A.R.M.S. Throw Levers – Not Exactly Perfect
As some folks have learned the hard way, A.R.M.S. throw levers sometimes fail at inopportune moments.
LaRue mounts, on the other hand, are well known for their return to zero qualities and toughness.
In this video, I demonstrate the difference between the two.
The A.R.M.S. throw lever fails after four hits, while the LaRue is damaged, but still fully functional.
The sad part is, a lot of companies get suckered in to using A.R.M.S. mounts for their products - such as the EOTech 553 and Elcan Specter DR - when far superior mounts are available.
LaRue isn't the only game in town - I like Bobro and American Defense as well - but A.R.M.S. shouldn't be on anyone's purchase list.
It should be noted that I have no connection with either company, and procured both mounts shown in the video with my own funds.
A False Sense of Security
We've all seen the Brinks home security ads. Now, they're operating as Broadview Security - but the ads remain the same. Here's an example.
There are a lot of illogical things in the video - one of the biggest things that stands out to me is the fact that the criminal is brazen enough to kick in a door in the middle of the day, while people are at home - whether you're in the backyard or not, that type of criminal isn't going to run away when they hear an alarm.
They will run away when they hear something else, though - gunfire. Don't believe me? Check out this video. Four men, armed with an AR-15 and several handguns - and they can't pull up their pants fast enough to keep themselves from tripping as they scramble away.
But that was an isolated incident, you say. When the alarm goes off, the company immediately calls you, and a smart-looking guy in a room resembling the CIC (Combat Information Center) of a US Navy aircraft carrier "sends someone right away."
Well, what does "right away" mean? And who are they sending?
Well, the police will respond to alarms. However, due to the exceptionally high number of false alarms, police response times to alarms are normally upwards of 30 minutes, and in some cases, several hours. Some departments require that alarm companies verify that the alarm isn't false before responding.
So in most cases, the response that companies advertise is someone who passed a drug test, has a GED, and hopefully knows which way to point his weapon - if he's armed at all. There are a lot of proficient security guards, but they're hopelessly outnumbered.
As for the response times of these security guards, Broadview won't elaborate beyond saying that it's "rapid". They also don't offer any information about the people who respond to alarms. Most of their "success stories" are simply people who pushed the "send help" button when a fire or medical emergency occurred. While this is certainly a nice feature, they still call you to verify that you need help, so you might as well have cut out the middleman and simply dialed 911.
Another thing I noticed about the video - actually, most of their videos - was that the bad guy gains entry simply by kicking in the front door. Why go to the trouble of having an alarm installed if you're going to have a front door that can be opened by one solid kick from an adult male? If it was that simple all the time, SWAT teams wouldn't have large, heavy, and expensive breaching tools which they use to gain entry to various buildings. A good, solid door - better yet, a metal security door which swings outward, but has hinges that aren't exposed - and some good deadbolts will keep some random guy in a hoodie from kicking in your front door.
Here's my favorite ad. It's from the Brinks days. In this scenario, the wife tells the husband to go "check out a noise" - and the husband wanders off in the dark, weaponless, without a flashlight, and without turning on any of the lights in the house. Quite frankly, that's a good way to get killed. The husband sees the bad guy and immediately runs away, slamming the bedroom door behind him. Well, if the front door didn't stop the intruder, why would a hollow core interior door stop him? Of course, the alarm system "scares off" the bad guy. The alarm company guy sends someone (presumably, someone with balls) "right away". The day is saved.
Now, I'm not saying that you should never get an alarm - they're certainly nice for when you're away from home. An alarm would be a good component of a complete home security plan - a fire safe for valuables and firearms, motion detector lights covering the outside of the house, good locks on the exterior doors, a dog, possibly even security cameras, etc - but if you're relying on the alarm alone, you're not doing yourself any favors.
Barrel Factors for Small Arms
Today I received, by email, an interesting paper - from 1968 - which discusses DOD testing regarding materials to be used in the making of barrels for small arms. Before I go too far, we have to understand what a "small arm" is. To the military, this can be something which is quite a bit larger than what a civilian might encounter at a gun store or shooting range. This report was done at the request of the Air Force, which was interested in improved materials for minigun barrels up to 30mm. However, if a material is found to be suitable for use as a 30mm minigun barrel (and the miniguns referenced in this paper can fire 100 rounds per second through their six rotating barrels), it will probably be suitable for use in a semi-automatic rifle firing 5.56mm or 7.62mm ammunition.
The paper is difficult to read, for it appears to be a copy of a copy of a copy. However, what is legible is pretty interesting, if you're a gun buff like me. If you want to learn technical stuff about barrels and how they wear, read the first few pages.
Some interesting highlights include:
- Titanium, and titanium alloys, displayed significant wear after a single round was fired.
- Chrome moly vanadium barrels which were chrome lined offer greater wear resistance over barrels that were nitrided (also known as Melonite, Tenifer, etc). This is relevant to folks who are considering a new AR-15 upper or barrel - nitriding comes at a lower price and does extend barrel life compared to a bare steel barrel, but it's not the equal of chrome lining when considered from a barrel life standpoint. It may offer other benefits, such as a slight increase in accuracy, but that wasn't part of the study. As we see in this study, nitrided CMV barrels, when used in a machine gun firing 200 rounds per minute, will last up to 30,000 rounds, while bare steel barrels lasted on average under 10,000 rounds.
- Chrome moly vanadium barrels with Stellite 21 liners that were then chrome lined set the standard for wear resistance.
Another study to read if you want to learn about barrel material, rate of fire, and barrel contour as they relate to machine guns - in this case, M60s and .30 caliber Brownings - is this 1974 paper. The major lesson to be learned is one that most folks already know - lighter barrels, though nice from a weight standpoint, will die faster than heavy barrels when shot for extended periods of time. We also see this in a destructive test of the (heavy barrel) M4A1 versus the (lighter barrel profile) M16A2 - although both barrels failed at approximately 1600F, it took longer for the M4A1 to reach that temperature.
And finally, if you're an environmentalist who loves cannons, there' something for you, too.