A Cat Tail is a power throw lever for a variable power scope. It’s an attachment that enables the power ring to be rotated more quickly and easily by providing added leverage. This can be advantageous if the user needs to change the power setting on their scope rapidly, or has a scope with a stiff power adjustment ring.
Magpul Industries has finally released their long awaited (at least for me, since SHOT 2008) MBUS (Magpul Back-Up Sight). What makes them different from other back-up iron sights? They’re made of polymer, not iron. They were designed as a low-cost alternative to more expensive steel/aluminum front and rear sights, and a set of both front and rear cost as much as a ‘iron’ rear sight would. Being made of polymer, they can be produced in any standard colour Magpul manufactures their other products in.
LaRue Tactical listened to AK shooters expressing the need for a simple, low profile optic for the AK weapon and came up with their AK IronDot. It’s a solidly-mounted mini-red dot sight (MRD) that replaces the rear iron sight on the AK, for the most compact red dot for the AK available yet.
The ACOG RCO QD Mount is designed for Trijicon TA31RCO (Rifle Combat Optic) ACOG scope, which is essentially a TA31 with a special reticle designed for the USMC. There are different variants of the TA31RCO; one of them is for the M4A1 and another for the M16A4. One of the issues with the M16A4 in service with the USMC is the non-collapsible, full length A2 stock. The long length of this stock can cause issues when wearing body armour as the stock is too long to allow proper eye relief with magnified optics.
Aimpoint’s CompM4 Red Dot Sight is the latest CCO (Close Combat Optic) adopted by the U.S. Army, beating out its competitors in the Army’s competition for a new CCO to replace the CompM2. The CompM4 is even more rugged than its predecessors, and has a battery life that pretty much eliminates battery life as an issue.
Troy Industries Folding Battle Sights have been out for a while now and have become a very popular choice (and the standard for which others are compared to) for AR-15 back-up iron sights with civilian and military shooters and military alike. They’ve proven themselves to be rugged and durable enough to withstand the rigors of battle. It’s no wonder that Noveske Rifleworks chose Troy sights as the standard on their complete rifles, and also offer them for sale with the distinctive Noveske Iron Cross logo.
Pretty much as soon as Aimpoint released my new favourite sight – their new Aimpoint Micro T-1, LaRue Tactical came out with their QD mounts for the Micro-series of Aimpoint sights. The LaRue Tactical LT-66X fits all Aimpoint Micro sights and comes in two heights – LT-660 (High) and LT-661 (Low).
The question of the security of non-pinned gas blocks has been brought up numerous times. Factory-pinned front sight blocks have taper pins, which secure the gas block/front sight assembly to the barrel. Aftermarket gas blocks in general come in clamp on, and set screwed types. This is because it is next to impossible for the end user to re-drill taper pin holes in a blank gas block to match ones already present on a barrel.
Since the Vltor VST-1C has provisions for a QD sling swivel, some people have brought up concerns that attaching a sling to the gas block might cause it to rotate, thereby rendering the weapon inoperable. I asked the guys at Vltor if they were willing to perform a test that would quantify the force needed to move/rotate one of their gas blocks and they were open to it. We decided on a torque test, which was measurable and relatively easy to setup. This would provide a number which some enterprising individual might use for further calculations (not me) if they wanted to.
