My New Year’s resolution for 2021 was to take stock of what I have, use what I’ve got, and stop compulsively internet shopping for more shit. With that in mind, I did an ammunition inventory and discovered that while my stock of 9mm practice ammo will hopefully carry me through another couple of years, I also have (if I don’t get too trigger happy) a lifetime supply of .22 Long Rifle ammo. My primary handgun for training and home defense is a Dan Wesson TCP 1911 in 9mm, so my goal was to find a reliable, accurate, .22LR 1911 conversion kit as a training aid that didn’t burn my dwindling supply of 9mm. For the tl;dr people, I’ll say right now that the Nelson Custom conversion kit I got is working out very well in its intended role. For those who want details, here you go.

Battlefield 2042 has just been announced as the sixth instalment of the extremely popular Battlefield multiplayer first-person shooter video game. Each instalment of the game has featured a slightly different theme from the last with the previous instalment, Battlefield V, set during WW2, which featured a smorgasbord of WW2 era weapons and attachments. This time around, players will be treated to an extensive list of rifles, pistols, sniper rifles, DMRs, and rocket launchers that will draw heavily from both currently available modern weapons as well as some cool new futuristic weapons to spice things up. So what firearms from today’s arsenal are in the game? We’ll see what I’ve spotted so far in the trailer below and you can let me know if you’ve seen anything that stands out to you.

In the late 1990’s and early 2000’s, the United States and the rest of the world shifted from a market of in-person retail sales to one dominated by online shopping. Rather than hopping in the car, driving to the mall, and hoping the store will have the exact item you want at a reasonable price – all done during business hours – shoppers transitioned to buying almost everything from a computer or mobile device. At any time and from anywhere. The firearms industry followed suit; websites started selling guns, parts and related gear to customers who would use a local gun shop as the legal point of transfer for regulated items. Now, whether you know it or not, we are in the middle of another paradigm shift in the financial world – cryptocurrency and decentralized finance is headed straight for all of us like it’s 1999. And the firearms industry should be an early adopter of crypto.

Our fathers are special people in our lives. Our dads were generally the ones who taught us how to shoot, how to tie our shoes, and how to goof around. Whether it’s your own dad or your father-in-law or your son who has recently become a father, Father’s Day is a great day to show some extra appreciation for one of the most pivotal roles in any child’s life. I don’t know a single father out there who wouldn’t mind getting a nice box of ammo for his favorite rifle or pistol or even a couple of magazines or tools to help round out his collection. This list will be a great place to start if you’re racking your brain looking for some fantastic firearm gifts for the man, the myth, the legend – your father.

It’s not often that you have to open up the bolt of your Remington 700 rifle to clean it but when you do you’ll want to make sure you’re not marring it up in the process. Fix-It Sticks is well known for making some very handy and compact tools that can be packed up and stowed away in any range pack for quick access either at home, on the gun bench or in the field when they’re needed. Fix-It Sticks just dropped their new Remington 700 Bolt Opener Tool that makes opening/disassembling a Remington 700 bolt quick and easy giving you quick access to the bolt body and firing pin.

Ranger Point Precision (RPP) expand their impressive selection of lever-action rifle accessories by adding a new Compact M-LOK handguard for the Marlin 336 Compact and Youth 16″ barreled models. This product will allow the smaller Marlin rifles to easily gain the modern look and modularity that some users are coming to appreciate on these old designs.

Guns are machines. No matter how well-made or expensive a machine is, it will break at some point. For this reason, firearms with higher round counts could benefit from having some tools and spare parts around. Batteries in electronic optics can die at inopportune times if not replaced regularly. This is a good reason to keep spares. The problem with carrying spare batteries and tools is that they’re always in my bag. If I needed my rifle off the range and had a part break or an optic die, I would be SOL. To address this problem, Strike Industries has released the Strike Pistol Grip Plug Tool Holder Insert. This allows you to carry your spares in the gun.

Before we dispense with the traditional Memorial Day Deals posting I’d like to take a moment here to talk a little bit about Memorial Day. This will be a quick reminder of what this federal holiday is all about. Memorial Day-like observances have been going on as far back as the American Civil War era. Both Confederate and Union soldiers who gave the ultimate sacrifice were honored by their fellow countrymen. While the original Decoration Day was a purely Union memorial tradition for its fallen service members, various Union memorial traditions were eventually merged together and Memorial Day was expanded to honor all Americans who died while serving within United States Military Service.

Back in March, Custom Smith MFG (CSM) announced a chassis for the Ruger-57 pistol. Well, Michael Bonamico, owner of CSM, was kind enough to send his chassis in for review. It is called the MP-57 and it makes the Ruger-57 a more practical weapon.

Recoil reduction and muzzle control are top considerations for today’s competitors and riflemen. While good training and discipline will help mitigate a lot of the muzzle rise and swat you get from firing an AR-15, compensators help further mitigate both felt recoil and muzzle rise. Ultradyne has just released their new Mercury Compensator which uses Ultradyne’s V-PORT system. The aim of the Mercury compensator is to optimize gas exhaust to primarily control muzzle rise while simultaneously reducing a large amount of felt recoil.

Cleaning kits come in all shapes and sizes and styles these days. One of my favorite types of cleaning kits is the kinds that come with an integrated cleaning mat that stores all of my tools in one place – they are great to take to range trips and anywhere in the house where you find space to clean your guns. Hoppe’s has just released their newest cleaning product – the Ready Roll Cleaning Kit. The Ready Roll is a way to keep your tools organized and also acts as a 5-gallon bucket liner for storing additional tools that may not fit inside the kit itself.

Bipods – a dear subject for me as I have a dozen of them for various applications. Swagger Bipods now have several new products available, mainly developed for hunting and competition shooting, but also for tactical purposes. A new feature I haven’t seen before is the Swagger SFR10’s ability to adjust the flex tension allowing the shooter to fine-tune the flexibility of the legs and go from flexible to rigid mode. This video shows how it’s done.

We first reported about the Smith Tactics Illuminator, a battery-powered illuminated flip-up front sight, back in February of 2020 when it was just introduced. Being a small company, Smith Tactics has since faced a lot of challenges related to setting up the production of this sight primarily due to the global pandemic, but fortunately, the company was able to overcome all the obstacles and the improved version of the Illuminator sight is now shipping.

In line with a tradition of continuous improvement, Firearms Guide gets a new 2021 edition, adding new firearm models to its already impressive list. At a glance, references of over 3,000 firearms, 200 manufacturers, and over 3,000 schematics have been included in the new edition of the repository.

Wearing a fully loaded plate carrier, helmet, battle belt, a rifle, and a pistol looks really cool. The problem is that that stuff gets heavy, and I’m rarely in the mood to carry it all. The other problem with all of that gear is that as a civilian, the chances of me ever using it for its intended purpose is slim. Something smaller and more concealable usually fits the bill for what I should be training with in order to be proficient with my gear. Chest rigs can be great for carrying no more than you need, and Strike Industries has entered the chest rig game with their Strike Gear Boogeyman Chest Rig and Strike Gear accessories.

The electromagnetic (EM) spectrum ranges from gamma rays to long radio waves. In this wide spectrum resides the visible band of violet to red light. All the EM spectrum travels at the speed of light: 300,000,000 meters/second (186,411 miles/second). A good rule of thumb is that light travels about one foot in one nanosecond or a billionth of a second.  This spectrum is divided into different wavebands: gamma rays, x-rays, ultraviolet, visible, infrared, short radio, and long radio wavelengths, arranged from the most energetic to the least. The higher the energy band, the higher the frequency or cycles per second and the shorter the physical distance between peaks of this cycle. We refer to a single cycle, of any of the EM spectrum, to be its wavelength. In the visible band, wavelength is the same as color.  

I am a huge fan of organization equipment when it comes to my firearms and firearms equipment. The more compartmentalized I can make my equipment the better. Otis has just come out with a new product for their cleaning kit lineup that I might just have to go out and buy – the AR Elite Range Box. The AR Elite Range Box comes with everything you’ll need to work on your AR from scrapers, patches, solvents, a stand and much more. A surefire way to be able to clean and maintain your AR away from your home bench.

Most everyone here will be familiar with Pelican Products and their popular line of durable hard cases that have been used by the military, law enforcement, and civilians alike to protect our valuable gear. Pelican has just unveiled their largest Air Case to date with the introduction of the Pelican Air 1646 model case which features a roomy 6,800 cubic inches of useable spaces for any type of gear that needs protection from shock and the elements.

Tourniquets are an essential piece of life-saving equipment that I think all shooters should have and learn how to use. They could save your or someone else’s life should the unthinkable happen. Having one nearby and ready to deploy at a moment’s notice is also important and Chase Tactical has a great option for keeping your Tourniquet handy with their Elastic Tourniquet Holder.

Griffin Armament has a new line of scope rings called SPRM. The rings are made out of 6061 T6 aluminum and available for multiple heights for 30mm, 34mm and 35mm rifle scopes. There is also an AIS (Accessory Interface Suite) that will allow you to mount accessories on 5 sides as well as RTO (Rapid Transition Optic) accessory support, for your secondary optic.

Tyrant Designs has been hard at work this year coming out with a steady stream of aftermarket parts for ARs, Glocks, SIGs, and other handguns. Their latest product is an improved Trigger system for the Generation 5 Glock pistols dubbed the I.T.T.S. (Improved Tyrant Trigger System). The I.T.T.S. features a hybridized design for the trigger shoe which incorporates a semi-curved and semi-flat shape which I have found to be more comfortable than a standard flat-faced trigger.

The legendary 1911 pistol has been a staple of the American gun culture for over 100 years after its initial introduction. Despite numerous advancements in firearms operation, materials, and ammunition technology, the venerated 1911 still remains a favorite of many firearms enthusiasts. However, the 1911 pistol in its original form is far from perfect. One notable deficiency of the original design for me is the lackluster grip texture you get from stock 1911s. Talon Grips has just come out with a new modular grip system for the 1911 platform that allows adapting the grip of each side of your 1911 without having to shell out thousands of dollars for a custom 1911 or 2011 pistol. Today I’ll be reviewing a complete set of Talon Modular grips that were sent over to me for testing and review and I’ll share my thoughts on Talon’s new grip system.

I recently came across an interesting product from USA Knife Maker Supply that I had never seen before – the PCC Takedown Protector. The goal of the product is to seal off the barrel lug and receiver socket where the two halves of the Ruger PC Takedown Carbine or Charger combine.

With companies like Cimarron releasing new reproductions of classic single-action revolvers, many of those who acquire them will no doubt want to show up to their next family bbq sporting their new piece. The 1791 Gunleather Single Action Revolver Holster is suitable for both cross draw and strong side carry positions and comes in 5.5″ or 6.5″ lengths depending on the revolver barrel length – all made with 100% American steer hide leather.

TNVC, or the Tactical Night Vision Company, has been an industry leader in the field of night vision and related shooting gear and accessories for about the last decade, as well as offering low-light/no-light training classes. They’ve come out with some excellent products of their own, like the Mohawk helmet attachment series and the PBM-A dual PVS-14 powered bridge mount. A few months ago, in January, they also put on vSHOTT, an all-online mini stand-in for the cancelled 2021 SHOT Show. They’re no stranger to collaborative product work, either, having previously partnered with companies like Steiner on the TOR-Mini laser, Unity Tactical on the TAPS dual pressure switch, L3 on the civilian version of the PEQ-15 IR laser/illuminator, and more.

Over the years, TFB has periodically reported on new linear compensator products that have been released. Some previous examples of these devices have included the model that is probably the most well-known take on the linear comp concept: the SureFire Warden, as well as others like the VG6 Precision CAGE device, Area 419’s Hellfire model, and the big-bore TROMIX linear comp, among a number of others. The whole idea behind a linear comp device, for those who haven’t used them and aren’t familiar with them, is essentially to divert muzzle blast forward, away from the shooter as well as anyone around him or her laterally. Particularly for rifles with shorter barrels, this can help turn what would otherwise be a harsh fire-breather into an easier beast to tame. One of the more recent takes on this linear comp idea came from a company called Kaw Valley Precision, or KVP for short. Last year they announced a modular linear comp, dubbed the MACH system.

Steiner Optics has developed the world’s first sunlight adaptive binocular meant to reduce the glare experienced when using binoculars under sunny conditions. The Steiner BluHorizons 10×26 binocular features Steiner’s trademarked AutoBrigt adaptive lens and comes with premium optics to give you a clear picture no matter if you are hunting, shooting, or adventuring and sightseeing.

Luth-AR has a new buttstock available at a competitive price. The MBA-5 is a lightweight, adjustable carbine buttstock that uses a paddle-style adjustment lever. The stock is compatible with either mil-spec or commercial carbine buffer tubes. As you can see in the pictures, there’s also an integrated Picatinny rail if you want to attach a monopod or other accessories such as a bag rider. This is quite nice if you intend to use your rifle for long-range shooting. The MSRP is just $49.95 and it’s available in either Black or Flat Dark Earth colors.

Meopta Optics has just announced the release of their newest binoculars – the MeoPro Air. As winter crosses into spring and more and more outdoor sportsmen start to venture out into their favorite hunting spots, there will inevitably be an increase in risk with regards to avoiding shooting the wrong thing. A great way to prevent this is to positively identify your prey before you shoot it. Binoculars are a great way to keep an eye out for targets while reducing eye fatigue, and they also happen to be more portable than most spotting scopes are. The MeoPro Air binoculars will come in two different configurations with different levels of magnification.

I have used the Spuhr Fix It Sticks kit for years, and if I forget them I feel handicapped. It’s a small but great piece of kit for anyone who mounts and dismounts a lot of riflescopes, which you know I do for my reviews. But that kit is more or less designed and limited to scope mounts and therefore is too minimalistic if you run into other “obstacles” in your gunsmithing.