Author Archives: Tim Lau

About Tim Lau

Tim Lau has over a decade of experience as an end user, armorer and instructor. He has worked for several well known firearms training organizations, and holds multiple firearms instructor certifications. He owns and operates 10-8 Consulting, LLC, which provides industry consulting services as well as marksmanship and specialized firearms training to qualified civilian, law enforcement and military personnel.

CARBINE SLINGS: BATTLE OF THE 2-POINT SLINGS

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(top) Blue Force Gear’s Vickers Combat Applications Sling (VCAS), (bottom) Viking Tactics (VTAC) Padded Adjustable Sling

I am often asked what type of sling I prefer. That’s easy. I tell them that for the educated end-user, the Two Point Adjustable Sling is the answer. It requires a bit of training to realize its potential, but it really is a do-everything-acceptably-well sling. Larry Vickers’ article on sling selection is likely the best, well-reasoned article on sling selection I’ve seen. Once that is settled, the next question is, which sling should you choose?

The two most popular choices on the market: the Vickers Combat Applications Sling (VCAS) by Blue Force Gear, and the Viking Tactics sling. It is no surprise that the designers of both slings come from the same top tier military special operations unit. Both are of excellent quality, but have somewhat differing characteristics that may affect your choice in slings.

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SHOT 2013 ROUNDUP – PART ONE

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Every year SHOT Show brings the excitement and anticipation of new products, training, and advancement of the firearms industry. Sadly, this year’s show was somewhat overshadowed by the current political climate and the untimely passing of John Novekse. However, all of us remain hopeful that we as a nation will pull together and examine the gun control issue logically, rather than fall for the play on emotions by those who wish to promote their personal agendas.

Nevertheless, Hilton and I endeavored to find the latest and greatest gear to share with you here. In no particular order: Continue reading →

BLUE FORCE GEAR HELIUM WHISPER RECEIVES NSNs

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I know we’re a little late, but in case you didn’t hear, Blue Force Gear’s lightweight Helium Whisper pouches have received National Stock Numbers. Here’s the official press release!

SAVANNAH, GA—January 7, 2013—Blue Force Gear® announced today that seven of their Helium Whisper™ backed pouches received National Stock Numbers (NSNs).  These Patent pending Helium Whisper pouches fulfill an immediate SOCOM Load Carriage System Contract and can be purchased by government customers with access to DLA.

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FIRST LOOK: GRAYMAN KNIVES SUB-SAHARAN

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Grayman’s 5-inch Sub-Saharan is small enough to be practical, but can take on big task

This is for all you knife guys (and gals) out there. A few years back, Cameron Hopkins introduced me to Mike over at Grayman Knives. He spent some time showing me various knives from his catalog, and the first impression I got was: these knives were designed to be used. Hand ground from high carbon 1095, these knives come with a toothy edge that is perfect for practical use. High carbon 1095 is a tough steel with quite a bit of abrasion resistance which means it holds an edge quite well. Unfortunately, due to its low chromium content, it is susceptible to rust. Thus, Mike coats the Sub-Saharan in KG Gunkote, an excellent polymer type finish that is exceptionally resistant to corrosion. Just keep the exposed edge coated with a good rust inhibitor (like FrogLube) and you are good to go. Continue reading →

PHOTO OF THE DAY: APEX FAILURE RESISTANT EXTRACTOR FOR GLOCK

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As mentioned in previous posts, many current production Glocks suffer from extraction/ejection issues. Some of my recent production Glocks have been great right out of the box (such as my FDE Gen 4 Glock 19). Unfortunately, my brand new Gen 4 Glock 34 had an ejection pattern that looked like a lawn sprinkler. Thanks to Apex Tactical Specialties, this is no longer the case. If you have an extraction/ejection issue with your Glock, check out Apex Tactical’s Failure Resistant Extractor.

SOURCE: Apex Tactical Specialties

 

 

So what do we do now?

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I do not typically make political statements on social media or our website, but we as law abiding gun owners find ourselves in quite a predicament. Emotions are running high, and those against civilian gun ownership are poised to take advantage of recent high profile crimes and horrific events to further their agenda. Continue reading →

Chambered Round Verification, aka the “Press Check”

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Benicio Del Toro performs a one-handed press-check in a scene from Way of the Gun. Veteran LAPD SWAT Officer and firearms trainer Scott Reitz provided the technical direction for the firearms in this film.

Recently, I’ve read some discussion on the Press Check, with some firearms instructors stating that it is unnecessary, that instead of a Press Check, one should simply conduct a tactical reload. Let’s start by defining what it is. A Press Check is, quite simply, the act of verifying that the weapon has a chambered cartridge and is ready to fire. On a semi-automatic pistol, this usually involves moving the slide rearward by about 3/4 of an inch and either visually or physically confirming that there is indeed a round in the chamber. In this article, I will discuss whether or not I feel this action is ever necessary to perform.

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AR15/M16 Magazine Drop Test: Plastic vs. Aluminum

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L to R: NHMTG USGI Magazine, PMAG, PMAG GEN M3, and TangoDown ARC Mk2.

One of the weak links of the M16 platform has always been the magazine design. The double column feed makes the system prone to malfunction should there be any dimensional problem with the magazine. Thankfully, there are more options for good magazines than ever before. Aluminum GI magazines have better springs, followers, and are built to as high a standard as ever, and we now have excellent choices in polymer magazines.

With that in mind, I decided to do a simple durability test of four popular magazines: the USGI aluminum magazine, the legacy PMAG, the new PMAG GEN M3, and the latest TangoDown ARC Mark 2 magazine.

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20 PERCENT OFF XMAS SPECIAL FROM NEXT LEVEL TRAINING

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Next Level Training is having a 20% off Christmas Special on all products for MSW readers and 10-8 fans!

 

As many of our readers know, Hilton and I are big fans of Next Level Training’s SIRT Pistol. If you are not familiar with it, read Hilton’s Intro to the SIRT.

In celebration of the holiday season, our friends at Next Level Training is offering 20% OFF ALL PRODUCTS to the readers of Modern Service Weapons and fans of 10-8. To receive your discount, enter 10-8XMAS into the coupon code box during checkout. This applies to all NLT products. Due to the time required to process your order, you need to place your order by December 13, 2012 to guarantee delivery by Christmas. Even if you miss the delivery deadline, this offer will be good until January 1, 2013.

Visit Next Level Training at http://www.nextleveltraining.com

 

Photo of the Day: Glock 17 RTF with Mods

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Some ATEi and Sentinel Design love on Tim’s Glock 17 RTF.

This Glock 17 RTF serves as the test platform for my RMR 07. Though Hilton, Erick, and other 10-8 crew have gone through more RMRs in the past several months than underwear, I wanted to put some time in on the concept so I don’t go the way of the Blackberry (remember those?)

Note that most of the folks that comment about how their RMR’s are working just fine appear to only have low round counts through the platform, or don’t really shoot them at all. I will report back at 1000 round intervals assuming the optic holds up that long.

SOURCES:

http://www.ateiguns.com

Sentinel Design Magwell

SPOTLIGHT: ATLANTA ARMS AND AMMUNITION

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Atlanta Arms and 10-8 goodness.

Those who have been around the pistol competition circuit are already familiar with Atlanta Arms & Ammunition, but many who regularly practice on the range or in classes may not be familiar with this excellent company. Many of us at 10-8 regularly shoot this ammunition at matches and for practice and for good reason: the ammunition is clean, consistent, accurate, and reasonably priced.

Founded in 1976, Atlanta Arms and Ammunition has built its reputation on manufacturing first quality ammunition for competitors. Just a few shooters that use Atlanta Arms and Ammunition: the US Army Marksmanship Unit, Max Michel, Phil Strader, Rob Leatham, Jessie Duff, and the Glock Shooting Team.

Atlanta Arms offers a variety of loads appropriate for a variety of sports, matches, or training events. The ammunition is available as factory new, or factory remanufactured. We at 10-8 have shot quite a bit of the remanufactured ammunition and can attest to its quality and consistency. Take a look at their website and find the load that best suits your needs.

SOURCE: http://www.atlantaarmsandammo.com

FIRST LOOK: PMAG GEN M3 VS. ORIGINAL PMAG

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On November 1, 2012, MagPul Industries began shipping the latest generation of the PMAG, the polymer magazine that has completely redefined the polymer magazine for the M16/AR15 platform. MagPul cites various upgrades, including an improved polymer compound that is reportedly stronger and more durable than ever. Here are some of the obvious differences I observed between the two magazines. Continue reading →

Compensator Shootout: BattleComp vs. BCM Gunfighter vs. A2 Flash Hider

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An extremely popular accessory born from competition is the “tactical compensator”. As mentioned in my previous blog post on the BattleComp, in the past I had shied away from compensators for anything but competition because of the excessive side blast and flash that goes along with them. I remember a recent class where I was shooting next to a student with a rifle equipped with a SureFire MB556. While an efficient comp, I felt like I was being punched in the face every time he pressed the trigger.

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