Are all your firearms boring black, or do you have a few in colors that match your mood and your wardrobe? Welcome, Squat Squad, to Slav Guns. Today we’re looking at the new options for the Troy A4 Other Firearm: a shorter 10.5″ barrel, more colors, and a choice of calibers. The gun in this video is the Troy A4 Other Firearm 10.5″ Two-Tone in 5.56.
Disclosure: The firearm was provided by Tech Ops International for testing and evaluation. Tech Ops International and Troy Industries did not see the video prior to publication.
TL;DR
- New 10.5″ barrel option with a permanently attached Troy Medieval flash hider, for the smallest overall package.
- More colors: two-tone (flat dark earth furniture on black receivers), full flat dark earth, OD green, and a new tungsten gray.
- Calibers: 5.56/.223, 9mm, and .308. I’ve shot all three and all have been reliable.
- Troy parts where other brands cut corners: metal Troy folding backup sights, Troy vertical foregrip with storage, a more upright Troy pistol grip, and the slim Troy SOCC M-LOK rail.
- Range tested. No stoppages when we put over 1,000 rounds through one in under an hour in the earlier test.
Why the Troy A4 Other is such a big deal
Since I started the channel, the most popular video that wasn’t a Ruger was the Troy A4 Other Firearm and its 1,000 rounds in 1 hour test. That’s no surprise. In most free states, an AR pistol pretty much takes the place of an SBR. If you live in a ban state like New Jersey or Connecticut, the Troy A4 Other is about as close to a legal SBR as you can get. It’s also one of the only ways to legally have features like a flash hider or an adjustable pistol brace.
In places like New Jersey and New York you can’t legally buy an AR pistol. It has evil features and it’s over the weight limit. New Jersey does have two legal AR pistol variants, but neither one has a pistol brace or a forend.
Quick refresher: what makes it an “Other Firearm”
It has a vertical foregrip and the manufacturer designed it to be fired with two hands, so it’s not an AR pistol. It’s more than 26 inches long overall, so it’s not an AOW (Any Other Weapon) either. That puts these in their own category called “other firearms.” Once again, an AOW and an “other firearm” are two different categories. The way the laws are written in New Jersey and Connecticut is why these are legal there, and why they’re among the most popular firearms sold in those states. I went deeper into the legal side in my original Troy A4 detailed review. Note that this video was filmed in spring 2020, so check the current rules where you live before you buy.
12.5″ vs the new 10.5″
The first Troy A4 Other I reviewed was boring black with a 12.5″ barrel and the Troy Medieval flash hider. Boring or not, black is still my favorite color on an AR. What I like most about the 12.5″ is that the flash hider doesn’t have to be pinned. The gun already meets the 26″ overall length, measured from the muzzle to the back of the buffer tube. That means the back of the part that runs the gun, not the back of the pistol brace. Some folks in a few states were confused about that, and it’s since been cleared up.
The unpinned muzzle matters. Plenty of my New Jersey friends come shoot with me here in PA, and they can put a suppressor on when they visit a free state. Even back home, you can try whatever muzzle device you like, whether that’s a flash hider or a brake.
But a lot of people have no plans to leave New Jersey or Connecticut and don’t have many friends across the border. They want the smallest package possible. For them, Tech Ops International, the exclusive distributor of the Troy A4 Other, created the 10.5″ variant. Troy puts a Medieval flash hider on the shorter barrel and attaches it permanently. Because it can’t come off, it counts toward the overall length.
Colors and calibers
Some people need a firearm that matches their tracksuit, and Troy has them covered. Mine is the 10.5″ two-tone: flat dark earth rail, pistol grip, pistol brace, and vertical foregrip on black upper and lower receivers. That combination has really grown on me. These guns also come in full flat dark earth, OD green, and a new tungsten gray, which I’m really looking forward to testing.
For calibers, the Troy A4 Other is available in 5.56, 9mm, and .308. More may come, but those three will get the job done. I’ve shot all three and they’ve all been reliable. The 9mm is a little different, and that’s where you’ll see real differences between Troy and the competition. I covered it in the Troy A4 Other 9mm review.
Why Troy instead of another Other?
There are plenty of “other firearms” on the market, so why pick the Troy? First, reliability: no stoppages at all when we shot over a thousand rounds in under an hour. Second, Troy makes many of its own parts, so you get upgrades you’d otherwise pay extra for:
- Troy folding backup sights. Bought separately, these would typically cost you $100 to $150. Most other firearms come optics-ready with no sights, or with Magpul polymer folding sights. The Troy sights are metal and nicer, I love them, and they’ve generally been spot on without sighting in.
- Troy vertical foregrip instead of the usual Magpul one. It’s a bit longer, it has different texturing, and it doubles as a storage compartment for batteries, a few rounds of ammo, or even a dope chart.
- Troy pistol grip instead of a Magpul MOE. It’s much more upright and has a lot more texturing. When a gun comes with an MOE grip I usually end up replacing it. On these there’s no need.
- Troy SOCC M-LOK rail. It’s lightweight and narrower, and in my opinion it feels perfect in the hand.
At the range
The shooting footage is in the video above. Same story as before: the Troy A4 Others just run. If you want to see one take a beating, check out the 1,000-round, one-hour test.
Bottom line
For years our friends in gun-controlled states envied the standard features on rifles in the free world. They got even more jealous once AR pistols became the norm. Thanks to “other firearms” like the Troy A4, they don’t have to feel jealous anymore. The Troy A4 Others are practical and fun, you can get them at a good price, and they now come in plenty of configurations. So no matter where you live or what your gun laws look like, take a serious look at these guns.
Related: Troy A4 AR-15 Other detailed review · 1,000 rounds in 1 hour · Troy A4 Other 9mm · 6.5 Grendel “Other Firearm” build.
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10.5″ or 12.5″, and black, two-tone, OD green, or tungsten gray? Let me know which Troy A4 Other you’d pick.
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