Innholdsfortegnelse for August - September 2018 i Tactical Life

The battles at Lexington and Concord in April of 1775 launched the American Revolution, but the “shot heard round the world” would’ve meant nothing if not for a lead ball fired two years later near Saratoga, New York. On October 7, 1777, British Brigadier General Simon Fraser boldly rode onto Bemis Heights, rallying his troops in a desperate fight with rebel sharpshooters. American Major General Benedict Arnold marveled at Fraser’s audacity but feared it, too. “That man on the gray horse is a host unto himself and must be disposed of,” Arnold told Colonel Daniel Morgan, the sharpshooters’ commander. Morgan sent a trusted marksman up a tree to target Fraser, who soon fell from the saddle, shot in the guts. The rally sputtered, the redcoats fled and the rebels won…

WHEN THINGS GET ROWDY, LOOK TO THIS FLAT-SHOOTING 6.5 CREEDMOOR FROM SPIKE’S TACTICAL Move over, .308 Winchester and .30-06 Springfield. Make way for the 6.5 Creedmoor Roadhouse AR from Spike’s Tactical. This new semi-auto gets the most from the “six-five” and delivers better overall 1,000-yard performance than the .308 and .30-06 with about a third less recoil. The .308 and .30-06 might offer some advantages when hunting extra-large game such as elk and moose at less than 300 yards, but beyond that distance, the cartridges are similar in trajectory and velocity. And by 650 yards, the 6.5 Creedmoor begins to have a slight advantage over the .308 and .30-06 in terms of kinetic energy. That statement will upset a lot of .30-06 and .308 fans like me, but ballistics don’t…

This year’s crop of new smoothbores is dominated by the cut-down “Shockwave-pattern” design introduced by Mossberg in 2017. Though Mossberg didn’t invent this new breed of gun, it was the first major player to commercialize it. The Shockwave is classified as a “firearm” by the BATFE and not a shotgun, and its tremendous success has created a barrage of copycat models made by big and small players alike. The 2018 SHOT Show also saw a number of noteworthy designs like bullpups and those that use detachable magazines. In short, shotguns are still going strong after hundreds of years. Let’s take a look. AMERICAN TACTICAL OMNI HYBRID The redesigned .410-gauge Omni Hybrid shotgun looks and operates like a typical AR-15. It’s named for its lower receiver, which is made of polymer…

★ All normal guys think machine guns are cool. Additionally, every properly wired American male loves ventilating empty Coke cans with a .22 rifle. As is the case with milk and chocolate chip cookies, politicians and taxes, or fast cars and pretty girls, some things just synergistically combine to produce a sum more compelling than their individual parts. Such is the case with the .22-caliber American 180 machine gun. ORIGIN STORY ★ Richard “Dick” Casull first got the ball rolling with his Casull Model 290. Dick was a gunsmith from Utah ultimately known for his work developing large-bore revolver cartridges. His .454 Casull was and is an absolute monster of a wheelgun round. He also pioneered Freedom Arms in 1978 with Wayne Baker to develop adorable little miniature revolvers. Casull’s…

Since it rolled out as a free-to-play game for the PC in 2010, “World of Tanks” has become one of the hottest player-versus-player games worldwide. Developed by Wargaming Group Limited, a Belarusian company, more than a decade ago, it has the largest budget for any video game from a nation that was once part of the Soviet Union. The game started small, with just six vehicles and one map, but it grew to include dozens of real-world tanks and attracted a hardcore audience. Today, “World of Tanks” has more than 60 million registered users and is now played by professional gamers in various international e-sports tournaments, including the successful Wargaming.net League. Since debuting on the PC, this armored-combat-focused game has also been released for the Xbox 360, Xbox One and…

When the FBI picked Springfield Armory’s Professional model for its Hostage Rescue Team (HRT) and later SWAT teams, many wanted a similar pistol at a lower price. So, Springfield launched the Tactical Response Pistol (TRP) in 2001. Springfield’s Armory’s Professional was custom-built to pass one of the most rigorous tests ever held for a duty pistol, beating several better-known “customs” for the contract. I’ve owned a couple, and they might be the epitome of the combat 1911. They’re hand-built, simple, almost indestructible, insanely accurate, completely reliable and just what you need—nothing more. But they came at a price. I paid about $2,500 for my first one almost 20 years ago. TRP ORIGINS Many shooters wanted the gun’s primary features without the cost, and the TRP did just that, costing closer…

Since 2008, the Steyr SSG 08 has been considered one of the best sniper rifles available at any price and one of the most accurate factory rifles ever made. For users who didn’t need the gun’s superb folding aluminum stock, Steyr Mannlicher designed the SSG 04, which offered the same barreled action on an adjustable fiber-reinforced stock. The gun lost some of its ergonomics and glamor, but its legendary accuracy was unscathed. Steyr then recognized that some aficionados and small law enforcement agencies needed an accurate SSG-type rifle at an even more affordable price. So the company introduced the Pro THB (Tactical Heavy Barrel). This fantastic rifle is priced competitively with other varmint and tactical rifles from American manufacturers but adds many of the advanced SSG 08 features in a…

It is a buyer’s market right now for sound suppressors. There are dozens of companies making quality models these days, and more are getting into the game. I’m talking manufacturers like Daniel Defense and even CZ-USA. This kind of competition drives prices downward while manufacturers seek new, innovative solutions to help themselves stand out in the marketplace. That’s why we’re starting to see suppressors made with the help of computer modeling programs that can simulate gases expended from firing a round, for example, as well as 3D-printed designs and more. Well, we need to add another new manufacturer to the list: CMMG. Missouri-based CMMG has been around since 2002 and is known for its complete AR-platform rifles and pistols, parts and conversion kits. If you need a new AR or…

To learn what’s new and high speed, the annual Shooting, Hunting, Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show in Las Vegas is the place to be. This is especially true of the cutlery industry, and one fact was extremely obvious at the 2018 show: Tactical blades still dominate the market. Thanks to the Knife Rights campaign to reform state-level statutes on spring-opening folding knives, the market has seen more auto-opening models in various lines. Manual one-hand-opening folders are available in every shape and size. People going into military combat or in need of a serious fixed-blade survival knife will find they are equally well covered. Any way you look at it, 2018 will be a good 12 months for tactical blade users. BEAR OPS BOLD ACTION III STILETTO The Bear OPS Bold Action…

Creating a video game based on armored combat isn’t a novel concept. Even the early Atari 2600 had “Tanks,” but what makes “World of Tanks” so different is that the development team really gets down and dirty with the details. Chris “Q” Stott, community manager of “World of Tanks,” shared some insight about what goes into creating the game. How do you model tanks to make the in-game versions so accurate? Ideally, we like to see these tanks up close and in person to really get a feel for the scale and power of these vehicles. Luckily for us, there are many museums and collectors around the world that have kept tanks of the past safe, and some still run today. The first step is to take a range of…

In the past few years, Sig Sauer has transformed itself into a one-stop shop, or, as the company calls itself, a “complete service provider.” To claim that title, Sig offers “a full array of products to meet any mission parameter, from handguns and rifles to silencers, optics, ammunition, airguns and accessories.” To realize that vision, Sig brought in experts in those areas to control everything from the ground up. That way there would be no concerns about quality or having the Sig name associated with these products. As part of that commitment, in early 2015, Sig introduced the Advanced Sport Pellet (ASP) airgun line, which closely mimics several of the company’s centerfire models. Each airgun goes through rigorous testing and must be approved by the Sig Sauer Academy before entering…

BERETTA APX CENTURION & COMPACT Beretta has expanded its striker-fired APX line with two smaller variants to complement the popular full-sized model. The mid-sized APX Centurion pistol holds either 15+1 (9mm) or 13+1 (.40 S&W) rounds in the same magazines as the full-sized APX. The APX Compact is designed for concealed carry and holds either 13+1 (9mm) or 10+1 (.40 S&W) rounds and can accept larger APX magazines as well. As with all APX pistols, the Centurion and Compact have been designed specifically for military and law enforcement users with removable serialized subchassis and replaceable grip modules. (beretta.com) BLACKHAWK HYBRID FOLDING SIGHTS These backup sights have solid metal alloy cores with advanced co-polymer jackets to remain light while still being extremely durable. The hybrid construction eliminates excess bulk while providing…

It takes just 1.6 seconds for a suspect to pull a gun and fire at a police officer. In this blur of motion, the details often get lost in the action. Such split-second incidents have cost police departments and cities many unintended consequences, which is why many are flocking to purchase body-worn cameras. Today’s body-worn cameras come in various styles and from many vendors, but they all have one basic function: to capture the incident from the officer’s perspective. This provides facts and evidence about a situation and might refute the “he said, she said” dilemma. The cameras can also be used for fighting crime and reducing complaints. OAKLAND DEFENDERS The Oakland, California, Police Department (OPD) long ago decided to invest in and equip its officers with body-worn cameras. Recently,…

PUMP-ACTION SHOTGUNS are incredible. Between their rock-solid reliability and ability to deliver fight-stopping power, these hard-hitting workhorses are the ultimate do-everything guns. Because the pump-action shotgun is manually operated, it’s not ammunition sensitive, thus it’s able to use a mind-numbingly gargantuan amount of loadings, which can instantly transform a home-defense tool into a duck-hunting weapon or medium-range, slug-slinging deer gun in less than a minute. That makes the pump-action shotgun a safe, utilitarian choice for shooters needing a workingman’s gun. And it’s that reputation as a blue-collar firearm that, in my opinion, limits the development of the pump-action shotgun in the United States. Thankfully, an Italian arms-maker has stepped up to the plate. And it has designed a pump-action shotgun with the strength and utility of an American blue-collar gun and…

What do we want? A short-barreled rifle! When do we want it? Now! Well, you can’t have it now. You will need to enter the seemingly endless line that slowly snakes into the offices of the BATFE’s NFA Branch in West Virginia, or, as it’s better known, the place where paperwork goes to sit. The process of getting a short-barreled rifle (SBR) is not as complicated as it is time consuming. With the huge growth in suppressor sales and interest in SBRs, the NFA Branch has been overwhelmed with applications. And although folks at the branch do their best to keep up, they are sorely understaffed, and in standard government procedure, there is no real relief in sight. There have been rumors of the NFA staff being significantly expanded, but…

On January 12, 2017, Columbus, Georgia’s Ledger-Enquirer released an article stating, “Heckler & Koch, a manufacturer of firearms and accessories, will invest $28.5 million to expand its existing operations in Columbus, Georgia. The new 50,000 square-foot facility in the Corporate Ridge Business Park will be ready in the summer of 2017, at which time HK will consolidate its New Hampshire operations into Columbus. ‘HK’s new U.S. factory will make use of advanced manufacturing technologies and will be staffed by German and American engineers and technicians,’ said Francisco Hidalgo, CEO of HK USA. ‘The HK products will maintain the same level of quality and reliability that the consumer has grown to expect from HK. Our company motto is and will remain No Compromise.’” And with that, my hometown of Columbus became…