The feral hogs running around the swamps of Florida received a rude introduction to some of the best rifles, suppressors and weapon accessories in existence last Friday.
The hunt was the 6th Annual “Silence of the Hams”. It occurs every year on the day after the Special Operations Forces Industry Conference. Industry professionals along with current and former “professional shooters” get the chance to hunt hogs with numerous rifles of various makes, models and calibers, most with some breed of suppressor attached. And lets not forget about the boar spears. The spears got some use too.
White Raven Communications mounted the operation and despite the obvious inequity of including me in a group of such caliber I was afforded the privilege of coming along. [click to continue…]
The photo pictured above is a picture of a pre-production prototype of the forthcoming Leitner-Wise Manufacturing “ambidextrous fire controls” system. LWM is run by Paul Leitner-Wise, an English-born engineer and designer who may be the best thing to come out of England since Henry Nock. You may remember Paul from the storied institutions known as LWRC (Leitner Wise Rifle Company).
The new ambi selector is just the latest of many new projects coming from LWM. Machined from billet and then Nitrided, it will have a full lifetime warranty and are designed primarily for use with gloves. To that end the levers are short, so as to avoid interference with a trigger finger, and the edges deburred so they provide sufficient ‘grab’ without sharp edges. The Nitriding is done to provide lubricity to the operations. Color is the result of the manufacturer’s in-house heat treatment.
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Tactical Concealment of Tempe, AZ has revealed two new slings in their line-up: the MARR (Modular Adjustable Retention Rifle) and the ARC (Adjustable Retention Carbine).
The former is designed for snipers, designated marksmen and others who carry a long gun. It features an adjustable non-slip arm retention piece device intended to steady the shooter’s position platform, a ‘quick retention capability’ and is built to allow the shooter to carry a long gun in backpack configuration. The MARR is adjustable to fit most long guns equipped with 1.5″ sling swivels. Retail $120.
http://www.tacticalconcealment.com/pd-m-a-r-r-s-sling.cfm
The latter is a sling for M4/AR14 style weapons. It features adjustable retention and also has non-slip material on the interior of the top half of the sling. It will fit most AR15 style rifles equipped with 1″ swivels. Retail $79.
http://www.tacticalconcealment.com/pd-marr-sling.cfm
The Pentagon’s Inspector General is reviewing the Army’s Improved Carbine effort, questioning whether the service’s plan to replace the long-serving M4 Carbine is worth the new weapon’s $1.8 billion price tag.
The Defense Department’s watchdog released its testimony before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on March 19 as part of its effort to “reduce waste and improve efficiency” within the Defense Department.
“We are auditing the Army’s acquisition of the individual carbine program, which is an acquisition the department may want to re-evaluate,” said Lynne Halbrooks, principal deputy inspector general for DoD’s IG. “We expect to report concerns that DoD may not have an established need for this weapon nor developed performance requirements for the $1.8 billion acquisition.”
Army officials and program experts maintain, however, that the IG testimony contains misunderstandings about basic facts of the carbine improvement effort.
Read the original article from Military.com News.
Grey Ghost Gear is modernizing an old school idea. They have finally released their magazine bandolier, which was designed to function in many ways like an ammunition-only Bail-Out Bag, or for “those situations when you need additional mags to supplement your current equipment or for those times when you aren’t able to grab your vest or armor carrier, but need additional ammo.” It is manufactured from MilSpec webbing and reinforced elastic webbing and can be worn cross body or around the waist.
Note – the bandolier was not designed to carry USGI magazines. It is built specifically for PMAGs and the like (their construction are key to retention). That said, there are several GGG staffers and field testers checking ‘caveman style’ to see if it will effectively hold onto AK, G36 and some other magazines.
Stickman talked about them a few months ago over on Gear Scout, and they appear to largely function as he originally reported, though the price is lower ($24.99) and this carries six PMAGs, not four.
Purchase yours here.
Follow Grey Ghost Gear on Facebook, as they apparently will be giving some of these away soon.
FN Manufacturing has outbid Remington Arms Company and Colt Defense LLC., to win a contract worth just under $77 million to make M4A1s for the U.S. Army, according to an industry source. The award notice was posted on Federal Business Opportunities on Feb. 22 with an initial value of $9,370,615.
This is the latest round in what has become a hard-fought battle to equip soldiers with a better carbine.
The drama all began when the Army chose Remington over Colt, the original maker of the M4, last April to make 120,000 M4s and M4A1 carbines. That award meant that more soldiers would go into combat with the M4A1, a SOF version of the carbine that features a more durable barrel and a full-auto trigger. The Army’s decision to dump the three-round burst setting will give soldiers a more consistent trigger and better accuracy.
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Stephen Hilliard and Brittney DeVane will be appearing tonight on Larry Vickers’ Tac TV talking slings. LAV and the two Blue Force Gear shooters will be various aspects 
of single- two- and three-point slings and then running variants through a number of drills. They take a look at the original 2-point ‘parade ground’ M16 2-point slings with friction adapters, the leather marksmanship 2-pointers and then of course the various BFG slings and hardware, demonstrating the suitability of the latter for dynamic activity and various shooting positions. It might seem a little strange, even counter-intuitive, to devote a half an hour to sling use but it’s actually well worth the time, particularly if you’ve never had the opportunity to work different types of slings though various dynamic and evolving courses of fire and positions. They talk about sling features and go into design considerations, including a demonstration of why they put Nomex on their MG slings.
After watching the show, I’m probably going to have to try out their RED swivel and Burnsed Socket next time I’m on the range. I like the looks of ‘em.
If you don’t have a subscription to Tac TV, send BFG a note and ask them to post a clip or two on their website. EDIT: Brittney advises they probably won’t be posting clips on the website but if you miss it tonight the episode is scheduled to re-air next Monday, 18 FEB 13.
Note to Daniel Defense and BCM – you guys should both have run your Tac TV commercials during the Superbowl. They’d have been the best ones on there (and damn sure would have beat the hell out of the Korean dancing nut cracker song).
This Tac TV episode airs tonight at 2200 EST on the Sportsman Channel.
