M45A1 Colt

Full disclosure, I am a Colt fanatic. So if my pictures of the Colt M45A1 Close Quarters Battle Pistol (CQBP) look like they were shot through rose colored sunglasses (I live in Miami), don’t be surprised. It took me a long time to finally get a review gun from Colt, and I am absolutely enamored with this pistol. If you didn’t know this already, the United States Marine Corps contracted Colt Defense in 2012 to build just over 4,000 of these guns for their Special Forces units. It was the first time since the end of WWII that Colt had supplied new 1911 pistols to the US Government, and for Colt fanatics like me, the news was like a homecoming. Prior to this deal, the Special Operations had been using the 1911, but they had to be rebuilt from guns that were retired upon adoption of the Beretta M9. The old guns had gotten tired, and Colt was the winner among several manufacturers to supply the new guns. The contract is ongoing, so a lot more than 4,000 guns will be shipped to the Marines. The good news for us is that the civilian version is the exact same gun, and they are finally starting to reliably show up in the market. The MSRP on the Colt CQBP is $2,149, and you can find them for slightly less if you look around.

The USMC spec states that the gun had to maintain a 4″ spread at 25 yards shot without a rest. I was able to repeat this with all of the ammo I tested. This color is actually pretty close to the actual color.

The M45M1A is built on a stainless steel frame and slide, which has been covered with a Desert Tan Cerakote. It was raining for my first outing with the gun, but I have tried to keep the pics as close to the color in person as possible. A lot of online pics I noticed show the gun as too light colored. I shot this gun the first time at SHOT Show Media Day of 2013, and I remember that I had a peeve on it that the front of the muzzle gets really dirty when you shoot it a lot, so I was really pleased when the carbon rubbed right off without even any solvent. Why am I talking about colors and keeping the finish nice before the performance lol? Because most civilians who buy this gun are going to treat it as a collectible. As a collectible, Colt is shooting these guns at the factory, and though mine didn’t come with one, they are supposed to come with a test target. Don’t be afraid to shoot your M45A1 Colt. It cleans up perfect.

You will see a halo of carbon on the front of this gun after you shoot it, but I found that the carbon rubbed right off without solvents.

The firing system on the gun is the Series 80 design from Colt, which features an internal firing pin safety. A lot of people have complained that the triggers on the Series 80s are spongy, but I didn’t experience that on my test gun. It snaps crisp and clean, at just under 6 lbs. The reset is a fairly standard 1/10th of the inch or so for a 1911, and it is a little scratchy, but with a noticeable feel and sound of a click. The gun failed zero times out of just over 300 rounds using everything from standard roundball to flat point to pointy Hornady carry bullets, to hollow points of several types.You would think that that this would mean that the gun is somewhat sloppy and rattly. It isn’t. In fact when you shake the gun there is no movement in it whatsoever. And in accuracy tests, I proved out the original USMC specification of under a 4″ spread of 5 shots at 25 yards over several brands of ammo. The USMC requirement said an “unsupported firing position,” so that is how I shot my tests. Ultimately a gun is only as accurate as you can fire it. And though an offhand test is much more subjective than a bench rested test, it does give you a good idea of how the gun performs in the field. I am not an accomplished pistol shooter, and I was able to ding 12×18 steel plates at 50 yards with every single shot, and about half the shots I hit the swinger in the middle. Oh, and that was with one hand. I am a retired SASS shooter.

Series 80 Colts have been criticized for having a spongy trigger, but I found this gun to be very crisp and consistent at a predicable break under 6 lbs.

With a progressive reloading press, a lot of free time and a barrel of money I’m sure that you could get this gun shooting into a fraction of what I tested it at. Since the Marines adopted the gun, it has received nothing but high praise from the Quantico gunsmiths that used to build the old M45s from spare parts. Do yourself a favor though. If you have all three of those things (press, time, money), buy a second one of these guns to put away and not shoot a lot. These guns are going to be extremely collectible, and the consumer serial numbers are still in the 2000s.The Colt M45A1 CQBP comes with Novac style 3 dot night sights. The original guns apparently used actual Novac brand sights, but my test gun has Trijicons. This is of course a rail gun, and the rail is machined into the frame, not bolted on. Each gun comes with two Wilson Combat 7 round mags, and they have the extended pads on the bottom to protect your palm from getting hurt by the lanyard loop that sticks out of the bottom of the gun. The ambidextrous manual safety is surprisingly crisp and positive. I don’t know if this gun was sent to other reviewers before me, but in my experience most 1911 safeties take some break in time, whereas this one did not. The barrel is stainless, and marked “COLT 45 AUTO NM,” for National Match. All of the parts are meticulously Cerakoted, and after firing the gun a great deal, there is very little finish that gets lost. Some 1911s are hard to field strip. This one was not.

The grips on this Colt are beefy. The grip circumference is about the same as my doublestack 45s.

Please see the pictures for details of my brief first outing with what is probably the most exciting Colt for me since the 901. I am not a Colt fanatic for no reason. Sam Colt may have died in 1862, long before the famous and groundbreaking 1973 Peacemaker, but his company pioneered the commercial firearms business through the last 100 years plus. Everyone wants to talk about John Browning John Browning John Browning with it comes to 1911s, but there are a lot of great inventions that never go anywhere because nobody buys them. It was Colt that made the 1911 an American firearm staple, and that goes for the AR-15 as well by the way. Inventions are great, but sound production, good marketing, and grabbing military contracts like this are what have given Colt, and the 1911, such longevity.Rarely if ever will you buy a Colt and have it disappoint you as a functional firearm and collectible that will only go up in value. This USMC contract may have been 22 million, but in modern corporate terms, that is a drop in the bucket. From a lesser name and a less historical gun that size contract wouldn’t have even made a blip. And don’t get me wrong. This 1911 is a great gun, and from a performance perspective, I don’t think you can do much better for this kind of money. But as a Colt fanatic and accumulator (which is different from collector), more than anything the USMC contract gave us all a great reason to go out and buy another Colt. I am going to try to buy this test gun from Colt, and if you can get your hands on one (there are currently only 4 on GunsAmerica), get this M45A1 CWBP while you still can at under MSRP.

To some degree, and a 1911 rail gun is a 1911 rail gun, but a Colt is never just another gun.	My gun came with Trijicon night sights.
The ambidextrous safety is surprisingly not sticky.	For a new 1911 it also field strips very easy.
Speer roundball was very tight and close to point of aim.	Never question your shooting until you shoot Hornady ammo. This Steel Match is intentionally underpowered for competition, but it is scary accurate. This is a 6 shot group.
All of the different types of bullets worked without flaw.	You would think that a Military gun would be made to optimize roundballs, but I shot a ton of this flat Winchester 1911 ammo and it never even hiccuped.
The gun comes with a lockable case and two Wilson Combat magazines.

common-sense steps are available to ensure your basic preparedness at a reasonable cost:

Most of us who are concerned with preparedness fall victim to fear mongering at least once in our lives. Not only has the Internet made it easier for preppers to be targeted, fear mongers have used many events along the way to try to profit. The events that come to mind first include Y2K and the Mayan predictions of the end of the world in 2012.
What can be done to avoid the scams of the fear mongers?

1. The single greatest thing that anyone can do to avoid falling victim to the snake oil salesman is to look at everything objectively and take the time to really find out what someone is trying to sell you.
2. Do some research and see what others are saying about the product.
3. Find out if there are other similar products. Compare the costs and what people are saying about it.
4. Is there a better option available that you can do yourself or that is better, stronger or faster?
5. If at this point you determine that there is a product that is a good choice, make your purchase.

And there is more good news! A number of common-sense steps are available to ensure your basic preparedness at a reasonable cost:

• Evaluate the threats that you are most likely to face and prioritize them from most likely to least likely.
• Identify the most likely threat and take the steps necessary to be prepared to overcome that threat.
• Once the most likely threat is prepared for, move to the second most likely threat and prepare for it. Continue this process until you have the knowledge and resources in place to survive most of the likely threats you face.

Many of the resources you procure and the knowledge that you commit to memory for your most likely threat will also be beneficial for subsequent threats.
When securing resources and knowledge for preparedness, ensure that you take a good look at:

• Food: Start with canned goods and move on from there.
• Water: Ideally, two gallons per person every day for drinking, cooking, sanitation and hygiene. Don’t forget a water filter!
• Shelter
• Medical: Account for routine illness as well as traumatic injuries. Don’t forget to address dental emergencies as well. It does not hurt to have knowledge about alternative treatments either.
• Security: It doesn’t make sense to take the steps toward preparedness without ensuring that you can protect it.
• Gardening: Have a way to provide yourself with food. Practice now instead of trying to figure it out after the balloon has already gone up.
• Community-building: The lone wolf will not survive for long. Build a community of like-minded people to share skills and work together.
• Bugging in or bugging out: That is the question.
• Energy: How will you power your life and the necessities you depend on?
• Communications
• Survival kits: Car, work, bug-out bags, etc.
• Travel: How will you get from point A to point B in various scenarios?
• Hygiene and sanitation
• Faith/spiritual preparedness
• Skills: Fire-making, improvised survival techniques, knots, etc.
• Tools and hardware
• Financial: What will you use for financial transactions in the event of a disaster? Precious metals, cash, barter items, etc.
• Homesteading
• Bushcraft/urban survival
• Fishing and hunting
• Threat assessment
• Reference materials

I am sure there are plenty of others that I missed, but that was the list I came up with off the top of my head.
The key lesson that you should take away from this article is that there are people out there who really don’t care about whether you are prepared or not; they just want your money. If you take a calculated approach to your preparedness and take action based solely on what you will most likely face, only then will you minimize the amount of time and money you waste while also becoming the most prepared that you can.

3 habits tactical shooters can learn from competition shooters

 

Competition shooters—I believe that the tactical shooting community should always be keeping an eye on this group.  Top ranked shooters who participate in events through the International Practical Shooting Confederation (IPSC) and other competitive shooting outfits have really taken the art and science of shooting to a whole new level over the last several decades and those of us who carry guns for a living (cops, military personnel and armed security officers) or who carry firearms for self defense ought to seek out lessons from these well qualified, goal driven athletes.
Here are just a few things we all do well to pay attention to and adopt when we can:

Practice

The end goal of firearms training for all shooters is to become so comfortable with the weapon that the gun becomes like an extension of the shooter’s body.  The only way to get to that level is through repetition—the law of learning—which is to say, against a clock or an armed assailant, you can’t shoot well without practicing.  A lot.
The physical health benefits of practice aside, succeeding means being able to visualize success and the only way to know what success looks like is to go out and find it by doing it. Competitive shooters know that actually getting out and “doing it” takes serious discipline.
Competitive shooters never let anything stop them from practicing, even not being able to make it to the range.  Whether dry-fire practicing (you can use your own gun or an Airsoft gun), drawing quick from the holster with rapid target acquisition or conducting reloads in the bedroom, these guys and gals prove that if you want to get better, you’ve got to move.
By adopting these practice habits, and practicing well, I have no doubt a shooter will develop the skills needed to survive and win gunfights.

Ergonomics and economy of motion

Speaking of practicing well, the reality is that you could shoot 10,000 rounds and still never improve unless you embrace and use the best methods and techniques available.  If you want to continue to increase your skills with a firearm, you must be willing to discover what is most efficient for speed and accuracy and that means trying new things—getting out of your comfort zone and into your learning zone.
It’s sometimes human nature to resist this thinking, while other folks are just stuck in the past, but you cannot be closed to new techniques and expect to always be improving.
This is definitely one area that competition shooters have pushed to the limits and 3-gun competitors in particular have raised the bar when it comes to shooting fast and accurately through minor, though significant, updates to proven methods and new approaches to reloading.
In order to be better than competitors who are putting in just as much sweat equity as they are, these shooters have no choice but to refine and perfect the the minutia of shooting techniques to beat others on the playing field.  This means finding out exactly what works best for the shooter and focusing on the little things.
Mastering a thumbs forward grip, changing up stance, concentrating on trigger control and adjusting grip when necessary are techniques that should be on all handgun shooters’ minds all the time when practicing (and part of the time when not).

Revolutionary gear

Alongside new methods of shooting and reloading, forward-thinking, purpose-built inventions are what have really allowed shooting sports to develop and reach a wider audience these past few decades. Indeed, new kit is pretty much what drives public interest in all aspects of the shooting industry, but the competitive community has inspired more than it’s share of ingenuity in entertainment and excellence in gear and mods.
Whether its mounting back-up iron sights on a 45-degree tilted angle off an AR or putting an extended magazine tube on a shotgun, you can see practical benefit to those interested in saving their lives by using guns just as much as to those looking to hoist a cup.
In the end, whether it’s just with a pistol alone or in a three-gun style competition, a gunfight or a dove field, it’s all about shooting fast and accurately.  Sure, there are a other elements to self defense and tactical gun play, but these two skills are precisely what’s needed for success in all shooting engagements.  And in this regard, competition shooters are golden.

Assault Rifles: 328 in Ridgefield

Assault rifles are perhaps the most vilified guns in the history of the United States, a weapon of choice for mass murderers Adam Lanza in Newtown and James Holmes in Aurora, Colo.

There’s a strong public outcry against the high-capacity and sometimes high-powered weapons, but Fairfield County is in love with them and Ridgefield is no exception.

Data provided by the State Police under the Freedom of Information Act shows county residents own 11,322 of the weapons, with 328 in Ridgefield. A previous data request by The Press showed handguns outnumbered long guns, but didn’t included assault rifle data.

“We are not the people you think we are,” said Dean Price, owner of the Wooster Mountain Range in Danbury, just north of the town line, and a fan of assault rifles.

Only, to the card-carrying National Rifle Association members who enjoy these guns, they do not call them assault rifles. That name is reserved for the fully automatic, continuous fire versions of the guns used by the military.

The civilian models, such as the AR-15, are called all-purpose rifles.

They pack a lot more ammunition than the typical four-shot, manually cocked hunting rifle, but they are better suited for sports shooting as well as self-defense including home defense, the NRA claims.

Catherine Mortensen, spokesman for the NRA, pointed to a recent case of an elderly woman who defended her home from burglars using her AR-15.

“It’s not a machine gun. It’s not rapid, continuous fire like you see in the combat movies,” Mortensen said, dispelling the myth that an assault rifle is something akin to the infamous Tommy gun. Acquiring a fully automatic weapon involves expense and a rigorous FBI background check, so far fewer people own those.

But the category includes a range of weapons that vary in power. They can pack a punch.

AR-15 type rifles are made by many manufacturers and include those with small caliber sizes such as .22 caliber, but some, like the Bushmaster series that Newtown shooter Adam Lanza used, can fire .45 caliber, a much larger bullet that makes a more severe wound and is more lethal. Some AR-15 models even load .50 caliber ammo, which is about as large as a bullet gets.

It is not a military rifle, although it can fire a bullet as quickly as its operator can pull the trigger. With an ammunition clip holding 25 or 35 bullets, it is a rifle that gun opponents fear can do the most damage in the least time.

More than 1.2 million of the rifles were purchased in 2013, and the trend each year has generally been for greater annual sales, according to the NRA’s sales figures.

The NRA is quick to point out that the AR-15 gets its name not from the term “assault rifle,” but from Armalite Rifle, the company that first made them out of plastic decades ago.

Since the mid-1990s, the AR-15 has been the dominant rifle in a wide variety of rifle marksmanship competitions, including NRA and civilian marksmanship Program Service Rifle competitions, U.S. Carbine Association events.

“It is the most commonly used rifle for defensive firearm training,” Mortensen said.

Polling data shows that protection, not hunting, is the primary reason Americans own guns, and polling also shows that Americans in most demographic groups increasingly believe that guns increase safety, Mortensen said.

“Gun control advocates want to make it as difficult as possible for law-abiding citizens to exercise their Second Amendment right to self-protection, so it makes sense that they would target America’s most popular self-defense firearm. Despite their efforts to demonize the AR-15 with a misinformation campaign, it remains America’s most popular general purpose rifle because of its reliability, accuracy, and adaptability. Their light weight makes them especially popular with women and the preferred firearm for hunting, home defense, and competition shooting,” Mortensen said in a statement.

The defense angle may make up a larger piece of the pie because of the decline in the popularity of hunting. A survey released in March showed gun ownership declining overall. The Associated Press reported that, according to the NORC survey, the number of people who live in households with guns was lower than it had ever been, at 32%. In the 1970s and 80s, that figure was up around half of households.

Those who want the gun banned, as it was during the Clinton years of the 1990s, do not speak of the AR-15 in glowing terms.

“We support a renewal of the federal assault weapons ban,” said Ladd Everitt, spokesman for the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence.

He considers it a battlefield rifle, even if incapable of firing in the full automatic mode.

“They have no place on our streets,” Everitt said. The NRA says that all-purpose rifles are rarely if ever used by criminals.

Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-CT, has also publicly decried the AR-15 and its kind.

“There is no reason on earth, other than to kill as many people as possible in as short a time as possible, that anyone needs a gun designed for a battlefield,” DeLauro told the media when she reintroduced the Support Assault Firearm Elimination and Education of Our Streets Act last April. It offered as much as $2,000 to people to turn in their assault rifles.

Yet, six million law-abiding citizens own AR-15s.

Connecticut has the strictest gun control laws in the U.S. regarding assault rifles, which the Connecticut statutes loosely define as a wide range of semiautomatic and selective fire rifles including the Mini, in past decades known as a ranch rifle before the terminology assault rifle became popular; the Bushmaster Auto Rifle, which Adam Lanza stole from his mother; and the MAC-10, a weapon frequently mentioned in gangsta rap songs. Most of these rifles are different from other rifles in that they feature one or several handgrips on the underside, in addition to their higher capacity magazines.

All assault rifles in Connecticut are supposed to be registered as of 2014 and a certificate of ownership has been issued for each. Sale or transfer of these rifles to anyone who is not a licensed gun dealer is now prohibited in Connecticut, except under certain exemptions such as for law enforcement purposes.

14-Year-Old Wins NRA 3-Position Air Gun Championship

Annabelle Stanec seems to have a bright future ahead of her as a competition shooter.

I have the sneaking suspicion that Ms. Annabelle Stanec is going to be a sport-shooting superstar one day:

“What I’m doing now is I’m doing a double follow-through and placement,” said 14-year-old Annabelle Stanec, who won the NRA 3-Position Air Gun Championship at West Mesa High School in Alburquerque, New Mexico on May 24. “I look off into space, then I relax and see where I really am lined up to the bull.”
There were other factors contributing to Stanec’s victory besides natural point of aim, but that particular attention to detail might have been the key that ultimately put her in first place in the premier air-rifle competition that invited the top 100 NRA qualifiers to the shooting showdown in the Land of Enchantment. The 5-foot-6 rising prep sophomore fired a total, including a final round 102.2 in the standing position, of 1,340.4 points.
“I’m hoping to get a college scholarship for rifle,” said Stanec, who represented the Ashland (Ohio) Eagles Rifle Team and attends Highland High School of Medina, Ohio. “And I’d like to win the National Junior Olympics.”
Stanec paced an Eagles squad that also took the precision team title with a two-day total of 4,885.5 points. Her champion teammates included Josh Kovach, Christina Holden and Antonio Remedios.

Stanec has a long way to go before the National Junior Olympics of course, but it’s inspiring to see young shooters like her and her teammates showing such enthusiasm for the sport.
I recently spoke with a field rep for a major firearms brand as he was putting together a speech he was giving to a group of high school shooters and their parents. He spoke in front of over 800 people.
As we’ve hammered on repeatedly, the fastest growing segments of the shooting sports market are young, urban, and female.
Youth shooting is exploding in popularity across the country, and shooting sports are the fastest growing high school sports in many parts of the nation. Parents are coming to realize that when their kids get involved in shooting sports their concentration increases and they develop better discipline. Developing their concentration and discipline often leads to more academic success, and happier kids.
Folks, these are the kind of stories we should be sharing. Our youth are embracing the shooting sports and are becoming better people and better citizens because of their involvement. Because of their positive experiences, many previously neutral-to-anti-gun parents are now enthusiastic supporters of sport shooting.
If you have an opportunity to support your local sports shooting programs, please do.
They are our future, and a key reason to believe we’ll have great support of the Second Amendment for years to come

Border Patrol Opens Fire On Militia In Texas

Bearing Arms noted almost exactly a month ago that the next “shot heard ’round the world” may be fired in Texas, as private militias have headed to the U.S. Mexican border to help stop the flood of criminal aliens flowing northward from Central America through Mexico into the United States.
What we didn’t expect is that the first shots fired at the militias weren’t from smugglers, Mexican military members working for the cartels, or the Islamic terrorists the cartels are helping to smuggle across the border as the Obama Administration refuses to stop them.
Instead, the first shots fired were blue on blue.

A Border Patrol agent pursuing a group of immigrants in a wooded area near the Texas-Mexico border on Friday fired several shots at an armed man who later identified himself as a militia member.

Border Patrol spokesman Omar Zamora said agents had been chasing a group of immigrants east of Brownsville Friday afternoon when an agent saw a man holding a gun near the Rio Grande. The agent fired four shots, but did not hit the man. The man then dropped his gun and identified himself as a member of a militia. Zamora said no other details were immediately available.

Cameron County Sheriff Omar Lucio, whose agency is involved in the investigation, said the incident occurred on private property and it appeared the man had permission to be there. He was not arrested, Lucio said.

Fortunately for the militiaman the Border Patrol agent can’t shoot straight, and he was unharmed.

Federal, state, and local officials insist that they have enough resources to control the continued criminal invasion of our Republic.

The number of criminal aliens coming over the border convincingly proves otherwise.

Militia units are not attempting to apprehend criminals coming over the border, but are attempting to spot them as they infiltrate so that authorities can make arrests.

It remains to be seen if the Border Patrol agent will face an internal or criminal investigation

Tactical AR-15/M4/M4A1 Carbine Aftermarket Accessories for Military Combat Applications

• Ross & Zheng Engineering RZE UNIMAG Multi-Caliber/Universal AR-15 Rifle Mag (Magazine) for Tactical AR Rifle/Carbine/SBR’s: Will it Actually Work?

Tactical AR-15/M4/M4A1 Carbine Aftermarket Accessories for Military Combat Applications: The Competition-to-Combat Crossover, Part 1

. Towards the end, I mentioned the developments derived from both the military and civilian competition in regards to accessories for the AR/M4 platform. For this article, I would like to go into further detail on that subject. Even with all the various optics and accessories offered under the Special Operations Peculiar Modification (SOPMOD) program for the rifle, soldiers are opting to outfit their rifles with certain items. They’re seeing what the top shooting competitors are using to win competitive shooting events like 3-Gun, and what is working for the majority of shooters, and they recognize what wins in a match can also help them win on the battlefield.

Before I cover accessories, I think I should bring up one popular concept in regards to rifle setup, and that is the KISS principle: Keep It Simple Stupid. In its strictest interpretation, this means avoiding optics and electronics that could fail during use. I think I should address the “KISS” rifle concept because, despite its popularity with some civilian tactical/defensive shooters (see the numerous threads on AR15.com and m4carbine.net discussing “KISS” rifles), most soldiers are choosing rifles set up with anything that can help them consistently engage targets better and faster. In fact, today there is little difference between a soldier’s tactical rifle and an Open-class 3-Gun competition setup.

Far from KISS; Schmidt & Bender Short Dot tactical scope, extended rail, aftermarket stock and grip, take off the LA-5 laser and you could easily see this exact same set-up at any local 3-gun match, instead this is currently downrange being employed by a U.S. Infantry Soldier.
KISS Rifle: My Interpretation
While it’s true that plain old iron sights have carried us through a couple of world wars and numerous major conflicts, simpler is not always better, in my view. I would not want to limit my capabilities in terms of optics based solely on a fear of them failing. If using an electronic sight gives you the ability to shoot farther or faster, why not use it? For example, with iron sights I can hit a man-size target out to about 350 meters fairly consistently. But, using a red dot scope with a 2-MOA dot, I can hit 12-inch plates out to about 450 meters (450m). Thus, when going into harm’s way, I want to take advantage of any piece of kit that can aid me in staying alive by eliminating threats more quickly and consistently.
I don’t think the KISS principle is a bad idea. I just think it’s misdirected in its application. It should be applied not to the gear on your rifle but to your skill base. Instead of limiting yourself on what accessories you use for fear of failure, you should instead take advantage of the modern sighting systems while maintaining your proficiency with the basics.
This means I will use any piece of kit that gives me an advantage, but I will also train to shoot without all the fancy stuff in case Murphy’s Law goes into effect. All my tactical rifles have back-up iron sights (BUIS) on them. For my setups, I like to have a fixed front sight post and a fold down rear sight. I know a lot of shooters and instructors run with their back up iron sights up all the time so they can instantly transition if their optic fails. I prefer to run with my rear sight down, keeping it out of my peripheral vision while I look through my sight.
Now I know what you’re thinking: “What if your red dot goes down in the middle of an engagement and your back up sight is folded down?” To prepare for that eventuality, I practice with the red dot sight turned off. I use the method of looking through the tube of the red dot, shooting off the front sight. I am basically using the housing and lens of the red dot itself as my rear sight aperture and aligning it with my front sight. Using this technique, with practice, I can still engage targets out to a pretty good distance and at CQB/CQC (Close Quarters Battle/Close Quarters Combat) ranges. While I may not be able to shoot 1-inch groups, I can get center shots on targets almost as fast as I can with the dot turned on. The bottom line is that I’m not dependent on a fancy scope. I train to use just iron sights, and for the worst case scenario with no rear sight up at all, looking through a dead optic if I need too.
Reasons for Upgrading the M4/M4A1 Carbine
Awhile back during a deployment, a fellow soldier, after seeing my M4A1 rigged up with all the accessories I consider normal for me (Arredondo extended mag well, left-handed mag release, extended bolt release and some other items), made the comment “I don’t see why you need all that fancy stuff. The basics work just fine.” While the M4/M4A1 does work well in its standard issue form–and again through the SOPMOD program there are some really good accessories and optics offered,–I still see the need to make up for shortcomings I find with some standard items.
The issue M4/M4A1 stock is, in my opinion, pretty substandard and suffers from a few issues. First, it’s pretty fragile in terms of taking abuse. “Mortaring the rifle,” as David Crane calls it [Editor’s Note: This term and jam-clearing technique were both learned from tactical instructor and DR writer Mike Pannone at a CTT-Solutions (CTT-S) tactical rifle/carbine course], is one of the best ways to clear a stuck round in the chamber when you can’t get the bolt back. It involves pulling back on the charging handle and simultaneously banging the butt stock on the ground, letting the force help pull the bolt back. It’s a great technique; unfortunately if you do it too hard or bang the bottom edge of the butt plate on the ground and not square on the plate, the issue stock tends to break pretty easily. Even with good technique, I have seen numerous broken stocks that have the bottom half of the butt plates broken off from mortaring them to clear jams.
Another limitation, and probably the biggest reason you see a lot of aftermarket stocks being used, is the standard issue stock adds no extra cheek weld from the buffer tube. Stocks with a larger surface area for your cheek aid in getting faster and more consistent cheek-to-stock placement. Being able to mount the rifle faster means faster first shots on target. Having solid cheek/stock placement can also aid in multi-shot strings as you can settle the gun faster between shots.
Although the Crane NSWC/Lewis Machine & Tool (LMT Defense) SOPMOD stock (which I think is still one of the best stocks out there) is issued as part of the SOPMOD kit, it is limited to Special Ops troops as a standard issue item. In some cases, units that are supposed to have them do not, due to supply limitations.
The military still issues the Knights Armament Co. (KAC) vertical foregrip, which has always had the issue of coming loose, as it lacks a good locking mechanism. The newest-issue vertical foregrip is from TangoDown. The TangoDown BattleGrip Vertical Grip (standard length) is a rock-solid grip and an improvement over the Knights Armament version. However, like the LMT Defense SOPMOD/Crane NSWC stock, it’s not in full circulation with all soldiers. Plus, I find it a little too long for my taste. I don’t need something that long sticking off my rail. [Editor's Note: TangoDown also makes a BattleGrip Stubby Vertical Grip that's shorter, as well as the new TangoDown BattleGrip Quick-Detach Vertical Grip models.]
Below from basic to all out; top rifle minimum upgrades Magpul STR stock, XTM rail panels and a Surefire G2X in a VTAC offset mount. Bottom rifle everything minus the Crane Stock and receiver has been switched out to fit the user’s preference. (Ergo grip, Troy rail, Magpul AFG and Surefire Scout light on a 10.5 barrel).


Top Accessories/Upgrades
Magpul Industries has turned out to be one of the top brands when soldiers choose accessories. The two most popular upgrades to the M4/M4A1 Carbine are stocks and foregrips. A stock with a proper length of pull and a good cheek weld, combined with a foregrip that facilitates a straight pull back on the rifle, can improve your shot cadence and help your accuracy.
Telescoping/Collapsible Buttstocks
One big reason I think MagPul stocks do well with soldiers is because of price. Their Adaptable Carbine Storage (ACS) model, which is considered one of their higher end stocks at $109.95, is still almost half the price of an LMT SOPMOD/Crane NSWC stock at $199. The most prevalent MagPul models I have seen in use are the MOE, CTR, and ACS. All have increased cheek weld surface area, rubber butt pads, and multiple sling attachment methods. The MOE seems especially popular, even though the cheek weld area is only slightly larger than the issue stock, but at $59.95 the price cannot be beat. Fore grip and pistol grip: The MagPul Angled Fore Grip (AFG) seems to be a top choice among soldiers. The popularity of the C-clamp method of shooting (non-firing hand thumb on top of the rail, palm on the side rail, fingers form a C around the rail) is on the rise, and the Magpul AFG facilitates a C-clamp grip. Ergo Grips, Hogues, and the Magpul MIAD Grip Kit seem to be among the most popular pistol grips. I have not seen any one brand or model stand out more than another. All offer a much more ergonomic and fuller grip on the AR than the current issue A2 grip. I think most shooters find the A2 grip allows your hand to ride up on the receiver. Just about every other aftermarket commercial grip out there does a better job at keeping your firing hand straight behind the trigger, facilitating a more consistent trigger pull.

As you can see from the photo these 3 rifles have a lot in common, besides the SOPMOD issue items the users have all chosen to upgrade certain parts of the rifles to fit them better (stock, grip or fore grip). Here is also a perfect example to show how popular Magpul items are with the troops. Each rifle has at least one Magpul item on them and two have P-mags. Also check out the Noveske KX3 flash hider (middle rifle). .

Innovation from the competition world; Dual optics have been in use with the military for some time now, as you can see in some of the previous photos ACOGs and Elcan Specter DRs are issued with Doctor sights on top. What has been slowly catching now as a direct result from their effectiveness with the 3-gun crowd are offset mounts. Problem with the Doctor sight mounted on top of another optic is the hold off is too much. Even with a 25 meter POA/POI zero you are still looking at as much a 4 inch hold off at room distance. With the offset mount it’s less than 2 inches. Plus I find it faster and smoother to roll the gun in my shoulder to pick up the offset sight. I have been using Matt Burkett’s 45 degree offset mount with a Doctor sight for 2 tours now and on 2 different rifles; M4A1 and a SCAR light.
One other item that is pretty popular is the Grip Pod vertical foregrip/bipod/weapon stabilizer by Grip Pod Systems International (GPS), which consists of a spring-loaded bipod enclosed in a forward grip. It has two advantages over the conventional style metal bipod; the Grip Pod is much lighter. Being both a forward grip and bipod, it saves space on your rifle for other items. And, since the legs collapse into the grip, you don’t have to worry about them catching on stuff when not in use. Personally, I find the Grip Pod vertical grip a little too long for my taste. I find that it sits up too high when using it in bipod mode in the prone position, . I therefore have a difficult time trying to get into a comfortable position behind the rifle.

M4A1 equipped with Grip Pod
Tactical Weapon Lights
SureFire is the most prevalent brand in use over the current issue SOPMOD light (the L3 Warrior Systems/Insight Technology M3X/SU-33/PVS). The M3X is a pretty basic light with only one brightness setting and a momentary switch. It’s also not that bright compared to many other lights on the market. Bulb life is also relatively short, about a year if you do a lot of shooting.
The Surefire Scout Weaponlight is pretty popular along with the new SureFire G2X and SureFire 6P series, both used in conjunction with a Viking Tactics (VTAC) offset light mount. One light that I am pleased to see making headway with the troops is the Inforce WML. I have reviewed this light in the past for DR (published on 12/16/2011). The WML incorporates a new innovative 45-degree activation push button that allows you to go from constant-on to momentary-on and strobe. With a flip of an easy-to-reach toggle lever, you can go from white light to IR (infrared). With all those features and a price around $180.00 (I have seen it online as low as $150.00) the WML makes for a great compact weapon light.
Magazines
Even with the adoption of the improved 30 round GI magazine, commercially made magazines are pretty popular items. The reason for this is the perceived poor performance of standard issue military magazines. Personally, I have never had an issue with GI mags, even the older style with the green follower. I have several of the green follower mags that are at least 5-6 years old that I have used on multiple deployments. The issue is not the quality of the magazine, but rather how they are handled. Instead of treating the magazine as an expendable item, soldiers in some units have to sign for them, and losing a magazine is looked down upon. This leads to the same batch of magazines floating around in a unit for a number of years, going from soldier to soldier.
So it’s no wonder a soldier might have no confidence in a standard issue magazine when the ones he has could be well worn out from overuse. To this day some do not understand that double feeds come from bad magazines, which compounds the issue. Time and again I have seen double feeds occur on the range, and instead of throwing the magazine away or marking it "bad", it just gets reloaded and used again.
Prior to any deployment, I load up all my magazines I plan on using and shoot them at least one time to ensure there are no bad ones. If I do come across a bad magazine, before I throw it away, I will step on it, crushing it just to make sure it does not get picked up and used by someone else.
The top choice among soldiers for commercial magazines is the Magpul PMAG 30 M3 (also written P-MAG 30 M3). In fact, they are so popular I have seen at least one out of every three soldiers with a PMAG in their rifle as opposed to any other magazine. Personally I prefer the Lancer L5 Advanced War Fighter Magazine (AWM). I give the edge to Lancers solely for the reason that it is possible to accidentally load 31 rounds into a PMAG. That will result in the inability to seat the magazine in a rifle with the bolt forward on a tactical reload. This is not to say I do not use PMAGs at all. Currently my basic load consists of Lancer mags and Magpul PMAGS and EMAGs.

Left to right; Lancer L5 Advanced War Fighter Magazine (AWM), Magpul EMAG and Magpul PMAG. On the far right; standard issue magazine with issued Magpul follower, Center standard USGI mag Green follower and the new Improved USGI magazine with Tan follower. One thing to be aware of, because the Improved magazine follower has the bullet push on the left when loaded with 30rds the top round sits on the left (Opposite of most other magazines).
One Item You Don’t See…
Despite its popularity with the 3-Gun crowd and shooters stateside, you won’t find compensators in wide spread use on tactical rifles. Even though compensators do an excellent job canceling out muzzle rise to facilitate faster strings of fire, the increased muzzle blast and noise associated with them makes compensators impractical for tactical use. Imagine having a buddy with a comp shooting his rifle right next to you and all the excess gas being vented off right into your face.
I have tried a lot of the “tactical” comps offered, and although they do a great job minimizing the excess gas, they are still much louder than flash hiders. As a soldier you won’t always have the luxury of shooting with hearing protection on. The last thing you want if you end up shooting in super-close confinement (such as a vehicle) is a very loud rifle.
The Wrap Up
Thanks to competitive shooting sports like 3-Gun, vendors are now offering more shooting accessories of all types than ever before. Today’s gunfighters are benefiting from the same accessories that have proven successful to both top shooters and the everyday competitor. This vetting of gear through shooting matches is helping highlight some of the best and most durable gear out there that is in turn being used to get an extra edge on the battlefield.