The Quintessential AR15 Pistol - The Good, Bad and Ugly

The Quintessential AR15 Pistol - The Good, Bad and Ugly

The AR15 pistol is not only one of the most fun AR15 based guns you can own, they can actually be really viable hunting and defensive tools. That noted the entire AR15 pistol market has had a recent resurgence partly due to the Sig Braces and partly because… well AR15 pistols are freaking cool.  That noted there are some potential pitfalls to the AR15 pistol which I would lend some perspective on. Let’s start with the Ugly, before getting to the Bad and Good.

THE UGLY SIDE OF AR15 PISTOL

The drama around AR15 pistols this past two years with the ATF flip-flopping decisions around the legality of shouldering an AR15 pistol equipped with some type of brace was totally ludicrous. At the 2015 SHOT show, the rumors abounded that the ATF was actively looking to cite anyone who so much as thought about shouldering a Sig Brace equipped rifle. That of course did not happen and the ATF patiently fielded about ten thousand absolutely asinine questions during the show about their “opinions”. I felt sorry for them just a little bit.  

The crux of the problem was that during the prohibition era, the National Firearms Act of 1934 enacted a law which said that rifles could not have barrels under 16” or they would be considered Short Barreld Rifles (noted as horrible devices of mass death used by gangsters). The noted Short Barreled Rifle would require a stiff $200 tax stamp and registration to own and thereby somehow controlling all the guys using illegal guns doing illegal things and prevent them from legally purchasing these guns.  Over the last year a few products such as the Sig Brace spurred more controversy and various ATF “opinions”. One of the more heated ATF’s opinions was that if the Sig Brace was used different than the intent of the product, a perfectly legal AR15 pistol would magically become an NFA ATF regulated item and the owner could get charged with owning an unlicensed SBR. FFL dealers actually pulled pretty much every Sig Brace equipped AR15 pistol from the shelves because according to the ATF opinion, if a customer shouldered one of these pistols it would permanently become an SBR. Legitimately retarded on so many levels, right?

My 300 Blackout build which
presses to the maximum
allowable ATF constraints of an AR15 Pistol.

The problem is that SBR law is a stupid set of regulation filled with more loopholes than your average spaghetti strainer and the ATF is left to interpret the intent of the original law. However despite whatever ATF may say about the legality, widespread enforcement of said “ATF Opinions” is nearly impossible because unless you are doing something stupid, you probably are not going to get regular ATF raids of your home. Most of the ATF agents I met at SHOT were not anxious to start citing people, in fact all this noise just makes their job harder.

Some people stumble accidentally into legal trouble.  Using the “ordinary common man” legal test, the ordinary common man would assume that a product freely available to purchase would not become illegal if assembled. Adding a vertical hand guard grip is "illegal" however Magpul's above pictured angled grip is perfectly fine on an AR15 pistol - it all does not makes sense and is horrible confusing. Thus problems occur when someone unknowingly pins up a rifle AR15 lower with a AR15 pistol upper and then same goes for someone magically transforming a legal AR15 pistol into an SBR just by shouldering it. Which brings us to “intent”. Generally ignorance of the law is not an excuse, however typically the courts allows some leeway once you are in front of the actual judge when it comes down to the intent of the defendant. Some simple questions that the prosecutor will have to prove: Did the defendant intend knowingly to build an SBR, did they buy a Sig Brace to knowingly use the AR15 pistol as an SBR, and/or were they knowingly intending to use any of the above parts in a manner which would re-classify the firearm they built/modified as a NFA ATF regulated firearm.

Although I do feel sorry for the ATF a bit to have to manage a law that makes as much sense as a fur lined sink, the whole Sig brace thing makes my eyes rolls so hard my eyes start to bleed.

THE BAD - 50 SHADES OF GREY

Regular old Tavor rifle compared to a
Deacked out AR15 Pistol with 7" barrel.

Though the ATF still seems to be waffling on whether you can shoulder a Sig or other similar “brace” depending who asked who and when and the context of your question, the reality is that Sig Braces are perfectly legal to buy, own and use on any AR15 pistol. That noted no one wants to be in front of court over a weekend project that you shoot three or four times a year. The legal expenses even if you get off innocently will be exponentially more than just going ahead and spending the $200 to register that cool Lower receiver as an SBR. I recommend not dancing in the “grey area”. If you want and SBR, go ahead and register your favorite lower receiver and 3-6 months later you can do whatever you want with the gun.  I would go further and suggest just buying a IWI Tavor if you really want a shoulder-able short length rifle. The standard 16” Tavor rifle is sold it is classified as a plain old rifle and actually just a little shorter than an AR15 pistol with an extended buffer tube and Sig Brace installed as you can see compared to my Aero Precision AR15 pistol with Phase 5 Tactical extended buffer tube, new SBX brace and 7” .223 Barreled upper.

AR15 pistols are very cool, however they can be a potential legal nightmare depending on your local laws, law enforcement knowledge, and how you are carrying them. Technically they are a pistol, however in some cases the length of your AR15 pistol may add extra restrictions around carrying the gun, so check first. The other issue is that the police are woefully misinformed about what is legal and what is not when it comes to AR15 pistols. 

Technically there is nothing wrong with owning and possessing an AR15 pistol as you pistol sidearm. If you are stopped for a traffic violation with a tricked out AR15 pistol complete with extended buffer tube and Sig Brace, I can guarantee there will be additional questions and potentially a call in to the local ATF branch for inspection of said pistol if they do not understand what it is. You will not be on your way in minutes. A standard AR15 pistol will probably net far less headaches, but some “questions”. I love my AR15 pistols, however unless the situation dictated it, I would likely not be riding with an AR15 tucked into my truck’s door pocket much the same way that I would not have an AR15 tossed over the passenger seat.

Components from the Glorious AR15 Pistol Kit
I created right before the 2015 ATF Sig Brace "Opinions"

THE GOOD ABOUT AR15 PISTOLS

All this BS was one reason I initially did not want anything to do with AR15 pistols initially. Then I ended up with an EXTAR AR15 pistol and was hooked. I began to see that there was a lot of fun and utility to be had with an AR15 pistol despite its potential image problems. 

Then I did an AR15 pistol build based on an Matthew 80% billet lower receiver, and then one based on a inexpensive blemished $39 lower receiver.

The thing that pissed me off the most was that just before everyone opened their mouths to ask a rather stupid question which forced the ATF into answering a question which should not have been asked, I had just built a rather expensive custom Aero Precision AR15 pistol kit. This Ultimate AR15 Pistol build kit (as I was calling it), included three top tier Aero Precision COP uppers in 7.62x39, 300 Blackout, and .223 calibers and of course Sig's Newest SBX Pistol Brace mounted to the custom cerakoted AP lower. 

I even did an extra .223 lightweight upper version with an Apex Handguard. The builds were completed right before SHOT show when the ATF decisions started rolling in forbidding shouldering such a rifle. It took the steam out of that article.

It took a while to go back to those AR15 pistol builds and even shoot them because I didn’t want the hassle. 

After a second look at the concept of the AR15 pistol I realized I still loved the intent of the concept. The Sig Brace and Shockwave Blade ideas are sound ideas which are still completely legal to buy and make the AR15 Pistol format a lot more fun and easier to shoot.

The AR15 pistol is more than a legal path to something that performs like an SBR without the registration and went back to what the quintessential AR15 should be. If you want an SBR length rifle, just go buy a Tavor, if you want an AR15 pistol then we need to go back to the roots of the original style of the pistol.

Though I may have went a bit overboard to illustrate the point of a basic AR15 pistol the build turned out beautiful. 

I used a Black Rain Ordnance billet stripper lower receiver, Phase 5 Tactical billet buffer tube, Geissele trigger, Strike Industries accessories, and one of the repurposed Aero Precision COP uppers complete with a match grade MicroMOA .223 barrel, Sharps Reliabolt & Carrier, Nordic charging handle, and SLR adjustable gas block. I even went a step further and made one of my custom hand stippled and paracord wrapped custom grips with a chopped down grip size to further reduce the overall AR15 pistol profile.

This build was every bit at its core a basic, short, and loud as hell AR15 pistol and could in no way be construed as anything other than an AR15 pistol which still allows me to connect easily on 12” targets all the way out to 300 yards. The result was one of my favorite guns in my safe and something that is solidly outside of the “grey area” which I can say with a straight face or without winking or nudge that it is without question an quintessential AR15 Pistol.

SOURCES

Check BROWNELLS for the best deals on firearms and accessories

Aero Precision - http://aeroprecisionusa.com

Yankee Hill Machine - YHM - http://yhm.net

Kineti-Tech - http://kineti-tech.com/

Ballistic Advantage - http://ballisticadvantagellc.com

Sharps Rifle Company - http://srcarms.com

Sig Sauer - http://www.sigsauer.com

Leatherwood Hi-Lux - http://hi-luxoptics.com

Phase 5 Tactical - http://phase5wsi.com

Mission First Tactical - http://missionfirsttactical.com/

Magpul - http://www.magpul.com/
Black Rain Ordnance - http://blackrainordnance.com
Geissele - http://geissele.com
Bushnell - http://bushnell.com
PWS - http://primaryweapons.com/store/

LaserLyte Trainer Trigger Tyme Laser Pistol Trainers

LaserLyte Trainer Trigger Tyme Laser Pistol Trainers

Since I discovered LaserLyte’s laser training system my home has about the same volume of laser beams bouncing around as your average rock concert or Star Wars movie. That might not be an entirely accurate, however it sure seems that I do a ton of laser training. With the cold wintery days coming up, my indoor laser training train will jump up even more.

Way back when I started with the LaserLyte trainers, I picked up Universal, 9mm and .223 laser inserts for my guns and have used them to fight boredom, and imaginary invaders, zombies, and plain old defensive training. Later I added their pistol trainers which accepted the Universal laser insert. The Reaction Tyme Targets delivered a tremendous around of real world training and a bit of fun. Along my laser training journey I added other targets from LaserLyte for a bit different training experience which included their targets and even their laser can targets. Last year LaserLyte also introduced the .22LR barrel insert which delivered a lot of fun from my 10/22 rifles and various .22LR pistols. They also introduced the very heavily anticipated Trigger Tyme Pistol Trainers with integrated lasers and very long running batteries.

To be quite honest I have had the new Pistol Trainers for many months and have not gotten around to reviewing them simply because they have become such a fixture to my daily routine that I frankly forgot that I should write a review on them.

ABOUT LASERLYTE
The company was founded in 1987 and has had a storied past starting as Tach Star then merged in 1996 with Lyte Optics to form LaserLyte.  From that point, the company has been creating one innovation after another which has now evolved to include a vast array of laser gun sights, laser bore sights, and laser training systems.  For LaserLyte, bringing together the boresighting and laser projection into a training system has been a natural progression.

The technology found in the Reaction Tyme Trainer Targets, Laser Trainer Target and Target Plinking Cans are pretty sophisticated, but LaserLyte’s execution delivers an elegantly simple package.

FIT, FINISH, FEEL, FEATURES, & FUNCTIONS
To utilize the LaserLyte training system, you need two products, both LaserLyte targets and either a laser insert or Universal insert which are both purchased separately based on your firearm's caliber.  Previously I reviewed a variety of the Reaction Tyme targets as well as the various LaserLyte trainer inserts. I also reviewed their previous pistol which used the Universal Laser Trainer, however now we have the new model which I believe is about 1000 billion percent better because the laser is integrated.  The required Universal laser insert for the old model is not particularly reliable, requires the batteries to be removed after use, but does deliver a single laser trainer which can be used in a variety of guns. That all noted having a dedicated laser in the training pistol is worlds better, more reliable, and far less than a pain if you just want to take a couple shots each time you let the dogs out or jump off a conference call.

The new LaserLyte Trainer Trigger Tyme Laser Training Pistol model is available in both a smaller “compact handgun size” and “full sized” and has a built in laser which has been factory zero’ed. The integrated laser has a very long lasting battery which LaserLyte noted will last around 50K trigger pulls and then can be easily replaced via just a simple battery door. This is huge news for a couple reasons. Though LaserLyte’s lasers deliver a very long battery life, they are typically dead in around 2000-3000 shots which goes by much faster than you think. The new pistol trainer delivers a very long 50K shot battery life which is quite nice if you shoot every night.

The other great feature is that is has an integrated laser which does not require the batteries to be removed after each use. The Universal laser trainer requires the batteries to be removed becuase it is sound activated and always listening. The new pistol training laser only goes off when the trigger is pulled, so you do not need to manage removing the insanely small batteries without losing them like you do on the Universal trainer insert. You can just concentrate on training and shooting.

The two new pistol trainers were based roughly on the G19 “full sized” and G42 “compact sized”. This allows training with completely safe pistol analogs anywhere. The full sized version even fits my Crossbreed SuperTuck G19 holster well enough that I can practice drawing with it.

The trigger pull is also greatly improved over the original trainer pistol with a 5.5lb trigger. The trigger does stack to the point of the trigger brake, however it feels like something in between a Sig trigger and a striker fired pistol trigger. It is a good compromise for a trainer analog for a variety of pistol owners. This trigger feel improvement makes the new versions trigger “feel realistic” versus a trigger in the Trainer Pistol which was designed to make enough noise to set off the Universal laser trainer.

At around $150, the Trainer Trigger Tyme Laser Trainer Pistols are actually a better deal if you add up the cost of a laser trainer insert and one of LaserLyte’s old style training pistols. All the way around th is a far better product than their original concept which indicates that LaserLyte is listening closely to what their customers want.

FINAL THOUGHTS
The new LaserLyte Trainer Trigger Tyme Laser pistol is a wonderful training tool, a valuable home defense training asset, and of course a ton of fun. This new pistol makes training a lot easier with far less headaches than you would have with other systems.  Admittedly there is a time to train with the same gun you shoot with and LaserLyte has all the common caliber inserts for your gun, however with striker fired pistols having to deal with resetting the trigger for each shot cuts down on the realism. Notably the trainers are weighted to resemble real pistols. The full sized version is 15 ounces and the compact version is 12 ounces which corresponds roughly with a real pistol weight.

Knowing the the holidays and lots of gift giving are right around the corner, I will note that this is the best gift you could give a gun person and one which will help them become a better shooter and serious training, all while delivering smiles in the process.

SPECS

Trainer Trigger Tyme® Laser Full Size - LT-TTL - MSRP $149.95
Trainer Trigger Tyme® Laser Compact - LT-TTLC - MSRP $149.95

LaserLyte® LT-TTL Specifications:
Power Output:                                     650NM, 5MW, Class IIIA
Activation:                                             Trigger activated
Batteries:                                               3 x A76
Battery Life:                                          50,000 shots
Weight:                                                  15 ounces
Material:                                                High impact ABS polymer

Trainer Trigger Tyme® Laser Full Size
Length:                                                  7.25 inches
Width:                                                    1.15 inches
Height:                                                   5.50 inches          
MSRP:                                                    $149.95

Trainer Trigger Tyme® Laser Compact
Length:                                                  6.00 inches
Width:                                                    1.00 inches
Height:                                                   4.75 inches   

SOURCES

Check BROWNELLS for the best deals on firearms and accessories

Laser Lyte - http://www.laserlyte.com/

Upgrading the Rifle the Needs No Upgrades

Upgrading the Rifle the Needs No Upgrades

Over the years since I was the first editor to review the Black Rain Ordnance Fallout15, my super awesome little custom BRO rifle has been a host for numerous optics reviews - currently the rifles features a Burris AR553 which has been a blast to shoot with. It is a really beautiful gun which many note has had some obvious wear over time from thousands of round chipping away on the shell deflector area and a few dings from me using it versus just babying it. Regardless of the minor wear, the rifle is still a head turner.

I have never really wanted any other upgrades beyond those already done. After all, it came equipped with a stunning hydro dipped billet upper and lower matched receiver set, match grade .223 Wylde stainless barrel, Geissele trigger (current versions come standard with BRO’s own trigger), a free float forend, KNS Anti-rotate pins, a NiBo carrier, and all USA made components including the buffer assembly and Magpul furniture. The gun only had three key upgrades which including an Ace Ultra Light stock, BRO adjustable gas block, and a Clark Carbon Fiber Handguard.

Recently, I found myself needing to pull the original Geissele trigger coincidentally for another Black Rain stripped lower build. There were also some great Strike Industries parts and a JP Rifles Ultra LMOS carrier loitering around on my desk looking for a home on a rifle. Let the upgrades begin on a rifle that really “needs” no upgrading.

HiperFire HiperTouch 24E $215.00 - There was nothing wrong with the Geissele trigger that originally equipped my Fallout15, however I tend to prefer a single stage trigger for faster paced spirited shooting such as what I typically do with this rifle.  

When it comes to really fast and light single stage triggers, I am pretty enamored with the performance of the HiperFire line of HiperTouch triggers and represent a complete redesign of the AR15 trigger unlike anything on the market. The 24E is considered Hiperfire’s higher tier entry with just a hair more pre-travel than their 24C models. It was the perfect trigger for this build and delivered a bit faster trigger for a gun I do a lot of blasting with plus a little bit of precision shooting work.

Strike Industries - Strike has been just banging out one killer product right after another. If their innovation, design, and engineering does not grab your attention, their stunning reasonable prices will. I replaced the original Mil-Spec parts with Strike’s new Extended Pivot Pins, AR Forward Assist, Enhanced Bolt Catch, and Enhanced Magazine Catch. 

The Extended Pivot Pins deliver users a ton of style with fingernail notches to makes things quicker and faster when breaking open and AR. The Strike Forward Assist and Enhanced Magazine Catch both simply look cooler with stylistic design elements.

JP Rifles New Ultra LMOS - Ultra Low Mass Operating System Alloy Carrier - $340 - Back a few years ago I used, tested and reviewed the LMOS stainless Carrier from JP Rifles and it was freaky insane how low I could turn down the adjustable gas block. That LMOS carrier was only 6.68oz and about 5 oz less than your average AR carrier. The whole idea is that the less mass the gas system has to move, the less gas pressure is required to move that BCG mass and the further you can turn down the gas pressure. The lower you can get that gas pressure, the lower the experienced recoil to the shooter. The upgrade had my AR15 spitting out .223 rounds with the felt recoil of a Ruger 10/22.

Later JP also introduced an Ultra LMOS carrier as well which dropped the carrier weight to a stunning 3.76 oz as an option for those that wanted to maximize recoil reduction. The problem was it did require a little maintenance and was a bit finicky to tune which lead to JP dropping the product, however the scalpers starting pawning these amazing alloy carriers for 2-3 times their original price. 

JP was mad enough about the price scalping they restarted the Ultra LMOS product with a few tweaks to decrease maintenance, extend logevity, and further improve performance. This is a product that is running on the edge of reliability designed to squeak out every bit of recoil reduction to speed up shot to shot performance on the competition circuit, so there are some compromises.

According to JP Rifles’s site, the 7075-T6 aluminum Ultra LMOS Carrier -  “Non-ferrous specialty carriers (like the Ultra LMOS) should be considered consumable rather than lifetime parts. The JPBC-1 yields a performance advantage for competition applications at a price. Your usage and maintenance will determine the duty life of your carrier. The JPBC-1 is a competition/race gun part only and is not recommended for any duty/defense use where absolute reliability is required. This carrier should also be run with an adjustable gas system to minimize stress on the entire bolt carrier assembly.  This carrier is not recommended for use with gas systems shorter than mid-length for longest service life. Use with carbine or shorter gas systems may result in gas erosion in the tail-stock area and subsequent leakage and reduced service life.”

I don’t intend to toss my factory Black Rain BCG, with the above noted caveats noting that at some point 1000s of rounds from now, the carrier will need to be replaced.  My original intent was to install this carrier on a build with a carbine length buffer tube, however I had timing issues which prevented the bolt from locking back on the last round. The simple fact was that the carrier was out running the bolt catch. I found that this carrier really does prefer a rifle length buffer and once I installed it on this build, I didn’t have any more issues getting it tuned up and running perfectly. JP Rifles does note that this carrier is not intended for defense or LEO use, but is intended for high performance competition rifles which are already running on the edge of performance/reliability. With the Ultra LMOS installed the rifle feels like an electric stapler vs a AR15.

V7 Weapons - CT Bolt - $80 + Titanium Cam Pin $17- V7 is a newer entrant into the AR15 parts space however their design and quality is absolutely top tier. I choose to add several components including their CT Bolt and titanium cam pin. The AR-15/M16 compatible bolt is made from Carpenter 158 Steel which is then cryogenically treated to -300 degrees, MP tested, and has shown to have a 200% increase in life expectancy due to the treatment. They even guarantee the CT bolt for life regardless of round count and its all made in the USA. A great deal for only $80 for a top tier AR15/M16 Bolt which I added to the JP Ultra LMOS carrier.   V7 offers some amazingly well designed ultralight AR15 components including their 7.2 gram, titanium melonited Cam pin which was designed to deliver smoother functioning. The nerds in the group will say “what about the nobility of titanium and its galvanic corrosion on aluminum?” Well to the nerds I would say stainless on aluminum is one of the worst pairings you can make from a galvanic corrosion perspective and we don’t seem to have AR15s falling apart from that… now do we? My theory was that the less weight the carrier sees the less stress it will endure and hopefully extend its known limited life span.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Doing this set of upgrades to an already perfectly wonderful AR15, makes me want to start tearing out all my other custom AR15s and begin adding in all the neat little custom parts. There was a definitive performance uplift of going to the lighter JP Rifles Ultra LMOS carrier. The Strike Industries accessories added a lot of cool factor with a few extra features in the process.  I love Geissele triggers… love them, however it was pretty transformational to shoot the same rifle with the extremely fast single stage Hiperfire 24E trigger after being used to feeling some take up on the two stage Geissele. Not bad for a rifle that didn’t need any upgrades.

SOURCES

Check BROWNELLS for the best deals on firearms and accessories

Black Rain Ordnance - http://blackrainordnance.com

JP RIfles - http://www.jprifles.com

HiperFire - http://www.hiperfire.com

Strike Industries - http://www.strikeindustries.com/shop/index.php

V7 - http://www.vsevenweaponsystems.com

ALG Defense 6-Second Optic Mount for Glock Pistols

ALG Defense 6-Second Optic Mount for Glock Pistols

In a sea of go fast components for rifles and pistols, I have found ALG Defense to be a very affordable option combined with top level quality and some really great innovation. ALG has delivered the market great trigger upgrades for the LEO and Military market which still comply with trigger pull and other restrictions, and their super lightweight AR15 handguards are one of my favorite AR15 build accessories. Over the last two years ALG also introduced muzzle brakes, a "match" AK Trigger, low profile super strong gas blocks, a Magwell Funnel and now this 6-Second Optic Mount for the Glock series of pistols.

Though the ALG 6-Second Mount may appear to be yet another 3Gun competition accessory, it was actually developed based on the direct request of a counter-terrorism unit who approached ALG. The team had very specific criteria it needed to mount a red dot sight to a Glock. Now this might not seem like a revolutionary idea, however the typical mounting options had problems.

As we have heard from competitors on the 3Gun circuit, slide mounted red dots take a horrible beating which delivered a short service life before repair. Many competitors found that Aimpoint Micro sights could take more abuse, however mounting the Micro to the slide still delivered a weaker slide due to the milling and a punishing environment for a sight which could potentially deliver failure at the worst possible moment. The counter-terrorism team wanted to get their prefered Aimpoint Micro sight mounted to the frame to improve balance during cycling and improve red dot reliability over the longer term. On top of a very robust sight mount that could survive “entry work”, they also wanted to retain the lower picatinny for a weapon mounted light.

The name for the ALG 6-Second Mount, comes from a description used by one of the operators: “The fight lasts 6 seconds... Either they’re dead or you’re dead, and aggression saves the day.”

FIT, FINISH, FEEL, FEATURES, & FUNCTIONS

ALG Defense delivered a 6061-T6 billet machined aluminum mount which is designed for Gen 3 Glock 17, 22, 24 31, 34 and 35 and specifically designed to fit the $650 Aimpoint Micro.  The Micro is a renowned for its very high reliability, service life and battery longevity, however my one gripe with this mount is that if you don’t want to use a Aimpoint Micro you cannot use the mount… and my preferences would be to have a reflex style of sight. Hopefully ALG will begin offering this in a more universal type model with extended compatibility to other red dots and reflex sights.

For tough guy folks who may have their gun whacked with a very heavy blunt instrument as they breach a door would definitely have the need for the Aimpoint Micro and they also believe that sight to fit their needs. As a guy who would rather use this on a more competition on general purpose home defense gun, I find the Micro or any other similar style red dot delivers a much more restrictive field of view which is only amplified when the red dot is well over a foot from your face on a pistol versus inches away like on an AR15. The dot also gets harder to find in the tube gets further away from the eye. The team which contacted ALG will undoubtedly train with this pistol to take advantage of all the speed the Aimpoint can offer.

Despite my many calls to Aimpoint over several months to attempt to snag a Micro for testing in this evaluation, I ended up having to use the very durable and affordable Primary Arms Micro Dot as a stand in sight. Shockingly Primary Arms has been delivering some pretty awesomely affordable optics and their Micro Dot red dot sights just happens to have the same mounting plate holes as a Aimpoint Micro. This allowed me to just bolt up the PA Micro Dot which sells for around $100 vs shelling out $650 Aimpoint for this article. The PA Micro Dot is not a top end equivalent to the $650 Aimpoint, however it's a hell-of-a sight for $100 and delivered zero problems over the course of well over 1000 rounds.

I pulled out my rather custom Salient International tuned Glock 17, with an ALG Defense Magwell and KKM Match barrel and brake for testing.  The mounting is incredibly easy. Due to the mount sitting so low over the slide, the rear sight does need to removed to allow for the slide to be removed for cleaning. Drive out the trigger frame pin, attach the Aimpoint Micro to the mount  and then slip the ALG 6-Second mount onto the picatinny rail of your Glock. The mount is then secured to the pistol via an included replacement trigger pin and picatinny mount pin. The entire mount is rock freaking solid once mounted and I experienced no zero shifting during my testing.

It took some time for me to retrain my eye, but I got there after a few magazines. After that I really started to have some fun. The mount is spectacularly finished and far more secure than other Glock focused optic mounts I have tested and used before. Once your eye gets retrained to look for the red dot versus the iron sights, the sight is incredible fast and surely does the job the counter-terrorism team needs it to.

The quality is impeccable and the machining is very detailed as you would expect on a $250 red dot mount for a $550 Glock. Along with availability in Black, Grey, DDC (color I tested), and Purple ALG has seen to the extra details such as some lightening cuts to reduce weight, added a blast shield to prevent the front lens from getting hazed over from muzzle blast, and has even worked with a couple companies to deliver a holters solution. Likely users will just carry the gun as equipped or use some type of universal or competition style holster.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Although I am not a counter-terrorist dude, I can imagine the needs of ripping a door off its hinges and a team spilling through a door with only 6-Seconds to remedy the situation or get shot. The setup is fast and durable all while delivering the benefits of a red dot to a Glock.

SPECS

ALG 6-Second Mount

6061-T6 billet machined aluminum

Designed for Gen 3 Glock 17, 22, 24 31, 34 and 35

Exclusively designed to fit the $650 Aimpoint Micro

$250

SOURCES

Check BROWNELLS for the best deals on firearms and accessories

ALG Defense - http://algdefense.com

OTHER PRODUCTS FEATURED

Glock - https://us.glock.com

Salient International - http://www.salientarms.com

KKM - http://www.kkmprecision.com

Primary Arms - http://www.primaryarms.com