Good morning everyone and welcome back to TFB’s Silencer Saturday brought to you by Yankee Hill Machine, manufacturers of the YHM Turbo K 5.56 rifle suppressor. Last week we got a look at the Seismic Ammo 2.5 ounce subsonic shotgun shells. For today, since it’s Christmas morning, let’s get a quick look at an upcoming review – the highly anticipated LMT ION 30 rifle suppressor. Can the trusted manufacturer of select fire rifles and grenade launchers also make high-performance suppressors? Let’s take a look.

Midwest Industries Inc. has a vast aftermarket support for the AR platform, and to assist AR-15 and AR-308 owners, Midwest Industries made the Lower Receiver Block, which has numerous features that can help in order to assemble the various parts of an AR. There are two Lower Receiver Blocks available, one for the standard-sized AR-15, and one for the larger AR-308, SR25, AR-10 patterns. The Lower Receiver Block can also be mounted to a workbench, or used in a vise and hold a lower receiver by the magazine well.

In this episode of TFBTV, Hop takes a look at the new Smith & Wesson M&P15 Tactical II. This is the first S&W AR to fully adopt the changes in the civilian AR market of the last 20 years. S&W is slow to change, but this rifle represents a strong endorsement of the modern 16″ mid-length gas, medium profile barrel setup. This is a very versatile rifle, but given the price point, it might be a little bit lacking out of the box.

For the 5th day of TFB Christmas, we’re going to take a look at some great barrels for your pistol or rifle. Being one of the main pressure bearing components of a firearm along with the bolt, the barrel is primarily responsible for much of the accuracy of your firearm as well as other important characteristics including weight and the velocity of your projectiles which can change the terminal ballistics of them for hunting, defense, etc. Upgrading your barrel on a hunting or competition rifle can mean the difference between landing your first cold bore shot or having to take one or several makeup shots and today we’ll take a look at some quality barrels from some of our favorite online retailers. Disclaimer: not all of the barrels listed here will be made from Chromoly.

SIG SAUER produces some of the most well-known models in the firearms world. In recent years, their P320 and P365 handguns have taken the market by storm. Some of their older models, like the P226 and P229, have been widely hailed for many years. Many of their rifle-caliber guns, like the MCX series, are also beloved by plenty of shooters. However, they also make some guns that don’t get quite as much recognition or attention. SIG’s M400 series of AR-type rifles and rifle-caliber pistols seem to be a bit less well-known. When I ask my gun buddies what they first think of when I say “SIG SAUER”, M400s tend to be down the list or absent from it. Curious as to why, earlier this year I set about getting to know one of the newer M400 series offerings, the Predator. I ended up liking it, and have followed up by testing another new M400 AR: the Switchblade.

The concept of the AR-15 Dissipator rifle dates back to the Vietnam War and lives on today from a few manufacturers, including Palmetto State Armory. The PSA Dissipator rifle has been one of those rifles I’ve wanted to try for a while since its features are ideal for a general-purpose rifle, as well as for teaching the kids on iron sights, all while remaining affordable. Let’s take a look.

Photo Of The Day: For those civilians who want a Heckler & Koch rifle in their collection there are a few options. In Germany, the home market for Heckler & Koch, and Europe the options are generally the MR223 or MR308. By some strange logic, the models are called 223 and 308 in Europe, and 556 and 762 in the United States. In Europe, these models have been very hard to come by lately, probably because H&K’s production is quite busy with military orders. I have one of the first MR223s, now with some minor upgrades.

Springfield Armory is a company known for their battle firearms. From the iconic 1911 to M1As and AR-15s, we all know what Springfield is about and they make tremendous firearms at a great value. It is not often they can truly surprise us with the unveiling of a new product, but once in a while even some of the most seasoned shooters get caught off guard – weren’t we all surprised by the Waypoint? Well, today they pulled back the curtain on an exciting project that is another AR-15 rifle, but unlike anyone you have likely seen before. The Springfield Armory Saint Edge ATC – Accurized Tactical Chassis – is officially here!

It seems that moving to Wyoming was the breath of air that stoked the Stag Arms fire. Two new rifles have joined the company’s lineup of Stag-15 AR-patterned rifles. Both available in left- or right-handed configurations, these are the new Stag-15 Covenant rifles chambered in 6mm ARC.

Good evening everyone and welcome back to TFB’s Silencer Saturday brought to you by our friends at Yankee Hill Machine, manufacturers of the new YHM Phantom 22 rimfire suppressor. Last week we discussed the merits of quality subsonic 300BLK ammunition. With Thanksgiving this week, I thought we could pause to appreciate the good things in our lives and start building a list of suppressor gift ideas for the holiday season. Whether you use this information to help you give or receive is completely up to you.

In recent years PCC or pistol caliber carbine has rapidly exploded into popularity in the competition scene with many enjoying it for its ease of entry and fast pace.  For a long time direct blowback guns like CZ Scorpions, AR9’s and gas-operated rifles like the SIG Sauer MPX reigned supreme in the division but JP’s newest offering, the JP5, takes the cake when it comes to high-end PCC’s for competition.

One of the reasons the AR-15 has become so incredibly popular with the American public is because of the wide variety of options available within the same family of rifles. Since their reintroduction, Bushmaster Firearms has been kicking out quite a few AR-platform options. The newest to come to market, with five distinct configurations, is the Bravo Zulu. From California compliant to SBR versions, you’re sure to find one that fits your purpose.

Expanding their MSR (Modern Sporting Rifle) line of AR-pattern rifles, Fierce Firearms has released the F-10 Sidewinder, an AR-10 style rifle, the bigger brother of their F-15 Sidewinder 5.56/223 AR. The company markets this new product to both hunters and tactical shooters “who require an extremely accurate, lightweight rifle that provides quick follow-up shots“. Let’s see what features Fierce Firearms offers in the F-10 Sidewinder.

Good afternoon everyone and welcome back to TFB’s Silencer Saturday brought to you by Yankee Hill Machine, manufacturers of the new YHM Phantom 22 rimfire suppressor. Last week we got a look at the X-Ring TSS rimfire integrally suppressed barrel from Tactical Solutions. This week we get our hands on the Otter Creek Labs OCM5 rifle suppressor. How does it stack up against the O.G. Allen Engineering AEM5? Let’s take a look.

TFB has been running our very special Photo Of The Day for years, sharing great photos from around the world and the world of firearms. The subject of today’s photos is the German TopShot Competition Shooting Team and the Haenel CR223s they use for IPSC shooting competition. The sight above is made by Steiner Optics.

With increasing restrictions in regards to firearms on YouTube and other social media platforms, new gun owners and those who are interested in building out their first AR are finding it harder and harder to find reliable and simple instructions for their first AR-15 build. Brownells and the living legend Roy Hill are excited to announce the introduction of the Brownells “How to Build an AR-15” interactive video series that gives you easy-to-follow directions and expert advice throughout your AR-15 build process.

The concept of the adjustable gas block isn’t anything really new or novel in the world of firearms. In fact, adjustable gas blocks have been used in firearms since as early as the 1930s with the Legendary M1 Garand rifle being one of the first military issue rifles to feature an adjustable gas system. Today, adjustable gas blocks are looked at as somewhat of a niche item, but one with a lot of purposes and a lot of capability when it comes to ammunition and accessory selection. Adjustable gas blocks can be beneficial in a number of ways but they usually necessitate the need for your handguard or forend to be short enough to give you access to the adjustment knob. The Riflespeed Adjustable Gas Control System essentially fixes that issue and the folks who run the company were kind enough to send me over one of their Gas Control Systems for testing and evaluation. Today we’ll go over my experiences with the product and where I think an item like this comes into play within the modern firearms world.

If you’ve been waiting to get your hands on one of KE Arms WWSD rifles then you’re in luck. Brownells has just announced that the KP-15 equipped WWSD 2020 rifle is currently in stock and ready to ship straight from their warehouse to your FFL. The WWSD was a pretty monumental release for KE Arms back at the end of 2020 and although I have had two of their lowers for close to a year, I still haven’t been able to acquire all the parts to build out a complete rifle. If you’ve been struggling like I have to get all the correct parts for the build, maybe it’s time to just bite the bullet and purchase the completed rifle.

Photo Of The Day: What a great, crisp, photo of the M110A1 Squad Designated Marksman Rifle (SDMR) above. And there are plenty more if you scroll down. Above you have U.S. Army Sgt. Divante Scott, 1-114th Infantry Regiment, 44th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, from the New Jersey Army National Guard.

I love a true AR-15 rifle. The classic 20″ barrel with a rifle-length gas tube and rifle recoil system is a joy to shoot. One of my perpetual favorite rifles is an FN M-16A4 Military Collector model topped with a 3.5x ACOG. That rifle accompanies me on almost every range outing. When the opportunity came to test a similarly-configured PSA gun I jumped at the chance. For convenience, in this I will be referring to this rifle as an AR-15A4 after the similarly-configured Colt AR-15A4.

On November 3rd at around 4pm Central Daylight Time, a Colt Safety Recall was issued by the company in regards to certain Colt Modern Sporting Rifles (MSRs) regarding the hammers of certain serial number ranges and models produced by the company that all presumably use the same fire control group hammers. According to the recall notice, these hammers allow the rifle to discharge more than one round when the trigger is released. Colt has voluntarily initiated this recall in an effort to prevent the possibility of death or serious injury and has encouraged anyone who has purchased a Colt MSR since March 5th, 2021 to stop using it and check to see if their MSR falls within the affected serial number range by using this link or calling Colt Customer Service. The full safety recall notice has been posted in its entirety below.

Alright alright, I know you may be surprised to see the guy that talks about old stuff and makes fun of all the tacticool folks out there reviewing a 300AAC Blackout pistol. I will own the fact that I really genuinely am usually disinterested in anything that looks like this but when Palmetto State Armory reached out to TFB, I took the opportunity to work with a caliber and specific pistol offering for a reason; I’ve never shot 300 Blackout. Queue the gasps and shock! Let’s dive right into the PSA PA-15 300AAC Blackout Pistol!

Photo Of The Day: Ben at Battle Born Photography is a great photographer and when he published his artistic version of the HERA Arms CQR Stock and CQR Front Grip it immediately caught our attention. The configuration here is like it’s been made for recording a movie about Space and Aliens. Hopefully, the good side wins.

Good afternoon everyone and welcome to the 200th edition of TFB’s Silencer Saturday. After 200 weekends of suppressor love, I hope you are more informed, slightly entertained, and are able to make better purchase decisions. When I started this series four years ago, my first concern was there weren’t enough suppressor nerds in the world to talk about mounting systems, decibels, and metal tubes once a week. Thank you for proving me wrong – with millions of views, TFB’s Silencer Saturday owes its success to all of you. Thank you for tuning in every weekend. (We’ll get to the top 10 AR-10 suppressors in a moment).

FN America is headquartered in McLean, VA, with manufacturing operations in Columbia, SC. Altogether FN America, LLC, is the U.S. subsidiary of the Belgium-based FN Herstal, S.A. Today we’re going to have a look at the new  FN 15 TAC3 line of carbines with new configurations, new colors, finishes and other features like an ambidextrous charging handle and selector.

No, that is not an Allen Engineering AEM5 over-the-barrel suppressor pictured above. That is an OCM5 from Otter Creek Labs, a relatively new and up-and-coming manufacturer causing a stir in the world of rifle suppressors. The quietest 5.56 silencer I have ever shot is the AEM5 on the end of an MK12 – it almost makes you believe that ‘hearing safe’ is a label that can be applied to supersonic rifle rounds. Now the Otter Creek team has set out to modernize the iconic Allen Engineering suppressor by making it quieter, lighter and with less backpressure.

The 450 Bushmaster is a straight-walled 45 caliber rifle cartridge featuring a rebated rim and intended for use in the AR-15 platform with little more than a barrel and bolt change. Inspired by Jeff Cooper, the 450 Bushmaster has gained a popular following for its heavy-hitting nature against large game animals and for its wide variety of projectiles making it popular with reloaders. Bushmaster firearms have just announced the introduction of the new 450 Bushmaster rifle built exclusively around the 450 Bushmaster round.

Each day a different image from the World of firearms. We call this POTD, short for Photo Of The Day, and it is our daily article series where we go to great lengths trying to find the most interesting pictures for you out there. Today the image itself is very basic, but it shows another gem from the Heckler and Koch Gray Room: The Heckler & Koch HK416D in 6.8mmx43.

In this episode of TFBTV, James Reeves reviews the Daniel Defense DDM4 V7, including a mini torture test of this premium AR-15. With an MSRP of $1,800 to $2,000, this review raises the question: Is this Daniel Defense AR-15 actually worth this amount of money? Really, is any super-premium $1,500 to $2,000 AR-15 such as options from Bravo Company, Noveske, LMT, and other top-tier manufacturers justified for the price they command? Are you just paying for a brand name, or are you getting something else? Those questions answered, plus a good old fashioned Office Space style beatdown, plus James in the shower. Yes, James in the shower. It’s business as usual on TFBTV.

To the uninitiated, suppressing the 5.56/.223 AR-15 feels like a no-win scenario. As Ted Lasso might say it’s like drinking 3.2% beer as a teenager: half the fun, with all of the headache. In reality, however, a well-engineered 5.56mm suppressor will knock down most of the blast, hold up to blistering abuse, and have minimal impact on the gas system and the cyclic rate. Not only that, but a really good AR-15 suppressor will be lightweight and offer a variety of mounting options. The new Energetic Armament ARX appears to check all of these boxes.