#Magwell

Angstadt Arms makes AR-style firearms mostly focusing on pistol caliber carbines (PCC). Well, they just announced a new style of PCC lower that features a modular magwell. Angstadt Arms calls it the AXL-9 receiver.

Have you ever been shooting in front of a large group of people? If so, have you ever botched a reload in front of said group? It sucks. Regardless of who is around, smooth magazine changes feel good and can be vital to surviving a life or death encounter. One tool that shooters use to help their reloads is the flared magwell. Slick sides and effective angles help guide the fresh magazine right where it should be. As you expected, Strike Industries has its own version, specifically for Glock pistols. This polymer Glock magwell is now available for Gen3 G19 and G23 handguns.

Glock pistols can quickly turn into projects once you start attempting to adapt them to fit your personal preferences. I’ve been carrying my Glock 48 for about 2 years now and over many range sessions and rounds downrange, I finally decided that I wanted to change up a few things to turn it into a more versatile pistol. While this may have been a misguided and fruitless attempt to prevent me from buying more guns, I went for it anyway and the guys over at Tyrant Designs sent me over some of their newest aftermarket items for use with the Glock 43, 43X, and 48. Among those Items were the new Tyrant Designs I.T.T.S. (Improved Tyrant Trigger System) Trigger as well as their new Glock Magwell for use with the Glock 43X and 48.

Tyrant Designs has been busting out the aftermarket accessories this year and has just released their latest set of precision CNC machined pistol parts. The Tyrant Designs Glock 17 Gen 3 Magwell has a couple of new features like their custom crosshair patterned screws, and compatibility for Generations 3 through 5 of Glock’s 17, 22, 31, 34, 35, and 45 handguns. The new Tyrant Designs Glock 17 Gen 3 Magwell is available now for $69.95 from the Tyrant Designs website. Color options include black, red, gray, blue, gold, and machined aluminum. The colors for the crosshair patterned mounting screws are either black or gold.

When the Gen5 Glocks were announced, reactions were a mixed bag. Some people welcomed changes like the flared magwell, while others either didn’t want it or thought it wasn’t enough. Well, for the people who wanted more flare in their lives, a new option now exists. True to themselves, Strike Industries has released a sharp, minimalistic magwell for Gen5 Glock 19/23 frames. This is the Strike Industries GEN5 Magwell.

About a year ago, Taran Tactical Innovations were fighting the Wildfires in California. After several product releases it’s safe to say that TTI are back in action. In fact, they have grown and are relocating to a larger facility close to the current one.

With the increasing popularity of 80% pistol frames, it’s no surprise that an aftermarket specific to these frames has risen to meet the needs of shooters and builders. One of the options on the market is the Strike Industries Strike 80 Compact Pistol Frame. If you run a Strike 80 Compact, you know that there are many parts made for Gen3 Glocks that are compatible with these frames. However, due to dimensional differences, a magwell for the S80 has been but a dream, until now. Strike Industries has released a designated magwell for Strike 80 Compact frames.

This year at SHOT 2018 Lancer has produced a new AR magazine well extension and a designated .300 AAC BLK Advanced Warfighter Magazine (AWM). After hearing of a designated .300 AAC BLK magazine I was somewhat confused as I had always assumed magazines would function the same whether running .223, 5.56, or .300 Blackout. When I asked more about the magazine I found the .300 Blackout magazine had a different internal geometry with increased rib clearance for better feeding and to prevent binding with 200-grain bullets or heavier, significantly increasing reliability.

Where the Generation 5 Glocks no include a concealed-carry ready flared magazine well, there are literally millions of handguns out there with the sharp and hard plastic edges of “perfection” (at least as it was defined for nearly three decades). Stock Glock magwells have certainly left something to be desired.

Last year Russell Phagan, of KE Arms, brought me to Superstition Mountain Mystery 3-Gun under a media sponsorship to review and shoot some prototypes they had. This year he invited me back to run some new products, and even better, he shipped them to me ahead of the match so I would have more time with them.

I’m not sure if Glock enjoys the fact that so many of its customers select the previous generation of its products or it loathes it. Most companies that release new products tend to quickly move past the previous generation, but good ol’ “perfect” Glock seems to believe that the new Gen 4 may not be “perfect” by keeping the Generation 3 guns in full-rate production.

There is a pistol concept floating around some circles (primarily among members of Primary & Secondary) that has been lovingly dubbed the Roland Special. Basically, the Roland Special is a highly modified Glock 19 that mimics race gun performance in a size that is still manageable for duty or even concealed carry use.

This Lightning Review is long overdue for a rather under-appreciated product. Quite a bit ago, Case Cruzer sent me one of their Magwell Handgun Case 4 Pack – Shooting Range Pro Series designed specifically for competition shooters on the go.