Innehållsförteckning för January/February 2022 #58 från Recoil

As we meander toward the end of 2021, it’s worthwhile casting a glance over our shoulder to check on what’s happened this year and to see what’s coming up from behind to shove us onto the sidewalk. President Potato campaigned on a platform to repeal the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, reimpose a ban on the sale and manufacture of “assault weapons” and magazines, shift existing semi-autos onto the NFA registry, institute a “buyback” whereby gun owners would have to surrender their legally held firearms and be compensated for their loss with their own tax dollars, criminalize the private sale of guns, expand the number of prohibited persons, eliminate the sale of ammunition and firearms parts over the internet, ram “red flag” laws down states’ throats, pass legislation…

To some, karambits are a fantasy fad knife relegated to mall ninjas and martial arts gurus who’ve never seen real combat, but to others they represent the ultimate tactical blade and don’t require as much training as is suggested. Like most jects, the truth lies somewhere in the middle. According to karambit authority Steve Tarani, subthe kings of the ancient Sundanese people (what is modern-day Java in Indonesia) believed that upon dying their spirits would take the form of a tiger. This image was so powerful that the Sunda fashioned their swords in the shape of a tiger’s claw. They called these large bladed swords Kuku Macan. curved-became known as the karambit. Alternative Over the years, these blades evolved into smaller more effective knife-sized blades and spellings are kerambit or…

Holosun recently launched their new next-generation rifle red dot, the Advanced Enclosed Micro Sight, or AEMS. We were able to get our hands on one ahead of time and have spent the last couple months shaking it out. The punchline is that this is a very well-thought-out red dot, with all of the great features you’d expect from Holosun, as well as a couple of new ones. At $470 for red reticle and $505 for green, the AEMS is highly competitive in the market. Due to its compact size and light weight, it’s an excellent choice for subguns and PDWs, as well as carbines. The sight itself is diminutive, at only 2.1 inches tall, 1.7 inches long, and 1.6 inches tall (without mount). The housing is 7075, and the optic…

While the bulk of this piece was about new technology and the next generation, we thought we’d take the opportunity to highlight what we view as a phenomenal example of a current-technology collaboration: the REIN XL. Though it may initially seem counterintuitive, one of the ways you know a company is doing something right is when the aftermarket jumps into the fray. Of course, much of third-party manufacturing is about filling in capability gaps — if a product doesn’t stand on its own feet and make an impact by itself, no one would ever bother. Which leads us to Ohio-based Valhalla Tactical. Owner Wallace Lau tells us, “There are many companies who already do a product well, but we want to contribute; combine the strengths of the products and bring…

Nothing breeds desire like lack of availability. And while Browning Hi-Power production officially ended in 2018, the reality is that it had been years since any metal had been cut. Every few decades or so from the inception of the BHP, we see a resurgence in popularity. The last major push came from Israel; they exported the bulk of their surplus, and they made for cheap, frustrating, and fun longer-term project guns. Most of the Is-raeli guns were extremely rough (see RECOIL Issue 39 to see our Custom Mk3), so you didn’t feel bad beating them up. The decade prior was all about subpar clones from places where you’d best be advised to only drink bottled water. Here we only knew that Springfield Armory made something “based on a Browning…

You’ll see a particular ballistic coefficient (BC) listed for each bullet as you study ballistics. This unitless figure describes the way a bullet will slip through the atmosphere. While manufacturers attempt to provide an accurate figure for each bullet, that number represents an average since the BC will change as the bullet’s velocity varies. One quick look at the Sierra website will prove the point, as it lists varying BC values for each bullet, based on the velocity range. Why is this figure useful? You’ll use it to estimate your bullet’s trajectory and wind deflection values. You can say the same for chronographs — they are more accurate than they’ve ever been, but sometimes the numbers observed don’t agree with the trajectory, especially at long ranges. The best means of…

01 WALKER DEFENSE RESEARCH NERO 556 MSRP: $179 URL: walkerdr.com A muzzle brake might be a small device that goes on the end of your barrel, but it can have a big effect on reducing your muzzle flip. This means you can get your sights back on target faster and, in turn, get more accurate follow-up shots quickly. The Nero 556 is a hybrid muzzle brake and compensator that was engineered using computational fluid dynamics and a type of 3D printed metal. Using a nickel-chromium superalloy used in rockets and jet engines, Walker Defense Research has produced an accessory that’s said to turn your AR-15 recoil into a soft rearward push with little to no muzzle climb. Compatible with 5.56mm, .223, and .224 Valkyrie, the Nero 556 is about 2.6…

Traditionally, the term “toy-hauler” refers to a fifth-wheel trailer with a loading ramp and enough interior space for motorcycles, ATVs, or UTVs. It’s a convenient way to travel to the lake, sand dunes, or mountains — when you arrive at your destination, the family piles out of the truck, the toys are backed out of the portable garage, and the trailer is converted into sleeping arrangements. It’s a tried-and-true formula … but what if there were a better way? Walt Wagner, founder of Tactical Application Vehicles, believes he has found one. He and his team at the TAV workshop in Albuquerque built this 2018 Toyota Tundra into his concept of the ultimate overland toy-hauler. It blends the go-anywhere versatility of an overland camper, the practicality of a tow rig, and…

“Building” guns is fun, and tailoring them to fit a certain need or niche is generally how these things get started. In this case, the General-Purpose American Bolt Gun concept stemmed from friends bragging about how much better 6.5 Creedmoor is than .308 Winchester. That type of razzing encouragement became the basis of this build. Racks of bolt guns lined the local gun shop but finding one in 6.5CM proved to be somewhat difficult. It’s an extremely popular caliber these days, and rifles are high in demand. In a lineup of Ruger American rifles sat a standard 6.5CM sporting a 20-inch barrel and a plain black plastic stock. At $479.99, it fit the budget and the singular parameter of being in the correct caliber. A longer barrel may be better,…

It’s hard not to enjoy the iconic American cartridge, the rimfire 22 Long Rifle. Whether it’s for plinking, training, or, in this case, stretching its legs — it’s affordable fun for all ages. If you’ve been watching the precision rifle competition circuits over for the last eight years or so, there’s been a strong focus on Extreme Long Range (ELR) shooting and matches. In most of these matches, shots start at a mile and just keep going, testing both the equipment and the teams’ ability to read and adjust to changing environmental conditions. If you ever get the opportunity to send some copper at these ranges, it will not only be humbling, but an exercise in pure joy (if you hit!). The simple pleasures of clanging steel or exploding rock…

While the BATFE figures out new ways to infringe upon our fun, the RECOIL team was having an idle discussion about their continued flip-flopping on pistol braces. Yours truly quipped that, if braces do ever go the way of the bumpstock, pinned and welded AR builds will get popular pretty quick in the spirit of maintaining the shortest, handiest barrel possible while still meeting the 16.1-inch minimum for non-NFA rifles. Aside from the trending retro style of pinning an extended XM177-style flash hider on an 11.5-inch barrel, the 13.7-inch barrel provides a good answer to keeping total “barrel length” within required parameters while still ending up with a rifle that handles more like a 12.5-inch gun than a 16-inch one. Regardless of what happens to braces, if anything, the 13.7…

There are a lot of folks who mistakenly believe that the shotgun is a weapon particularly suited to the novice or unskilled shooter. You’ve probably frequently heard things like “just pump it and you’ll scare the bad guy away” or “you don’t need to aim, just point it down the hallway.” It’s reinforced through just about every pop culture depiction of shotguns, and if you’ve never spent any time behind one, you might not realize just how much technique, skill, and effort goes into running it well, especially a pump gun. The manual of arms can be very unforgiving, and at the acrossthe-room distances where shotguns excel, the pattern doesn’t open up very much, and it’s easy to miss. They require a lot of training and practice to use well.…

Sometimes, you just have to roll up your sleeves and do things yourself. If you had to assemble one rifle to cover all your intermediate to long-range needs, what would it be? If you asked this question to 100 gun nuts, you’d probably come away with just as many different answers. But there’d be a few common threads running throughout the discussion. Just like if you posed the conundrum regarding choices for putting together your ultimate AR, there’s no right or wrong answer. It’s entirely situationally dependent, but it’s a great mental exercise and worthy of late-night campfire discussions involving brown liquid and burning plant material. Living in the desert southwest poses different firearm challenges and needs than you might find in New England, where shots longer than 300 yards…

The long-range shooting market has never been bigger. More rifles, optics, cartridges, and projectiles exist for this task than we’ve ever had. And as I’ve said before, we may be living in the Golden Age of factory ammunition. It’s better than it has ever been, with a wide array of choices. But, and it’s a big but, there are times when handloads will outshine the factory stuff, and that’s usually beyond 1,000 yards. Let’s look at what it takes to produce the best ammunition for extreme long-range shooting. In the world of extreme distance shooting, precision components and adherence to ultra-tight tolerances are paramount. When you’re taking shots out to the one-mile mark or more, every little variation can have a significant effect. The high ballistic coefficient bullets will retain…

As soon as an AR-15 enters a safe, those low light conditions result in a strange, but well-documented phenomenon; like an amoeba, the rifle buds and reproduces, spawning new versions of itself. At least that’s what we tell our significant other, but we’re not exactly sure she believes it. The first AR anyone should purchase is probably the basic, 16-inch-barreled carbine; it can serve in just about any role, doing most things reasonably well, but not excelling anywhere. Once that’s in the collection, you can turn to more specialized versions, like the one here. We decided to start down the DMR rabbit hole, as poking holes in things at longer ranges is fun, plus there’s another niche this type of rifle fits — more of which later. The AR…

When it comes to politics and guns, we often hear different arguments why a government should or shouldn’t infringe upon the human rights of its citizens, but we rarely hear about what comes of those arguments. As a result, the deadlock of American politics regarding guns can become tiresome. At the same time, the debate over guns has multiple layers, such as the cultural level versus the political one. However, in the last two years, the opinion of Tim Pool has changed regarding the Second Amendment. From Occupy Wall Street to starting Vice News to venturing on his own with TimCast, he has been no stranger to conflict, nor journalism. And what started with a conversation eventually turned into a change of opinion. Critical of how we treat human rights…

It’s been a while since we’ve seen a cigar brand come across the Vets Vices desk, which is a shame since we love a good stogie. Enter Echelon Cigars. Former U.S. Army squad mates Nolan Meadnis and Allen Gonzales each came to cigars in their own way. Nolan’s introduction came in the Caribbean. While he became enamored with the variety of cigars available in that region, he wound up getting scammed on some fake Cuban Cohibas (a common problem for American cigar smokers abroad) and, determined to not get conned a second time, dove head-long into a self-administered education on cigars. Allen smoked his first stick in Sadr City, Iraq, while deployed there during the infamous “surge” period of Operation Iraqi Freedom. As is the case with many veterans, cigars…