Are You OnPoint?

This is quite possibly the most politically incorrect firearms accessory to debut in years: The Laserlyte Pistol Bayonet, made by KA-BAR. The razor sharp blade attaches to any pistol with a universal slide lock mount. It’s not very practical for civilian use– but if Zombies every attack, I want one of these on my sidearm! They have a few different color schemes available, including a Ramboesque survival model.

Thankfully, Laserlyte is also adept at making practical accessories.  The new Laser Trainer Pro (LT-Pro) is just what American shooters need right now: a safe and inexpensive way to stay on point. For years, the Israeli Mossad have been using laser training devices to covertly hone their pistol skills in the field.  Naturally, with the price of ammunition continuing to soar here in the States, a laser training device like this would be very well received here.  Laserlyte has recognized this opportunity and executed  nicely with the new LT-Pro.

Laserlyte’s LT-Pro laser trainer fits most popular calibers (9mm-45acp) and mounts inside the barrel of your handgun. The LT-Pro is activated by the sound of your hammer or striker dropping.  A small laser dot will then flash for 100 milli-seconds– simulating bullet impact.  The unit also works well on revolvers, which was a pleasant surprise.  It’s a very rugged low profile design, so you can still train hard and use your duty holster and other accessories.  I also recommend the use of snap caps.

MSRP is $99.95, but On Point’s VIP clientele enjoy the new Laserlyte LT-Pro Laser Trainer for only $62. Order one today and give it a try.

Have a good one and God bless. — Evan

Last week, we received our first batch of Sig Sauer P238 compacts not affected by the frightening safety recall. As you know by now, some P238s have been recalled by Sig because deactivating the safety may cause the gun to fire.  Scary stuff– especially for a gun destined to be carried in your pocket.  If you still want one of these little pistols, you’re in luck: they’re readily available across the industry.  We have a few more for sale and should have more units arriving soon. [click here to buy the P238 for only $458]

Before you buy, please note:  the new P238 is also affected by Sig Sauer’s new magazine policy.  Therefore, it will only ship with a single magazine.  Another detail potential owners should be aware of is the grip material.  When the gun debuted at Shot Show earlier this year, it was furnished with handsome aluminum grips.  The production guns don’t have these grips.  Although they look identical, they are made of plastic.  As with any purchase: caveat emptor.  Have a good one and God bless.
– Evan

Let’s face it: the firearms market has been absolutely saturated with concealed carry guns chambered in the feisty little .380acp.  The most popular thus far has been the inexpensive Ruger LCP.  Unfortunately, the LCP has been affected by a safety recall.  Some early units were not drop-safe– not exactly a good proposition for a gun that is supposed to hurt the bad guy and not you or a friendly in the process.  My personal experience with the LCP is that it does not reliably feed the 6th round from the magazine.  Lightly coating my rounds with CLP was an easy stopgap solution, but I want bulletproof reliability in a concealed carry weapon.  So, I passed on the LCP.

And Ruger is not the only resident of 380 Recall Land. Sig Sauer’s new P238 hasn’t been on the market for long and is already on recall– and the situation is even more dire.  Deactivating the safety lever may cause the gun to fire! Thousands of P238s recently arrived at one of our suppliers and every unit had to go back to Sig as a precaution.  Also, the aluminum grip panels that were shown on the gun at Shot Show are now made of plastic– causing an uproar among buyers.  Frankly, once a gun has been involved in a safety recall, especially of this magnitude, I can no longer trust it for defensive carry.  So, the Sig Sauer P238 is off my list too.

Kahr’s new PM380 is ultra compact and easily has the best trigger of the bunch.  Kahrs have always been known for their buttery smooth double action trigger pulls.  Reliability will probably be ahead of the curve too.  Once we get one of these in, we’ll certainly take it out for a range test.

Walther debuted its new PK380, but it’s rather large for a .380acp.  In this form factor, you’re probably better off with the excellent and super slim Walther PPS in the more potent 9mm cartridge.  This leads us to what is, in my opinion, the best new .380acp on the market:  the Micro Desert Eagle by Magnum Research.

The Micro Eagle is the only steel gun in the group and a stunning piece of engineering artistry.  The proprietary nickel Teflon finish that Magnum Research uses is very attractive, slick, and resistant to corrosion– not unlike hard chrome.  Of course, this is an important attribute for a concealed carry firearm considering the amount of sweat the gun will be exposed to during its service life.

I took the Micro Desert Eagle to the range this morning with 50rds of ancient ammunition that I found at the shop.  Recoil is refreshingly light thanks to its robust steel construction.  However, the trigger is 14 days long and over 8 pounds– something you’ll have to learn to live with it.  My accuracy at 25ft is on par with other micro .380acps that I’ve fired (see target) and nothing to brag about.  I’ve found it best to shoot the Micro Eagle single-handed because the large trigger guard makes your weak hand placement incredibly important– lest you want to lose a digit during fire.  In fact, the slide had a big orange sticker from the factory reminding you of this potential danger!

The Micro Eagle’s sights are miniscule, but useable.  Although the price point seems high ($431), you’re getting a steel-framed handgun and you get what you pay for.   Take down is fascinatingly elegant.  Simply drop the magazine, clear the weapon, move the slide to the rear so its takedown line synchs up with the takedown line on the frame, rotate the barrel clockwise, and the slide comes forward off the frame.  It’s actually pretty fun to field strip the little bugger!  And its most important feature of all: the Micro Eagle is not on a safety recall– which seems like a rarity when you consider the woes Sig Sauer and Ruger have shared lately.

“If” I wanted to carry a .380acp right now, I would probably select the Micro Eagle.  It serves its purpose as a mouse gun, but if you can carry a bigger gun, you should.  I’m hard pressed to be in a situation where my little Glock 26 can’t tag along with me.  When that’s the case, I’m usually in a Speedo or spandex bike shorts.  That in itself is more of a deterrent than any .380acp in my opinion!  I’ll leave you with that unpleasant visual!  Bwahahaha!

Have a good one and God bless.
– Evan

One of the burgeoning trends in the tactical light industry is the strobe feature.  Any intruder(s) caught in your home will think they’ve entered some fancy nightclub– and with the devastating effect of the pulsing light, that will surely be the last thought that goes through their mind.

In my opinion, the best of the breed is the new Insight WX 150 weapon light.  You’ve got 150 Lumens of blinding light at your disposal in a ruggedized aluminum chassis.  It’s compatible with both universal latch mounts and M1913 Picatinny rails, making it equally at home on your home defense pistol, shotgun, or carbine.  And it’s slim!   The hard-coat anodized aluminum body of the WX 150 measures only 3.2″ x 1.6″ x 1.5″.  The Insight WX 150 doesn’t take up a lot of real estate on your weapon and keeps everything nice and low profile.  With batteries installed, it’s a featherweight 4.0oz.

The controls on the Insight WX 150 are very easy to manipulate, even when mounted on the side of my LWRC M6A2 SBR.  So, I see no reason for a remote pressure switch.  For only $127, you would be hard pressed to do better.  If you’re looking for a new weapon light that can fill multiple roles, give the Insight WX 150 a try.  It’s a goodun!

[ click here to buy ]

Have a good week and God bless.
– Evan

This week, we took delivery of our first SBR from LWRC. It was a 10.5in M6A2 model in 5.56mm that was special ordered for a client several months ago. After handling the unit, I started thinking about a few things. Hopefully, you can glean something from my madness.

In my sick and twisted mind, I see a short barrel rifle (SBR) as a specialty weapon– devoted primarily to CQB operations. It’s great for moving around cramped locations or traveling in vehicles, but there’s an inherent trade off. It’s not firepower. The transition from 9mm to 5.56mm has been widespread. The trade off is accuracy– specifically long range accuracy. It seems that an SBR is great for CQB, but equally inept for engaging targets at 300 meters and beyond. Perhaps that’s one of the many reasons the M4 carbine is so beloved by all. 14.7 inches is a perfect bridge between SBR and a full 20+ inch barreled battle rifle. But are we overlooking a potentially superior option?

Enter my good friend: the bull pup rifle. Most of you know I’m quite fond of my new MSAR STG-556– a clone of the famous Steyr AUG. However, it was only yesterday when I had an epiphany in regards to its true capabilities! Ladies and Gentlemen, this IS the poor man’s SBR! But it does so much more! It bridges the gap between patrol carbine and short barrel rifle.

Immediately, you can see the overall length of these rifles are about the same. The caliber (5.56mm NATO) and capacity are also the same. The weight is about the same. They’re both piston-driven systems, so reliability is above par. However, the bullpup design has a higher muzzle velocity and better accuracy at longer ranges– thanks to its full carbine length barrel (16in). When you look at the cost of ownership, the STG-556 shines even brighter.

An LWRC M6A2 in this exact configuration is $2155. You have to factor in a $200 tax stamp to register as a Class 3/NFA weapon with BATFE and another fee (usually around $50) for your dealer to process the paperwork. Then, there’s the long wait– currently around 14 weeks for Form 4 approval to come back from the Feds.

On the other hand, the MSAR STG-556 rail is $1643– and any 18 year old with a pulse and a clean background can walk out with this rifle the same day in Florida– provided he has enough money at his disposal. Gosh, what a lucky young man– ah, to be 18 again, rich… and have an MSAR STG-556… but I digress… Back to the topic at hand!

Financially speaking, the bullpup makes a lot of sense. When we’re talking about long range accuracy, it’s a no brainer. What about the expensive proprietary mags that the MSAR platform requires, you say? Well sir, they’re only about $30 and are as good or better than PMAGs for the AR15, in my opinion. There’s also a new E-4 model coming out from MSAR that will utilize standard AR15 mags– but at a premium price, of course– several hundred dollars more for the base rifle. With that in mind, the current generation MSAR looks good in my book. Don’t forget, the anti-gunners have probably taken note of the overall length of bullpup rifles. So, there’s a strong probability that these will be on the chopping block when the next AWB rolls around.

Those are my thoughts. They are not meant to bash the short barrel rifle solution that is the LWRC M6A2. It’s a fantastic rifle. If I had the means, I would justify the purchase and hide it from my wife for the rest of my days. Alas, that is not the case. And please don’t tell my wife I said that! Too late, I already published it to the website. What’s done is done, I guess. I’ll be sleeping on the couch tonight. Darn it, there I go again with my stream of consciousness writing style– and the delete key on my Mac is broken.

That’s all for today, my friends. Have a blessed day!
– Evan