Last week we discussed pistol standoff devices in a couple of TFB articles. Continuing the subject, today we’ll take a look at another such device called Muzzle Stand-off Device (MSD). This product is made in the USA by a company called Proof Mark.

As we discussed earlier, the idea behind the standoff devices is to have a frame mounted barrier in front of the slide/muzzle to prevent the slide from being pushed out of battery when the pistol is pressed against objects.

The Proof Mark MSD is made of aluminum and has an anodized finish. It mounts on the rail of the pistol and has a Picatinny rail section underneath it to allow attaching other accessories (lights and lasers), too. The retention mechanism has a locking lug that engages the pistol rail slot and externally blends in with its own Picatinny rail giving it a more clean look and not interfering with the Picatinny rail interface. The installation is also a tool-less process. On its front portion, the Proof Mark MSD has a checkered pattern and an integrated glass breaker. The latter is made of 17-4 PH steel.

The development of this product took the company three years. They have also conducted extensive tests before releasing it to the market. Here is what John Kennedy, the president of Proof Mark, told me:

We started the project in October of 2015 and our first production run is a matter of weeks from hitting the shelves.  The MSD has been through a year of testing within the Army CTU at Ft. Bragg with positive feedback.

The designers also found out that making an integral muzzle device will impart an excessive amount of stresses on the dust cover portion of the frame and may result in a cracked frame. According to John:

We also found the Glock frames begin to crack when gas is captured by the stand-off device.  With the Compensated device being purposed built to mitigate recoil it would appear to only magnify this weakness.

Right now the Proof Mark MSD is available for Glock 19 pistols only. It is listed on the company’s website at an MSRP of $120. The company will soon introduce similar stand off devices for other pistol models, too.

UPDATE. Just received a couple of images from Proof Mark showing that a Glock 19X pistol equipped with an MSD fits a Safariland holster. According to John Kennedy:

The MSD G19/23 fits the Safariland 7TS G17/22 XC1 holster. Look for the following first eight digits: 7378-8322-XXX. The last three digits indicate right/left hand configuration.

Images from www.proofmarkllc.com