#Ar-15

Previously, we talked about the word “controllability”, and what it means in relation to the recoil and ergonomic characteristics of a firearm. If you haven’t already read that article, I recommend you click the link here and do so first, as this post will assume that you have. We discussed how a rifle – due to its ergonomic design and the skill of its shooter – may seem to be “controllable”, even if it produces recoil to an extreme degree and rate. What we didn’t talk about is the effect that terrain, fatigue, and other secondary factors have on rifle controllability, and how those factors fit in to a broader calculus on controllability thresholds for military automatic individual weapons.

LaRue Tactical, a high-end manufacturer of resetting target systems, Quick-Detachable optic mounts and AR precision rifles, began producing their own 2-stage trigger design in 2015. Named the MBT-2S, the new LaRue trigger kit is made for the AR-15 and AR-10 style lower receivers (standard small pins only, no weird old-school Colt size). During the last Black Friday, LaRue was selling the MBT-2S trigger at a promotional price of just $125 instead of the regular retail price of $199. That deal was extended a little bit into the Christmas season until the stock ran out. I received my sample during the 2015 holiday season. However, due to the popularity of the MBT-2S trigger, many didn’t receive theirs until months later. So, how’s the new LaRue MBT-2S trigger comparing to other popular 2-stage triggers? After few months of using it, I would say that the LaRue MBT-2S is a very nice trigger upgrade and well-worth the money.

Blitzkrieg Components makes some pretty cool replacement front sights for the AR-15, including this Chevron Night Sight as well as this Tritium Dot version that they released last year which doesn’t require a light source to charge it. Blitzkrieg Components is now offering even more AR front sight options. One of their new options is a Chevron front sight post in bright orange with or without an option of a Tritium dot. Bright orange will also be available in a spike shaped sight post style for use with the Magpul MBUS PRO front sights.

With day one of the SAINT media event out of the way, we met back up at the Paris hotel’s valet at 8 am and loaded back up in the Springfield vehicles. A short drive later we pulled up at Pro Gun Club Vegas clubhouse for breakfast. Next up was a quick briefing by Rob Pincus about his reality-based training program. Mind you we only got a condensed version, but the take away is to avoid confrontation but be prepared to protect yourself and the ones you love.

Since we have revealed what the SAINT is in part 1 of our launch coverage, I can talk about what Springfield Armory had put together for the event. I wanted to let you guys see everything since the whole event was so jam packed with learning, fun, and plenty of information about the SAINT.

As you can imagine, the media embargo has been killing me. After all, the time I spent with the Springfield crew was two of the most amazing days I have been able to enjoy as a shooter. It is going to be hard as hell for anyone to come close to the level of high energy awesome that Chad, Denny, and the rest of the team were able to pack in there.

Developed by police officers from a large metropolitan area, the new Triggersafe is a simple device to make your AR-15 safer when its intended to be completely safe. In short, the Triggersafe is a device that completely covers the trigger of a standard forged AR-15 lower receiver. Further, the Triggersafe impedes a standard safety selector from being manipulated. The company notes it is compatible with a variety of trigger guards and selectors, but does not state explicitly what exactly is compatible outside the Magpul trigger guards.

Talking with my friend Matt over at Noveske, he told me about some science that he recently conducted that was far too cool not to share with all of you. After I had got his blessing, he sent over some photos of a barrel that was sent back to Noveske for some reason after putting anywhere between 80,000 to 100,000 rounds downrange. The results are nothing short of awesome.

A few years back TangoDown released their FFA-01 rail mounted flashlight adapter with an integrated front sight for the AR-15. It was basically a front sight with an opening in it large enough to let a rail mounted weapons light like the Surefire X300 to fit through it. Why would anyone want to do this? Well usually if you want to mount your weapon light in this optimal 12 o’clock position you would have to remove your front sight or move it back behind your weapon light. However this would reduce your rifle’s sight radius, which you usually don’t want to do.

When it comes to accessories that allow you to bump fire your rifle there’s a few big players in the market, Slide Fire Solutions and Bump Fire Systems. There’s also a few others out there, and you can always make them yourself. Well there’s a new guy on the scene named JT Grip. Most of the bump fire products out there make you replace the entire stock with a big and usually ugly setup. The folks over at JT Grip have an interesting new bump fire system that only requires you to replace the pistol grip.

When Phil told me I would be getting another AR-15 in for review, I found myself dreading the arrival of yet another black rifle. In my mind, there is only so much that you can do with the AR-15 platform that would come even remotely close to impressing me. Once the MGS Citizen Rifle showed up at my FFL, a quick glance over the rifle revealed that while it was a very nice collection of parts, the only clue that the rifle held a secret power was the rifle length gas tube stuck to a 16″ Criterion 1:8″ twist barrel.

When you are looking for turnkey 3-Gun ready rifles, there are a ton of choices on the market. FN has put together a rather impressive rifle with the FN 15 Competition to give competitors an edge without needing to change a whole ton of parts.

It was late September 2016, and I was again invited to visit I.O. Inc. in Palm Bay, Florida for their 3rd annual Writer’s Event. The event showcased I.O. Inc.’s upcoming products and touring their facility. As seen on the title image, one of those new I.O. products is their new Keymod AR-15 model.

Primary Arms, a popular online retailer of optics and gun accessories, introduced their own line of affordable optics a few years back. The Advanced Series is their full-size red-dot sight models. The OEM of the optic is actually Holosun and it’s made in China.

Over the past few years a lot of companies have released their own version of a blast shield or diverter that attaches to a muzzle device. One of the early ones was the Ferfrans CQB Modular Muzzle Brake, then there was Gemtech’s Muzzle Shroud, Kineti-Tech’s Sound Director and then Lantac’s Blast Mitigation Device. While they’re all different designs they pretty much do the same thing, they direct the muzzle blast and concussion forward and away from the shooter and away from those that might be shooting or standing to the side. If you’ve been next to anyone at the range with a competition muzzle brake you know how loud they can be.