Chad Wallace

May 11, 2025

Review, Guns

GForce Arms Saddlehorn LTAC

Chad Wallace

May 11, 2025

Review, Guns

Gforce Arms

Saddlehorn LTAC review

It seems like everyone is getting into the lever action rifle game. I am always up for more options, especially when it comes to lever actions. GForce Arms has started importing some lever action rifles in pistol calibers. Some of these options are pretty standard, others are super tactical. They sent me one of their tactical ones, the walnut stocked Saddlehorn LTAC 357.

The GForce Saddlehorn is a Winchester model 92 copy. There are lots of the 92 copies around. The Saddlehorn is very similar to all of them. The only real difference is that the Saddlehorn has a safety selector on the bolt itself, very similar to a Rossi 92. The LTAC version runs a large loop lever that is wrapped in leather. It also runs a straight style stock to keep with the 92 tradition.

Being that this is the “tactical” version of the Saddlehorn, it does have a bunch of those tactical options. First up, the LTAC uses a 16.5 inch threaded barrel. It is threaded ½-28 which allows the use of suppressors and various muzzle devices. Next is that it comes with a picatinny rail already mounted to the barrel. This pic rail also includes the rear sight, which is only adjustable for elevation. The front sight is a fiber optic red and pairs nicely with the black rear sight. The sight picture is pretty nice for a simple set of iron sights, and they work fine.

Another part that makes the Saddlehorn tactical is the M-Lok forend. This slim line aluminum handguard has M-Lok slots just about everywhere, even if the top ones aren’t usable due to the barrel being in the way. On the front bottom of the handguard is a 4 slot picatinny rail section. Right behind the pic rail is a sling stud. At the rear, on each side of the handguard, are 4 threaded holes between the M-Lok rails. These are used for attaching miscellaneous accessories. The LTAC also comes with a 4 shell holder mounted in one of these holes. The extra shell holder is also made of aluminum and is a nice addition to the total rifle package. Having the M-Lok and a pic rail gives you options to attach whatever you want.

I have a true love hate relationship with the Gforce LTAC. Through all the .357 magnum rounds I ran through it, and the 38 specials, the gun ran flawlessly. However, I did run into a huge problem with the LTAC. When I was installing a NERO muzzle brake onto the LTAC, the barrel actually came loose in the action!. This is really unacceptable on any firearm. All I was doing was trying to tighten the muzzle brake and time it with a crush washer. Instead of taking the time to get it fixed by Gforce, I just fixed it myself. These barrels are just “glued” into the action with a sleeve retaining style thread locker, so it was an easy fix. There are even marks on the receiver and barrel on where to line them up. I have had no more problems with the barrel twisting after another 250 rounds of .357 magnum. I am guessing that the factory just didn’t get enough “glue” on the barrel. While the barrel was out of the action, I also noticed that the chamber was a little rough, about half way down toward the rifling. Since it was already off, I polished the chamber a little bit. To me it looked like a dull reamer was used during the barrel manufacturing process.

As mentioned, the LTAC ran flawlessly during use. I did mount up some optics throughout the testing. The first one was the Atibal Solar 1 x prism. It worked fine but sat a little higher than my liking. So I settled on the Primary Arms Classic green dot. It sat a bit lower and worked out better for me. Before I mounted the optics, I checked the optic rails mounting screws on the LTAC. They were a tad loose, so I tightened them up. I don’t know if they were loose from the factory, or if they came loose from using the gun. Either way I put some loctite on them and snugged them up. They haven’t come loose since.

Running the Saddlehorn LTAC was a lot of fun. It has a great trigger. In fact, my sample has a 2 lb trigger pull with very little creep and a bit of overtravel. Let’s just say the trigger is one of my favorite aspects of the LTAC. The action is also very smooth. Way smoother than I expected from a Turkish import. That leather wrapped oversize lever is nice also. The leather gives a little bit of cushion for the back of your hand, and is nice when running the lever fast. It also gives it a cool look. At one point I installed a suppressor to see how that worked. A suppressor with 38 specials is super quiet. The 357 magnums are still pretty good, but they do break the sound barrier, so you still get a sound crack out of it.

Loading the magazine tube on the Saddlehorn LTAC is probably my least favorite thing to do. Is it hard? No, it just wears on your thumb when loading those 8 rounds into the tube. This is highly typical of any side loading lever action. I do like that the LTAC holds 8 357 magnum shells in the tube magazine. This gives you a true 8+1 full 357 magnums at the ready, just in case.

The Gforce Arms Saddlehorn LTAC is another entry into the “tactical” lever gun category. It is super cool looking and has everything needed to get into this style of lever gun. I am disappointed that mine had problems, because I really liked how the gun performed. It ran super smooth and ate all the ammo I threw at it. If you are looking for a tactical thrifty lever gun, the Saddlehorn LTAC just might be it. Just be warned that there might be some quality control issues. Hopefully GForce Arms is working out these kinks.

Firearms Insider Reviews - Key Points

Claim to Fame:

Tactical 357 lever gun

Target Market:

Anyone wanting a tactical lever action

Features, Benefits, and Specifications of this product:

Caliber: .357 Magnum / 38 Special
Capacity: 8
Barrel Length: 16.25"
Muzzle threaded 1/2-28 with thread protector
Overall Length: 34.5”
Action: Big Loop Lever
Sights: Fiber Optic Front / Adj Rear
Barrel Finish: Black
Twist: 1:16"
Receiver Material: Aluminum
Safety: Hammer
Stock Finish: Turkish Walnut
Length of Pull: 13.75”
Receiver Finish: Black
Weight: 5.50 lbs.

What other aesthetic options or finishes are available?

All Black Tactical, Stainless and Black Tactical

What others are saying?:

1 out of 5 stars at PSA

Wanted to like this gun

Wanted to like this gun but after about 100 rounds the barrel shifted and now I’m unable to load in a round. I reached out to Gforce regarding the matter and haven’t heard anything back.

4 out of 5 stars at PSA

Great first lever action

I’ll give this one 4 Stars! First things first, the only reason it’s not a five star review is because every now and then it feeds a new round when cycling an old one, you’ll see two casings fly out, one will be a spent round and the other brand spankin new, but that’s it, nothing else has been a concern. I love this rifle and this brand. Now it’s not no Marlin or Henry but this is a great start if you’re looking into lever actions. It already has a tactical handguard so there’s no need to go shopping for one, but there are other handguard and stock options out there. It comes threaded so a suppressor will soon be attached. If any of you get this, I suggest you fire .38 special out of it because there's less of a kick and with a suppressor the sound of the metal target will be louder than the rifle. You will not be disappointed!

Link to other reviews:

Guns & Ammo

Price point:

MSRP = $699.00

Retail = Around $600.00

I need it now! Availability:

Palmetto State Armory or Grab a Gun

Our Rating:

Pros:

Lightweight
Big loop
2 pound trigger pull
M-Lok handguard

Cons:

Rough chamber
Barrel came loose and twisted
Optic rail screws were loose or came loose

Score: 5.50 Mediocre

Favorite Link: GForce Arms Rapture

Chad Wallace

April 16, 2023

Review

Magne-Tech Rigel II

Chad Wallace

April 16, 2023

Review

When one thinks of flashlights or weaponlights, you usually don’t think about different ways to mount them. Magne-Tech has done just that. They have come out with a tactical flashlight, called the Rigel II, that uses high power magnets to keep it in place. This leads to a unique mounting system that works better than I ever expected. Plus, the light itself is very functional too.

The mounting system of the Rigel II is really what makes the light stand out. I received the kit with an M-Lok magnetic mount. That was so I could mount it to an M-Lok rail, just like one would with any M-lok light mount. The Rigel II flashlight also is magnetic, that’s how the mount and light work together. The mount and Rigel each have two high power neodymium magnets built into them. When you put the two close together, the light literally snaps to the mount. The advantage to this setup is that one can take the light off of the mount, and use it as a handheld light. Now, I bet you are thinking “that will never work”. But it does! The mounts and light are made in such a way that you can not move them forward or backward when they are together. This keeps the light from coming off during recoil, or if you hit it on anything. To remove the Rigel light from the mount, just roll it off sideways and kind of twist. It does take a little bit of force to remove the light. Now you ask, “Won’t it fall off if you hit the light from the side?” I tried to knock the light off its mount, by hitting it against a 4x4, while on the gun. All it ended up doing was rotating the light off its mount, sort of. The Rigel still held on to the side of the light mount. When I moved past the post, the light just snapped back on the mount. I was pretty impressed as I figured that would be how to get the Rigel to fall off the mount.

It’s time to tell you about the Rigel II. The Rigel II is a handheld light that can be easily attached to a bunch of different mounting platforms, the M-Lok is just one of them. Magne-Tech has picatinny, helmet, and some other mounts too, but back to the light. Specifications on the Rigel II are pretty standard. It’s rated at 1100 lumens on high, has a max candela rating of 14,000, and a 237 meter throw distance. To my eyes, the Rigel II’s output was really comparable to the Streamlight 2.0 that I reviewed. It does have a color temperature of 5000k, so it’s a more yellow light. The lower color temperature helps it go through photonic barriers better, like fog or smoke. If you have ever used a light with a really bright white beam, you get light that bounces back off of those photonic barriers, instead of penetrating through them. Magne-Tech uses 7075 aluminum in the Rigel II’s construction. This makes it strong and lightweight. It weighs 6.9 ounces with the supplied 18650 rechargeable battery. I was pleased that it used a standard battery. It will also work with two CR123 batteries. I tried it to make sure.

There is more to the Rigel II than just its specifications. As with most lights, it uses a push button on the tail cap. Push it slightly for momentary on, or click it for full on. This button also has raised protection around it, or at least around most of it. There is a curved recess, in the raised portion, to make it easier to use your thumb on the button. It’s a nice addition, but probably isn’t needed, at least for me. If you want a pressure switch option, you are out of luck. I hear it’s on the radar, which is a good thing.

One nice attribute of the Rigel II is its programmability. It uses a “tap” system to set it into one of the various different programs. It has 12 different ones to choose from, see chart. I personally like the 100% only mode, at least when I’m using it as a weaponlight. This tap system seems to take about 20 “taps” to get it into the programming mode. Once there you can choose if you want a memory to the RIgel, or not. The memory mode sets the Rigel to turn on at the beginning of what mode it’s programmed to, or where the light was turned off at, depending on if you have selected the memory to be on or off. If not choosing the “memory” mode, you enter the programming group mode, which is where you select one of those 12 programs. The programming takes some getting used to. I have to look at the chart every time I change the programming. The 15+ taps it takes to enter into the programming mode is nice because you won’t have to ever worry about the button getting hit enough times to change it accidentally.

The Rigel II has some other attributes that you may not think about. Since the Rigel II has magnets built into its body, it will stick to anything magnetic. This can be a plus, or a minus. If you want to stick it on a car, so you can see to do something, it’s great. If you are using it in your hand, and come near something magnetic, like a steel door, it wants to pull your hand toward the door slightly. Or, if you're not careful, it can actually snap the light onto that door. Another advantage to the Rigel II being easily removed from its mount, is that if you need to transition from a weaponlight to a handheld, you can do it quickly. I can think of a thousand ways where a magnetic light might come in handy.

I think the Magne-Tech Rigel II is a good multi-purpose light. It’s bright enough for a good everyday weaponlight. It’s not a long throw light, but it gives plenty of range for most uses. The magnetic mount gives you plenty of options and it’s super strong. The advantages of the magnetic mount outweigh the cons for sure. If you want to check the Rigel II out, head over to Magne-Tech and give it a look.

Firearms Insider Reviews - 8 Key Points

Claim to Fame:

Magnetic Tactical Flashlight

Target Market:

Those wanting a light that can easily be moved from one mounting system to another

FNBs (Features & Benefits of this product):

1100 lumens
14,026 candela
237 m throw distance
LED: Luminous SST-40
5000K color temperature with a CRI of 70
Built in Thermal Protection
Programmable outputs
Weight: 6.9 oz (w/ battery)
Run Time: 1.5 hours (100%); 150 hours (1%)
Battery: 18650 rechargeable with micro USB port (Included)
Length: 5.5 in
IP67 waterproof
7075-T6 Aluminum Alloy construction
No hassle lifetime warranty

What other aesthetic options or finishes are available?

Picatinny, Stand alone, or Powersports helmets

What others are saying?:

Nothing found, but light is fairly new as of this publication date

Link to other reviews:

Nothing found

Price point:

MSRP = $174.99

Retail = $154.99 - $184.99

I need it now! Availability:

Magne-Tech

Our Rating:

Pros:

Plenty of useable light
Magnetic clamp system works great
Decent throw for 1100 lumen light
Small physical size
Programmable
Uses common 18650 batteries

Cons:

No pressure switch available
Semi hard to program
Clamps on to any metal

Score: 8.00 Great

Favorite Link: Blackout Defense

Chad Wallace

December 8, 2019

JL Billet Angled Free Float Handguard

Chad Wallace

December 8, 2019

JL Billet has been making accessories for the AR market for some time. As their name indicates, most of their parts are machined from billets of metal. A billet is basically just a raw chunk of metal. I was in need of a handguard for my pistol build. They had just what I was looking for in their 7.3” angled M-Lok handguard.

The design of the JL Billet angled handguard is pretty straightforward. The front of the handguard is angled rearward, thus the name. There is a full picatinny rail along the top. It has 3 full M-Lok slots on the sides and 2 full M-Lok slots on the bottom. The 2 bottom M-Lok’s are not usable to me, because the base of the gas block is too close to allow the M-lok hardware to be installed. Yes, the base of the gas block clears the handguard, but not by much. On the 45 degrees are triangle shaped lightening holes. JL Billet also put lightening slots under the picatinny rail.

JL Billet also machined in quick disconnects for QD slings. On the rear of the handguard, closest to the receiver, is where they are located. One on each side. They are not just the, “hey let’s drill a hole in the handguard” stye, instead they are the real raised kind. One of the key features on the QD mounts, is how they are non-rotating. Once the QD is installed in the cup, it only rotates slightly, not all the way around. There are 4 basic positions to install the QD in. I loved this for the simple fact that it is more like a fixed sling point, but still rotates slightly.

Construction of the handguard is a little non-standard. Instead of using an extrusion and then machining it, JL billet machines the handguard out of a single piece of 6061-T6 aluminum. It produces a really nice handguard, but adds to the cost. They then anodize it black. They will also sell the handguards “in the white,” or non-anodized. If you know that you are going to have the build Cerakoted, this is a nice option.

Installation of the JL Billet handguard is pretty straight forward. The barrel nut uses an 1-⅛” wrench, which they sell for $15 if you don’t have one. The barrel nut is aluminum and you torque it down to 45 ft/lbs. You don’t have to index the barrel nut or use shims. The aluminum helps make the assembly lighter. I didn’t have any problems screwing on the barrel nut and torquing it down. Then just slide the handguard on. Install the little metal key and clamp screws. The key indexes in the barrel nut. Line the rail up with the receiver and then tighten the clamp screws to 90 in/lbs. See, easy. JL billet doesn’t use any type of anti-rotational “wings” or timed barrel nuts. The clamping force from the precision machined barrel nut, and inside handguard are sufficient. This also allows the handguard to be used on “non-standard” style billet receivers.

Like previously mentioned, I installed this on an AR pistol. Having the barrel free floated is almost the standard today and I like that aspect of the JL Billet handguard. The angled front looks nice and keeps the front of the firearm from catching on stuff. It’s a short handguard, so flex is not a problem. At 1.55” outside diameter, it fits my hand nicely, but I tend toward smaller diameter handguards anyhow. Everything about this handguard works well.

JL Billet did a great job with their handguards. I have seen some of their other stuff, and it looks nice also. If you are looking at handguards, or any other AR part, go give JL Billet a look.