Many weeks ago I saw a post on AK-47.net looking for volunteers to receive and test a few products for Mako Security products. I have had these products in my possession for several weeks and due to a busy work schedule and pretty poor weather I never managed to get the parts mounted onto the AR-15 and take the goods to the range to test them under fire but I got a very unpleasant e-mail from the staff of AK-47.net demanding I get the review done and return the products. In that context, here is my review of these products and it is an honest opinion based on well over ten years of owning many AR-15s and M-16s and countless accessories.
The products I was sent include the following:
1. Polymer Ejection Port Cover
2. Ergonomic Pistol Grip
3. Tactical Magazine Clip
4. Folding Forward Pistol Grip
5. Tactical Sling
6. M-16 Magazine Coupler
7. Bayonet mounted light rail
NOTE: ONLY A FEW PICS ARE POSTED AS IMAGES TO SAVE BANDWITH FOR THOSE WITH DIAL-UPs! Click links for more pics!
The Review
1. Polymer Ejection Port Cover
The Polymer Ejection Port Cover was a nice looking piece and it is marketed and described as being a unit that will not get bent or discolored from use or cleaning. I didn't mount this piece on my AR-15s or AR-10s as that is not a simple swap for a piece that I knew had to be returned and I don't think this is a piece that I would purchase unless I was to damage the factory unit or have problems. As you can see in the pics that follow my factory dust cover looks fine and this is an upper has been ran for as many as a thousand rounds with my Lightning Link in full auto.
http://www.quarterbore.net/reviews/d...r/IMG_0781.JPG
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2. Ergonomic Pistol Grip
Pistol grips on weapons are always such a subjective topic but this grip is just better suited for someone with bigger hands then I have. The molded finger areas seemed like they would be be comfortable although I have to be honest that I much prefer the Hogue grip myself. If you have big hands and you find the Hogue or factory grip too small for your hands you may well like this grip. It was solidly made even though I didn't get this grip mounted to my lower as it was no longer reasonable to spend the time doing so.
http://www.quarterbore.net/reviews/grip/IMG_0775.JPG
http://www.quarterbore.net/reviews/grip/IMG_0776.JPG
http://www.quarterbore.net/reviews/grip/IMG_0777.JPG
http://www.quarterbore.net/reviews/grip/IMG_0778.JPG
3. Tactical Magazine Clip
This is a mag well adapter that holds a loaded magazine in a ready position. The unit was well made with a heavy polymer material and the magazine is held in place by a piece of plastic that is notched out with a rib that faces the magazine. This can be seen in the pics below and the piece did a great job of holding the magazine in place. This is a really great product for anybody that wants to have a weapon with immediate access to a loaded magazine. This is a product that I would like to own myself.
http://www.quarterbore.net/reviews/m...r/IMG_0737.JPG
http://www.quarterbore.net/reviews/m...r/IMG_0738.JPG
http://www.quarterbore.net/reviews/m...r/IMG_0740.JPG
http://www.quarterbore.net/reviews/m...r/IMG_0790.JPG
4. Folding Forward Pistol Grip
The folding grip was a really slick design and that opinion is from a guy that has tried lots of different grips over the years. My previous experience is from the KAC, Tango Down, and ARMS #23 units that I still use on my weapons to this day. This new grip slides on easily and pressing the button on the side of the grip allows the grip to fold. I really liked that this grip didn't require full Mil-Std-1913 rails and if I had been able to keep this grip I would have used it with my
AR-10 with the SWS FF Tube because many other forward grips don't work well (this grip or ARMS #23 work well). My only worry with this grip is that the grip seems to flex a fair amount when working the M-16 and the latch to fold the grip can be a little frustrating. Just the same, for a carbine that you may also want a bipod mounted to this is an exceptional design.
http://www.quarterbore.net/reviews/f...p/IMG_0767.JPG
http://www.quarterbore.net/reviews/f...p/IMG_0768.JPG
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http://www.quarterbore.net/reviews/f...p/IMG_0772.JPG
http://www.quarterbore.net/reviews/f...p/IMG_0773.JPG
5. Tactical Sling
The tactical sling is without doubt the item that came in the box of items for my review that I was most impressed with. The rear portion of the sling has a plastic buckle mechanism and a heavy nylon strap that gets wrapped around the rear sling mount as shown below. The front portion of the sling has a metal clip and there is a nylon sleeve that covers this clip to prevent damage to the weapon. With a guy like me who goes to the range with four uppers so that I can shoot 223, 300 Whisper, 7.62x39 or 9mm with the same lower it is really nice to be able to unclip the front sling in a second and just clip it to the next upper. The sling was a nice wide strap that seemed easy to unbuckle in the rear and find a comfortable sling held shooting position. This really is a product that I may well order for myself.
http://www.quarterbore.net/reviews/sling/IMG_0806.JPG
http://www.quarterbore.net/reviews/sling/IMG_0807.JPG
http://www.quarterbore.net/reviews/sling/IMG_0808.JPG
http://www.quarterbore.net/reviews/sling/IMG_0810.JPG
http://www.quarterbore.net/reviews/sling/IMG_0812.JPG
6. M-16 Magazine Coupler
The M-16 magazine Coupler assembly was another of the products that I got to review that I really liked. The unit consists of a threaded rod that has two ends that pull the nylon strap tight around a pair of 30-rd M-16 magazines. The magazines were held very secure and the spacing of the magazines made it easy to insert and remove the magazines. I have seen and used he metal clamps and this is a great way to do it and the product was well made!
http://www.quarterbore.net/reviews/m...s/IMG_0795.JPG
http://www.quarterbore.net/reviews/m...s/IMG_0796.JPG
http://www.quarterbore.net/reviews/m...s/IMG_0797.JPG
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7. Bayonet mounted light rail
Well, I have to be honest that I got more then a little frustrated with this piece but please hear me out... I was lucky that I happened to have four pre-ban uppers here when I went to test this product... With my M4A3 upper, I have a side sling mounted that prevented the use of this adapter. Next, I tried my Colt 9mm upper with a GG&G flip up front sight and the GG&G sight was too wide to allow the mount to be used with my Surefire light with the ARMS mount. At last, I was lucky and I had a 11.5-inch AR-15 pistol upper and I was able to mount the unit with the light or almost mount it... In order to mount this unit I would have needed to remove the front sling mount because the rivets that hold the front sling prevent this piece from mounting. When I finally did get the unit mounted I then discovered that I could not mount my Surefire weapons light with it's ARMS mount because the rail was too close to the AR-15 gas block and the locking mechanism of the ARMS mount contacted the gas block. The concept and materials that this piece are made from are great but I was quite disappointed that I couldn't use my Surefire light with this mount... This is not a product I would want to buy without some design changes. Following are a number of photos.
http://www.quarterbore.net/reviews/b...l/IMG_0745.JPG
http://www.quarterbore.net/reviews/b...l/IMG_0747.JPG
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In conclusion, all of these products were well made and there were many in this lot that I really liked a great deal. The big wins for me were the Sling, Magazine Clams, and the magazine holder. The biggest disappointment was the bayonet rail adapter and that wasn't because of the manufacture or materials but for my frustration finding a pre-ban upper that I could use it with.
I have talked with Mako Security
http://www.makosecurity.com and they have indicated that I may keep these products for further testing. I can not commit to how soon I will get the time to do a further review but now that I do have more time I will be gad to get as many of these parts as I can mounted onto one of my AR-15s and take them to the range. I also understand that Mako is going to go back to the factory with my concerns about the bayonet lug rail adapter and see if they can't get those the rails to be a little further out from the gas block to allow the ARMS style mounts to work.
More to come....
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