New Review: March 1999

By Chris A. Choat

MODERATOR GAS TUBE FOR “SHORTY” AR-PISTOLS & SMG’S

John J. Baumann, holder of several highly innovative product patents has done it again. At the request of several motion picture productions, law enforcement agencies and owners of AR-pistols, John has solved the problems of hard extraction and fast cyclic rate in extra short 7 1/2 inch barreled AR-Pistols and Submachine Guns. Since the “shorty” upper pistol kits first hit the market, buyers have complained that the guns would not extract or destroyed the brass. Most complained that their guns would not fire more than 2 or 3 shots before the base of a case would be torn off, jamming the gun. Enter the MODERATOR. John has come up with another innovative product. The design principle of the Moderator was simple. Convince the 7.5-inch gun that it has a 20-inch barrel on it. The hard part was the convincing. After several hundred hours of high-speed computer time involving volumetric capacities and virtual modeling, along with several dozen failed prototypes, John has solved the problem. The Moderator appears to be a “shorty” gas tube with an “expansion chamber” in its middle. Details on exactly how it works are not available, but work it does. Now “shorty” shooters can have the reliability of full size guns in their mini flamethrowers. For more information contact; Movie Gun Services Company, a division of Applied Tactical Technologies, Inc., Dept. SAR, P.O. Box 268, Babylon Village, NY 11702. Phone: 1-800-223-1204. Fax: 1-516-847-0171. Their web site is located at:
www.moviegunservices.com.

BERETTA AR-70 MAG ADAPTER

There is now a new product that is certain to put a smile on Beretta AR-70 owners faces. The new product is called the AR-1570 and allows for “legal” magazines for the AR-15/M-16 to fit the Beretta AR-70. The new adapter does not modify either the magazine or the weapon. It is a sheet metal sleeve that slips on to any aluminum AR-15 type magazines and locks firmly in place. The “AR-1570” is made from 1020 cold rolled steel in 4 operations. The lug in the back, for the mag latch, is formed from high strength low alloy steel used in the auto industry for door latches. The front is seam welded with a “tig” weld, as is the lug on the back. The adapters feature a blued finish that matches the AR-70 finish very well. The adapters are designed to stay with the magazine for the life of the mag. They can be removed but it is neither quick nor easy as these are designed to fit very securely. The price for the new adapters will be about $10.00 each, plus shipping. With prices on AR-70 magazines in the $100.00 + range this will allow the Beretta AR-70 owner to save about $80.00 each on their magazines! For more information or to place an order contact; Gary Schmitz at Schmitz Corp., Dept. SAR, P.O. Box 18, Fowler, MI 48835. Phone: 1-517-593-2827. You can also e-mail him at gschmitz@voyager.net.

NEWS FROM DPMS

DPMS/Panther Arms is pleased to announce the addition of Matt Moxness to the DPMS/Panther Arms team! Matt will occupy the position of sales manager with an emphasis on marketing. Duties will include sales efforts and promotions, organizing marketing plans, promoting new sales, trade shows, working directly with DPMS manufacturing representatives and distributors, catalog updates/pricing and imports/exports. Previous to DPMS, Matt worked for Federal Cartridge Company as a territory account manager.

DPMS Inc. is now offering Green Magazine Followers to replace your existing followers on AR-15 style 30-round magazines. This improved follower will increase magazine reliability. These followers are currently used on all new U.S. Military contracts. Retail price for these new followers is a mere $1.99 each. These will not fit Colt 20-round magazines or fixed/blocked mags. For more information on these followers or other products, which includes just about any AR-15/M-16 part or accessory you could want, contact, DPMS, Dept. SAR, 13983 Industry Avenue, Becker, MN 55308. Phone: 1-612-261-5600. Fax: 1-612-261-5599. On the web at www.dpmsinc.com.

EXTENDED SAFETY/SELECTOR LEVER FOR H&K’S

Heckler & Koch, Inc. now has a new Extended Safety/Selector Lever (ESSL) for the H&K ambidextrous trigger groups. This new lever is made by HK GmbH and is available for the “Navy”, burst or single fire trigger groups. The use of the ESSL allows for easy actuation of the safety/selector lever from the “safe” position into any of the “fire” positions without rotation of the firing grip while in a firing position. The ESSL is available for use in all ambidextrous trigger groups with “Pictogram” (colored bullet) markings. This includes those for the MP-5 submachine gun, HK 53/33K/33, HK G3/G3K rifles and carbines and the HK 21E/11E and HK 23E/13E machine guns. The ESSL is a factory produced optional accessory comprised of an extended and contoured plastic safety/selector lever (left side only) with a machined steel safety axle. This lever is available as an option on newly purchased HK weapons or can be added to already fielded weapons by the operator. The ESSL is available through your local HK Class III dealer or directly from H&K. For more information contact; Heckler & Koch, Inc., Dept. SAR, 21480 Pacific Boulevard, Sterling, VA 20166-8903. Phone: 1-703-450-1900. Fax: 1-703-450-8160.

L&R MANUFACTURING’S ULTRASONIC BRASS CLEANER

L&R Manufacturing Company, of Kearny, New Jersey, has announced the introduction of their Ultrasonic Cartridge Case Cleaner Concentrate, which conveniently and economically removes crud, light rust, powder, carbon, dirt and other carbonaceous materials from cartridge casings. Developed for use in Ultrasonic Cleaning Systems, the new product thoroughly cleans the inside and outside of the casings. Reused casings that are thoroughly cleaned function better in a tight-fitting weapon. The new concentrated cleaner is a non-ammoniated formula; ammoniated products can cause brass to become brittle. Available in one gallon containers, it’s concentrated (one gallon makes up to 8 gallons of ready-to-use solution) to maximize economy, and is environmentally safe and biodegradable. L&R’s Ultrasonic Cleaning Systems provide the most thorough cleaning possible of cartridge cases, as well as firearms. In Ultrasonic Cleaning, high frequency sound waves produce more than 40,000 alternating high and low pressure waves per second. As these waves travel through L&R’s specially-formulated cleaning solutions, millions of microscopic vacuum bubbles form and implode. This process, known as “cavitation” creates a vacuum action that safely lifts combustible residue from every outer and inner surface up to 16 times more effectively and more safely than hand cleaning, without damage and with virtually no possibility for hidden contaminants to remain. All this adds up to the cleanest possible firearm or shell casing. For more information contact, L&R Manufacturing Company, Dept. SAR, 577 Elm Street, P.O. Box 607, Kearny, New Jersey 07032-0607. Phone: 1-201-991-5330.

H&K RECOIL BUFFER

Buffer Technologies has added a new recoil buffer to their already existing line of these great little inventions. As many of our readers already know, these economically priced little devices really work and now you can have one for your H&K 91/93 series of firearms. The buffers are made from polyurethane and are injection molded to fit each particular gun. Not only do the buffers help to lessen felt recoil they also increase the life of the firearm by eliminating metal to metal contact when the bolt cycles inside the receiver. Another side benefit is that by eliminating the metal to metal contact of the cycling bolt these buffers actually help to eliminate some of the bolt noise in suppressed weapons. In the H&K guns the buffer simply replaces the existing buffer. This can be accomplished easily and within a few minutes with nothing more than a screwdriver. These nearly indestructible buffers are inexpensive, last for many years and come with a 100% money back guarantee if you are not completely satisfied. For more information or to place an order contact Buffer Technologies, Dept. SAR, P.O. Box 104903, Jefferson City, MO 65110. Phone: 1-573-634-8529. Fax: 1-573-634-8522. Web Sight: www.buffertech.com.