The Loadout Room
Professional Gear Reviews
When Jack Burton went gunning for Lo Pan, he was carrying an Intratec TEC-9 (or he was after he took it from the corpse of a Wing Kong gunman). It hardly seems appropriate that a heroic long-haul truck driver of Jack Burton’s mettle should be carrying a TEC-9, and that’s hardly a weapon worthy of the Porkchop Express.
So we’re upgunning him. This is a piston driven AR pistol from Brownells. We’ll list out the parts, though some of them we’ll need to update because the catalog has evolved.
There’s a new type of extended mag release for the Glock 43 available from Tyrant Designs (@tyrantcnc). It’s called the…wait for it….
Tyrant Designs CNC Extended Magazine Release | Glock 43! (G43EMR)
Tyrant Designs tells us,
“We are very proud to announce our first Glock component, the Glock 43 Extended Magazine Release! By utilizing our edgy Tyrant styling AND our ability to create great performing products, we know all customers will love this new G43 EMR. And we are pleased to say we will continue our aggressive expansion into the handgun market this summer!”
Known as the “King of Cool,” Steve McQueen’s Hollywood career spanned three decades, from the 1950’s to the 1970’s. Among the most notable films of McQueen’s career is 1963 film classic The Great Escape, in which three Allied prisoners of war in a POW camp. The video clip below is a scene showing a daring motorcycle escape jump that McQueen requested to be added to the film because he was an avid motorcyclist. The scene is a good representation of McQueen’s effortless style and badass personality.
In matters of personal style, it is helpful to take a look at how other men successfully create their own. This is why Gentlemen’s Gazette praises Steve McQueen’s iconic style in their article, Gentleman of Style: Steve McQueen.
“Steve McQueen could pull off casual work wear, western attire, and 3-piece suits while looking equally authentic in them all – not many men have that kind of range. He rocked a certain nonchalant confidence that is the envy of every man who has perused a style gallery of his most famous looks.”
*Photo courtesy of Breach Bang Clear
The Heckler & Koch G3 was one of the 20th Century’s most prolific arms. In production since 1958, with over 7 million built, and used by dozens of countries, it ranks with the FAL, M16, and AK-47 as one of the most iconic Cold War service weapons.
Heckler & Koch ceased production of the G3 in 1997, although the rifle continued in service and was employed in the Afghanistan conflict. It remains in front-line service with the Greek, Turkish, Pakistani, and Mexican armed forces. Many other countries still have the rifle in their inventories, including Sweden.
Carl Gustafs and Husqvarna license-produced the G3, for several decades, for the Swedish armed forces. It was designated the AK4. Starting in the 80s, it was superseded by the AK5, a 5.56mm assault rifle based on the FN FNC. The older AK4 rifle continues in service with the Swedish Home Guard, and that’s where Spuhr AB came in.
Håkan Spuhr, the owner and founder of Spuhr AB, designed a new buttstock for the G3 pattern rifle. While the G3 is durable, reliable, and cheap to mass-produce, some consider its ergonomics to be sub-optimal. The stock is long, giving the rifle a length-of-pull in excess of 14”. For tall shooters, or for shooting from the prone, this doesn’t make much of a difference. For people of smaller stature, or people wearing body armor, equipment, or heavy clothing, this can leave the weapon feeling unwieldy. An overlong stock also inhibits accurate shooting from the standing position.
*Photo courtesy of Breach Bang Clear
Registration is open for his year’s Rifle Dynamics Red Oktober Kalashnikov Championships at the Southern Utah Practical Shooting Range. This is a great facility in a gorgeous area, and a great opportunity to run the “ComBloc” gun under stressful but enjoyable conditions.
God willing and the Creek don’t rise, we’re gonna have one of our guys there at the match this year, both to cover it and to compete (that would be you, Phagan, if you weren’t already aware). We’re looking to actually build him a competition gun this year; hopefully, he’ll be able to give it a little “flavor”, just as he did the Doom Rifle 3-Gun Collection and the Gila Monster (which you’ll be reading about soon). That said, Russell likes wood (*snicker*) so we may do some sort of iconic classic with all wood furniture. Haven’t decided yet. If that does happen, we’ll cover the build from front to back, so if you have a suggestion for a part, let us know.
Here’s a shot of his gear from last year. A video of the match is below.
It’s not a bad time to be a gun enthusiast in our industry. The recently infamous (again) AR15 rifle (or as we like to call it, adult Lego set) has never been more modular or given shooters more options for parts and accessories. Every company is seemingly content to carry on in rodomontade about their “new” geometry, space-age coating, or otherwise remanufacturing the same parts as everyone else. Designing something new for the platform takes engineering and testing, not just some quick CAD work and to push print. While the pretty CNC work and anodizing may help aesthetically, two parts in any AR15 genuinely affect performance more than any other; the trigger and the barrel.
Happily, KE Arms set out to improve the trigger. They have addressed of the few shortfalls of what was available on the market with their SLT-1 trigger.
Released the beginning of last year, I was able to get my hands on one and have been shooting it in a Radical Firearms test gun ever since. I’m not typically one to post a “review” without actually putting some hard use on something, so I’ve been working on this for a while. In fact, KE Arms has since released newer version of the trigger, but I can still pass on how the SLT1 performed over the past year.
KE Arms outlines the benefits and features of the SLT-1 trigger as;
“EFFICIENT ENERGY TRANSFER
– There is no disconnector for the hammer to drive through, thus creating a more efficient cycle of the bolt simply pushing the hammer out of the way as the gun fires.
– Forces of the bolt on the hammer are not transmitted into any other components of the trigger assembly.
– Constant sear engagement against the hammer means the trigger is always ready to reset and fire.