When back in my hometown for the holidays I found about a small company, Accurate Armory that has actually been around for a bit doing cool things. Although they make many rifle components I wanted to show off their TI-7 M4 type stock. I'm a fan as it is a great balance of a simple and effective layout yet with some very solid unique design features to make it stand out. The overall size is compact with the cheek rests adding some bulk, however I do certainly appreciate them for solid cheek weld.

I had a chance to beat up on the Strikemark SM-1 not long and wanted to spread the good word. There are plenty of hard steel targets out on the market, but not many that reset in a speedy and reliable fashion. Utilizing 3/8" thick AR500 steel the SM-1 will take what the vast majority of shooters dish out, all with way up to 7.62 NATO. I found that even green-tip 5.56 wasn't a problem just leaving small indents while traditional ammo flattened out quite nicely. Functionality is great using a battery / electric motor system. Reset time is a speedy and consistent 1.5 seconds and one battery charge can rock out 1500 resets or more depending on temperature and other factors that effect batteries.

For AK users out there you may be used to doing some ghetto cord ties to get desired interfacing with single point slings. Fortunately ECHO93 has made a series of AK Sling Plates that offer a little something for everyone and do it in the KISS spirit of the AK. Machined and made of thick parkerized steel, these plates are ready for combat abuse. Another big plus is that installation is overall painless merely requiring the removal of the pistol grip and sneaking the plate between the receiver and the grip. Parts can vary, however the grip screw is almost always long enough so no other extra parts are needed. To help narrow this down, ECHO93 recommends the plates for AKM type stamped receivers.

I've been on the lookout for some fixed blade action so was fortunate to have the opportunity to check out this here DPx HEST knife. The backstory is that ESEE (formerly RAT Cutlery) teamed up with Robert Young Pelton to make this bad boy. DP is an abbreviation for Dangerous Places while HEST stands for Hostile Environment Survival Tool. Mr. Pelton is apparently no slouch on the dangerous places subject and has done a lot of high adventure action in his day. (BIO) As for what the knife can do, it has some pretty nifty features that make it an adaptable blade to many environments. The core is of course the business end which sports a fairly classic shaped blade capable of stabbing, slashing, and cutting. The thickest part of the blade is about 3/16" which is thicker than most knives of this size class to add durability. For an overall finish a Textured Powder Coat is used that gives a tough look and result. Since made from 1095 High Carbon Steel it should be noted that despite being good stuff, the exposed areas such as the cutting edge and logo engraving will be more prone to rust and stains thus should be properly maintained.

I had an opportunity to try something a little different here, some classic style leather for a modern day concealed carry setup. The man behind Rafter-L goes by the name of Erik Little who has quite the resume. Not only has he been rocking all types of leather making for quite some time, he also has extensive military and law enforcement experience. <ABOUT>