leupold

Grey Ghost Precision Offers Dual Optic Compatibility

The Slide, Improved by GGP

I like Glock pistols and I like red dot sights. Optic sights on your combat gun allow for faster target transition, a wider field of view with both eyes open, quicker sight acquisition of your target, improved accuracy at close and long distances, and allow you to stay target focused. With that being said, I’m not in love with the Glock MOS (Modular Optic System) as the solution to mounting red dot sights on the Glock platform (see my general complaints later).

Grey Ghost Precision (GGP) recognized the existing market gap and a need to improve the way things were being done and introduced aftermarket milled slides. GGP slides offered were great quality, but they had the same problem that sending your Glock slide in to have custom milled had; until they offered the V4 and their genius shim system for dual optic compatibility.

The Problem with Custom Milled Slides

Custom milled slides offer a superior mounting solution to red dot optics. They are a much more robust mount when properly done. The fitment of the optic to the slide is a press-fit where you essentially don’t even need the mounting screws for it to stay in place. Add a little thread lock to the screws and mount it up for a locked-in tight fit that lets you use a quality optic as a handle just as much as a red dot. The red dot sight sits nice and low and allows a lower profile fit.

The problem with that milled sight is that you’re now locked-in to the optic you chose when you got it milled!

A custom milled slide is a great option but you will be locked into the footprint that you choose. No going back!

Some law enforcement agencies may not permit officers to have the pistols milled, as they “alter” the firearm.

The Problem with the MOS

The MOS is a great option for the weekend shooter that doesn’t need to rely on the optic for rough and tough treatment.

You can mount multiple brands of optics with the Glock provided plates. Installation is easy and it retains a stock condition that some police departments want.

Too high on the slide and only two screws holding the optic in-place

All that retains the optic onto the pistol with the MOS configuration is two tiny screws! They do not do a great job of holding the optic onto the gun. The time I’ve spent on the MOS mounting configuration resulted in a loose optic after firing a lot of rounds and doing a few brisk manipulations using the optic as a lever.

The other problem with the MOS configuration is the optic sits up high on the gun and sometimes even suppressor height sights are worthless (such as with the taller footprint Leopold Delta Point Pro.)

The Grey Ghost Precision Solution

Take the stock slide off your Glock, swipe the components from it or just purchase new ones for a minimal price, and install it on your new Version 4 Grey Ghost Precision slide. If you’re mounting the Trijicon RMR or optic with compatible footprint, leave the additional shim on top of the slide in place and use the provided screws with a little threadlocker. Press fit the optic on the slide and install the screws. It’s that easy and it fits precisely as it should.

With the shim in place, the Trijicon is a press-fit installation. Use the GGP provided screws with thread locker.

If you’re using the popular Leupold Delta Point Pro (or other optic that uses Leupold’s footprint), remove the provided shim and press fit the optic to a precision fit. Use your Grey Ghost Precision provided screws with a little thread lock installed and you’re in business.

Remove the shim and install the Leupold DPP with the provided screws and some thread locker

Grey Ghost Precision gives you options for mounting red dot sights and it’s much more robust than what you’d normally find.

This Grey Ghost Precision V4 Mount should be the GLOCK MOS standard!

Tighter Tolerances Equals Tighter Groups

The Grey Ghost Precision V4 slide is much more than just a good optics slide. The slide is machined in-house out of 17-4 billet stainless steel and has tighter critical tolerances.

The GGP slide is Black Nitride Coated inside and out and comes with a custom G10 cover plate and proper screws for use without any optics installed.

The GGP V4 Slide looks great without an optic as well. It comes with a cover plate installed.

Add the GGP match grade barrel and you’ll really see things tighten up if you can avoid slapping the trigger. I hope to be telling you more about the GGP, Glock 19 compatible, Match Grade Barrel later.

Microscale Texture

The GGP V4 slides feature a new slide design with a new texture – the Microscale Texture. The Microscale Texture creates the ultimate strong frictional grip. The design is functional, easy to manipulate from any angle, and is a wonderful example of end-user-focused engineering.

Microscale Texturing makes the slide a cinch to manipulate from any angle.

Grey Ghost Precision slides development was directly influenced by special forces, law enforcement officers, competitive shooters and you – the end user in mind.

Grey Ghost Precision slides easily swap onto OEM & 80% frames. I think one of the best built combinations is the GGP V4 slide placed onto the Nomad Defense, Nomad 9 frame, or one of the GGP Combat Pistol Frames! Take having a custom pistol to a new level and start with the components you want from the get-go and build it your way.

I’ve been running the GGP V4 slide for a couple of months now and I love it. I’ve got the XS Sights, DXT Night Sights on it for back-up sights and they work wonderfully. (More about these sights later.) I ran the Trijicon on the slide first and loved how it sat low and tight in the slide.

I’ve just recently got my hands on the Leupold DPP and have to say, I was impressed with how after removing the shim and changing the screws, the DPP was just as good of a press fit as the Trijicon had been. I’m also starting to enjoy the DPP optic which I hadn’t had any time in on before.

If you’ve been on the fence about building your own custom pistol with components – quit waiting and try out Grey Ghost Precision. You can buy all the components directly from GGP to build your own custom pistol.

CMMG Banshee | .300 BLK Lead-slinger

As CMMG passes 16 years in the firearms industry, it’s clear that their company has seen its share of ups and downs in the market. Between the panic buying days of 2008 to the easy-going “salad days” of 2018, much has changed. So too the company has changed over the years, but only for the better. Starting as a company that wanted to produce “a quality AR rifle that can be afforded by everyone”, to a company offering NFA variants and more than 9 difference chambering options. When SHOT show rolls around, CMMG is always one of the best booths to stop in and shoot at during range day.

So when the Banshee line-up launched, I wanted to get hands-on ASAP. The Banshee is described by CMMG as “…the featherweight of our lineup. With variants chambered in .22LR, 9mm, 45ACP, and .300BLK, these little guys can be deceiving. Its design gives you the firepower you need in a compact and lightweight platform. From plinking at the range with friends to competition shooting to serious personal protection. The Banshee has you covered.”.

The Banshee lineup is said to have all these features common to them:

-The shortest barrels in their caliber
-Tailhook MOD 2 Pistol Brace
-RML Handguard
-Premiere Cerakote finish standard
-Ambi Charging Handle
-Ambi Selector
-Ambi Sling plate
-Magpul MOE Pistol Grip

This is with exception to the short barreled rifle (SBR) versions, which come equipped with CMMG’s innovative Ripstock. My test and evaluation gun came in pistol format, as to avoid waiting for the ATF to process NFA paperwork.

8″ barrel, 1/7 twist. Made from 4140 CM steel.
.750″ SLR adjustable gas block
CMMG RML7 handguard
Magpul MOE Pistol Grip, Tailhook MOD 2 Pistol Brace, Ambi Sling Plate, Selector, and Charging Handle.
CMMG Single Stage Mil-Spec style trigger

All told, the Banshee in this configuration comes in at just over 5 pounds, a pretty nice little package. It has paired well with red dots (Vortex UH-1, Aimpoint T-2) as well as optics with some magnification (Trijicon ACOG 4x). It’s as well balanced as it is light.

When it comes to accuracy, the Banshee does well. While many of the groups from supersonic rounds ranging 110gr-120gr all came in around the same size (2″-3″ groups at 50 yards, with either a Vortex UH-1 holosight or a Leupold LRT 4.5-16x), the subsonic rounds were a mix. The Banshee didn’t agree with the Fiocchi 220gr sub, but WOW did it like the Federal American Eagle round. Best 5-round group of American Eagle… .875″. Worst? 1.3″, which includes a called flyer.

CMMG Banshee | .300 BLK Lead-slinger — American Eagle subsonic

The Banshee falls into that sweet spot between entry gun and premium package. That’s a tough place to live though, as you’ve started the upgrade process but have to make concessions and compromises. I feel like CMMG has done a good job here, giving the Banshee a great place to start and setting it up to grow with ease.

The ambi charging handle is a smooth operator and will be welcome on any AR of mine. The SLR adjustable gas block is one of the better blocks on the market, giving the Banshee excellent tunability if you’re running suppressed. The CMMG trigger is standard fare, familiar to any who’ve spent time on a mil-spec trigger. While there’s room to improve there, a Geiselle or CMC trigger isn’t a necessity out of the box and keeps costs appropriate.

I like CMMG’s Banshee. It’s a good smash up of pistol-caliber-carbine-meets-PDW. Good features, varied options and a price that won’t break the bank. From .22lr to .300 Blackout, the Banshee is a solid lead-slinger.

–Rex Nanorum

@Rexnanorum

Ultra-short 300 Blackout barrels | Round-up Part 3

In the third part of this ongoing series detailing as many commercially available ultra-short (sub-7″).300 Blackout barrels as possible, I’m only adding one more barrel to the lineup, a 5″ slinger from Veritas Tactical, assembled into an impressive upper in conjunction with SLR Rifleworks, utilizing their 4.25″ Helix forend. I was also able to acquire one more ammunition type, Federal’s American Eagle line of 220 gr. subsonic rounds. This round received chronograph treatment from most barrels, and accuracy testing from the Veritas Tactical/SLR upper. Further data will show up in the final article. Be sure to jump back and check out Part 1 and Part 2 of this series.

Much like I’ve mentioned in the previous two articles, the accuracy and chrono data is preliminary and not totally exhaustive. The barrel’s aren’t broken in before accuracy testing (just the rounds used for chrono data). The final article will likely show improved accuracy for all barrels after a break-in period and a good cleaning. I’d like to shoot more groups for accuracy and more strings of fire for chrono data, I simply don’t have hundreds of rounds for each barrel.

Here’s the tech specs for today’s shooter.

Veritas Tactical 5″ barrel:

Stainless Steel 416R
1:8 Twist
5R Rifling
Patent-pending “Micro Gas-Tube”
.936″ gas block journal
M4 feed ramps
5/8×24 threaded muzzle
14.2 ounces (barrel alone)
Price: $189.99 (barrel alone)

The Veritas Tactical upper was put with the same SBR lower I’ve used for all other barrels in this project, with the same Geissele SSP trigger used as well. I did make a change in the optics department, swapping out the Trijicon ACOG for a Leupold VX-3i LRP 4.5-14x. All firing was done from the Stinger shooting rest, as per my SOP for this series.

First let’s look at the chrono data for the American Eagle line of subsonic rounds, as run through all five uppers.

American Eagle 220 gr.

V7 6.5″ – 844 FPS average, Standard Deviation (SD) 41.8
R2B 6″ -848 FPS average, SD 26.8
KAK 4.75″ – 760 FPS, SD 36.2
KAK 6.25″ – 813 FPS, SD 6.1
Veritas 5″ – 783 FPS, SD 21

The rest of the chrono data for the day was all done with the new barrel from Veritas.

Ammo Inc’s Jesse James 110gr: 1696.8 FPS, SD of 52.9

Federal All-Copper 120gr: 1622.6 FPS, SD of 10.2

Ammo Inc’s /Stelth/ 220gr: 831 FPS, SD of 18.1

Remington “White box” 220gr: 834.4 FPS, SD of 25.5

Fiocchi 220gr: 790.8 FPS, SD of 17.9.

The Fiocchi round was the only one that failed to lock back the bolt carrier on the last round when firing unsuppressed. This didn’t repeat later during accuracy testing, so an extremely dirty bolt could have exacerbated low gas pressure.

I ran 5 types of ammo through the Veritas/SLR combo. Below are group sizes in inches (@ 50 yards) and MOA for the average. Notable groups (good and bad) in bold.

Veritas Tactical:

Jesse James 110gr: 1.61″ & 2.5″, 3.92 MOA average

Federal 120gr: 1.7″ & 1.7″, 3.25 MOA average

Ammo Inc /Stelth/ 220gr: 1.8″ & 4.7″, 6.2 MOA average (some bullet yaw)

Discreet Ballistics 190gr: .92″ & 2.2″, 2.97 MOA average (did not cycle unsuppressed)

Fiocchi 220 gr: 3.1″ & 2.95″, 5.77 MOA average.

Some similarities are to be noted between this barrel and others tested in this series. The Federal 120 gr. copper round is still the most consistent, group-to-group and between various barrel lengths, with exception to one zany group out of KAK’s 4.75″ barrel. Subsonics have shown (understandable) tendency to lose a little stability when fired from barrels 5″ and under. The 190 gr. round from Discreet Ballistics continues to impress, both in volume (quietest, unscientifically) and in recoil, where it is by far the lightest.

Veritas Tactical makes a very nice barrel/gas system. The same goes to SLR Rifleworks, who’s handguard is both light and strong. Price wise, the barrel comes in the middle of the pack, above Right 2 Bear and below V Seven Weapon Systems. Performance thus far has been on par with the rest of the pack, which is a good thing. As with the other barrels, I’m expecting improved performance after the round count racks up. I’m off to find some ammo!

-Rex Nanorum

@rexnanorum

Dots for Cops: Brimstone Gunsmithing Helps Upgrade Police Duty Guns

Dots for Cops: Brimstone Gunsmithing Upgrades Duty Guns

Police officers face tremendous challenges. Their training and gear are put to the test every day. As technology has advanced, red dot sights, such as the Leupold Delta Point Pro, can help officers keep both eyes open, see their sights while focused on a threat in all light conditions and maintain situational awareness. The costs and wait times for the installation of these sights can keep agencies stuck in the dark ages of iron sights. Brimstone Gunsmithing wants to help.

Brimstone Gunsmithing has a special program for milling police duty handguns to accept red dot sights. With their CNC Machining capacity, they can do very precise machining quickly while controlling costs. This gives them the ability to provide individual officers a quick and affordable way to put a red dot on their duty gun.

With prior coordination, they can do the job in two days and overnight it back, or for agencies, Brimstone can do large runs and process hundreds of guns. They understand that the officer is probably having to foot the bill for this project out of their own pocket, so whether it’s one officer or it’s an entire agency, it’s the same heavily discounted price. Whether personally or publicly owned, the only requirement is that the firearm is truly a duty gun. Don’t be ‘that guy’ and try to sneak your three gun pistol in under your LEO I.D…

The cost includes all teardown and reassembly, including installing new sights if you included them, and it also includes a single color Cerakote of your choice on the slide. This is critical to protecting the newly machined surfaces from corroding, but it also allows the officer to get a subtle custom look, as long as your agency approves it.

CNC (Computer Numerical Control) Machining is a process which uses a computer to control machine tools. With CNC machining, the computer can control exact positioning and velocity. The 21st-century gunsmiths at Brimstone can write computer programs customized for specific guns and optics.

The real key to their success is their ability to rapidly prototype up a digital model of your firearm, optic, and sight combination, and even send you a picture of how the sights are going to co-witness before they ever start cutting on your slide.

Once the model (CAD) and the machining (CAM) are all proved out digitally, the finished product is cut into your slide to within 0.0005” of the picture they sent you. This is accomplished by using an optical comparator to build an incredibly accurate model of slide, optic, and sights, and then using an $8,000 probe system in the mill to exactly find the surfaces of your slide before cutting starts.

All this technology gives them a great diversity of red dot and firearm options, but Brimstone will always recommend the Leupold Delta Point Pro. It is one of the all-around best red dots and Brimstone can provide them (also at a heavily discounted rate) if you don’t already have one. Delta Point and Glock are both widely used in law enforcement.

On a standard frame Glock (G17, G19, etc) the Delta Point Pro will not fit between the rear dovetail and the internal safety plunger. Brimstone will machine away the rear dovetail and install the red dot where the rear dovetail was. If your department requires a co-witness with iron sights, they can then machine a dovetail in front of the red dot.

Leupold’s DeltaPoint® Pro and Trijicon Suppressor Night Sights

There are three options for dovetails here. Option one, blow out the rear sight and run with just a front sight. That front sight may just be the factory one and it’s just filling the hole, or it may be a suppressor height front sight that you can see through your optic. Some red dots come with a mark or features on the rear which allows you to use your red dot as a rear sight, or you can even paint a line on the rear of your optic as a rough rear sight.

Options two (if you’re running a DPP) Leupold makes a drop in rear sight that fits in the rear of their red dot. You’ll still need to get a front sight tall enough to cowitness, but there’s no new dovetails needed. To make that work, we move the red dot forward slightly and machine the slide flat behind the red dot.

Option three, we just machine a new Glock dovetail in front of the red dot.

Speaking of, cowitnessing or other sight fitment is not guaranteed due to the almost infinite variety of Glock sights. This is where the CAD rendering comes in, especially if you’re running an unusual sight combination that hasn’t already been proven, or if you have specific requirements for how some sights cowitness. Depending on the work involved, there can be an extra charge, but if you NEED it to cowitness in a certain way, it might be worthwhile.

On some large frame Glocks, there is room to squeeze the red dot in there, so you can keep your rear sight dovetail.

They also offer some slide serration packages and a wide range of other Glock or general gunsmithing work. While the same discounts don’t necessarily apply, it might be worth getting done at the same time. Their website (www.BrimstoneGunsmithing.com) has a solid selection number of options listed under Shop > Glock Work. If your agency is so inclined, they can even do custom engraving, although that is quoted on a case-by-case basis.

If you have a duty gun that you want to upgrade to a red dot sight, or if you are modifying duty guns for your agency, contact [email protected] for pricing and turn around times. Ask about special pricing for the Leupold Delta Point Pro..

About Brimstone Gunsmithing:

‘Bringing traditional gunsmithing into the 21st century.’

Brimstone seeks to keep that old-world quality, attention to detail, and (the most difficult) the wide range of services that traditional gunsmiths would offer. They are constantly striving to improve quality and consistency, improve communication by allowing customers to follow the project, reduce turnaround times and create an environment where you feel comfortable, even excited, to drop off your prized firearms.

At Brimstone Gunsmithing, they work with a number of law enforcement and military agencies, both on a professional and personal level. Most of the staff is previous military or first responders, and they pride themselves on ‘getting it’ when you have a particular project in mind. At the same time, Brimstone has the industrial scale capacity to handle large, agency sized projects.

The ultimate goal at Brimstone is to provide quality products to their customers which fit their needs and (hopefully) their budget. They can advise which parts need to be premium, which can be left factory, and what needs to be something in the middle. They are gun people, and love helping out.

*Photos Mark Miller: Brimstone modified Glock 17 Gen3 in sniper grey with Leupold’s DeltaPoint® Pro, Trijicon Suppressor Night Sights, KCI USA Magazines, Safariland holster and Sig Elite Performance ammunition. In the background is Slumber Jack’s Perception DST camouflage with “Disruptive Shadow Technology”.

US Customs & Border Protection Identifies Leupold Mark 5HD Riflescope for Future Use

United States Customs & Border Protection (CBP) has identified and cleared the new-for-2108 Leupold Mark 5HD riflescope for future use by U.S. Border Patrol officers.

The award-winning Mark 5HD from Leupold & Stevens, Inc., launched in early 2018 and combines elite optical performance, rugged reliability, and user-friendly features in a package that could only be produced by leveraging the 70 years of optics manufacturing Leupold possesses. It has wowed end-users throughout the industry.

The U.S. Border Patrol, which has worked with Leupold in the past, has deemed the Mark 5HD worthy of potential use by its officers and agents across the nation.

“We’re dedicated to building optics that deliver game-changing optical performance and unquestioned reliability,” Bruce Pettet, president and chief executive officer for Leupold & Stevens, Inc., said. “The men and women of the U.S. Border Patrol deserve to have the best tools available, and we’re happy to be able to provide them a top-of-the-line optical solution that’s designed, machined, and assembled here in the United States.”

Two Mark 5HD models are currently available: A 5-25×56 model is ideal for those seeking maximum usable magnification and a 3.6-18×44 edition that balances compactness with big-time optical performance. Both feature 35mm maintubes for increased adjustment travel. Elite professional and top level competition shooters were consulted during the designing of the Mark 5HD, and the end result is an optic that provides everything necessary – in both quality and features. Both models deliver superior edge-to-edge clarity and extreme low-light performance. The Twilight Max® HD Light Management System delivers the perfect balance of image color and contrast, light transmission, and glare management.

“The Mark 5HD has been built from the ground up to deliver the unparalleled performance that law enforcement agents require,” said Sam Horstman, Director of Military Sales for Leupold & Stevens, Inc. “And, like all of our optics, the Mark 5HD has been strenuously tested for durability, and fully meets the extremely high standards that CBP demands. Border Patrol officers need their optics to perform, and we’re glad to be able to offer a solution that’s built to deliver on those expectations.”

*Photo courtesy of cbp.gov

How Telescopic Sights Work

Telescopic sights, commonly referred to as “scopes,” use a system of lenses to magnify the appearance of a target from a distance. Not surprisingly, this magnification effect on the user’s field of vision is beneficial for styles of shooting that require precision from a distance. While distance shots, to some degree, are capable with mere iron sights, adding a scope reduces some of the challenge involved.

What Rifle Sights Work for You? Part 2: Telescopic Sights - TheArmsGuide.com — Surprisingly complicated, no? Then again, geometry was never one of my strong suits. Image courtesy of wikipedia.org

How They Work

Telescopic sights generally have a combination of curved lenses and reflective surfaces within metal sleeve. The shooter looks through the ocular lens (smaller, and of lower magnification), and the objective lens at the scope’s far end increases magnification. Some telescopic sights are fixed in the amount of magnification they can provide. Others are variable. The “power” of the magnification of any particular scope is usually denoted like so: optical magnification x obejctive lens diameter (for fixed magnification optics), or minimum magnification – maximum magnification x objective lens diameter. For example, the Leupold scope shown below is denoted 2-12×42. Which means the lowest magnification is 2x larger than naked eye, minimum, with a maximum of 12x, and the objective lens is 42mm in diameter (lenses are often measured in metrics, rather than the US customary units).

Lens Features

Having a larger objective lens diameter is a benefit as well as a disadvantage. The larger the objective lens, the more light can enter through the end of the telescopic sight. More light provides a brighter image. However, having a large optic means the profile is larger. If one wishes to put their rifle through heavy use, the delicate glass within their optic may not survive potential impacts. And, the more glass on the scope’s end, the more surface there is to try to keep clean and free from scratches – both of which could impede vision through the implement temporarily or permanently. However, if one is gentle enough with their scope use and storage, these issues can be avoided.

Another notable feature of telescopic sights which could contribute to whether or not they suit your rifle’s purpose is the visual phenomenon of field of vision that is necessarily altered. The magnification that telescopic sights provide is limited to the expanse of the lens. Therefore, an additional benefit to having a scope with a wide objective lens allows for a larger field of view when looking down the scope. When one is shooting from a fixed vantage, or other position that requires little movement, having a limited field of view is not as significant of a detriment as to those who may wish to change shooting location frequently in one sitting, or for someone who wishes to shoot while on the move.

Configuration Options

There is a vast range of telescopic sights available, not only with varying levels of magnification and lens diameter, but also differing coatings for the glass (both to protect the glass itself, and to alter the way the light enters the optic, which could improve clarity and color, levels of adjustment for windage and elevation, and there are even some scopes that include electronic elements that assist in ballistics calculations. There is also a wide array of reticles of varying sight pictures and materials (many are made of thin wire located on the first focal plane within the scope, while others are etched glass plates fixed in the same location).

If shooting from a fixed position with a need for precise shots aimed at a distant target, the quality of the telescopic optics one uses could be as important, if not more important, than the rifle upon which the scope is mounted. However, if your rifle is better suited to close quarter combat, or short range target engagements, a reflector or reflex sight may be a better bet for your shooting experience.

by Destinee

Destinee is also a vlogger. She publishes videos on weapons, gear, and fitness on her YouTube channel every Tuesday and Thursday.

Photo courtesy of Graham Baates