Cliff Notes Version -

This firearm has a fatal flaw.  The Maxim Defense CQB pistol brace used to make the a "rapid deployment" weapon uses a proprietary length buffer tube which is very short.  They offer a few different buffer weights but none of them are adequate for anything more than a 40 S&W level load.  After the second trip back from the mfg I was experiencing repeated case head failures with even SIG 180gr FMJ. You can read on for more info and links to a site to verify these claims.   As of 5-19-18 the mfg is unwilling to admit their buffer solution is unworkable with 10mm ammo and as such I have scrapped my pistol. Buy at your own risk.

Tactical Edge RD-10, 10mm blowback pistol

Specs (From their website) –

Upper Receiver - Billet, Patented side charging
Lower Receiver - Billet, compatible with GLOCK magazines
Receiver Extension - MAXIM Defense CQB Pistol brace, fully collapsible and features 2 QD sling mounts
Barrel - 8" 4150 Nitride treated, gas blowback
Rail - 7" Keymod with full length top rail
Angled Hand Stop - AAH
BCG - Modular
Trigger - WARFIGHTER DYNAMIC COMBAT, fully adjustable, single stage
Furniture - Magpul MBUIS sights and +Grip

Note - Website says it ships with a 15 round magazine but mine arrived with a 10 round magazine.

Price –  $2079 shipped.  I signed up for their e-mail list and got a flash sale notice right after Shot Show and got 20% off.

Packaging -

Was very impressed when the pistol showed up packaged in a very nice Pelican style case.  I actually have this exact same case used to transport rifles when I travel, it ran me $140 at Cabella's on sale. It is very similar to IK-231099 but without the wheels.

The Furniture -

I have always wondered why the Maxim Defense braces cost so much (usually north of $300).  I fully understand now.  This 3 position brace is completely solid feeling in both the retracted and extended positions.  The "RD" in "RD-10" stands for Rapid Deployment and this brace could be considered the key component for that goal.  Deploying it is as simple as giving it a firm tug rearward.  The brace quickly ratchets out and locks into its detent automatically with no fine motor skills required. Brush the release lever and it can be quickly moved back to the retracted position shortening the pistol to a very easy to store size.

The pistol sports a Magpul Miad grip w/ storage compartment. The forend is an aluminum w/ M-lock attachment slots.  Tactical Edge supplies their own machined angled handstop which is more comfortable than it looks. On top of the rifle are a set of grey Magpul MBUIS's so this rifle is shootable out of the box.

The Trigger –

The trigger is a Tactical-Edge product that retails for $219 on their website.  Let it be known I am a trigger snob and have a hard time not upgrading my triggers in my various guns.  This one is adjustable and set for about 4lbs. from the factory.  I must say it pleasantly surprised me.  First there is hardly any take-up, it just moves slightly then hits a wall. Apply 4lbs of pressure and it breaks. The best parts is when you reset the trigger, if it moves more than a millimeter or two I would be surprised.  It resets with a very tactile click and you are right back on the wall again ready to break the next shot. I have used CMC triggers in past AR builds and this one is easily as good on the pull and to me it actually feels better in the reset department in regards to how short the reset is.

Other Items of note –

The receiver from New Frontier Armory.  The Grey cerakote on my version fits the large, chunky receiver features giving it a battleship look.
The magwell has a very generous lead-in and the mags snap into place and drop free. There does appear to be a lot of slop once the magazine is inserted.  You can rock the lower portion back and forth a good 5-10 degrees.
The mag release works very well and is actuated by the right hand.
The gun is charged via a left side, non-reciprocating charging handle that snaps into place via a spring loaded latch that holds onto the upper receiver.  This could be a long term wear point.
My only complaint is the trigger guard. It is big and well shaped for gloves but the edges dig into my trigger finger. Would be nice if the edges were chamfered slightly.
BCG looks to be similar or the same as a New Frontier Armory AR-40

My Current Baseline –

I bought this to potentially replace my ASR 10mm survival rifle which is also a blowback operated 10mm firearm.  I have owned the ASR for about 2 years so I will compare the RD-10 to it.  While ASR was cheaper at $799, the actually price before I considered it shootable was closer to $1100.  On that rifle I found the grip was too small (despite my small hands), the stock was uncomfortable and the supplied "optic" was near impossible to figure out the eye relief making it un-useable (TNW quit shipping the scope with their kits but the price remains the same). I installed an MFT stock, Magpul grip and Holosun optic which made the rifle comfortable to hold and accurate to shoot quickly.  I could not upgrade the stock trigger in the ASR as it is proprietary so my rifle does suffer from a very mushy, ratchety feeling trigger pull. If it used a standard AR trigger I would have dumped another $150 into it to clean up the trigger pull. I see TNW offers a couple trigger upgrades now for an additional $45.

The ASR can be taken down which may be its greatest positive and negative.  Let me explain.  The barrel shroud acts as the barrel nut so you unscrew it to remove the barrel making for a very compact and easily transported package. The downside is there is little to no room for your support hand to go so the tendency for new shooters is to grip the magwell.  This works until you bump the mag release (and you will bump it over and over). TMW now offers an optional forend for these rifles, but it adds more money to the price ($139). I would have bought one if it were available at the time, my solution was to put a vertical grip just in front of the mag well something TNW now offers with their rifle length ASR's.  Not the most comfortable thing for me as it keeps my support hand in further than I would like but it works.

On paper the ASR would appear to be almost 1/3rd the price of the RD-10.  In reality, if you consider the standard components the RD-10 comes with the value proposition actually skews in favor of the RD-10 if you can catch it on sale like I did.  My logic is as follows – for approx. $1600 the RD-10 includes useable sights (say a value of $50), a hard case ($150 value), a phenomenal trigger ($150-200 value), a nice machined angled foregrip/handstop ($40 value) and a very impressive brace ($300-350 value).  I am up in the air on whether or not a red dot is needed on the RD-10.  If this thing shoots like my CZ Scorpion with iron sights it may be one of the few guns I have bought that needed nothing upgraded/added. 

The Buying Experience –

On a spectrum of 1-10 I'd rate this one a solid 4. It all started off well.  I placed an initial call to check availability and was told there was a 4-6 week backlog.  After getting a few other questions answered I started to place my order only to discover the coupon code only worked for web orders. No problem, I would just order online. Before I could do that (and less than 2 minutes after I hung up) I received a call from the gentleman I just spoke with who said they had a grey RD-10 on the wall they could sell me. So after he agreed to hold it till the web order came thru I hung up and promptly ordered the rifle online using the shot show coupon code. The next morning I called my FFL when they opened and gave them the contact info where they needed to send their FFL paperwork.   This is where things broke down.  Over the course of the next 2 and a half weeks I got no indication of whether or not TE had received my FFL's info and had to call and work thru various people to get to someone who knew what was going on.  Every call was polite and courteous but there was no follow-thru. Twice the manager told me he would call my FFL and take care of the issue that day only for me to discover with a phone call a few days later TE still did not have the info. I also never got a single e-mail reply from any of my emails inquiring on the status of the FFL paperwork.  IMO if you are not going to answer emails, don't post email addresses on your website. To be fair I am giving my FFL the benefit of the doubt.  After 6 years of transfers he has always been responsive on getting his end of the shipping portion taken care of. FWIW I had contacted him 3 times over the course of this whole process to request he re-send his info to the supplied email address, each time he claimed it was done.

So it took 3 weeks to finally get confirmation that TE had my FFL's info and get a tracking number for a 2 day priority mail shipment. 8 days later I was filing a missing package report due to the USPS tracking app not updating for the final 4 days. The package was delivered on the 8th day, tracking updated mere minutes after I had submitted my missing package form online.

Once I got the pistol home I gave it a once over, took some pictures for my records and then loaded up the included 10 round mag with snap caps to rack a few rounds into it.  To my disappointment the rifle would not chamber a single snap cap.  Live ammo was 50/50, some would chamber and some would jam. The barrel has no feed ramp so the jams were either bullet pointed too high or too low and caught between the bolt and barrel face. The brass cased rounds that did chamber showed a lot of projectile set back, I measured up to .09" worth on a few rounds.  A quick email to TE asking if there was anything I could adjust/polish ended up with them wanting me to send the gun back.  While my ASR also required a trip back for feed ramp re-profiling I was hoping TE had a little better quality control especially considering the price difference.

After a few days of the rifle being in TE's hands I received a tracking number and an email stating I was good to go.  I now await the return of the pistol with USPS again is experiencing shipping delays with no estimated delivery date after missing the original delivery date.

Shooting review to follow.



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Placeholder for Shooting review to follow.

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More pics

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Comparison with ASR

SIG 180gr FMJ @25 yds

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The pistol finally arrived last week and it appeared to feed rounds when charged by hand (including snap caps). I could not see anything different internally; no polishing was apparent so I am not exactly sure what was done by TE. Took it out the following weekend to chronograph some different loads.  Started with SIG FMJ and managed to get two rounds downrange before the first jam. Cleared the jam, and got another couple downrange before the next jam. This became the norm for the next couple of hours.  I worked my way thru 6 different magazines (10 and 15 Round Glock mags, all work in my ASR)  and 5 different loads with the same results: failures to feed about every 2-3 rounds during slow/aimed firing. 

Was going to give up after the 1st half hour but decided to use the RD-10 as a single shot firearm to get some load/accuracy data since I had all my equipment setup. The gun does appear to chamber the initial round 100% of the time when feeding from a mag with a single round.

Finally able to get some rounds downrange a more serious problem emerged.  I started to get brass that was ripped in half about mid case. The rear portion would eject, the front portion would need to be fished out of the chamber. I am assuming this is due to rounds that barely/roughly chambered with the projectiles experiencing bullet set back. For reference, all of these loads fed and fired flawlessly thru my EAA Witness Match Elite which I was shooting that day for velocity comparison.
   
Here's the load data I was able to capture loading just a single round in the mag. Take my accuracy numbers with a grain of salt.  I we never able to get into a rhythm and was trying to get each shot off in under 10 seconds including having to activate my LabRadar chrono. I was shooting from a rest via a SIG red dot with no magnification.

180gr SIG FMJ Factory Ammo - AVG 1378fps/759ft/lb 3.0" Group @ 25yds Notes - Of the 10 rounds I actually had 4 separate mini-groups with 3 shots touching, all within 3". The extra 3" longer barrel on the RD-10 resulted in an additional 166fps over the Witness.


180gr Pulled FMJ @ 1.250 over 8.8gr Longshot- AVG 1374fps/754ft/lb 2.5" Group @ 25yds Notes -This load was a single hole at 12yds standing.

165gr BBI Coated RNFP @ 1.250 over 9.5gr Longshot- AVG 1530fps/857ft/lb 4.0" Group @ 25yds
165gr BBI Coated RNFP @ 1.250 over 10gr Longshot- AVG 1549fps/879ft/lb 6.0" Group @ 25yds Notes - Like my ASR, the RD-10 doesn't appear to like the coated bullets.  I get the same accuracy from my EAA Match not using a rest. The extra 3" longer barrel on the RD-10 resulted in an additional 167fps over the Witness.
 
200gr WFNGC @ 1.245 over 13.3gr AA#9- AVG 1434fps/913ft/lb, 2.0" Group @ 25yds Notes - Only shot 5 but these were surprisingly accurate in both my RD-10 and my EAA Match. The extra 3" longer barrel on the RD-10 resulted in an additional 182fps over the Witness.

When I got home I sent off an email to Tactical Edge explaining what I had experienced and inquiring about my options.  They want the gun back so I have again boxed it up and am awaiting a shipping label.  I suspect the bolt face needs some work and the chamber lead in needs some polishing but I am going to let the mfg fix it.

I really didn't get a chance for any extended strings of fire but the one thing I noticed was the gun does kick slightly more than the ASR rifle. It would appear that the brace on the RD-10 does not absorb as much recoil as the MFT stock I have on the ASR.   


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Gun has made another round trip back to the mfg.  The determination was the last round hold open mechanism was impacting the rounds when feeding so it was replaced.  I received a video showing my rifle w/o the forend shooting 50 rounds of S&B in a row successfully.  They claimed the brass was all good.  I believe the forend was off so they could stick the barrel downward thru a port on some sort of bullet trap device for internal testing. Robert @ TE also advised me that they had installed an upgraded trigger in my pistol.  The new trigger has ball bearings in the mechanism and I was told this would eliminate the trigger slap that gets transmitted thru the standard trigger as the bolt re-cocks the hammer. This was one thing I had made a mental note of on my first range session.  I had planned to sand all the edges off the original trigger once the gun was running to hopefully eliminate the bite I was feeling while firing it.

I received the pistol back about 4 days later and immediately headed to the range for some testing using the supplied 15 round Glock factory magazine. Results of approx 60 rounds -

180gr FMJ reloads over 8.8gr Longshot - Jam just about every other round.  Also had several cases torn in half which required fishing a small piece of brass out of the chamber.

200 gr Buffalo Bore - Jam on first round.  Clear and re-rack.  Second round case blown apart, had to fish the broken piece of brass out of the chamber and quit testing that ammo.

180gr Wheeler's JHP rounds - Jam about every other round. Blew apart a case a few rounds in and quit testing with that stuff.

SIG 180gr FMJ -  Strangely this stuff fed and I made it thru 3 mags before I had a case blown apart.  continued and had a failure to feed on the 49th round. At this point the only positive was the cases were ejecting into a nice pile about 3 feet away instead off into the cacti 10-15ft away like the last outing (didn't know it at the time but the extractor was broken causing the close ejection pattern).

Since the Sig ammo had the narrowest projectile profile I tried some 165gr BBI coated projectiles over Blue Dot next but the first two rounds jammed in the breach. Managed to get 3 fired but gave up on the next jam.

After action report - Looking thru my brass bucket it looks like the gun blew apart at least 7 cases, two have splits in the cases but managed to eject whole.  The blowout in the cases coincides with the bottom edge of the projectile where it got jammed into the case causing a compressed load. Several of the bullets that failed to load show damage to the case just below the projectile or damage to the face of the projectile. On teardown of the rifle I discover there is no claw on the extractor.  This explains the weak ejection, not sure if it would explain the failures to load.

So I emailed Tactical-Edge and didn't like the tone of the reply. Specifically this part -

"We sen't you a video of us shooting 50 rounds with absolutely no issues whatsoever. No set back, no dented cases, no failures to feed/fire. Are you spraying any CLP on the bolt?".

*sigh*  They asked for a picture of the broken extractor (guess they didn't see the one I had sent with my email) and said they would send another bolt (I just requested a new extractor) if it was broken. Pulled the extractor out of the bolt (Yep, still broken) and took a good closeup picture which is now in TE's hands.  I went ahead and ordered an extractor from New Frontier Armory so I can test this thing this weekend.  I will be filming it and will post the results to my YouTube channel.

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Still no replacement extractor from TE.  I installed the one I purchased from New Frontier Armory the previous week so I am able to continue trying to debug this thing.

With the new extractor installed I spent some time cycling snap caps thru the pistol.  The snap caps cycle thru the gun if dropping the bolt from the hold open position, however the noses are getting mashed into the lower portion of the chamber fairly often causing permanent deformation. This would seem to be the cause of my bullet set-back issues and random jams.  The magazine fit in the magwell may be a partial contributor to the rounds hitting the lower portion of the barrel.  The rounds feed better if you put pressure on the magazine to rotate the top back, better aligning the top round with the chamber. Normal feeding does the opposite, the BCG contacts the top round, rocking the mag slightly forward causing the projectile to hit the lower portion on the barrel.   I was hoping Tactical Edge would have done some sort of polish or reshaping of the feed ramp on one of the guns trips back to their facility but nothing has been done.

I had a feeling this lack of a feed ramp was an issue but could not find a picture of a modified feed ramp on one of these barrels until I found this video dated 3-17-18 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4dp2BWVp0o

Time to get out the Dremel.


Edit 3-28-18

Since finding the above video I have found several other people who are having feeding issues the New Frontier Armory lower base 10mm AR builds. The solution for several of them was to relieve the lower chamber area of the barrel to make a better feed ramp.  I have done this and it does feed rounds much better including the 200gr WFNGC lead projectiles that would not feed at all before the mod.  They still occasionally jam but anything with a narrower nose cross section seems to feed and eject well.

Based on a couple hours of grinding/polishing/cycling snap caps and rounds by hand I am inclined to believe there are two things going on. 

One is the barrel feed ramp profile as it comes stock is not friendly to any projectile with a large cross section at the nose.  The rounds that fed at the mfg of my pistol where S&B 180gr which use a projectile with a heavy taper on the nose (maybe the most tapered round commonly available??).  They managed to get 50 rounds thru it without stoppage with the gun angled down. I feel this downward angle and gravity inadvertently helped feeding by justifying the magazine in a "good" direction (more on that later).  In my shooting (I don't have any S&B available from nearby sources) the best feeding rounds were SIG 180gr FMJ which also has a tapered nose.  Pre-barrel modification any standard 180gr RNFP, 200gr Lead WFN and round 180gr MGJHP jammed into the bottom face of the barrel or fed with a lot of projectile setback due to impacting the barrel outside the chamber lead-in.

The second issue that contributes to the above is the sloppy fit of the magazine in the magwell.  My Glock magazine has several degrees of rock front to back which drastically changes the projectile angle inside the upper in relation to the barrel.  The angle change is enough that post barrel mod jams will feed if I push the base of the mag forward slightly. This motion rotates the nose of the projectile up towards the chamber so it clears the lower portion of the feed ramp. There is also quite a bit of up/down motion in the mag when it is seated into the gun.  The Ejector is all the way down in its slot so there is no way to make the mag fit tighter adjusting it. All this movement means you have to clearance the barrel feed ramp until the widest (at the nose) projectile you want to run will feed when the magazine base is pulled backwards.

My pistol currently has the lower portion of the chamber relieved so only the 200gr WFNGC projectiles show a small impact mark when feeding. Before and after chambering measurements show they are not getting setback into the case more than .001" if that. I have designed a part that will make the magwell a tighter fit and present the top round at a more consistent angle, hopefully this gets the wide nose projectiles closer to 100% feeding without having to relieve the lower barrel chamber more.

Will be shooting this next weekend with the goal of getting 50 rounds of each ammo type thru it without issues.



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You've got a lot more patience than I do!! Hope you get it figured out.

Quote from: triggerman10 on March 28 2018 05:31:30 PM MDT
You've got a lot more patience than I do!! Hope you get it figured out.

I design automated factory equipment for a living so debug is a common occurrence at work 

Here's the part I printed to tighten up the fit of the magwell.  It works way better than expected.  It justifies the magazine so the top round is angled towards the chamber, eliminated almost all the play between the magazine/magwell and best of all the magazines still drop free without assistance. Can't wait to test it this weekend.



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I had high hopes for the next range session now that the pistol would could feed a variety of projectile types by hand seemingly with no hiccups. I racked 30 rounds in a row with no issues by hand and could find no measurable setback of the projectiles.

Out in the desert I started with 180gr RNFP projectiles over 8.8gr Longshot loaded in a new factory 15 round magazine and got mixed results.  Over 70 rounds I saw just over 20 failures to feed with all the rounds jamming nose up towards the chamber. This was new behavior and not totally unexpected since the bolt velocity was now much faster than racking rounds by hand.  The good news is I only saw one round feed and get set back enough to cause a case failure. Changing magazines to a 10 round factory version seemed to help the feeding. I went with a 10 round factory magazine because the follower spring felt stiffer when loading it. A different 15 round factory magazine didn't run any better.

Once I was out of the 180gr RNFP projectiles  I started using some rounds loaded with 165gr BBI coated projectiles.  These never fed well during previous live fire and jammed just about every other round due to them getting mashed into the lower portion of the barrel (despite their pointy conical nose). To my surprise these ran pretty well with only 2 or 3 failures over the next 20 rounds.  Again the failure mode was round jammed into the camber nose up with the bolt pinning the brass.  I quit after this as the different ammo and magazines were all having the same failures.

Two things I want to try on the next session.  I found several threads online that mentioned stiffer springs helped PCC's feed from Glock magazines if you are experiencing the nose up jams. This would jive with the 10 round magazine seeming to work better.  The other mod I saw mentioned was cutting back the portion of the bolt that strips the top round out of the magazine.  Apparently the QC10 bolts have this relief whereas the NFA bolts do not.  I know my TNW bolt is relieved in this manner, once the bolt engages the back of the case the rim is captured side to side by the face of the bolt. 


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So it is looking like everyone who thought these guns were all flash and no substance were right  Here's the latest on why I am starting to believe these guns have a serious design flaw.

I initially thought the case head separation I was experiencing was due to the projectiles experiencing setback when they were chambering. Tightening up the magwell helped as did relieving some of the bolt where it strips the top round from the magazine. Next, I was slowly clearancing a feed ramp into the lower portion of the barrel so all the different shaped projectiles would feed by hand. I got to that point where everything fed well by hand but when I test fired it I started getting projectiles jamming nose up.  More bolt relief and heavier mag springs made the gun function better. I did notice with some of the warmer ammo that I was still getting case head separation.  I mistakenly took more off my feed ramp and believe I went too far since my cases started to bulge.  I have a new barrel coming to possibly start over....

While waiting for the barrel I started comparing my RD10 to my Aero Survival Rifle because I was no longer convinced the case head separation was due to bullet setback, in hindsight the rifle was feeding well and I wasn't feeling the shudder that signaled a round hit the barrel. Yet I was still blowing apart SIG FMJ and Buffalo Bore loads. Once I discovered the bolt/buffer combo on the RD10 was half of what the same combo was in my ASR I started researching how to determine bolt/buffer weight.  For blowback guns the weight of the bolt/buffer are the only thing preventing the bolt from opening under pressure and all the bolt manufacturers recommend 9-11oz buffers for 45acp and higher calibers (the buffer in the RD 10 weighs 2.7oz, ASR 9.8oz).

All this led me to this enlightening article via this thread -

Great discussion, and definitely an area for innovation in this new division. HOWEVER, if folks are new to blowback designs, I suggest they do some research on bolt/buffer/spring combinations and stay within the realm of the "known safe". Unlike locked breach rifles, blowback designs rely entirely on the inertia of the bolt assembly to prevent case head separation/breach explosions - this webpage is an interesting primer. Lighter reciprocating mass may feel flatter, but you could be on the ragged edge of safety and reliability. Be careful guys.

From <http://forums.brianenos.com/topic/240632-pcc-reoil-bounce/>


The link - http://www.orions-hammer.com/blowback/

Based on the calculations at the bottom of that article I believe the bolt used in my RD10 (stamped 40S&W) combined with the lightweight buffer are the cause of the case head separation. It may also explain some of the erratic feeding behavior.  I sent an email off to the guys at Tactical Edge explaining all this and linking to the article.  I suspect they just threw parts together instead of designing a system that would safely work.  If I am correct I'd be willing to bet all their pistols utilizing the Maxim Defense brace would need to be re-evaluated due to the really light buffer that comes with that Maxim Defense stock.  Pretty sure it is the recommended AR buffer, not pistol caliber carbine buffer.

My theory would explain why they were able to fire 50 rounds with no case head separation. They used S&B which is low powered ammo which results in reduced chamber pressure, less bolt movement and perhaps no case stretch.  My last time out All of the 200gr loads, Sig 180gr FMJ and some hot hollow point loads showed case head separation despite feeding correctly. Of course all of those loads are at or near SAAMI specs. I decided to go back to my old RD10 brass and see if I could measure the case stretch. Nothing like proving out a theory with measurable results.

Low and behold you can measure the case stretch even on brass that visually looks ok    Here are pictures of two cases, both SIG 180gr FMJ vs a SIG case I have reloaded 3 times and fired from my other 10mm pistols. FYI, The two stretched cases I am showing have hairline fracture if you look close enough so they are on the verge of failure. I have quite a few cases that are a few thou less than this, all SIG FMJ based on the headstamp. All the American eagle and Armscor stuff I tried show a few thou over my 4 time used case, so minimal stretching.
 
I advised my contact at Tactical-Edge that these results should be repeatable with any RD10 utilizing a 2.7oz buffer and the bolt they supply when using full pressure 10mm ammo. To have a safety factor  to account for temp variations (which can affect certain powders) you really should design the bolt/buffer system to be able to handle a proof load with minimal stretch. We will see what they say.

I also emailed Maxim Defense to see what options are out their for their PDW brace.  I has a suspicion that I won't be able to get a heavy enough buffer to utilize that brace. If that is true I will be pushing hard to get a refund as the compact size is one of the main drivers for me selecting this weapon system.

More reading I found on the topic which might help future blowback pistol builders  -
 
I went with a 10 ounce buffer on the 45......with an 8 ounce....I was tearing cases in half from early extraction......front half of the case would stay in chamber.....it'd fall out after but it caused a malfunction when it happened...

From <https://www.ar15.com/forums/AR-15/blowback-bolt-buffer-weight/15-721260/>

Recommendations for the buffer weight (towards bottom in Q&A)-

https://www.newfrontierarmory.com/shop/c-45-billet-lower/


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Tried the RD10 as a single shot with the 9.8oz buffer from my TNW ASR installed in the Maxim Defense brace. I loaded 1 round at a time and gently chambered the round to avoid any feeding setback. Fired two of each type of factory ammo I had on hand, it worked pretty good and none of the rounds experienced case separation although the Wheelers @.993" after firing was close.

200gr WFN Buffalo Bore brass measured .987 and .977
180gr HPR HP brass measured .986 and .987
180gr SIG FMJ measured .988 and .986
180gr Wheelers MJHP measured .987 and .993

Brass ejection distance was cut to a 3rd of what it used to do.  Found everything within 12ft.  Recoil was much gentler as well.   I don't have a heavier buffer on hand nor would one fit in the Maxim Defense brace tube.  I think it still needs a few ounces.

FWIW the ASR buffer is too long for the brace buffer tube so the RD10 bolt hold open lever would not function.

Had another conversation with the mfg after they had a couple days to digest the info I sent them.  I actually got no reply and had to ask them to call me. During the conversation I discovered they actually put a lighter buffer in my pistol to help it feed better That would explain why the SIG 180gr FMJ I tried firing thru it was getting destroyed due to case head separation. Anything heavier also tore in half (heavier projectile wise). The attached picture shows all the brass I tried shooting thru the pistol during the range session after the lighter buffer was installed. I should note they did not tell me they did this (put a lighter buffer in).  I was told the last round bolt hold open lever was hitting the rounds when feeding and it was replaced.  Anyone reading to this point would do well to steer clear of this company.  Either way you look at this situation is damning.  Either they knowingly took an already underweight buffer and reduced the weight further making the gun even more unsafe or they didn't realize that dropping an already underweight buffer another 1/4lb would cause more case head separations.   

The rest of the conversation didn't go well IMO. I received no acknowledgement of the buffer weight being a concern, not even sure they looked at the calculations.  Instead I was told they have sold hundreds of these guns (my serial # is 0008??) and that they had people test them with all sorts of ammo and saw no issues.  Hard to argue against physics.  You can plug in the various 10mm projectile weights and velocities to get an estimate of the required bolt weight via this spreadsheet - http://www.orions-hammer.com/blowback/cartridge_data.xls

The pistol is on it's way back to the mfg for the 3rd time.  I want a heavier buffer to get the bolt/buffer weight to a safe level that will prevent case head failures.  I don't think this is possible due to the custom length buffer tube on the Maxim Defense brace.   I also outlined how they can get the pistol to feed better. Based on what I have discovered over the last two months, the current New Frontier Armory 45/10 has a number of flaws that prevent it from working well with 10mm Glock mags.  First problem; the magazine needs to be angled back and  sit higher in relation to the barrel chamber.  This requires using the ejector to act as an upper mag stop and then opening up the NFA lower to accept a different mag release lever. I asked around and Macon Armory has this part designed. If you call them, ask for Rudy.  The barrel feed ramp profile also needs some relieving.  Again, Macon Armory claims to have a profile that feeds well for New Frontier Armory barrels. If I can't get Tactical Edge to deliver a working firearm or give me a refund I will be sending the whole thing to Rudy.

Unless one of you guys is a lawyer with low rates  (only half joking)

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AZ, I have been followings your tales of woe with great intrest, It is very disappointing to hear of these kind of malfunctions, thanks for all of your work testing this firearm, it will help other members avoid the frustration of dealing with this company. I hope they can get it right so we can see what kind of accuracy and long term functionality this firearm is capable of.

Wow. I believe you spent more on that that I did my RMW AR-15 10MM.

I don't know much about that design, but I do know most all such guns, mine included are very susceptible to no or bad crimp on 10mm ammo. Sig ammo (some batches) have no crimp and are actually belled. I started a thread about this several years ago. Don't use such about in a gun with a tight chamber, as it will hang. I have successfully run sig 10mm through my crimp die, just to shoot in my LW 10mm barrel in the 20L. Still fights with me in the 10mm AR, when I have never had any problem with home loads in that gun.