Tag Archives: Magpul

New S&W Axe AR line includes as many SBRs as carbines

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Featuring “Ambi X Enhancement,” Tennessee-based Smith & Wesson debuted a new line of 5.56 NATO M&P15 rifles this week.

Besides full ambidextrous controls on the receiver, the new AXE line utilizes Gemtech GVAC technology in the uppers to minimize gas blowback when shooting suppressed. They also have a Gemtech ETM flash hider system; an improved BCG with a Carpenter 158 steel bolt, 8620 steel carrier, and a chromed firing pin; an Armornite-finished 4150 steel barrel with 5R 1:8 rifling; and an M&P grip with interchangeable palm swells.

Other standard features include a Radian Raptor charging handle, Williams folding sights, M-LOK slots on a Midwest Industries free-floating handguard, and Magpul stocks.

The Smith AXE series is introduced in four models, including factory SBRs with 11.5 and 14.5-inch barrels, a standard carbine with a 16.1-inch barrel, and a more upscale Performance Center rifle. The first three are all black with a Magpul CTR adjustable carbine stock, while the Performance Center model sports a Gray Cerakote and a Magpul DT stock. (Photos: S&W)

More in my column at Guns.com.

The Magpul Folding Gun is Real, and it’s Coming

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It has been teased for decades but it looks like the Magpul and ZEV FDP, in both carbine and pistol format, will be headed to market in 2025. It’s real, and we’ve shot it.

If ever a gun was wish-cast into existence, it is this one.

This strange path, of producing an innocuous-looking box that could transform as if by magic into a PCC, started with Francis Warin’s boxy ARES project in the 1970s – which used a German MP28 magazine, of all things – then quickly moved on to Utah Connor’s “boom box” (complete with collapsing antenna) style Undercover 9 or UC-9, and James Boatman’s companion DEB M-21.

The latter gained everlasting fame in the 1990’s “Robocop 2.”

Connor called his one-of-a-kind weapon the “Undercover 9” or UC-9 back in the day and people have been chasing it for 50 years.

In 2008, Magpul reimagined the UC-9/M-21 in a concept gun that dropped the dated portable boom box disguise and updated the look to that of an extra laptop battery (which was a thing at the time).

Dubbed the FMG-9, it remained vaporware until Magpul succumbed to public demand in 2021 and announced what was then termed the Folding Defensive Pistol-9 and a Folding Defensive Carbine-9, using a ZEV OZ9 operating system inside a Magpul chassis.

While Magpul brought prototypes to the last three SHOT Shows since then, the FDP and FDC have yet to appear, which is something of a bummer.

But 2025 is set to be a year of sweet, sweet fulfillment as the now FDP-C carbine and FDP-P pistol are headed to market.

The full update in my column at Guns.com.

So I watched The Tomorrow War

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Going back to my old Tom Baker Dr. Who days on a black & white 10-inch TV in my room in the early 1980s, I’ve always been a sucker for anything time travel and have used the device in a few different short stories over the years.

So naturally, I had to watch The Tomorrow War, in which the losing military of 2051 catapults back in time to today to gather hastily mustered and invariably untrained conscripts to send forward 30 years, where they will lend their mass to try and defeat some very scary alien creatures that have all but overrun the planet.

Lots of issues. Spoiler alerts ahead.

First, instead of coming to get draftees to serve as cannon fodder in a future in which they are already dead (so as not to bump into yourself in the future), why not just send an intel package back to the current age detailing all that is known about the aliens to include future dates and locations of their initial strikes and biological research/samples to develop an insecticide (yes, they are big bugs) against?

Even if you go with the so-called “Let’s Kill Hitler Paradox” which erases your own reason for going back in time because if the traveler were successful, then there would be no reason to time travel in the first place, and you still had to go with the standby of getting future-deceased draftees to come to 2051 and fight aliens, at least give said draftees a fighting chance.

In the film, most of the humans face off with the “White Spikes” armed with short-barreled 5.56 NATO weapons, to ill effect. A vet of two past jumps, meanwhile, runs a 12 gauge tactical shotgun to better success while a grizzled old man with an AR10 lays out several in short order.

The guns in The Tomorrow War, have…some issues

The solution? Send these poor devils to the future with 7.62 battle rifles such as the HK G3/HK91, AR10, FN FAL, and M1A1/M14. There are surely a few million in storage or in local gun shops around the world and more could be cranked out very rapidly. 

Yes, they have a learning curve, but not an impossible one. Remember, the conscript millions of NATO infantry trained in the 1960s-80s carried such beasts with, in many cases, only a modicum of instruction.

If they can’t figure it out, give em a shotgun. I can vouch that I have run one-day tactical riot gun courses with great success for novice users.

Anyway, more on my feelings on The Tomorrow War-– which is actually a fairly good if confounding sci-fi film– check out my piece at Guns.com where I talk about the on-screen weapons.

Know when to fold em

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I’ve always had a curious fascination with folding guns, going back to the Hotchkiss Universal and the ARES/Warin Stealth Gun of the 1980s.

A fellow by the name of Utah Connor built a folding sub-gun very similar to the ARES disguised as a radio (complete with collapsing antenna) in the mid-1970s. The concept was that plainclothes police officers and security personnel could sit and chill out with the ‘radio’ at their feet or on a table and, with practice, deploy it in 2-3 seconds.

Connor called his curio the “Undercover 9” or UC-9.

In 2008, Magpul displayed their concept of the ARES/UC-9, a sub-gun that folded up to look like a laptop battery. Of course, it was vaporware but it nonetheless made it into video games.

Well, Magpul last week announced it has more than a half dozen new reasons to love them in the upcoming year ranging from new magazine and furniture offerings to…the fabled FDP-9 folding gun.

The FDP9/FDC-9 uses a ZEV OZ9 operating system and a Magpul chassis. (Photo: Magpul).

With Glock internals.

It’s supposed to arrive in 2022. Holding my breath but cautiously optimistic.

Actually a pretty good idea if wearing NVGs…

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Designed at the request of “professional customers who work nights” Magpul’s new Tactile Lock-Plates enable users to identify mag loadouts by tactile feel– a sort of tactical braile, if you will.

Available in Type 1 – single ridge and Type 2 – double ridge designs that work with PMAG Gen M3s 30s without altering performance, the mag enhancement comes in the form of a 1/8-inch raise ridge that can be identified in the dark by touch– especially if mounted in a chest rig. By mixing and matching the single, double and the standard no-ridge variants, a user can carry and identify three separate ammo choices in no/low light situations.

A five-pack is $9.99 and you get your choice between gray and black– though in the dark I guess it doesn’t really matter.

Shockwave-style shotguns, err, I mean ‘firearms’ now Texas-legal

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While pistol grip only shotguns have been around for years, the newest idea is the 14-inch barrel “firearm” in 12 gauge that gets the job done without a tax stamp required. Traditionally, shotguns crossed over into National Firearms Act territory when they were under 26-inches overall and/or had a barrel less than 16.

Now, with guns such as the Mossberg Shockwave, introduced at SHOT Show earlier this year, and Remington’s Tac-14, debuted in April at the National Rifle Association annual meeting, manufacturers are taking shotgun-based systems still just over 26-inches long and mounting a 14-inch barrel and, as the receiver used was born a “firearm” and not a shotgun, it’s all good when it comes to the NFA– though some state and local restrictions on short-barreled or “sawn-off” shotguns still apply.

One state that has tweaked their law is Texas, which, is ironically where the Shockwave is produced. You can buy one effective today.

More in my column at Guns.com

 

Got to bump into some groovy hardware last week

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So I hung out at NRA Show for a few days last week. Got to see some cool new stuff and write about it.

Including Springfield Armory’s new XD-E hammer fired compact 9mm single stack


Which complemented FN’s new 509.

So now FN is making striker-fired guns while Springfield XD is making hammer fired. What the what?

Then there was Colt’s new 70 series Gold Cup Trophy and Competition models (yup, no firing pin block).

Those G10 scales, tho

And Savage’s Fox A Grade SXS double shotgun series, which are really sweet and feature bone and charcoal case color-finished receivers over black walnut furniture (though original Foxes are cheaper).

And nope, this one is not made in Turkey

But the coolest thing (that I am soon going to be T&E’ing, squeeeee) is Remington’s Tac-14 870 that I was able to get the first media peek at while touring Big Green’s Huntsville Factory prior to the show.

At 26.25 inches overall and with a Raptor Shockwave pistol grip, the 12-gauge’s 14-inch cylinder bore barrel is not a National Firearms Act regulated item as it is a “firearm” and not an SBS or AOW, thus no tax stamp is required under federal law, though state and local laws may apply.

I will for sure keep you posted on that one…

Ah, the sights of Spring

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Living on the Gulf Coast, Springtime is that wonderful time of year before the oppression of 99-degree/99 percent humidity days inside Hurricane Season.

And it looks like the tomatoes are coming in nicely (every man should tend a garden).

The counter-zombie perimeter dogs are loving the sunlight…

And the banana mags are coming into bloom along with the hibiscus.

While many like the easy look of a carbine made for combat, it only takes a little time and effort to infuse a splash of color to your build to truly set it apart while retaining complete functionality.

Why do this?

Having a semi-custom and readily identifiable magazine at the range, 3-gun shoot, class or event keeps your gear from getting mixed up with others, makes it easy to spot for retrieval later (unless it’s a green mag in high green grass) and just generally lends a little more swagger to your game. Is a bright yellow “banana” mag the optimal choice for a home defense gun or tactical situation, probably not, but odds are you still have some good ole plain black, FDE or gray mags around that fit that bill just fine. Finally, when teaching new shooters or trying to get novices interested in the shooting sports– especially youth– having a splash of color for your AR isn’t a terrible thing if it makes the whole experience more approachable.

Your mileage may vary.

A tutorial on dyeing mags (and other polymer gun parts) in my column at Tac.44.com.

One round for every second of the minute

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Magpul’s D-60 is billed as a durable, lightweight, highly reliable 60-round 5.56×45 NATO/.223 Remington polymer drum magazine for AR15/M4 compatible firearms to include the M16, FN SCAR MK16/16S, HK416, MR556, M27 IAR, IWI Tavor, and others.

I got my hands on one back in August and have been kicking it around for a few months to see how it held up.

Full review in my column over at Guns.com  (with a bunch more pictures and technical specs etc).

Only her hairdresser knows for sure

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Fire Mountain Outdoors walks you through a simple dye job for sand flavor Magpul PMAGs, for those who want to go with a non-traditional color for their favorite AR.

I must admit, I do have a sudden urge for banana yellow.

Get it? Do you get it?

magpul banana shirt

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