The
baffles dump out of the tube easily and be-
cause they are titanium they can be cleaned
more easily than stainless steel or aluminum
A wave spring
baffles. You can use Hoppe’s #9 on these or located under the
rear end cap applies
clean them in an ultrasonic cleaner with no tension to the thread
adapter and aligns
worries at all about degrading the material. it to the main tube,
preventing the rear
cap from loosening
while firing.
Performance
We took the Halcyon to the range with an
assortment of rimfire rifles and handguns as
pellet gun. The 16-inch barrel allows enough pistol host of the
We like to take The front
time and space for all of the powder to burn advantage of Walther PPK/S in section of the
modular cans, tube is made of
up before the bullet enters the silencer, and which give you configuration, but aluminum and
in essence two the rear portion
with no semi-automatic bolt or anything else silencers for the Halcyon is to is titanium with
one price. steel end caps.
to allow gas and noise to escape you can 16-inch-plus barr The whole unit
count on the full 43 dB reduction promised shorter, including is finished in
armor-black
by AAC. Cerakote.
Final thou
That said, the S&W M&P 15/22 was only slightly An all-titanium rim
louder. Plus, the look it gave this rifle made it been awesome, b
appear to only have a slightly longer flash sup- driven up the pric
pressor as opposed to a full-on sound suppressor.
On the FN P90 (actually a PS-90 converted
to an SBR) the longer version sounded better
than the short mode. The short version may
not have been completely hearing-safe, but it
gave us no tinnitus from shooting it. Moving
over to handguns, we found the longer
version to work better with regard to sound
reduction than the shortened one. This goes
back to barrel length and burning time of the
powder from the fired round.
The long version mounted on a Smith &

Wesson model 41 was probably our quietest
MARSG E AR .C O M
USE CODE: wfp2018
CONDOR
ROVER PACK
SIZE volume
20”h X 11”w x 8”d 27.5 Liters
LOOP PANEL FOR POUCHES STRETCH SIDE POCKET

*Accessories not included
MG VULCAN TAC.
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» Poly/cotton ripstop fabric
» 12 strategically placed pockets
» Smart-sized pockets for gadgets and mags
» Articulated knee & gusseted crotch
» Drawstring leg ties
» Elastic waistband
KNIFE POCKET MAG POCKET

Our basic take-

away with the pushes it toward the higher we have ever shot. It can make any day at
Halcyon is to run
it short on rifles for 22 cans. the range, or a simple walk in the woods
with 16-inch-plus
barrels and long while out squirrel hunting, calm, happy and
on anything We were going to lay off on peaceful. Particularly with regard to the quiet
shorter, includ-
ing pistols. until the Hearing Protection time it gives.
However, in light of the curr
landscape, we think we wil
smoothing over the 9th circ
that happens.
As the backlog from 41P is

NFA Branch and forms are s
more quickly through the sy
consumer incentives in the
prices and rebates, this is pr
time in history to purchase
The word Halcyon refers to

usually identified with the k
breed about the time of the
a nest floating on the sea, a
of charming winds and wav
Alternatively, it can denote
the past that was idyllically
ful. In the spirit of either of
we think the Advanced Arm
Halcyon is one of the best r
MAY-JUNE, 2018 41
An all-titanium
rimfire suppres-
sor would have
been awesome,
but would drive
up the price. As
it is, the Halcy-
on's $450 MSRP
pushes it toward
the higher end of
the scale.
A FULL-CUSTOM
AR-BASED
PCC BUILD
T E X T & P H OTOS BY JOH N SCOTT
hat are your favorite

b h
MAY-JUNE, 2018 43
The
und
Up
A hot trend among shooters over the past
couple of years has been the pistol-caliber
carbine (PCC). Although this category of fire-
arm covers many carbines that fire pistol-cali-
ber cartridges, it’s the AR-15’s modularity that
The Critical Capabilities NC-9 lower is a
dedicated receiver that accepts Glock small-
makes it one of the most popular rifles in this frame magazines such as those made for
field. With the great numbers of manufactur- G17, G19 and G22. The lower comes complete
ers that make parts and accessories for the with a magazine release and ejector and is
rifle, it would be easy to assemble one start- machined from 7075-T6 aluminum. It is also
ing with a stripped receiver by using nothing has a matte-black anodized finish and a pre-
but aftermarket parts. In fact, we did just that. cision-machined mag well with beveled lip. It
is engraved for use with 45- and 60-degree
With pistol-caliber ARs being as hot as they safety selectors.
are now, it’s only natural that we went ahead
and assembled one from all-aftermarket One thing to know prior to assembling your
parts. The lower receiver is considered the own 9mm-firing AR is that some tuning may
foundation of the AR-15 and with pistol car- be required for it to run perfectly. For your
bine builds, so it is important to choose one PCC’s system to work correctly, you may be
that can accept the magazine that you will required to tune your lower’s ejector for it to
be using with it. In general, 9mm ARs come function properly. To complete the lower, we
in two styles. One is the Colt pattern, which added a few items from Battle Arms Develop-
accepts Colt-style submachine gun magazines ment, including the company’s Cast Enhanced
that are very much like Uzi mags, and the Bolt Catch and titanium enhanced front and
other takes Glock magazines. We opted to go rear takedown pins, which are precison
with a lower that takes Glock mags. CNC-machined from Grade 5 Titanium.
“Thanks to its ever-changing

capabilities, the nearly sixty-year-old
design manages to stay relevant and
shows no sign of stopping.”
The onboard
optic is a Vortex
Razor HD GEN
II-E scope sitting
in a Midwest
Industries 30MM
QD Scope Mount
complete with
smooth QD
levers and a
multifaceted
adjustment nut.
MAY-JUNE, 2018 45
The lower is a
Critical Capa-
bilities NC-9,
a dedicated
receiver that
accepts Glock
small-frame
magazines such
as those made
for G17, G19 and
G22.
The POF USA

Enhanced Finger
Placement trigger
is designed to
naturally guide the
tip of your finger
to the same resting
place for precise,
consistent pulls.
We also dropped in a POF USA Enhanced

Finger Placement Drop-In Trigger. The trigger
is designed to naturally guide the tip of your
finger to the same resting place for a precise,
smooth, consistent trigger pull every single
time. Complementing the takedown pins and
keeping the trigger in place are a set of Black
Rain Ordnance titanium hammer and trigger
pins as well. Keeping everything in control is
a Blackhawk! Knoxx AR Pistol Grip. The grip
features a more pronounced palm swell and a
grippy, textured surface.
Moving on to the rear, you’ll notice that

we combined a Phase 5 Weapon Systems’
HexOne rifle-length buffer tube along with
their Universal Mini Stock to create a strong,
lightweight buttstock combination. A BCM
The rear features

a Phase 5 Weap-
on Systems’ Hex-
One rifle-length
buffer tube
along with their
Universal Mini
Stock to create
a strong, light-
weight buttstock
combination.
The Kaw Valley Pre-

cision handguard is
made solely for use
on PCCs and fea-
tures an ultra-thin
1-5/8-inch outer
diameter, making it
the thinnest hand-
guard that we’ve
encountered.
We were able to
use our 33-round
Glock mags,
which are great
to use in pistols
at the compe-
tition, but also
essential to use
with PCCs.
MAY-JUNE, 2018 47
The Faxon Gen

2 9mm PCC
Blowback Full-
Mass Bolt Carrier
Group is ramped
so it can be used
with both Colt
and Glock style
systems.
The heart
this carbin
16-inch Ra
Arms Ultra
9mm barre
the combin
duo of a Fo
Muzzle Bra
and Contro
Shield blas
device at it
last round is fired, which isn’t always the case

p g with all 9mm ARs. For ease of pulling the
impact of the buffer's weight. This is all sup- side charger back, we installed an extended
posed to add up to softer perceived recoil. charging handle, also made by New Frontier
Armory. Installed inside the upper is a Faxon
The buffer is coupled with one of JP Enterpris- Gen 2 9mm PCC Blowback Full-Mass Bolt
es Custom Centerless Ground and Polished Carrier Group. The BCG is ramped so it can be
Operating Springs. The spring is ground and used with both Colt and Glock style systems
polished and is said to offer a smoother and and, unlike other dedicated 9mm BCGs,
e buffer tube. We did features an AR-15 pivoted and sprung style
buffer noise is greatly extractor.
g was installed.
The heart of this carbine is a 16-inch Rainier
ngled out New Frontier Arms Ultramatch 9mm barrel. It starts out as
g Pistol Caliber Stripped a stainless steel match grade Shilen blank,
Round Bolt Hold Open which is finished in a bead blast and rifled
milar to your .223 with a 1:10-twist rate. At its tip is the com-
New Frontier’s upper bined duo of the Fortis Muzzle Brake and Con-
be held open after the trol Shield blast device. The Control Shield can
“With pistol caliber

ARs being as hot
as they are now,
it’s only natural
that we went ahead
and assembled
one from all
aftermarket
parts.”
MOUNTS
RINGS
BASES
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Patented Design
“One thing to know prior For the top half,

we singled out
complete with smooth operating QD levers
and a multifaceted adjustment nut to get
to assembling your New Frontier

Armory’s Side
Charging Pistol
Caliber Stripped
the exact tension required.
own 9mm firing AR is Billet Upper,

which allows for
the bolt to be
For close-up shots, we will utilize a Vortex
Optics Razor red dot that sits in a Midwest
that some tuning may be

held open after
the last round is
fired, not always Industries Offset Rail. The offset rail attaches
the case with
to any Picatinny rail and allows for the offset
required for it to run 9mm ARs.

mounting of lights, lasers and, as in our case,
optics.
perfectly.” Being that this build was based on us shar-

be quickly attached and taken off and was Our intention for this build it to run it at ing magazines between our Glock pistols
designed to push noise forward while its top local steel plate matches. The matches and this carbine, we were able to use
ports keep the muzzle device flat on target. have paper targets that are as close as 5 our existing “big stick” Glock mags. These
yards and steel from 15 yards out to 150 33-round behemoths are great to use in
The sexy handguard is made by Kaw Valley and many times beyond. With that goal pistols at the competition, but are essential
Precision. Made solely for use on PCCs, the in mind, we dove headfirst into outfit- to use with PCCs. We further modified these
lightweight carbon-fiber handguard features ting the carbine with optics. The big dog factory mags by fitting them with Arredon-
an ultra-thin 1-5/8-inch outer diameter. They onboard is Vortex Optic’s Razor HD GEN II-E do Glock base pads and springs. These base
get away with this small diameter because scope. The newest version of this variable pads increase our round count by about five
AR PCCs don’t require a gas block or gas tube. 1-6x24 powered scope is nearly a quarter or six rounds, which is nice especially when
So the space that’s usually reserved for those of a pound lighter than its predecessors tackling moving targets such as Texas Stars.
items on regular ARs isn’t needed. This allows and with its crystal-clear glass, even at We’ve fed the PCC plenty of ammo since it
it to be the thinnest handguard that we’ve maximum magnification, the Razor is truly was built, but it seems to like Rainier Mu-
encountered. The small diameter does still bang for your hard earned buck. It sits in a nitions 9mm 147-grain FMJ Match Subsonic
allow clearance for most muzzle devices. Midwest Industries 30MM QD Scope Mount the best.
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with all Our intention for
AR builds, this build it to run it

at local steel plate
matches; for close-up
shots, we will utilize a
Vortex Optics Razor
specifications
Custom AR PCC
was a fun red dot that sits in a
Midwest Industries
Offset Rail.
one to
CALIBER: 9MM
LENGTH: 35.25 INCHES
BARREL LENGTH: 16 INCHES
tackle.” WEIGHT (W/O MAGAZINE): 9 POUNDS, 5 OUNCES

Lace ’E
Up Gooo
MAY-JUNE, 2018 55
m
od
TACTICAL BOOTS FOR
ANY EVENTUALITY
ver the years, the battlefield has experienced drastic changes.
O No longer do armies line up against each other, ready to charge

at the horn’s blow. The modern world’s battlefield has been
injected with complexity through growth of technology and the
advantageous collection of knowledge. As we experience such changes, our
equipment and gear require upgrades and superior designs that we have
never seen before.
Tactical boots have undergone many facelifts, weight reductions and invasive
surgeries to get where they are today. Modern heroes out on the battlefield,
city streets, naval ships and aircraft all require boots with the technological
advancements to carry them through the day’s mission.
The following is a compilation of some of the newest tactical boots. A byprod-

uct of evolution, the boots in this guide feature top-of-the-line materials, grips,
technology, designs and characteristics.
As a closing thought, consider this: In all of history, tactical boots are at their
pinnacle today. You are among the lucky that may experience the wonder that
technology and hard work have created in the modern boot.
01 02
Chase 9" WP Side-Zip Black Eagle Tactical
Original S.W.A.T. 2.0 GTX High
Ready for slippery surfaces, the 39-ounce Chase 9" WP Side-Zip is slip- and oil-
resistant and exceeds the ASTM F2913-11 test standards. A gusseted tongue works to Haix
keep dirt and debris out, while the HydroGuard full bootie construction makes these HAIX upgraded and improved its popular boot, the Black Eagle Tactical 20, to create
boots waterproof. Lined with moisture-wicking AEGIS antimicrobial protection, Chase the Black Eagle Tactical 2.0 GTX. The outsole of this boot mimics the original through its
WP boots keep your feet safe and dry no matter where the day takes you. shock absorbing, non-slip, non-marking, fuel- and oil-resistant design. Adding to that
already impressive list, the upgraded outsole is now heat-resistant as well.
YKK side-zippers make putting on and taking of these boots quick and easy. A hook-
and-loop tab-stay closure prevents the zippers from accidently coming undone. The The tough, sturdy outsole nicely compliments the comfortable insole that has been
airport-friendly shank allows you to go through security checkpoints with less hassle enhanced with the addition of softer cushioning in the heel. Furthering your comfort
and provides lightweight support and fatigue control. level, the 2-Zone Lacing system gives you the freedom to adjust the width of the boot in
both the leg and foot area separately. This feature is great for those with very wide or
slim calves, as you can personalize the fit.
SPECS With the addition of the new Black Eagle tread, scraping of the mud from your boots
WATERPROOF: YES
at the end of the day is now a thing of the past. As you walk, the self-cleaning tread
HEIGHT: 9 INCHES
naturally sheds dirt and dried mud. The Black Eagle Tactical 2.0 GTX also works to keep
OUTSOLE: SLIP- AND OIL-RESISTANT, NON-MARKING RUBBER WITH SIPING
your feet in a comfortable temperature range. Using the HAIX Climate System, which
FASTENER: YKK SIDE-ZIPPER IN VISLON PATTERN
utilizes air circulation, your feet stay cool on warm days and warm on cool ones.
LINER: MOISTURE-WICKING WITH AEGIS ANTIMICROBIAL PROTECTION
UPPER MATERIAL: FULL GRAIN LEATHER/1200 DENIER NYLON
OTHER FEATURES: BLOODBORNE-PATHOGEN RESISTANT, AIRPORT
FRIENDLY, REMOVABLE CUSTOM FIT EVA INSOLE SPECS
WATERPROOF: YES
HEIGHT: 8 INCHES
MSRP: $139.99
OUTSOLE: BLACK EAGLE 018 SOLE
URL: ORIGINALSWAT.COM
FASTENER: SMART LACING
LINER: GORE-TEX
UPPER MATERIAL: SMOOTH LEATHER
OTHER FEATURES: ABSORPTION, ANKLE PROTECTOR, 2-ZONE LACING,
SUN REFLECT
MSRP: $169
URL: HAIXUSA.COM
MAY-JUNE, 2018 57
03 04
APEX Waterproof 8" Boot Vengeance SR 8" Side-Zip
5.11 Tactical Altama
Tough, comfortable, tactical—these words describe the 5.11 APEX Waterproof 8" Boot If you’re in a line of work that requires readiness at a moment’s notice, then the
in a nutshell. Altama Vengeance SR 8" Side-Zip might just be the boot for you.
Updated and improved cushioning with heel and arch support keep your feet Using YKK’s durable Vision zipper, getting your feet in and out of these boots quickly
comfortable, even on long days. Full-grain, waterproof, polishable leather give these is a cinch. Speed lace eyelets allow you to re-adjust your boot-fit promptly and
boots a sturdy build. Lined with an eVent BBP waterproof membrane, the APEX Boots without hassle.
keep your feet dry in wet conditions, but allow sweat to get out on warm days. This
lining also protects your feet from bloodborne pathogens. The Vengeance SR ofers many advantageous benefits. Features include an airport-
friendly nylon shank, removable EVA insole with PORON performance cushioning
The VIBRAM Megagrip outsole provides a high level of grip on both wet and dry pad, custom-molded phylon EVA midsole, full grain vamp and balance action, and a
terrains. This durable outsole is designed to last, but it is re-soleable so you can moisture-wicking air mesh lining with AEGIS antimicrobial protection.
replace it if it wears out.
Take every step with confidence since the carbon rubber outsole exceeds the ASTM
To make sure you get the most out of your purchase, 5.11 Tactical partnered with F489-96 test for slip resistance. Made with full-grain leather and durable nylon mesh,
NuShoe, which ofers a 5.11 Boot Restoration Program. They will replace the outsoles, the Vengeance SR, which weighs 23 ounces, was built to last. Altama is so confident
clean and polish the boots, and add new laces for under a hundred bucks. in the design that the company gives a one-year manufacturer’s warranty, along with
a 60-day comfort guarantee.
SPECS
WATERPROOF: YES SPECS
HEIGHT: 9 INCHES WATERPROOF: NO
OUTSOLE: RE-SOLEABLE VIBRAM MALTEASE HEIGHT: 8 INCHES
FASTENER: LACES OUTSOLE: CARBON RUBBER
LINER: EVENT BBP WATERPROOF MEMBRANE LINING FASTENER: YKK ZIPPERS AND POLYMER LACE EYELETS
UPPER MATERIAL: FULL-GRAIN LEATHER LINER: MOISTURE-WICKING AIR MESH WITH AEGIS ANTIMICROBIAL
OTHER FEATURES: D30 LITE EVA MIDSOLE, D30 SUPPORT FOOTBED PROTECTION
UPPER MATERIAL: FULL-GRAIN LEATHER/DURABLE NYLON MESH
MSRP: $249.99 OTHER FEATURES: FULL-GRAIN LEATHER/DURABLE NYLON MESH
URL: 511TACTICAL.COM
MSRP: $119.99
URL: ALTAMA.COM
05 06
Tac Athlon Defense Military
Maelstrom BLACKHAWK!
Engineered to fulfill the demands of law enforcement, security and work professionals, The Defense Military boot was made to meet the strict demands of active military
the Tac Athlon is a high-quality, high-performing boot with a reasonable price tag. Using personnel and comes with an extensive list of features. Beginning with the exterior
premium materials, the Tac Athlon is meant to last. The upper is made of full-grain of the boot, the Defense Military is equipped with Lycra lace pocket storage systems
leather and easily attains a polished appearance, while nylon and rip-stop leather to keep the laces from hanging loose, while the NATO quick-lace system allows you
boost resilience and breathability. Held together by a lightweight cement, with triple to get ready at a moment’s notice. Further assisting you to quickly get dressed is the
stitching along vulnerable areas, the upper and sole are designed to stay intact.
webbing pull tab, which aids in putting on the boot.
The Maelstrom iH2O-Tex breathable waterproof membrane protect your feet from rain
On the bottom of the boot, the VIBRAM outsole, combined with a PU midsole, provides
and snow, while the rubber outsole’s aggressive treads provide traction across all
ultimate support, stability and traction. The toe cap is fully reinforced with an extra
terrains. Keeping your feet comfortable, the high-density polyurethane insole supports
layer of suede and the fully gusseted tongue prevents water and debris from reaching
your feet, while the shock-absorbing EVA midsole maximizes compression and
the interior of the boot. Removable OrthoLite insoles keep your feet cushioned all day
reduces foot fatigue.
and may be washed to mitigate odor.
Made with metal-free materials, the 18-ounce Tac Athlon won’t slow you down through
security checkpoints. Thanks to the lightweight design, these boots won’t slow you
down physically either. The Tac Athlons come with a one-year manufacturer’s warranty
and free returns for U.S. customers.
SPECS
WATERPROOF: YES
HEIGHT: 8 INCHES
SPECS
OUTSOLE: VIBRAM RUBBER OUTSOLE
FASTENER: NATO QUICK-LACE SYSTEM
WATERPROOF: YES LINER: HYDROGUARD + BREATH RIGHT MOISTURE-WICKING MEMBRANE
HEIGHT: 6 INCHES UPPER MATERIAL: 1000 DENIER PADDED DWR NYLON
OUTSOLE: SLIP- AND OIL-RESISTANT RUBBER OTHER FEATURES: ORTHOLITE INSOLE, AR 670-1 COMPLIANT, LYCRA LACE
FASTENER: NON-METALLIC EYELETS AND HOOKS WITH NON-FRAY THREAD
POCKET
LINER: WATERPROOF FULL-BOOTIE LINING
UPPER MATERIAL: POLISHABLE FULL-GRAIN LEATHER AND NYLON
OTHER FEATURES: REMOVABLE ORTHOTIC INSOLE, BLOODBORNE MSRP: $149.99
PATHOGEN RESISTANT, COMPRESSION-MOLDED EVA URL: BLACKHAWK.COM
MSRP: $104
URL: MAELSTROMBOOTS.COM
MAY-JUNE, 2018 59
07 08
Halcyon Waterproof Stalwart
Boot Danner
5.11 Tactical Searching for new ways to design a lightweight and quick-to-comfort boot led Danner
to develop the Stalwart.
The Halcyon Waterproof Boot features new Tac-lock laces that prevent accidental
untying and won’t come undone unless you pull them loose. The low-friction, odor-
The construction of this boot was well-thought-out from start to finish. Lined with
control lining works to keep your boots smelling fresh while reducing heat and
GORE-TEX, sweat and moisture escape through the breathable material, while water
blistering.
is prevented from entering. Keeping the weight goal in mind, the upper is made with
a combination of full-grain leather and 1000 denier nylon, which adds strength to the
A multi-tread slip- and oil-resistant outsole keep you firmly grounded while walking
lightweight design.
across any surface. The Slipstream Waterproof membrane keeps your feet dry and
comfortable and provides protection against bloodborne pathogens.
The bottom of the boot hosts the VIBRAM Kletterlift Light outsole. Slip- and oil-
resistant, this lighter weight version of the classic Kletterlift outsole also features
Built with an OrthoLite X-40 high-rebound footbed, shock experienced from walking
the VIBRAM TC4T compound for added durability. Handcrafted with a stitchdown
or impact is minimized, thus enhancing comfort. The high-abrasion, rubberized toe
construction, the 52-ounce Stalwart provides stability with each step and the full-
provides added durability.
length, removable footbed provides all-day comfort.
SPECS SPECS
WATERPROOF: YES
WATERPROOF: YES
HEIGHT: 6 INCHES
HEIGHT: 8 INCHES
OUTSOLE: MULTI-TREAD SLIP- AND OIL-RESISTANT
OUTSOLE: VIBRAM KLETTERLIFT LIGHT
FASTENER: TAC-LOCK LACES
FASTENER: LACES
LINER: LOW-FRICTION, ODOR-CONTROL LINING
LINER: GORE-TEX
UPPER MATERIAL: SUEDE
UPPER MATERIAL: FULL-GRAIN LEATHER/1000 DENIER NYLON
OTHER FEATURES: BLOODBORNE PATHOGEN RESISTANT, 10MM HEEL TO TOE
OTHER FEATURES: STITCHDOWN CONSTRUCTION, RECRAFTABLE,
DROP, ORTHOLITE SHOCK-ABSORBING X-40 FOOTBED
BI-FIT SHANK
MSRP: $159.99
MSRP: $220
URL: DANNER.COM
09 10
Moab 2 Tactical V3 Black Boot
Merrell BLACKHAWK!
The Moab 2 Tactical boot is designed to carry you through some of the toughest Loaded with premium materials, the V3 Black Boot by BLACKHAWK! helps you
environments one step at a time. Walk confidently across any surface as the VIBRAM perform at your highest level.
TC5+ outsole provides trusted traction, and the Merrell air cushion helps to increase
stability and absorb shock while walking. Starting from the bottom up, the VIBRAM rubber outsole features an aggressive
design with wide lugs to give you ultimate traction across any terrain. Waterproof
Since you never know what the day might bring, the Moab 2 Tactical boot comes yet breathable, the V3 features a HydroGuard + Breathe Right moisture-wicking
prepared. Waterproof PU-coated leather keeps your feet nice and dry no matter how membrane that will keep your feet dry and comfortable on both hot and wet days.
stormy the weather. Meeting the electrical hazard ASTM F2413-II standards, these
boots protect against open circuits. An abrasion-resistant rubber toe cap stands in A truly tactical addition, the Lycra lateral pocket allows you to store and conceal small
your toes’ defense against forceful impacts. A bellows tongue is attached to the upper items such as a knife. The speed lace system along with the webbing pull tab allow you
on both sides to keep debris out. to get the boot on fast, and the Lycra lace pocket prevents the laces from catching.
The OrthoLite insole may be removed and washed to keep your boots smelling fresh
These boots can quickly be taken of or put on using the durable side zippers. mile after mile.
SPECS SPECS
WATERPROOF: YES WATERPROOF: YES
HEIGHT: 8 INCHES HEIGHT: 8 INCHES
OUTSOLE: VIBRAM TC5+ OUTSOLE: VIBRAM RUBBER OUTSOLE
FASTENER: SIDE ZIPPER FASTENER: SPEED LACE SYSTEM
LINER: BREATHABLE MESH LINER: MOISTURE-WICKING MEMBRANE
UPPER MATERIAL: WATERPROOF PU COATED LEATHER UPPER MATERIAL: POLISHABLE ACTION LEATHER
OTHER FEATURES: KINETIC FIT FOOTBED, SAFE FROM ELECTRICAL HAZARD, OTHER FEATURES: REMOVABLE ORTHOLITE INSOLE, HYDROGUARD +
M-SELECT DRY BREATHE RIGHT MOISTURE-WICKING MEMBRANE,
LYCRA LATERAL POCKET
MSRP: $155
URL: MERRELL.COM MSRP: $149.99
URL: BLACKHAWK.COM
MAY-JUNE, 2018 61
11 12
Shadow Amphibian Tac Elite
Lalo Tactical Maelstrom
Truly unique and versatile, the Shadow Amphibian was made in conjunction with the Created with law enforcement, outdoor enthusiasts, and uniformed professionals in
Navy SEALs to be used in the air, on land and while swimming. As its name suggests, mind, the versatile Tac Elite delivers optimal comfort and fit for those on their feet all
this boot was designed to excel at water missions. Instead of keeping water out, the day. The lacing system snugly wraps your foot for a secure and comfortable fit, while
Shadow Amphibian, which weighs 19 ounces, features a two-way passive drainage the high-density cushioned insole supports your foot for all-day wear. Enhancing
system that allows water to flow in and out of the boot as needed. flexibility, the lightweight EVA midsole increases the range of arch movement and helps
absorb shock as you are walking.
Quiet on land, the TPU outsole and articulating heel allows for a “stealth approach”
when transferring energy from heel to toe. The abrasion-resistant carbonized rubber Waterproof and bloodborne-pathogen resistant, the Tac Elite protect your feet from
toe cap protects your feet, while rip-stop nylon accents protect the boot from damage. harsh and dangerous conditions and the deep threads on the outsole firmly ground you
on all types of terrain. A YKK side zipper allows for speedy on/of without needing to
The microfiber H2O-shedding synthetic leather upper includes a breathable membrane untie the laces. However, lacing the boots doesn’t take long with the spinning speed-
and the boot is lined with antimicrobial, moisture-wicking lining. The sleek vamp profile hook lacing system specifically engineered for quick lacing.
ofers a secure fit, while the gusseted tongue features invisible lace pockets.
Ready to wear right out of the box, the Tac Elite boots do not need to be broken in over
time. Purchase includes a 1-year manufacturer’s warranty.
SPECS
WATERPROOF: YES
HEIGHT: 5 INCHES SPECS
OUTSOLE: SLIP-RESISTANT TPU WATERPROOF: YES
FASTENER: LACES HEIGHT: 8 INCHES
LINER: MOISTURE-WICKING, H2O-SHEDDING ANTIMICROBIAL LINING OUTSOLE: DEEP THREADED RUBBER
UPPER MATERIAL: MICROFIBER H2O-SHEDDING SYNTHETIC LEATHER FASTENER: YKK SIDE ZIPPERS AND SPINNING SPEED-HOOKS
OTHER FEATURES: INVISIBLE LACE POCKET, 2-WAY PASSIVE DRAINAGE LINER: BREATHABLE, WATERPROOF MEMBRANE
SYSTEM, STEALTH APPROACH UPPER MATERIAL: FULL-GRAIN COWHIDE LEATHER
OTHER FEATURES: BLOODBORNE PATHOGEN RESISTANT, READY TO WEAR,
MSRP: $350 YKK ZIPPER
URL: LALO.COM
MSRP: $120
URL: MAELSTROMBOOTS.COM
13 14
Sublite Cushion Tactical Moab 2 Tactical Response
Reebok Merrell
Usually when someone thinks about a tactical boot, they think of a gnarly, heavy-duty Built on the original Moab platform, the Moab 2 Tactical Response, weighing in at 48
design. But that isn’t always the case. Reebok understands this concept as well and ounces, incorporates the time-tested fit and comfort that Merrell customers have
created the Sublite Cushion Tactical boot. loved since 2006.
Despite its light weight, this boot packs one hell of a punch where features are The Kinetic Fit Elite footbed supports targeted pressure points and securely cushions
concerned. The Sublite Cushion Tactical is ASTM F2892 and AR670-1 compliant, the heel. Merrell air cushioning around the heel absorbs shock while adding stability to
airport-friendly, has a slip-resistant outsole and provides electrical hazard protection. each movement. The flexible, lightweight nylon arch shank supports your feet without
weighing you down.
Inside the boot, a MemoryTech Massage footbed adapts to the unique contours of your
foot and provides all-day cushioning and comfort. Flex grooves line the entire bottom of Waterproof full-grain leather with M-Select DRY works to keep your feet protected
the boot, giving you greater flexibility and range of motion. from wet conditions. The VIBRAM TC5+ outsole provides durable traction and is EH
rated ASTM F2413-11. Attached to the upper, a bellows tongue repels debris and
breathable mesh lines the boot to provide superior all-day comfort.
SPECS
WATERPROOF: NO
OUTSOLE: RUBBER WATERPROOF: YES
FASTENER: LACES HEIGHT: 8 INCHES
LINER: MOISTURE-WICKING NYLON MESH OUTSOLE: VIBRAM TC5+
UPPER MATERIAL: CATTLE HIDE LEATHER AND BALLISTIC NYLON FASTENER: HEAVY-DUTY ZIPPER
OTHER FEATURES: MEMORYTECH MASSAGE FOOTBED, LIGHTWEIGHT, LINER: BREATHABLE MESH
FLEXIBLE UPPER MATERIAL: WATERPROOF LEATHER AND RIPSTOP TEXTILE
OTHER FEATURES: RIPSTOP TEXTILE, EH RATED ASTM F2413-11,
MSRP: $150 STABILITY ARMS
URL: REEBOKWORK.COM
MSRP: $175
URL: MERRELL.COM
MAY-JUNE, 2018 63
15 16
Reckoning Black Eagle Athletic 2.0
Danner Haix
Built on a VIBRAM All-Terrain platform, the Reckoning was designed to handle the Combining running shoe technology with functional boot features, Haix created the
rugged demands of the modern battlefield. Black Eagle Athletic 2.0.
Calibrated for shock absorption, the VIBRAM midsole and outsole provide comfort Breathable and lightweight, this boot was designed for speed while still maintaining
with each step. Engineered for high-mileage treks, the omni-directional pentagonal a durable construction. Cushioning in the heel area absorbs just the right amount of
shock so that the spring-back material in the forefoot gives you the most efficient use
outsole lug pattern gives ultimate traction in every direction. For missions that require
of energy.
climbing and roping, the Arch Tech grip gives you secure traction. Double-bevel tread
keeps debris and dirt from getting stuck in the outsole, which keeps your traction set
Start, stop and turn at a moment’s notice without worrying about losing your footing.
to maximum all day.
The tread design provides multi-directional anti-slip grip and its rubber construction is
oil- and gasoline-resistant, antistatic and non-marking. A 2-Zone Lacing System allows
A specific heel shape locks the heel into place for a secure fit and increased comfort.
independent adjustment between the upper and lower part of the boot for a secure,
The polyurethane footbed absorbs shock and includes an additional layer of open cell customizable fit.
construction for improved air circulation. The 37-ounce Reckoning meets the U.S. Army
AR 670-1 requirements for optional wear. The Black Eagle Athletic 2.0 is airport-friendly so you can move quickly through
security checkpoints. A removable antibacterial insole provides superior comfort and
support, and may be washed to maintain odor control.
SPECS
WATERPROOF: NO
OUTSOLE: VIBRAM ALL-TERRAIN OUTSOLE WATERPROOF: NO
FASTENER: DOUBLE RIVET SPEED LACER HEIGHT: 8 INCHES
LINER: BREATHABLE, MOISTURE-WICKING AIR MESH OUTSOLE: ANTI-SLIP, RESISTANT TO OIL AND GASOLINE, NON-MARKING
FASTENER: SIDE ZIPPER, 2-ZONE LACING SYSTEM
UPPER MATERIAL: SUEDE LEATHER AND ABRASION-RESISTANT NYLON
LINER: TEXTILE
OTHER FEATURES: POLYURETHANE FOOTBED, OMNI-DIRECTIONAL
UPPER MATERIAL: MICROFIBER/TEXTILE
PENTAGONAL OUTSOLE LUG PATTERN, ARCH TECH GRIP
OTHER FEATURES: HAIX CLIMATE SYSTEM, HEEL CLIP, ANKLE SIDE PADS
MSRP: $260
MSRP: $169
URL: DANNER.COM
URL: HAIXUSA.COM
17 18
Speed 3.0 Waterproof 7-Inch Operator
Boot First Tactical
5.11 Tactical The Operator gets its inspiration from professional athletes. Translation: These boots
provide the flexibility and comfort you’d expect in a running shoe, but they also have
Just like its name suggests, the Speed 3.0 Waterproof Boot is designed to handle fast
the durability of a tactical boot. It’s the best of both worlds.
movements and quickly cover long distances.
The upper features lightweight, tough synthetic construction that delivers ample
The Speed 3.0 Jungle platform outsole provides aggressive traction across most
agility. The OrthoLite foam and enhanced airflow pockets provide ventilation and
terrain. The fence-climbing toe allows you to maneuver easily over walls and chain-link
comfort, regardless of how hot it is. The Achilles’ flex point allows freedom of
fences while keeping your toes safe and sound.
movement, while the gusseted tongue construction keeps the tongue aligned and
debris out. Among other features, the lightweight TPU heel clip provides extra support
An OrthoLite footbed gives you all-day cushioning and support, while the low-friction
and stability, and the OrthoLite foam top layer is breathable, moisture-wicking and
lining reduces heat and blistering. A bloodborne-pathogen-resistant waterproof
fungus-fighting.
membrane lines the boot. Side zippers aid in quickly removing or putting on these
boots.
SPECS
SPECS WATERPROOF: YES
HEIGHT: 7 INCHES
WATERPROOF: YES
OUTSOLE: RUBBER, OIL- AND SLIP-RESISTANT
HEIGHT: 8 INCHES
FASTENER: LACES
OUTSOLE: SPEED 3.0 JUNGLE PLATFORM OUTSOLE
UPPER MATERIAL: SYNTHETIC
FASTENER: SIDE-ZIP
OTHER FEATURES: KNIFE HOOK ON MEDIAL AND LATERAL SIDES,
LINER: LOW FRICTION, ANTIMICROBIAL LINING
TONGUE LACE POCKET KEEPS LACES OUT OF THE WAY
UPPER MATERIAL: LEATHER AND NYLON
OTHER FEATURES: BLOODBORNE PATHOGEN RESISTANT, 5.11 SLIPSTREAM,
MSRP: $119.99
ORTHOLITE FOOTBED
URL: FIRSTTACTICAL.COM
MSRP: $129.99
19 20
Shadow Intruder XPRT 3.0
Lalo Tactical 5.11 Tactical
Designed for and in conjunction with U.S. Special Forces, Lalo Tactical gave birth to the You never know where the day might take you, especially when you’re on a tactical
Shadow Intruder. Just like its name hints, this boot is inherently quiet by design. The shift.
patented bi-fit board and rubber outsole supplies an efficient “stealth approach” with
each step you take. Combine that with the articulating heel and outsole shape and you Being prepared may just be the bridge between you and success. The XPRT 3.0 is
have one heck of a quiet boot. designed to get you there. Built with VIBRAM Megagrip, the outsole holds a steady grip
over dry and wet terrains. When you do travel through wet scenarios, your feet will
Outside of its noise reducing abilities, the 20.8-ounce Shadow Intruder features a stay dry and comfortable thanks to the eVent Protect BBP waterproof lining.
slip-resistant, lightweight rubber outsole and an abrasion-resistant rubber toe cap.
Microfiber H2O-shedding leather keeps water out while still allowing fresh air to flow For those days that seem to stretch on forever, the XPRT 3.0 helps you get the most
into the boot. The Shadow Intruder includes H2O-shedding antimicrobial upper lining, out of your energy through the new OrthoLite Imperial footbed. This feature works to
an invisible lace pocket, gusseted tongue, Achilles flex notch, and rip-stop nylon prevent fatigue and gives you a higher energy return.
accents.
SPECS
SPECS WATERPROOF: YES
WATERPROOF: YES HEIGHT: 6 INCHES
HEIGHT: 8 INCHES OUTSOLE: VIBRAM ANANASI
OUTSOLE: SLIP RESISTANT, LIGHTWEIGHT RUBBER OUTSOLE FASTENER: LACES
FASTENER: LACES LINER: EVENT PROTECT BBP WATERPROOF LINING
LINER: H2O-SHEDDING ANTIMICROBIAL UPPER LINING UPPER MATERIAL: FULL-GRAIN, WATERPROOF, EASY-POLISH LEATHER
UPPER MATERIAL: MICROFIBER H2O-SHEDDING GENUINE LEATHER OTHER FEATURES: VIBRAM MEGAGRIP, ORTHOLITE IMPERIAL FOOTBED,
OTHER FEATURES: INVISIBLE LACE POCKET, BLADE RESISTANT, KEVLAR HEEL AND SIDE ANKLE ABRASION PROTECTION
STEALTH APPROACH
MSRP: $157.49
MSRP: $275 URL: 511TACTICAL.COM
URL: LALO.COM
MAY-JUNE, 2018 69
Three-shot
25-meter
Ransom Rest
“The Elite
group shot with
author’s Elite
Operator and
DRT 150-grain
Operator
TS ammo was
superb. Accuracy
with 230-grain
FMJs and the
reflects a
usual array of
160- to 230-grain
JHPs was also
excellent.
cognizance
of the need
for simplic-
ity when
things get
deadly.”
For Serious Work that are easily acquired at high speed, even in On my specimen, no clothing- and skin-abrad-
The RO Elite Operator reflects a cognizance of low light, courtesy of its double-white-dot rear ing sharp edges were evident either, which is
the need for simplicity when things get deadly. sight and fiber-optic front. The rear tactical-rack in itself a major accomplishment, given the
It’s as simple as can be, while still offering a sight features a ledge to allow for one-handed fact that such edges are commonly found on
high mission-accomplishment capability. No slide manipulation. the majority of so-called “tactical” pistols. I
gadgetry or gimcrack is evident anywhere, just also like the fact that the Elite Operator utilizes
what it takes to offer the combat shooter a Its stocks are thinner than typical, allowing fast a standard bushing, recoil spring, plunger
nice tactical package. grip acquisition when presenting from a holster and guide rod, which in turn allow easy field
and better control in the fast shooting sequenc- stripping and maintenance.
It has SA’s new Black-T finish to minimize es common to pistol encounters. And to aid in
corrosion and wear, both elements of which fast speed-loading, the left-hand stock panel is Once again, most so-called “tactical” M1911s
anyone who actually carries a gun daily are all relieved to allow faster thumb placement on now use a full-length guide rod and special
too aware. It also has high-visibility fixed sights the magazine release button. bushing to accommodate it, making disassem-
MAY-JUNE, 2018 71
bly an annoying—and unnecessary—chore.
The premise upon which this is based—that a
full-length guide rod is needed to prevent the
recoil spring from “kinking”—is erroneous.
X-ray photography shows that any partially

compressed coil spring is slightly “wrinkled.”
This is not “kinked.” Kinking occurs when the
actual wire of the spring is bent, causing the
spring to lose its normal shape. In reali-
ty, all these gadgets do is complicate the
field-stripping process. In return for this, no
actual advantage or increase in performance is
Fiber optic front
sight and dual achieved.
white dots to
either side of
rear sight notch
are prominent Other Features
and provide fast,
effective sight The RO Elite Operator also features well-
acquisition, even
during low light shaped, edge-free ambidextrous thumb safe-
periods.
ties, a necessity for left-handers, a skeletonized
burr hammer for fast lock time and edge-free
beavertail grip safety to prevent both hammer
“bite” and skin abrasion in the web of the
firing hand. A crisp 4.5-pound trigger pull and
45-degree beveled magazine well complete
the package.
MAY-JUNE, 2018 73
«
The RO Elite
Operator fea-
tures a standard
bushing, barrel,
recoil spring and
guide rod for
fast, easy field
stripping. If you can’t
beat ’em…
As every serious shooting aficionado knows,
there are at least a couple dozen manufacturers
ofering some form of M1911 pistol these days.
Some are excellent, some are mediocre, but
none are awful. Yes, “Olde Ugly,” as the M1911
has been known for over 100 years, is still with
us, still going strong, and continuing to emerge
in the widest variety of configurations of any
handgun in current production.
Interestingly enough, though Colt is no longer

the sole or even primary manufacturer
of the M1911 design, many of its long-time
competitors—Smith & Wesson, SIG, Ruger,
Remington—now ofer their own versions,
proving unequivocally that not only is imitation
indeed the sincerest form of flattery but also
that if you can’t beat ’em…join ’em!
Attractive
laminate stocks
are also thin to
allow quick-firing
grip acquisition
during rapid
presentations
from the holster
and during
fast shooting
sequences.
SHOOTING RESULTS
«
SPRINGFIELD ARMORY
RANGE OFFICER
ELITE OPERATOR
LOAD BULLET VELOCITY GROUP SIZE
WEIGHT (FPS) (INCHES)
(GRAINS)
R-P GOLDEN SABRE 230 933 1.6

JHP
W-W FMJ 230 805 1.4
WCC-82 GI FMJ 230 801 1.1
REM FMJ 230 831 2.7
FEDERAL AMER 230 811 1.2

EAGLE FMJ
FED PREM HYDRA 230 865 1.7

SHOK JHP
HORNADY 230 JHP 230 848 1.6
A Picatinny rail COR-BON JHP 230 823 2.7

section allows
rapid, secure COR-BON JHP 200 1,032 3.0
It also comes with a checkered mainspring housing and skeletonized mounting of a
tactical light or
long trigger, both of which are popular these days. However, I must other specialized COR--BON DPX JHP 185 1,051 2.2
equipment.
admit that, having a relatively small palm and short fingers, I find the COR-BON JHP +P 165 1,223 3.5
M1911A1 modification of a short trigger and arched mainspring housing FEDERAL PREM 165 1,066 1.9
more to my liking. But, once again, the market is what it is, and most HYDRA SHOK JHP
shooters seem quite satisfied with a flat housing and long trigger. All of COR-BON DPX JHP +P 160 1,257 1.4
these features enhance performance without compromising the weap- DRT TERMINAL 150 1,102 1.1
on’s functional reliability or “user friendliness.” SHOCK
A Good Shooter Accuracy: Five-shot groups fired at 25 meters from Ransom Rest; chronograph:
Oehler Model 35P with sky screens; altitude: 4,250 ft. ASL; temperature: 67
I ran several hundred rounds each of a wide variety of .45 ACP ammo degrees F; humidity: 41 percent
through my RO Elite Operator, finding that it functioned flawlessly with
them all. This is something that cannot honestly be said of all the
M1911s we see offered these days.
Area directly to
the rear of the
magazine release
button on the
left-hand stock
panel is relieved to
enhance operation
during speed-load-
ing procedure.
Advanced ergonomic shape improves the feel and handling of your SIG MCX/MPX
Lightweight, rugged construction of 6061 aluminum, hard coat anodized for a lifetime of service
Heat treated 4140 retaining clip with phosphate finish Easy no gunsmith installation
Includes one five slot M-LOK™ compatible rail section Patent Pending
100% made in the U.S.A., MI Lifetime Warranty
ressor
MI MCX Supp
andguard
Compatible HL height 2.640 inches
ches / OA
Width 1.975 in
am et er 1.750 inches
Internal Di MCX Virtus
ll not work with
Fits MCX only wi tible
pa
ppressor Com $179.95
MI Sig MCX Su . . . . . . . . . . . . . .#MI-MCXSP10
.
10 Inch, 7.5 oz patible
ppressor Com .5 $209.95
MI Sig MCX Su . . . . . . . . . . .#MI-MCXSP13
oz
13.5 Inch, 10.5 le
g M CX Su pp ressor Compatib CXSP15.25 $219.95
MI Si . . . . . . .#M I-M
.0 oz . .
15.25 Inch, 12
MI Sig MCX Handguard

6 inches
/ OAL height 2.
es
Width 1.67 inch
er 1.46 inches
Internal Diamet MCX Virtus
ll not work with $179.95
Fits MCX only wi 25
. . . .#MI-MCX8.
25 Inch, 5.0 oz $189.95
MI Sig MCX 8. , 6.9 oz . . . .#M I-M CX 10 .5
CX 10 .5 In ch $199.95
MI Sig M . .#MI-MCX .5 12
CX 12 .5 Inch, 8.5 oz . . $219.95
MI Si g M .. . . .#MI-MCX15
Inch, 10.4 oz .
MI Sig MCX 15
andguard
MI Sig MPLXheigHht 2.6” / Internal Diameter 1.8”
Width 2.06” / OA 5M $134.95
. . . .#MI-MPX4.
I Si g M PX 4. 5 Inch, 3.0 oz I-M PX 6. 5M $144.95
M . . . .#M
5 Inch, 5.0 oz $154.95
MI Sig MPX 6. ... . #M I-M PX 8. 0M
0 Inch, 6.6 oz $164.95
MI Sig MPX 8. . . #M I-M PX 10.5M
.5 Inch, 8.8 oz $179.95
MI Sig MPX 10 . . .#MI-MPX14M
M-LOK™ is a trademark of
I Si g M PX 14 .0 Inch, 12.1 oz
Magpul Industries Corp. M
W292S4498 Hillside Rd, Waukesha, WI 53189 Tel: 262-896-6780, Fax: 262-896-6756 www.midwestindustriesinc.com
specifications
Springfield Armory
Range Officer
Elite Operator
CALIBER: .45 ACP
MAGAZINE CAPACITY: 7 (STANDARD)
BARREL LENGTH: 5 INCHES
OVERALL LENGTH: 8.6 INCHES
HEIGHT: 5.5 INCHES
WEIGHT: 41 OUNCES (UNLOADED)
MSRP: $1,145
URL: SPRINGFIELD-ARMORY.COM
The distinctive
“I ran several
“Operator”
inscription is
clearly visible on
left side of slide.
hundred rounds
each of a wide
variety of .45
ACP ammo,
finding that
the operator
functioned
flawlessly…” Ambidextrous
thumb safeties
are well-shaped
and edge-free
for fast, conve-
nient operation.
BUILT TO
SURVIVE
PRETTY MUCH
ANYTHING
SKB waterproof iSeries cases are built to military spec

and feature a virtually indestructible construction that’s
lighter and stronger than the competition. With over 50
sizes and many interior options to choose from, you can
bet that if you’ve got something worth protecting we’ve
got a case for the job.
skbcases.com
Accuracy was excellent, too. From a Ransom

The RO Elite
Rest, my RO Elite Operator consistently shot Operator fed
and functioned
three-shot, 25-meter groups from 1.5 to 2 flawlessly with
not only stan-
inches with the most accurate groups—just dard 230-grain
FMJ “hardball,”
over an inch—coming from Dynamic Research but also with the
entire spectrum
Technologies’ 150-grain Terminal Shock JHPs. of JHPs.
Coupled with the fact that DRT ammo consis-
tently exhibits spectacular terminal ballistics
in not just gelatin but living targets as well,
this kind of accuracy is usually found only in
match-prepared handguns, not combat pistols.
Everything You Need

Last, the gun comes with not only an adjust-
able belt-slide holster and dual mag carrier,
but a nice shooting bag as well. Add to this
the inclusion of a couple of magazines and the
package is complete. With an MSRP of $1,145,
the RO Elite Operator is a heck of a nice M1911
for a fair price and one upon which any owner
can without reservation bet his life.
Ejection port is
enlarged and
For anyone who favors a full-sized pistol (of lowered for
more reliable
which I am one) for concealed carry self- ejection during
fast shooting
defense, this is one M1911 .45 ACP you sequences or
malfunction
shouldn’t be without. clearances.
Never
in the
Dark The newest EDC flashlights are
tough, reliable and bright
MAY-JUNE, 2018 81
ight or day, inside or out, there are always dark places you might need to light up,
N whether you’re identifying a possible threat, trying to retrieve a piece of dropped

gear or looking for a safe avenue of escape.
Today’s newest LED lights are dependable, bright and fit in your pocket. They
can be a critical part of your EDC gear. Here are some of the top new lights covering a wide
range of sizes and brightness levels. Some are powered by rechargeable lithium cells, some
take commonly available alkaline batteries, and some can use either.
Mag-Lite Solitaire LED

The diminutive Solitaire has been in the Mag-Lite lineup for many years, but now it’s even better with its 47-l
umen LED with 150-foot reach. It run time is 1.75 hours. This light is powered by a single AAA alkaline battery.
It’s 3.25 inches long and weighs a mere 0.8 ounce. A key ring and lanyard are included. Available colors are
black and red.
MSRP: $12.95
URL: MAGLITE.COM
Coast HP10R
The new Coast HP10R rechargeable flashlight
combines an extremely bright light with a
versatile power system for go-anywhere illumi-
nation. The HP10R features Coast’s Flex Charge
Dual Power System, allowing it to be powered
by either the included rechargeable lithium
power cell or four AAA alkaline batteries.
Pulling back the tail cap reveals a micro USB
port for on-board battery charging. The battery
cell also has an integral charging port, so you
can charge the battery outside of the unit. An
output port on the lithium cell allows you to
charge other devices from the battery.
The light features high, strobe and low modes,

controlled by the push-button tail cap. On high,
the light puts out a super-bright 1,050 lumens,
with a beam that reaches 1,017 feet and lasts
six hours on a full charge. On low, the 230-
lumen beam still reaches 475 feet and lasts 11
hours on a full charge.
Extending the HP10R’s bezel switches its Pure

Beam Optic from a floodlight to a Bull’s-Eye
Spot Beam. A twist of the bezel locks it in place.
The light is 7.1 inches long and weighs 8 ounces.
MSRP: $186.99
URL: COASTPORTLAND.COM
Streamlight
MicroStream
USB
The new Streamlight MicroStream USB
flashlight, as the name suggests, makes use of
a lithium ion cell that can be recharged at any
USB port or from a USB wall charger. It pro-
vides 250 lumens of light on high and 50 lumens
of battery-saving light on low. The run times are
1.5 hours on high or 3.5 hours on low.
This small, easy-to-carry light features a two-

way clip for attachment to a pocket or the brim
of a cap for use as a headlamp.
MSRP: $50
URL: STREAMLIGHT.COM
MAY-JUNE, 2018 83
Fenix PD35 TAC

Fenix has upgraded its popular PD35 with
additional tactical features for the PD35 TAC.
This flashlight provides a maximum output of
1,000 lumens for a beam that projects up to 656
feet. Run time on high is 1 hour, 10 minutes. It’s
powered by a single 18650 rechargeable lithium
battery or two CR123A cells.
The PD35 TAC can be switched between out-

door mode and tactical mode. In outdoor mode,
you can choose between six function settings,
including a strobe, and five brightness settings.
In tactical mode, you have just high, low and
strobe to keep things simple and fumble-free.
The tail cap switch allows for momentary on.
A side switch for cycling through brightness
modes in outdoor mode is made of durable
stainless steel. The light is 5.4 inches long and
weighs 3.1 ounces. Included are a pocket clip,
lanyard and holster.
MSRP: $71.95
URL: FENIX-STORE.COM
Mag-Lite
Mag-Tac
Rechargeable
Mag-Lite has long been a brand synonymous
with tough, bright flashlights. The Mag-Tac
rechargeable, Model TRM1RA4 Crown Bezel
ofers four modes: momentary, full power,
power save and strobe. On high, the light’s
output is 543 lumens with a run time of 2.5
hours. On power save mode, the light puts out
112 lumens for 4.25 hours of run time.
The light is powered by a lithium iron phosphate

battery. It charges in just 2.5 hours using the
mountable charging base with either the includ-
ed USB cable with 12-volt adaptor or 120-volt
AC wall plug. The light is 5.81 inches long and
weighs 5.5 ounces. It’s also made in the USA.
MSRP: $132.50
URL: MAGLITE.COM
Fenix TK20R
The Fenix TK20R has a maximum output of
1,000 lumens that enables its beam to reach
out to 1,017 feet. It is 5.9 inches long, weighs
4.97 ounces and is made of aluminum, with a
crenellated strike bezel and anti-roll grip ring.
The TK20R features an integral micro USB port
for on-board charging of its single 18650 lithium
battery. You can also power the light with two
CR123 batteries.
The TK20R provides four brightness settings

plus strobe with a separate push-button
switch on the barrel to cycle through the
various modes. Run times range from 1 hour,
50 minutes on turbo (high) to 160 hours on low.
The light has a battery level indicator. Included
are one rechargeable battery, a USB charging
cable, holster, lanyard and spare O-ring.
MSRP: $99.95
Coast PX1R
The new Coast PX1R is a small, rechargeable
light with big features. On high, the PX1R pro-
vides 460 lumens of light that projects 508 feet
with a run time of 3.5 hours. On low, the light
still provides 50 lumens for a 164-foot beam
that provides 14 hours of illumination.
You can power the PX1R with either the

rechargeable lithium cell or three AAA alkaline
batteries. There is a micro USB port in the
pull-out tail cap for on-board charging or you
can remove the battery and charge it through
its integral charging port. At the bezel, you
can adjust the beam from flood light to a finely
focused spotlight. The light is 4.9 inches long
and weighs 4.9 ounces. The PX1R is available in
red, blue, green, orange and black.
MSRP: $120
URL: COASTPORTLAND.COM
LE PERFORMANCE BEYOND 1,300 YARDS
» SAVAGEARMS.COM/MSR
07
PowerTac E5R
The PowerTac E5R is powered by a 18650 lithium-ion
rechargeable battery that can be recharged through
the flashlight’s built-in micro USB port. The E5R
provides five diferent light mode settings with a
separate push-button on the barrel to cycle through
the settings. On high, it provides 1,000 lumens of light
over 241 meters with a run time of 2.7 hours. In the
dim firefly mode, the light’s run time is an incredible
32 days.
The light measures just over 5 inches long and

weighs about 2.2 ounces. It’s is made of aluminum
alloy and features a crenellated bezel for use as an
impact tool. It comes with a reversible pocket clip so
it can also be attached to a hat brim and used as a
headlamp. Also included are a USB charging cable,
AC adapter plug, polyamide holsters and a lanyard.
A kit is available to mount the E5R on a weapon.
Colored filters are also available.
MSRP: $119.95
URL: POWERTAC.COM
08
Fenix PD25
The Fenix PD25 is a powerful light for its
size. The light measures only 3.7 inches long
and weighs just 1.65 ounces, but it emits
400 lumens of light with a CR123A battery or
550 lumens with a 16340 rechargeable cell.
That beam projects 427 feet. There are four
brightness levels plus a strobe, all accessible
from the tail cap switch. Run time on high with
a CR123A battery is 1 hour, 10 minutes, but 100
hours on low. Waterproof to 2 meters for 30
minutes. Included are a holster, lanyard and
pocket clip.
MSRP: $56.95
09
PowerTac E9
The PowerTac E9 emits 1,020 lumens of light on
high. It’s powered by two CR123A or recharge-
able RCR123A batteries or a single 18650 lithium
battery. (Charger not included.) The E9 has four
brightness modes plus strobe. The button on the
tail cap serves as the on-of switch, while the
button on the barrel allows you to cycle through
the brightness settings. Pushing that button when
the light is of immediately takes you to the strobe
mode for emergency use. The light memorizes the
last mode used. Both the bezel and tail cap are
crenellated for use as an impact tool. The light is
5.27 inches long and weighs 2.7 ounces.
MSRP: $99.95
URL: POWERTAC.COM
Meet your
next rifle.
Experience 3-inch groups at 100

yards, from a crossbow measuring
just 6 inches from axle-to-axle.
Introducing Ravin with HeliCoil™
technology, a revolutionary cam
design that fires arrows downrange
with dead-straight nock travel
and zero rail friction – for
devastating precision.
See the crossbow that shoots like
a rifle at RavinCrossbows.com.
SPEED (400 GR) 430 FPS I POWERSTROKE 13" I KINETIC ENERGY 164 FP I DRAW FORCE 12.0 LBS
WIDTH AXLE-TO-AXLE 6" COCKED • 10.5" DE-COCKED I LENGTH 34.5" I PHYSICAL WEIGHT 7.1 LBS
STEY
UP-T
AND
T E X T BY TODD B
PH OTOS BY TODD
MAY-JUNE, 2018 89
weapon reviewed here is the Steyr

G A3 M1 chambered in 5.56mm NATO
d featuring the integral 1.5x optic rail
ore on this later).
e Steyr AUG is the recognized

g-bearer for bullpups. Designed and
ofed in the late 1960s by Steyr, the
G was selected by the Austrian Army
1977 to replace the licensed-built FN
variant StG 58. Full AUG production
mmenced in 1978. This represented
precedented success for the bullpups
erms of use by a respected military.
AUG bullpup design went on to serve
more than 20 other countries’ military,
or special operation units.
Whereas the military AUG is a select-fire

weapon, the A3 M1 is semiautomatic. The
Even with its
16-inch barrel,
the Steyr AUG A3 “When it comes to
effectiveness, the
AUG is operated via a short-stroke adjust- M1 still measures
only 28 inches
able piston system firing from a closed bolt. in overall length.
This rivals many
This piston operating method, combined short-barreled
with the weight of the AUG’s bolt group,
provides ruthless extraction and cham-
ARs.
handling advantages
bering—perfect for harsh environments
or when weapon care is neglected for
whatever reason.
of SBR rifles are
The AUG’s stainless steel operation and often touted as the
guide rods affixed to the bolt carrier glide
effortlessly inside the receiver for unparal-
leled smoothness in operation, as well as
difference-makers.”
exceptional reliability. Dual gas-adjustment bullpups are not as crisp as other designs the rifle is made of nearly indestructible
settings ensure its operation, even with the due to the linkage required between for- fiber-reinforced synthetic material called
dirtiest ammunition and in adverse condi- ward-located trigger and rearward-located Polyamide 66. The AUG A3 M1 is designed
tions. Ejection ports are present on both action. Good advice here is to treat bullpup to be fed from translucent polymer 10-,
sides of the weapon and can be selected by triggers like a Glock or double-action revolv- 30- or 42-round AUG magazines. Determin-
installing the bolt with the ejector mounted er trigger. One should not try to stage the ing the number of rounds left in an AUG
on the right or on the left. The non-recip- trigger, but instead work it smoothly. The magazine is as simple as looking at it.
rocating charging handle is located at the AUG A3 M1 trigger took approximately 9
front-left side of the gun. pounds of pressure to fire the round. The AUG’s translucent magazines were
some of the earliest examples of polymer
BULLPUP NUANCES A simple cross-bolt safety is easily accessed, magazines. The AUG magazine’s 42-round
Generally speaking, the triggers found on located behind the trigger. The shell of capacity proved a troop favorite, with other
MAY-JUNE, 2018 91
The bolt catch

rifles confined to 20- or 30-round maga-
is located above zines. Other versions of the AUG were de-
the mag well just
forward of the veloped at a later date that cater to AR-15/
shooter’s chin.
M16 magazines.
The magazine release button is installed

behind the magazine well, facilitating am-
bidextrous access. The release is oversized
and easily actuated/pushed down, even
when wearing gloves. The hand is naturally
positioned to remove the magazine as the
thumb engages the catch. Many will wax
poetic about a rifle encouraging magazine
retention versus dropping magazines hap-
hazardly on the deck. The AUG A3 M1 does
have a last-round bolt hold-open feature.
Prior AUGs did not. The non-reciprocating
(Left) A simple charging handle is placed on the left side of
cross-bolt safety
is easily accessed; the receiver along the handguard, just as on
it is located be-
hind the trigger. the HK G3. Overall, the AUG design is sealed
tightly, with few points for dirt or debris;
(Right) The mag even the charging handle slot is sealed.
release is unique
and is found just
behind the mag
well. AUG ADVANTAGE
Compactness is one of the most often-
repeated positive attributes of bullpup rifles
while maintaining a full-length barrel to
maximize cartridge performance. The AUG
The forward
vertical grip and
two-position
adjustable gas
block are im-
portant design
features of the
AUG bullpup.
penalty. It is easy to manipulate the AUG

A3 M1 with one hand, because the center
of gravity is farther back. As a result, if you
have to open a door or other similar task,
the bullpup offers you an advantage.
You can effectively treat the AUG A3 M1

like a big pistol if the situation demands.
Bullpups are generally the same size as
specialized short-barreled rifles (SBR) with-
out having to resort to sub-16-inch barrels
to achieve this size.
MAY-JUNE, 2018 93
“The biggest plus is that for
the same barrel length, a
bullpup will be at least 7
to 10 inches shorter than a
traditional rifle,
thus improving
maneuverability, handling
and reducing weight.”
The bolt group, left to

right: the bolt carrier,
cocking piece, firing
pin, bolt locking piece
(with spring and
sleeve) and bolt.
Shooters’ hesitation to adapt to the bullpup

stems from its manual of arms, compared to RANGE TIME—LIVING UP TO
those of traditional rifles, with which most THE AUG REPUTATION
of us have more experience. I put more than 400 rounds through the
Steyr A3 M1 using various courses of fire
For example, bullpup magazine changes are I experienced while attending training
different, combined with the action not be- focused on operating around vehicles, as
ing as readily visible. The action is contained well as CQB techniques. In addition to the
in the stock and thus out of view in most Federal, American Eagle and SIG ammo that
bullpup designs; the AUG is included in this was tested for performance, Hornady TAP
category. Another point raised is that some 55-grain and Black Hills 69-grain OTM were
bullpups are not as ambidextrous as others. used for reliability testing.
specifications
« An example of the
AUG's beneficial
compactness
would be working
in and around
vehicles; you can
In these tight quarters, I quickly found a
key benefit: The AUG’s exterior is “slick,”
with virtually no projections to hang up on
straps, lines, vehicle interiors, vegetation or
have the A3 M1
Steyr Arms AUG A3 M1 bullpup rifle point-
ed, muzzle down,
between your legs
anything else. A 30-round magazine pro-
trudes only about 4 inches below the stock.
(Optic Variant) with the buttstock
resting on the
seat cushion.
It did not take an inordinate amount of
CALIBER: 5.56X45MM/.223 REM time to become familiar with operation and
OPERATION: ADJUSTABLE, SHORT STROKE, GAS PISTON, SEMIAUTOMATIC handling during the testing and evaluation.
RECEIVER: HARD ELOXAL-COATED AIRCRAFT ALUMINUM Despite the radical design difference, it was
BARREL: 16.375 INCHES, CHROME-LINED CHF; SIX GROOVES, 1:9 RH no different than switching between an AR
OVERALL LENGTH: 28 INCHES and an AK. The magazine sitting closer to
WEIGHT: 8.8 POUNDS, EMPTY (AS TESTED: 1.5X OPTIC VERSION) the body took a little getting used to during
SIGHTS: INTEGRAL 1.5X OPTIC WITH "DOUGHNUT” RETICLE (ALSO AVAILABLE: 3X OPTIC, reloads, as well as orienting hand location
11-SLOT SHORT RAIL OR 16-SLOT HIGH RAIL)
when racking the charging handle during
TRIGGER: 9 POUNDS, 8 OUNCES; SINGLE STAGE
weapon manipulation.
FURNITURE: POLYMER WITH FOLDABLE VERTICAL FRONT GRIP
MAGAZINE: AUG, TRANSLUCENT, DETACHABLE BOX, DOUBLE-STACK, 30 ROUND (ALSO

AVAILABLE IN 10 AND 42 ROUNDS)
Range tests consisted of moving around ve-
COLORS: BLACK, WHITE, OD GREEN, MUD (TESTED)
hicles and simulated cover while engaging
an assortment of paper and steel targets;
MSRP: $2,099 these included automobiles located at Echo
URL: STEYRARMS.COM Valley Training Center (EVTC).
MAY-JUNE, 2018 95
The Steyr AUG showed its true promise by
performing well—not only within the 100-
yard bays, engaging multiple targets, and in
CQB scenarios in the 360-degree range, but Performance Results
«
also at the 300-yard prepared firing position
line. The AUG A3 M1 proved to be very ac- LOAD VELOCITY (FPS) ACCURACY (INCHES)
curate. In fact, it’s so compact that it makes AVERAGE BEST
one forget it still features a full-length, SIG SAUER ELITE 77-GRAIN OTM 2,615 2.66 2.33
16-inch barrel. FEDERAL GOLD MEDAL MATCH 69-GRAIN 2,620 2.75 2.5
AMERICAN EAGLE 62-GRAIN FMJ 2,890 3.33 3.0
The AUG feels lighter than it actually is,

NOTES: VELOCITY AVERAGE WAS BASED ON FIVE ROUNDS FIRED OVER AN RCBS SHOOTING AMMOMASTER
because the weight distribution is heavi- CHRONOGRAPH. ACCUR S WERE DETERMINED VIA THREE FIVE-ROUND GROUPS AT 100 YARDS.
est toward the rear of the carbine. The
AUG’s center of gravity—without a loaded
magazine—is at the firing hand grip, which
makes it a very balanced rifle. It also places Various ammunition
from SIG Sauer, Hor-
most of the weight close to the body, which nady, Black Hills and
American Eagle was
means you’re supporting the weight of the tested with the Steyr
A3 M1.
rifle with your large core muscles. Tradition-
al rifles require smaller muscles for support,
because the weight extends farther from
your body. With the AUG, this also equates
to better handling over longer time frames
due to lessening fatigue on the arms and
shoulders—an important consideration for
CQB operation involving structure-clearing.
Some might question the effects of a

bullpup’s muzzle blast, because the barrel
and action are oriented close to a user’s
face during operation. However, evaluation
did not find this troublesome or noticeable.
It was no different than users experience
with an SBR—and possibly less, considering
the Steyr AUG offers 16 inches of barrel,
allowing for the powder to burn fully.
One of the most

unique aspects of
the AUG—the trig-
ger mechanism is
removed rearward
via the butt.
One of the less-appreciated/-touted aspects

of the AUG design is its modularity. As in
Hazard 4
so many ways, it was ahead of its time.
Switching out barrels of different profiles
and lengths is easily accomplished via one
button located at the front of the forend:
Just press the button and twist the barrel
about 10 degrees. Smuggler Sling Pack
Steyr has followed along with the times by Nothing is as individu
now offering users the ability to forego the carry immediate-actio
integral optic by removing it and replac- handgun, weapon ma
ing it with Picatinny rails, allowing for the and rifle), medical IFA
mounting of red-dots or other optics-of- whatever else is need
choice. The AUG A3 M1 is available in a risk environments. Fa
short-rail version and high-rail version, as as accessibility, adapt
well as an integral optic version with either fit, weight-to-mobility
a 1.5x or 3x scope. The scope tube on the ratio, retention and sp
integral optic version has exceptionally constraints all come i
bright and clear optical elements and is play. Let’s face it: The
modernized with the addition of Picatinny world is becoming a
rail sections. The rail and optics platforms more dangerous place
on all three AUG A3 M1 versions are inter- not only overseas, bu
changeable via the three base screws that here in the United
thread from the underside of the top of the States, as well.
receiver. I decided to use the 1.5x integral
optic version for this review in order to A company helping to
experience a more traditional AUG profile. equip our military, law
enforcement, private
The low-powered, magnified optic with security contractors (PS
“doughnut” reticle was another feature and also civilians is
found on the AUG that was ahead of its Hazard 4.
time upon its introduction in the late 1970s.
I have read that both Meopta and Swarovski The Hazard 4 Smuggl
manufacture the integral optic for Steyr. Sling Pack has been i
use supporting my var
The optic-and-reticle setup is intended as a article projects for th
combat sight. It contains a simple black ring last several months. T
reticle with a basic rangefinder that is de- convenience of easy a
signed so that at 300 meters (984.3 feet), for carrying multiple w
a man-sized target (180 cm/5.9 feet tall) is much appreciated. The Smuggler is a large Evac Series sling pack specifically
Removing the
will completely fill it, giving the shooter an barrel on the AUG designed to accommodate carbines up to AK47/AR length.
is as simple as
accurate method of estimating range. pushing one but-
ton and twisting
the barrel about However, the Smuggler is designed so that users do not feel that items are
10 degrees.
jammed in. I found it easy to accommodate the Steyr AUG with no issue. Shooters
can transport their rifles with a magazine inserted and/or optics mounted.
Additional external pockets can carry magazines, a cleaning kit, extra parts and
everything you need for transporting your work gun or hauling around urban gear.
A folded, padded sleeve is included with the Smuggler that can be used as padded
support for any items you might want to place inside the compartment; alternatively,
it can be used to hold a rifle inside. This means you can place a rifle inside the
folding sleeve itself to provide a little cushioning for it. The folding sleeve can also
be taken out of the bag and used as a shooting mat.
The Smuggler Pack has evolved into one of my favorite weapon-transport cases.
HAZARD 4
Hazard4.com
The user can

mount the barrel
length and/or “The AUG’s
profile that best
suit the mission.
The barrel lugs
stainless steel
lock the barrel
securely in place operation and
without loss of
zero. guide rods affixed
to the bolt carrier
glide effortlessly
inside the receiver
for unparalleled
smoothness in
operation, as well
as exceptional
reliability.”
THE “DIFFERENCE-MAKER”
Arms aficionados will find the Steyr AUG A3
M1 bullpup intriguing compared to typical
standard-pattern rifles and might want one
based on this uniqueness. Many will find
the AUG A3 M1 desirable due to its com-
pactness, reliability and accuracy. After all,
this is a combination that’s hard to argue
against in terms of utility for any user.
The sight cannot be set to a specific range
but can be adjusted for windage and eleva- When it comes to effectiveness, the han-
tion for an initial zero and is designed to be dling advantages of SBR rifles are often
calibrated for 300 meters. When so set, aim- touted as the difference-makers. Why not
ing at the center of a target will produce a enjoy this advantage while retaining barrel
hit at all ranges out to 300 meters. Obvious- length that optimizes ballistic performance?
ly, this arrangement is geared toward combat The Steyr AUG A3 This is what the Steyr AUG bullpup offers.
offers the han-
applications and not sub-MOA T&E results. dling advantages
of an SBR rifle but
The 5.56’s flat trajectory aids in making hits retains the barrel The individual is the key to effectiveness,
length that main-
out to 300 yards without having to compen- tains the ballistic not the weapon. An operator with this type
performance of a
sate excessively for bullet drop—especially full-length rifle. of mindset will surely appreciate the Steyr
with the full-length AUG A3 M1 barrel. AUG A3 M1.
USA
Tankland
visiting the
American
Military
Museum
T E X T & P H OTOS BY JOH N TEATOR
MAY-JUNE, 2018 101
e discovered the actual
W “happiest place on Earth”

in Southern California,
and it has nothing to
do with a mouse. Just 15 minutes east of
downtown Los Angeles you’ll find a rarified
collection of more than 170 armored and
support fighting vehicles on display. The
American Military Museum’s collection of
vehicles pays tribute to over 50 years of
American armor. We couldn’t help but stop
by to take a closer look.
The museum has been collecting, preserving

and restoring a large variety of military vehi-
cles, artillery and equipment since 1962 and
is home to one of the largest inter-service in
the Western United States. Its displays include
vehicles that have served in most of America’s
modern conflicts including World War I, World
War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the
Cold War and Operation Desert Storm.
Not only is the American Military Museum

a place to see these incredible machines up
close and personal (you’ve never experi-
enced the M53 155mm Self-Propelled Gun
properly until you see how giant this beast
is in person), it is also a center for education
about the lineage of American military ve-
hicle history, from horse-drawn artillery all
the way to self-propelled cannons and battle
tanks. The museum prides itself in being a
place for historical, design and engineering
learning. They have study guides available
to students that cover everything from the
American Civil War to the Cold War.
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a face-lift of a Jeep as well. You can follow Along with tanks and artillery, you’ll also
along with their latest project progressions see air- and water-borne vehicles includ-
on their blog, tankland.com/museum-news. ing PT Boats, D-Day Higgins landing craft,
All of this fine work is done largely in part a Vietnam river boat and even a Huey
to the fine work of its dedicated volunteer Gunship that saw action in Vietnam. It was
force. If you’re a hands-on type and enthu- a memorable and worthwhile visit for us for
siastic about tanks and other military equip- sure. The next time you’re out in Southern
ment, the museum welcomes enthusiasts to California, pay a visit to what we consider
join them for volunteer service. the area’s real happiest place on Earth.
In fact, the museum has served as a place

where students from renowned design The museum has
been collecting
universities such as Art Center of Pasadena vehicles and
equipment since
and Otis College of Art and Design come to 1962, and its col-
study vehicle and industrial design. They’re lection includes
hardware that has
not all static displays either. The museum has served in every
modern American
vehicles and equipment that has been rented conflict from
WWI to Operation
out for movie and televisions shows, too. Desert Storm.
In an ongoing push to keep our past alive,

the museum’s core volunteers have been
continually maintaining and restoring their
collection. Currently, they’re restoring a
WWII-era M3 Half-track and just completed
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TEL: 626.442.1776
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A SNIPER IS BORN
T E X T BY PAUL MARTIN EZ
I
’ve been on more missions than an I
can count. Somewhere between 500-
750 objectives attained during my
years of service, there is one which
shaped my entire life.
It was on that particular day in the Sum-

mer of 2009 when I decided I wanted to
become a sniper. I’d never given it any
thought before then and, in fact, I had
plans to leave the military entirely later of a new strategy, our company’s Task called Marjeh. Never during the war
that year. Force was additionally augmented with a had any coalition forces made a move
squad of Afghan Soldiers, hand-selected to control Marjeh. It was a stronghold,
THE MISSION THAT CHANGED and trained by some secret-squirrel guys a den of iniquity and as dangerous as
THINGS whose names and units we didn’t need any place on the planet in the history of
All it took was one mission into the to know about. dangerous places on the planet. About a
heart of Marjeh, in southern Helmand klick out, we started to hear chatter on
Province, Afghanistan. We had launched These Afghans were vetted by the Ranger the Taliban’s radio frequency.
our mission from Kandahar Airfield, Regiment’s personnel as well, so—the
which was much more than an airfield: a briefing said—we were to trust them as “The Americans are coming. Get the big
bizarre Babylon of coalition nations co- allies. They needed a Ranger counterpart guns ready!”
existing, trying to make the best of the to their own Afghan “commander,” who
desert steppe that was either blisteringly was essentially a Platoon Sergeant. This “Get the big guns ready … we will kill
hot, or ungodly cold—and sometimes was both an undesirable and dangerous the infidels … praise be to Allah!”
both in the same 24-hour period. Not job, but this Afghan squad was mis-
many places on Earth get both snow and sion-essential and would go out on every It wasn’t the first time we walked into
130-degree heat. It was mid-summer; single mission. I volunteered without hes- a trap or an ambush. It also wouldn’t be
we had the pleasure of experiencing of itation; any chance to go out of the wire the first time the Taliban attempted their
those 130-degree days, and the nights was worth it to me, regardless of the risk. own version of psychological operations—
were no better. Honestly, I couldn’t tell feigning greater forces and preparedness
the difference. We landed four klicks outside of Marjeh than what they actually had. Walking into
city, in hopes that we could gain some Taliban city, we all knew this would not
My buddy Nicholas Irving (yes—The element of surprise. A small chance be the case. Yet, the quiet desert night
Reaper) and I were attached to Charlie in the thin desert air. The whirly-birds gave us no clue either way. The stars
Company, 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger flushed like grouse back to KAF after shone down impartially on the same sand
Regiment. He was a sniper, I came as depositing our Ranger platoon and my as they had for thousands of years’ worth
a squad leader of a Mortar Section, but Afghan squad in barren moonscape. of summer nights.
we had gone to Ranger School together,
and were in the same Headquarters and We started walking towards “Taliban INTO THE CITY’S HEART
Headquarters Company, or HHC. As part City,” as the Afghan commander Amin We were coming to a point in our route
MAY-JUNE, 2018 109
GROUND
ZERO « MISSION NOTES
WHO: Squad Leader, Charlie Company, 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment
WHERE: Marjeh, southern Helmand Province, Afghanistan
WHEN: Summer 2009
where we would change direction and It was my first crash course in being a I had ever seen caught my eye, but …
move into the heart of the city. There Ranger Sniper. Nick seemed to have a it was wobbling, and growing larger
was a man crouching by a ditch, staring sixth sense, always looking where we very quickly. I dove to the ground and
up at us from maybe 25 meters off the were not, always finding the gap in the flattened myself. I had no idea what was
road. We could see him plainly and he battlefield that our own highly trained incoming, but I knew it was bad. That
us, yet he did not move, and he did not scrutiny overlooked. It was an essential meant grab the earth, point your armor
appear to be armed. It might be Taliban skill for a Ranger Sniper who, more often at the threat, and cover your vulnerable
City, but even here the civilians were than not, must do his work alone—and parts with your meaty ones. The Afghans
trying to live their lives, hoping the war on the fly. shrunk to nothing, becoming one with
would pass and they could go back to the mounds of fill dirt they were using as
raising crops and children. This guy could We walked another 800 meters, and cover. The RPG burned past us, right as
have just been a chicken crossing the stopped on broken terrain. Mounds of the line rangers called out “RPG!”
road; he had no visible weapon, he was fill dirt and manure provided much of
outside of suicide-vest range, and his us cover. We had altered our route to The warhead screamed past Nick’s po-
posture was passive. hopefully flank the ambush the Taliban sition and detonated harmlessly a few
was laying for us. We all went to ground, meters past the now-compromised sniper
My friend Nick held back, watching the finding cover where we could. perch with a terrifying “CRACK” I could
man through his sniper scope from an feel in my lungs. Like a boxer ducking
unseen vantage point. When the last of Nick and his partner climbed a small out- his opponent’s punches, Nick braced for
us passed him by, the man near the ditch building—the equivalent of an American the overpressure from the explosion,
pulled a radio from his dish-dash (com- corn crib or a tool shed—to provide over- then sent a 175-grain counterpunch—
monly referred to as a “man-dress,” the watch for our ground positions. Platoon center mass—into the enemy who fired
long tunic that was custom Afghan garb). sergeants tasked several teams to probe the rocket. Nick’s partner followed suit,
As he did, it revealed the butt-stock of forward in the directions the attack was putting down the two-man rocket team
a shoulder-fired weapon. Nick’s sniper likely to come from. I stood up from my in short order.
rifle, already trained on the man’s face, covered position behind a mound of dirt
coughed through its suppressor, abruptly to cross a narrow “road” that separated We picked up and continued movement,
ending the threat to our mission. myself and my squad of Afghans, and as we had—according to our INFIL plan—8
something stopped me short. klicks to go. All we had were drone imag-
“Sierra, EKIA,” Nick calmly spoke into his ery and Russian maps, which were about
radio. The biggest, most orange harvest moon equal in resolution and detail, back in
2009. We turned our route 180 degrees, Monkey tipped his cannon to account for slowly. He turned his head to me with a
heading into the heart of the city. We range and launched the white phospho- half smirk and said, “Damn, I’m good.”
made it maybe another 800 meters, when rous round straight up, as if the little metal
we started hearing AKs firing, answered football of death was an escape pod trying CONTINUE MISSION
by cracks of M4s. It seemed to come from to exit the bullshit that was happening on I took a deep breath and watched Nick
every house, every window, and every the ground around it. It came screaming sling his rifle and head out into the
doorway at once. The guys silenced the en- down with a whistle while the muzzle flash heart of Taliban City, following Charlie
emy quickly, saved by their expert training of the machine gun team strobed death at Company’s lead elements as they swept
and finely honed reflexes. us. We heard the distinct CRACK of white forward. I turned quickly to make sure
phosphorous creating an oxygen-sucking, my Afghans and “Terp” were following
I was in the middle of our column with 5,000-degree conflagration in the center of me, and then I followed him. I knew
a C2 (command and control) element, the machine gun emplacement. something important had just happened,
a radiotelephone operator (RTO), a pla- but I wouldn’t understand exactly how
toon leader (PL), and our 60mm Mortar AN AK ENCOUNTER until much later.
team—Monkey and Bacon. As the roaring Monkey and Bacon were packing up
ambush up front turned into a trickle of their cannon while I called to Amin, our We opted to “Charlie Mike,” or Continue
pops and snaps, we were ambushed by a Afghan squad leader, and he gathered Mission. In the remaining 2 or 3 klicks to
machine gun team in a wood line, maybe up his men. I saw my interpreter moving our target building, we took fire repeat-
250 meters away. Their Russian-made toward me, and I turned once again to edly, and each time, by some miracle,
belt-fed was chugging through ammo, face the heart of Taliban City, somewhere we pressed on without injury. Finally, as
firing at our lead elements before they out there in the darkness. I scanned in dawn was turning into day, we reached a
turned their attention to us. front of me, rooftops first. nondescript adobe compound with a big
metal gate. There was nothing unusual
Monkey, the mortar team leader, yelled to Suddenly, for the first time in that or distinct in any real way; however,
the PL that he was ready to engage with ungodly Afghan summer, I felt cold; less from the well-worn footpaths coming to
mortars, which would be faster than we than 100 meters away, I saw the unmis- and from the house, you could guess this
could work up a Close Air Support mission takable silhouette of a man in a dish- was a hub of some sort.
with one of the helicopters overhead. dash, his AK pointed dead at me. My M4
All they would hear from our mortars is was moving, but it was slung muzzle-low As soon as we were close enough to
a death whistle an instant before high and pointing a full 180 degrees away cordon off, several men fled the house.
explosive and white phosphorous cracked from the Taliban fighter who was about Our Platoon Sergeant dispatched a chase
them open and burned them to a crisp. to take my life. I felt like I was encased team—including our dog handler. The
in mud. Underwater. I had to make a rest of us moved into the structure,
The PL yelled to Monkey that he was gross movement to point my M4, move conducting Sensitive Site Exploitation,
clear, so the mortar team leader lined up the selector switch from SAFE to SEMI, or SSE. Digging through the house, we
his cannon while his assistant gunner, find my sights, and click on my laser—all found documents, propaganda, weap-
Bacon, fished a round out of his pack. before he made a single movement to ons—we were on the right track.
Monkey was a new Team Leader, but he press the trigger on his rifle and kill me.
was as smart as the come. Still, I couldn’t I didn’t know, due to my low rank and
help myself from butting into his fire I had read about this moment in Louis limited experience, if we had gotten
mission—we were in the same platoon L’Amour novels half a dozen times. He what we came for; but, we collected
and I outranked him. definitely had the drop on me, and I was ourselves to begin our exfiltration from
“Dead to Rights.” the city. Without the cover of darkness,
“You going to hit them with Willy Pete in a city filled with Taliban, and with our
(white phosphorous) right?” I barked. The thick, creeping time—a phenome- air support out of gas and ammunition,
non known as “tachypsychia”—suddenly we found ourselves on less-than-equal
Even in the dark night, I could see his abated, and my brain brought me back footing with an enemy that had defied
eyes light up. to the present as it registered a loud even the great Russian armies. I remem-
“SNAP” from off to my left. bered from our mission briefing that we
“YEAH!” He called back, then asked a bit had 4.5 klicks to go to our extraction HLZ
sheepishly, “How far do you think that is?” I saw my assassin’s head scarf flail into (helicopter Landing Zone).
the air and he dropped behind the low
“ASK SIERRA!” I suggested, which he did in- wall on the rooftop like someone had We moved out through the city. Civilians,
stantly. Our sniper team gave him their best cut the string suspending him. My tunnel as well as Taliban sympathizers, began
estimate—which would be better than ours. vision dilated back to a normal human clogging the streets in front of us. Some
Their training and experience had calibrated field of view and I saw Nick Irving’s sil- of them attempted to go about their
their eyes more precisely for the task. We houette to my left. His SR-25 sniper rifle— day. Others were clearly trying to bog us
were an area fire weapon, after all. affectionately named Dirty Diana—was down long enough for an ambush to be
shouldered, and the muzzle was lowering set along our course.
MAY-JUNE, 2018
I was called to take my Afghan squad and his team took the sniper out first, didn’t simply want us out of their city,
and push to the front of the formation. neutralizing the threat at almost a kilo- they wanted to run us down and slaugh-
We moved out at a “Ranger Trot,” a rap- meter. They pinned the rest of the enemy ter us like cattle.
id, barely sustainable running pace that ambush team to the ground with rapid,
would kill ordinary men in the blistering accurate shots in even intervals. Our Nightstalkers called to change our ex-
desert heat. I was now walking point, traction point, trying to put more distance
with a squad of indigenous soldiers I The helicopter rolled in next; he was just between them and the city, mitigating
barely knew. Luckily Nick, with his sniper above the trees and rooftops, a stone’s throw the risk of a helicopter being damaged or
partner, our K-9, and another team lead- from the ground and pointing his consid- downed as much as possible. I caught a
er were up front with me. erable arsenal straight at me. The gunner second chill when I came to the realiza-
loosed two rockets, and my brain processed tion we were being chased into the desert
Leap-frogging with my Afghans, Nick every movie memory I had of friendly fire without water and our ammo depleted to
and his small ad hoc team processed the incidents. I yelled for my Afghans to get dangerously low levels.
battlefield in front of us. They looked far down, sure we were about to get fragged.
ahead with their sniper scopes to clear The 2.75-inch rockets ripped over our heads The men chasing us were seasoned desert
our next move. They often fell back, or and pulverized the second story of a building warriors, most of them fresh from sleep
found a hasty overwatch position while less than 25 meters away. The Cobra crew in the comfort of their own homes. There
my Afghans intervened with the civil- called their target destroyed. was nothing to be done except what we
ians—encouraging them back into their were doing. So I put it out of my mind.
homes, or grabbing suspicious men and THE KILL ZONE I was dehydrated, bleeding through my
passing them back to be interrogated on Unbeknownst to us, a machine gun team boots, and I was coming up on 24 hours
the fly by the main force behind us. had been on the roof, hidden from my view, without any sleep or food. Aside from the
and was seconds away from annihilating boiling moonscape in front of us and the
I wanted to be up front focused on the me and my group of Afghans—and trapping army of fanatical fighters behind us, this
fight with Nick’s tiny band, but our our entire unit in a textbook “Kill Zone.” was just another day in 3rd Batt.
platoon sergeant made one thing clear:
my job was to make sure the Afghans The Cobra flared in a turn at full speed Finally, 5 klicks into the desert, the ene-
were doing their job of deconfliction, and screamed toward the rocket team my gave up their chase. On wobbly legs,
and keep them tactical, spread out, and sniper, sending another lethal we crouched down and formed a perim-
behind cover when we could. It was a volley to pulverize what was left of our eter in the blinding sun. Soon we heard
delicate balance of speed and caution. would-be ambushers. The helicopter the whopping of heavy rotor blades, in-
Break neck-pace and scrutiny. We may then turned back the way he came and dicating the sweet, merciful approach of
be in Taliban City, but we couldn’t simply screamed away from the city, where he 160th SOAR’s chinooks. We ran for them
blast our way through and cause civilian would wait, out of range of enemy fire, before their wheels touched down, stuff-
casualties, which was always our highest until we needed him again. ing ourselves inside. In seconds we were
imperative. airborne, the air rushing into the open
INTO A HORNET’S NEST aircraft cooling us as we sped towards
We finally fought and cajoled our way to Nick and his partner used their scopes to Kandahar. The Nightstalkers’ flight crew
the edge of the city when we got a call confirm the enemy were KIA and called up, passed out water bottles, and I relaxed
from an unarmed drone overhead. There so we could continue moving. I shook off my enough to start dozing.
was a possible RPG or mortar team, as awe at the fine bit of flying and precision ae-
well as an enemy sniper, waiting for us rial weaponeering. On our platoon frequency, As my mind drifted, I pictured a head
in the high ground that would be at our we were informed that the city behind us scarf flailing into the wind, the sweet
flank as we moved into the desert. was a hornet’s nest of activity and armed taste of life returned when Nick cut
men were massing to run us down. the man’s strings before he could have
Nick and his partner ran forward without killed me. I pictured Nick and his team,
hesitation, and the TL went with them We picked up our breakneck pace and I shouting wind corrections to each other
to make sure they could focus on the sipped the last of my water as we headed while rockets flew overhead. I added up
distant threat while he covered every- into the desert. One and a half more klicks the effect of one man firing one round at
thing closer. Nick immediately identified and we would be picked up by our magic a time through a precision rifle.
the threat and he and his sniper partner school bus, a souped-up MH-47E Chinook
went to work a mental flurry of math, from 160th Special Operations Air Regiment, There were fighters, and there were
range estimation and target identi- also known as Nightstalkers. We moved out hunters, and I knew I had been one and
fication, reporting exactly what they into the desert, and I counted down the not the other. I knew I would not be get-
observed at the same time. meters between us and extraction. It was full ting out of the Army in the fall like I had
daylight, and the heat was on. planned. In fact, I told myself, I would
A Marine Corps Cobra gunship, the only air not be getting out of the Army until I
support available since we had expended The enemy forces behind us had recol- could be that man, with a precision rifle,
everything the Air Force and Army had lected themselves and were moving in Overwatching the finest infantrymen that
allotted us, was dispatched to help. Nick our direction, just out of our sight. They have ever been fielded.
MAY-JUNE, 2018 113
Firearms Owners’
Protection Act
The Firearms Owners’ Protection Act (FOPA) is a compilation of
laws that protect those who are transporting firearms for lawful
purposes from local restrictions that would otherwise prohibit
passage. No federal permit is required or even available for
the interstate transportation of firearms. Federal law does not
restrict individuals from transporting legally acquired firearms
across state lines for lawful purposes except those explicitly
prohibited by federal law.
Understand
Local Laws
Most states and localities have their own laws that govern the
transportation of firearms through their jurisdictions. Those
transporting firearms through these territories must be aware
and comply with the laws of the jurisdictions that they pass
through. It is your job to be aware of the laws in the areas you
transport to.
Transport By
Vehicle
There isn’t a uniform transportation method for firearms when
travelling by motor vehicle between states. When in doubt, the
NRA (in accordance with 18 U.S. Code § 926A) suggests that “a
traveler should carry firearms unloaded, locked in a case, and
stored in an area (such as a trunk or attached toolbox) where
they are inaccessible from a vehicle’s passenger compartment
and not visible from outside the vehicle. Any ammunition
should be stored in a separate locked container.” There are
exceptions depending on the type of firearm and the locale
you’re travelling through. Again, it is highly recommended that
travelers consult local law prior to travelling.
Transport By
Aircraft
Yes, you can transport firearms and ammunition in checked
baggage on commercial flights. The Transportation Security
Administration (TSA) has stringent requirements for transport-
ing these items that must be followed. Some of the require-
ments include that firearms be unloaded and checked with the
airline as checked luggage. Be aware that firearms and their
parts such as barrels, magazines, receivers and other internal
components, as well as ammunition, are prohibited from
carry-on baggage. One must comply with FOPA, airline and
TSA policies regarding firearms and ammunition transportation
Interstate by airplane to avoid legal liabilities. More regulations exist; look

them up prior to traveling.
Firearm Transport On
Your person
Transportation If you’re a CCW permit holder and wish to transport your
firearm on your person or within ready access in a motor
Tips
vehicle, remember that all state and local laws regarding the
carrying of firearms apply. It is prudent to find out what each
state’s laws are regarding concealed carry reciprocity by
contacting the state’s Attorney General’s ofice. You can also
Disclaimer: These travel tips are just that, tips. Bottom line is use your own due
diligence and make sure you are aware of the laws before interstate travel with review the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Guide at:
firearms and ammunition. More information can be found at: nraila.org https://www.nraila.org/gun-laws/.

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