A little company called Sentry has begun producing a new battle belt they are calling the Gunnar Low Profile Operator Belt. The Gunnar Belt has a minimalistic design that offers you above-average performance. I’ve recently gotten my hands on a Gunnar belt as well as a few pouches from Sentry to adorn it. Battle belts have come a very long way in the last few years.
In 2009 I deployed to Afghanistan, and this started the great transition from big ole MTVs armored carriers to more minimalist plate carriers. Small armored carriers presented less room to mount gear.
Guys in my squad began repurposing the belts from their load-bearing vests (LBV) to battle belts. At this time, dedicated MOLLE compatible belts were not common. Since then, the industry has exploded, and belts are available, from high-end options like the Sentry belt to cheaply made-in-China crap.
Why a Batman Belt?
Before we dive into the Sentry Gunnar belt, let’s talk about belts in general. Our guys used them because they didn’t have room on their carriers for six mags, grenades, belt-fed ammo, knives, tools, and more they carried on patrol. Minimalist plate carriers simply don’t offer lots of room for mission-essential gear.
I need an IFAK, a multitool, and obviously a katana.
Moving some gear to the belt allows you to have plenty of room for your goods. Beyond that, you’re probably going to be rocking a belt to carry a sidearm anyway, so now you have an option for your handgun and some extra gear.
The low profile, lightweight, and minimalist design makes the Gunnar belt different.
I’ve fallen in love with belts due to their ergonomics. Reloading a rifle, pistol, or subgun from a belt-mounted pouch feels more natural and ergonomic than reloading from the front of my armor. Retrieving other goodies, like tools, knives, and medical kits also feels more ergonomic and intuitive.
The Gunnar IFAK Solution
IFAKs, in general, work extremely well on battle belts like the Gunnar. You can remove your belt entirely with either hand and apply first aid to yourself or another. With the IFAK in front of you, you have full access to all your necessary goods. You don’t have to keep reaching rearwards to access your necessary medical gear.
Time matters when treating traumatic wounds. An IFAK in your face is easier to work with than one mounted to the side or rear of your armor. Belts, in general, are easier to don and remove, and in a rapidly moving situation, that can be extremely valuable.
The Gunnar Belt is just hanging around between strings of fire.
When we had to cross rivers, we kept our gear dry by removing the belt and tossing it around our necks. Being able to quickly remove and don your gear can be quite valuable for a variety of scenarios.
Also, you don’t need to wear a plate carrier to have ammo, tools, and an IFAK on you. That’s a nice feeling in an environment that’s mostly safe but has the capability to pop off at any time.
But why the Sentry Gunnar belt?
Belts are cool. They give us Batman vibes and deliver us an accessible platform for your gear. Lots of people make tons of great belts, so you might ask, why should I choose the Sentry Gunnar belt?
First, the belt is high quality. Duh. That’s the first obvious reason. The Gunnar belt is made from high-strength nylon that’s 1.75 inches wide. It’s dummy thicc too, almost a quarter inch total.
At 1.75 inches thick, the belt provides you a minimalist platform for mounting gear. Lots of gear belts are massive in size, and that’s fine when you want to go off with a pad, awesome suspenders, and all that jazz. If you believe smaller and lighter is better, then the Gunnar gives you that. In a pinch, a minimalist battle belt can be concealed under a jacket or flannel shirt.
Even as a minimalist belt, the Gunnar features a built-in support system.
The Gunnar belt itself is covered in the hook side of hook and loop material. An internal inner belt goes through your belt loops, and you stick the Gunnar outer belt to the Gunnar inner belt. It remains supported and cannot be twisted, bent, or dropped out of place.
The inner belt keeps the Gunnar belt in place without suspenders.
When attached to the inner belt, the Gunnar belt remains incredibly stable. When I draw magazines, take up an awkward position, or transition to my handgun, the Gunnar belt doesn’t move. It provides me with a very stable platform that never compromises when I need it most.
My beer gut gets more in the way than anything else this belt tosses at me.
I’m able to retrieve what I need and carry on without fighting with my belt. The inner belt support also makes it easy to wear with armor. Easier and more comfortable than using suspenders to support the belt. Plus, it’s easier to remove than a suspender support belt.
The laser-cut MOLLE webbing gives you a vertical platform for accessory mounting.
A small portion up front features a horizontal mounting platform for accessories you want sideways. These fully stitched MOLLE slots provide you with webbing that’s plenty strong to handle all your gear. Including all your heavy, fully loaded magazines.
The Laser Cut Molle makes attachments easy.
Upfront, we also get the best belt buckle on the market for tactical gear belts, which is the quick-release Cobra belt buckle. This tough buckle provides you with a quick detach yet extremely secure buckle for all your gear carrying needs.
You can’t beat a Cobra buckle!
Practical Application
I’ve been rocking and rolling the Sentry Gunnar belt with most of the PCCs I enjoy shooting. The pouches hold everything from Scorpion to Glock mags. I’ve run numerous ranges reviewing numerous guns. I’ve worked my reloads, used it behind cover, and sent plenty of rounds downrange using the Gunnar belt to carry my gear.
My Gunnar belt has been my go-to when shooting PCCs.
It’s inherently durable.
After tugging magazine after magazine out of the pouch, you’d think the MOLLE would give at the seams or begin to loosen, yet it remains strong. It is very well stitched, and I’ve found zero weakness in it.
Tossing it on and peeling it off takes no real effort. In fact, the only thing I’d say is difficult about the whole thing is aligning the rear of the Gunnar belt with the rear of the inner belt. Sometimes it jumps the material and takes some readjustment to perfect the fit. When time is on the line, perfect alignment doesn’t really matter.
Pouches for Pistols, Rifles, and SMGs are also made by Sentry.
Speaking of, the belt comes in numerous sizes but is still adjustable for a refined fit. I’ve been dropping a few pounds, and I’ve made some slight adjustments to the belt to ensure the fit remains tight. You get quite a bit of room to adjust and fit the belt to your waist. Keeping it tight means keeping your stuff easy to access.
To give a real durability test, it strung it around a tree and made it support my entire body weight. It didn’t give up and drop me from the tree, which is great because I prefer my ass unbruised.
Discretion Matters
If you keep your gear light and minimalist, the belt can be concealable—concealable being a relative term. It looks bulky and won’t pass an upfront sniff test, but it will pass at a distance. The belt is small enough to get away with it, and if you choose a more discrete color than Multicam, you’ll be able to hide it a bit easier.
Multicam is cool, but the Sentry belt comes in a wide variety of colors.
You can get your Batman on with all the gear, accessories, and goodies you could ever need for a combative situation. Heck, the minimalist size transcends just tactical use. It could be an excellent tool on a wildland fire where a fire shelter, knife, multitool, radio, water source, and more must-haves.
Belts Rule
The Gunnar belt provides users with a low profile, durable, and easy-to-use option for carrying their tactical gear. It makes things nice and accessible and provides a durable mounting platform for all your goodies.
The Gunnar from Sentry provides shooters, soldiers, and cops with an awesome, premium-grade belt for all their gear carrying needs. Check it out here, and let me know what you think about Batman belts below.
Travis Pike is a former Marine Machine Gunner, a lifelong firearms enthusiast, and now a regular guy who likes to shoot, write, and find ways to combine the two. He holds an NRA certification as a Basic Pistol Instructor and is the world’s Okayest firearm’s instructor.
Last month Springfield announced its new 15-round magazine for the highly popular Hellcat. The pistol had already made its mark as “the world’s highest-capacity micro-compact 9mm,” shipping with an 11-round and 13-round mag. Obviously, the addition of a couple more rounds to the count sounds very attractive. But if you’re like me, you’re also interested to know if the new magazine changes how the Hellcat fits and performs. And another big question for the concealed carry crowd — does the 15-round mag make the Springfield Hellcat less concealable?
All good questions. Here, we have compiled some articles/reviews about the 15-round mag. We will add more as we find them. The first review is a really good read by Jim Shepherd over at The Tactical Wire. You’ll be interested to find out what he learned about the differences between the 13-round and 15-round magazines after shooting just 28 rounds.
The Hellcat with the new 15-round magazine. Photo credit: Chris Ibanes.
We’ve also included Travis Pike’s review—it’s quite thorough and even makes some comparisons between the Hellcat and the P365.
One thing that stands out to me between the two reviews is that both guys appreciated the additional quarter-inch that the new magazine added to the grip. It seems like just a small measurement, but as you’ll read below, it can possibly make a measurable difference in shooter performance.
At the bottom, you’ll find our original piece covering all the specs and details. Here’s what we’ve got so far about the Springfield Hellcat 15-round magazine. Enjoy!
Learning by Seeing
Jim Shepherd (Originally published on The Tactical Wire, June 1, 2021)
Everyone I know in the shooting sports agrees that when it comes to competition, having more rounds in your gun is good. More rounds mean fewer reloads, and fewer reloads, at least for mere mortals (like me), means time saved. I also realize, however, that the old adage “you can’t miss fast enough to win” is equally true.
But have you ever considered that in a personal defense scenario more rounds might mean fewer rounds needed? Today, more and more shooters are carrying smaller pistols. Smaller pistols, ordinarily have always meant fewer rounds. But having fewer rounds in the gun was viewed as a tradeoff for more comfortable and more easily concealed (smaller) guns in our concealed carry holsters.
In any emergency situation, however, more is generally regarded as better than fewer, especially when you’re talking round counts in a handgun. So, engineers went back to their CAD programs and came up with ways to increase capacities without radically changing the overall dimensions of their small guns.
As a result, we now have very small guns that carry 11, 12, even 13, rounds. Much increased capacities, but not significantly increased manageability. In fact, not everyone can get enough grip on these tiny blasters to shoot them as effectively as larger guns.
Enter the “enhanced capacity” magazine. It might not seem like a lot, but adding a slightly extended magazine to anything from S&W’s M&P Shield to Springfield Armory’s new Hellcat can make a big difference.
Being “large framed” I always elect to go with the enhanced capacity magazine as primary and leave the smaller magazine as the backup. I’m not planning on emptying either, but I’ve never intentionally gone into a situation where I’ve needed my gun, either. So, for me, more– initially- is better.
Recently, Springfield Armory announced new “higher capacity” magazines for their very successful Hellcat. The Hellcat was already available with 13+1 capacities, but this new mag adds two more rounds, enabling you to have 15+1 rounds of 9mm in a micro compact. In case you’ve not been paying attention lately, round count is sort of a big deal in the hot new micro category.
But does the enhanced capacity really bring you any benefit other than more rounds? It’s a question I thought I could only answer by testing. So, I reached out to S-A and they graciously sent me a couple of their new 15-rounders.
A word of advice: If you’re getting these new 15-rounders, consider investing in a loading device of some sort. Trust me, your thumbs will thank you. They are stiff.
After loading both mags, I headed to the range for some decidedly non-scientific testing.
What I had in mind was simple: I would take two identical targets and shoot 13 rounds into both of them at the same distance. On one, I would use the 13-round magazine and the 15-rounder on the other. Then I would compare the results.
As it turned out, those two targets were all the testing I needed to be convinced that based on my personal shooting abilities (key factor), the 15-round magazine enabled me to shoot more accurately, and faster.
That might sound pretty simple to some of you, but the simple addition of the quarter-inch or so of gripping surface as opposed to the 13-round magazine yielded measurable results.
Sometimes side-by-side testing is the best way to measure differences. The only difference between these two targets is the magazine used to shoot them. In the first target (above) the 13-round magazine produced a respectable (for me) 4×4 grouping. Using the only slightly larger 15-round magazine, the same round count tightened into a 3×3 inch group (below). OWDN photos.
With the 13 round target, my shots landed inside a 4×4 inch area. For me, that’s not terrible, especially since I was trying to shoot as quickly as I could reacquire the target.
Using the 15 round magazine and the same shooting pace, 13-rounds tightened into a 3×3-inch space. That’s significantly better shooting, with nothing changing except the magazine length.
A simple, 26-round test convinced me that given my hand size, plunking down another $39.95 (MSRP) per 15-round magazine would be an investment in improving my Hellcat.
Not everyone’s hand size is the same -and not every pistol (including the Hellcat) includes a selection of grip inserts to help adapt the gun to your hand. But something as simple as trying the small gun you like with different capacity magazines (if they change the grip area) can make a difference.
For me, the additional two rounds enable me to shoot more accurately and faster. In a defensive carry pistol, I don’t see how I can afford not to make that investment.
Springfield’s Latest Hellcat Magazine Gives us 15 Rounds
It’s a helluva week for Springfield to reveal a new magazine for the oh-so-famous Hellcat. Sig Sauer has announced a patent lawsuit against Springfield Armory for infringement on the Sig P365 magazine. Yet, Springfield perseveres and has released their latest magazine for the Hellcat. The Hellcat, much like the P365, is one of the few micro-compacts on the market—micro-compact seemingly being what we are calling super small 9mms with a high degree of capacity. The latest Hellcat magazine holds 15 rounds of ammunition.
The Hellcat premiered with 11 and 13 round magazines for the pistol. The 11 rounder fit flush into the Hellcat, and the 13 round variant offered you a slightly extended option. For the longest time, Sig held a slight advantage with the P365 and the availability of a 15 round magazine. Now Springfield has closed the gap between the Hellcat and the P365. Springfield’s new Hellcat magazine gives users 15 rounds of 9mm on tap.
11, 13, and 15 round magazines allow the Hellcat to be customizable for easy concealed carry and gunfighting.
Breaking Down the Hellcat Magazine
The key to the success behind the Hellcat and Sig’s magazine design is the way it tapers. Near the top, it’s a single stack design for the first three rounds. Below that it tapers into a double stack design. The magazine has a chrome exterior coating and witness holes from rounds 4 to 15.
At the very bottom, we predictably get an extended finger rest also coated with the adaptive grip texture that the Hellcat wears. As a dude with big hands, I always preferred the slightly extended 13 round magazine for the extra grip length, so I can appreciate the extra grip the 15 round magazine offers.
A witness hole for every round makes eyeing capacity easy.
However, for concealment purposes, the 15 round magazine does get a little long. The 15 round Hellcat magazine adds an extra quarter-inch when compared to the 13 round magazine. It’s a half-inch longer than the 11 round Hellcat magazine when wearing the flush-fitting baseplate.
Like most extended magazines, the 15 round Hellcat magazine will make you choose between capacity and concealment, well, kind of. What’s the point of a super compact handgun if the handle has the same length as a Glock 19? I see Hellcat’s 15 round magazine being carried as a spare magazine.
Consider your grip formally extended.
Carrying the Hellcat with an 11 or even 13 round magazine keeps the weapon concealable, and packing an extra 15 rounds for when things go south makes a lot of sense. It’s easy to drop a magazine in a pocket and forget all about it.
Hellcat vs. Sig
I’m not making a full-on comparison of these two guns— it’s been done before. However, I want to talk about the two guns and their magazines. Specifically, I want to compare their 15 round magazines. Fifteen rounds of ammo is a ton for a subcompact, almost pocket pistol-sized gun. So who does it more efficiently?
Both the Hellcat and P365 now offer 15 round magazines.
I grabbed my standard P365 frame, a 15 round magazine, and compared it to my Hellcat and its 15 round magazine. The SIG magazines use side witness holes every five rounds, which isn’t a big deal, but I prefer the Hellcat style.
Oh look, my P365 magazine is rusting…again.
The SIG’s all-black magazines have this nasty habit of rusting. I don’t use the 15 round magazine often, but I wasn’t shocked when a good bit of rust developed on the rear of it. I store my handgun magazines together, and the P365 magazines are the only ones that consistently rust. I’ve never had any issues with rust with the Hellcat magazines.
The P365 15 round magazine is noticeably longer than the Hellcats.
Size-wise the Hellcat magazine provides a more efficient and slightly shorter magazine. When you measure from the top of the rear sights to the bottom of the magazine, the Sig P365 measures 5 ⅛ inches. The Hellcat measures 5 inches even.
The Hellcat’s main competitor happens to be the Sig P365, which already has a 15 round magazine.
From the bottom of the grip to the baseplate of the 15 round magazine, the Sig measures 1.25 inches. Measuring from the bottom of the grip of the Hellcat magazine to the bottom of the magazine is 1-inch. It’s a good bit shorter, and that matters if you plan to carry the gun with the magazine in place.
The Sig P365 magazines provide two points of grip to rip the magazine from the magwell if needed. The Hellcat doesn’t pack the same grip points.
Hellcat Magazine — Fit and Function
So does the magazine work? My previous experience with the Hellcat left me feeling confident enough that it’d work, but I needed to figure it out for myself. Loading the magazine is a feat of strength. The Sig has extra room to stretch and makes it rather easy to load.
Getting the last three rounds into the 15 round Hellcat magazine is a serious feat. I had to give my thumb a rest before I could load the final round. Holy crap, this thing is hard to load. When loaded, trying to get the magazine into the gun with the slide closed is another feat.
Not gonna lie, my big hands dig the extended grip.
As much as I’d love to do a plus 1 with this magazine, I’d probably just drop the +1 into the pipe directly. Once the magazine was loaded up, I wasn’t excited to load it again. The good news is that I got to unload it the fun way.
I emptied the magazine and committed a reload with a spare 13 rounder. I let the magazine hit the dirt, and this was the first reload of many I committed to. My range area is finely tuned sand, and sandhills are not uncommon in Florida. It’s fine white sand, and it’s coarse and rough and irritating, and it gets everywhere.
Sand sucks for firearms, but the magazine didn’t choke even after taking a few dives into this crap.
It will also disable most mechanical goodies, and magazines are simple mechanical goods. I did a dozen reloads, letting the magazine hit the sand every time. Sand infiltrated the magazine, and every time I loaded the magazine, I heard the follower grit and grind. Yet, it never failed or choked.
Size matters, but sometimes you want to be shorter than longer boys.
I completely loaded it two more times after it was exposed to sand, and it still functioned without issue. It also fed a good deal of sand into my gun, but no big problems to report.
Get Yours Now
15 rounds of 9mm provide you plenty of options to deal with nearly any threat. It’s a lot of ammunition and provides plenty of firepower for any concealed carrier. The Hellcat magazine design is rather efficient and quite reliable. I broke the gun and magazine down, and a little warm water and a rag cleaned it out, and we were back to being golden. It’s always nice to have more options than fewer. Does the 15 round Hellcat magazine appeal to you?
Would you carry in the weapon or as a spare?
Let us know below.
New Springfield Hellcat Magazine Increases Capacity to 15+1
The Springfield Hellcat has been a popular concealed carry choice since its release in the fall of 2019. In fact, the gun won several awards within the first year of its release, including 2020 Handgun of the year and Best Compact Handgun. It’s touted as the world’s highest-capacity micro-compact with a capacity of 11+1 and 13+1. And now, the Hellcat just got a nice boost. Springfield just announced a new magazine that increases the round count to 15+1 and is only slightly more than a quarter of an inch taller than the 13-round magazine.
Even though the new magazine (right) has an additional two rounds, the total increase in length compared to the 13-round magazine (left) is only .28 inches. Image Source: The Armory Life.
Like the 11-round and 13-round magazines, the new Hellcat magazine body is made of stainless steel with numbered round count witness holes and a polymer follower. The extension is patterned with the same Adaptive Grip Texture as the Hellcat frame, and, though it isn’t much, that little bit of extra length offers more gripping area.
As far as capacity goes, Springfield says the Hellcat becomes comparable to compact and duty-sized pistols.
Here’s the press release straight from the company.
Springfield Armory has taken its Hellcat pistol — the smallest, highest-capacity micro-compact 9mm handgun in the world — and increased its already impressive capacity with the new 15-round Hellcat magazine. The result is a micro-sized 9mm pistol with an astounding 15+1 capacity comparable to compact and duty-sized pistols, yet in a package that is smaller than similarly configured, lower-capacity competitors.
The new magazine, which is only slightly longer than the 13-round extended version, is currently available directly from Springfield Armory with an MSRP of $39.95 and will soon be available from Springfield retailers as well. It is offered in both black and Desert FDE.
The Hellcat is available in both standard and OSP™ (Optical Sight Pistol) versions, with the latter featuring slides cut to accept the smallest micro red dot sights on the market. The micro 9mm ships with a patented 11-round magazine as well as an extended 13-round magazine, and this newest magazine will allow users to have a full 15+1 rounds of 9mm ammo ready to go.
The increased capacity magazine is available in Black and Desert FDE.
“This magazine offers Hellcat owners the ability to increase the total capacity of their pistol by two rounds or to carry a larger 15-round mag as a back-up,” says Steve Kramer, Vice President of Marketing for Springfield Armory. “This increased capacity puts the Hellcat platform even further beyond its competitors and means users can carry with even greater confidence.”
The Hellcat has received numerous awards since its release in 2019, including the 2020 Handgun of the Year Award from the National Rifle Association’s American Rifleman, the Guns & Ammo 2020 Handgun of the Year Award, Ballistic magazine’s Ballistics’ Best 2020 Reader’s Choice Award for Best Compact Handgun, the NTOA MTR Gold Award, and more.
Stephanie Kimmell is the firstborn daughter of Missouri’s Pecan King, worthy scion of a Vietnam veteran sailor turned mad engineer-orchardist-inventor-genius. With a BA in technical writing, she freelances as a writer and editor. A Zymurgist greatly interested in the decoction of fermented barley and hops, she is in many ways a modern amalgam of Esther Hobart Morris, Rebecca Boone, and Nellie Bly. She hunts, fishes, butchers, and cooks most anything. When not editing or writing, she makes soaps and salves, spins wool, and occasionally makes cheese from cows she milked herself. Kimmell is a driven epistemophilic who loves live music and all sorts of beer.
In the never-ending battle of anti-gun legislation, Texas is making some major moves when it comes to suppressor regulations — and they all hinge upon Texas silencers.
Currently, in order to own a suppressor without having a felony slapped on you and getting major jail time, you must comply with the National Firearms Act of 1934 (NFA). Would-be suppressor buyers must go through the typically long and arduous process of asking permission from the ATF and passing a BATFE background check. Though the processing time for this varies, it’s often as much as 8-10 months or more.
There there is the tax. Once the wait is over, you are then required to pay a $200 transfer tax. Oh, and you also have to live in one of the 42 states that allow ownership of suppressors. If your legal residence is in one of the other 8 you’re out of luck.
These laws have, obviously, always applied to Texas silencers as much as those of any other state.
Texas Silencer Laws
However…
For Texans, this may all get a little easier when House Bill (HB) 957 comes into play. This fun little bill would not-so-quietly squash the current federal suppressor laws by asserting that suppressors made in Texas are no longer subject to federal regulation. It will do so by using the commerce clause of the U.S.Constitution.
Boiled down: any suppressor physically manufactured and subsequently remaining in the State of Texas and engraved with the words “Made in Texas” would no longer be subject to federal law.
The code will go into effect on September 1, 2021.
Now, this doesn’t mean that you can just fire up the ol’ lathe and get going. Cases will be handled at the individual level. Private Citizens will have to file a complaint with the attorney general that a government body is taking action to enforce federal suppressor laws on you. In that case, the AG would seek a declaratory judgment from a federal district court that these provisions are not in conflict with the U.S. Constitution.
Texan Rep Tom Oliverson
The man who made this possible? State Representative and Physician in Anesthesiology, Tom Oliverson ( R-Cypress). The good doctor not only presented and argued for this law in terms of legality but also from a medical standpoint.
With hearing loss and tinnitus being all too common amongst hunters and recreational shooters, he was able to present his case and show just how effective the use of a suppressor can be in terms of protecting against such ailments.
The Texas Senate passed HB 957 on a vote, 18 to 13. The House passed it 95 to 51 and — shockingly enough – it even had some bipartisan support from about 14 Democrats!
Now, a cautionary note worth repeating here:
“…the bill provides a path to secure a declaratory judgment on the constitutionality of this law before someone manufactures ‘Made in Texas’ suppressors.
That last part is really important. Before you run out and make yourself a can out of an oil filter and then post it on Instabook for all the world to see, STOP. If signed into law, this is still going to have to go through the federal courts.”
It is currently an offense to possess, manufacture, transport, repair, or sell a firearm silencer unless a person is in compliance with federal law. It has been suggested that this is an unnecessary regulation that infringes on the rights of Texans and that the State of Texas should also not assist the federal government in enforcing laws and regulations restricting Texans’ access to firearm suppressors if they are wholly manufactured and sold in Texas. H.B. 957 seeks to address this issue by removing the aforementioned offense and establishing that a firearm suppressor that is manufactured and remains in Texas is not subject to federal law or regulation under the authority of the U.S. Congress to regulate interstate commerce.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT
It is the committee’s opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
It is the committee’s opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.
ANALYSIS
H.B. 957 amends the Penal Code to remove a firearm silencer from among the prohibited weapons whose intentional or knowing possession, manufacture, transport, repair, or sale constitutes an offense. The bill establishes that a criminal action for such an offense involving a firearm silencer that is pending on the bill’s effective date is dismissed on that date.
H.B. 957 amends the Government Code to establish the following regarding firearm suppressors that are manufactured on or after the bill’s effective date:
· a firearm suppressor that is manufactured in and remains in Texas is not subject to federal law or federal regulation, including registration, under the authority of the U.S. Congress to regulate interstate commerce; and
· a basic material from which a firearm suppressor is manufactured in Texas, including unmachined steel, is not a firearm suppressor and is not subject to federal regulation under that Congressional authority as if it actually were a firearm suppressor.
The bill requires the attorney general, on written notification by a U.S. citizen residing in Texas of the citizen’s intent to manufacture an applicable firearm suppressor, to seek a declaratory judgment from a federal district court in Texas that these provisions are consistent with the U.S. Constitution. The bill sets out the circumstances under which a firearm suppressor is considered to be manufactured in Texas and requires a firearm suppressor manufactured and sold in Texas to have the words “Made in Texas” clearly stamped on it.
H.B. 957 prohibits the state, specified state or local entities, or an officer, employee, or body of certain local entities from adopting a rule, order, ordinance, or policy under which the entity enforces or by consistent action allows the enforcement of a federal statute, order, rule, or regulation that purports to regulate a firearm suppressor and that imposes a regulation that does not exist under state law. The bill prohibits any applicable entity and any person employed by or otherwise under the entity’s direction or control from enforcing or attempting to enforce any such federal statute, order, rule, or regulation. The bill prohibits an entity that adopts a prohibited rule, order, ordinance, or policy from receiving state grant funds and requires such funds to be denied to the entity for the fiscal year following the year in which the entity’s adoption of the rule, order, ordinance, or policy is finally judicially determined to have violated the bill’s prohibition.
H.B. 957 authorizes any citizen residing in an applicable entity’s jurisdiction to file a complaint with the attorney general if the citizen offers and includes with the complaint evidence to support an allegation that the entity has adopted a prohibited rule, order, ordinance, or policy or that the entity consistently allows the enforcement of an applicable federal law. The bill authorizes the attorney general, on determining the complaint is valid, to file a petition for a writ of mandamus or apply for other appropriate equitable relief in a specified district court to compel the entity’s compliance with the bill’s provisions. The bill provides for the attorney general’s recovery of reasonable expenses. The bill establishes that an appeal of a suit brought to enforce the bill’s provisions is governed by certain accelerated appeals procedures and requires the appellate court to render its final order or judgment with the least possible delay.
H.B. 957 repeals Section 46.01(4), Penal Code.
EFFECTIVE DATE
September 1, 2021.
A daughter of the PNW and engineering administration maven, Samantha Fischer is an often-underestimated pro-Second Amendment rabble-rouser – who, despite her proficiency with assorted modern long guns, actually prefers a Henry Color Case Hardened Lever Action Side Gate in .45-70 to an AR15…though she is quite attached to her AI L96A1 as well. Sam reports on an eclectic (occasionally esoteric) range of topics, here on The Mag Life and other places.
The existence of Ruger’s AR Magazine fed bolt action American Rifle isn’t news, but this is the first one I’ve been able to review and I think it is a gun that deserves some space in your safe. This little thing is versatile, light, and accurate. If you’re looking for a .223 that isn’t an AR, this is a compelling place to start.
The Ruger American Rifle Ranch in .5.56 is an AR-magazine fed bolt action that is exceptionally versatile.
Ruger is notorious for making odd choices when it comes to magazines. Those of you with really long memories will know what I’m talking about. But they’ve been correcting many of those missteps, one by one, and this is the perfect example of Ruger getting it right.
There’s still enough real estate exposed to ensure rapid magazine changes.
Make no mistake—the reason why we all come to this rifle with such enthusiasm is precisely because of its magazine options. But this gun has more going for it. For one, it is part of Ruger’s dynamic American Rifle line.
The Ruger American Rifle
When the American Rifle debuted, it was a functional, inexpensive gun. I worked on a review of one from that first iteration and we took it out to 1000 yards with little difficulty. For a sub-$400 rifle, it performed incredibly well.
The texture is molded into the forend and isn’t as aggressive as it could be. It is slightly pebbly.
The American Rifle was positioned as an entry-level, budget-conscious gun. Their polymer stocks were simple, and often in simple colors. The barrels were thin, allowing for lighter builds. The action was simple enough, reliable, and efficient.
Ruger put the innovations they’d designed for many of their more expensive rifles into the design of the American rifle. One of the best was their manufacturing. They implemented Toyota-style assembly lines and took more manufacturing and milling in-house.
Even the trigger guard on the Ruger is polymer. But that makes for a solid, knock-around gun.
The guns coming off were ideal for ranch guns, hunting guns, truck guns…. If you needed a knock-about gun that could take a beating—one you wouldn’t have to treat like it was an heirloom in the making, the American rifle would fit the bill.
As the line evolved, Ruger expanded caliber offerings, barrel profiles, stock finishes, and added the extras like threaded barrels.
But an AR Magazine-Fed Bolt Action?
But the American Rifle worked with proprietary mags. And any true magazine aficionado knows, and we have a lot of them here at GunMag Warehouse, variety is the spice of life. We like unlimited choices, and proprietary magazines offer very little in the way of choice.
So Ruger designed the push-feed of the American Rifle to strip rounds off of an AR magazine. They retrofitted the stock to accept AR mags. The rest is bolt-action history.
This is where the magic happens. Notice how the cut-out clears the top of the mag.
How Does it Work?
When the bolt is closed, there’s a recess that keeps it from contacting the case of the next-available round in the magazine—basically a cut-out in the bolt that lets the shooter manipulate the up-down motions without totally dragging on top of the first brass case in the magazine.
Ruger’s bolt design is unique and will strip rounds off of any AR mag. That makes this one of the most versatile bolt-guns around.
As you rack the bolt, it rotates over the next round. The rotation pushes down on the round, ever so slightly.
When you draw the bolt back, it rides over the next round. One of the three lugs—the one pointing down, obviously, rides off the end of the round, which pops back up in front of that same lug. The lug then pushes the case from the rear, seating it as you lock the bolt handle back in place.
The bolt has three lugs, which shortens the distance between locked and unlocked.
It isn’t all that different from how any push-feed works, really.
Here’s how it is summarized in their patent: “[…], the bolt body includes a reduced diameter middle section with specially angled/contoured surfaces in some embodiments to avoid the feed lips.
The diameter reduction and angled surfaces are minimized and restricted primarily to the middle section so that a substantially full diameter body is retained in the front and rear sections for adequate bolt support and aesthetic considerations so that the angled surfaces are not visible to the user when the bolt is closed.”
The mag-well is tight. This is a compromise that allows the aluminum mags and plastic mags to fit in the shortened well.
If you geek out over gun details, this patent—and all of the ones associated with the American Rifle, is a good read. It basically details how fat, two-lug bolts get hung up on feed lips, and how skinny three-lug bolts don’t have enough contact with rounds to feed correctly. The answer is Ruger’s fatter three-lug pattern with some strategically placed cutouts to relieve the stress during locking and unlocking and during the full motions of extraction and feeding.
The Hurdles of an AR Magazine-Fed Bolt Action
There is a bit of complexity, though, that Ruger has mastered. Remember the variety I mentioned earlier. Steel, aluminum, plastics of multiple densities—each produces a different width inside the mag well and chamber. As bolt-actions often have tighter tolerances than ARs, this can be a problem.
The Ruger American Rifle takes AR mags.
I ran a full selection of mags through. I found the polymer mags were tight going in and coming out. Anything metal fit in with more ease. Everything fed reliably, though.
The bolt can drag over the feed-lips of the magazine. A new shooter I was introducing to bolt-actions was practicing with the gun and had some complaints about the bolt not gliding in and out. It isn’t as smooth as it some actions—for sure.
I didn’t have the same experience, but that is likely because I approached bolt manipulation with more force. The action isn’t what I’d describe as delicate, and you really need to run-it-like-you-mean-it. When you do, bob’s your uncle.
The Ruger American has a tang safety.
One thing that is unique is the way the bolt locks open on an empty magazine. With three or four-round mags, this is hardly an issue. We can all count to four.
But on a 30 round mag, this is a solid feature. I’d say this was not quite as important as it would be on a semi-auto, but still a good feature.
Where Does this Gun Fit in the Ruger Lineup?
When I first began working with Ruger rifles, I really wanted to like the Mini-30. That seemed like an exceptionally functional truck gun. I liked it fine, but I never was happy with the magazine. The same held true for the Mini-14. It seemed to me to be a missed opportunity.
This, though, is different. This rifle is perfect. It isn’t precious, in any way. It will run off of any AR mag. From the shortest of the shorts, through the ones that would be especially absurd in a bolt-action—they all work. I like this setup, too. The heavier barrel—cut short and threaded—is really quite versatile.
The Ruger American Rifle with a Banish .223 is still exceptionally light. This is a lean set-up.
It is loud, too–so take it to the next level and suppress it. Or invest in some really good hearing protection. Regardless, don’t stand out beside it to take pictures while someone else is shooting it–it’ll rattle your teeth loose.
Hexmags work, too. The 30 round mags are a bit long for a bolt-action, unless you shoot standing.
I also ran some polymer mags—both Hexmags and Magpul mags in 10 and 30 round capacities. They all worked exactly as I’d hoped they would.
My 14-year-old is pushing me to get a big-ass-drum mag for it, but I’m fine with 30. Unless the drum might substitute for a shooting rest, which is an angle I haven’t really considered yet.
30 round mags are standard and easy to come by. They’re also perfect for this platform—if a tad long for some shooting positions. Just like with any AR-15, you’re going to fight the magazine if you go prone or shoot from the bench.
There are 5 and 10 round mags available, and those are ideal for bellying out and getting low. In these shooting positions (and unlike with some ARs) you can use your mag as a mono-pod of sorts. Putting tension on a mag like this can be trouble for a semi-auto, but you’re in control here and you can pull off the tension on the magazine when racking the bolt, so there’s nothing to get upset about.
The Elephant in the Room
As elephants go, this one is big. Bigger than big. And maybe a bit more aggressive.
If you’ve been paying attention lately, you know there are politicians who don’t want even the most law-abiding among us to have AR-15s. They’ll attack the guns, the ammo, the accessories—even make assertions about how no “self-respecting” hunter would ever use a semi-auto for hunting. This is, they claim, only a weapon of war.
The only overt branding on the Ruger is this heel cap below the grip.
ARs remain popular, though. I realize I’m preaching to the choir. And .223 remains a viable caliber for many purposes, including hunting.
Then there are the mags. AR mags are everywhere. There are more varieties of that one style of magazine than any other in the entire history of magazines.
The Ruger American Rifle’s stock and butt-pad are functional, traditional, and no-frills.
Part of the appeal of the Ruger American Rifle plays on exactly that. If there were to be catastrophic legislation enacted that would infringe upon our rights, many of us would still have a lot of .223 (and possibly a large number of mags) sitting unused.
But what if the elephant in the room doesn’t materialize?
For many—and I do mean a lot of us—the Ruger is interesting because it takes AR mags. But this is a damn functional gun regardless. While the short barrel takes some of the punch out of the .223, it is still accurate at moderate distances. And it is light enough to carry all day without feeling fatigued.
I’d say this was an ideal set-up for any prepper concerned with keeping a dot-it-all gun close at hand. In those scenarios, .223 will be the easiest ammo to find.
For ranchers, this would be a solid choice for a varmint gun. Hogs, coyotes, groundhogs… this is a great bolt action to keep on the ATV or behind the seat in the truck.
The .223 has stopping power at extended range, but I prefer to keep shots under 300 yards. The Leupold VX-Freedom 1.5-4 is ideal for fast, close work.
For anyone looking for a range gun for training, this one has a ton of potential. .223 is inexpensive and there are numerous ways–even in this market–to train on the cheap.
Four shots in rapid succession from 100. The first two were dead on, then the second two drifted down and out.
And then there’s the general do-it-all nature of the gun. With so many different kinds of .223 on the market (grain-weights, bullet shapes, bullet materials), this is a gun that can adapt.
The Ruger American from 200 yards with 55 grain 5.56.
Actually, this gun is chambered in 5.56, so there’s even more variety available. It has a 1:8 twist down the 16-inch barrel, so bullets will make two rotations before leaving the barrel. A 1:8 ratio is decent enough for light 55-grain rounds but really shines with those between 62 and 77 grains.
10 rounds fired fast, from the shoulder, at 100. The Ruger American Rifle platform is versatile.
For a compact rifle that can shoot a wide variety of ammo from a vast array of magazines, the Ruger American Rifle in .223 delivers.
So What Will it Cost?
If you can find one these days, in this market, MSRP is $549. There are bolt-actions that sell for less, and some in .223, but few with the functionality of this version. In a standard market (kind of like 2018/2019), this would have come in well under that MSRP.
David Higginbotham is a writer and editor who specializes in everyday carry. David is a former backcountry guide in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and Boundary Waters Canoe Area who was a college professor for 20 years. He ultimately left behind the academy for a more practical profession in the firearms industry and was (among other editorial positions) the Managing Editor for a nascent Mag Life blog. In that Higginbotham helped establish The Maglife’s tone and secure its early success. Though he went on to an even more practical firearms industry profession still, he continues to contribute articles and op-eds as time and life allow.
In today’s episode of The MagLife Podcast (formerly Gunfighter Cast), our discussion involves safety in the context offightingwith a gun. The 4 rules of gun safety are often taught from a “going to the range” or “attending a class” perspective, but they must be maintained when the fight is on as well. A self-induced Bad Thing is just as bad on the two-way range as it is in practice.
How complex can the fight be? How should you structure your training to address the most likely scenarios that might require you to defend yourself with deadly force?
You must control what you can control, hold yourself accountable for your own physical safety, your own personal weapon handling, and learning to fight realistically while following safety rules, such as the commonly used 4 rules of gun safety. That is advanced safety. That is advanced gun-handling.
Some of the terminologies used for the so-called “fundamental rules” have changed over the years, such as the rules that Daniel and Varg use, but the necessity to understand advanced gun-handling, to be viscerally aware of your trigger finger, your muzzle, your foreground and background, and all other surrounding factors — none of those have. Nor will they.
Check out some of the main topics discussed below:
1:55 it gets complicated
3:40 navigating unpredictable movement
6:13 look like a good guy
11:30 high ready vs low ready
12:39 artificiality of training
14:41 aiming cold guns
18:40 DS rule #1
20:12 VF rule
25:00 muzzle positioning
26:23 DS rule #2
28:30 safety
31:47 know your target
32:59 gas station example
37:13 get online with your partner
1:55VF says,
“I prioritize what I teach, by what I think is important through my experiences. Having seen a lot of violence and having been around a lot of really poor gun handlers in violent situations…[T]here were a lot of things that I picked up on that I incorporate into what I teach very naturally;
If you’re talking about fighting with a gun, the most important aspect is to not add more harm to the situation than is already there.
The way that we make a situation worse, is by not adhering to a level of safety that is conducive to keeping people safe.
The standard safety rules, the big 4 that people use, or the 3 from the NRA, those are circumstantial … and there are modifications that need to be made. I know a lot of people don’t like to stray from that because it ‘gets too complicated’. But fighting with a gun is a complicated thing, and if you can’t think on a somewhat complex level, then your ability to operate under pressure is probably not going to be that great.”
This is true in every aspect of life. Every bullet has a potential life attached to it. Proper gun handling is of paramount importance no matter where you’re walking out or stepping off — or for that matter why you picked up that weapon in the first place.
3:40VF says,
“When I have a weapon out in a public situation: One of the biggest concerns is, how do I move around other people who’re moving unpredictably?”
Safe gun-handling will likely become more difficult in an actual deadly force encounter. This is a screenshot of a church service in Texas from December 2019. It shows a man who shot and killed two people before two members of the church security team shot and killed him. Muzzle awareness and backdrop are obviously of great significance here.
“The security guys were armed and they drew their guns out. One guy nailed the bad guy from the back of the church and put him down, but he had already shot 2-3 people. It was the aftermath that we can learn the most from. You see all these security guys, and they pull tier firearms out in a church full of scared people because people had just been shot. So, people are panicking, some are on the floor, some are standing up, some are frozen, some are beginning to move. And you got guys running through the room with their pistols out, pointed in all these different directions. There’s no standard of movement and control amongst this group of people.”
“Mitigating risks is easy to do, if you train for it.” -VF
Look and Sound like the Good Guy
6:13DS Says,
“To the observer, to someone entering that room who just heard gun-shots and knows people have been shot and they see someone mishandling their firearm… that does not put in my mind that this person is well trained… my first thought may be, that looks like that bad guy. I’m a big believer in looking and sounding like a good guy when you have a gun out in a public environment. That is a part of safety. Not necessarily weapon’s handling, but it totally ties into weapons handling.
Or, you see someone moving with a purpose, handling their weapon in a way that is safe for everyone around them, and safe for themselves in a way that looks like they have some level of training and understanding of what to do when the gun is out in a public environment. Officers tell me all over the country that he may get commands, but he’s not getting bullets.”
4 Rules of Gun Safety
As Daniel Shaw instructs them.
Be relentlessly aware of your muzzle ensuring it is always pointed in the relative safest direction.
Keep your finger off the trigger and outside of the trigger guard until you are on target and have made the conscious decision to fire.
Keep the weapon on safe until you are on target and have made the conscious decision to fire.
Be certain of your target and that its foreground and background remain clear.
Example: Muzzle Awareness
8:25, VF says,
“If we talk about muzzle control during movement, and we talk about ways to manage your space, manage the muzzle, keeping control of the weapon. If there’s going to be contact or you’re in a potentially contact situation. How to achieve two-handed control on the weapon with muzzle control.
…One of the big things I talk about, is manipulation. Sometimes you have to manipulate your weapon in a downward position. Sometimes it needs to be up. To be able to change like that on the fly, and understand how to manipulate your weapon in those different positions, as the environment dictates, is truly a mark of someone that’s accomplished with their weapon [handling].”
There have been so many accidents throughout the years by guns that are understood and thought to be unloaded. That mindset that my gun is unloaded, so I can treat is differently now, is a horrible mindset to be in for any kind of weapons handling. -DS
9:46 DS says, “I need to be carrying, transporting, ready to deploy my gun in a way that is safe for me, safe for everyone else around me, but still, lethal for the bad guy.”
12:52 VF gives an example;
You’re at Dairy Queen, and active shooter breaks out, and there’s a whole baseball team of seven-year old’s having ice-cream. Sole position and muzzle down, is probably not going to be cool with a bunch of 3-foot-tall humans running around.
…you should think constantly, what does my environment call for me to do to keep this safe for me, and others around me, while still being effectively dangerous for the bad guy(s).
14:45 DS says, “There has been so many accidents throughout the years by guns that are understood and thought to be unloaded. That mindset that my gun is unloaded, so I can treat it differently now, is a horrible mindset to be in for any kind of weapons handling.”
Daniel & Varg Discussion on Safety Rules
18:40DS reveals his rule #1,
“My rule number one, no matter what situation you’re in, whether you’re in a house or a gas station, whether you have your child in front of you and you have to draw your gun, no matter what’s going on, be relentlessly aware of your muzzle, ensuring it’s always pointed in the relative safest direction. … a safe direction is relative to yourself, everybody else, and your bad guy.”
“My number one rule in the safety briefing is that; it is your responsibility to always know the condition of your weapon at all times, no exceptions. -VF
Ex:
“You can be in a situation where you’re cleaning your weapon and [then] you’re loading it, then you hear your child screaming from outside in bloody horror. You run out and they’ve fallen and ripped their knee open. There’s this big drama and your mind is now completely distracted. [Meanwhile], Number one, there’s a loaded weapon, unholstered laying on your workbench. Number two, will you remember the gun’s condition when you come back to it?”
It is not limited to just situational awareness and being switched on. Complacency kills, overseas at home. On the job, on the street, at the range, in the home. A responsible gun owner or gun-carrying professional strives to avoid complacency in training, in gun handling, in anything whatsoever do with that weapon.
20:12 VF explains another rule [one that isn’t in the standardized “4 Rules of Gun Safety”]: “Don’t handle a weapon unless it’s in your master grip…
It’s master grip, full muscular control, intentional awareness of the gun when it’s in your hand. That’s how we start knowing the condition of the gun at all times.
This is a complex situation and you have complex problems that you have to solve when you’re going into a fight with a gun. And it’s [going to] get very, very confusing for some people if you’ve never trained before. If you have to jump into a home defense situation, there are moving parts that you don’t understand or have never thought about before. In the midst of all this coming at you, you still have to intentionally control that gun and have complete control over yourself at the same time…. This requires constant practice.”
26:23 DS next rule:
“Keep your finger off the trigger and outside the trigger guard, until you’re on target and you have made the conscious decision to fire. Your finger doesn’t go on the trigger while changing levels, or [when you’re] moving from position to position. Your finger should only be on the trigger when you’re in the act of shooting…The last thing I’m going to do is flip the safety down while not even losing time on this. You have a skill deficit if you believe the safety slows you down. If it does, you need more training.
31:47 VF says, “You should always know your target, what’s behind it, what’s in front of it, and what’s flanking it on both sides. As shots start firing and people start panicking and running, how many people could run in your line of fire?”
How many guns in the fight?
If I’m not online or I don’t allow my partner to move online and I’m not being a good partner. I am bringing more risk to myself. You have to do your best to allow everyone to get in that fight. It’s going to keep you safer and everyone else around you. -DS
40:10 VF responds, “Absolutely, and that’s the kicker right there; the compounding of combat power. Bringing the biggest force you can to the fight. If you cut your partner out of it, you’re endangering yourself more, because there’s one less gun in the fight.”
Final Thoughts
We hope this episode of The MagLife Podcast has inspired thought beyond the surface of safety rules as they are often presented and discussed. If you have any questions, comments or ideas send us an email or comment on this post. We would love to hear from you.
Gunmag Warehouse’s own Director of Marketing, Daniel Shaw is a retired US Marine Infantry Unit Leader with multiple combat tours and instructor titles. Since retirement from the Marine Corps, Daniel teaches Armed Citizens and Law Enforcement Officers weapons, tactics and use of force.
Daniel takes his life of training and combat experience and develops as well as presents curriculum and creates digital media content to help Law Enforcement, US Military and Responsible Armed Citizens prepare for a deadly force encounter. When he isn’t directing marketing for Gunmag Warehouse, Daniel travels the US teaching and training under his company, Shaw Strategies, and discusses all things hoplological and self-defense related on The MagLife Podcast.
One of my friends recently posted a picture of his gear to Instagram. In it was a reference to the MultiTasker Nano. He was doing an annual shakedown, as he described it, “before the shooting starts”. That’s an important thing to do for anyone, particularly if someone is going to be shooting back, but in this case, as I learned, he was doing so in anticipation of upcoming competition matches. Specifically, a “quantified performance match”.
“Time for a gear shakedown before the shooting starts!”, Joe said. “It’s nice having the new Nano in my range bag for work like this. It’s a nice complement to the MultiTasker and Twister and has more uses than you might think.”
Adjusting a scope turret with MultiTasker’s Nano. (That’s a Vortex LPVO in a Knights Armament mount.)
Now, although I know it was released, I haven’t used the Nano yet. Other than generalities, and despite the fact that we have it on the “Warehouse side”, I didn’t know much about it. Nor was I was then familiar with the term “quantified performance match” (though I do follow news from the Precision Rifle Series, or PRS).
Q: Okay Joe, for those who aren’t familiar, what’s the Nano?
A: It’s a new tool from…MultiTasker. The nobs on the top are to adjust an Aimpoint and similar optics. It’s made to put into the bottom of the [forthcoming, ed.] MagPod Gen 3. There’s a side blade to it you can use to remove battery caps and some other features too.
Q: Why do you like it? Anything you don’t like?
A: It’s convenient, light, and doesn’t take up a lot of space. There’s a lot you can do with it, especially considering the size and weight. It could be easy to lose though, in a range bag or on the ground, so I’d put it on a keychain, stash it in a dedicated place in my gear, or of course on the bottom of your PMAG.
The MultiTasker Nano is a handy and lightweight tool: but take steps to ensure it doesn’t get away from ya!
Q: What’s a “quantified performance match”?
A: It’s a precision match for semi-auto rifles. Ash Hess and Jack Lueba started the league.
Q: What’s the deal with the bright slashes on your scope mount?
A: The yellow is painted on there for witness marks. I use them to make sure the screws haven’t come loose and that they’re torqued down to spec, you know, to be sure nothing has moved.
The “witness marks” on Neuroth’s Razor 1-10 Low Power Variable Optic. They allow him to ensure with a glance that the scope is in place where it’s supposed to be and that the screws haven’t started to come loose.
Q: What are the optics?
A: Both are LPVOs [Low Power Variable Optic, ed.] The black gun is a precision competition gun. That scope is the Vortex Razor 1-10. The brown rifle has a Vortex Optics Razor 1-6.
Q: Talk me through the gun porn of this. What are those rifles?
A: The black gun is an AR10 (-ish) chambered in 6.5 Creedmoor with Zev Tech receivers and rail. The optic is a Razor 1-10 in a Knights Armament Mount, and the bag on the front is the Armageddon Gear/Area 419 “Grip Changer” on an Arca Rail from Area 419. The Arca Rail allows you to rapidly move the bipod up and down the rail. Same with the bag. You can have both mounted at the same time. The placard looking thing is a dope card holder. I picked it up off of Amazon. You can put your notes down on a 3×5 card and throw it on there so it’s easy to see from the prone position.
The brown gun is a 5.56mm Hodge Defense AR 15 with a Razor 1-6 up top in a Badger Ordnance mount. That’s a Centrifuge Training QD sling on there. Both rifles are equipped with Magpul stocks.
Announced in early February 2021, the Nano is a small (hence the name) stainless steel tool intended for carbine optic adjustment.
It features a dedicated Aimpoint T1/T2 turret adjuster on one end and a slotted screwdriver with radiused edges on the other. The former will work on more than just Aimpoints, that the latter has multiple uses.
According to MultiTasker, the Nano is…
“…compatible with a wide array of issued carbine optics, including the Aimpoint M68 CCO, Trijicon ACOG, Eotech EXPS-3 as well as the Trijicon RMR and aiming lasers such as the PEQ-15 and MAWL from B.E. Meyers & Co.”
Designed to tuck into the storage slot of the soon-to-be-released Gen 3 MagPdd, the Nano can easily be carried on a lanyard, keychain, or something similar.
SPECS:
–Size: 1.2 x 0.5 inches –Weight: Less than 1 ounce –Carry Options: lanyard hole and compatible with the integrated Gen3 MagPod SpaceFrame locking storage slot –Material: 420 stainless with Melonite finish
MultiTasker-Nano in Gen 3 MagPad.
Big Joe, Biiiig Jooooooeee…Big Joe is a pretty big Joe.
David Reeder’s Wu Tang name is Lucky Prophet. He is a retired AF veteran, former Peace Officer, and current Tier 2.5 writer-operator. Over the course of his career, he has worked a variety of military and lE billets, served as an Observer-Controller at the National Homeland Security Training Center, a MOUT instructor, and an MTT tracking instructor – all of which sounds much cooler than it really was. Although he only updates his website once in a very great while, he can absolutely be relied upon to post to social media (@reederwrites) at least once a month. -Ish.
The folks at Cincinnati-based Faxon Firearms (a family-owned and operated outfit that makes rifle and pistol components, as well as complete firearms) just announced that they’ve released a new line of Glock 43 and Glock 43X barrels. They call it the Match Series. Each Glock 43 barrel is 100 percent machined in-house. The company says these barrels can be dropped into factory slides—no gunsmithing required.
Faxon Match Series Barrels for Glock 43 & 43X.
Here’s how the company described the new barrels in their recent press release.
Faxon Firearms, a Cincinnati, Ohio-based manufacturer of quality rifle and pistol components, and complete firearms, is excited to announce the release of their new Match Series Barrels for Glock G43/43X.
Faxon’s Director of Product Management, Jay Wilson, said, “This year we are making a big push to expand both our pistol barrel and pistol part and accessories lines. We released M&P Shield barrels last month, G43 is just releasing, and keep your eye out soon for another single-stack offering. After that, expect some exciting new accessories and different pistol platform barrel offerings. We’ve brought a lot of new machines and equipment online over the past couple of months, which will allow us to really push into these segments.”
The barrels are available in Black, Tin, and Chamelion, with or without threading to add a suppressor.
Faxon’s Match Series pistol barrels for Glock G43/43X are machined 100% in-house from stress-relieved 416-R stainless steel. These barrels are then given a black Nitride or PVD coating to increase lubricity, barrel life, and resistance to surface wear.
According to Faxon, each Glock 43 barrel is conventionally rifled to allow a wider range of ammunition to be used, including cast lead. The barrels drop into factory-spec slides with no gunsmithing required, and their better-than-factory tolerances ensure a consistent, tighter lockup than OEM.
Watch the new Glock 43 barrel in action in this product launch video from the Faxon website.
Match Series Gloc 43/43X Barrel Technical Specifications:
By the way, what’s the difference between a Glock 43 and Glock 43X?
We get it, Glock nomenclature seems bizarre. Kat Ainsworth does a thorough job explaining the difference in her article, Glock 43 vs 43X: A Faceoff,
After all, there’s no correlation between the model number and the gun’s size or caliber. Unless you have their patent numbers memorized you’re out of luck understanding the process.
Then there are guns like the 43 and 43X which sound like they must be basically the same model and are not. Why does the 43X simply have an “X” added to its designation?
Just to be clear, they’re not interchangeable, as Kat Ainsworth further explains,
The slide of the G43 is not the same as the G43X and their holsters are not interchangeable (neither are their magazines). The G43 is technically a Gen 4 and the G43X is a Gen 5, so their internal and external parts and features vary quite a bit.
Stephanie Kimmell is the firstborn daughter of Missouri’s Pecan King, worthy scion of a Vietnam veteran sailor turned mad engineer-orchardist-inventor-genius. With a BA in technical writing, she freelances as a writer and editor. A Zymurgist greatly interested in the decoction of fermented barley and hops, she is in many ways a modern amalgam of Esther Hobart Morris, Rebecca Boone, and Nellie Bly. She hunts, fishes, butchers, and cooks most anything. When not editing or writing, she makes soaps and salves, spins wool, and occasionally makes cheese from cows she milked herself. Kimmell is a driven epistemophilic who loves live music and all sorts of beer.
You’ve been involved in a defensive shooting — ideally a shooting and not a gunfight. What comes after? What should you do post-engagement? Here’s a hint: it’s not just flipping your head around dramatically in a theatric scan-and-assess. In today’s episode, we discuss what to do after. Though important, situational awareness is necessarily different in every situation. However, to develop the proper mindset Daniel presents his system that if used in the course of training will help you prioritize your post-defensive shooting actions. Mindset, mission, purpose, and mental-emotional preparation can help save your life and protect your loved ones. We’ll talk about that.
Listen to the podcast, or feel free to jump to a specific topic in episode 166…
Defensive Shooting: what comes next?
02:00 listen to the environment
02:34 what to ask yourself
04:24 access threats
05:37 training awareness
08:40 fighting with no cues
09:45 looking at things not for things
11:23 training in a shoot-house scenario
16:52 mindset focus
18:00 context and discussion: a short story by DS
24:00 comfort in discomfort
Scan and Assess
Should you scan after a defensive shooting?
2:00 VF says,
“I try not to be dogmatic about (this is what you do [after] every time you pull the trigger), you do this exact procedure.
It’s more about trying to find out what the environment is telling me and what the highest priority need is going to be.
The first one is going to be safety, then after that, we look at; do we need to fight more?”
2:34 DS suggests the questions you should be thinking to determine your next priority,
“This threat… does it need more bullets? Is it over? Can I stop shooting to evacuate my child? Is there anything else here that can hurt me?
There’s this idea that you can’t leave the scene and where it came from I don’t know.
It’s situational…”
4:24 VF says, “If it’s important enough to shoot, it’s important enough to make sure its shot. From there, the tasks are prioritized by the environment…
[Ask yourself] …what are the highest threats to my safety and what are the avenues to deal with it?
If someone wants to train scans, I’m ok with it, I just encourage people not to do it every single time they shoot.”
Mindset: Prioritization
Daniel’s mindset priorities:
Does he or she need more bullets?
Is there anything else here that can hurt me?
Am I in the most survivable location?
What’s my next problem to solve?
Training, mindset…is way more important than where you look around -VF
5:37 VF says,
“You go to an indoor shooting range, and you got these black ballistic walls that are eighteen inches on each side of your head… you’re essentially training yourself to look at nothing, because you know there’s nothing there, and I don’t support that type of training. I don’t think it’s conducive to creating the type of awareness that allows you to prioritize the tasks when you look at the environment.”
8:40 DS says,
“I see it all the time where someone doesn’t know what to do, they’re standing in a vulnerable spot, they’re not in a great location, they just had to shot somebody and they’re looking for the next thing to do, and they can’t figure it out because they’re not receiving any cues.
…Third piece of my thought process is; am I standing in the most survivable location? “
Vulnerable civilians are seen panicking to find safety after a shooting took place at this airport in Florida.
9:45 VF says,
“You need to stop looking for things and start looking at things.”
Here, a teacher in Arlington, Texas is getting trained to carry a gun in their classrooms, so that if a gunman ever comes to their school they’ll be ready to protect their students. The teachers are never told who will be walking through the door; a threat or a student.
Ex: [During training] “…If you have to go through a door into a room where they don’t know what’s there. A lot of times they’re expecting to see something there. They’re looking for a bad guy with a gun, this predetermined image in their head. If you get through the door and that’s not what you encounter, your brain has to loop all the way back and re-figure out what you’re looking at. The trip back to that square one would be a lot shorter if you didn’t have an expectation already set.
You [should] go into an open room with an open mind, and you’re looking at what’s in front of you, not looking for something.”
11:17 DS adds; “Looking for something vs at something results in no-shoot targets getting shot.”
11:23 VF’s shoot-house scenario training method for civilians;
Ex:
“I’ll put an active shooter in what would be a bank. You got someone in there talking to the banker about a mortgage, you got a couple of people working in there, then an active shooter comes in looking for their estranged wife (or whatever), and one of the scenarios is;
I’ll send in a second shooter. Either an average CCW guy, trying to help but he’s not doing it properly which is fully expected, and then you’ve got officers responding. I’ll use real police in those roles. Then I’ll have civilians in there who just got into an engagement with an active shooter, and now you’ve got a gun coming around the corner at you. Its either going to be; a second bad guy, a second good guy, or a law enforcement officer and if you’re looking for juts a gun, all three of those guys are going to get shot.”
15:19 VF says: “If all you’re doing is going to the range and doing fast draws, working on your draw stroke, putting a lot of rounds downrange, you can shoot great [that’s a good start], but the mindset component can’t be skipped.
Unfortunately, a lot of classes don’t deliver a mindset component because the flashy shooting part, is the most popular part in the industry and it’s the most fun…
Gunfighting is like 10-20% shooting and 80-90% thinking.”
Its training and thinking on the range, on a level where recognize our assets, our vulnerabilities, and figure out a way to mitigate those vulnerabilities and increase our assets – DS
DSCreates training with unpredictable elements, foregrounds, and backgrounds, to enforce mindset essentials on the range;
“It’s usually a very big eye-opener for a lot of folks about how many times they didn’t even recognize that there was a target right behind that [other] target, they didn’t clear a foreground or background, or didn’t make the right movement… yes you’re shooting guns, but it’s really just trained thinking in problem solving and mindset”
20:00 VFagrees by adding, “And you shock a lot of people because they actually become shocked by their own behavior, they don’t expect themselves to respond the way they did and realize they weren’t even close to figuring it out.”
“Plans rarely work out when they meet contact.” – DS
24:01 VF says, “I have had some pretty deep experiences with violence myself, numerous times. After a while, if you’ve got what it takes, you begin to develop this ability to rapidly adapt to a situation. What happens is, after the situation starts to unfold into chaos, or a more hostile event, you adapt and using your mindset, you just do your job.
That could be taking all this information in at a super rapid rate. You have all this stuff happening; people running, things are moving, there are bullets flying, all this crazy stuff is happening. Your ability to take that in and process it very often improves over time. In my case it did. I became more comfortable in hostile situations.”
17:25 VF says; “It matters how you conduct your training. And of course, it comes down to anything else, you get what you put into it. If you go there [a square range] invested in “I want to get faster and shoot better,” that’s all you’re going to get if you’re lucky.
…Or, you get your mind opened up by a good instructor [that teaches you that] the decisions are going to come at you so fast, and sometimes you’re going to have choices between great decisions, good decisions, and sometimes it’s going to be between two bad decisions. That’s just how it goes. Sometimes you have to do that. There are things that you may have to do that are not comfortable, but you have to be able to process those thoughts, while you’re in a super elevated condition, physiologically and psychologically
Check out Daniel’s short story: The First Step, explains what was going on in his head during one of the moments leading up to his first firefight in the Battle of An Nasiriyah, on March 23rd, 2003.
Gunmag Warehouse’s own Director of Marketing, Daniel Shaw is a retired US Marine Infantry Unit Leader with multiple combat tours and instructor titles. Since retirement from the Marine Corps, Daniel teaches Armed Citizens and Law Enforcement Officers weapons, tactics and use of force.
Daniel takes his life of training and combat experience and develops as well as presents curriculum and creates digital media content to help Law Enforcement, US Military and Responsible Armed Citizens prepare for a deadly force encounter. When he isn’t directing marketing for Gunmag Warehouse, Daniel travels the US teaching and training under his company, Shaw Strategies, and discusses all things hoplological and self-defense related on The MagLife Podcast.
If you are reading this I probably don’t have to explain to you that the AR15 is an excellent gun. One of the more attractive aspects of the AR platform is the ability to customize and accessorize the gun. The customization and accessorization of the AR-15 allows the user to tailor the gun to their specific needs. It also allows us to take the AR-15 from formidable to quite possibly the ultimate defensive firearm.
At the same time, for duty and defensive use, the AR-15 is a formidable tool—right out of the box. Add a reliable magazine (MAGPUL and Lancer are my favorites) and 28 rounds of a good soft point defensive round and you are good to go for a wide variety of circumstances.
An AR-15 handguard can have a lot of work to do. In addition to my sling attachment, which holds the weight of the whole package, the handguard is the home for my REIN weapon light and my laser. The handguard must hold the laser firmly in place. Remember, this laser is an aiming device.
Let’s face it though, adding some accessories to your M-4 can make a huge difference when it comes to efficiency.
To that end, I have compiled a list of what I think are the seven most important AR-15 accessories. I have tried to compile a list in order from most important to least important. Yup, we could argue about the order all day long. Some folks might find very good reasons related to their context to tweak or completely rearrange the order of importance. They aren’t wrong, and neither are you. You do you.
I think this list and its order applies to most people most of the time. Use it as a starting point as you decide what the most important accessories are for your defensive or duty AR-15.
1. An M-LOK Handguard
When I compiled this list of AR-15 accessories, I did it with defensive and duty use in mind. To me, that means reliability above all else. Your gun needs to run and all the accessories need to be in place and ready to go.
When I build out an AR-15 for serious use, it gets an M-LOK handguard. This is what the majority of accessories are going to attach to. Your sling, weapon-mounted light, and your laser (if you have one) will all mount to your handguard. They need a solid home, and M-LOK has become the standard.
One of the biggest disadvantages of some of my must-have AR-15 accessories is the fact that they live out on the end of my rifle. This makes my Victor SBR a bit front heavy. More push-ups needed.
If you already have an AR15 with an M-LOK handguard, move on to number two unless you want to build your ego and feel good about the choices you’ve made.
What do I look for In a handguard?
When I select an M-LOK handguard I seriously lean toward a free float, aluminum handguard with a solid attachment to the upper receiver.
Can polymer get you by? Probably, but the advantages of a free-floated aluminum handguard are too many to ignore.
The security of your expensive gear is important. You need everything to be right where it is supposed to be when your safety depends on it. A free float aluminum handguard is also going to increase your accuracy by allowing your barrel to point regardless of the pressure on the handguard and making sure any additional kit is pointed where you originally pointed it.
I’ve never been disappointed with the offerings from BCM or Midwest Industries when it comes to M-LOK free float handguards. You won’t regret the upgrade.
2. A Quality Two-Point Sling
I recently sat in a deer stand with Joe Weyer, the man behind Alliance Police Training Facility, and among other things we were back and forth about what the most important AR-15 accessories are. It was a lively discussion. We didn’t shoot any deer that day…
Joe contends that a rifle just isn’t a rifle unless it has a functional sling. So far Joe and I are in lockstep.
A good sling serves many purposes. It can provide a way to carry your AR-15 with no hands either in front of you or behind. It helps to maintain control of the gun if you end up in a physical struggle over the weapon. A sling provides additional stability for shooting and allows you to easily take your support hand off the gun to do work. The list of how a sling can help you do work is long.
A rifle isn’t a rifle without a sling.
I really like my Springfield SAINT Victor SBR and its set up. This gun includes all 7 of the upgrades I recommend for a fighting AR-15. The best part about the Victor is it ships with a solid M-LOK handguard from the factory. This is where my Defense Mechanisms front QD attaches.
In Joe’s opinion, a sling is so integral in the use of the rifle that it is actually a part of the rifle and so there is no need to mention it as an accessory. He has a point here. You notice that I haven’t included a bolt as an accessory. An AR-15 just isn’t a rifle without a bolt… or a sling.
On the other hand, I’m guessing there are folks here that may have not even considered that a sling (and knowing how to use it) is so dang important. This is why I think it should be on the list.
If you are in that group, get yourself a sling.
My favorite, by far, is the Rifle Sling from Defense Mechanisms secured to that handy handguard and the buttstock, the sling is adjustable, versatile, stow-able and, functional.
3. A Weapon-Mounted Light
If you can’t see it, you can’t shoot it. I mean this not only from a practical point of view but also from a moral and ethical standpoint. You need a weapon-mounted light so that you can identify your threat. A quality light not only allows you to identify that threat and ensure that they are a foe, but it also allows you to visually interrogate that threat. Seeing details in the dark is important and a good light allows you to do that at a distance.
In addition to helping you see, a quality light helps to make sure your threat can’t see. Denying your adversary visual information deprives them of what they need to make good decisions. This gives you an edge.
I keep talking about quality lights. I’m talking about a light that is reliable, easy to activate (and deactivate,) and bright like the sun.
This is what it looks like to stare down a Cloud Defensive OWL at 40 yards. A quality weapon light can deny your threat visual information.
Weapon-Mounted Light Specifications
Bad things can happen in the dark. In fact, they tend to. If you want to solve problems you need visual information. A quality weapon-mounted light can help you solve problems you can’t even see in this image.
On a rifle, I am looking for 1500 lumens or better and I want to see the Candella near or above 50,000. On short guns that are set up slick, my favorite light is the Cloud Defensive OWL due to its simplicity. If I have a lot of other accessories on the front end I prefer the Cloud Defensive REIN to provide more mounting options and outstanding cable routing. Either of these lights is a powerful tool that will serve you well. Travis Pike REINs you with info on the REIN and you can see who the OWL is for here.
I am impressed with the performance of the Cloud Defensive REIN. At 100 yards the WML easily lights up this building. INSIDE and out.
4. Red Dot Optic
Optics on rifles have been the standard for years now and for good reason. Optics help you get hits faster. When it comes to optical solutions, unless there is a reason to be magnified, I default to a simple 1 power dot.
A red dot sight simplifies aiming your AR-15. When you look through the reticle of your optic your aiming point is superimposed on your threat. Both the threat and the dot appear to be on the same plane so there is no need to shift your focus back to your sights. Instead, holdover as needed and press the trigger.
I’m quite the Trijicon fan. I grew up in Detroit and it’s hard not to cheer for the home team. I depend on the MRO on top of several of my AR-15’s. In this case, I run an MRO HD so I have the option of slapping on my 3x magnifier. I use an American Defense Manufacturing night vision height mount to allow me to use the MRO with my NVGs.
I’ve been a fan of Trijicon’s optics for a long time and love my Trijicon MRO’s and MRO HD’s. I’m also starting to like Holosun’s optics and have enjoyed using my Holosun HS503CU Red Dot Sight.
5. Replacement Grip
There isn’t anything that’s “wrong” with the A2 grip that comes on most AR-15s. I mean as long as you enjoy that twinge in your wrist from it being bent at a weird angle when using your AR-15 with a modern shooting stance.
Personally, I don’t like the way the A2 grip forces me to hold my AR. So I upgrade my grip to something with a more verticle orientation. I really like the Magpul K2 grip, or you could go with something like Xtech’s Adjustable AR-15 Grip. This cool grip allows you to set the angle to what works best for you and your application.
With today’s modern, squared up shooting stance, the standard A2 is a bit outdated. Its swept-back angle is best used when prone. I could end up prone, but if I have to use my AR, I’ll likely be standing. I want a more vertical grip like the BCM grip that ships on the SAINT Victor SBR.
5. Laser
If I was writing this article 12 months ago, it would have been “Six Must-Haves AR-15 Accessories”.
A year can teach you a lot and in 2020 I spent a lot of time training and practicing at night. When I say a lot of time, I would say that I spent close to 400 hours with my rifle in the dark in class. My time after sunset reinforced to me how important my weapon-mounted light was. No surprise there.
What forced me to reconsider my thoughts about my rifle set up was how useful I found a laser.
I currently run a Steiner DBAL-A3 mounted on my Springfield Victor SBR. The visible and IR DBAL is overkill unless you also run night vision.
In my opinion, the biggest advantage of a visible laser is that it allows you to see your point of aim without looking through your optic. This opens up a wide variety of strategies you can use to get hits in difficult situations.
You might not need infrared…
What everyone can get some use out of is a visible laser. A visible laser on a rifle is extremely useful as an aiming device. With a vis laser, you know where your rounds are going to hit even if the optic isn’t in your line of sight. Accurate hits from retention at 100 yards are no problem with a vis laser. Locking your gun in place with your body, (like lying on top of the gun), makes longer hits relatively easy as well.
Or looking out one port while shooting out of another? Yup, vis lasers make it possible, maybe even easy.
A laser can also be a great communication tool. When used properly a laser can be a great signaling device when you are trying to link up with others and a fantastic tool to communicate force to those that don’t need to be shot. Yet.
Lasers don’t have to be four-figure monsters like the DBAL or the MAWL. You might start out with something like this Streamlight Protac HLX Rifle Light Laser Combo for less than 2 bills. If you decide you like the laser life you can always upgrade!
7. A Suppressor
I enjoy shooting suppressed and am lucky to have access to a wide variety of cans. Lately, I have been running the NG2 Defense Maxflo. It isn’t the quietest can, but it is pleasant to shoot and reduces the back-flow of gasses.
I resisted suppressors for a long time. The paperwork seemed like a pain, the stamp seemed expensive. I get it. Now that I shoot my AR-15 suppressed, I won’t go back. It is much more pleasant for me as a shooter, and for those around me as well.
There is no doubt that a can takes your favorite AR to 11. Wait, I think I have that backward.
Final Thoughts
For many years, the AR-15 did good work without any of the fancy upgrades. If all you can afford is a rifle (with a sling of course,) some mags, and ammo, you are not out of the game. Train and practice. When you need to, you will be set.
If you have the money and the time, adding must-have AR-15 accessories makes sense. Just remember, adding a bunch of gear doesn’t mean you don’t have to train and practice. In fact, every piece of kit you add is likely to increase your need to train and practice. All the Gucci AR-15 accessories in the world won’t make up for a lack of skill.
In addition to the bright light that really reaches out, the coolest aspect of the REIN is the ability to route the switch wiring efficiently.
Paul Carlson, owner of Safety Solutions Academy, is a Professional Defensive Shooting Instructor. He has spent the past decade and a half studying how humans can perform more efficiently in violent confrontations and honing his skills as an instructor both in the classroom and on the range.
Through Safety Solutions Academy, Paul teaches a variety of Critical Defensive Skills courses in more than a dozen states annually. Courses range from Concealed Carry Classes to Advanced Critical Defensive Handgun Courses and include instruction for the defensive use of handguns, rifles and shotguns. Safety Solutions Academy regularly hosts other industry leading experts as guest instructors to make sure that SSA’s students have the opportunity for quality instruction across a broad range of Critical Defensive disciplines.
GOAT Box is a rough-and-tumble storage system designed for modularity, durability, and versatility. From what we can see, the reality of use in the field meets design intention. If you follow them on social media, or just peruse the website, you’ll see that in addition to roll your own organization options they frequently put together “packages” in conjunction with other outdoor industry companies.
One such package is The Overlander (the The Overlander?). The Overlander consists of some specific GoatBoxCo CANs (q.v.) and their flagship container, the Hub 70.
GOAT Box “Overlander” in the California desert with @bound.for.nowhere.
The Overlander includes a Basic First Aid CAN, Power Boost CAN, Hydration CAN, and Hygiene Can.
What are CANs? GoatBoxCo says, “The cornerstone of GOAT’s modular gear storage system, our stout CANs were engineered to hold essential gear for any situation. Built from the same polycarbonate that NASA uses, these damn near indestructible CANs integrate securely into GOAT’s HUB 70 and RACK like a glove. Our CANs come fully loaded with kits of gear from our best-in-class partners or empty ready to be filled with whatever you can dream of. In a pinch, they make for a great beer stein.”
You had this fictitious reporter at beer stein!
GOAT Box CANs
Let’s take a look.
The GOATBox First Aid Can was put together in partnership with My Medic. It’s for medical contingencies like cuts, burns, headaches, griping guts (which the hydration CAN should help you avoid, but just in case!), CPR, and the like.
The Power Boost CAN is powered (pun intentional) by NOCO. It holds juice for a wide array of devices and holds its own battery charge for a year.
Staying hydrated is obviously a big deal. Staying hydrated without getting sick (and possibly ejecting your chow from one or both ends) is an even bigger deal. Water filtration is an integral part of the GOATBoxCo Hydration CAN.
The Hygiene CAN includes a towel, wipes, hand sanitizer, and other essentials, all in a waterproof rollable dry-sack that can be used to move contents from the vehicle to your backpack, canoe, or ATV. The Hygiene CAN was put together in partnership with Sea to Summit USA.
“The Overlander is for anyone who likes to venture deep into the unknown. For us, we never know what we will be getting ourselves into when we venture down some far-flung dirt road, so it’s nice to come prepared for anything. With the GOAT HUB, we never had to worry because in addition to cold beer we are always equipped with first aid, hydration, power, and hygiene all covered in one organized, grab-and-go system. It also eliminates the possibility of forgetting something, like I often do!”
The Hub 70 System, which is built around a pretty badass cooler, is described as an “all-in beast…designed to haul all your gear to any of life’s adventures with 4 CANs included…”
Hub 70 System
Here’s what GoatBoxCo has to say about the Hub 70 System.
How do you get more functional storage out of a high-performance cooler without grossly increasing the footprint or weight? The X-Shape Design of our HUB 70 is how.
❌ The corners of a traditional cooler are commonly unused real estate and the best place to incorporate additional storage without increasing the overall dimensions ❌ The design is visibly and functionally strong, stable, and secure
❌ The CAN turrets provide more insulation for the interior cooler portion ❌ The ergonomic shape allows for easier carrying ❌ By adding the cargo net, we increased the system storage capacity while keeping that storage within the overall footprint
Bottom line, the HUB 70’s X-Shape” design enhances balance and stability and delivers improved thermal retention.
To learn more, hit one of these links:
The CAN: https://goatboxco.com/products/the-can
The HUB: https://goatboxco.com/pages/hub-page
Their packages: https://goatboxco.com/pages/shop
On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goatboxco/
On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/goatboxco
Know of a smaller or niche company making interesting gear suitable for range trucks, outdoor adventurin’ or making that vehicle better in general? Let us know in the comments below.
Brock Trautman is the senior news anchor for The Mag Life, the official publication of GunMag Warehouse. He’s also a cartoon, so…don’t get butt-hurt about anything he says. He’s not making subjective judgments on things, or reviewing anything – he’s just passing along the news.
