Rifles

Watch Black Panther’s Micheal B. Jordan learn how to shoot from John Wick’s coach

Over the past few years, footage of Keanu Reeves demonstrating his prowess on Taran Tactical’s 3-gun range has taken the internet by storm — and with good reason. In this modern era of high budget special effects and personal politics seeping into people’s work, it’s not all that common to see anyone in Hollywood pick up a gun, let alone wield one with such a demonstrated level of expertise.

Recently, new footage of Halle Berry tearing it up on the same course hit the web, showing that it’s not just Keanu that takes his training for the Wick series seriously. Now, Taran Tactical has uploaded some new footage of a movie star taking down targets at his range — but this one wasn’t for any of the John Wick films. This star was learning proper firearm handling for a different wildly popular franchise: the Marvell Cinematic Universe.

In particular, he was training to fight Black Panther.

Micheal B. Jordan’s performance in Black Panther has been described by some as among the best of any Marvel villain. His role as Killmonger is, perhaps, one of the better developed bad guys in the MCU, but it’s hard to discount the level of realism delivered through Jordan’s performance — and now some of that realism makes just a bit more sense:

Watch: Griffon Industries (and some models) give you a refresher in firearm safety

Here at The Loadout Room, we’ve presented the rules of firearm safety in a number of different ways: from think pieces to analysis, from training tips to horror stories, but throughout all of our efforts to help keep our fellow firearm enthusiasts honest and responsible, there’s one thing we never thought of trying: lingerie.

Fortunately for all of us, Griffon Industries got to it before we could.

In this video, released on Griffon’s Facebook profile, you can see the same old firearm safety rules we’ve all grown so accustomed to, but accompanied by underwear clad models holding assorted AR platforms and shotguns, instead of the traditionally grizzled firearms instructor we all remember being yelled at by. We would, of course, be remiss if we pretended we watched this video because we felt the burning need for a refresher on the fundamentals, but in a way, that’s part of the (potentially unintentional) genius of this marketing campaign.

In the United States, many people spend a lot of time championing the right to carry, without placing much focus on the responsibility we bear when carrying our favorite firearms.

When you spend a lot of time around firearms, it’s easy to grow complacent about the basics. We’ve all heard stories about people shooting themselves in the leg when exercising poor trigger discipline on the draw, or killing themselves when cleaning their firearms (despite unloading the weapon literally being the very first step in the cleaning process)… and as easy as it can be to dismiss these stories as nothing more than idiots being, well, idiots, the fact remains that all of us are capable of making mistakes when we start to give ourselves allowances in terms of things like safety.

You know you should wear your seat belt when you drive to work, but it’s easy to get away with forgoing that simple step on drive after drive, until the safety rule itself begins to feel like it wasn’t really meant for you in the first place. After all, you know how to drive, you have never been in a crash, you aren’t the guy or girl in those stories, right?

Until one day, you are, and just like that, you’re the subject of a safety brief, rather than the exception to the rule.

Firearm safety is the sort of thing we all can use frequent reminders about, but there are only so many different ways to dress up the same old information before the voice attached to the lesson starts to sound like the adults in Charlie Brown. If throwing some under-dressed models in the mix is enough to get you to re-certify your non-existent annual training requirements in firearm safety, it seems worth the production budget Griffon spent on this video.

Or maybe that’s just a whole bunch of justification to hit play one more time. We’ll leave that up to you.

Watch Griffon Industries new firearm safety video below:

Image courtesy of Griffon Industries/YouTube

The Franklin Armory Providence: The not semi-auto AR rifle

Franklin Armory is getting a reputation for creativity and defying both conventional wisdom and the idea of how guns need to be made. They also produce a variety of conventional guns, but their show stoppers are the weapons that push the boundaries of both the law and design. The Reformation was last year’s showstopper, and this year we have the Providence. The Providence is a pistol caliber carbine that comes in both a rifle and pistol configurations. It’s an AR for sure, but it’s not semi-automatic. It’s not a pump action like Troy, and it’s not a bolt gun either, or any other manual action that you’ve ever seen. Franklin Armory calls it a digital action, by digital they mean your finger some kind of technological marvel.

A Digital Action?

The Providence has a longer trigger pull than most rifles because the trigger pull is pulling the bolt rearward and this will eject a fired round. When the trigger and bolt reach their apex the bolt will release, chamber the round and fire the weapon. To eject the round you begin to pull the trigger again. The whole operation is simple but requires a longer trigger pull. It’s very revolver like. The current prototype features what feels like a nice, honed double action revolver trigger. The goal from Franklin Armory is to get the Providence’s trigger down to 4.5 pounds before production.

Showing Providence

The Providence is not a one trick pony. It has also has some very unique and interesting features. The first is the adaptive magazine well. The magazine well can be removed and changed to accommodate not only various calibers but also a variety of different types of magazines. The future will hold multiple Glock type magazines as well as potentially mags from the MP5 and Colt SMG platforms. The barrel can be swapped with ease to accommodate various calibers as well.

The system is bufferless of course and accommodates SIG MPX stocks. This allows for a very compact platform with a folding MPX brace. There is a small charging handle on the left-hand side that allows you to manually open and hold the bolt rearward and this would allow you to clear malfunctions.

Overall the gun itself is very well made and quite clever. It was designed for an overseas market where semi-automatic weapons simply aren’t accessible. This could also be perfect in states with heavy restrictions. It’s currently 49 State legal with California still pending. Everything about this gun is unique, and it’s not something you can build from and 80 percent lower.

The gun should be out by the third quarter of 2019 and they are aiming at a sub 1,500 dollar price tag.

Warne MSR XSKEL1 Gen 2: The Ultimate AR scope mount

So I had a problem. I had a new rifle, with a style of handguard I’d never used and the hankering for a good scope. The rifle was my standard AR lower with the Garrow Arms roller delayed upper receiver. The 17 HMR is an outstanding round for hunting squirrels, rabbits, and other pests. I knew I wanted a magnified optic and went with the ProStaff 5 from Nikon. The problem was what’s kind of mount? With so many options for rings and scope mounts it can get confusing. I knew I wanted to go low, but I needed the mount to be high enough to clear the handguards and to accommodate the ProStaff 5’s 40mm objective lens. Fellow writer Graham Bates pointed me to the Warne MSR XSKEL1 Gen 2 mount. My problem quickly found it’s solution.

The Warne MSR Mount – A Perfect Blend of Modern and Sporting

MSR stands for Modern Sporting Rifle, so it’s made for modern rifles like the AR 15. The Warne MSR doesn’t just do an outstanding job as a 1 piece scope mount, but it’s perfect on the AR 15 platform. Scope height is a big deal for comfortable shooting and the Warne MSR places the scope at the ideal height for use with the standard AR stock comb.

I’m using my always awesome Bravo B5 stock and the height is absolutely perfect. The optic aligns perfectly with my eye and I can keep my neck and head at a natural height. When it came to testing the Garrow Arms rifle I was in multiple positions for extended periods of time, putting round after round downrange. A normal person can typically take their time when it comes to shooting, but I had a deadline.

This meant I needed to shoot, shoot, and shoot some more. The reduced fatigue and natural alignment of scope to eye was a godsend during a long day of shooting and observing groups.

What’s Behind the Warne MSR

The Warne MSR XSKEL1 Gen 2 is a lightweight, cnc machined mount made from 6061 aluminum. It’s lightweight, easy to set up and locks your scope in nice and tight. The rings use 8 torx fasteners with steel threaded inserts. This keeps you from stripping the screws.

The mount features a 1 inch cantilever for additional eye relief, and it makes using a longer scope like the ProStaff 5 a bit easier. Especially if you want to set up the scope from an ergonomic standpoint. The mount allows you to position the controls for easy manipulation. This is another issue with the AR and its charging handle. If you want to mount a scope and still want easy access to the charging handle you’ll need that extra inch.

The last thing I want to mention is the design accommodates a folding iron sight, or a 45 degree mount for a red dot sight. Since I’m done testing the Garrow Arms upper I moved the scope and mount to my basic AR 15. It’s the rifle I’ve taken hunting this year. My Magpul MBUS sight folds perfectly out of the way. I can’t use the iron sight with the optic mounted, but the Warne MSR mount is easy to take off if the scope goes down. I still have the iron sight on the rifle at all times.

Overall the Warne MSR XSKEL1 Gen 2 is a rock solid mount. It’s held zero for hundreds of rounds of 17 HMR on an unconventional rifle design, was easy to zero with my 300 Blackout Upper, and allowed me to achieve the accuracy needed to make my AR a hunting rifle. It’s simple, lightweight, and it comes in 6 different colors.

The Big Bertha Range Backpack

“Holy crap,” was my first thoughts as I rifled through the Hackett Equipment Big Bertha Range Backpack. “I can fit anything and everything in here!” It is truly a massive range bag, impressive in both build and design quality. Unlike a standard range bag its a backpack design…but it’s not your go-to school backpack. The Big Bertha Range Backpack is designed to hold absolutely everything you could possibly need for the range. I can even tote my extra 300 Blackout Upper, that’s how big this bag is. Let’s break it down.

Inside the Big Bertha Range Backpack

The front of the backpack has two small front pockets that are larger enough for tools, ammo, ear, and eye protection and even small targets. These are great admin pockets for most small gear you may need on the fly. There is also a super small pocket on the external side pouch of the Big Bertha Range Backpack.

Past these two pockets is one of the main compartments. This compartment is broken down into 12 small pockets. Each pocket is larger enough for an AR magazine, but obviously, these are perfect for dividing ammo, tools, and other small goods. The pockets are closed via velcro and you can easily secure your goods for safe storage.

In the third large compartment, you have two separate sides. One is coated in three layers of elastic bands with 5 loops in each. These are great for pistol magazines, tools, and more. These elastic loops make it easy to store magazines both larger and small. As well as multi-tools, flashlights, and other similar gear.

Between the two sides of this pocket is a large divider that features its own pocket. In here you have ample storage for paper targets and they are perfect for it. Also cleaning gear, rags, and other fun stuff is a good fit.

After that, you have the handgun pouch pocket. Here you have 4 holsters that accommodate guns as small as the Ruger LCR and as large as the SIG P220. A locking snap keeps them in place and the soft padded internal protects the firearms finish.

It’s All About the Details

One of the best features of the Big Bertha Range Backpack is the ability to lock it down via the zippers. They have small loops that will accommodate a luggage style lock. This allows you to safely travel with the Big Bertha Range Backpack locked and secured.

The backpack style of the bag makes it perfect for shooting sports like 3 Gun, USPSA, and IPSC. The bag is easy to carry between ranges and stages and carries enough gear and ammo to get you through the matches. It’s massive size and the internal customization really allows you to carry a ton of gear in a very organized manner. This makes it easy to get what you need before a stage and then lock your bag while you run the stage.

The bag is very well made and quite heavy duty. Even empty it weighs six pounds. So just know this isn’t the lightest bag. It’s a heavy metal type design. Since the bag is designed to be overloaded and quite heavy in general the wide padded straps do make it comfortable to carry over longer periods of time. On top of that, the bag is well padded on the back to keep the things inside from digging into your back.

The Big Bertha Range Backpack is a big lady, a well made, and easy to organize design as well. It’s a great range bag and the massive size makes it easy to load down for a long day at the range. Check out the Big Bertha Range Backpack here, and if you have any questions ask below.

The CMMG Anvil | The God of War

Hmm, man I never thought an AR would really excite me. AR 15s are great rifles, but let’s face it, are AR 15s truly exciting? I love them, and I have the collection of rifles, uppers, magazines, and even 80 percent lower jigs and 80 lower builds to prove it. They excite as much as an F150, as much as I appreciate them for what they are I like shooting unique and fun guns. Then the CMMG Anvil came to me. This 458 SOCOM cannon and I have been together for a bit longer than I expected. A few setbacks here and there on my end gave me a lot of time with the gun. The good news is I’ve had more than enough time to get a proper review in.

The CMMG Anvil – It’s Like God’s Middle Finger

The Anvil is a beast. It’s not as large or as heavy as a AR 10, but it’s a bit chunkier and beefier than the AR 15. It’s a lightweight gun that does come outfitted with a Keymod rail, and Magpul furniture. It’s a svelte rifle that hides what it can do. The 458 Socom is a powerhouse of a round and my tested bullet weights ranged from the light 200 grain Ruger ARX rounds to the 350-grain soul destroyers.

The rifle feeds from modified Lancer L5 mags but will work with other magazines. I ran Magpul P-Mags and unmodified Lancers. I only experienced a single malfunction with an unmodified Lancer 20 rounder. It was the first round, and I really had to squeeze in that last round to fit. After that, if I loaded the 20 rounders 1 round short, I had zero issues.

The Magpul Pmag ran flawlessly. Do keep in mind this wasn’t a review I could toss 500 rounds down range. 458 Socom isn’t cheap, so I topped out at 200 rounds of a wide variety of ammo. Manufacturers provided some ammo and another batch I caught cheap at a gun show. The P-Mag saw thirty rounds of ammo and functioned perfectly for every round.

What About The Recoil?

Confession time. I’m a glutton for recoil. I love it. I get that a great gun has low recoil and muzzle rise, but where is the challenge in that? Give me a weapon that fights me, and I’ll love it. The thing is, the CMMG Anvil’s recoil isn’t terrible. Its more than a AR 15, and I’d place it in the 20 gauge family if I had to compare it to anything.

The muzzle device makes muzzle rise hardly a problem. The recoil does alternate between different rounds. The 200-grain ARX rounds are pleasant, the 350-grain Soul crushers from Black Butterfly were a little less enjoyable. Either way, the gun ran. I was surprised to see such a wide variety between rounds and bullet weights, but the gun went bang every time.

The adjustable gas block does help with recoil and tuning the CMMG Anvil for different rounds. The gas block is made by SLR and is easy to adjust. A little tuning between rounds made a difference in felt recoil.

Hit Hard and Shoot Straight

The 458 Socom round is a powerhouse, but that’s not worth much if the gun doesn’t shoot straight. The gun doesn’t come with sights, which is my chief complaint about the gun. Its a premium grade gun that cost more than a grand, so give me some Magpul MBUS at least. Oh well, I added my own, and they work. I did have to dial the front sight downwards considerably, which surprised me. It zeroed in fast, and I loved punching nice round holes into a paper target. Seriously, they are beautifully round, like wadcutter round. I appreciate that.

Drilling tight groups aren’t necessarily what this CMMG Anvil is for, but it does that well. Judging accuracy is always hard, but it’s even harder with the Anvil. Some ammo was just more accurate than others. I saw significant differences at the 100-yard line, and the heavier ammo tended to be a bit more precise. I averaged 2-inch groups at 100 yards in a standard prone position, no optic, and no bipod. Just a man-sized silhouette and plenty of slow trigger pulls.

Speaking of triggers, this is standard Mil-Spec. I mean standard, not crappy mil-spec. Its crisp, light, and predictable, and most of all its consistent. There is another model of the Anvil with a Geiselle trigger if you need that kind of thing. The 458 Socom is a close range round, not precisely a made for sniping Terry Taliban at a mile out. The CMMG Anvil a solid close-range performer, so to me, the particular trigger isn’t necessary.

The Anvil Refined

Like a lot of CMMG designs, the Anvil has some unique features. The magazine well has some serious flare to it, and this makes rapid reloads easy. When you consider the fact a 30 round 5.56 magazine only holds ten rounds of 458 Socom fast mag changes could be a serious concern. The gun wears the big boy version of the CMMG SV brake, and it works well and does its job. Plus it gives off some awesome muzzle flash for eye-catching pics.

Top it off with a little Magpul furniture, and you’re ready to rock and roll. The Anvil by CMMG is an AR platform worth getting excited for. It’s a reliable, purpose-built design that spouts literal hot fire. It’s a fun gun, and a powerful weapon. The CMMG Anvil and I have become good friends, and the power behind the platform gives me something to be excited about.

It’s also absolutely amazing at destroying cheap 2 liters of soda….