Welcome everyone to the TFB Armorer’s Bench! As mentioned in the little blurb, this series will focus on a lot of home armorer and gunsmith activities. In this article sponsored by  Wheeler,  Tipton,  Caldwell, and  Frankford Arsenal, I decided to take a closer look at the Wheeler Professional Gunsmithing File Set. I have had and worked with this gunsmithing file set for a while now but have heard of doing a closer look since I wanted to gain a better idea of their worth. All of that being said let’s jump right into it!

Good morning fellow suppressor enthusiasts and welcome back to TFB’s Silencer Saturday brought to you by Yankee Hill Machine, manufacturers of the YHM Turbo K. Last week we got a Christmas morning peek at the new LMT-AT ION 30 rifle suppressor and I had hoped to bring you a more in-depth look at it’s performance and features on New Years Day. However, we need to postpone the ION 30 until next weekend and talk about the ATF warning letter myself and hundreds, maybe thousands, of other American shooters received this week. Let’s take a look at the letter.

Many of you will know Mischief Machine from either TFB or TFBTV. We’ve posted about Mischief Machine’s products before and Mischief Machine even sent in a couple samples of their 3D printed EDC pocket flashlight mounts to TFBTV mailroom for James to try out. What many of you probably don’t know though is that Mischief Machine is really just one man with a dream, a lot of drive, and probably zero sleep. Joe Potter is the sole owner and operator of Mischief Machine and has grown his company substantially since 2017 when he started making 3D printed parts for scopes and optics. Joe is an impressive example of an American entrepreneur making great products purely out of the desire to have something one wants for themselves, and then turning that idea into something other people can buy. Today on the TFB B-Side podcast I talk with Joe about his recently released Alpha Series P365 grip module as well as a couple of his other projects he’s done and a teaser of an upcoming product that will debut just before SHOT Show 2022.

Glock pistols are popular partially because of their legendary reliability and that is a selling point for Glock pistols many purists will not want to compromise. Timney Triggers has just introduced their latest product, the Glock Flat Trigger Shoe, which is a simple and reliable drop-in replacement for your factory Glock trigger shoe.  The new trigger shoe does not change the function of the pistol in any way and doesn’t replace anything other than the trigger shoe itself swapping out the slightly curved stock trigger for a truly flat-faced Timney trigger. This aftermarket part may be a hot item for those who want to maintain the safety features built into the Glock pistol platform but don’t like the feel of a stock trigger.

We have so many options when selecting a new optic. They’re light, fast, and feature-rich. Some of us, however, aren’t in the market for something new. We like the tried and true, battle-proven optics that we already know and love. Unfortunately, some of these classic optics weren’t designed with modern shooting techniques in mind. Modern shooters wearing plate carriers, helmets, and comms devices might have trouble utilizing their Trijicon ACOG and VCOG optics. This is why Unity Tactical has just released a new FAST mount with these shooters in mind. Welcome the new Unity Tactical FAST COG mount series.

I am not much of a lever gun enthusiast but when I saw Mad Pig Custom’s suppressed SBR many years ago I got a Taylor & Co. Alaskan takedown. Well, Steve over at Mad Pig Customs just clued me into a relative newcomer to the lever gun market. Chisel Machining has come out with an aluminum skeletonized Marlin stock for the venerable 1895.

Welcome everyone to the TFB Armorer’s Bench! As mentioned in the little blurb, this series will focus on a lot of home armorer and gunsmith activities. In this article sponsored by  Wheeler,  Tipton,  Caldwell, and  Frankford Arsenal, I decided to take a second to reminisce and look back on all that we have covered in our new series this year. 2021 has been a real dumpster fire so it is nice to have this break from the day-to-day and sit down at the bench and feel like progress is being made. Let us jump into all that we have covered in this 2021 TFB Armorer’s Bench Wrap Up!

Whether you have multiple upper receivers, like to transport your AR in as small a case as possible, want to add a little flair to an otherwise plain-looking black lower, or just would like it to be easier to break down your rifle/pistol for cleaning, enhanced AR-15 takedown pins can be a game-changer offering better grip and in turn the ability to release your upper without resorting to the tip of a bullet or a punch for better leverage (really only on unusually tight fit receiver sets but hey). Tyrant Designs has brought a unique-looking option to the market to help you in any of the aforementioned situations.

Welcome everyone to the TFB Armorer’s Bench! As mentioned in the little blurb, this series will focus on a lot of home armorer and gunsmith activities. In this article sponsored by  Wheeler,  Tipton,  Caldwell, and  Frankford Arsenal, I decided to do a quick overview on AR15 gas rings and when it’s time to replace them. This was a suggested topic of a fellow TFB writer Rusty S so a big thank you to Rusty for the idea! Routine maintenance is required on AR15s just like any other firearm, especially if they have been used frequently. Let’s dive into AR15 gas rings and their maintenance!

The Ukrainian company  KPYK is specialized in developing parts and accessories for upgrading com bloc firearms. We’ve previously reported about many of their product releases and reviewed some of them (see the links below). Today we’ll take a look at one of their latest products, the KPYK CRC 5002 adjustable aluminum AK stock.

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.

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.

In a Facebook thread on the PSAK Owners Group page, Chad Wylie, the CEO of PSA, posted Images of a new AKM compatible top cover rail system being worked on. In the thread, he stated The Palmetto State Armory AK Top Cover Rail would be available “before Q2 2022”.

As modern shooting techniques change, so must our gear. Recently, shooters have been finding the advantages of a more heads-up shooting position, especially while shooting under NODs. For those who enjoy this position and run a Trijicon MRO, this is the new Unity FAST MRO Mount.

Welcome everyone to the TFB Armorer’s Bench! As mentioned in the little blurb, this series will focus on a lot of home armorer and gunsmith activities. In this article sponsored by  Wheeler,  Tipton,  Caldwell, and  Frankford Arsenal, I decided to go over one of Wheeler Engineering’s many quality tools in the last article looking closer at the  Wheeler Armorer’s Handgun Sight Tool. I recently had a chance to swap out a coworker’s Glock sights and I felt this was an excellent opportunity to show how this tool is intended to be used. This handy compact tool can make a tough time-consuming job a breeze. Let’s dive into using the Wheeler Armorer’s Handgun Sight Tool!

Accessory rails are more common than ever on modern sporting arms. While these rails offer many advantages, (including the mounting of foregrips, lights, and laser aiming modules) there are also a few drawbacks. Aluminum rails can heat up quickly and they don’t always offer a positive grip with sweaty or wet hands. Enter Walker Defense Systems with their NILE Silicon Carbide M-Lok Rail Panels.

Welcome everyone to the TFB Armorer’s Bench! As mentioned in the little blurb, this series will focus on a lot of home armorer and gunsmith activities. In this article sponsored by  Wheeler,  Tipton,  Caldwell, and  Frankford Arsenal, I decided to go over one of Wheeler Engineering’s many quality tools. I recently had a chance to swap out a coworker’s Glock sights and I felt this was an excellent opportunity to break out the Wheeler Armorer’s Handgun Sight Tool. This handy compact tool can make a tough time-consuming job a breeze. Let’s dive into this closer look at the Wheeler Armorer’s Handgun Sight Tool!

Built for the Glock 19 series of pistols, the new Radian Afterburner compensator and Ramjet barrel have just been announced. The new ported barrel and micro compensator are meant to improve performance and also aid in holstering. The Radian Afterburner is now also one of the smallest pistol compensators on the market. The Afterburner micro compensator will be available for Glock 19 pistols generation 3 through 5 and the Ramjet barrel will feature the same compatibility.

Slick, minimal, and effective, the hand and finger stops from Arisaka Defense have found their way onto our favorite rifles, pistols, and PDWs. The newest iteration, the Hand Stop M-Lok, will look right at home on your favorite M-LOK compatible firearm.

Welcome everyone to the TFB Armorer’s Bench! As mentioned in the little blurb, this series will focus on a lot of home armorer and gunsmith activities. In this article sponsored by  Wheeler,  Tipton,  Caldwell, and  Frankford Arsenal, I decided to go over general bench setup tips and tricks. There is not really a 100% necessary thing to have on an armorer’s bench besides having the bench itself. Nonetheless, I have doodled down some of my personal quick tips on a good bench setup. Let’s jump into General Bench Setup – Quick Tips!

There are so many folding stocks and stabilizers that I would love to try. Unfortunately, all of my ARs have a pesky buffer tube. If you don’t have this problem, you might want to try a few out yourself. For this, a Picatinny adapter will allow you to change between several options for different purposes. Strike Industries has now introduced the Strike AR Picatinny Stock Adapter. Available in three colors, this adapter pairs with your self-contained AR upper to give you access to all of the folding stocks and braces you can dream of.

Welcome everyone to the TFB Armorer’s Bench! As mentioned in the little blurb, this series will focus on a lot of home armorer and gunsmith activities. In this article sponsored by  Wheeler,  Tipton,  Caldwell, and  Frankford Arsenal, I decided to go over boresighting since it seems like there are quite a few misconceptions on how exactly it works and certain expectations on reliability. So I wanted to run down both the types and techniques to hopefully convey a broader picture to anyone out there who may have questions regarding boresighting. Let’s jump into Techniques and Types – Boresighting!

For centuries, mankind has fought, deceived, and stolen to acquire gold. It caused mass migrations to California and Alaska, among other places. There’s something in our blood that craves the precious metal. However, my definition of precious metal falls more along the lines of brass and lead. Still, a flare of gold is always welcomed. If you agree with me and have a SIG Sauer P320 or P365, today is your day. Now available directly from SIG are new gold barrels for P320, P365, and all of their respective variants.

Here’s what Apex have to say about the new threaded barrel for the Hellcat:

Mounting options for silencers have grown in number over the past few years. With an endless number of thread pitches and directions, some have sought to improve upon the current system. One such company is Dead Air Silencers, who brought the KeyMo mounting system to market. Primary Arms and Expo Arms came together to provide a new muzzle device that works with this mounting system. This is the new Expo Arms KeyMo 1/2x28mm Muzzle Brake.

I still live that quad rail life. I have a lot of Picatinny rail on my AR, and a few cables, as well. I’ve cut myself on enough sharp edges from crudely severed cable ties to know that there must be a better way. Strike Industries has been releasing a lot of cable management products this year, and this is the newest. Introducing the Multidirectional Picatinny Rail Cover with Cable Management.

Welcome everyone to the TFB Armorer’s Bench! As mentioned in the little blurb, this series will focus on a lot of home armorer and gunsmith activities. In this article sponsored by  Wheeler,  Tipton,  Caldwell, and  Frankford Arsenal, I decided to take a closer look at the Delta Series Compact Multi-Tool that Wheeler Engineering currently offers. Wheeler is one of a few companies out there that offer affordable examples of gunsmith technology. One example is their large catalog of AR15 related tools. Let’s jump into the Wheeler Delta Series Compact Multi-Tool!

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.

The easiest way to ensure strength and rigidity in a scope mount is to make it chonky, but then what’s the point in having a lightweight rifle? Finding the perfect balance between strength and weight is the goal, especially when using a magnified optic. Samson Manufacturing’s new Rapid Precision Mounts aim to solve this exact problem. Built for balance, this is the Samson RPM.

There are so many cool optics available to us as shooters. We can have a whole box full of them, but it doesn’t do us any good if we don’t have a reliable way to mount them. Mounts also come in a variety of flavors. Colors, materials, and mount heights vary greatly from brand to brand, as well as user to user. We all run things differently, and for that reason, we need options. If you use a Trijicon MRO or an Aimpoint ACRO on your carbine, you now have two new mounting options. Arisaka Defense has released two new mounts for both optics, giving shooters the option of a 1.7″ or 1.93″ height.