Since late 2017 a group of secessionists in Cameroon’s former British mandate located in the southwest have been fighting under the banner of a self-declared state named the Federal Republic of Ambazonia or Amber Land. Bordering Nigeria to the northwest and the majority French-speaking Cameroon Republic to the east, Ambazonia takes its name from Ambas Bay, the local name for the mouth of the Wouri River where in 1858 English was established as a permanent language. A peaceful movement for independence had been growing for decades which after widespread several strikes and protests culminated in the declaration of an independent Republic and armed struggle in November 2017. Ambazonia even have their own cryptocurrency, the AmberCoin.

Have a Xenomorph problem? Need to buy some time? Well, Smart Shooter, well known for their Smart Shooter fire control system, have developed the Light Remote-Controlled Weapon called Smash Hopper. Smart Shooter’s Light Remote-Controlled Weapon or LRCWS is capable of mounting an AR-15/M4 or any other kind of infantry rifle, the system is not calibre specific. The system is paired with their Smart Shooter fire control system and is hooked up to a remote control unit to allow the tripod-mounted rifle to be aimed and fired from another locations.

Anytime you have a gathering of gun guys, you’ll almost certainly find that they’re also into all the other gear and gadgets that go along with firearms. For many shooting enthusiasts, that gear includes nylon-type products such as plate carriers, mag pouches, IFAK pouches, and the like. Earlier this year, TFB reported on the introduction of Defense Mechanisms, a new player in the tactical nylon scene. With a strong emphasis on customizability, Defense Mechanisms has come out swinging with a modular plate carrier system and a modular placard/pouch line, among their other products like rifle slings and ankle medical rigs. Far from resting on their laurels, in the wake of their significant initial release Defense Mechanisms has just announced several additions to their product offerings. You can now expand your Mission Essential Plate Carrier’s capabilities with new side plate bags, zippered full pocket and half pocket placard components, and single pistol mag pouches.

Over the years I have seen several pictures of rifles on tripods, and finally, the temptation grew to get my own system. With some money to burn, I still wanted to keep the budget fairly low. I also wanted something light, so I decided to look for solutions made in carbon fiber. The tripod I was looking for was going to be used for cameras, spotting scopes and rifles. The choice fell on the INNOREL RT90C, which I bought from the INNOREL Official store on Amazon. The price was roughly $300.

Every week, I talk about various topics and ways to improve your skills and be a benefit to society every day. One thing I haven’t done is take an in-depth look at my daily carry items and explain why I chose them over other choices. I’ve spent years going through different guns and gear figuring out what works best for me, so hopefully, it will give some of you a different perspective and motivate you to look at your own carry loadouts. I carry a few different firearms throughout the year but decided to focus on my top 3 carry loadouts I use the most often. Let’s take a look at my most common concealed carry setups.

The Ruger PC Carbine seems to be a very popular gun with a lot of aftermarket support. Well, a new company called Jawbone just debuted a product that helps improve one of the major flaws of the Ruger PC Carbine. That one major flaw is the location of the mag release, it’s in a very inconvenient spot. James even points this out in his video  8 Reasons Why I Wanted to Hate the Ruger PC Carbine (and the 8 Reasons I Don’t) from a few months back.

Most firearm customization used to require serious gunsmithing skills, time and money. Lots of money. A bare-bones 1911 owner looking for a series of performance enhancements could drop thousands of dollars and wait six months or more for a gunsmith to work through their books. With the development of the modular P320 Fire Control Unit, SIG Sauer has shifted the ability to customize handguns from the hands of craftsmen over to everyday users with plug-and-play parts that can transform a carry gun into a competition gun in about five minutes. Up until now, shooters would have to buy a base model and then a bunch of customized parts to build a specific gun. Now the P320 FCU is being offered as a stand-alone firearm and the doors are open to á la carte gun building.

Skipping ahead a month we resume the Underground Arms Watch series of articles, our regular dive into the world of criminal manufacture and use of off-the-books firearms showing up around the world.

Ultradyne, known for their “C4” flip-up iron sights system and muzzle brakes have just introduced their new “C2” iron sights. The new C2 version is also designed to flip-up (or down for storage), and still utilizes Ultradyne’s unique dual aperture sighting system, with an option to use a standard style blade in the front sight for the traditionalists. The C2 iron sights differ from the older C4 version in that they don’t have the built-in, quick elevation adjustments for different ranges. You can read Ultradyne’s product description and specs below to see the features that the C2 offers:

Since its founding in 1993, Texas-based TRUGLO has developed an extensive product catalog. Although they are probably best known in the firearms world for their tritium and fiber optic handgun sights, they also offer a plethora of other items for hunting, archery, and more. From a variety of scopes and red dots to shotgun choke tubes, splatter targets, and bowfishing accessories, TRUGLO brings a plethora of sporting and outdoor solutions to the table. One such product line is their Tac-Pod adjustable bipod series. With MSRPs ranging from $35-$60, these are an inexpensive alternative to the industry’s more top-shelf options, many of which can go for considerably more money. Now with a July 15th press release, TRUGLO is introducing two new additions to their bipod menu: a “Carbon Pro” version available in short (6″-9″) and long (9″-13″) lengths.

Parker Mountain Machine has developed two new muzzle devices (Comp Tracker and Sight Tracker) for H&K VP9 and P30 pistols. These products were specially designed for Heckler & Koch and will be available exclusively through the H&K Web Store. Let’s take a look at each of the new PMM/HK muzzle devices.

For the majority of shooters, most get the idea of regular maintenance when it comes to your carry gun and even ammunition. One thing that is often forgotten is the idea of maintaining your holster whether it’s Kydex or leather. It’s easy to skip over or forget entirely the importance of caring for the one thing that keeps your firearm attached to your body. Whether it’s a Kydex holster or a hand-stitched leather, it’s important to care for your gear to keep everything in the best shape possible. Let’s dive into some things to keep your holsters in top fighting shape.

Glock has just released a Modular Magwell Conversion that allows faster and more accurate reloads. The flared magwell is available for several models of popular Glock pistols and has just started shipping.

The Magpul MP5 SL Handguards and other furniture were announced back at SHOT Show 2019. You may have seen Will’s post here on TFB, they are now available. As soon as they were announced I ordered them for my HK SP5 and Omega MP5K-PDW clone. Let’s take a closer look at the Magpul MP5 SL handguards.

Shooting is a loud endeavor. Unless you’re using an extremely low-decibel setup like a suppressed .22, ear pro is a must. The consequences for failing to guard your ears against a firearm’s report can include tinnitus or other permanent hearing damage. Walker’s has been in the hearing protection business for over 25 years, and produces some highly-regarded electronic solutions. With a July 14th press release, they have announced the next iteration of this endeavor: the Raptor bone conduction headset. The press release reads as follows.

Early this year, I stumbled on a very affordable Simmons rangefinder in a pawn shop and couldn’t pass it up. The clerk didn’t know how long the Simmons Protarget Rangefinder had been there, but I was pleasantly surprised to see that the battery still worked. The clerk allowed me to step outside with it and it didn’t seem to have any trouble providing readings on nearby buildings, so I took a chance and spent the hefty sum of $35.

Probably my favorite thing about the gun community as a whole is the way we can all come together and create some really fun events. A few months ago I heard about a local race in mid-Michigan that incorporates running, tactical shooting and long distance shooting to create a gun competition that’s very unique. Unfortunately, I found out too late and the race was already sold out but went up to Lake City, Michigan to check things out. I wanted to support a few buddies who were on a few of the competing teams. Let’s take a look at what the Wolverine 5K is all about and why it was started.

Firearms usage and medical preparedness go hand in hand. Whether you’re enjoying a casual range day, hunting, shooting competitively, or carrying a concealed handgun in your everyday life, unfortunately mishaps can and do happen from time to time. Many shooting organizations and competitive bodies are increasingly encouraging or requiring their members and participants to include some form of trauma medical kit in their gear lists. Plenty of quality defensive shooting instructors are championing the practice of including medical gear in your EDC as well.  Galco Gunleather has shared a carry method that you may find useful. Meet the Galco Ankle Trauma Medical Kit, available now. The release reads:

Over two years ago, when I only had a PVS-14, I wrote about budget POV cameras for night vision. POV cameras are nothing new. There are those sunglasses that have a built digital camera. I used to invert a GoPro over my left eye when I was learning to shoot USPSA. But filming what you see when you wear night vision is a little harder. There is one established POV recorder called the LPMR by BecauseOperator. However, a relative newcomer to the night vision POV recorder game is the ANVRS MK3 by Unobtanium Gear. In this article, I will compare the two POV recorders as they are similar in function but are drastically different from each other.

Smartwatches are everywhere these days. All across the US, it’s hard to leave your home without seeing someone with an Apple Watch or Samsung Galaxy Watch on their wrist. While these pieces of wearable tech may have good applicability in day-to-day life, the uses for shooting have been a bit more limited – until now. Garmin has taken their Tactix Delta smartwatch and partnered on a version with Applied Ballistics, and it’s also solar-powered. In a July 8th press release, they say:

In past articles, I’ve talked about how important it is to do various drills or even jump in a competition to help better your skills. I still think that’s important but what about initial accuracy? Whether it’s working on your “cold start” or just doing low round count practicing, it’s incredibly important for a person who carries a concealed firearm on a daily basis. We often talk about various ways to improve shooting as a whole but after thinking a while, I realized it’s important to give information to better hone your skills as a shooter. Let’s break down and take a look at some of the best drills and concepts for people training accuracy for carrying concealed.

Viridian Weapon Technologies has been in the business of offering reliable, smart, and innovative weapon integrated weapon lights, cameras, and lasers that offer users great visibility, documenting, and aiming reliability for quite a while now. Viridian Weapon Technologies has just released its E-Series green laser lineup for Ruger pistols with the first two being the Ruger LCP II and the Security-9 pistols.

Circle 10 AK has added three new products to their line of AK accessories – two muzzle brakes and a version of their fixed aluminum triangle stock compatible with Yugoslavian AKs. All these new AK products are made in the United States thus each of them counts as one 922(r) compliance parts when building AKs from imported parts kits. Let’s take a brief look at each of these three new AK parts.

Icarus Precision released their first SIG pistol grip module about a year ago and since then, the company has been steadily adding new models to the ACE (Accuracy, Control, Enhanced) family of aluminum grip modules designed for different models of SIG Sauer handguns. At SHOT Show 2020, we saw some of their newest products and right now they offer about a dozen of ACE grip module options. The latest addition to the ACE line of SIG pistol grip modules is called ACE 365 XL Hybrid Pro. It is a SIG Sauer P365 XL grip module that has an extended dust cover portion matching the slide length.

The US Army has announced the selection of a raft of anti-drone systems to combat the threat of small drones which are proliferating on battlefields around the world. The new Counter-Small Unmanned Aircraft System (C-sUAS) capabilities range from fixed systems to optics for small arms.

HIPERFIRE has introduced a new line of two-stage AR triggers called X2S. This trigger family currently consists of three triggers – MOD-1, MOD-2 and MOD-3. All three triggers are compatible with AR-15 and AR-10 type firearms as well as AR-pattern pistol caliber carbines including the SIG Sauer MPX. Let’s see what other features the new HIPERFIRE X2S triggers share and what are the differences between the models.

Faxon firearms have added a new product to their line of firearms accessories. The new Fill-In Magazine Marker Bands are a cheap and easy way to keep your magazines marked when they are loaded. These marker bands could keep an unaware individual from loading the wrong ammunition into your rifle.

Today’s Photo of the Day comes courtesy of the UK’s Royal Navy which has recently unveiled a new uniform and flash for the elite Royal Marines Commando units. The photos feature the new uniform manufactured by US-based Crye Precision.

Strike Industries has launched two new products, a pistol grip and a selector switch, designed for the CZ Scorpion EVO 3. Both of the new parts are compatible with all CZ Scorpion EVO 3 models. Let’s see what features each of the new parts packs.

Have you ever encountered a gun guy who wasn’t thoroughly acquainted with the aroma of Hoppe’s #9 gun cleaner? Such an anomaly would likely be difficult to find. Since Frank August Hoppe first mixed that famous nine-chemical concoction 117 years ago, the brand has become virtually ubiquitous in the realm of firearms cleaning. For many shooters, burnt powder and Hoppe’s #9 served as the fragrance of youth, and the venerable elixir is still going strong today.