By Mike Chung July 14, 2009 As a long time black rifle enthusiast, I’ve bought and tried out many AR-15 related products for my own consumption. With the recently increased interest in the AR-15 rifle/carbine platform, dozens of “accessory” companies have sprouted. Anyone that’s into quality knows that a good chunk of these items on the market are junk, but …

By Mike Pannone June 15, 2009 In the early months of 2006 while I was helping to write and refine the curriculum of the Asymmetric Warfare Group’s Combat Applications Training Course (CATC) I took it upon myself to research performance enhancements and reliability upgrades as an integral part of educating the soldier on how to maximize his M4/M4A1 carbine. The …

By David Crane defrev (at) gmail (dot) com Photo Credits: Sturm Ruger & Co., Inc. June 7, 2009 Updated on 6/16/09 Ever since the late

By David Crane defrev (at) gmail (dot) com May 20, 2009 According to Army Times magazine, The 75th Ranger Regiment is scheduled to battle test the Special Operations Combat Assault Rifle (SCAR) very soon. The Rangers will reportedly be taking 600 FN SCAR rifle/carbine/subcarbine/SBR (Short-Barreled Rifle) weapons packages into battle, but DefenseReview doesn’t know how many of these are the …

by David Crane May 6, 2009 The April 2009 issue of Special Weapons for Military & Police (SWMP) (Gun Buyer’s Annual #74) has an article on the Smith & Wesson (S&W) M&P15R 5.45x39mm Russian (a.k.a. 5.45x39mm Soviet a.k.a. 5.45x39mm Kalashnikov) semi-auto tactical AR-15 carbine. It’s an interesting offering, since the 5.45mm Russian is an interesting little cartridge, and combining it …

By David Crane defrev at gmail dot com April 23, 2009 All photos contained in this article were taken by DefenseReview.com, and are copyrighted.

By Michael Pannone This article is the follow-up to the author’s first article on the subject, titled "M4/M4A1 Carbine Reliability Issues: Why They Occur, and Why They’re Our Fault!". March 15, 2009 If your Explorer gets a flat does that mean "Fords are unreliable"? If you put bad fuel in your Tundra does that mean "Toyotas run crappy"? Stay with …

By David Crane defrev at gmail dot com December 30, 2008 As long was we’re on an M4/M4A1 Carbine (and semi-auto tactical AR-15 carbine) and 4179 STANAG box magazine kick, we might as well cover the Lancer Systems L5 Translucent Magazine (30-round 5.56mm NATO polymer magazine) in a little bit more detail, particularly since it’s already been mentioned in previous …

Why M4's have reliability issues…and why it's our fault! By Michael Pannone December 24, 2008 I fired 15,000 rounds through a semi-automatic M4/M4A1-type direct-gas-impingement (DGI) carbine in 31 weeks without a single malfunction attributable to anything except bad ammunition or bad magazines, with a grand total of 9 malfunctions. The least number of rounds fired between cleanings was 960 rounds, …

By David Crane defrev at gmail dot com November 24, 2008 Updated on May 6, 2009 Ever since he won the presidential election, the press has been following President-Elect Barack Obama around Chicago like a bunch of hungry (and annoying) puppies. Whether he’s going to his transition office in the Kluczynski Federal Building in the Loop (dowtown Chicago professional district, …