Lantac-USA Dragon

Ever since Lantac-USA announced the introduction of the Dragon muzzle brake I have been anxiously waiting for its release. The short teaser video that was making its way around Facebook was nothing short of amazing. Once they opened up for dealer accounts I immediately jumped on board as I was sold from the short YouTube video. Every time I would share the video I would get flooded with questions about it through Facebook, and email. I figured the best way to answer questions was to test it out. After exchanging a few messages with my sales rep I received word that it was on its way. A few days later the little guy showed up on my doorstep.

Who is Lantac-USA?

Lantac-USA is a branch of Lanner Tactical, which manufactures AR’s and accessories in the United Kingdom. Lantac-USA parts are manufactured and assembled right here in the US, more specifically in Nevada.

First Impressions

When I first opened up the little box that the prototype came in I knew right away this was going to be a great compensator. Having four relief holes on top and three ports on each side, there is plenty of room for the gas to escape. The production run packaging will be in a clamshell and even contain a free trial tube of FrogLube as well as a crush washer. The muzzle brake was also individually serialized. Lantac informed me that this is for quality control purposes. Unfortunately there are no special requests for serial numbers.

Installation

Installation was a very simple. The hardest part of installing it was removing the A2 flash hider currently on my AR. Once that was off and a new crush washer was on the Dragon threaded very close to its final position hand tight and only required a slight turn with the armorers tool to align it correctly with the port holes, and logo directly on top.

Range Time

I was excited to finally get to the range after being delayed due to family being in town. Once I got to the range and had everything setup, I was a little nervous to fire the first shot. I am that person that drives down the road wondering if I turned the stove off even if I did not cook that day. After reassuring myself that everything was aligned and ready to go, I took aim. The first shot rang out and I immediately noticed three things. First, the sound was extremely loud compared to other brakes I have used in the past. The second thing was the amount of gas that is dissipated from the muzzle was nothing short of impressive. The last thing that I noticed was the fact that there was very limited muzzle rise and all the recoil was forced straight back through the center line of the carbine. As loud as it was, I instantly fell in love with it and had to keep going. Shooting in the afternoon I was a little upset that I would not see the fireballs that were evident in Lantac’s promo video. I quickly found out that was a bad assumption. Every few shots a ball of fire would blow out of it like a fire breathing Dragon (ironic, huh?).

After Action Report

After I finished up firing the three magazines that I had brought with me to the range, I did not want to stop shooting. Shooting the Dragon made me take my mind off of the high ammo prices and made it fun again. Recently my AR has just sat at home in the safe due to me not wanting to expend the ammunition that I keep on hand. I would highly recommend doubling up on ear protection especially when going to an indoor range. I feel that Lantac has delivered on their trailer video, with a very high quality piece of hardware. Overall I was very impressed and can’t wait to order one for my personal AR.

The compensators are due to ship in the coming weeks. The MSRP of the Dragon is $140 making it one of the more expensive brakes on the market. Currently you can preorder them on our website whitewolftactical.com. If you use coupon code “DRAGON” you will save $10 off your purchase of the muzzle brake.

YouTube review of the Dragon 

facebook.com/whitewolftactical

whitewolftactical.com

Notch Gear Caps

Ever since I was a child and starting playing baseball at the age of 5, hats have been a part of my daily outfit. I am extremely picky when it comes to any kind of head wear and actually miss the Zephyr brand hats from the early 2000’s to me they were the best fitting and made hats available. Lately I have left empty handed during my visits to the hat store in the mall. Unless it is a “snap back” or flat billed ridiculous looking hat you won’t find anything. Even the New Era caps are not what they used to be. Since I am not a huge fan of the Velcro paneled “Operator” caps, recently I have been wearing a plain black flex fit cap I purchased off of Amazon. It is not bad, but not the best quality nor fitting cap.

This all changed a few months ago when Gear Whores Anonymous posted a photo of the Notch Gear cap. At first I was very skeptical and even commented on the photo saying how I was not really a fan of the way it looked. Yes, wearing sunglasses and a baseball cap is a pain but do I really need a hat designed for that? The owner of the company then replied to my comment and sent me a friend request on Facebook. I didn't think much more about the caps as my black one was working just fine. A few days later on I liked the Notch Gear page and would every once in a while check the site, add a hat to the cart then something else would catch my eye and I would abandon it.

Fast forward a few weeks and that all changed when I finally decided to give it a go and check it out. Anyone who has been following my Facebook fan page knows I love Kryptek. The Kryptek Highlander pattern was a no brainer for me. I was a little worried with the sizing however as I am normally between an S/M and an L/XL on flex fit caps. I decided to just go ahead and get the L/XL size. While the price point is higher than I like to spend on caps ($27.00 for the Kryptek), it is reasonable compared to other caps.

The hat showed up a few days later in a priority mail box. I was instantly shocked at the feel of the hat. It was the best quality cap I have purchased in a very long time if not ever. The pattern looked great, and the mesh back matches the Kryptek pattern extremely well. The elastic band is also extremely comfortable unlike a normal flex fit band. The “notch” is cut out of the bill to allow the user to wear sunglasses or safety glasses and still bend the bill as much as they would like without interfering. It is covered with a rubber piece that is stitched on and also matched the rest of the hat. The Notch logo is also placed on the front left and back right panels of the cap, in a coyote tan thread. Even the button on top is Kryptek.

The only downside that I have found to the cap is it is made in China however also mentions partially assembled here in the good ole USA. This is not enough of a deterrence for me however especially when most hats that I have ever purchased are all from Asian countries. Notch currently has a Kryptek Typhon cap in the works which I can’t wait to get my hands on. Overall this is the best cap I have ever owned and can’t wait to get more of them. No longer will I be annoyed by my bill and sunglasses feuding at the range. The Notch Gear cap has solved that problem with a simple yet innovative solution.

For more information visit them at:

NotchGear.com

facebook.com/notchgear

Bastion LLC Magplates

Recently I had the opportunity to get my hands on some mag plates from Bastion LLC. I had already ordered a slide plate for my Glock 19 so I jumped on this offer.

The mag plates are very easy to install in a matter of seconds. If you are unsure of how to install them, a simple search on YouTube will reveal more than enough videos to explain the installation. They are also made from metal as opposed to the stock plastic plate that comes on the magazines. While this does add a small amount of weight to the firearm I have noticed an improvement when using the KCI magazines that had a tendency not to drop out of the magazine well. With the added weight of the metal magazine base plate they now drop freely every time.

Bastion LLC has a wide variety of pre made designs for your Glock, XD, and M&P series magazine baseplates. The slide plates however are currently only available for Glock.  Bastion is now offering full color plates which I have only seen in photos and they look great. If you would like a custom image just email them on their website magplates.com (a setup fee may be charged). To avoid the setup charge I sent them over our logo in .eps ready for engraving.

The plates are laser engraved, revealing the metal underneath the anodized finish. While engraved they are still smooth to the touch. The finish, detail, and quality of engraving far exceeded the custom dust cover I had engraved for my AR-15 which had lines through the engraving.

For only $19.99 each ($22.95 for full color) you really can’t beat the price of the plates that add a custom look to your Glock. I have no complaints about these plates. They are sold at a great price and are shipped very fast with a decal included. Bastion will have a repeat customer in me as I long as I own Glock firearms.

For more information contact:

http://www.magplates.com

info@magplates.com

Facebook.com/magplates

@bastionllc on Instagram