Sniper / Precision Rifles, USA

Who Is The Rifle Maker Bergara?

To be honest, Bergara wasn’t even on my radar until the Summer of 2023. I was talking to my good friend, Scott Igert, who, along with his wife Alicia, own Michigan Gun Exchange, about a slick looking bolt rifle he bought for inventory to sell – it was a Bergara B14 HMR. I’d not heard of the brand before and he told me they were known for their barrels. If I had heard of Bergara before then, I really hadn’t paid attention and what was in front of me was a very nicely done bolt gun with a sub-Minute of Angle (MOA) guarantee.

The Bergara B14 HMR looked and felt good – nice trigger, smooth action and shouldered well. My only problem was that I knew nothing about them so I didn’t buy it and decided I better do some digging. What I found out was impressive and want to share it – by the way, I did go back and buy the rifle a few weeks later.

Corporate and Brand Structure

Like many arms companies these days, understanding the organizational and brand structure around Bergara took some research. Bergara is basically a brand owned by Dikar S Coop of Spain who is owned by Mondragon. Let me show you a chart to better explain this – click on the diagram to see a full size copy:

That diagram is the best I can come up with after reading Mondragon, Dikar S Coop and BPI Outdoor websites, 3rd party stories, etc. If anyone from BPI or Dikar want to email me some corrections, I’d very much welcome them.

Let’s Look At Each

  • Mondragon Corporation – Books could be written about this firm and their cooperative business model – I can only summarize a tiny bit. Mondragon was founded in 1956 in Mondragon, Spain. Today, Mondragon is the seventh largest corporation in Spain (based on asset turnover) and is a worker cooperative [Click here for a ton of webpages that cover their “co-op” model in more detail]. In 2024, it had over 70,000 workers, 30,660 in the Basque Country, 29,340 in the rest of Spain and around 10,000 abroad. It has four broad categories of business – finance, industrial/equipment (I’ve seen this group mentioned three different ways – industrial, equipment and manufacturing), retail, and knowledge. To me, I think of them as a holding company with a very interesting set of management principles.
  • Dikar S Coop – Is a cooperative owned by Mondragon Corporation. It’s part of the industrial/equipment group. Dikar S Coop focuses on sporting goods. It was formed by the merger of two Spanish gunmakers in 1969 Mendi S Coop (shotguns) and Jukar (muzzle loaders). Jukar was looking for access to the US market and Mendi mainly sold there. It joined Mondragon in 1991. In 2003, Dikar bought BPI Outdoors who was their largest barrel customer at that time. Today, Dikar it has over 300 people and markets in 45 countries. Note, their website links to online stores for Quake and Bergara direcly.
  • Dikar Portugal – Launched in 2003 initially to produce products for Quake Industries. There are current references to them making products for Bergara, CVA and Quake.
  • Bergara – the brand was launched in 2010 initially focused on barrels and introduced rifles and accessories to the US market in 2015. Within five years, Bergara sales exceeded the other brands. Note, the Dikar website is ambiguous but I think they mean within five years after the introduction to the US market. What I find interesting is their early emphasis on producing high quality barrels. They actually retained Ed Shilen, the brains behind Shilen custom barrels, to help them understand the process and methods behind quality barrels. While you may know Bergara for their rifles, they make a ton of different barrels for other big name companies.
  • Quake Industries – while focused on the American market, Quake products are sold in 45 countries. They make various accessories for shooters including bags, belts, optics covers, staps/slings and more.
  • BPI Outdoors – Black Powder Inc (BPI)was founded in 1999 and bought Connecticut Valley Arms (CVA) that same year. BPI Outdoors is directly owned by Dikar S Coop and isn’t surprising given Dikar’s history of muzzleloaders. As of September 2024, they employee about 75 people in Lawrenceville, Georgia.
  • CVA – is the #1 brand of muzzle loader rifles in the US. In 2020, they entered the centerfire market. They did get a black eye with a barrel quality problem in 1995 and 1996 model years but that was before BPI bought them in 1999. My understanding is that Bergara makes the CVA barrels now.
  • PowerBelt – is a leading brand of muzzle loader ammunition launched in 2002.
  • Durasight – is a brand of sights, scope bases and rings for CVA firearms launched in 2005.
  • Bergara Custom Rifles – In 2012 BPI hired retired USMC Msgt Dan Hanus. Mr. Hanus was schooled and then led the USMC’s Precision Rifle Section in Quantico, VA. He then brought in a few more builders he knew plus BPI invested in CNC machines for them to use. Their custom rifles were almost immediately adopted by a number of Georgia SWAT teams. If I had $5-6,000 + money for a comparable optic, I’d sure get in line for one of their BCR19 Heavy Tactical rifles.
  • Bergara Academy – they offer long-range shooting classes in Montana and Wyoming. Small class sizes and all-inclusive pricing makes their offerings very interesting. [Read that as “I would go in a heartbeat if I could afford it!”]

Summary

You’d think “Who is Bergara?” would get a simple answer. I guess it depends on where you stop but I learned quite a bit. For example, I had no idea that Bergara started with barrels and that partly explains why my B14 HMR was so accurate. I also didn’t know about the business model set forth by Mondragon.

In short, there is a lot of experience behind Bergara not to mention capital for innovation and expansion. I also think there is a lot of good momentum pushing them forward and we will see more and more from them.

I hope this helps you out.

References

This post took some digging so I want to provide the source pages in case you are interested:

Note, I have to buy all of my parts – nothing here was paid for by sponsors, etc. I do make a small amount if you click on an ad and buy something but that is it. You’re getting my real opinion on stuff.

If you find this post useful, please share the link on Facebook, with your friends, etc. Your support is much appreciated and if you have any feedback, please email me at in**@ro*********.com. Please note that for links to other websites, I may be paid via an affiliate program such as Avantlink, Impact, Amazon and eBay.

Firearms Building and Gunsmithing, Sniper / Precision Rifles

Adding a Minimalist Spigot to a KRG Bravo Chassis

In my last post, I mentioned my disappointment that the Kinetic Research Group (KRG) Bravo chassis that Aero Precision sells with some of their Solus bolt rifle offerings is not truly bipod ready. In my opinion, Aero should either have discosed that the stock isn’t bipod ready and/or given an option during the purchase of the Solus to buy one of the models of spigots that KRG offers. Okay, that’s water under the bridge. I want to make this post about adding a spigot to a Bravo.

First off, sincere kudos to KRG for a really nicely done modular and extensible chassis that looks like a stock. It’s very well designed and executed. The Bravo has tons of ways you can configure it. Some are included such as the adjustable cheek piece, length of pull and one rail segment. Others you need to purchase such as forward mounts for night vision devices, ARCA Swiss mounting accessories and far more. One of the accessories you can buy are various spigots.

It’s time for me to explain what I am talking about – a spigot is an attachment point that extends forward past the front end of the stock where a bipod, and sometimes other accessories, can be attached.

In the case of the Bravo, a spigot will connect to the aluminum chassis and both move the bipod mounting point forward and provide an extremely secure mount directly to the chassis.

Nostalgia Time

The first time I encountered a spigot was with Versa-Pod bipods. It’s been so long, I can’t recall if I found out about Versa-Pods and then bought an Accuracy International Chassis System (AICS) for my Remington 700 XCR LR or it was the other way arround.

You can see the spigot sticking out of the front of the AICS – in this case it is an adapter to use a Versa-pod bipod.

I don’t really recall when but at some point I moved away from the Versa-Pods mainly because I didn’t like the rotation around the spigot unless you really cranked down the locking knob. These days, my go-to bipods are Atlas models.

Back to KRG Spigots

KRG literally has a whole page of different spigots. There really are three factors that distinguish them – whether it is an ARCA pattern, how far forward you want the mounting point and what all you want to attach.

I’ll be honest – I actually had to call KRG to figure out what I needed. The customer service person I talked to was great and patiently explained the pros and cons of each based on what I needed:

  • I did not need to connect an ARCA device, such as a tripod. Since I did not need ARCA this also ruled out their really long spigot.
  • I only needed a bipod mount. Their normal spigot provides all kinds of attachments for rails, QD studs, night vision, etc.

Ok, no ARCA and just a bipod. That pointed me to the Minimalist spigot. The Minimalist moves the mount closer to the bore – which means you can get lower all things being equal. It also moves the attachment about five inches forward.

One thing with the Minimalist – it does not come with a rail section. You can either use the polymer one that came with your stock or buy an aluminum section from them. There rails sit flat as they not have the typical M-Lok boss on the back. This also means you can’t use a common M-Lok rail.

Your other option is to bolt an Atlas bipod or a Harris bipod they sell directly to the spigot. I like using a rail because I can pair it with an American Defense Manufacturing (ADM) quick release lever and have the ability to quickly take the bipod off if I don’t need it. For example, if I am shooting from a bench rest.

How to install the Minimalist spigot

If you can turn a screwdriver, you can install the spigot has there are just a few steps:

  1. Remove the bottom chassis cover by removing eight bolts
  2. Screw the spigot into place – use blue/medium thread locker on the bolts
  3. Apple blue/medium strength threadlocker to each bolt and screw the rail segment onto the spigot – assuming you go that route
  4. Apply blue/medium strenth thread locker to each bolt and screw the bottom cover back on

It’s nice when something literally is that easy.

Remove the 8 screws that hold the cover on the chassis’ backbone. Note, the rear two are longer than the others.
The spigot will screw on in the front.
This is the Minimalist spigot that bolts right into place.
The machining is very well done. The holes all line up and it’s just a matter of screwing it together.
Apply medium strength thread locker to the screws they provide. Note the holes used above. The forward outermost holes in this photo are used to secure the cover.
In my case, I screwed in the rail section after applying medium strength thread locker to the screws.
Apply blue/medium strength threadlocker to the screws and install them. This is a polymer cover you are installing and do not need a lot of torque.. Bring it down snug/firm and let the threadlocker do its job.
This is an Atlas BT65-LS17 bipod. The BT65s are great rigid bipods that don’t pan left and right. It uses an ADM LS17 quick release clamp to secure quickly to rails. If I had wanted it, I could have ordered the BT65 without the clamp and installed it directly to the spigot. Due to all of the counterfiet Atlas bipods that are out there, I buy mine directly from AccuShot. I’d recommend you do that or buy them from a reputable dealer. Avoid buying an Atlas model from eBay like the plague.
The result is incredibly solid. If I had known how nice this setup was, I would have paid for it from the start.
The ADM LS-17 quick release clamp does a great job holding the Atlas BT65 solidly in place.
Here’s a view of the whole Solus Bravo .308 with the spigot and Atlas BT65-LS17 bipod.

Summary

Okay, I was starting to like the Bravo chasis more and more. The Minimalist spigot is absolutely worth it. You can then either mount your bipod directly or via a Picatinny rail section like I did.

Dear Aero – hint, hint – I would have paid for the spigot in a heartbeat had I known how solid it is and what a stable platform it can enable.

To anyone reading this who has a Bravo chasis – adding a spigot is very much worth it. I’m honestly glad I did.

I hope this helps you out.

Note, I have to buy all of my parts – nothing here was paid for by sponsors, etc. I do make a small amount if you click on an ad and buy something but that is it. You’re getting my real opinion on stuff.

If you find this post useful, please share the link on Facebook, with your friends, etc. Your support is much appreciated and if you have any feedback, please email me at in**@ro*********.com. Please note that for links to other websites, I may be paid via an affiliate program such as Avantlink, Impact, Amazon and eBay.

Sniper / Precision Rifles

The Aero Solus .308 Bravo With a 20″ M24 Profiled Barrel Is A Solid Performer – With Four Additions

Most of my time is spent working on ARs, AKs, and various Pistol Caliber Carbines (PCCs). Once in a while, I get a hankering for a precision rifle and take the plunge … in this case two plunges, an Aero Solus .308 with a 20″ M24 profiled barrel plus a Bergara B14 HMR also in .308. This post will focus on the Solus.

I was customizing a Zastava M77 designated marksman’s rifle (DMR) and then a sales email showed up from Aero Precision with a really good sale on the Aero Solus Bravo. Well, I decided to do some more digging to learn about the features:

  • You can get it in .308, 6mm or 6.5 Creedmor – I opted for .308 as I have plenty of match ammo for that caliber. Everything below is about the .308 20″ Bravo just to be clear. The Creedmor chamberings have a few differences such as barrel length.
  • Aero Precision makes the receiver and bolt
  • The receiver is patterned after a Remington 700 short action and is made from 416 stainless
  • The bolt is a 3-locking lug design, has a 60 degree throw and dual ejectors. It also cocks on open.
  • A 20 MOA 1913 Picatinny scope rail is integral with the receiver – no need to buy something there
  • Ballistic Advantage, a sister company to Aero, makes the barrel
  • The barrel is a 20 inch heavy M24 profile with a 1:10 twist, honed and lapped
  • The barrel is threaded 5/8-24 and comes with a protective muzzle nut
  • The trigger is made by TriggerTech, who I really like
  • And the unit on sale that I bought has a stock is the Bravo chassis system from Kinetic Research Group (KRG). It looks like a stock but an aluminum chasis is under the skin.
  • The stock has M-Lok slots in it for accessores – but I do have an issue and will mention it below – it is honestly not bipod ready as delivered.
  • The stock accomodates AICS-pattern magazines and comes with a 5-round Magpul P-Mag.
  • The base weight is around 9.6-10 pounds depending on the specification sheet you read – there is a lot of substance to the rifle – especially given the M24 barrel profile
  • Each rifle has a sub-MOA guarantee

The Solus was designed to give the common man an affordable entry-level precision rifle. I’m just fine with that because the only Accuracy International product I could ever afford was a chasis system that I dropped a Remington .300 Win Mag LR XCR barreled action in.

In 2011, I dropped a .300 Win Mag Remington XCR LR barreled action in an AICS chassis. That’s the closest I ever got to an expensive precision rifle. I must say, I’ve had some great rifles since that did not break the bank from Bergara, Ruger, Sabatti and Savage. That is a Storm Case iM3300 before Pelican bought them.

At any rate, I read good reviews plus I’ve owned a few Aero Precision M4 and M5 rifles over the years and decided to give it a try. I certainly couldn’t buy the parts and assemble it myself for the price.

The Solus arrived in the fall of 2023 and only for a quick once over, I had to put it on hold while clearing other projects off the deck. In January 2024, I finally had time to work on it – although the temperature outside was in the teens and my unheated shop wasn’t much warmer. After careful negotiation with my wife – sounds better than I begged her – I set up lights, a table and my Tipton Ultra Standing Gun Vise.

In many respects, the Solus comes ready to go other than an optic plus needing the bore cleaned and then everything properly lubricated. A user manual is included with the rifle but click here if you need to get an online copy.

I did find four things I want to share with you that made a big difference for me:

Added a Precision Armament Hypertap Muzzle Brake

My L1-L5 vertabrae and I are no longer on speaking terms so recoil mitigation means a great deal to me now. On one hand the Solus weighs quite a bit by itself – let’s say 10# ballpark and then about about 2 pounds for the scope and rings — 12 pounds can absorb a fair amount of energy. The KRG Bravo recoil pad was decent but I still wanted more and knew a muzzle brake was the answer.

I did some reading and ordered in a Precision Armament Hypertap. It can cut felt recoil by up to 88% with little to no impacts on accuracy. Click here to visit their site.

The Solus Bravo M24 is threaded. The size is 5/8-24 – meaning 5/8ths” diameter and 24 threads per inch (TPI).
The Hypertap is a very interesting brake and reflects Precision Armament’s experience gathered over the years. If nothing else, visit their site to learn more. It uses two wrenches they include to get the timing right on the brake while tightening down the rear integral locking nut.
On their site, read the installation instructions – there is a ton of flexibility if you want to use the identified divots to drill other holes to adjust lateral compensation. I left mine alone.

Added a Vortex Strike Eagle 5-25x56mm FFP Scope

I called up my friends at Vortex and talked about what I wanted to do with the Solus and they recommended I buy a Vortex Strike Eagle 5-25x56mm FFP scope and 34mm precision rings to go with it. With a 34mm tube and 56mm objective, a ton of light can be gathered No to mention this scope has their latest optics technology in it.

The Solus receiver has an integral 20 MOA Picatinny Rail scope mount. Look at that chunky pistol grip.
A few key things for the scope – the Vortex medium height 34mm precission rings, my Wheeler scope level kit and a Wheeler green laser bore sight. The Dewalt bit screw driver set reflects my old Wheeler bits are starting to show their age and rounding over. What you don’t see is my Vortex torquing bit driver I use for optics work.
I first use the Wheeler scope level set to level the rifle and barrel level. Once the barrel level is set, I can remove the level on the receiver and install the rings.
I started installing the ring caps on the scope and realized I better get thee length of pull that I wanted before finalizing the scope position and level. The KRG Bravo comes with three recoil pad spacers of different thicknesses to get the length of pull I wanted.
I then finalized my scope position and leveled the scope by putting a small level on the top turret and trued it to the level on the barrel. After that, I used the Wheeler green laser boresight outdoors to approximately zero the scope.
Vortex recommended torque spects were set using a Vortex torquing screw driver. I always take care to reset it to zero when I am done so there isn’t a load on the limiting spring causing it to lose accuracy over time. Note the use of Torx screws. I so wish the industry would stop using hex heads that round over and move to Torx instead.

Not surprisingly the scope is incredibly bright and clear. Vortex ups their game on quality with each new generation of scope and they are all backed by their no-hassle warranty.

Added a Spigot To Run a Bipod

To be honest, the one thing that really surprised me is that the KRG Bravo is not truly hard-use bipod ready. Sure, there is a sling stud there or M-Lok slots where you can install a piece of rail section they provide. The problem is that the bottom of the rail system is just polymer and not even very thick. You’d be connecting a bipod to a polymer rail sitting on a polymer handguard that would be absorbing recoil, getting hit wen moving around, etc. It just didn’t sit well with me.

You’d think you could just mount a bipod using an M-Lok slot – right? I wouldn’t recommend it.
The issue is that the polymer is a relatively thin skin that covers the actual aluminum chassis. Look at all of the holes in the chassis – they must be there for a reason.

What piqued my curiosity was seeing all of the extra holes in the bottom front of the chassis. Why were they there? Playing a hunch that there might be some kind of reinforcedd bipod connection, I visited the KRG website. Sure enough, there is.

KRG refers to them as “spigots” and they have four different types. They vary in length, what can be attached to them, etc. I bought the “minamalist” model because all I wanted was basically an aluminum bar where I could mount a Picatinny rail section.

I also had to buy a piece of aluminum rail from them. I’m sorry, but I’m just not cool with attaching a bipod to a rifle with some recoil via polymer. I’m a die-hard Atlas bipod user at this point and I buy them with the American Defense Manufacturing (ADM) clamps on them.

This is the KRG “Minimalist” spigon with an aluminum rail section attached. It is absolutely rock solid. My opinion is that this should have been included with the stock at the time of the Solus Bravo purchase or at least be given an option to purchase it. It took digging on my part to question the bipod attachment method and then to find out about the Spigot. I had to call and find out that the Minamilist didn’t include a aluminum rail section – although I could have used the polymer rail that came with the rifle, I wanted aluminum. I actually place the responsibility with Aero Precision – KRG just gave them what they asked for.

I’ll write up another post on the actual installation of the spigot. It’s pretty straight forward and the result is a rock solid bipod mount.

Last comment on the matter – I really did not expect to need to buy more accessories for a solid bipod mount – it came to about $120. Granted plenty of guys don’t use bipods but also, a lot do – including myself. I think Aero should have disclosed that a spigot was recommended for bipod use if nothing else – an option to buy one would have been even better. This is no fault of KRG’s just to be clear. They sold Aero what they asked for.

If I had known this bipod issue, I would have moved to Aero’s full blown chassis system as it wasn’t much more at the time of purchase (about $200-300 more at the time). Buying the chassis by itself now though is prohibitively expensive – at least for me – at $729-ish list. In general though, that is a pretty good price for a chassis of that type.

The Bravo with the spigot is incredibly stable with a good Atlas bipod – in this case a BT65-LW17. Note, there are so many poor quality Atlas counterfeit bipods out there that I prefer to buy direct from Accu-Shot, their maker, just to be sure.

Added a Plano All Weather 52″ Hard Case

Call me paranoid but whenever I build something where I care about the accuracy, I want it protected in a hard case. I used to spend the money on Pelican and Storm cases (now owned by Pelican) but those things can get expensive.

I’ve been a fan of Plano All Weather cases for years now. I kid you not, I looked up in my Amazon purchase history and I bought my first one in 2014 (they were “AW2” cases back then and Plano has improved them since and now refers to them as the “All Weather Gun Cases”. I have bought quite a variety of sizes since. Why? I honestly don’t think you can buy a better case at their price. I’m not jumping out of planes but I do want my firearms protected from life’s drops, hits and whatnots. I had an overhead pipe start leaking one year and the rifles in Plano All Weather cases stayed dry.

With that said. I bought a 52″ Plano All Weather case to protect the Solus and Vortex scope for only $157.99 + tax off Amazon. Folks, you get one heck of a nice case for that price.

  • Seriously heavy polypropylene case construction – I did receive one busted once. Amazon managed to put a fork truck tine completely throught the cardboard box, the case and out the other side. Their drivers still delivered it!! Amazon customer service sent a replacement after I showed them photos but still… Over the years, I have dropped my cases from cars, SUVs and pickups after loads shifted and then a door was opened — they held up just fine. No damage every to contents, loss of zero, etc.
  • The cases are water tight / dust tight with a full o-ring seal all the way around the cover
  • Really nice solid handes and latches
  • The latches are keyed and can be locked
  • Wheels on one end for easier transportation
  • Pluckable foam for fitting
  • Pressure valve to compensate for altitude and temperature changes – you really ought to care about this. Try taking a case from a hot range and opening it in a cold basement once it has cooled off and the air volume has shrunk – it is a bear to open without a valve. That exact example is why I always look for valves on watertight hard cases now.
  • TSA approved if you plan to travel with one.

Internal dimensions are 51.5″ long x 14″ wide. Depth of the top is 1.75″ and depth of the bottom is 3.25″.

This is a 52″ Plano All Weather Gun Case. In general, I really like these cases and have used them for years. Their pluckable foam allows you to quickly and easily custom fit firearms and accessories. Once fitting is done, I will spray the back of the pluckable foam layer with 3M Super 77 spray adhesive, push it down on the bottom layer and then let it set up to keep everything in place.

Summary

The Solus arrived in great shape – fit, finish, etc. were all superb. There were no surprises in terms of adding the muzzle brake and optic. Adding a bipod, which should have been a no-brainer exercise in adding a rail section to an M-Lok slot, turned into more expense but it is really nice mount – I’ll give them that.

I’d recommend the Solus barreled action and Triggertech trigger – no reservations there at all. I need to spend some time shooting the Bravo chassis at this point. The fit of a stock or chassis is a very individual fit item.

I need more time behind the rifle at the range to make a final decision about the Bravo chassis. I may decide to go hunting for a more adjustable chassis with a bit less “chunky” pistol grip.

I hope this helps you out.

Note, I have to buy all of my parts – nothing here was paid for by sponsors, etc. I do make a small amount if you click on an ad and buy something but that is it. You’re getting my real opinion on stuff.

If you find this post useful, please share the link on Facebook, with your friends, etc. Your support is much appreciated and if you have any feedback, please email me at in**@ro*********.com. Please note that for links to other websites, I may be paid via an affiliate program such as Avantlink, Impact, Amazon and eBay.

Glock, Glocks, Gunsmithing, Polymer80, Shooting in General, Uncategorized

Glock Truglo Tritium and Fiber Optic Sights Are Amazing Improvements!

A fellow emailed me wanting to upgrade his from the generic OEM Glock sights that I don’t think really excite anyone to something that would be more visible in general and also work in the dark. My answer was immediate – go with the TRUGLO TFX Pro Tritium and Fiber Optic Xtreme sights.

The featured photo above shows how bright they are on my G17 slide on it. I bought these sights by the way – so you are getting my honest opinion.

Folks, these are my hands down favorite sights for a number of reasons:

  • They are CNC machined from steel and have a durable black nitride finish — they are not soft plastic.
  • They do not need batteries – the lit dots are via fiber optics when there is light and sealed tritium when it is dark so you are covered regardless of the light available. The tritium ought to fluoresce (emit light) for about 10-20 years and I’ll worry about replacing them then.
  • I really like the three green dot configuration – two on the rear sight and one on the front. The front also has an orange ring that you can see when there is light but is green when operating off the tritium only.
  • The rear sight goes into the slide’s groove very easily and is then secured with a set screw. Some sights can be a bear to install but not these.
  • The rear sight is big enough that it can help you rack the slide one handed in a one-handed emergency.
  • They have a 12 year warranty.
  • They are assembled in the USA – the tritium capsules are made in Switzerland.

What Glock models are supported?

Because these are so popular TRUGLO is making a variety of models to support the different Glock configurations that are out there. I assembled the following table and you can also check their webpage if you want:

TG13GL1PCGlock® 17 / 17L, 19, 22, 23, 24, 26, 27, 33, 34, 35, 38, 39, 45 (Excluding M.O.S. models)
TG13GL2PCGlock® 20, 21, 25, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 37, 40, and 41 (Excluding M.O.S. models)
TG13GLAPC
(TFX front, Adjustable Rear)		Glock® 17 / 17L, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 37, 38, 39, 41, 45 (Excluding M.O.S. models)
TG13GL3PCGlock® 42, 43, 43x, 48; Honor Defense® (all models)
Source: https://truglo.com/spare-quiver-mount-spare-quiver-mount

Personally, I use the TG13GL1PC on a G17 and G34. I bought both off sight sets off Amazon – click here to see the large selection there.

This gives you a better view of the sights overall. This is the TFX Pro TG13GL1PC with the fixed rear sight. I really like the sight picture these give day or night.
Here’s the rear sight and you can just barely see the set screw that secures the sight between the two “ears”. The slot at the top of each fiber optic is where it collects light to illuminate the dot. If there isn’t any light then that is where the tritium capsules take over.
Here’s the front sight. The orange ring is nice during the day and you only see the green tritium dot in the dark.
Well, trying to take a photo in the dark of three green dots with a cell phone camera was an experience. I went in a basement room and shut the door to cut off light. It’s fuzzy but you get the idea – all three dots are nicely lit in any lighting condition.

Do they have lower cost models also?

Yes, they do. The Tritium series just has the tritium for illumination in the dark and show as bright white dots during the day.

TG231G1Glock® 17 / 17L, 19, 22, 23, 24, 26, 27, 33, 34, 35, 38, and 39 (Excluding M.O.S. models)
TG231G2Glock® 20, 21, 25, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 37, 40, and 41(Excluding M.O.S. models)
TG231G1AGlock® 42, 43
Source: https://truglo.com/catalog/product/view/id/2068/s/tritium-tritium/category/19/

They also make a Tritium Pro series that builds on the Tritium base model and adds an orange ring to the front sight plus the back sight is bigger and that makes it easier if you need to rack the slide with one hand.

TG231G1WGlock® 17 / 17L, 19, 22, 23, 24, 26, 27, 33, 34, 35, 38, and 39 (Excluding M.O.S. models)
TG231G2WGlock® 20, 21, 25, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 37, 40, and 41(Excluding M.O.S. models)
TG231G1AWGlock® 42, 43
TG231G1MWGlock® MOS 17, 19, 22, 23, 24, 26, 27, 33, 34, 35, 38 and 39
TG231G2MWGlock® MOS 20, 21, 25, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 37, 40 and 41
Source: https://truglo.com/catalog/product/view/id/2069/s/tritium-pro-tritium-pro/category/19/

Do they support other brands and models of pistols?

Definitely. These are very popular lights given their great combination of quality at a fair price. I tend to see the best prices on Amazon – click here to see them.

Conclusion

I find these sights to be an incredible improvement over the plain Glock sights – they are easy to see and aid with rapid aiming. I really do like these sights and use them personally. I strongly recommend them.

I hope this helps you out.

Note, I have to buy all of my parts – nothing here was paid for by sponsors, etc. I do make a small amount if you click on an ad and buy something but that is it. You’re getting my real opinion on stuff.

If you find this post useful, please share the link on Facebook, with your friends, etc. Your support is much appreciated and if you have any feedback, please email me at in**@ro*********.com. Please note that for links to other websites, I may be paid via an affiliate program such as Avantlink, Impact, Amazon and eBay.

Roller Locks - HK

Why grips converted for MP5Ks have a weirdly shaped rear pin hole

Grips for the MP5/HK33 and HK91/G3 rifles can be converted for use on MP5K-type weapons. As you can see in the photo above, a small circle appears at about 2:30 position on the larger hole for the pin when this is done. I used to wonder why and since I started offering converted grips for sale, I’ve had a few guys also ask me why this is the case.

Well, the short answer is that the steel reinforcing that is cast into the rear of the grip has different holes when an MP5K grip is made vs. the others. This allows the hole for the pin and the countersink for the head to not encounter another hole.

This is a real German H&K MP5K grip. The top rear hole doesn’t have that telltale circle of conversion because it was purpose built to be mounted on a MP5K.
Not one of my better photos but you can see the pin hole on the far side. The anchor holes to secure the metal strap are to the left and right of it are filled in with plastic during injection molding. Notably at the rear right there are two anchor holes to help compensate and secure the strap.

With the MP5/HK33 and HK91/G3 grips, the designers never planned for a hole to be made in that location and as a result, the newly drilled hole runs right into an anchor hole they have in the metal to allow the injection molding to adequate bond to it.

If you try to drill into one of these grips, the smaller hole will get cut open and then ride the flute of the drill upwards and make a mess. To compensate for this, an end mill must be used to do a plunge cut straight down. There must be careful workholding fixtures to keep the grip from moving. Trust me, I’ve trashed a bunch of grips by not making sure the grip was completely secure.

This HK33 contract grip has anchor holes that go evenly across. There isn’t enough spacing between those holes for a new 6mm pin hole and 9.5mm countersink to be milled without hitting the rear anchor hole.
This is a Malaysian contract grip that has the rear steel “tail” cut off. Both pin holes and countersinks have been milled. Look at the hole on the right. The pin hole ran right into the anchor hole and tore out the plastic that would have filled it. By the way, the orange paint was from me tracking early prototypes. It’s not something someone would normally see.

Despite those rear anchor holes being removed, the steel reinforcing is still held in place. While theoretically weaker, I have not heard of any real world cases where the the steel (it’s folded sheet metal really) has come lose due to separation from the surrounding polymer.

For people using converted grips, just insert your rear pin such that the retaining wire is on the shoulder and not in the hole. That’s really the only difference. Of course, like most grips, some final fitting may be required – by using a circular file to adjust the rear hole, filing the front locking plate or removing a bit of material off the back with a file or by sanding.

Summary

In short, purpose built MP5K grips have enough spacing between the rear metal strap’s anchor holes for the 6mm pin hole and 9.5mm countersink to be drilled. Other HK models do not use that same spacing so the tell tale partial hole appears at the 2:30 position. It’s purely cosmetic and just requires the user to insert the rear pin such that the locking wire rests on the normal shoulder of the hole and not the newly formed void.

I hope this helps you out.

If you are interested, our online store has a number of HK grips available – both converted and not. Click here.

If you find this post useful, please share the link on Facebook, with your friends, etc. Your support is much appreciated and if you have any feedback, please email me at in**@ro*********.com. Please note that for links to other websites, I may be paid via an affiliate program such as Avantlink, Impact, Amazon and eBay.

Shooting in General, Sniper / Precision Rifles

The Garmin Xero C1 Is The Chronograph We’ve All Been Waiting For

I was always so impressed by all the firearm articles where someone used this mysterious tool called a “chronograph” to report the speeds of bullets. They’d then use formulas, bullet weights, ballistics coefficients and what not to determine an approximated trajectory with velocity and energy along the way. I even bought one once and instantly hated the hassle – I had to set it up, shoot between the wires, don’t let the light mess with the readings, etc. I always wanted someone to come out with an affordable, easy-to-use, radar chronograph. When Garmin released the Xero C1 and reviews came pouring in, I knew I had to buy one.

Features

  • Uses 24Ghz microwave radar
  • Measures projectile speeds from 100 to 5,000 FPS with a +/-0.1% error margin
  • Needs at least 20 yards to measure rifle bullets, less for slower pistol rounds. Arrows can be measure in about 7 yards
  • I haven’t read a maximum range though I am sure there is one. The minimums are stated above plus it is recommended the units be 5-15″ from the muzzle
  • Lithium-Ion Rechargeable battery – recharges via USB and is good for 2,000 shots or up to 6 hours
  • Shotview App runs on your phone to collect data
  • It’s small and portable – 3″x2.4″x1.36″ without the tripod that detaches
  • Weight is only 0.23 pounds without the tripod or 0.35pounds with it
  • The display is 1.3″ x 1.7″

Unboxing

I bought the Garmin Xero C1 Pro unit and a hardshell case off Amazon. It arrived in a suprisingly small and light Amazon box.

Two of my curious meat head dogs wanted to see what was going on and take part. Well, I figured I’d include them in the photo.
The unit itself is surprisingly tiny. I wear XL sized gloves to put the 3.03″ x 2.38″ x 1.36″ dimensions in perspective.
This is the microwave emitter side of the unit plus the small included bipod. The unit on the bottom is threaded for the standard 1/4-20 UNC thread.
Here it is assembled. It’s about 5.1″x4.5″x5.5″.

Setup

No more juggling batteries, hauling crap around, etc. You plug this thing in and let it charge. Download the Shotview app to your phone and install it. Once the Xero C1 is charged, follow the instructions for pairing the Bluetooth to your phone. That’s it and that’s also assuming you want to use the app.

Getting ready to actually use the Xero C1 takes less than a minute after you turn it on and follow the on-screen prompts.

Range Visit

Wow is it fast and easy to set up. Open the case, thread on the tripod and open it. Turn it on, answer the questions on the screen and it’s running.

Five shots from my Zastava M77 using old Remington 168gr match ammo that I wanted to use up. You can see the Minimum, Maximum and Average for the session as well as the velocity of the last bullet fired in big numbers.
We were shooting all of the .308s at 100 yards and nothing seemed to phase the little Xero C1. No error messages or wildly different velocities. It was a bright sunny day and the temperature was around 75-80F.
German Hirtenberger StG 58 7.62mm ammo fired from a .308 IWI Galil Ace.

With the app you can record sessions and see the various velocities bullet by bullet if you want. You can also user the Xero C1 standalone if you want to do your own thing.

Summary

All I can say is “WOW!”. I don’t even know where my old chronograph went but when I find it, I’ll donate it. The Xero C1 is amazing and at this price point, they knocked the socks off everyone in the industry. I heartily recommend this.

Note, I have to buy all of my parts – nothing here was paid for by sponsors, etc. I do make a small amount if you click on an ad and buy something but that is it. You’re getting my real opinion on stuff.

If you find this post useful, please share the link on Facebook, with your friends, etc. Your support is much appreciated and if you have any feedback, please email me at in**@ro*********.com. Please note that for links to other websites, I may be paid via an affiliate program such as Avantlink, Impact, Amazon and eBay.

Shooting in General, Sniper / Precision Rifles

The Caldwell Precision Turret Rest And Caldwell RockBR Rest Are Both Rock Solid

I like target shooting but have a tremor – that’s not a great combination. I am always on the hunt for better rifle rests when shooting from a bench. I owned the Caldwell Rock BR for a couple of years and it is a darned good rest in its own right. I wanted to see the Caldwell Precision Turret Rest was better.

The reason I bought the new Precision Turret was that I planned to do some test firing of four different .308 rifles and wanted to see if I could improve my own accuracy by using a better rest. Thus, I did some digging and went with the Precision Turret due to a combination of reviews, features and price.

Here are the two rests next to each other. On the left is the Caldwell Precision Turret Rest and on the right is the far lower Rock BR.
We were setting up when I snapped this photo. The rear bag goes with the Rock rest – it’s too low for use with the Precision Turret.

The Rock BR has some real nice features

  • The foot spikes really get a good grip on our wood range tables. There are rubber pads you can optionally buy that prevent the spikes from damaging a surface if you need it.
  • At 13 pounds and very beefy, it doesn’t move – especially if the spiked feet are dug in
  • It has a great elevation ring that allows you to precisely adjust the height
  • That ring is on bearings so raising or lowering the saddle is very smooth
  • The saddle is adjustable to better fit the forearm of your rifle
  • It can get really low to the table or go as high as 11.5″
  • You will either need to shoulder the rifle or use a bag, and Caldwell sells many varieties, for the rear/shoulder portion of the stock.
  • Assembly was quick and easy.

Cool features of the Precision Turret

  • The feet are tipped with rubber and will not damage surfaces
  • The legs are solid steel and it weighs 10.6 pounds
  • The front non-marring saddle clamps the forearm in position
  • The legs are adjustable for height and can be set differently if you need to level the rest up to 6″.
  • The elevation and tilt are controlled through a ball connection that allows the saddle to move and you lock it in place.
  • Fine elevation control is done via the pistol grip platform. This works great if your firearm has a grip that can reach the platform and most of mine do.
  • Assembly was quick and easy.
This the Precision Turret holding a .308 Aero M5 with a 20 round magazine. John was holding the grip and using the grip platform to get him in the ballpark. The .308s did move the Precision Turret around a bit but not a lot.
The Rock BR is a solid precision rifle rest. I dont have photos of me using it with my Aero Solus — I forgot to ask John to take some photos when we were at the range with both rests.

The Differences

  • The Rock can go lower to the table and the Precision Turret is higher and can better accomodate rifles with larger magazines
  • I feel the vertical adjustment in the Rock is smoother and doesn’t need a pistol grip
  • The Precision Turret really needs a rifle with a pistol grip to handle vertical adjustment.
  • The Rock has zero flex but the Precision Target is sensitive to how much pressure you apply to the pistol grip platform
  • The Rock either needs you to shoulder the rifle or use a rear bag. The Precision Target’s clamp and pistol grip platform hold the rifle in place — if there is a pistol grip – let me stress that.
Here you can see the pistol grip of the M77 resting on the pistol grip platform. The wheel to the front of the rest tilts the platform up or down thus changing the elevation of the barrel. Unfortunately that platform is not rigid and if you change the amount of pressure on the platform then the point of impact will shift.

The Verdict

They really are rests for two different use cases:

The Rock is really a precision rifle rest – hence having Bench Rest (BR) in the name. It is low to the table, heavy, rigid and excels at providing a solid front platform. I’d use the Rock rather than the Precision Turret for those situations.

The Precision Turret works best with rifles that have a pistol grip and a magazine that needs height for clearance. It is not as rigid as the Rock but I found I could figure out the loading to work the way I wanted it to. At any rate, if I plan to shoot a designated marksman rifle (DMR) with a pistol grip and magazine, I’d use the Precision target.

In Summary

I am keeping both rests because of the two different use cases. I have not had any problems with either one and recommend both. In case you are wondering – I bought both off Amazon and Caldwell didn’t pay or compensate me in any way.

I hope this helps you out.

Note, I have to buy all of my parts – nothing here was paid for by sponsors, etc. I do make a small amount if you click on an ad and buy something but that is it. You’re getting my real opinion on stuff.

If you find this post useful, please share the link on Facebook, with your friends, etc. Your support is much appreciated and if you have any feedback, please email me at in**@ro*********.com. Please note that for links to other websites, I may be paid via an affiliate program such as Avantlink, Impact, Amazon and eBay.

Blades and Edged Weapons Including Khukuris, Philippiines

Filipino Knife Maker On Bohol Island In The Philippines

During a recent trip to the Philippines, we visited the island of Bohol. We happened to drive through the village of Loay and saw a shop by the road with an enormous number of blades of all sizes and shapes for sale so we stopped.

If you click here, the Google listing will appear in a new tab.

This was the “Bulaklak Blacksmith” shop and at J233+QFH, in Loay. The maker was busy at a grinder and I can only assume it was his wife showing us his wares. Bohol has a booming tourist industry with beautiful beaches and I am sure this stand was trying to capitalize on this. We were visiting at the beginning of September which is when the tourist season is drawing to a close.

He had produced a huge number of machetes and various knifes of all shapes and sizes. We also saw various types of implements such as steel rake heads, steel poles with heavy cutting heads and more.

What struck me was his shop. There he was with very basic equipment – a forge, anvil, hand tools, a stick welder, grinder, and so forth cranking out his wares.

If you are ever on the island of Bohol, the store and shop make for an interesting stop.

With his finished wares outside facing the road, he was inside cranking out the work. He was grinding the whole time I was there. Note it was 83F with a ton of humidity and there he is on a dirt floor getting work done. Also note the truck leaf springs. The knife makers of Nepal, known as kamis, also get leaf springs to make knives – the alloy works great for them. You can see the poles with cutters on the end – I can guess they are for digging holes or some kind of clearing activity. On the table are various machetes in the works.
Here’s a better view of the work in process and his furry helper who woke up just long enough to look at me and then went back to sleep. The machetes I saw were averaging about 3-4mm in thickness.
This was maybe a fourth of the knives he had done and ready for sale. Handles were either wood or hollow buffalo horn. The scabbards are of a died wood. The ferrule on the handles is actually a tightly braided twine. Noote the steel rake heads.
Here are some large general purppose knives. The handles are all hollow water buffalo horn.
Not only was he prolific but there were all kinds of styles from small hunting knives to machetes to swords. Traditional Filipino styles as well as Nepalese kukris and Japanese natas.
The majority of the knife blades were of a “villager” style without a lot of finishing and polishing work. By the way, I am very fond of villager-style blades as they really have character. In some cases, such as the sword and blades in the top center, he could turn out more refined work.

I didn’t think to ask if he sells any blades for locals. I would have really liked to see them. However, we had a schedule to keep as we were going on to see the Tarsiers and Chocolate Hills so we had to get going.

If you have ever wanted to visit and very affordable tropical resort, we stayed at the Bellevue Resort and it was beatiful. Great staff, facility and food.

This was the view from our balcony. You can see one wing of the hotel portion on the left and the thatched roof is the restaurant.
Looking back at the restaurant and our wing of the hotel. Again, great place to stay.

If you find yourself in Bohol, check out the Bulaklak blacksmith’s shop and if you are looking for a resort, check out the Bellevue. By the way, we were visiting family and I don’t have a habit of jetsetting 🙂

I hope this helps you out.

If you find this post useful, please share the link on Facebook, with your friends, etc. Your support is much appreciated and if you have any feedback, please email me at in**@ro*********.com. Please note that for links to other websites, I may be paid via an affiliate program such as Avantlink, Impact, Amazon and eBay.

When Strength and Quality Matter Most