You’ve probably heard this cliché: “Handguns are weapons that allow you to fight your way to a rifle.” Well, that is easy to say, and it has a sense of machismo to it, but if you knew things were going to be bad, why didn’t you carry a rifle to begin with? Ever think about that?
The simple fact is that we carry handguns because of their size and convenience. It’s just not a viable option to carry a full-sized AR-15 every day. So, the answer for many is to carry their rifle in their truck or car. But even in our vehicles, it is tough to find a home for a full-sized rifle. The days of seeing rifle racks in the back windows of pickup trucks are long gone, so making room for a full-sized blaster is a challenge.
There is a solution, however. It came to me as I was perusing a variety of guns at a media event and came across an offering from the folks at Modern Outfitters. The moment I saw it, I immediately knew I had found the ultimate truck gun.
Our wish list for the ultimate truck gun is pretty universal. We want a rifle-caliber weapon that fits into a relatively small space. It must be reliable, accurate, magazine fed and, of course, good looking. Let’s go one step further, though, and really be honest. We would like it to be chambered for a .30-caliber round as well. The answer for all these needs is the Modern Outfitters MC6 PDW.
The MC6 PDW is an AR pistol chambered in 300 Blackout. With the recent reversal letter from the BATFE regarding “support braces,” gone are the days of just a foam-covered buffer tube. Modern Outfitters chose the new SBPDW Pistol Stabilizing Brace from SB Tactical for this build. It is a three-position device that allows the weapon to maintain a very small profile. In fact, with the SBPDW collapsed, the entire gun is only 20.5 inches long!
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The rest of the build is a reflection of the high quality I have come to believe is standard for Modern Outfitters. Every one of the guns I have dealt with from this company has been exceptional, and the MC6 PDW is no different. And this gun is set up as a fighter.
The 8-inch barrel is manufactured by Modern Outfitters with a 1-in-8-inch twist rate. The upper and lower receivers are made from a billet of 7075-T6 aluminum that is Type III hardcoat anodized, and the former houses an enhanced Modern Carbine bolt carrier group.
The gun is a direct-impingement design that uses a pistol-length gas system for enhanced reliability. The MC6 PDW also features an ambidextrous Griffin Armament SN-ACH (Suppressor Normalized-Ambidextrous Charging Handle). Knowing that many people will want to run this blaster suppressed, this choice of charging handles is an example of Modern Outfitters looking beyond just pushing guns out the door.
The SN-ACH features a gas check groove and a suppressor gas vent that reduces the amount of gas coming back toward the shooter when a suppressor is installed. The bolt carrier engaging hook features durable reinforced geometry for a 30-percent increase in strength over mil-spec handles, and it’s approximately three times as strong as 6061-T6 handles that routinely break under hard use. It is a tip of the hat to the seriousness of Modern Outfitters’ clientele.
Surrounding the barrel and gas system is a free-floating handguard that’s made in-house with M-LOK slots along the sides and bottom for accessories as well as quick-detach (QD) sling slots at the front and rear on both sides. The top of the handguard has a Picatinny rail that interfaces directly with the flattop upper’s for mounting sights and optics.
Aside from the SBPDW brace and Magpul MOE grip, the lower receiver has another top-notch feature worth mentioning. The trigger is a unique choice in this day and age of super-light competition triggers. For this build, Modern Outfitters has chosen an ALG Defense Advanced Combat Trigger (ACT), which is essentially a smoother mil-spec-type trigger. While the pull weight is similar to a mil-spec trigger, it’s much crisper—there’s no grittiness or slack. ALG Defense designed this trigger so the pull weight is not lower than the M4/M16 minimum weight specification of 5.5 pounds. However, the trigger’s design and coating make it feel much nicer than any mil-spec trigger I’ve ever run.
Finally, the entire test gun was Cerakoted. While Modern Outfitters can finish guns in a variety of designs, my test sample had a unique dark camo pattern finish that I have only seen on other Modern Carbines. This easily satisfied one of our requirements that the gun be good looking!
How The MC6 PDW Shoots
Regarding the MC6 PDW, a friend of mine asked, “Is it hard to shoot?” Like others, he assumed that it’d be like firing a cannon because it has a short barrel and is chambered in 300 Blackout. But this could not be further from the truth. For those in the know, the 300 Blackout round is an easy-shooting load to begin with. Add to that the SB Tactical SBPDW Pistol Stabilizing Brace and you end up with a very easy-to-run weapon.
And it fits the role of a truck or vehicle gun very easily. With the brace collapsed, the gun will fit in a variety of spaces inside your vehicle. But when you need it, it can easily be brought into the fight. During testing, I found this AR pistol to be fast and accurate. While it’s not exactly designed as a sub-MOA gun, I was able to get good groups with all three of the ammunition brands I brought with me to the range.
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I fed the MC6 PDW three different flavors of ammo ranging from 110-grain V-MAX rounds to hearty 220-grain subsonics, and all of it ran without issues. This is an important feature for me and many serious shooters. Who the heck wants a brand-new gun with dietary issues? Guns that are finicky about what ammo they will feed are the root of many headaches in my line of work. Modern Outfitters has saved us all from that with a gun that shoots just about anything.
The range day was simply fun. It was really enjoyable to run and gun with such a small weapon. After I shot groups to measure the pistol’s accuracy, I spent the rest of the day hammering steel from 25 to 200 yards. And let me just say that this weapon’s maneuverability cannot be understated. In drills that had me moving the gun from my strong side to my support side, my times were much shorter than those with a full-sized rifle. My only regret was not having time to set up a suppressor for the testing. But I guess I can use that as an excuse to test the gun again in the future!
Always Prepared
Why would you keep a gun in your truck? Without going into a dissertation, I will just say that we live in dangerous times. It seems that every day we see videos of cars and trucks being blocked or pelted with rocks by protestors with a spectrum of issues. Many times I have seen five or six people approach a blocked vehicle and verbally assault the drivers and passengers while holding clubs and other weapons. This is a powder keg waiting to explode.
As a personal-defense instructor, I am adamant about always having the ability to defend yourself and your loved ones. If at all possible, avoid the situation to begin with, but if things go south in a hurry, you need to have a weapon with you. Crowds have an unfortunate history of devolving into mobs. Mobs are inherently dangerous, and it only takes one dedicated agitator for things to turn violent.
While a handgun can work in a pinch, having a rifle-caliber weapon with a full-capacity magazine will give you a greater chance of surviving. The Modern Outfitters MC6 PDW is a weapon that I would personally carry in a vehicle. It is lightweight and easy to wield. It can easily be deployed from inside a vehicle without major modifications to your shooting position. Add to that the superior ballistics of the 300 Blackout round over a typical handgun round and the discussion is over. While this might be a very somber way to wrap up an article, the truth is that the MC6 PDW is a serious gun for serious times.
Caliber: 300 BLK
Barrel: 8 inches
OA Length: 20.5 inches
Weight: 6.5 pounds (empty)
Grip: Magpul MOE
Sights: None
Action: Direct impingement semi-auto
Finish: Cerakote
Capacity: 30+1
MSRP: N/A
For more information, visit modernoutfitters.com.
This article was originally published in “Black Guns” 2018. To order a copy, visit outdoorgroupstore.com.
