Tango Down developed the ARC-L magazine by going back to the drawing board and taking a hard look at ammunition feeding in the AR-15 platform. Tango Down started with the understanding that 30-round magazines in the AR-15 are curved, yet the magazine well in the AR-15 is straight.
Instead of utilizing a single piece of molded plastic, the Tango Down magazine is a two-part assembly that snaps together (permanently) in the middle. There are several reasons for this, but the main one is to have a straight portion that is in the magazine well, with a curved portion that is the part extending beyond the magazine well.
Tango Down says by using the two-piece construction they can mix various polymers for different portions of the magazine:
We can also mix materials, impossible with conventional plastic magazines. We can offer transparent lower/high tensile strength upper sectioned magazines that avoid the brittle feed lip issue of all-transparent material construction.
For years, I have always assumed that quality electronic hearing protection was beyond what most people were willing to spend. Most electronic ear muffs seemed to start around $150 and go up from there. After buying the Caldwell E-MAX electronic hearing protection, I know that there is a high-quality, reasonably priced alternative.
(Edit: At the time this article was written, there were few sub-$100 electronic ear pro options. In recent years, this has changed. Right now, there are a number of good quality electronic, or amplified, hearing protection products. Check out my reviews of the Howard Leight Impact Pro and Impact Sport hearing protection muffs.)
The Caldwell E-MAX ear muffs use an electronic system that allows you to amplify normal sounds but immediately shuts down when a loud noise is encountered. The E-MAX is rated at 25 db sound reduction, which is about average for the hearing protection muff market.
Unlike some of the other inexpensive electronic ear muffs, the E-MAX is true stereo amplification, meaning there are two microphones: one on each muff. This allows the user to properly identify the direction sound is coming from. Other products use only one mic which can cause some confusion in the shooter by removing the ability to differentiate direction.
I used the E-MAX muffs on several trips to the range, and let me start off by saying I was impressed. The sound amplification worked as advertised, with range commands coming through very clearly. Conversations with other people were very easy to conduct, and the stereo mics allowed me to know where people were when they were standing behind me, etc.
The amplification circuit is a simple one. It does not use any compression technology to reduce the impact of the gunshots on a conversation. Nor does the system use any kind of tracking technology to help clarify speech.
Rather Caldwell appears to use a simple amplification circuit. This will be a vast improvement over passive only ear muffs. However, when compared to higher quality electronic hearing protection the differences are stark. See my Howard Leight Impact Pro review and Peltor Sport Tactical 500 review for additional information.
The first trip to the shooting range with the E-MAX was to a day-long shooting course for my police department. During the day, I shot SIG SAUER P226 .40 S&W pistols, Remington 12 gauge shotguns, H&K MP5 subguns, and AR-15 carbines.
The E-MAX worked flawlessly to instantly dampen sounds when people were firing. At no point did the muffs seem inadequate for the cartridges we were shooting, and in fact, they seemed to work as well as non-electronic muffs -combined- with the old foam plugs. I don’t know how that could be possible, but it certainly seemed that way.
During that training course, a lot of walking, running, and pushups were done to create stress in an effort to simulate the body alarm response. At all times the E-MAX stayed firmly in place, without a need for constant adjustments.
The Caldwell E-MAX muffs were very comfortable throughout the day. The muffs fold up nicely into a compact “ball” for easy storage.
One of the small complaints I have about these muffs is that the padding around the ear cups is not very thick. As a result, they do not seal very well around the arms of shooting glasses. Eye pro is as important as ear pro, and finding a pair of muffs that work well with your shooting glasses is very important.
In this regard, the E-MAX are not any worse than most of the passive ear muffs I have used. The best set of hearing protection I’ve used with glasses is the Peltor Sport Tactical 500. However, those are about $100 more than the E-MAX.
The biggest compliment I can give to the Caldwell E-MAX electronic ear muffs is I purchased a second set for my wife.
If you have ever wanted a set of quality electronic ear muffs, you should definitely check out the Caldwell E-MAX. I love mine. The E-MAX retail for only $39.99 at many retail outlets.
Update
As more affordable options in electronic hearing protection have become available, I have upgraded to other brands and models of ear pro. However, I still have two pairs of the E-MAX on hand for when I take new shooters to the range.
I have found the E-MAX work very well with new shooters as it allows them to better hear range instruction while still offering good noise attenuation. Also, since the price is very affordable, I can send them home with the new shooter as a “welcome to the shooting world” gift.
Please note that I do not recommend the Caldwell Platinum Series G3 electronic hearing protection. I found this more expensive ear pro to be uncomfortable and offer seemingly less attenuation of gunshots. Further, the build quality seems inferior to the original E-MAX.
Disclosure
Neither Caldwell nor its parent corporation are advertisers. I am not in any talks with them to be one.
No one paid to have this article written.
The E-MAX hearing protection reviewed in this article was purchased by me from Amazon. They were not provided as a T&E sample from the company.
GunsHolstersAndGear.com is a for-profit website. I do not charge readers a dime to access the information I provide.
Some of the links on this page and site are affiliate links to companies like Amazon and Palmetto State Armory. These links take you to the products mentioned in the article. Should you decide to purchase something from one of those companies, I make a small commission.
The links do not change your purchase price. I do not get to see what any individual purchases.
Questions about this or my review? Please leave them in the comments section below.
LaserLyte has introduced a new red laser sighting system for pistols called the Rear Sight Laser. Â The LaserLyte Rear Sight Laser, or RSL, mounts in the position of the rear sight on a handgun, rather than as a grip or guide rod solution marketed by other companies such as Crimson Trace and LaserMax.
LaserLyte claims that by having the laser mounted to the rear sight, the holster can be used in all of the gun’s normal Level I and Level II holsters. Â While I do not have the laser on hand to test this claim with my own holsters, I can see how it should work with most holsters. Â However, there are no standards on what a Level I or II holster is, so the claim is a bit nebulous.
The laser is activated by a switch on the rear of the sight system. Â One press of the switch turns the laser on in a “constant” mode. Â A second press pulses the laser. Â A third press turns the unit off. Â Run time is marketed as one hour in continuous mode, two hours in pulse mode.
Ruger announced a new piston-driven AR-15 rifle: the Ruger SR-556. Â Announced at the NRA convention, the SR-556 is a completely new line for Ruger, and part of an obvious effort to redefine the company.
The SR-556 has a host of quality features, the most significant of which is the two-stage piston system. Â But, in a market that seems to have an overwhelming number of AR-15 makers, will the SR-556 be interesting enough to survive?
The “black rifle” market is clearly hot, as AR-15’s have been selling extremely well throughout the United States.  Some manufacturers have stated that orders are backlogged six months or more.  Bringing a new AR-style gun into the market now may be good timing for Ruger, as a scarcity of all AR rifles may push more customers into their rifles.
Let’s take a look at some of the features of the SR-556.
With demand up and supply gone, some stores are starting to price ammunition at levels that I would have considered completely crazy just a year ago.
One major catalog retailer sent out a flyer recently. All of the ammunition was very expensive (compared to what I am used to paying), but two things caught my eye as being really outrageous.
The first was the Wolf Military Classic 7.62×39 124 gr hp. After seeing what was reported on this load in gellatin over at StoppingPower.net, I picked this cartridge to load into my own Eastern-Bloc surplus guns. Less than a year ago, I was able to pick up 1,000 rounds of this ammo for $189. If I recall correctly, that price even included shipping. In the current catalog, try $499.97 per 1,000!
I used the E-MAX muffs on several trips to the range, and let me start off by saying I was impressed. The sound amplification worked as advertised, with range commands coming through very clearly. Conversations with other people were very easy to conduct, and the stereo mics allowed me to know where people were when they were standing behind me, etc.
It’s no secret that