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was first introduced to Allstar Tactical by my friends from Last Ditch Effort. I tried to meet up with President and CEO Mike Centola at SHOT 2015, but our schedules just couldn’t coincide. I was recently cruising around social media, and saw that Allstar Tactical was in the process of creating a new AR buffer. Like many other builders, I’ve been playing around with different variables to performance tune my ARs, and a new buffer offering intrigued me. I reached out to Mike, and we had a nice email exchange. I’ll be getting a loaner buffer from him soon to test out, but in the meantime, here’s a brief overview of Allstar Tactical from Mike himself.
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Chris Tran: How did All Star Tactical get its start, and what is your primary business objective?
Mike Centola: Allstar Tactical was founded in 2008. Initially, Allstar Tactical began as a standard retail dealer in firearms, accessories and gear. There is a big deficiency in dealers around the Rochester, NY area who focus on tactical firearms and their related gear/accessories. Through all of 2009, Allstar Tactical began to grow, and in February of 2010, we opened our retail showroom.
In March of 2010, I took over duties as President and CEO of Allstar Tactical. I wanted Allstar Tactical to start developing it’s own line of AR-15/M16/M4 rifles, parts and accessories. In August of 2010, Allstar Tactical released its first custom part, the AT-BTGR1, a.k.a. the BATLTRIGGR. Allstar Tactical continues to develop new parts and accessories, so check out the blog for news and updates to our product line.
CT: I saw on your Facebook profile that you went to Renssellaer Polytechnical Institute (RPI), how was that experience for you, and how has that shaped your career path today?
MC:Yeah I graduated from RPI in 2003 with a comp sys and electrical engineering degree. Decided to get my masters and in 2004 I received a masters in Information Technology. It mostly shaped my way of thinking and desire to always create something better and improve upon products. In 2014, I received a degree from the local community college in Precision Machining to supplement Allstar Tactical bringing manufacturing in-house.
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[dcs_blockquote author=””” margin=”6px 24px 0px 24px” padding=”0px 32px 0px 32px” size=”16″ style=”italic” color=”#999999″ acolor=”#cccccc”]"It mostly shaped my way of thinking and desire to always create something better and improve upon products."[/dcs_blockquote]
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CT: What services and/or products does Allstar Tactical offer, and what sets your business apart from a highly saturated and competative market?
MC: You’re right! The AR15 market is extremely saturated and competitive. We have been in it for quite some time now, and we pride ourselves on the custom build. We continue to have high profile customers that I personally build rifles for, along with selling the products and parts. I think what sets us apart from the others in the market is the amount of research, testing, and development that goes into each of our products. Unfortunately, many of our products do not get the marketing attention they deserve.
CT: OK, so let’s talk about this buffer project you have going on. Where did you get the idea, what went into the design process, and what configurations do you offer?
MC: The buffer project has actually been “in the works” for almost 5 years now. We had 5 original prototypes made way back when I first came up with the idea. Technically, it was the first ever product we made, but it never made it past the prototype stage. 4 of the 5 prototypes went out to customers, law enforcement and military friends of ours for testing. They’re still using them to this day. The idea originally came from playing with a dead-blow hammer and looking at why the H2 buffer was used for tuning rate of fire on the rifles. We decided to start messing with the standard carbine buffers with different material in them. The current final version as of now is actually revision 7 in my design process with each revision having some slight modifications. They are filled with a special mesh size and density of pulverized Tungsten and are offered in total weights of 4.5oz and 5.5oz. The dimensions are also slightly tweaked from the standard Mil-Spec carbine buffer to address some simple design issues. We are also the only company that will be offering the buffers in a completely customizable option where the customer can choose their exact weight.
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[dcs_blockquote author=””” margin=”6px 24px 0px 24px” padding=”0px 32px 0px 32px” size=”16″ style=”italic” color=”#999999″ acolor=”#cccccc”]"the only company that will be offering the buffers in a completely customizable option where the customer can choose their exact weight."[/dcs_blockquote]
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CT: How soon can we expect to see these on the shelves, and when will they become available? More importantly, why should we buy one?
MC: The only thing we’re waiting on is the Tungsten to arrive and we’ll begin assembly, so I anticipate them starting to ship next week (Editor’s Note: Late September 2015). They are extremely reasonable at the $35 introductory price and when coupled with one of our compensators, they create an awesome recoil reduction package.
CT: Anything else you’d want readers to know about you or Allstar Tactical?
MC:
We truly enjoy innovating and creating new products for the firearms market. We will continue to push the boundaries and see what will come next!
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Check out Allstar Tactical on their website, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram.
Check out the Allstar Tactical MFHB Enahnced Buffer
Check out Chris Tran on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram.
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* The views and opinions expressed on this web site are solely those of the original authors and contributors. These views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of Guns & Tactics Magazine,
the administrative staff, and/or any/all contributors to this site.
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