I haven’t spent any time with the Map-Pod yet (wrote about it a few months ago) but a couple of us are in the queue for one (that means you, G). In the meantime, here’s Matt from Down Range Firearms Training giving us his opinion of it. Unless something is really really squirrely with it I will probably be buying a few when they’re available. My only question at this juncture is how they will affect a closely-packed rig (which I’m betting someone will address in this thread in short order).
I should say this – I fall firmly in the “It’s okay to rest the magazine on the ground” camp, with or without a Mag-Pod, terrain allowing. Obviously there will be those who disagree with me, but I figured I should be up front about it.
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
Looks interesting but I wouldn’t say it has much viability in an actual combat situation, or LE for that matter too. Could be a buy just for the occasional range-goer i guess
Anyone recognize the rail in the pic?
When I had my hands on one of them, it probably turned more heads at the range than anything else we had out there that day. Even on squishy grass and uneven ground it still was fantastic at steadying the rifle if you monopod off the magazine when going prone. If they were in production right now I’d have a full rack of them here in Afghanistan.
Think the handguard is a Noveske NSR. As for this whole concept, the only thing it looks useful for is to stand it level on a bench at the range. As soon as you want to raise or lower the muzzle from the natural rest point, you just have a single plastic edge for supprt which is more likely to wear down or break. A better idea, in my view, would be to have a bottom plate that integrated a rubber semi circle or triangle with a very rounded tip, so that it would give you support at any angle other than only exactly level.
Let us know how well it works in the 5th dimension, will you?
Speaking from experience here (like I said in my comment right above yours,) it does work just as well on soft, eneven and squishy ground, as it does off a bench. Sure, if you’re only ever fighting on a perfectly flat concrete pad it may not be best, but it’s an improvement on any other surface, and even on concrete it kept the rifle from slipping around under recoil pretty darn well.
The rail is a Noveske NSR…there is a newer version of the Magpod on the way with some improvements made.
!This is definitely a product I’m interested in. I have always been an advocate of using the magazine as a “monopod” in the prone. They told us for years to keep the mag off the ground because of the negative possibilities. Today, we know better. The mag can be rested on the ground in the prone as well as other positions. For the prone it works great but for other positions it may be detrimental. My theory is that this product may allow for even better support in the prone and better support in alternate positions. This is the kind of kit you always look for. Something that’s inexpensive, helps you shoot better, and doesn’t get in the way. Time will tell if the magpod falls into all these categories but I’m guessing it will. The design and theory are certainly sound.
Let a few guys that have been over seas and a few SRT guys locally test it out…one aspect that they REALLY liked that we didn’t get to talk about in the video was the ability to dig the front of the magpod into a hard surface (brick and mortar) like you would find on a rooftop somewhere. We tried it with various magazines and the magpod was the only one that actually stuck in place and provided a more stable position to shoot from.
You guys know if those nsr handstops will fit in on other modular rail designs like a samson evo?