Innehållsförteckning för November/December 2025 #81 från Recoil

01 SLING Viking Tactics Wide Padded MSRP: $50 URL: vikingtactics.com 02 OPTIC SIG Sauer Romeo8T-AMR Kit MSRP: $1,000 URL: sigsauer.com 03 PANTS 5.11 Ridge MSRP: $100 URL: 511tactical.com 04 SHIRT Ex Officio Vintage Flannel MSRP: $45 URL: ebay.com 05 CARBINE B&T SPC223 MSRP: $2,700 URL: bt-ag.ch 06 MAGAZINE Lancer L5AWM MSRP: $25 URL: lancer-systems.com 07 AMMO MKE M193 ball MSRP: 47 cents per round URL: mkeusa.com 08 RAIL COVERS Magpul Type 2 MSRP: $16 URL: magpul.com…

We deliberately don’t feature a lot of ARs in RECOIL. Not because we’re not fans — quite the opposite — but because every man and his dog is in the AR biz, and we’d rather cover guns that are a little less vanilla. Granted, the carbine we reach for most is an AR, and there aren’t many designs which offer a significant improvement over Stoner’s creation but let’s face it, as my sainted grandmother would say, they’re common as muck. Why then does this carbine from B&T merit discussion? While it may look like every other AR-15, that appearance is just skin deep. As you dig into the feature set, you come to the realization that the Swiss actually know a thing or two about small arms design, and the…

The last several years’ worth of news coverage streaming out of Ukraine, Syria, and Africa have shed a lot of light on current trends in AK modernization. In particular, those Kalash variants being toted by Russian special operations forces and the burgeoning class of Russian Private Military Companies (PMC’s). Despite the wailing of gnashing of teeth by vocal purists about “nyet, rifle is fine,” the truth is that modernized AKs are not a fad made up by social media influencers. Pic rails, M-LOK slots, lights, lasers, and optics can all be spotted with growing regularity on AKs wielded by the Motherland’s elite warfighters. The concept for this project actually grew from another project — research for the author’s debut novel, Close and Destroy, published earlier this year by RECOIL’s parent…

When you hear the term “long-range shooting,” a few things might come to mind. Big rifles, bigger scopes, and probably a competition shooter buried behind a steel barricade somewhere in the American Southwest. What probably doesn’t come to mind is a vineyard in Southern California, a hunting rifle, and a group of down-to-earth people stretching their shots from 250 out to 1,250 yards. But that’s exactly what Practical Precision 101 turned out to be. Hosted at a private ranch somewhere in Southern California (for the privacy of the rancher and guests, we’ll keep the vineyard’s name off the record), this two-day course was run by South Coast Long Gunner, with Ryan Burns as the primary instructor. Burns — backed by the ranch owner and his range safety officers — put…

‘‘Beans to bullets.” That was the initial goal when retired Army Ranger Tom Fuller founded Armageddon Gear. Every item one would need should the world go to sh*t, all in one place. Just as importantly, he wished to share the knowledge: how to survive. Fuller, now age 55, served in the U.S. Army 75th Ranger Regiment. Over six combat deployments, he earned the Legion of Merit, a Bronze Star, and five Meritorious Service medals. He retired as a sergeant major in 2009 after 22 years. Also, while serving, Fuller acted as a battalion sergeant major over the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit, a competitive shooting team that won two Olympic gold medals during Fuller’s time. After the Army, Fuller transitioned to a security detail for cargo ships, protecting U.S. freight from…

Short barrels and suppressors go together like bourbon and vermouth, so this issue’s cover gun continues our annual theme of NFA items. Due to the passage of the Big Beautiful Bill, the $400 in tax stamps necessary to transfer the B&T SPC223 and its 3D printed hybrid suppressor will be going away in January, and you can guess what will happen to demand once that financial burden is removed. We’ll still have the unconstitutional paperwork and registration hurdle to jump over, but if the various lawsuits challenging that are successful, the United States will be joining most of the countries in Europe, where no one cares about barrel length when it comes to centerfire rifles and suppressors are viewed as essential safety equipment. While it may be tempting to delay…

Did you know that if you win a sizeable enough lottery jackpot in certain states that your name, residence, prize amount, and other details become mat ter of public record that are essentially out of your control? That might be nice when Lamborghini solicits you to come test drive that Revuelto you’ve always wanted, but guess what? Your anonymity is pretty much out the window. At the very least, you’ll start getting letters from random people asking you to help them with hospital bills they say they can’t afford. Those in the exploitation business are also actively reviewing these records and whatever else they can find about what you and your family look like, where you go, and potential areas of vulnerability, so they can begin to work up an…

Adjustable gas blocks. Buffer weights. Springs. Fractions of ounces cut from a BCG. Suppressed or unsuppressed. Barrel length. Profile too? Sub or super. All the puzzle pieces that answer the question: “Will it run?” The reason for adding a .300 Blackout short-barreled rifle or AR pistol to the safe will vary from person to person. Perhaps it’s the best personal-defense option for one’s living space and property. Maybe it’s the perfect hush-hush guide gun during whitetail season, when it might be necessary to track a wounded deer through parcels peppered with wild hogs. Or, maybe, “just because” — which is never a bad reason. The truth is with every inch subtracted from the barrel of a rifle chambered in .300 Blackout, the more difficult it becomes to get the gun…

Turkey imports more firearms to the United States than any other nation, and in the 21st century they’ve earned a reputation for producing affordable arms — and Canik is the reason why anyone takes them seriously. It was 2015 and RECOIL Issue 18 when we first covered Canik — we were impressed with them, and it’s only gotten better since then. In the intervening years we’re seen Canik refine their designs and make inroads into more markets. In 2022, when Nils Jonasson took first place at USPSA Limited Nationals in minor division with a polymer Canik SFx Rival, trouncing a whole crowd equipped with more-traditional competitive pistols—a whole lot more people took notice, and it opened a new audience. So, when a collaboration between Hollywood trainer and competitive shooter Taran…

I wanted to test three threaded-muzzle bolt actions in a reference chambering well known to hunters and shooters, the .308 Winchester, along with a less-common bolt-action choice, the .300 AAC Blackout. The latter is more often chambered in AR-15 uppers because it has the same overall length, base diameter, and rim diameter as the 5.56 NATO round. It will feed from an unmodified magwell in an AR-15 lower. The .300 Blackout can be loaded with lighter bullets, where it compares favorably to the 7.62x39mm Soviet round or loaded with heavier bullets that travel below subsonic speeds for suppressor use. Subsonic ammo is easier to suppress at the muzzle, and it doesn’t create the downrange “crack” as the bullet breaks the sound barrier. At sea level, the speed of sound is…

01 REPTILIA SOCKET M-LOK QD SLING MOUNT COLORWAYS: Black, Flat Dark Earth, Clear Anodized MSRP: $50 URL: reptiliacorp.com A sling for your rifle is a must-have; it’s like a holster for your pistol. Reptilia’s Socket sling mount is a very elegant design for attaching a quick-detach sling swivel to your handguard. It’s tiny and completely smooth so it won’t snag on anything, securing to a single M-LOK slot to preserve your rail real estate. Unlike most sling mounts, whether built-in to a handguard or an accessory, the Socket doesn’t orient the QD socket perpendicular to the handguard. Instead, it’s in-line at a slight angle, contributing to its low profile and usability. It weighs in under half an ounce. The Socket is machined from 7075-T6 aluminum and offered in black, flat…

Several years ago, during the hardest time of my life, a friend of mine took me to a Precision Rifle Series match in order to get out for the day and hopefully forget my present circumstances. I had lost someone. And I learned just how far one can fall into despair. To give you an idea of how far gone I was: I’d go four or five days without eating and not even notice. The only place I could sleep — if sleep came at all — was curled up in a closet, a 15-pound kettlebell pressed to my chest just to trick my nervous system into feeling safe. I’d wake mid-panic, vomit without warning, and collapse into uncontrollable tears every single day. The worst was when I couldn’t, no…

Until someone markets the fabled “phased plasma rifle in the 40-watt range,” today’s firearms are about as refined as they’re going to get. While this may seem like heresy coming from a gun rag, since Borchardt developed an effective self-loading mechanism in the 1890s, we’ve not really seen much in the way of paradigm-shifting technology since then. Sure, there have been advances in materials technology, but nothing has really fundamentally changed the way we either look at, or employ, guns. Line up the sights, press the trigger, rinse and repeat. The adaptation of consumer electronics to the gun industry has been painfully slow. Almost everything else we use on a daily basis has a user interface — our cars, our TVs, hell, even our washing machines talk to us —…

Twenty years ago you could make the argument that an AK-47 was a pragmatic purchase. Everything just cost less than the AR equivalent — the guns were cheaper, surplus ammo was everywhere, and the magazines were practically given away. Literally more bang for the buck. These days? Economy of scale and the monster of American manufacturing means the situation is backward — grab an AR-15 all day for $400 and optics for half that while those Russian warriors are double. No, the AK is no longer the budget option it once was. And yet, the popularity of the AK is increasing (or the fans and followers more radicalized). This is a rifle now purchased by historical enthusiasts, collectors, and shooters interested in owning the exotic weapon of the enemy. So…

The LOFT Station 150 allows the user to haul a ton of kit, then converts in seconds into a field workstation to allow access while still giving protection from elements. With an internal volume of 149 liters, it’s got plenty of room to accommodate everything from plate carriers, to guns, camera gear, drones, and camping equipment, yet at the push of a button two folding legs deploy to create a waist-height table. You can then either use it as a convenient way to access essential equipment and keep it out of the dirt, or reconfigure it to a workbench, using the included folding hard shelf. There’s no skimping on materials, as the body is made from double-layered PU-coated nylon wrapped around polycarbonate reinforcement panels. Zippers are YKK #10, the wheels…