Category Archives: Long Guns

Victor Company Viper Skins Stocks for AI Rifles

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Remington 700 in 300wm in an Accuracy International chassis with Viper skins.

Accuracy International is one of the premier military hard use rifle manufacturers in the world. Known for making no nonsense, purpose built weapons and chassis for bolt action rifles, their AI Arctic Warfare (AW) and AI chassis system shape is one of the distinguishable shapes in the firearms industry. With its square fore end, folding option, and wealth of adjustments its a very capable Mil/LEO bolt-in option for the R700 platform. With that being said their thumb hole design fits some shooters more then others, leaving some to shy away from the design. This is where Michael Victor came in with his design for the Viper Skins in 2010. Victor Company’s Viper skins are replacement skins/ stock sides for the AIAW/ AIAE and  AI chassis systems replacing the thumbhole with a pistol grip. Other added features to the viper skins are a widened fore end and integrating picatinny rails for additional accessories. Continue reading →

Picture of the Day – “Caution – Wet Paint”

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A little painting going on in the Jones household this week.  The top rifle is new and was in need of a coat of paint.  The bottom rifle was painted seven or eight years ago and I grew tired of the pattern.  The old pattern had a Field Drab base with Marine Corps Green and Black.

Both rifles were properly degreased and base coated with Aervoe 977- Sand.  The bottom rifle was then painted with Aervoe 992- Marine Corps Green to see if I liked the color.  It was a bit dark for what I wanted, so I painted the top rifle with Aervoe 979- Forest Green.  Both rifles were then finished with Aervoe 999 Earth Brown.  The optic on the top rifle is a temporary Aimpoint on it.  When the new Aimpoint comes in, I’ll get it painted as well.

Enjoy!

Photo of the Day: Centurion Arms C4 Bolt Group

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Over the past few years, Centurion Arms has earned the reputation of producing premium quality parts and accessories for the M4 platform. My first introduction to their product line was through their excellent C4 HK-style diopter sights. These sights resemble those found on HK rifles and sub-machine guns, but incorporated features for the sophisticated shooter, such as same plane diopter sights, lightening cuts, and slotted screw heads instead of silly Philips heads.

Since then, Centurion has added premium DMR uppers as well as the innovative C4 and CMR free float hand guards. Recently, there has been a shortage of bolt groups in the market. Centurion has responded by offering magnetic particle inspected, bolts. The carriers are full M16 profile, chrome lined, with well staked gas keys.

They are available now through select dealers.

Back Up Iron Sights: Do You Need Them?

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The MagPul MBUS front and rear sights are inexpensive and functional for almost all purposes.

There was a time when optics were not nearly as dependable as they are today. Nowadays, non-magnified sights such as the Aimpoint Comp M3, M4 and T-1 have battery lives more easily measured in years than hours. The durability of modern optics have also improved to the point where in hundreds of thousands of rounds fired downrange, I have yet to see an Aimpoint fail (though I have heard of it from trusted sources.) But, that does go to show that even though it happens, it is a fairly rare event. I have seen iron sights get damaged or knocked out of adjustment more often than an Aimpoint lose zero or stop working.

So, do back-up iron sights (BUIS) still have a place on your carbine? Over the past decade, despite the tedious process of zeroing the RDS and backup irons, I have yet to need to deploy them. Not to say I will never need them, but with the cost of many quality sights sets exceeding $200, outfitting every training gun I build can get expensive. I have had great success with the MagPul MBUS sights. They hold zero inside of 100 yards, and for a CQB gun they are an excellent choice. For a dedicated range gun, I may just go without the BUIS.

The point is this: examine the purpose for which the gun you are setting up, and don’t just accessorize based on what your friends on Facebook tell you. If you’re building a precision or 7.62 caliber rifle for extended ranges, perhaps a set of quality iron sights like the offset Knights or Troy Industries flip ups will be worth the additional cost. For most purposes, the Magpul MBUS is the most economical and functional solution. And don’t feel bad not running one at all on a range-only gun unless you have a specific training purpose for it.

AR15/M4 Gas Block: The Simplest Option

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A common and popular modification to M4/AR15 platform these days is to install a narrow diameter tube style free-float rail (or any other long rail) system to replace the stock hand guards. If you are buying a new upper receiver, it is fairly simple to specify a low profile gas block. However, if you are starting with a service grade carbine like the excellent Colt 6920, you are going to have a standard A-frame type front sight base. What to do? Continue reading →

Precision Rifle Series: Building Real World Skills Through Competition

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Who doesn’t love the smell of gunpowder in the morning?

Are you a law enforcement officer, military service member, hunter, or just a casual shooter who is interested in increasing their ability to hit targets at distances greater then 200 meters? Now, what if I told you, you could do this with a great group of people in a fun, safe environment, on some of the best ranges in the country, and have the chance to take home a prize?  Interested now?

Well, let me introduce you to the world of tactical precision rifle matches. Unlike F-class or other precision rifle disciplines in tactical precision rifle matches, you will engage targets at varying distances from positions outside of only prone or off a bench, while wearing your needed gear, most times while under both a clock and physical stress. Modeled after many law enforcement and military sniper competitions, it gives civilians the opportunity to safely test their skills against one another in varying scenarios across the country. It is fairly inexpensive to take part in and welcomes young and old, male and female, sponsored and amateur shooters shoot side by side in this quickly growing sport. Continue reading →

The Liberator – Discreet AR-15 Gun Case

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I recently swapped out my old truck for a new model.  Nothing all that exciting there except that I have had to re-fit all of my weapons and equipment in the new truck.  One thing that always drove me crazy about the old truck was the way I mounted my AR style rifle.  I had it in a roof rack over the back seat.  It was out of the way and secure, but nearly impossible to grab in an emergency.  It also stood out like a red dress at a funeral if you looked into the cab of the truck.  Because of this I opted to find a more suitable solution for what is, for me personally, required equipment in my truck.  Remember, it is not paranoid, it is prepared.

The Liberator easily fits my 16″ AR style rifle with Aimpoint red dot and Surefire X300 Ultra.

Continue reading →

Desert Tactical Arms- Stealth Recon Scout (SRS)

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If you ask my wife she’ll say my personality lends to me being a headfirst, all or nothing type of guy. When I started getting into the precision rifle market, I was overwhelmed by the different options available to me. In today’s modern media based world it is really easy for a person to become overwhelmed by sifting through the mountain of information available to them and determining what is valuable. Having a pretty solid background from work, and a budget that could support a fairly nice platform, I started researching. During the quest for my first personally purchased precision platform I stumbled upon a company from Salt Lake City Utah called Desert Tactical Arms (DTA) and their Stealth Recon Scout (SRS). Desert Tactical Arms was founded in 2007 by Nick Young, who set out to make a reliable, compact, extremely accurate and affordable bullpup rifle system. Other previous weapons to the SRS were foreign and extremely expensive with the DSR-1 being the most recent and priced around 12-17k dollars if you can even find one for sale. The Stealth Recon Scout was developed to be completely modular. The SRS is a switch barrel system capable of firing most short or long action calibers from .243 all the way to .338 Lapua Magnum. Continue reading →

Review: GA Precision’s GAP-10 Semi-Auto Precision Rifle

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I was first introduced to GA Precision through the precision rifle community 9 years ago. GA Precision was founded in 1999 by George Gardner to support local high power and long range shooters. This N. Kansas City, Missouri company has since grown into one of the premier custom shops for tactical, Mil-Spec, F-class and hunting type rifles. GA Precision also serves numerous law enforcement agencies such as FBI SWAT,  FBI HRT Team Quantico,  ATF SRT , Illinois State Police HRT Team, Kansas City, KS P.D., Escondido P.D., CA  –   and many others. The gunsmiths working under the GA Precision roof, exhibit their experience in the extraordinary consistent quality of the rifles they produce.  My military background carries into civilian shooting competitions with my demand for both precision and unfailing reliability when choosing a rifle. Continue reading →

Review: Geissele G2S Trigger

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Geissele’s new G2S trigger offers the same feel and function as their popular SSA trigger at a significant savings.

Readers of this site know by now that most of the contributors here are big fans of the Geissele High-Speed Triggers. A few weeks back, MSW writer Joe wrote a review of the Super Dynamic 3-Gun Trigger. And earlier this week, Scott Ballard reviewed the Super Tricon Trigger. The major downside to the Geissele trigger systems is that once you have one in your rifle, you want one in every one of your M4 rifles.  Continue reading →

Modern? No. Service Weapon? Yes (Browning A-5 Shotgun)

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Modern? No. Service Weapon? It was.

During Rhodesia’s bush war against communist terrorists, their government contracted with Browning for several hundred shotguns. Specifically, a variant of their A-5 model a semi-auto 12 gauge. These shotguns had a full-length magazine tube fully enclosed inside a wood forearm. Its magazine capacity is eight rounds plus one in the chamber. Additionally, there is a magazine cut-off lever in the receiver. Continue reading →

Geissele Automatics – Super Tricon Trigger

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Every once in a while we have guest instructors come in to the Academy and teach their particular take on things.  It is a nice perk of the job to be able to meet many of them and hear what they have to say on the various topics we all deal with on a daily basis.  Several weeks back Jeff Gonzales of Trident Concepts stopped in to teach their Advanced Carbine class.  Other than having taken his class and met him a few times, I barely know Jeff, so I spend my time in the background listening to the conversation.  What came up during one lunch conversation was a discussion about AR platform rifle triggers and the new design TriCon had worked out with Geissele Automatics.  The Super TriCon Trigger. Continue reading →

Springs and Cycles and Wear…Oh Crap!

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Simple to find, easy to replace yet so often overlooked, magazine springs for shotguns are very often the cause of feeding issues in shotguns.

Operating on the assumption that modern shooters who care for their equipment keep track of their round counts, most of us track the lifespan of our wear and tear parts.  In this case springs will be the main focal point.  Have you ever counted how many springs are in your gun?  Ever consider how important each one is to the proper operation of your pistol, rifle or shotgun?  I know quite a few people who have never given it a single thought.  They just figure that if it still works, it must be good to go.  Scary thought process huh? Continue reading →

Photo of the Day: Centurion Arms CMR 12-inch Rail

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Tim checks out Centurion Arms’ brand new, lightweight and narrow diameter CMR 12-inch tubular rail.

Centurion Arms has developed its latest hand guard system for the AR platform for 5.56mm and 7.62mm rifles. Boasting an extremely narrow diameter, it is approximately .120″ narrower in diameter (side to side) than a Troy Industries VTAC rail. The lightweight, custom barrel nut can be installed with a standard adjustable pin spanner wrench. Rather than attach sections of picatinny rail to the hand guard, Centurion Arms will be releasing mounts that will screw directly into the hand guard eliminating the need for an intermediate interface. The mount system is a hybrid design. It borrows the concept of the locking cross bolt system found in the H&K 416 and combines it with a clamp to the barrel nut. The tolerances are held tight and the hand guard is about a slip fit on the barrel nut prior to tightening. The mount mechanism is rock solid. As with all Centurion Arms hand guards, there are integral sling swivel attachment points at the front and rear at 9 and 3 o’clock. The entire rail is cleanly machined, extremely ergonomic, and attractive to boot. They should be hitting the market at any moment so look for it at your favorite dealer.

SOURCE: http://www.centurionarms.com

Edited to add weights:

CMR 12-inch with barrel nut and screws: 10.7 ounces

CMR 14-inch with barrel nut and screws: 11.6 ounces