Wednesday, October 12, 2016

Feddersen 22XG Brass Alloy 10/22 Receiver

Feddersen 22XG Brass Alloy 10/22 Receiver


Fred Feddersen is one of those guys who constantly is coming up with a new ideas… sometimes it is tough to keep up.  This Feddersen Special Bronze Alloy 10/22 receiver is yet another new idea from his never idling mind. Only Fred would ask the question “why has no one made a heavy shiney high precision solid Special Bronze Alloy 10/22 receiver?” The result is the single most stunning 10/22 receiver I have ever seen which is still plug and play compatible with all factory and aftermarket 10/22 accessories.


ABOUT FEDDERSEN
The company is known by many names; Feddersen, R4, 1022rifle.com, and Gunbarrels.net.  Even with that identity crisis, Feddersen is a name people know. The company was founded in 1979 by Fred Feddersen and has become rather famous for his world record breaking patented R4 SIPR .50 BMG gun barrels.  The company’s barrels are so well regarded that they do also have several military contracts for their proprietary barrel designs.  Fred has been making gun barrels for quite some time and knows that there is more to making match quality gun barrels than just drilling a hole in a steel rod and pulling a rifling button through it.  Fred prides himself on offering the straightest bores in the industry all thanks to his patented process and machines. Each and every step of their in house barrel production is unique and in fact their entire process is patented and a trade secret process.


Unlike many barrel or firearms manufacturers, Feddersen is not buying pre-rifled blanks and just finishing them to their own specs, they are producing 100% of their barrels in house from solid round bar stock.  They have a special drilling process, a patented ultra-sensitive lapping/honing process, unique patented and proprietary SEPR - Single Edged Polygonal Rifling, and one of the few companies in the world which offer a barrel with near perfect centricity and straightness between the bore and profile. 

Amazingly enough their 10/22 barrels start at only $145, but they also manufacture ¼ moa blanks for .223 and .308. Noteable my AR .223 and .308 barrel  are the most accurate barrels I have owned including my $500+ custom barrels and my 10/22 Feddersen barrels have delivered 50-yard .12x” groups. The voodoo that Fred’s patented design and trade secret process delivers superb accuracy which rivals the best barrels anywhere.


THE FEDDERSEN SPEIAL BRONZE ALLOY 10/22 RECEIVER
With all the 10/22 accuracy fame around Feddersen’s barrels it seemed like a natural development to create a 10/22 receiver, but like everything else, Fred had to do it better and differently.  Fred decided on a high Special Bronze Alloy for a number of reasons. The Special Bronze Alloy receiver is stunning but there are other advantages beyond the looks.


The Special Bronze Alloy is considerably heavier than aluminum which delivers a stiffer and more substantial feeling 10/22 build which in turn should deliver improved accuracy. The Special Bronze Alloy is also naturally slick and for the most part self lubricating. I can tell you that bolt glides back and forth like it is on bearings - it is amazingly smooth.


Feddersen integrated an extended 1913 spec picatinny rail into the receiver. Another notable feature is the barrel trunnion v-block area is specced to precisely fit a .920 bull barrel profile, so instead of a gap around the barrel, the trunnion actually provides support to assure there is no barrel droop.


AVAILABLE FEDDERSEN 10/22 RECEIVER MODELS
Feddersen is still in the process of starting up production on the 10/22 receivers, however the initial plans are to offer the receiver in several versions with polished or standard finishes. The models will includes Special Bronze Alloy 22XG, Nickel Alloy 22XN, and Aluminum 22XA billets versions.  The Brass Nickel Alloy 22XG are planned to have a $375 retail, Nickel Alloy 22XN $385, and Aluminum 22XA $175 billets versions.


ACCURACY
I am not going to rehash the stunning accuracy the Feddersen barrels deliver, however I will point out that I have won bets with Feddersen barrels like slicing  cards at 25 to 50 yards with the right ammo. This Feddersen Special Bronze Alloy 22XG only enhances that accuracy. My best 50-yard groups are now solidly in the .1X” range with Lapua Center X.


SPECS
Special Bronze Alloy 22XG $375 retail
Nickel Alloy 22XN $385 retail
Aluminum 22XA $275 retail


BUILD SPECS
Feddersen 22XG 10/22 Receiver
Volquartsen Trigger Unit
Feddersen 16.25” Fluted Bull Barrel
Tactical Innovations Match Bolt and Red Charging handle
Burris Timberline 4.5-14 Scope


SOURCES

Check BROWNELLS for the best deals on firearms and accessories

FJ Feddersen, Inc.


Monday, October 10, 2016

Shooting Innovations Recoil Reduction System Captured Buffer Spring

Shooting Innovations Recoil Reduction System Captured Buffer Spring


After a multitude of custom AR15 builds for either good stories or good causes, I really was dieing to do something over the top similar those build I donated for auction to the Mercury One and The Lone Survivor foundations. One of the manufacturers I worked with closely for both the Lone Survivor builds and one of the Mercury One builds was Area 53. Area 53 creates gorgeous billet AR15 and AR308 uppers, lowers and even complete rifles.


After working together to do some charitable good, Area 53's owner Charles did something surprising... he reached out to me to offer me a one-off custom billet El Jefe AR15 upper and lower receiver set as a thank you for, in his words, "my hard work with the charities". I was blown away. Charles at Area 53 had a simple request; "Do something very special with them for yourself."  So I did...how about $2500 worth of custom one-off "special".  I wanted something that as you looked at it, you would just keep seeing more and more custom.  When I interviewed with the legendary Jesse James, he emphasized layering the custom details and that the eye should never really be able to take in all the custom elements at once. Although I doubt I will ever achieve Jesse’s level of custom, my goal was to give it a try on this build with a multitude of hand finished parts.


The theme I tried to carry through a “Four” theme in shades of grey from polished silver to black. The result was a beautiful use of carbon fiber, anodized billet aluminum, synthetics, titanium and stainless steel delivering a feathery 8.5lb rifle including the full sized 4-14 Primary Arms FFP Mildot optic.


Part of that customization were internal parts you cannot see, but in some way enhanced performance. The barrel had a custom gas port, Precision Reflex adjustable gas block, Fail Zero m16 Bolt Carrier Group and Extension, V7 Ultra Light buffer retainer, and a CMC flat trigger that you can just see the shoe on. One of the really interesting parts was the Shooting Innovations Recoil Reduction System which notes a 30% reduction of recoil.


Shooting Innovations LLC Recoil Reduction System (Captured Buffer Spring) - $150 - To even take even more bite out of the very little recoil left, I opted for Shooting Innovation’s Captured Buffer Spring which touts a significant 30% recoil reduction. Combining this with the adjustable gas block, and giant brake netted a rifle which felt like I was shooting an electric stapler with a bit less recoil than my 10/22s.


This is a similar concept but a bit different than JP Rifles captured buffer spring. The Shooting Innovations Recoil Management System adds a set of additional springs and floating brass collar which provides extra damping to the recoil cycle. SI claims that the combination of the reciprocation, dual springs, and brass collar deliver a level of recoil cancellation since all are moving at different rates.


The system does work and delivers a delightfully soft and smooth recoil. As a side benefit the Shooting Innovations Recoil System also took the “boing” spring sound out of the the recoil.

One of the odd installation points is that the Captured Buffer Spring installation requires the removal of the buffer retention detent and spring. Since the SI system is captured already, it is not going to spring out like a regular buffer spring would.


FINAL THOUGHTS
I have tested a couple of these captured buffer spring systems and they do work. They work really well when they are just plugged into a standard upper which has not had a world of tweaks, but one the custom builds they can really shine with the ability to further tune gas pressure.


The founder of Shooting Innovations, Andy Baker, does have a long history in the firearms industry and has worked for over five years to develop this rather unique captured buffer spring solution. If you are looking to drop a large portion of your AR15’s recoil or just smooth out an already great shooting competitive AR15, I would suggest taking a close look at this $114 system. It may be just what you are looking for for an even better AR.


SOURCES
Buy at Brownells.com and support MajorPandemic.com

Shooting Innovations LLC - http://www.shootinginnovationsllc.com/
Mission First Tactical - http://missionfirsttactical.com
DoubleStar - https://star15.com
Precision Armament - https://star15.com
Battle Arms Development - https://www.battlearmsdevelopment.com
Aero Precision - http://aeroprecisionusa.com
Precision Reflex - http://www.precisionreflex.com
Feddersen/MicroMOA/Artisan Arms - http://www.artisanarms.com, http://micromoa.com

Friday, October 7, 2016

Clinger Atom and Stingray Holsters Review

Clinger Atom and Stingray Holsters Review


As a writer, a lot of handguns run through my hands for review. Some of those, I actually like enough to slip into my waistband to test as a concealed carry firearm.  The problem is that typically a quality holster to slide a test gun into can run $80-$100 pretty easy and… well, you know that seems stupid to drop that cash for a gun I may just send back to a manufacturer.  I stumbled onto Clinger holsters simply because I needed an inexpensive holster option that didn’t suck. The reality is that the Stingray and Atom holster I have started using are awesome holsters at any price, but for my use, the price is right.


All the Clinger holsters feature adjustable retention, high grade Kydex, compact designs, and rust-free hard anodized hardware. Clinger holsters are not just low grade holsters slapped together with high grade components; instead the holsters are made by a highly trained staff. Now having a couple of these holsters, I can say the quality is pretty freaky great for a $90 holster and stunning for the actual sub-$40 price. In fact, Clinger Holsters backs up that quality claim with a no questions asked “Bumper-To-Bumper Lifetime Warranty”. Based on what I have experienced with the Atom and Stingray holsters, I want to keep buying them. As of this article I had just purchased two more of these holsters.

Stingray Holster - Between the two holsters I like the Stingray holster the best. It is fast, tight and easy holster design that slips into the pants easy, is highly concealable with a shirt pulled over it, and can be pulled out quick at the and of the day or accommodating gun-free zones. The holster itself is extremely well designed fast drawing and due to the clip placement very concealable. The broad clip placement delivers good belt support, pulls in the grip of the gun, and keeps the grip well tucked in.


The full sweat guard makes the holster very comfortable and prevents hammers, safeties, slots on slides, and sights from digging into your side. Clinger has worked around the limitations of a single clip holster with the large belt clip to provide support , but as with any single clip holster design it still does not distribute the weight like my Crossbreed Supertuck Deluxe’s two broadly spaced clips at 3 and 5-o’clock. The one big 1.25” clip does do a pretty great job to deliver comfortable all-day carry.


Clinger offers the Stinger for pretty much every popular gun model on the market with left or right hand configurations with 15, 30, 0, and low ride cant options. Overall this is a great holster design I will end up buying for a lot of pistols. For the record, I like the low-ride 0-cant format best for compact 10-round or less pistols like the H&K P30SK or Glock G26 and the standard 15-degree format to conceal larger G17, G19, and H&K VP9 sized guns and increase comfort.


Atom Holster - The Clinger Atom holster is the deep concealment model from the company and allows a shirt to be tucked in over the holster. This is a similar tuckable concept to the Crossbreed Supertuck Deluxe and copy Galco King Tuck designs, but the Atom has only one J Hook clip. There is a unique J hook which provides a gap for a shirt to be tucked in over the holster. I have this Clinger Atom holster for my Walther PPS and Glock 42. For deep concealment the simple Atom design can make a small single stack disappear. The Stingray is not tuckable, so this is where a trade-off decision has to be made of what your carry intents.

One of the problems I have with this holster is that the hook that enables the tuckable design adds easily ¼-inch to the width of the overall mounted gun and holster inside the pants. If I was rarely going to carry a gun “tucked” I would buy the Stingray. For the $29.99 price it would be hard to not go ahead and add the Atom to the shopping cart as well as the Stingray for a high level of flexibility and comfort which leads me to the next point. The Atom is not as comfortable as the Stingray due to a partial sweat guard that allows the slide and sights to dig into your side but it is more concealable. The low profile sweat guard aids in concealment, but there is a trade off. My advice is to buy both since each holster serves a unique purpose and flexibility for carry and are combined still less expensive than most holsters.


FINAL THOUGHTS
The quality is high and the design is clean and simple on both the Stingray and Atom holsters. I have had a lot of holsters over the years and I can say these are great holsters for the price. If you are looking for some great holster options, I can easily recommend the Clinger Holsters since I am still buying them, and buying them...


SPECS
Stingray Holster $39.99
Atom Holster $29.99


SOURCES

Clinger Holsters  - https://clingerholsters.com