#Clip

In today’s episode, we follow Miles to Shot Show 2018 and visit the Safariland booth to look at some new holster offerings for 2018.

The US Army is seeking 12,600 Magpul PMag Gen M3 magazines, or equivalents, from commercial vendors, according to a recently updated listing on FedBizOpps, posted in early August. This announcement was updated soon after the news that Army TACOM had authorized the requisition of Gen M3 PMags with unit funds, by unit commanders

The US Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command (TACOM) has just authorized the purchase of Magpul PMag Gen M3 polymer magazines through requisition by unit commanders, marking a major step in the use of PMag magazines in Army service. Although a previous clarification in 2012 authorized the magazines for use, they could not be purchased using unit (that is to say, Army) funds. The full announcement is replicated below, courtesy of Soldier Systems Daily:

The US Air Force’s recent decision to adopt the Magpul PMag Gen M3 was based on Army testing conducted in 2015, according to a spokesperson for the Air Force. In a communication with Military.com writer Matthew Cox, Vicki Stein of the Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center said that the US Army’s  M855A1 Conformance Testing on Commercial Magazines report, published by Aberdeen Proving Grounds in January of 2015, was the basis for the USAF’s decision. “When pursuing any capability based requirement, and before conducting any tests, the Air Force will first work closely with our joint partners to see if they have conducted any testing. In this instance, we utilized the U.S. Army Aberdeen Test Center’s M855A1 Conformance Testing on Commercial Magazines to make our decision,” Stein told Cox.

The United States Air Force has become the second US military service to adopt the Magpul PMag as their standard rifle magazine. According to the document USAF AUTHORIZED SMALL ARMS and LIGHT WEAPONS (SA/LW) ACCESSORIES (as of 28 July 17) the Magpul PMag Gen M3 magazine will be replacing both the legacy grey body USGI magazines, as well as the new tan body/blue follower Enhanced Performance magazine in USAF service. The document can be viewed here, but the relevant segment is excerpted below:

Last year Nathan S. posted about the introduction of the WarFytr companies IWB Kydex holster Fabriclip belt clips. I initially read about it with interest but soon found myself working on numerous other projects and eventually forgot about the product. However, fast forward several months later and I was trying to find a much better method to attach a Kydex holster to my pants or belt while appendix carrying. I initially started out with my Kydex trigger guard holster made for my Smith & Wesson M&P 9x19mm Shield, with a simple paracord loop that was attaching the holster to my belt. This began as an excellent idea, and still is in some situations, but for the most part it breeds a number of issues.

Strike Industries’ solution to the problem of rotating and walking out AR-15 pins is pretty unique and simple as in the case of many other of their products. The pins of their anti-walk/anti-rotation system extend a bit over the lower receiver exposing a groove. The retention itself is accomplished by an external clip.

Get a free clipazine with a Marlin rifle? Come on Marlin, you know better. I am disappointed.

Perhaps the bane of carrying IWB is the mounting of the holster to the pant/belts. Often, its a hard choice to go with the inconvenience of loops while getting dressed or the option of drop-on clips that can have (a perhaps undeserved) reputation for failing to retain the holster during a draw stroke. While I have never had a clip malfunction on me, I am cognizant of the forum stories of those who have had them fail.

We’ve all heard it at gun shows or with friends: The M1 Garand was the first rifle that brought true semiautomatic firepower to the battlefield, but it came with a fatal flaw – the ping, which would alert German soldiers that the hapless GI was out of ammo, allowing them to pop up and strike!

This is a the second part of a guest article from our reader Brandon covering the development of synthetic magazines for the AK-47 and AKM rifles. You can read the first part, on metallic magazines, at this link. Thanks, Brandon!

If you’re like me and enjoy expanding your firearms repertoire at random, you should enjoy this video from Iraqveteran8888. Eric and his team make some fantastic videos and this is just one example of the results of their combined skill and knowledge. The group of guns featured in this video are indeed unique and well worth learning about. Take a look at the video below to learn about a few new-yet-old guns.

As has recently been explained, terminology is important – and not only because I say it is. Seeing the use of correct terminology as either a nuisance or something not worth the effort of learning has a way of breaking things down not only within the industry but outside it. For example, countless members of the mainstream media enjoy referring to the ArmaLite Rifle as an assault rifle. More fiction authors than I care to consider apparently think they don’t need to know which end of the gun the bullet exits to write about guns, and the results are fairly disastrous. But it isn’t just about those who report or write; this is about the fact that you do not refer to a hammer as a screwdriver, a dog as a cat, or a rattlesnake as a worm. Words matter. After all, if you describe a malfunction simply as a “jam” I won’t be able to help you without finding out what actually happened.

The submachine gun had been perfected by the end of World War II as a dirt cheap, nearly disposable weapon for arming large numbers of men to fight the largest war of economy in history. However, despite this, post-war submachine gun designers would seek to push the concept into new roles and niches that would require a rethinking of the conventions established in that conflict. The submachine gun would be re-imagined as a close quarters battle weapon, and an echelon weapon, or PDW, for troops whose primary tasks was not combat. One of the primary obstacles to their suitability in this role, many designers recognized, was their long, protruding stick magazines, and so after the war pencils were put to drafting paper to come up with possible solutions.