In the arena of tactical weapons, “high speed, low drag” implies equipment or weapons that waste no time, waste no motion, waste neither ammo nor ordnance—fast as a diving falcon, compact and extremely deadly.
Providing a good visual, the term morphed to include the highly skilled operators who employ this state-of-the-art equipment and tactics. It often describes elite operators who are fast as a snake, slippery and do not miss their mark, accomplishing more with fewer men and more compact individual weapons.
TACTICAL WEAPONS shows how these principles apply to journalism, with insider-written articles on the leading-edge weapons and elite operators who deliver this compact thunder quickly and on target.
Our cover story invites you downrange with the Primary Weapons Systems MK212, a piston-driven, short-barrel rifle (SBR) in 7.62mm NATO purpose-built for every mission-specific option an operator might need: optics, lights, drum magazines, etc. An “Army of One”? This compact thunder comes close.
We’re also bringing you another hot new SBR—the select-fire Troy M7A1 PDW—which was built for a Department of Homeland Security solicitation. The M7A1 met new parameters for super compactness with creative redesigns of exterior features, allowing it to collapse to 20 inches with its 7.5-inch barrel, and it will run well with a suppressor.
A dramatic new full-size AR is Smith & Wesson’s M&P15 VTAC II. Built in collaboration with Viking Tactics to handle any threat right out of the box, it accepts necessities from optics, lights, forend grips—anything that will grab a Picatinny rail. Get down in the dirt with us and find out why it’s good to go.
The new Barrett REC7 Gen II is a piston-operated semi-auto that is factory-equipped with an array of custom-grade features and accessories, including a modular KeyMod handguard and Magpul’s MOE stock and grip. We put you behind it to see why it’s good for grunts.
SBR muzzle blast is a factor, and War Sports’ LVOA-S, a 12-inch-barreled hotshot, tackles this head on with a sophisticated flash suppressor system built into the handguard, and includes other innovative advancements for warfighters in vehicles, armor or aircraft.
The AR platform continues to earn its spurs as a semi-auto precision rifle, and we put you on the trigger of a silenced-by-Sig SIG716 Precision in 7.62mm NATO to drill sub-MOA groups out to 800 yards, earning its name!
One early package of compact thunder was Ruger’s AC-556, and we get Leroy Thompson’s thorough rundown on this blast from the recent full-auto past that still serves today.
Some great designs will never die. Remington’s 870 Marine Magnum 12 gauge in electroless nickel is standard for water-borne LE nationwide, and we take you onto the high seas to train with it. Browning’s 1911, another classic, has been completely redesigned by Springfield Armory as the 3-inch-barreled EMP in 9mm with 9+1 capacity, and we test that, too.
You can also join us at the international Milipol Paris show; on takedowns with meth-lab busters; on patrol with the Alaska State Troopers; then with Russia’s FSB Alpha and Vympel operators, who protected the Winter Olympics from terrorists. Then we add technology, authoritative columns, and Gunny’s fearless and spot-on analysis of what’s going on.
TACTICAL WEAPONS writers are in the arena. When they write about a gun, the barrel is still hot. Compact thunder? This issue delivers more bangs for the buck than any magazine on the newsstands. Enjoy.
