OLight M18 Striker

Diamondback DB Full Size 9mm

Aero Precision 300 Blackout Upper

Vortex SPARC II and Holosun Infiniti Red Dots

Grey Ghost Gear Stealth Operator Pack and SBR

Aero Precision Enhanced Upper Receiver and Keymod Handguard

The Good, The Bad, The Remington R51

So I am sure by now many of you have seen the multitude of posts that have been floating around the web about the Remington R5, it almost seems like every one of the guns that was sent out had some sort of issue. Sadly for a gun that had so much hype both by Remington and the gun community it is sad to see just how poorly the adaptation of the R51 has done in 9mm.



In this post I wanted to write down some of my thoughts on the gun, while this is not a glowing review it is also not a "You should never buy a Remington R51" post, so please stick with me to the end to understand exactly what I mean by that.

I personally had been looking forward to getting my hands on one of these after seeing the display models they had at SHOT Show. The ergonomics and the way that the gun fit in my hand made it interesting to me. While it may look like some weird futuristic ray gun you would see in a sic-fi movie it does have a comfortable feel to it.

The review pistol that I received showed up to my FFL back in March and I was looking forward to picking it up despite the fact that a few other people had received some that were less than acceptable. When I opened up the box and picked the gun up I noticed that it felt a bit rough, albeit a little unrefined, nothing like the copies I had seen at SHOT.  When I first racked the slide back I cringed a bit at how gritty and rough the slide felt, but I blamed part of that on factory lubrication (or lack there of) and was wondering how much that would change once I had it stripped down and properly lubricated.  One of the other things that I noticed was how spongy the trigger pull was, and how the reset literally required me to move my finger all the way forward before it was ready for the next shot.

When I got the pistol home I took the directions out of the box (yes I use directions) to figure out how to take the gun down since I had never taken one down before and it does require a unique technique. The first thing I noticed was how hard the slide release pin was to get out, and when I say hard I mean I had to actually take a punch to it. Once the pin was out I started the hop on one foot, rolling my eyes, while sticking my tongue out, and pulling the barrel while keeping the slide pulled back take down process (it's really not that hard after you figure it out, but seriously?).  I broke the gun down as far as I figured it needed to go and stripped off all of the factory lubrication and applied FIREClean to everything. Once I had the gun put back together I tried racking the slide again, while it was not as gritty as it had been at the shop it was still very rough; almost like it was catching or rubbing on something it shouldn't be.

After messing with the gun a bit more I was comfortable enough to take it out to the range and give it a go, I loaded up the 2 magazines that come with it (115gr FMJ) and fired my first few shots out of it. To say it was a comfortable first few shots would be lying to you, the amount of snap that this little 9mm had was unbelievable, add on top that there was an issue with what felt like slide bite I was completely caught off guard by how uncomfortable it was to shoot. I ran quite a few more mags worth of ammo through the gun, including some hollow point rounds (which fed just fine), but I just couldn't understand why I felt like I was getting slide bite from the gun.

When I got back from the range and watched some of the video I had taken while shooting I noticed that at no time was my hand close enough to be hit by the slide, so that left the question as to what was causing the bite. After taking a little more time to figure out what the biting was caused by I noticed that the back "safety" was actually the cause of the pinch. Instead of being smooth the edges are on the rough side, it also moves back and forth quite a bit while firing; and since there are gaps along the sides and the top to allow for it to function the meat of your hand is pinched by it leaving you with the feeling of slide bite. This is something I would like to see fixed if they bring out a second generation of the R51, along with other modifications that need to be made.

I didn't clean the gun up between the first and second trip out to the range because I wanted to see how the gun would handle not being cleaned between trips and using dirty ammo. I used Tulammo during the second range trip because I know that it is typically some of the dirtiest ammo I can get my hands on. After running around 300 rounds of ammo (100 Tula, 175 federal, 25 HP) it was still functioning but was becoming harder to rack the slide and have it go into battery from slide lock. It was also becoming harder to rack the slide from the closed position. Again it was as if the slide was dragging across something in the process and making it very difficult to move.

Before taking it out for the last range trip and final video I took the gun apart again to look and see if I could figure out what the issue was with the slide being so hard to rack. What I found was the part that goes over the barrel and holds the spring in place had some deep scratches in it from the slide moving over it.

After giving it a closer look it seems like this is where the biggest issue was at as far as slide function went. It is almost as if the tolerances aren't right and the two parts are working against each other and creating friction rather than just allowing proper function. This is something that needs to be fixed, even if it requires going back to the drawing board for Remington.

Is this a design that Remington can salvage and make something much better in a second generation? Yes I believe it is, I think if they fix the slide grinding issue, safety biting issue, and the loose sights issue (not something I had a problem with but have seen others have this problem), they could have a somewhat solid seller. Sure the trigger is not that great but there are innovative people out there who would take advantage of the poor trigger and make something better.

Is the R51 something I would suggest right now? No, the issues I had with my review copy were enough to push me away from the first generation release. With that being said if those issues were fixed and they figured out a way to tame down the amount of flip from recoil I would be more than willing to get my hands on another one and run some rounds down range with it.

This is a gun I will be keeping an eye on as Remington works to make it better (let's hope that they continue to work and listen to the consumer), it still has a look that I have grown to like and it was comfortable in my hand (when I wasn't shooting it). I personally never like to see a product fail because a company decided to rush it out, and then not make improvements when it is shown that the rushed out version has many flaws; so I hope that this design will be turned around and improved instead of failing all together.

Why the change to Not So Tactical?

When I announced the rebranding of "SpartanTC Reviews" to "Not So Tactical", a few people asked the reason behind the name change. I figured I can give a blanket statement here, giving my best explanation for the change in name and "direction".

When I started SpartanTC Reviews it was just me.  There were no other writers or reviewers involved with the site, so I named the review site after myself with a Spartan theme (which was sparked by the Descendants of Sparta Lowers released by 2 Vets Arms). I originally had no plan for the site to become as big or as well known as it has; matter of fact I started the blog so I could write down thoughts on different gear, parts, and firearms since I had been going through so many different ones. I have, literally, gone through more guns than I would have ever expected when we were living in California.

As the site grew, and the Facebook page began to gain steam and likes, along with companies recognizing the work that I was doing with written reviews, it became a lot to handle by myself so I asked my long time friend Phil to help out with getting posts up and moderating the page. He, of course, jumped at the opportunity, and then I brought on Lane and Sayra.  SpartanTC Reviews quickly became a group of reviewers and there was no real explanation for what the TC could stand for other than Test Crew or something else. We do not do testing so test crew wouldn't work, and there weren't many other options.

Another issue was I wanted to open up a store section and I wanted a name that was a bit more catchy than SpartanTC (that and the fact that the domain name was "reserved" and unavailable,) plus had an easy website to remember, that was when the idea of naming it "Not So Tactical" came to me.

Now the reason why "Not So Tactical" is fitting for this group of gun enthusiasts/reviewers: because we never wear full kit, or use tactical jargon, or say it's "our way or the highway" when it comes to our reviews. Rather, we offer up advice and opinions from what we have learned, and we constantly bounce ideas and information off of one another so we can all further our understanding. We also talk with many other reviewers, trainers, and experts so we can enhance our knowledge, but we know that we are not the end all be all of information. If we don't know an answer we can point you in the right direction or we can research and help answer it.

Do you even EBT?

So a few months back when I began building my aero precision ghost gun lower into a pistol I was trying to figure out which buffer tube I wanted to go with.

In steps the PWS E(nhanced) B(uffer) T(ube). While it is on the higher end of the price spectrum for a pistol buffer tube, there are reasons why it is a much better value than many of the other buffer tubes out on the market.

First off the buffer tube is extremely solid, and from what I have seen in person and in others reviews it can take one neck of a beating. The solid construction is to thank for that, there was a lot of thought put into making this and it shows.

Not having a castle nut to worry about is a big plus, and the set screws that holds the end plate in place are very easy to work with and require very little maintenance once set in place. The buffer tube also comes with two QD attachment points, so there is no needed to add on aftermarket parts to attach your sling.

The foam that is on the buffer tube has a much more comfortable feel than many of the others I have seen in person, and its thick enough to help absorb a good amount of the felt recoil when your cheek is on there.

Overall I have been extremely impressed with the Primary Weapons Systems Pistol EBT. It was easy to install with very little if any follow on maintenance. I am extremely confident that it is well worth the extra money and is a purchase many people would be glad they made.

Remington R-51 Post Range Initial Thoughts

I am sure many of you saw the video I posted with my concerns with the Remington R-51 that was sent to me for review, since that video I have been able to get the gun out to the range and wanted to write down some thoughts.

The fit of the gun in your hand is actually pretty decent, but there were a few issues that I had with it. The first few shots I made with it I felt like I was getting slide bite, but I checked my hand placement and there was plenty off room for the side to function and not catch the meat of my hand. After a few more rounds I realized what it was that kept biting my hand, it wasn't the slide. Instead it was the palm swell safety (grip safety) that was pinching my hand after every shot. Being that the small gun is so snappy in 9mm it causes your hand to move a bit and get pinched when the safety is depressed again. No matter what I tried I couldn't figure out a way to change my grip to alleviate this problem, which made it very unpleasant to shoot without gloves on.

Like I said above the gun is unbelievably snappy, there are other sub compact 9mm's that I have shot that had some snap to them but not like this one. Despite being snappy it was easy to keep on target, and the sights were very easy to use. The magazines both dropped freely from the gun, and it achieved slide lock every time a mag was empty. The trigger isn't terrible, but the reset isn't tactile, meaning you can't feel or hear it and you really have to take your finger completely off the trigger for it to reset. The trigger pull is smooth and consistent.

Another issue that I had was the slide became very stiff and hard to rack after achieving slide lock and inserting another mag. It wasn't impossible to do it, but it did require a little extra effort. What I found weird was this began after 6 mags (under 50 rounds) had been run through the gun, but it felt and looked like there was a thousand rounds worth of grime inside the gun. The gun continued to run for the rest of the time I shot it, which ended up being around 100 rounds total. There was only one malfunction and that was a failure to load, but I am unsure wether it was the shooter's grip or the gun since there weren't any other issues like it.

If you look close at the barrel and sleeve above you can see the scratches in them, they are pretty deep too. I noticed these when I was taking the gun apart to give it a cleaning since it apparently runs very dirty compared to some of my other guns. I am not sure if this is due to poor machining, poor fitment, or if this is just normal "wear" on the parts, but it is something I am surprised to see after only 100 rounds. 

The sleeve has scratches like this all the way around it, and if you look at the picture of the barrel below you can tell where the sleeve and spring had been jumping around on it. Granted there is a lot of force and stress on guns, but when they are machined and fitted properly they don't show hard wear as fast as I am seeing with this gun.

I plan on running the gun out to the range one more time before sending it back to Remington, but at this point I can't recommend this gun to someone. There are just too many smaller issues that will more than likely become bigger issues down the road. While I really wanted to like this gun, I am not a fan of how snappy it is with recoil or the fact that the grip safety pinches my hand after each shot. If Remington fixes the issues and improves the gun I will be all for getting my hands on the next generation and giving it a go, if they fix the issues.

Make sure to check back for the range video soon, I will make sure to go give a visual of the issues I have talked about in this post on the video. 

Bobster Alpha Goggles and Prowler Glasses Review

Last month I posted up about the Bobster Alpha Goggles, and I have now had the chance to run both the Alpha and Prowler safety glasses in a few games of airsoft.

Sure it is airsoft and not real "operating" but it does put them through some good work. I have learned that running different goggles and glasses during airsoft games will show you which ones will fog up under hard use. Also taking a .20g bb at 350-400FPS gives a pretty good idea of just how stout the lenses are.

I will start with the Prowler Deluxe glasses. These have quickly become my favorite (which I didn't expect to happen), they are comfortable and offer better coverage of my face when combined with my smaller face mask. There are no gaps between the mask and the bottom of the lens so I don't have to worry about a bb coming through. 

As far as fogging goes, they do tend to fog up when standing still after running through a room. But they do clear out rather easily, and after treating them with some anti fog cream they do much better.

The lens is really tough, it has taken at least 5 direct hits from under ten feet away and there's no sign of damage. I did manage to mar them a bit when I dropped them after a game, but nothing I won't be able to polish out.

Overall they are extremely comfortable, provide stellar protection for my eyes, and like I said before have become my favorite to wear when playing.

Next are the Alpha Goggles.

These have to be some of the most comfortable goggles I have worn, the padding is beyond adequate and the clarity of the lens is amazing. Both the clear and the tinted lenses offer zero distortion.

The lens is extremely tough just like the prowler deluxe, withstanding multiple hits from close range with .20g bb's. The lenses are surprisingly scratch resistant, even after accidentally dropping them on the ground the lens remained unscathed.

As far as fogging goes, the Alpha does a bit better than the prowler but it still fogs up. This is an easy fix when treated with an anti fogging agent.

Overall the Bobster goggles have been some of the best I have come across, and there have been plenty of people asking about them in between games. I have highly recommended them to other players, and will say that if you are looking for some great safety glasses make sure to head over and give Bobster's site a once over cause they might have something you like.

Initial Thoughts: KONUS PRO M30 10X-40X52MM

Wow, how far can I see with my new telescope? Yesterday was a first for me.  I came home from work and there, on my coffee table, was a brand new scope that I didn't pay for (yet).

The Konus Pro M30 10X-40X52mm is HUGE measuring just a bit over 18 inches without the 4 inch sunshade attached.  As noted above it also has a huge amount of magnification.  I'll be the first to admit that I am a fan of high magnification, but there are pros and cons to it like everything. With higher magnification comes a bit slower target acquisition, but better visibility down range.  When Travis asked me to choose what scope I'd like to review I found the highest magnification available from Konus.  Why not, I have a 300 win. mag. just waiting to be stretched out.

As mentioned the scope comes with a sunshade.  Also, included with the optic are two flip up lens covers, allen wrench for resetting the turrets, a spare battery for the illuminated reticle, and an owners manual.  At first glance the owners manual seems to be the length of Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace, but as it turns out they included a translation for a total of ten languages... Greek anyone?  The English section is only about four pages and is fairly concise.  It covers your basic functions, has a diagram that explains all the measurements of the milliradian (Mil) reticle, and a conversion chart from MOA to Mils.

The 10X-40 is pretty feature heavy, most obvious are the tall locking-target turrets.  The turrets are 1/10th Mil. adjustments, have a very noticeable click when turned, and feel very solid.  The locks aren't sleek by any means, but they lock solidly preventing any rotation.  On the left side of the scope is a parallax adjustment knob that adjusts from 10 yards to infinity.  The parallax knob turns smoothly without any detents to indicate what range the focus is being adjusted to.  I don't feel this is a big issue since the shooter is going to adjust this in and out until the target is in focus regardless of what the dial says.  There is also a locking "fast-focus" adjustment on the eyebell to sharpen the appearance of the reticle.  Just in front of the eyebell there is an illumination knob offset at 45 degrees.  There are two illumination colors, red and blue, each color has five brightness levels. The magnification adjustment like all the others seems very smooth from 10x-40x. On the outside the scope seems to be very well constructed and has an even matte black finish.  It is nitrogen filled, and shockproof so it should do fine on larger caliber rifles.

The glass is very clear, multi-coated, and fog proof.  This is a second focal plane scope, meaning that the reticle is in the second lens, not the first.  What that means is that the measurements on the mildot reticle are only accurate at a certain power of magnification.  Typically that is at the highest power magnification.  The illuminated mildot portion of the reticle is 10 Mils in diameter.  The dots measure 0.2 Mils, from dot center to dot center measures 1 Mil.  Outside of the 10 Mil. area the stadia are heavy and solid, measuring 18.3 Mils.  So if you are doing the math the reticle is a total of 46.6 Mils in diameter.  Just below the reticle in the shooters field of view is an internal bubble level.  This is a big plus allowing the shooter to correct any canting without having to change position.  At first glance the internal level is pretty hard to see, but I haven't mounted the scope yet so it could be my eye relief, nor have I looked through the scope outside in the sun.

During the review period this scope will be mounted on a Savage model 111 chambered in 300 winchester magnum.  I'll also be doing a review on the rifle soon.  I'll be looking for a few specific things as I review the Konus.  One is light transmission.  Being that this scope has such a long body it could decrease the amount of light transmitted back to the shooters eye.  The 52mm bell and 30mm tube should help though.  Eye relief is an area that I seem to have issues with, and at 3.44 inches of eye relief on this scope should be pretty good.  I'll also be checking the accuracy of the elevation and windage adjustments on the turrets, and parallax adjustment.  My goal is to find a scope that will allow me to shoot long distances, 1000 yards plus, without breaking the bank.  The MSRP on this particular scope is about $750, however, I was able to find it on Amazon for $400.  I am looking forward to mounting this scope and seeing what I can do with it in the coming weeks.