The M-LOK revolution is here. Deal with it.

In the Spring of this year we were made aware of Magpul’s new accessory system, entitled M-LOK. In June, we had the opportunity to sit down with Magpul and discuss the system as well as get some hands on time with it. You might remember reading this article, where we proclaimed that Magpul was starting a revolution in the way we mount accessories. Since our first look at the MLOK system, we have been sold on it from the engineering and production aspects. But since we don’t like to talk about things which we have no experience with, we figured it would be best to actually TRY it before we past full judgement. We have done exactly this, and the verdict is in. The M-LOK revolution is no longer coming. The M-LOK revolution is here. 

We have been following Magpul’s progress as a company since 1999. We were some of the first in our peer group to start utilizing their first product, the original Magpul. Made for GI aluminum magazines, this simple pull tab allowed us to grab mags in the issued “tight and tall” pouches of the day. We used their floor plates and enhanced followers before the idiotic 10 year long “assault rifle ban” lifted in 2004, opening the market to all the wonderful, diverse products we see today.

That’s 15 years we have been fans of the company.

In those 15 years they have never left us down nor paid us a penny. So before I continue this article, ask yourself this. “Are the Mad Duo minions a bunch of Magpul Fanboys?” The answer to that is simple; you bet your ass we are, or most of us anyway (there’s always a few crayon-eaters in a group). It’s an American company started by a Marine Corps veteran. It’s a company that protects its designs, and fights not just those who steal innovative ideas but also idiotic government representatives with an anti-gun agenda. It’s a company completely made up of your fellow countrymen, that employs a lot of blue collars while pushing the envelope of innovation. We are “fanboys” because they make good shit (do we need a better reason?). Case closed. If you cannot appreciate that, then cool. Go back to reading the hate and lies that run rampant on the forums from “experts” and “industry professionals”. Until Magpul starts habitually fucking up and forcing shit products onto the market, our opinion of them is unlikely to change.

With that out of the way, I can proceed to the meat and potatoes of our topic.

The M-LOK system seemed like a great idea, and now that we have been using it for a few months that concept has only grown stronger. We have acquired a range of different M-LOK products, and have had the chance to shoot a bunch with this system. After experimenting with different configurations, makes and models we are sold. The M-LOK revolution is no longer coming, the M-LOK revolution is here. With over 40 different manufactures currently making parts, accessories and firearms set up for M-LOK, the list is still growing. 

Hell even Home Depot is considering MLOK (*snicker*).

There are companies releasing new products in M-LOK over the longer existing KeyMod design. There are companies which are starting to shift away from KeyMod in favor for M-LOK. There are shooters who are becoming increasingly more vocal about the want of M-LOK parts and accessories, and there are those that are stuck in the hate game. All of this was to be expected. 

The gun forums are on fire with the battles waging. The different camps are pushing their collective cases, some using reason and logic, others with sentimentality and emotion. With all the facts and bullshit flying, it’s hard to see who is right and who in the end will be proven wrong.

Many people are adamant about the superiority of one particular design or another. Some are reasonable enough to see merit in different aspects of each design. Others, without the opportunity or ability to use all the different forearm offerings (or the ability to detach themselves emotionally from their favorite version) have turned ridiculous in their inability to believe a better mouse trap can actually be invented. Picatinny isn’t going away anytime soon (something that makes a couple of the Mad Duo’s more curmudgeonly minions very happy). There will always be forearms with simple holes, threaded inserts or slots. But as far as modular, quickly adaptable and lightweight systems go MLOK is going to take center stage. So here is the question – why? 

As we have previously explained, M-LOK is a system which has been along time in the making. Essentially an improved version of the Magpul MOE system. M-LOK is gaining more traction in all the various black rifle driven shooting communities. Initially, the universal tone heard throughout the firearms industry as MLOK was unveiled was, “Sure, we’ll see. Look how long it took for anything KeyMod to get made.” Followed by “M-LOK is more conceptual” and “What does it do, that KeyMod doesn’t already?” But that tone has changed. Since M-LOK’s release in April, there have been dozens of products released by Magpul and the aftermarket industry. Think about that, because it hasn’t even celebrated its first birthday yet. With companies like Geissele Automatics, Midwest Industries, ALG Defense, Rainer Arms, SLR Rifleworks, Parallax Tactical, Handl Defense, and many more getting onboard, thats a huge show of support for the “conceptual” M-LOK system.

Our personal experience with M-LOK (mine and several of the Breach-Bang-Clear Cabal), now that we have been running it on several of our guns, is that it is idiot-simple and damn near foolproof. Its non-directional and straight drop in attachment method has proven to us how quick it is to learn and use. We have gone as far as to attach accessories in the pitch black, virtually blind. The hardest part is finding the bolt head with your Allen! Unlike KeyMod, we have had zero issues with accessories coming loose or getting busted off the gun. We’ve used KeyMod for several rifle builds, and have enjoyed it for its lightweight and modular approach. However, we’ve never been true fans of the “teardrop” shaped mounting holes and ultimately the system has proven to be more complex and less forgiving then M-LOK.

After shooting numerous rifles, trying most currently available accessories and abusing the system, the vast majority of our flunkies are sold. We aren’t saying that other systems aren’t going to stick around, we are saying that you are going to witness M-LOK eclipse them. Magpul has spent years developing this system, and they have given themselves plenty of room to make M-LOK adaptable for future system compatibility. You will be seeing more about M-LOK here from us, from the industry and almost certainly at SHOT show 2015 (which is coming up fast).

Mad Duo Nate About the Author: Nathan “Mad Duo Nate” is a former USMC Sergeant who recently transitioned to being a nasty civilian. He lives largely on nicotine, whiskey and hate and can be frequently found orating Kipling poems to frightened hipsters. A graduate of the Camp Lejeune School for Wayward Boys, he was a Marine NCO, Infantry Platoon Sergeant and Scout Sniper team leader. He is a fully qualified American Jedi, handsome badass and world-renowned field barista. He has numerous deployments to the Middle East and Africa and is something of an idiot savant when it comes finger-fucking stuff to make it work better. Nate drinks every day and only chain smokes when he’s drinking. We reckon he is probably best described as a sociopathic philosopher with vestigial cutthroat (though poetic) tendencies. Thus far Murr’s writing has appeared in such places as here on Breach-Bang-Clear, on Military.com, in field shitters and portajohns on at least 3 continents, in RECOIL Magazine and of course Penthouse letters. (Grunts: vestigial)