Words By: Wally F.          Photos By: Wally F.

……….Coming off the Calgary gun show on Easter weekend last spring the gentlemen at Range Warrior Accessories (RWA) put their names in the firearms manufacturing hat, their first build an AR180B.

……….Whether by coincidence or by design the release of their AR180B were along a similar timeline to the Wolverine – Kodiak WK180C rifle release. Both AR180 styled rifles but at the same time both are very different rifles, both in feel, fit, and function, and both up until recently did not know the other were developing AR180B platforms. I met the RWA crew at a local range. They had just finished firing 50 test rounds down range on the rifle, as they handed the rifle over to me it was literally hot off the range. It was the equivalent of driving a brand new car right off the assembly line and bypassing the dealership altogether. It was a good day.

……….Took the rifle home and quickly field stripped it to check out the parts. I was already pre-warned about worn points on magazines, more specifically the left side lip. Reason why is the bolt placement and alignment in the upper receiver in reference to the lower and the bolt-hold-open lever that is installed on the NoDak Spud lower are seated to accommodate the bolt-hold-open lever when the magazine was empty, but not compromise the bolt in the upper receiver upon cycling. A fine game of micrometers and thousandths of an inch.

……….The charging handle on the bolt carrier group (BCG) is beefy and just the right size. It could be handled with and without gloves easily. As with all side charging rifles working the action is second nature and easily done. Whether your a left hand shooter or right handed you can charge the rifle like an AK with the over/under cant of the rifle or like a Tavor by just grabbing the handle with your support hand. RWA will hand left side charging handles manufactured very soon.

……….That brings me to the design of the upper receiver. Many people have commented on the bolt on side panels on the upper receiver. Does it or does it not compromise structural integrity? If you check out their video of a compression test on one of their receivers it withstood more than 3000 PSI of pressure before slightly bending and bowing a little. That’s more than enough to handle the low percentage chance of a catastrophic failure. The side panels were part of RWA’s modularity of design. If you want a left or right side charging handle or a bolt action change out, then it’s a parts swap not an upper receiver swap.

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……….The upper is a full profile fluted 223 Wylde 1:6 twist free floating barrel with a rather beefy but smart looking MLok front hand guard. Between the hand guard and the barrel the whole rifle weighs in at a hefty ten pounds even with no attachments on it. With my Vortex Strike Eagle and mount installed the AR180B came in at a few hairs under 12 pounds. Not a light rifle by any means but shooting .223 REM with it felt more like shooting a .22LR. Next up was the range.

……….It was a brisk day outside. Three degrees above zero Celsius, humidity 67%, altitude 3095 ft above sea level, UV index was low, percentage of precipitation was 10%, and winds coming north-north east at 13kph. Conditions were a little chilly but ideal with an overcast sky. I setup up for a 100m zeroing. I was shooting Remington PMC Bronze 55 grain FMJ rounds. The first hundred rounds I fired were less than stellar. Shooting off a bench rest for first hundred rounds or so I couldn’t get groupings smaller than 7 or 8 inches which was brutal and I couldn’t figure out why. Round 9 and 61 were light primer strikes. I started changing shooting positions to figure out what the problem was. I started using the magazine as a mono-pod to see what would happen. The rifle immediately started to not cycle properly. The pressure on the magazine translating up thru to an already tight BCG was slowing it down on the return preventing the bolt going fully into battery. After a round 101 I packed it up and gave the gents back at RWA a call to figure what the deal was.

……….After a quick conversation with Kevin at RWA he knew exactly what the problem was without even looking at the rifle. A BCG issue and head spacing, rushing the rifle the out to me for review they didn’t swap out the BCG, not a big deal I got a production line BCG from them and I was back off to the races again. This time I hit an indoor range where I didn’t need to track and factor as many variables as I did the week before.

……….Hitting the 50m indoor range I once again went on to groupings. This time shooting PPU 55 gr FMJ bullets for the first 50 rounds. Groupings even by my hands were sitting at a respectable one to one and half inch groups. The next 50 or so rounds were with Winchester Varmint X 40 grain polymer tips, a fairly light round. Groupings at 50m were more or less the same with a slightly larger spread. But shooting at 50m you really can’t miss, but it did confirm that the replacement BCG fixed the issues I was having at the outdoor range.

……….Back at the same outdoor range again shooting Remington PMC Bronze 55 grain FMJ rounds. Altitude 3095 feet, humidity 85%, wind north-northeast 16 kph, UV index was low, percentage of precipitation was 80%, the temperature was two degrees Celsius. I more or less tried to replicate my previous outdoor range day, save the weather conditions. After the next hundred rounds it started to pour rain by buckets. Despite all poor weather, the replacement BCG in the rifle performed groupings at 100 meters was sitting at just under 3 inches, which is respectable and more in line with what I was expecting out a rifle like this.

……….At this point in my testing and evaluation of the RWA rifle I had burned through just over four hundreds or so. Now I wanted to have another shooter have a go at it. I brought in a friend of mine Jon who is an excellent shooter and fellow infantrymen who shoots way more often than I do to put the AR180B through it’s paces. I had him shoot a variety of drills, from El Prez to the VTAC 1-5 to see how fast he could run the rifle.

……….Jon is a left handed shooter, even shooting with an aggressively forward thumb over bore grip ejected shell casing were easily clearing his extended right arm, that being said he was eating blow back as with most semi auto right ejecting rifles. He was running the rifle so fast that he actually noted that weight of the rifle with his transitions on targets. His feedback was he felt the recoil springs were a little soft and resulted in slower split times on his drills, that combined with a beefy size of the BCG there is a lot more mass moving back and forth inside the RWA rifle versus a typical AR-15 build. He commented that he liked the weight of the rifle but can see why other folks maybe turned off by having to handle a ten plus pound rifle.

……….I tested a variety of magazines in the rifle from MagPul Gen 2’s and 3’s, Troy Industries, MFT, LAR-15, STANAG, HexMag, PCV Beowulf’s, and Lancer magazines. All magazines exhibited the same left side lip shearing from the bolt. The STANAG, LAR-15, and Lancer metal lipped polymer magazines seemed to perform a little quicker in fast shooting drills. Magazines all dropped free with the press of the magazine release. The bolt-hold-open lever when tapped releases the BCG into satisfying thud back into battery. The custom in-house designed break on the end of the rifle is nicely designed but almost unnecessary with the weight of the rifle. The perceived recoil impulse is very low and follow up shots are easily lined up again.

……….RWA’s take on the AR180B is well imagined and implemented. The rifle is over engineered, a lot of thought was put into it’s build especially if you look more in-depth on the upper receivers design and the addition of the bolt-hold-open lever in the NoDak Spud lower. Not resting on their laurels they are already designing and machining more parts and accessories not only for their AR180B build but for the WK180C rifle as well, on top of their inventory of replacement and upgrade parts for legacy AR180B rifles already out there. My personal preference for future versions of this rifle would be a lighter profile barrel and a lighter weight front hand guard. If two to three pounds could be shaved off future iterations of this rifle I think they will sell even more of them. RWA’s AR180B build is a great choice for a turnkey, working straight out of the box non-restricted rifle that you can take on varmint and small game hunts and would be a great bush rifle. The craftsmanship and quality are displayed transparently in the build of the rifle. For RWA’s first foray into the firearms manufacturing, their AR180B build is a fantastic rifle and a great addition to the Canadian firearms scene.

For your regular cravings in the firearms world in Canada and beyond be sure to follow TV-PressPass on Facebook and myself Wally F. on Instagram.

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Wally F.

Words By: Wally F.     Photos By: Wally F.

……….My friends across the pond and through the desert over at Zahal sent over a fantastic little gem for me to play around with. The Fab Defense KPOS Scout.

……….I spent a good and long time with this kit and I had a lot of fun with it. The KPOS Scout is the next iteration of Fab Defense’s KPOS line of Pistol Calibre to Carbine upgrade kits. Having used the original KPOS G2 with an IWI Jericho 941 I was actually not a big fan of it at all several years ago. The original KPOS G2 was mostly aluminum with a lot of tension locks to hold the pistol inside the frame. To me it was a pain to install the pistol and take it out of the G2 for maintenance.

……….The new KPOS Scout has pretty much rectified all the issues I had with the KPOS G2 and added quite a few new features for ease of use and fast deployment. The front hand grip with integrated trigger guard is the same from the KPOS G2 and it was a good call on Fab Defense’s part to keep it. It’s an innovative design feature and has good practical purpose of covering the pistols trigger from accidental snags which could lead to a possible negligent discharge especially if you are concealing your KPOS Scout.

……….The installation of my Glock 17 into the KPOS Scout was beyond easy and literally took 5 seconds. Line up the back of the Glock with the shoulder stock when it’s extended to the rear, make sure the barrels lines up with the front and push the shoulder stock forward until you hear it click into place. There’s no installation from the front at an angle and then jiggling the pistol into place so you can spin the tightening lever to lock it into place.  That being said at least you don’t need to install add-on charging handle to the pistol before installing into the kit like you would with the CAA RONI.

 ……….As with the G2 the Scout also has a folding shoulder stock. The Scouts folding stock is polymer unlike the originals aluminum one and very reminiscent of Fab Defense’s GL-Core AR-15 butt stock, it definitely has taken design cues from it. While both stocks are easily deployed with just a grab and swing into place with a satisfying click the Scout has a nice big and beefy texture button on the left side to press when you want to fold the stock along it’s right side. In contrast to the KPOS G2 where you have to press up on the bottom of the hinge point where a key ring styled loop is to fold the stock back to the right side the new Scout is much more user friendly.

……….Speaking of the key ring swivel on the G2, it has now been replaced with a QD slot which is much more useful in the type of slings and attachments that you want to use with the Scout. That being said, the the single point sling the comes with the KPOS Scout works pretty well and never found a need to switch out with anything else.

……….A great update to the design is the elimination of full side rails to just a four slot pictinny rail on each side with a textured thumb rest. The thumb rest lines up nicely with the front hand grip and forces you to hold the KPOS properly so you don’t accidentally flag you support hand in front of the short muzzle, after all you are essentially still shooting a pistol.

……….I shot the KPOS Scout with iron sights as well with a Vortex Sparc mounted. As long as you keep in mind that your height over bore is pretty high, in my case almost three inches. As long you factor offset especially if you’re shooting in a CQB environment you are good to go.

……….Firing at the 7, 10, and 25 metre distances the KPOS Scout definitely helped dial in my groupings on the Glock. The red dot helped with fast sight acquisition and recoil pretty much disappeared when shouldering the Scout. While I had fun diagnosing my shots on an indoor range and plinking at the outdoor range, I always like to watch other shooters work the gear as well. I brought the KPOS Scout out on an invitation only executive protection course with military and LEOs and had one of the candidates try out the KPOS Scout on the government leased range with a 50 round drum and extended stick magazines. The candidate ran the Scout like a champ and was slaying steel with speed easily all the way out to 25+ metres without dropping shots. His comments were “You really can’t miss with this thing.”

……….On top of an aesthetically pleasing upgrade to the overall design and improvements on the install of the pistol, the folding shoulder stock, QD swivel mount, thumb rest on the shortened side picatinny rails, and a larger charging handle, the KPOS replaced much of the aluminum all round build with high impact polymer to save weight, but left the main receiver and rails metal as it should be.

……….I had a tremendous amount of fun using the KPOS Scout. It’s easy to install a pistol into, setup and deploy right away. If you could add a Lone Wolf 6 or 9 inch barrel to your Glock along with a KPOS Scout kit and RDS you’d have a nice lean and mean PCC package that is compact and low profile. The KPOS Scout can breathe some new life into your pistol if you’ve been bored shooting your secondary, and the cost for getting into one is significantly less than say a CZ Scorpion EVO3 or a Sig Sauer MPX. Overall I am very pleased with Fab Defense has done with this latest version of the KPOS, and I can’t wait to see what they come up with down the line.  Be sure to hit up Fab Defense or Zahal‘s websites if you want to pick up a KPOS Scout for yourself to try out!

For your regular cravings in the firearms world in Canada and beyond be sure to follow TV-PressPass on Facebook and myself Wally F. on Instagram.

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Wally F.

Words By: Wally F.     Photos By: Wally F.

……….Early morning and I’m driving through a dense fog down a back country road towards a day of shooting.  This is how my TAC West experience started this year.

……….The annual conference for law enforcement and military in western Canada, TAC West hosts specialized courses for front line officers, tactical, and SWAT teams.  Millbrook Tactical and ONN Training hosted patrol shooting and other courses for officers in attendance at the CDTSA Milo Range in Vulcan county Alberta.  With Officers from all over the province in attendance TAC West is a hub for passing on the latest training techniques at their range shoots.

……….Also out on the range were companies debuting hardware such as Bad Rock Rifles, directly affiliated with Defiance Machine, they unveiled their line of precision rifles at the range.  Based in Montana, USA, their barrels and actions are custom built.  Bedded in MDT chassis and sporting Trigger Tech packs with a large portion of their system parts made in Canada.  When asked about it, founder Glen and Mike said it had nothing to do with Canadian gear and everything to do with sourcing the best parts for their precision rifle systems, and if they happened to be Canadian, so be it, their US dollar goes even further up here.

……….Shooting Bad Rocks .308 and 6.5 Creedmoor rifles were intuitive and very easy.  I’m not a PRS or distance shooter, so when I can key hole rounds at 200 meters without trying, you know a rifle is well built.  Ideally I would have liked to punch the rifle out past the 500 or 600 or 800 meters to really test the builds, the current range we were at was limited in that respects.  I have no doubt that their rifle will be a hit in the PRS community, agency sharp shooters, and even civilian hunters.  Bad Rock built very light weight and accurate rifles.  I look forward to seeing more from them in the near future.

……….The show floor in Calgary had premier companies from western Canada in attendance showing off their latest kit, firearms, hardware, and software. One such company is Joint Force Tactical.  A company out of Chilliwack, B.C.  It is a veteran and LEO owned store that services the British Columbia interior with the latest products for military and law enforcement.  Owner Daniel is well versed in his products and has been supplying his area for quite sometime now.  Any one current in the Canadian Armed Forces knows about the BOOTFORGEN requirements for outside purchase and reimbursement of boots while on duty.  Joint Force Tactical has anticipated the demand and has plenty of choices of footwear that meet the requirement and is ready to sell.

……….Moving along with the military theme I stopped over at Meggitt Training Systems.  Anyone in the Canadian Army will be familiar with the SAT Trainer/FATS system.  Essentially a video game version of a live fire range with actual converted firearms to practice and conduct drills either for a qualification or scenario training.  Having seen Meggitt’s system at SHOT Show earlier this year, I know their training systems have virtually limitless configurations tailored for their clients.  In the next coming weeks they have an RFP pushed out for individual units military/LEO/ and civilian for upgrades to current systems.  In the army’s case, software patches, screen and projector upgrades to high definition and cleaner, easier interfaces to work with.  I was assured that these mid-life upgrades are very much well within unit annual budgets, it just a matter of making the call.

……….What some people might not know is that Meggitt also developed and supplies live fire range setups for training of small arms as well.  They have a state of the art bullet trap system that is actually cheaper, safer, and more environmentally cleaner than traditional dirt and sand back stops.  They also have a variety of electronic scoring and target systems that are currently in use at many military bases and LEO agencies.  If you have more interest in this, Meggitt has an extensive list of videos on their YouTube channel that outlines all their systems and what they have to offer.

……….Over at Korth Group, Adam gave me a rundown of what they have to offer right now.  In addition to being an approved Leupold dealer, they carry a full line of Proof Research products as well.  The highlight though is the POF Revolution and Renegade Plus rifles.  With a lot of talk of semi-auto .308 builds lately you can’t ignore the Revolution.  A .308 platform rifle with the weight of a .223 AR.  In fact their BCG is a .223 BCG with a .308 bolt in a .223 receiver.  Obviously with a wider magazine well to house .308 rounds the BCG also has a unique round bearing designed cam pin to reduce weight and friction.  Also in the lower receiver there are two nylon screws to the left and right on the frame near the rear take down pin that your can adjust up or down to increase the tightness of the fit between the upper and lower to prevent shifting and wobble when making those longer shots, hence better accuracy.  Another upgrade I really like in the lower receiver is a bolt lock button recessed inside the trigger guard towards the front so that you can lock the bolt to the rear without taking your fire control hand off fire control and eliminating the need for an after market B.A.D. lever.  A .308 platform in the weight and size of a .223 AR is definitely an eye brow raiser in my books.

……….The gentlemen over at Black Box Customs has not let up on the gas since starting their custom Cerakote, milling, stippling, parts, and builds company.  With over 3000+ projects completed they have been the subject matter experts for customizing firearms, especially polymer frame pistols for quite sometime now.  They have upped their stippling game recently too to include a variety of grips in addition to their traditional Fine Point, they have added their Shale, Fracture, and Granulate designs.  Keeping in mind that their Granulate design may just look like they slapped on some skateboard tape, it just isn’t so.  They use a specific epoxy mix to bond the highly tactile and course grip to the firearm so that heat and wear don’t affect its placement especially if you are engaging long strings of fire in a row and bringing the heat.  Black Box Customs has also just successfully completed an agency’s Tac Team build of enhanced service pistols with MRDS that are fully compliant with agency standards, issued retention gear, and are fully operational on the streets right now.  If your agency or unit is look for sidearm or pistol upgrades you really need to contact Jay over at Black Box Customs right now.

……….I had an excellent conversation with the team over at 911 Supply.  They have been a staple for years, supplying first responders with top notch equipment, gear, and advice.  Nothing has changed… with the exception of their ongoing renovation at their store front.  They are expanding their retail space and organizing their store lay out to better serve their customers.  They’re expecting a grand reopening ideally before Christmas of this year, if it’s sooner, even better.  They demoed the 2019 Arcteryx LEAF line of the ATOM LT.  It looks and feels awesome, the new year can’t come around fast enough.  Like other retail tactical stores, they are also aware of the Canadian Armed Forces BOOTFORGEN requirements and have been trying to keep their supply of boots stocked as best they can.  When they reopen their new and improved store, hopefully a fresh supply of footwear will come with it as well!

……….Coming in fresh off the Patrol Pistol course they held at the TAC West range day.  The gentlemen, owners, and former special forces veterans of ONN Training also took time out of their day to sit down with me briefly to discuss the current state of training in the firearms world, military, and law enforcement.

……….Having spent years training foreign military and police in other countries, ONN Training has aspirations to expand their expertise to enhancing not only civilian firearms owners with safe and judicious marksmanship in target shooting and competition but also training law enforcement and assisting agencies enhance and improve their existing shooting programs and standards.  If you are interested they are running their Pistol Fundamentals Course (PFC) October 27-28, and November 17-18, with their follow up course Balance, Speed, Accuracy (BSA) October 6-7, November 3-4, and December 1-2.

……….You don’t have to travel far or pay a fortune to get excellent training and products if you’re located out in western Canada and I think like this year as in years past TAC West has been an excellent showcase to prove my point.

For your regular cravings in the firearms world in Canada and beyond be sure to follow TV-PressPass on Facebook and myself Wally F. on Instagram.

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Wally F.

Words By: Wally F.          Photos By: Wally F.

……….Member of Parliament Glen Motz for Medicine Hat—Cardston—Warner took the time out of his busy schedule to come to Calgary, not even remotely close to his riding to open a dialogue with Firearms owners regarding the current state of firearms in Canada.

……….Sponsored by the Canadian Coalition For Firearms Rights (CCFR) and hosted at the Calgary Shooting Centre (CSC) this open house which was held on Wednesday August 7th was conducted to a full house of concerned firearms owners from all stripes and walks of life.  I noted people from farms and rural areas in attendance, urban dwellers, blue collars folks, lawyers, other politicians, business owners, hunters, old, young, male, female, former law enforcement and so on.  A good cross section of Canadian firearms owners.

……….MP Motz quickly introduced himself and his brief background.  Growing up on a ranch near Hanna, Alberta and a 35 year career in policing he grow up around firearms and carried one most of his adult life as a tool for his law enforcement job.  As the Official Opposition Deputy Shadow Minister for Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Motz is the ideal candidate to keep the current government in check when comes to firearms legislation.

……….Post introduction he mentioned that earlier in the day he had already had a meeting with the Calgary Police Service to discuss the gang crime issue.  He transitioned his opening to ensure that this issue is not a Rural versus Urban, East versus West, or even a Hunter versus Sport shooter concern, the issue of firearms legislation spans across the whole gamut of firearms owners.

……….MP Motz quoted lawyer Solomon Friedman who he quickly noted that as a former police officer had no love for lawyers, but noted that Friedman had done some very good and in-depth analysis on Bill C-71’s lack of crime control measures and not a single mention of how to stem gang gun violence, also the misuse and misrepresentation of selected statistically data to further a general political agenda instead of forwarding the interests of actual public safety.

……….While the majority of firearms owners are fairly well versed with the laws surround gun ownership, at every single one of these town halls I attend I learn something new every time.  Topics such as how far back the RCMP conducts background checks is actually not set to just five or ten years but could run the gambit of your whole life as it is right now.  Much vaunted statistic reference years such as 2008 and 2013 are selected for specific reasons to skew data on presentation to the ill-informed.  Selective numerical trickery some have said.  Points were made of monies promised to combat crime in urban areas such as Toronto, the lower mainland in Vancouver, etc… with little mention of rural crime, regardless zero dollars to date have been allocated.

……….A piece of information I found interesting is that if a firearm is recovered by law enforcement in the commission of a crime with the serial numbers removed, whether it be by filing, scrapping, welding, stamped out, acid etched, etc… regardless of where the gun came from ie: The United States, that firearm is designated as a domestically sourced firearm, further inflating the statistical number of “Canadian” firearms recovered after a crime.  Even though fairly simple methods are used to recover serial numbers by way of steel etching gels or liquids or electron microscopes.  Not new technology either and it is proven technology that has been used to identify stolen vehicles and car parts for many years.  This method works on steel, aluminum, copper, even some plastics.

……….The topic of straw purchases were brought up by MP Motz and this clearly brought a sharp reaction from the crowd.  The idea that law abiding firearms owners are legally purchasing guns to sell to non-PAL or R/PAL holders is a preposterous idea to begin with because the extreme risk to the originating buyer and how firearms are already tracked literally lays all responsibility of purchased firearms on that person regardless of who uses the firearm.  MP Motz even threw out the number one or two thousand straw purchases, but when pressed for origin or source of that number, it could not be produced or verified.  That number would also be tracked and recorded as well with little effort by law enforcement, it’s just a matter of collating the data.  Seeing all two million plus PAL and R/PAL holders in Canada have their records checked in CPIC systems (Canadian Police Information Centre) every 24 hours why would a legal firearms owners risk a straw buy/sell relationship, especially since black market and street prices for firearms is significantly lowered than retail in most cases?  There is no advantage.

……….Points were brought up again that I have heard over and over again at other venues, discussions, and town halls, of the frustration with how the R.C.M.P. (allegedly) over reach legally when classifying and enforcing the Firearms Act.  Many people at the town hall were vocal on this topic, as they have been everywhere else.  Again checks and balances need to be explored and proper over sight put in place as discussed.

……….Mental health, education, prevention, gangs, and guns were all discussed to varying degrees.  It was generally agreed that a multi-disciplinary approach needs to be taken and that solution needs to be longitudinal over many years for it to be truly lasting as opposed to ram-jamming legislation ahead of an election.  While some in attendance were weary of distributing more funds to law enforcement, others agreed that money put back into subjects of hunter education, conservation, and safety, and even putting firearms safety as program back into a school curriculum like it used to be fifty plus years ago in Canada would help demystify what firearms actually are.

……….The CSC were a great host for providing a venue for this town hall in their Cinema Range.  The CCFR were excellent in hosting and actively moderating the discussion so it didn’t go off the rails.  Keep in mind that there are 98 Conservative MPs working for Canadian Firearms Owners interests as well.

……….The last point I wanted to bring up was an interesting idea brought up was from a business owners perspective on supply and demand of firearms and how it might be a more effective approach for law enforcement, law makers, and business owners to developed a better system that benefits everyone.  How we get to that end state is up in the air but as firearms owners it’s also up to us.

For your regular cravings in the firearms world in Canada and beyond be sure to follow TV-PressPass on Facebook and myself Wally F. on Instagram.

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Wally F.

Words By: Wally F.          Photos By: Korth Group

……….Anyone in the biathlon and Olympic shooting scene will already be familiar with the Eley brand of ammunition.  Eley has won more Olympics than all other ammo manufacturers combined.

……….Korth Group in southern Alberta has launched their barrel test facility in-house.  For athletes that want to get their competition rifles properly tuned, tested, and dialed in now have a made in Canada solution.  For biatheletes that regularly train in Canmore, Korth Group is just a hop an skip away.

Finally, for first time ever, Canada now has an ELEY Barrel test facility.  After a very successful launch last Friday, we are ready to go to the market and offer the service.

Depending on your club, interest level, social media, etc, I would ask you to post this anywhere and everywhere you think people maybe interested.  We will have some challenges over the next year as we develop slave stocks to accommodate the variety of actions and barrels that come to us.  This will evolve as we learn more about the Canadian Market and where the interest lies.  But we are currently set up to do most Anschutz, Pardini, FWB and a few more models.  We will put together a formal list of current actions to share with interested parties.

I would encourage any interested party to contact our office.   We can then ask the right questions and set the person up accordingly.  This process will evolve as we smooth it out and find efficiencies in our administration of the service.

 

We have already had several inquiries from all over Canada based on our limited exposure and launch.

 

Feel free to contact myself anytime should you wish to discuss further.

……….If you want to learn more yourself or send more info to a biathlon competitor send all requests to: Troy Flasch, Director of Business Development, Korth Group, 587-757-0091.

For your regular cravings in the firearms world in Canada and beyond be sure to follow TV-PressPass on Facebook and myself Wally F. on Instagram.

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Wally F.

Guest Reviewer: Shaun Arntsen’s take on the Type 81

Words By: Shaun Arntsen          Photos By: Shaun Arntsen / Wally F.

……….I had the opportunity to review Tactical Imports new Norinco Type 81 the last week. Over all I was impressed by the over all function and design of the rifle…

………..When I got the rifle the pistol grip was loose. This was easily corrected by disassembling the rifle and moving the nut that it screws into. The stamped receiver is in good shape with a better finish than you see on most Norinco rifles. Folding stock is easily folded to the right and easily folded back out, great cheek weld on the stock for sight picture alignment. Also a convenient cleaning kit is located in the “butt” of the rifle. Trigger was surprisingly good. Feels pretty standard weighing in I would guess at 7 lbs.(7.5 lbs on a trigger gauge), the reset is clean and short making follows ups a joy to shoot.

……….Sights are interesting. They have a T style iron sights. The rear looking like a T and the front a standard full hood AK. This front sight is designed to be used in CQB with both eyes open. I find the rear T allows for slightly better alignment of that sight picture. Accuracy is to be expected for a Chinese surplus service rifle. I was using Czech 124 grain surplus ammo and was getting 1 ½- 2 inch groups from a modified supported kneeling at 25m. I have been unable to take it out to a 100m distance to really get a gauge on the accuracy but I’m gonna put it around 4-6 MOA. For what’s its designed for, close in engagement distances inside 100m that will do just fine. You wont be winning awards in a 3 gun match with it that’s for certain. But for a fun plinking sporting rifle for Canadian use this thing is perfect and a lot of fun to shoot.

……….Safety is sort of like a AR in that it can be reached with the thumb however it was awkward and backwards from the AR so it takes some brain rewiring when running drills on it, but once you got it down its no issue. Function. The Type 81 Is a short stroke gas piston. It has 3 gas settings: 0) for using rifle grenade. This setting doesn’t allow gas to cycle the action. 1 or normal is the standard setting and 2 Adverse is for use during or after heavy fouling or use. The bolt carrier is similar to an AK. The rifle breaks down in the same format as an AK and in most aspects is the same. The mags have a follower and there is bolt catch to hold the bolt back on the last round. Performance. I conducted so drills, emergency reloads, tact reloads, transitions etc at a range of 10 meters on standard IDPA/IPSC targets. I was using iron sights and was able to effectively reload from A (HSGI) taco in 3 seconds making emergency reloads and placing well aimed shots COM with both eyes open. I test fired 2 different rifles firing approximately 300 rounds through both without a single malfunction.

……….Manipulation wise the rifle is handled virtually exactly the same as other AK variants with the biggest difference being the bolt staying open on the last round. Price point is $999.00 CDN at the time of the article and I feel it’s a great value for what you get. The type 81 Isn’t going to win any awards for accuracy any time soon however for a reliable plinker that shoots cheap ammo it’s a great purchase and I would recommend it. Even as a camp/ Bush gun it has a great place. And well if the zombies rise and walk the earth you defiantly have a great self defense rifle that I’m sure will last a long time if maintained.

……….Shaun Arntsen is an Afghanistan combat Veteran where he served with 3 PPCLI.  He is now an accomplished photographer and firearms enthusiast.  You can contact him at Athena Media Group and view his body of work on Instagram HERE.

For your regular cravings in the firearms world in Canada and beyond be sure to follow TV-PressPass on Facebook and myself Wally F. on Instagram.

Reporting for TV-PressPass

Wally F.

Words By: Wally F.          Photos By: Wally F. / RWA

……….In a non-descript industrial/commercial business park in the north end of Calgary, Alberta, Canada is the home to probably the best kept secret in Canadian firearms manufacturing. The catch is though, they have been around for decades.

……….Gord, Kevin, and Barry are the trio behind what is now Range Warrior Accessories (RWA). Three very driven individuals with extensive backgrounds in manufacturing, design, and production. It was very clear out of the gate though that Kevin was the firearms subject matter expert. With years working behind the scenes in the Canadian firearm scene with a number of well known companies, he is a man that knows what he is talking about.

……….The sister/associate company to RWA is a full production facility that makes anything and everything. In 2015 when the bottom fell out of the oil and gas industry and other manufacturing shops were shutting down, the trio wanted to keep their operation up and running and decided to dive into designing, and manufacturing guns parts. Their prime motivation for it, is something that all Canadian firearm’s owners have seen time and time again, a low (or no) supply of quality Canadian made parts north of the 49^th. Parts being imported in from the United States are always in scarce supply, very expensive, and rarely available due to the dollar exchange rate, shipping, ITAR, etc… Inventory is spotty at best, just ask any dealer in Canada about trying to get product from G-Code, Agency Arms, SAI, Noveske, etc… It is frustrating, but the bottom line is that Canada is a very small niche market for firearms related products so mass inventory up here is not a reality.

……….Hence RWA was born, to fill in the gap in production. Brakes, rails, rings, parts, etc… are always out of stock online from the U.S. Breaking the raw numbers down, RWA can produce parts at a fraction of the cost because they can design, manufacture, and have QA/QC done in-house in Canada to easily meet or exceed the quality coming out of the U.S. And still make a profit…that’s right, at a fraction of the cost.

……….Muzzle brakes, rails, scope rings, etc… They already have a fairly large stock of all these products manufactured and ready to ship. The problem is how do you get your product out the door and have people buy into it when nobody knows who you are yet? Their answer was ‘let’s design and build something new but familiar, something that people will feel comfortable with’. An AR180B build, but just the upper. No messing with lowers and getting FRT’s and dealing with a traditional long turn around time from the RCMP firearms lab to approve and classify a lower, which could go sideways. That’s not to say that they couldn’t design and build a lower, they did that just to prove they could, but never pulled the proverbial trigger on it for all the reasons I just stated above.

……….Enter NoDak Spud. They already have AR180B lowers for sale in Canada with an FRT. RWA bulk ordered a significant quantity of their lowers, which drew obvious attention. From there conversations were held between NoDak and iRunGuns about putting together a deal to sell a complete rifle online. For RWA this is a stepping stone to getting some initial awareness of what they can do and what they can offer.

……….Fast forward to the 2018 AACCA Calgary Gun Show held every Easter Weekend. The largest gun show in Canada was the perfect opportunity to debut their AR180B upper mated with the NoDak lower. People had no idea who RWA was and how they got an AR180B built so fast and so refined. Kevin said that this was something he had thought about in December 2017 and decided to put it on the drawing board. Thru their 21,000 sq foot production facility, a production model was ready go for the Easter show that already had a few thousand rounds through it along with destructive testing, independent MPI, and their in-house QC/QA. Keeping in mind all this was done in the space of 3 months. Not resting on their laurels of their original AR180B upper design, Kevin and his team set out to improve on the initial design and added features, most notable in my observations is a fully machined 4140 steel last round bolt hold open lever.

……….The buzz had started. The photos and video I took from the show made their way around the Canadian gun forums, and social media, generating talk. A lot of it being who the hell is RWA? What do they know about guns? How reliable is their AR180B build? It’s how much?! To Kevin, Gord, and Barry it accomplished what they set out for; the publicity was good, and their product was top quality.

……….The truth is they have another half dozen possible firearm designs in the hopper ready to go if they really wanted to go all in with the firearms manufacturing game. It was just by chance they went with the AR180B design first. Obvious parallels are being drawn between RWA’s build and Kodiak Defence’s WK180C rifle. Is it a competition? Is RWA just riding the current trend of pushing out firearms like Maccabee, BCL, ATRS, Maple Ridge, Blackleaf Industries and others? The team is quick to note that they never wanted to be a rival of any sort with their AR180B build. In fact they just wanted to see if they could turn around a concept to production rifle successfully in the same manner that they do with their ventures in oil and gas, automotive, and industrial manufacturing where time and money is measured in weeks and months and dollars spent are in the six digits.

……….RWA has much larger ambitions than a single rifle build. In fact if they only sell 100 or 50 or 10 rifles they couldn’t care less, those rifles are already built. They just wanted proof of concept, proof of performance, and proof of quality. The longer I speak with Kevin and the team the more I realize that they are just like every single firearms owner in Canada. They love the sport, the culture and they want to help support the industry as whole. They envision their operation to be a go-to all Canadian source for supply or parts and manufacturing for gun companies across Canada, independent from American supply trends, ITAR, and general lack of caring from our neighbours to the south when it comes to firearms support.

……….Part of RWA having a low profile is that they have the ability to work with any company to supply parts in shortage to any other manufacturer without the perceived notion of favouritism, when there is none. Their shop is one of the largest I have ever seen and can turn around quality parts in bulk in a heartbeat. RWA has in fact already helped out other firearms related companies in Canada without bluster or credit because they understand that the Canadian firearms community is small and that we need to help each other out if we are to flourish in what is essentially still a cottage industry. They are more than willing to help out anyone, and everyone, and that really is their ultimate goal. While some may see this with suspicious and weary eyes, this is a business model they already employ with their associate company and other non-firearms related clients and one of the reasons why their operation is thriving where other have folded and closed up shop.

……….The name of the game is modularity, quantity, and quality. RWA’s stock pile of parts for their AR180B build is impressive, and I’m sure they only showed me a small portion of what they have. They started this venture with the idea that it should start with RMA and support first and work their way outward to the rifle. Manufacture a supply of replacement parts first and then get the rifles out the door. In addition to manufacturing all the legacy parts for the original AR180B they also have a stock pile of their improved and enhanced parts, keeping in mind that everything they make is backwards compatible and that they would have lots of parts in supply. So whether you need a firing pin, a low profile gas block, a piccatinny rail, scope rings, operating rods, etc… they will manufacture it in house, and not just one or two, but hundreds at a time because that’s where they can drive the price point down, charge less, and still allow RWA to keep their roughly two dozen employees working.

……….To say that RWA is understated would be an understatement. They don’t announce a product until they’ve produced multiple versions and copies of it, and tested it. In the case of their AR180B, they had already brought four of them to the Calgary Gun Show and put at minimum 2000 rounds down range with them before people knew it even existed. They don’t rest on their laurels either, even based on feedback from the Calgary Gun Show they have already made improvements on the current design, and due to the modularity of the build, it is very easy to make better parts and improvements that will benefit the end user and is backwards compatible.

……….They stand behind the quality of the build and are willing to let the rifle speak for itself. They are very transparent and open about their operation and what they are doing. They basically gave me full access to their facility and answered all the questions I had, they have nothing to hide. Really the rifle is just a marketing tool (and a really really good one at that) to get the RWA name on people’s minds. Their real passion and ultimate goal is to supply and support all Canadian gun manufacturers from mass producers, to boutique gun houses, to mom and pop builders, to the enterprising firearm enthusiast with an idea….with highly refined, quality designed, and well built products in bulk for whomever is willing to work with them. The rifle itself is just a brilliant bonus for Canadian gun owners. This business model has worked very well for RWA’s associate company and is one of the reasons why they have succeeded where many others have failed.

For your regular cravings in the firearms world in Canada and beyond be sure to follow TV-PressPass on Facebook and myself Wally F. on Instagram.

Reporting for TV-PressPass

Wally F.

Words by: Wally F.          Photos by: Winchester, Various Internet Sources

……….Hot on the heels of last falls .40 S&W contract for the F.B.I., again I thought the Feds were wholesale switching to 9mm especially after their last ballistics report on 9mm ammunition, The Loadout Room giving a great break down HERE.  Looks like Winchester has snagged the 9mm deal as well.

……….Winchester Ammunition was recently awarded a contract from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for its Duty and Frangible training 9MM pistol ammunition. Winchester also received a contract from the FBI as the primary source for .40 S&W pistol ammunition in fall, 2017.

……….The 147 gr. bonded jacketed hollow point (JHP) duty cartridge selected by the FBI is designed with patented technology that utilizes a reverse-jacketed, bonded bullet that can penetrate a wide variety of intermediate barriers while maintaining very consistent target penetration and reliable expansion. The nickel-plated cartridge prevents corrosion and ensures smooth feeding and extraction. Flash suppressed powder is used in this cartridge to maintain an agent’s night vision and meet the FBI’s stringent darkened range evaluation.

……….Winchester has been supplying the FBI with service and training ammunition for many years and is honored to be awarded this recent contract and continue to support our nation’s premier law enforcement agency,” said Matt Campbell, vice president of sales and marketing for Winchester Ammunition.

……….Winchester has a distinguished 150-year history of innovation in hunting, recreation, law enforcement and military ammunition products. In the field, on the range or in defense of freedom around the globe, Winchester has the right product for any ammunition need. Winchester is The American Legend, a brand built on integrity, hard work and a deep focus on its loyal customers. Learn more about the history of Winchester by visiting Winchester.com or connect with us on Facebook at Facebook.com/WinchesterOfficial.

For more information on Winchester Ammunition for Law Enforcement visit WinchesterLE.com.

……….While when you traditional think of Winchester you don’t immediately think ammunition they have come a long way in a very short time to reinvent what their company can produce and deliver.  Securing this second contract with the U.S. government shows us that that maybe this old dog of a company still a few new tricks up it’s sleeve.

For your regular cravings in the firearms world in Canada and beyond be sure to follow TV-PressPass on Facebook and myself Wally F. on Instagram.

Reporting for TV-PressPass

Wally F.

Words By: Wally F.          Photos By: Wally F.

……….North Sylva has been in the Canadian firearms scene for over 60 years. It’s said that one in five firearms sold in Canada are imported by them. Being a distributor for Colt Canada, H&K, IWI, FN America, KRISS, and a whole bunch of other manufacturers, I won’t touch on every single new thing coming up, but I’ll hit all the points folks hopefully are looking for. I’m not going to make you read all the way to the end of the article to get the answers to a whole bunch of peoples questions. IWI had a great booth at SHOT Show this year. There was a ton of talk around the TS-12 Semi-auto 15+1 shotgun, the Tavor 7 .308 battle rifle, and the Masada 9mm striker fire pistol (although not on display at SHOT).

……….Folks up here in Canada are also eager to get more information on the status of the M+M M10X DMR. For those not in the know, the M10X was submitted to the RCMP Firearms Labs for testing and classification. In October 2017 the RCMP gave the M10X a non-restricted classification. North Sylva has been courting the manufacturer since 2013 on a process to get the rifle into Canadian shooters hands. At time of writing the M10X DMR is slated to be in Canadian hands approximately by May 2018 at minimum advertised price of $1999 CDN.

……….As for the IWI TS-12 semi-auto shotgun. It is extremely unlikely that it will ever make its way to Canada. As its primary ammunition carriage system is based off of the X-Rail shotgun magazine system which I believe the RCMP already deems as a prohibited item, the chances that the sci-fi looking TS-12 will ever come to Canada are next to none. The Masada striker fire pistol, the first in IWI’s line up is a good looking 9mm service pistol, but at last check the Masada is still having some production delays. Since the Masada’s barrel length is 104mm which is 2mm short of the legal length in Canada this will factor into the wait time. As a result it may be a while before Canadians can get their hands on the Masada, no ETA for export just yet. The Tavor 7 .308 bull-pup battle rifle had a great showing earlier this year in Las Vegas.  If the RCMP gives their stamp of approval, this .308 calibre rifle is going to be coveted in the Canadian market, not only for it’s compact build, which combined with the .308 round will be very useful in the back-country, on hunting excursions, and wilderness protection. The US release has been delayed until May/June and North Sylva is currently waiting for a sample from IWI.

……….While the Type 97 rifle has been in Canada for awhile, the Gen 2 rifle has been in Canada and available for quite some time. I’m surprised more people don’t have this bull-pup in their collection as well. Now with an integrated 1913 picatinny rail, KAC-style flip-up iron sights, and updated design. This rifle looks sexy compared to it’s predecessor. If you don’t have one of these in your collection, you truly are missing out on a gem of a rifle to shoot.

……….North Sylva also carries a full line of Meprolight optics for your firearms. Their line-up of pistol aftermarket sights is pretty awesome, especially the uniquely designed FT Sight system and Micro RDS pistol sight that has QD release with built in iron sights. As always their line-up of award winning electro optical and magnified sights like the battle proven M21 and MOR sights and their Mepro 4x magnified sights are all available now.

……….I wrote earlier this year about the prevalence of first focal length variable magnification scopes being more popular and in more reasonable price ranges. Now EOTech is getting into that game as well with the new Vudu line of scopes. With a crisp wide and zoom-in reticle that is useful at magnification you are getting a feature packed optic for a very competitive price, especially when you compare the Vudu against the Night Forces and Schmidt and Benders of the world.

……….In the next month or so North Sylva will be getting a limited Colt Canada run of three-hundred SA15.7 and two-hundred SA20 rifles. This run of Colts will also have an engraving on the lower receiver that will be exclusive to North Sylva’s run of the SA15.7 and SA20s.

……….While the snow is slow to melt this year in Canada there is plenty of hot new firearms and accessories ready to launch very soon from companies across the country. North Sylva is one of those companies ready to bring Canadian shooters the products they want, and 2018 is starting to shape up to be a very good year.

For your regular cravings in the firearms world in Canada and beyond be sure to follow TV-PressPass on Facebook and myself Wally F. on Instagram.

Reporting for TV-PressPass

Wally F.

Words By: Wally F.          Photos By: Wally F.

……….In amongst the World War I and World War II memorabilia of cap badges, medals, flashes, and patches, the junky 20-30 year old army surplus offerings, out of towners, political, and lobby organizations populating the 1000+ tables at this years Calgary Gun Show, I found a few stand outs definitely worth mentioning, especially if you’re a Canadian firearms owner.

……….Every year the Calgary Gun Show is held at the BMO Centre in the centre of the city.  The BMO Centre has around 250,000 square feet of open show space.  The Gun Show was in the Palomino Room which has roughly 12,000 square feet, all of which was occupied with everything a history buff, firearms enthusiast, political party recruiters, lobbyists, and gun range/shops could offer up.  Here  few highlights I thoughts were worth mentioning.

……….Dave and Buddy at Templar Tactical Solutions is a small outfit that does custom cerakoting, gun smithing, and milling.  Milling specifically in titanium like this blade in burnt bronze cerakote.   They also make edged weapons and tools as well.  If you’re looking to get some work done give these gents a shout.

……….International Barrels Inc. is a company based out of Chilliwack, B.C.  They manufacture barrels of all types and do it very well.  Product Specialist Ryan Steacy, a Veteran, multiple competition winner in shooting in the military as well as on the circuit, he has an in depth knowledge and great love of what it takes to build a precision barrel from scratch.

……….With Service Rifle season starting up soon. IBI is in full swing producing barrels for competition shooters for their builds.  They source all their steel themselves and builds barrels literally from the blocks of steel they select.  Right now they are awaiting their 6mm and 7mm tooling to be shipped to their shop so they can begin working on more barrels.

……….Ryan knows that with the soon to be released SLR and BCL non-restricted lower receivers that people will be looking for quality built to spec barrels for their NR rifle builds.  This is why he and IBI are concentrating on getting 18.5″+ AR barrels out to customers ASAP.  IBI also recently acquired a cold hammer forge machine.  It’s the same equipment that Colt Canada has, now IBI has the same gear as well.  They will be spending the next year or so prepping the machinery, specs, and programming so they can begin building and CHF barrels into their line up.

……….For right now Ryan and IBI are concentrating on pushing out quality button rifled barrels at a reasonable prices.

……….Black Leaf Industries may or may not be the best kept secret in the firearms community, but out here in the west they are know for designing and sourcing the best materials and products for their boutique builds.  In addition to being an Agency Arms dealer, they also carry Odin Works parts and accessories.

……….They’re flagship build right now is their BL9 Pistol Calibre Carbine.  The receiver build is slick and sexy, and the balance and weight is just right.  With hundreds of rounds already downrange on this Canadian designed and built PCC the BL9 is shaping up to be a sweet looking and shooting rifle.  I’m looking forward to test firing this little gem very soon.

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……….Range Warrior Accessories is a quiet company that manufactures shooting support accessories and parts.  They have been working in conjunction with NoDak Spud and iRunGuns to debut their AR 180B Non-Restricted 5.56NATO rifle.  The lower is produced by NoDak Spud and already has an NR listing in the RCMP FRT as I’m told.  The upper is designed and manufactured by RWA with iRunGuns distributing the rifle.

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……….This trinity of companies has been quietly working on this AR 180B build since December 2017.  The unique design of the upper and fantastic fit and finish with the relatively short turn around from concept to production (talking about a few months) is a testament to hard work and good planning.

……….The left side of the upper actually has a modular plate system that you can swap out and replace as needed.  It also presented a unique look at the custom designed last round hold open and bolt catch release lever.  If you’re thinking that open side plate is a gimmick and must make that upper squishy you can look at their pressure test video of their upper easily withstanding well over 3000 PSI of pressure.

……….In addition to the upper design they offer 100% in house RMA on all internal parts, so if you break a take down pin, want a spring replacement, or shortly down the road when they manufacture upgraded parts, you can get them right from the OEM source at RWA.  Running a 20″ spiral fluted barrel with a choice of 18″ or 12″ fully licensed MagPul MLOK free floating hand guards, you are getting a beautiful looking and functional NR Rifle.  Based out of Calgary RWA is already taking orders of their AR 180B, shipping on or around June 1st from their last report on the show floor (could be subject to change).

……….Other notables from the Calgary Gun Show were Western Metal Inc just recently opened a turnkey state of the art indoor shooting range called Straight Shooters.  If you live in the Calgary area it’s definitely worth a look at the their pro shop and facility.

……….As always Black Box Customs are the masters of Cerakote, custom milling, and specialty polymer gun gunsmith services and upgrading.  Almost everyone I know that owns an M&P or Glock has had some type of work done with the gents at Black Box Customs.

……….Lastly Battle Rattle Tactical Supplies.  They are a Veteran owned and operated retailer and carry a variety of products geared towards shooters and soldiers, the owner Richard was very pleasant to speak to and great with the customer service.

……….With all the doom and gloom of gun control Bill C-71 all the talk right now in Canada, not a single person I spoke to at the show was even thinking about it.  2018 is shaping up to be a decent business year for distributors and manufacturers.  That will translate very well to every day consumer.

For your regular cravings in the firearms world in Canada and beyond be sure to follow TV-PressPass on Facebook and myself Wally F. on Instagram.

Reporting for TV-PressPass

Wally F.