rparrish

Having owned both brands, I would have to say there is no appreciable difference between these two. The only thing that the Armalite offers different is that their uppers have extended feed ramps whereas the Stag uses a standard carbine setup (if this matters to you). I have never had a single problem with either brand and as far as a complete package the Stag is hard to beat when considering what you get for the price.

Between the two polymer framed pistols you have listed, I would be happy with either choice (the M&P would likely be my first choice between the two due to the HK's horrible DA trigger). If you are open to non-poly framed pistols, I would consider looking at a Beretta 92FS or a German built Sig P-226/P-228 (IMO both fine pistols).

Actually, both VFG's broke while either installing or removing them from my railed handguards. IMO the problem lies in the material they use to make these as it seems to be plastic rather than a modern polymer. Both grips broke on the sides and i will post photos this evening as I still have both carcasses in my parts box.

Sorry about that, I somehow quoted the wrong person. I have broken two of the UTG VFG's (definitely not Tango Down VFG's).

I bought two of these and broke both of them. They are made from cheap plastic.

These look exactly like the set I recently purchased from Botach Tactical (KZ brand) which included four ladder style rail covers for $50. I have no idea if they are the exact same setup, but they look identical.

I suspect you will like the MBUS. Just be careful not to over torque the mounting screw (do it exactly how the instructions say to tighten it down).

I had A.R.M.S #40 rear BUIS on both of my carbines, but replaced them with the MBUS. At this point, I like them a lot. I like the fact that they can be deployed from either left or right side and they have zero slop side to side when in the up position. I also like the fact that the sight can be locked back down into the closed position by simply pushing down on the sight (The A.R.M.S had to be pushed down and then you have to flip the locking lever to the rear in order to hold it down). My A.R.M.S BUIS had a bit of side to side movement when in the up position (both sets).

Yes, I did install the end cap as well. As far as finish, the rail, end cap and my Stag carbine seem to match rather well. The hardest part about installing them was removing the A2 front sight post and getting the two-piece gas block properly alligned with the gas port on the barrel. Luckily I got it right the first time and it has fired 90 rds with no issues .

I have a set of the Spectre length rails on my Stag and so far, I am very happy with them. Installation was relatively easy and they do not seem to be excessively heavy. I would take photos of the rails without the Magpul XTM rail covers, but I really don't want to them all apart again .

All of the extra energy means absolutely nothing if the bullet fails to penetrate deep enough to hit any vitals. In the LE shooting in our area, the light hollow point round could not punch through the perp's sternum and another round fragmented and failed to penetrate after hitting a rib. That is pathetic performance and I would not rely on a light hollow point. YMMV

Personally, it is too light of a bullet for defense purposes and I would be concerned about it having insufficient penetration. The only hollow point ammo I would use would be the heavier weight bullets (69 to 77 grain). I prefer a soft point bullet in the 55 to 64 grain range to help ensure good penetration. I know there was an LE shooting about three counties south of where I live and one of the depuites involved shot the perp with a light hollow point .223 round and it failed to penetrate miserably. I would only use these light rounds on a small varmint (which is likely what they were intended for).

My carry guns are a Glock 29 and a Glock 30. Persoanlly, I will not carry anything smaller than a 9mm. If I were to look at 9mm carry pistol, I would probably look at the glock 19/26 or the S&W M&P subcompact in 9mm.

I have fired a friend's SP101 a few times and I think it is a great revolver. They seem to be very well built and are a pussycat with .38 Special loads. They are pretty stout using full power .357 Magnum loads, but the SP101 is built like a tank.

The Glock 30/30SF pistols are excellent IMO. I have owned my G30 and G29 since 1997 and have never had a single problem with either of them. They are also capable of amazing accuracy for a shorter barreled pistol if the shooter does his/her part.