M4A1

Yankee Hill Machine Backup Iron Sights

With the quality of primary optics being at an all time high, I’ve noticed a trend of many shooters skipping back-up iron sights (BUIS) on their primary fighting rifle. I feel that if a gun is to be used for more than competition or as a range toy, BUIS are still a critical component to have. I was able to get my hands on a set of Yankee Hill Machine’s (YHM) HK styled front and rear quick deploy sights (QDS) to see how they held up.

These BUIS’s are made from solid aluminum and are hardcoat anodized in matte black. They are a scant .435 tall when folded. They lock when up or down, with a small button on the left side (or port side for you squids) unlocking spring-loaded deployment. The front sight is adjusted for elevation using a standard A2 front sight tool. The rear sight is adjusted for windage by twisting the knob on the right side. While the front sight has the HK “hooded” design, this set of BUIS’s differs from traditional HK sights by moving away from the “diopter drum” rear sight. Much has been made by internet commandos on how this setup being used by YHM isn’t functional without a rear diopter, the argument being that without a fixed front post being centered in the rear sight, the eye won’t naturally center the post in the circular sight picture provided by the rear sight. I call BS! In using the YHM sights, I found them to be perfectly functional. More on that after this picture.

Sight picture YHM BUIS. Photo by Rex Nanorum

Take a look at the sight picture there: Sure it’s hard to get the camera to duplicate what the eye sees, but you can use that for reference. The circle of the front is centered naturally with the circle of the rear sight. Minor adjustments for elevation can be made by adjusting point-of-aim slightly while keeping the circles lined up. With that out-of-the-way, I can say the BUIS’s I have here are solid. They spring right into place and lock up tight. Zeroing was easy and they’ve held zero just fine during a number of range trips. Adjustment clicks are crisp and tight. These don’t feel flimsy or weak in any particular area. I’ve actually taken off the primary optic (a red dot of middlin’ quality) and am using these irons for deer hunting.

As fate would have it, I was finishing up a near-ish Honey Badger clone when I came across these and the YHM’s hooded front sight fit in nicely with the intended aesthetic. From a functional standpoint, these have performed very well. Most of my experience with flip-up BUIS’s has been with the ubiquitously common plastic ones. These feel very solid in comparison. These run $218 on the yhm.net website and $184 on midwayusa. These are good irons and I’ll keep banging away with them on my primary rifle. As always, if I get more pertinent info on them (such as failure due to engineering flaw) I’ll post an update.

Environmentally Friendly Ammo | The Green Bullet?

I guess all of the depleted uranium and lead we’ve been firing overseas in recent conflicts has got our government concerned. According to Washington, the The Army is switching from lead bullets in many small-caliber arms to “environmentally friendly” rounds. The new green bullets will slowly start to replace the M855 (5.56 mm) and the 7.62 mm. The M855, which was designed in the 70’s, will be replaced by the environmentally friendly M855A1 (green bullet) which is 100% lead free.

For those of us who have used the standard M855 ammunition on live targets, most of us would agree that it lacks the “punch” to put a target down as fast as we would like, often taking more than 3 rounds to incapacitate a threat. The new “green bullet” is currently being tested at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland. The new round claims to be deadlier and faster than the Army standard issue 5.56 mm.

If the new projectile packs a deadlier punch than what we are being issued in combat, I have no issue with the new “green bullet”. I just hope that it holds up to its claims, I don’t think we could use anything with “knock down” than the M855. The Army predicts “the use of green 5.56 mm and 7.62 mm ammunition could eliminate the purchase of 3,683 metric tons of lead between 2013 and 2018.”

AK-47 Accuracy and Reliability

Before the price gouging of weapons, while I was stationed at Ft. Benning GA, I purchased an AK-47 (Romanian) at a local dealership for $174.00. I wanted an AK-47 after a few deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, everyone in those areas of operations had one and it seemed to serve its purpose for them just fine. I’m sure we’ve all heard the rumors about how reliable and accurate they are, but just how true are they? I must say, I’ve seen a plethora of AK’s pulled off of targets and personnel that were in really bad condition, some appeared as if they hadn’t been cleaned in at least 10 years and they shot just fine. As far as their reliability, I’m not sure, after all the guys we were fighting didn’t necessarily aim them. I wanted to see just how accurate these rifles truly were and exactly what they can withstand and why.

Accuracy

As we know, the AK-47 is not the most accurate weapon when compared to other assault rifles, such as the M4/AR-15, why is that and exactly how accurate is the AK. I’ve been shooting my AK-47 for around 7 years now and put over 35,000 rounds through it. The accuracy of the AK when I first took it out of the box was a steady 4.73 MOA rifle. Though over time, I’ve seen changes in its accuracy as I am now only capable of holding a 5.8-inch group at 100 yards. This is more than likely due to poor maintenance which I did intentionally to test reliability. When compared to the accuracy of the M4, this may seem bad to some, especially when a standard M4 can easily hold a 3-inch group at 100 yards.

I’d have to credit the AK’s lack of accuracy to its “functioning” and the projectiles ballistic coefficient. The AK-47 is made up of only a few “moving” parts. Though there are fewer parts, these parts are made up of large chunks of metal. Take the bolt for example once fired. The hunk of metal that unlocks and flies back once fired is pretty heavy when compared to the M4. As it rides the railing and slams to the back, the weapons harmonics are disturbed significantly, take a look at a few videos of the AK-47 fired in slow motion and note the amount of barrel whip. You may also find a decrease in accuracy due to the fact that the rifle’s handguard is made up of wood. Wood has a notorious tendency to bend, tighten, and loosen under temperature changes. For example, in the summertime, the doors within your home may become harder to open and close because wood expands and shrinks when hot. This shrinking and expansion of the wood handguard, though minuet, changes the harmonics of the barrel.

Another reason I believe the weapon lacks in accuracy is due to the projectiles harmonics. The 5.56 has a G7 ballistic coefficient of ≈0.304 while the 7.62×39 (123 gr) has a coefficient of ≈0.275. The lack of its ability to overcome air resistance in flight is also another reason why the rifle is “less accurate”.

Reliability

With my personal AK-47, I’ve put it through a variety of test since I purchased it. With all of the rounds fired, the environments that it’s been exposed to, I have only cleaned it 5 times. It has seen the desert, mud, cold, extreme heat (109+ degrees Fahrenheit), rain, snow, etc. With all of that being said, I have only seen only 6, I emphasize 6 malfunctions, which were all failures to feed. Why is that?

I believe this is completely due to the weapons design and function. The fact that there are fewer parts needed to operate the weapon, there are fewer parts to get obscured by any foreign objects such as dirt, mud, etc. The debris simply falls out of the rifle, or they are disturbed so much that they simply maneuver away from the critical mechanisms needed to fire the weapon. This is a “crude” weapon, its suppose to be, there is a reason why our enemies continue to use this weapon system. The next time you have a chance, disassemble your AK and compare it to an M4, note the open spaces in the trigger mechanism and the designs of the bolt, just picture how debris would and can maneuver in each platform.

Afghan Local Police recruits gather around AK47 rifles for a safety brief before beginning a dry-fire range class in Nawbahar district, Zabul province, Afghanistan, March 24. The class is part of a three-week course that teaches ALP candidates basic policing procedures, weapons handling and other skills necessary to protect and defend Afghan citizens.

Specifications

Action: Gas-operated, rotating bolt
Rate of fire: Cyclic rate of fire is 600 rounds/min
Semi Auto : 40 rounds/ min
Muzzle velocity: 715 m/s (2,350 ft/s)
Effective range: 350 meters (380 yd)….. I’d beg to differ and push it out to 480 on a silhouette target.
Feed system: Standard magazine capacity is 30 rounds. There are also 10, 20, 40, 75, and 100
round detachable box and drum style magazines.

*Photos courtesy of DVIDS

Aero Precision M4E1 Upper

My first experience with Aero Precision came about 10 years ago in the form of a stripped lower. The build went well and the lower was a breadcrumb on the trail to more parts from Aero. As a gun shop owner, when customers were looking for quality parts at a price that wouldn’t break the bank, Aero was often the recommendation.

When given a shot at reviewing an Aero upper receiver, I chose the M4E1 upper with a 16″ 300 BLK barrel (1/7″ twist) and a keymod rail. The “E” in the name is for enhanced. The area specifically being described here is the handguard and barrel mounting system. The handguard mounting system and upper receiver are part of the same forging, making it an ultra-strong setup that is likewise simple. One can slide his barrel assembly into the upper, tighten using the included wrench, then toss on the rail and button it all up with eight screws. It’s easy, solid and makes for a nice and light upper. This system works not only with Aero precision’s handguards, but also most BAR system handguards.

I took the M4E1 out to the range with a couple hundred rounds to use. I had five different loads available, all pictured below. Ranging from 90 grains to 220 grains, this is a nice variety of rounds with which to test accuracy. The M4E1 was a snug fit in all three lower receivers I own, but too snug in the lower that contains a match trigger. (Side note, that lower seems to be a little out of spec, not fitting right with ANY of the uppers I’ve put on it. Not Aero’s fault here.) So, the day’s testing was to be done at 100 yards with a stock mil-spec trigger. Given a 1-turn-in-7-inch barrel, this usually means the gun will favor the mid-weight and heavier bullets. On to the shooting.

Looking through a boresighted Leupold 1-6x Vari-X VI, I gave a quick three round zero using Remington’s 115 grain UMC. I worked 5 round groups with each ammo type, here are the results from most accurate to least.

Barnes Range AR 90 grains. The bottom 4 rounds were touching. The little guy up top? I wouldn’t worry about that little guy. That was a called flyer, I went a bit spastic on the trigger pull.
Best group of the day. Photo by Rex Nanorum
Remington UMC 220 grain subsonic. Averaged just under 1.5″ groups.
Barnes 110 grain Tac-TX. Averaged just over 1.5″ groups
Remington UMC 115 grain. Between 1.5″ and 2″ groups
Gorilla 208 grain. These groups resembled shotgun patterns. This is normally a pretty accurate round out of other 300 BLK uppers, it simply didn’t agree with the M4E1.

I’ll note I’ve never been uber proficient at nice tight groups. I’ve always been far more successful at speed shooting, so I dialed the Leupold back to 3x and spent the rest of the day shooting and transitioning back and forth across the range. Despite a generous 1.8″ inside diameter on the keymod rail (as to allow suppressors to tuck underneath them), this is a light and responsive upper. Having forgotten my weapons lube in my other range bag, some 10w30 motor oil kept the BCG running smoothly and reliably.

Despite my challenges keeping the groups as tight as I would like, I had no troubles banging various sized targets from 50 to 300 yards with speed. Towards the end of the day I had really begun to realize this upper is capable of much better accuracy than I am. The M4E1 is light, rigid and speaks of quality at every turn. At $460 from aeroprecisionusa.com, this is an upper I’ll recommend. Once I get another range trip (and some practice) in, I’ll update with more accuracy results.

Hexmag 30 Round Magazine Review

It takes a good angle to stick out in the world of Ar15 magazines these days. The tug-of-war between Magpul and USGI aluminum mags hasn’t left a lot of room for newer or smaller competitors to make their way in the market. Hexmag’s 30-round mag’s visually distinctive grip pattern and use of the hexagonal-cut grip tape let these bullet boxes shine uniquely The first of these went up for sale in early 2014. Since then, the brand has gained some national attention and is a known name to many people.

Just the facts Ma’am. The body of the magazine is made from fiber reinforced polymer with a hexagonal grip pattern on the outside. The spring is heat treated 17-7 ph stainless steel, pushing an anti-tilt follower. The “Hex-ID” system consists of colored followers and baseplates, allowing for easy visual identification of different ammo types or weights. The company sells pre-cut grip tapes that fit right inside the hexagonal grip shapes on the body of the magazine. This is designed to be a tool-less disassembly for cleaning, repair or replacement of different colored Hex-ID parts.

Hexmag 30 Round Magazine Review — Hexmag in the homely-badger. Photo by Rex Nanorum

When it came time to test, the Hexmag didn’t disappoint. I don’t ask much of mags, just that they keep feeding rounds one at a time when they’re supposed to. I want them to do this, regardless of what I do. I’m not into driving over my mags with an Abrahms tank to test their durability. I shoot them, kick them on the rocks, in the dirt, mud and muck, then shoot them again. In the video below, I’m kicking the Hexmag around on a gravel road. I kicked it about 6 times before getting it on video, wanting to get it to roll just right. The magazine was scratched and scraped as I expected, but no rounds were lost while it was tumbling down the road and the magazine still functioned flawlessly. In the entire day spent shooting with the Hexmag (shoot, load, kick, shoot etc..), I didn’t lose a single round nor have a single malfunction. The polymer used in construction feels a little slick to me, though this is mitigated by the hexagonal grip pattern.

I found Hexmag’s 30 rounder to be reliable and durable. Whether shooting 300 BLK or 223/5.56, this mag didn’t miss a beat. A quick google search shows these selling for $7.99. At a price competitive with the big name bullet box makers on the market, I’d say it’s worth giving Hexmags a shot, pun very much intended.

Atibal MROC 3x Optic: A rugged light weight sight

The Atibal MROC (modern rifle optic component) is another entry in the short but growing list of optics based on the same patent as the venerable Trijicon ACOG. That patent (having lapsed in 2008) has opened up a big niche in the optics market for those who want something close to what the ACOG provides, but without the big price tag. While a few companies have thrown their hat in the ring, no one has really yet hit the sweet spot balancing features and price point. Hence me doing my best to chase down Atibal’s owner Jimmy Labita when the MROC was being released.

Having completely sold out of the first few runs in a flash, it took a little while for me to get my hands on a test and eval unit. Luckily, a small manufacturing error left one scope cut short in the quality control department. Totally functional but with a small blemish on the illuminated reticle, this MROC wasn’t fit to sell but was certainly acceptable for me to use and abuse to test out all the other features.

First off we come to the tale of the tape. Here’s the tech specs, as per Atibal’s website.

3×32
Fog/Water/Shock proof
Field of view, 37.7 ft @ 100 yards
Eye relief 2.8″
Windage/elevation max adjustment, 60 MOA
1/2 MOA clicks using tool-free adjustment turrets and leashed caps
Length 5.11″
Removable picatinny section for optional top mounted micro red dot sight.
6 position illumination for aiming chevron atop the reticle, using 1 CR2 battery
Built-in picatinny mount

Being based on the same patent as the ACOG, drawing comparisons here is inevitable: similar size, similar beefy construction, similar chevron with bullet drop compensation reticle and most surprising, very similar glass quality. What we all care about is how this thing performs in the field though, so let’s get to the range day.

Having taken the MROC out with Radian Arms fantastic Model 1 rifle, the poor weather conditions for testing extreme accuracy on the firearm happened to be great for testing the MROC. Blustery wind and driving rain might not be great for benchrest groups, but I like it for testing out a new scope.

I dug in and found a quick close zero at 25 yards. Despite the distracting weather, this was achieved within just a couple of rounds thanks to the very solid and distinctive “clicks” from the tool-free turrets. Having the turret caps leashed on was nice, I can’t count the times I’ve panicked thinking I’d lost one. Having no stable shooting platform for shooting these groups I mentioned earlier (as well as targets that won’t hold still in the wind) I spent most of the day shooting from the standing position. I burned up a couple hundred rounds doing double taps, failure drills and picking off shards of clay pigeons at 100 yards with no problems at all. The reticle is just a nanometer too fine for my taste, but I found that despite my liking for a thicker aiming point, I didn’t have any trouble picking up the chevron and drilling whatever target I was going for. That might have chafed my shooters preference a little, but didn’t hold me back any. The chevron did a nice job of attracting the eye and dutifully lining up on target.

I left the turret caps off for much of the shooting,exposing the scope to a little more weather. Likewise, during breaks in shooting to get more coffee or reload mags, I left the rifle and scope out in the rain. No problems with water or fog. Lacking the setup to perform a proper box test, I reefed the turrets this way and that a number of times, but the MROC tracked back to proper zero without fail. The clarity and light transmission of the glass impressed me a great deal.

I have plenty of experience with American optics (Leupold is down the street) and I’m sad to say, I also have plenty of experience with cheap Chinese optics as well. I have little-to-no experience with Japanese optics where quality control checks are held by the American company whose name is on the line rather than being held overseas. I have to say Atibal has exceeded my expectations here in every aspect of this optic. The one flaw I found wasn’t in the optic itself, but the owner’s manual. The directions state that the turrets move the reticle, but they do the opposite, they move bullet impact direction by moving the reticle inverse to the direction indicated. Small mistake.

Coming back to the subject of natural comparisons, whether you compare the MROC with the base model ACOG or one of the illuminated fiber-optic models, the one thing not comparable is the price. Right now the MSRP on Atibal’s site is $379.99 and on opticsplanet.com we’re looking at $322.99. This comes with Atibal’s lifetime warranty as well. Considering the rugged construction, deft turret assemblies and near-flawless glass, you’d do well to check them out.