Yearly Archives: 2016

Reviews

LaserAmmo SureStrike 9mm Cartridge

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I have never been a particularly good shot. By that, I mean that I know my flaws. I know that I tend to get pumped up and lose fundamentals. I enjoy shooting; it gives me an adrenaline rush. But, in the end, fundamentals are everything when it comes to accuracy.

My research online indicates that the top pistol-shooting competitors out there supplement their range time with dry-fire practice. Sensible enough, but I like immediate feedback. Practicing badly doesn’t get me any better! Laser training cartridges have become more popular for this purpose. After reading some mixed reviews of the longevity of the LaserLyte 9mm training cartridge, I opted for the well-reviewed – and Israeli-made – Laser Ammo SureStrike 9mm Cartridge.

Continue reading LaserAmmo SureStrike 9mm Cartridge →

Industry News

IWI-US News Out of Big 3 East

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TheFirearmBlog has a nice write-up on upcoming IWI-US releases, as announced at the Big 3 East event.

First, as I had previously predicted, the Dan bolt-action rifle is getting a US release. Price? $7000. Suffice it to say, the only way I’ll be reviewing it is if I hit the jackpot or get a loaner. I suspect it will be quite a collector’s item in a couple decades.

Next, the X95 is getting a proper “X95 Micro” SBR release in the future with a 13″ barrel. Given the somewhat bastardized looks of the current X95, this is some welcome news. If you’re on the fence on the X95, that might be a reason to stay put for a bit.

(I wish they would give the Uzi Pro Pistol some similar treatment… I think it would have sold far better as a rifle than as a pistol.)

Finally, both the Tavor and X95 will be getting .300AAC releases. The design of the Tavor/X95 doesn’t lend itself to barrel-only conversions due to potential headspace issues, so these have been slower and more expensive to get out the door. (Also mentioned was a potential 22lr kit, but it was not considered commercially viable at $500 MSRP.)

 

Reviews

BUL Cherokee Gen1

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I’ve previously reviewed the BUL Cherokee Compact “2nd gen” handgun. Spoiler alert: I liked it a lot.

But before the 2nd gen gun, there was the original “Gen1” BUL Cherokee. The 2nd gen gun has very distinctive looks – an elongated dust cover, finger swells and a rail. The first gen gun, however, looks very much like a Tanfoglio Force 99 copy.

But that’s OK, because I’ve never owned a Tanfoglio Force 99 before, so it’s all new to me. I recently bought a Cherokee Gen1; read on for my thoughts.

Continue reading BUL Cherokee Gen1 →

Industry News

X95s now shipping to distributors

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According to a Facebook post by IWI-US, the X95 is now shipping to distributors.

We are pleased to announce that the first black X95 carbines with 16.5″ barrels started shipping today to our wholesale…

Posted by IWI US on Tuesday, March 29, 2016

This is pretty fast work by IWI-US standards! They’ve also recently announced that they’ve manufactured 50k standard Tavors for the US market, which is also quite an accomplishment.

Unfortunately, I probably won’t have an X95 soon due to MD’s ban on rifles with an OAL of less than 29″, not to mention being out of space in my gun safe and having a five year old about to enter Jewish day school (tuition!). Still, if I can find a friend with one, I’ll try to get a review together.

Reviews

FAB Defense T-FL Folding VFG Review

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I have a love-hate relationship with vertical foregrips (VFGs). On one hand, they are a life-saver when you don’t have much handguard to hold. On the other hand…pretty much everything else. They add weight, they promote a grip not conducive to accuracy, they make it hard to shoot from the bench, and they are another point of potential failure. LuckyGunner has an old-but-still-excellent article about the correct usage of VFGs, and I encourage everyone to give it a skim. I run VFGs on a couple of my rifles, but am rather picky about what they go on.

That said, I had been wanting to experiment with a folding VFG on my 22lr AR-15 SBR to see if it made it easier to shoot from the bench. Since this is an Israeli weapons blog, I decided to give the FAB Defense T-FL a try… more after the break.

Continue reading FAB Defense T-FL Folding VFG Review →

Industry News

New Source for BUL Pistols

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It looks like another supplier for BUL handguns has entered the fray: Liberty Gun Sales of Ohio. They’ve got a price list up and everything, and the prices are actually pretty good. (Pro-tip: dealer prices are for dealers, don’t expect it as a regular person. :))  Competition is a good thing, and BUL getting further into the US market can only bode well for us.

LGSOS is selling Cherokees (FS and compact, G and non-G), M5s, and Classics. Alas, no SAS variants, Classic Ultras, or Mini Cherokees. I am super-tempted to pick up an M5 Ultra-X in 9mm, and maybe grab a Classic Commander in 9mm and slap some Recover Tactical grips on it.

Research

Sometimes, mag catches break

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Rating high in the “realm of things I’ve never seen before”, my police surplus BUL Storm Compact came to my FFL with a broken mag catch. Ordinarily, I would not consider this to be a big deal, but since I needed to submit it to the Maryland Handgun Roster Board for approval in a working state, this was less than ideal, as the gun was punted back from the board for fixes… meaning another 4-5 month round trip for approval The magazine would fall out if any real pressure was put on it from the top… such as stripping a round from the magazine.

I wound up using a new EAA Witness mag catch from the Ben Stoeger Pro Shop. He shipped it the same day I ordered, and it came very quickly. This was the newer-style (post-2004) magazine catch, so it’s also a bit of an upgrade. Installing it wasn’t hard, but did require three hands.

Deals, Research

BUL Impact Factory Mag Sleeve

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I had previously opined that BUL had never released the “official” factory mag sleeve for the BUL Impact. Apparently, this was not quite true, because a pair of 9mm BUL Impacts being auctioned off by Mach1Arsenal on Gunbroker have them:

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These appear to work like the 3D-printed ones that I’m using – slip over the top of a full size magazine and just slide them down. There’s no locking mechanism at the top of the heel of the sleeve, which I had theorized might be a way of keeping it permanently connected to the grip. Unlike in the official shots, this sleeve doesn’t seem to be pinned to the bottom of the magazine. It looks to me like these sleeves are what would have been the bottom of the Impact’s grip if it were full-size.

Industry News

CAA MIC-RONI

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mic-roni.jpegBesides their foray into the AK market, CAA’s SHOT 2016 booth also revealed a new Glock chassis called the “MIC-RONI”. I think you are supposed to pronounce this “Microni”, like “Macaroni”, but they also call it the “Micro RONI” on their site, so… your guess is as good as mine.

While I am something of a skeptic of the first RONI, I really like what I’m seeing with the MIC-RONI. It folds up to 13.7″, and only weighs about 3.1lbs with a Glock 17 in it. That makes it lighter AND smaller than the FAB Defense KPOS G2 (albeit the Microni is made of polymer vs the KPOS’s aluminum). Some other advantages I’m noticing:

  1. The trigger-blocking safety looks much more manageable – doesn’t look like there’s a button to deploy it.
  2. it has storage for an extra mag in the fixed VFG.
  3. The stock is high enough to support AR optics properly.
  4. Integrated flashlight holder (albeit I don’t know what it’s compatible with, or how you control it).

Downside is that it doesn’t look like you’ve got enough clearance to run a suppressor. That’s not a deal-breaker for me, but could be for other people.

Industry News

A New Israeli AK

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(photo from Guns, Holsters, and Gear)

The newest AK on the market is the “Alfa” from CAA and was revealed at SHOT 2016. GHG has an amazing article on it. It appears to be a CAA design, and has some rather radical changes from the standard AK design. It was supposedly designed with IDF personnel input, which makes sense – you can see how the stock is now inline and higher for compatibility with AR optics, and all the controls seem to be ambidextrous. It looks like a two-piece receiver design, ala the M+M M10X, but you can see that the recoil spring is still behind the bolt (unlike the Sig 556 or M10X, where it’s up front by the piston).

My only quibble is that the weight is on the heavy side – 7.7lbs. This makes me suspect it’s a chassis on top of a traditional steel AK receiver, rather than a truly re-engineered steel-reinforced polymer receiver like the SCAR-16S (7.25lbs). But it’s still lighter than a Sig 556 Classic (8.2lbs), albeit not quite as svelte as the Galil ACE (7.5lbs). Some of that additional weight might be from the huge AK-74-esque muzzle attachment, too.

There’s also a Galil-mag 5.56×45 version, which is a bit of an odd choice. As evinced by the popularity of the Zastava M85NP, the AK market prefers AR magazines when it comes to 5.56×45, and the gun itself clearly has a chassis that would lend itself to modification for AR mag use.

In any event, it’ll make an interesting competitor to the ACE, and is another Israeli rifle for “the list”.