Thank you for the last 22 years!
I started the remat457 firearms blog in 2011. It was a few years earlier actually but that's when I registered my domain. In the early days it was just a free "Blogger" site. It then moved to WordPress on a free webhost. That then moved to GoDaddy and finally to Joomla on Fatcow.
Since then it evolved into a WA State pro-2A site (although the climate here is increasingly hostile to law abiding firearms owners) and the site then became more focused on firearms instructors. In particular, the firearms instructors discount info was very popular.
I used to go to SHOT Show trying to hand out business cards when industry people looked at me quizically and asked "What the hell is a blog?" while trying to talk that same rep into offering instructors a discount.
It has been recommended that I move into videos - and that is not something I am interested in. Additionally, my webhost will not update MySQL to the last decade so my software which cannot update will eventually break. Finding a new host and reinstalling everything is not something that I want to do (again).
I will still remain active locally (because WA is going full potato) and I may return with something simple and scaled down, particularly for the instructor discounts should they come back to fruition. COVID really changed my perspectives, especially the lockdowns. I hope to focus on family, enjoying fine spirits and travel.
In the interim feel free to contact me if you need anything.
Reg
remat457 (a/t y/a/h/o/o./c.o.m/)
Safe shooting!
update:
The fortreg.com domain expires in June 2023, but the site will likely remain up here at mathusz.com.
Victory in NY - most of NY's Black Mirror laws blocked!
Written by reg mathuszNY's Black Mirror-like gun laws blocked, pending the inevitable appeal!
These were the revised less-Draconian laws resulting from SCOTUS' orders!
Un-Constitutional: proving that you are of "good moral character," listing all household members that have you have ever lived with, releasing all of your social media accounts for the last 3 years and making it illegal to have firearms anywhere that didn't have a sign saying it was ok, even if licensed by the State.
Ruling: https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nynd.134829/gov.uscourts.nynd.134829.27.0_1.pdf
Wow, it is almost October!
It has been a heck of a year, both politically and personally. I have not had nearly the amount of time that I would have had liked to spend on the blog. To be honest, my home State (WA) has taken a beating and I now live in a "restricted State" where common things like a Glock 19 (the most common pistol in the U.S. both for civilians and law enforcement) magazine cannot even be purchased. Prior to the ban I struggled to find magazines for my surplus Beretta 380 pistol made in the 70s - you know an "assault weapon" - But I preaching to the choir. I won't even delve into other topics like 80% lowers. But, depressing.
To make matters worse the webhost I am on will not upgrade mySQL to 5.7 which came out in 2015! So, I am frozen software-wise unless I change software or change hosting providers. Maybe next year will see the return of a lot of the instructor discounts. There are still some running, but a lot were shut down for the year or greatly stripped down.
Thanks for reading!
Finally a win! SCOTUS rules against NY's arbitrary "probably-not issue" laws
Written by reg mathusz'“We know of no other constitutional right that an individual may exercise only after demonstrating to government officers some special need,” Thomas wrote in Thursday’s decision.'
Despite the Yahoo "News" yellow journalistic headline this was a good decision that if you read actually allows a lot of room for "regulation" but not ARBITRARY regulation from a random appointed Govt Official. This summarizes it: "It is the difference between regulating constitutionally protected activity and attempting to convert a fundamental constitutional right into a privilege that can only be enjoyed by those who can demonstrate to the satisfaction of a government official that they have an atypical need for the exercise of that right”.
I have not gone through the decision yet (link below) but I am sure I will have more comments :)
Y! "News": https://www.yahoo.com/news/supreme-court-issues-decision-making-it-easier-to-carry-guns-in-public-145048369.html
SCOTUS Ruling: 20-843 New York State Rifle & Pistol Assn., Inc. v. Bruen (06/23/2022) (supremecourt.gov)
Woah! Who would have ever thought that S&W would bring back a 10mm? And not just one but two new M&P2.0's!
There is a 4" and a 4.6" both optics-ready with thumb safety or not as options.
Long live the 10mm!
Build your model here:
https://www.smith-wesson.com/product/mp-m20
Oh wow! This is a complete surprise and a pleasant one too!
Springfield had teased with a workbench featuring a picture of John Moses Browning along with a clock stopped at 1935 and the words "We're bringing it back."
https://www.guns.com/news/2021/10/22/is-springfield-armory-making-a-browning-hi-power
We had dared hope that it was true. If you have read this blog for awhile, you will know that I am a HUGE fan of the FN/Browning HiPower. I own a few different ones currently (FN, T-Series, FEG, a 40 converted to 9mm for +P+) and I was sad to see Browning discontinue them. There is still controversy as to why and who is responsible. I asked both the Browning and FN Rep. at SHOT when they were discontinued (2018) and both pointed their finger at the other. FN indicated that production could come back if wanted/needed and Browning said that they were pursuing a modern replacement that never came to fruition. As we know, you can't necessarily trust sales people anyway ;)
This is brand newly introduced (today) so there is little info on it other than what SA has released, but based on what I read:
TAKE MY MONEY!!
You can read the details but for me a couple of the highlights are forged including barrel (interesting since FN moved to cast frames for more strength), dovetail sites, ring hammer, functional and positive safety, decent trigger (comparitvely according to the brochure) and NO mag disconnect!
Mags will drop out freely!
https://www.springfield-armory.com/sa-35-series-handguns/sa-35-handguns/sa-35-9mm-handgun/
Here is a pic taken from the Springfield link above:
For fun here is my personal favorite HiPower. It's my FN 40-to-9 (BarSto), with some C&S parts and the now (sadly) defunct Robar NP3 nickel finish.
The amazing stippling (front and back from top to bottom) was done by Karl at Federal Way Discount Guns in WA.
More...
I am a big fan of their Mantis-X and have a review [here].
Products that help you train are always a plus and their software is very helpful.
When Mantis offered me the chance to try out their Blackbeard product, I was excited.
Ammo, although more available than this time last year, is still expensive. I will admit, sadly, that my AR shooting was basically non-existent this past summer and replaced mostly with 22LR plinking. I know that I am not the only one.
The Blackbeard is a product that lets you practice on your favorite AR without having to use any ammo. It resets the trigger after every shot and has a bore laser.
Packaging and presentation
The package is very professional looking and put together well. There was also a branded outer sleeve, but I had already taken it off:
Mantis takes packaging seriously. The Mantis-X comes in a Pelican hard case.
The Blackbeard comes in a semi-hard clamshell zippered case:
Inside the package
Magazine/battery
- A “magazine” which is the product's battery. It has a micro-USB charging port (same as Mantis-X), located at the top right of the pic.
The top of the magazine has the connection for the bolt assembly.
"Bolt carrier group/charging handle"
- A single-piece bolt carrier group and charging handle replacement replaces your existing parts. This includes hammer reset and laser sight.
In the bottom pic you can see the connectors that meet the battery. Insert mag so that they line up :)
Incidentally, should you de-cock the rifle (fire) it and it doesn't re-cock drop the Blackbeard mag and re-insert it. If it has a charge it should recock the rifle.
Accessories
- Mantis sticker, wrench for laser adjustment, USB cable for charging.
The cable is a bit short, but most people have a box of them.
Instructions
The instructions are short, but they are spot on.
Laser Academy
An advertisement for Mantis’ Laser Academy which is a completely different training system for this type of system. I would have liked a little more information on it, as I completely missed the fact that it is a separate app than the one MantisX uses. Instructions, or a link to their YouTube video on it would have been helpful, but it was easy enough to find online. Ok, I am not showing you the other side of the card which says to download their app lol. I thought I already had it though.
I will follow up discussing Laser Academy in a later post.
Here is the link if you are interested: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKpQRoaMENk
Installation
For Blackbeard, you basically replace your AR’s bolt carrier group (BCG) and charging handle with the one-piece Blackbeard. The instructions are good, although I suspect that most users will not need them.
Blackbeard in a Colt 6920 (sorry for the pic, it wouldn't fit in the light box lol):
Does the Blackbeard "carrier" fit?
I used it in a few different AR’s. Ease of install varied a bit from rifle to rifle:
- Retro A1-build (Brownells): The assembly went in and out the easiest, with no pressure or tools needed.
- Aero-build: This was the opposite, VERY tight closing the upper and a punch was needed to push the pin out to disassemble.
- Colt and
- Surplus Arms (SAA)-build: Both the SAA and Colt were a bit tight to close and a little stiff to pop out the pin.
Magazine fit
The magazine (battery) inserted and dropped out of each of the AR’s without issue. had no issues in any of the rifles.
Laser modes
The laser has 2 modes: constant and trigger-activated. It can be switched with a simple flick of a switch on the BCG unit.
The instruction sheet above shows and the first assembly pic shows it in the top right. It's a simple flick up/down and you can use your finger or the tip of a pen to change.
Constant laser
Using constant on mode, the first thing that I thought of was: laser bore sighter. I think that this will easily get you on the paper. I have an expensive laser bore sighter that I got off Amazon for like $50. It uses spring prongs on the end of the barrel. I think that the Blackbeard would be more consistent. In my rifles I found the optics to be consistently 1.5” – 2” above the Blackbeard. This makes sense since they are sighted in very close - in between bullet rise and optic mounting.
Putting Blackbeard in various rifles showed the laser position to be consistent. So, a bore sighter as an unintended plus? Maybe -- Unfortunately, the distances available in my house are fairly short, so I need to take the rifles out and test that theory.
This would be good if you want to sandbag your rifle and practice pulling through the trigger noting movement. To be honest, none of my rifles are “precision-grade” and I am far from a marksman so that is of limited value to me. It does show the trigger differences between rifles though.
Trigger activated laser
I prefer the trigger-activated mode. Essentially, the laser activates momentarily every time you pull the trigger. The Blackbeard resets the trigger each time with an audible click. Mantis advertises that it can cycle the hammer up to 10 shots per second. Pretty neat! It is a definite improvement over standard dry-fire practice.
What to do with Blackbeard?
Other than dry fire without racking and potentially bore sighting, what else can you do with the Blackbeard?
I found myself practicing house clearing half-jokingly – until I realized that I could potentially glean some good info and practice. Where the muzzle ends up is interesting. Also, a hard lesson was the amount of stuff in my way while trying to move through the house!
I had another person randomly put targets throughout the house. I then went through the house with them spotting where I was “hitting” the targets. Even more interesting!
I can also see different variations of this using different types of targets and if you are a glutton for punishment, you could try rifle “dot torture.”
I haven’t even tried it with just rifle mounted lights – Legos are likely to be the end of me. I could spend a lot of time learning just my house since toy placement is “dynamic.”
My next trip to my brother’s house will be with it along with some B27’s. I think that he will enjoy it and for me a new “course.” If either of us lived in a secluded area, if would be fun to set up something outside. Unfortunately, I don’t think the neighbors would be too happy about it.
Now, I don’t fancy myself ready for house clearing. In fact, from an old Wilson instructional video on the topic (paraphrased): The first rule of house clearing is DON’T. House clearing is best left as a job for a team of trained professionals.
Why? SAFETY. Not just in this scenario, but also in training.
The Blackbeard, in addition to facilitating low-cost training that doesn’t require travel, fees or ammo, it allows you to do so safely! That’s a winning combination in my opinion.
If you chose to get one, I hope that you enjoy it. Mantis does offer an instructor discount if you email them.
More info here: https://mantisx.com/products/blackbeard-the-auto-resetting-trigger-for-ar-15
I still plan on trying the Blackbeard with Mantis’ Laser Academy. I will post after I work with it.
The famous Robar NP3 finishes will once again no longer be available to retail customers!
It is an amazing Nickle Teflon finish, but I suspect that it is too costly to finish and the demand has dropped in comparison to a lot of the newer finishes which are also customizable.
Here is the email from Wright Armory below:
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Oh wow, Hodgdon has announced that they are ceasing operations and shutting down its GOEX black powder facility at the end of the year.
It will be reevaluating the BP market and possibly even selling it.
In the past, Hodgdon has bought other powder businesses keeping them alive. I hope that is not a harbinger of things to come. Hopefully, Pyrodex will be around for a long time.
Biden withdraws Chipman as "gun control czar"
Written by reg mathuszChipman has been withdrawn as Biden's nominee for head of ATF.
Chipman was notoriously anti-gun, demanded a ban on "assault weapon" (although when pressed by Congress couldn't define one), called the "U.S. gun control czar" by Russian media during an interview with them (WTF?), and showed great contempt of gun owners calling us "Joe Exotics" (from Tiger King) who should hide their guns "behind cans of tuna."
He was also heavily criticized by his own fellow ATF co-workers - called a "bully" prone to temper tantrums and accused of losing his own service weapon.
The statements says that his nomination was thwarted by anti-gun control Republicans - in a Senate which is 50/50 with the VP able to break the potential party tie. The reality is that his opposition was bi-partisan.
