Picked up a Sig MCX Tacops about a month ago. I was after something specifically to replace my MK18 in 300blk that has been my daily travel companion for a couple of years.

The biggest drawback of my MK18 was I couldn't fit it in my preferred Vertx Gamut backpack with the suppressor attached, even with a LAW folder, I could barely get the MK18 in there. Even with the minimalist plate carrier and medical kit removed.

Being a bit of a Daniel Defense fanboy, I was looking at their new PDW as a replacement but was somewhat turned off by the brace they used. Given that I travel cross country several times a year, keeping it in pistol form was a priority.

As I looked at option is short barreled 300blk pistols that fir my criteria the field started to shrink. Came down to 3 models, the Rattler, the MCX Tacops and the MCX Virtus 9in.

On the surface, they all seem to be somewhat similar but when digging a little deeper, the Tacops started to really stand out. Here are a few reasons why if you're in the market.


Price:
The Tacops is about 50.00 more than the Virtus and about 200.00 less than the Rattler. Given the Virtus with its 9in barrel would not fit in my bag with a suppressor attached, I ruled it out. The Tacops also comes with a match trigger,faux suppressor, 3 mags, and usable BUIS, easily worth the price over a Virtus. The Rattler does not come extra mags or BUIS either. I immediately sold the 3 mags for 55.00 and faux suppressor for 40.00, this put me into the Tacops 100.00 less.

Modularity: Because the Tacops is technically a Virtus with 6.75in barrel and not a Rattler, it shares handguards with the rest of the Virtus line that has more offerings from more companies than the Rattler. This was important to me as I wanted to set this up in multiple ways. The longer SD handguard on the Tacops makes mounting lights, etc an easier task as well.


My setup: From the factory the Tacops comes with a suppressor ready handguard. Perfect, this allows me to run a longer can and keep the length down while not giving up any rail real estate. The problem I came to find out, the Sig SD handguard was much bigger than I anticipated, it felt terrible in the hand. Off it came. I enlisted Midwest Industries for a replacement. It was a smaller rail setup and to me, much more aesthetically pleasing. Night and day difference in feel as well. While looking for the SD handguard I ran across a 6in non SD handguard as well. Jackpot, this will let me essentially turn it into a Rattler should I want to really shave weight or size from its current configuration. I ended up selling the Sig SD handguard for 20.00 less than the MW rail cost me. I was out an additional 120.00 for the 6in handguard that was back-ordered at the time.

As it sits now, it uses a Trijicon RMR on a Scalarworks mount. I may swap to an Aimpoint Micro at some point. For lighting, it has a Surefire M640 Scout Pro. I really like the hinged mount on this light. It lets me really tuck this light out fo the way. Right now it's running at the 6 o'clock position it's working well. I'm waiting on my Cloud Defensive LCS to show up to complete it. For suppressors, I switch back and forth from my Sandman K and Omega with Keymo mount. I do have a Dead Air Nomad on the way which should work nicely on this gun and will likely live on this gun exclusively.

To date I just passed 1k rounds, with no hiccups. The first 400 were all fired in the same range session using 60 rounds of the Barnes 110gr TacTX, 120 rounds of Sig Sauer 220gr SMK subs, the remainder being Sig Sauer 125gr SMK. Everything else shot over the last few weeks was a mix of the 220 and 125 Sig ammo(Ive been really impressed with Sig ammo, its been very accurate in a few of my rifles and chronos well)
Accuracy has been good to excellent with the limited ammo I've tried. The 220gr loads were stacking holes at 50 and the 125gr SMK stayed between 1.5-2in at 100 with the RMR. When I get a handful of different ammo to try I will do an accuracy test with better optics/shooting platform. My experience with 300blk is that it can be fairly picky with ammo when it comes to accuracy.

Overall I'm very happy with the performance. I'm really looking forward to trying it in the Rattler configuration when the handguard shows up. I'm still into it considerably less than the Rattler. I'm still not 100% sure why there is such a big pricing difference between the 2 given the Tacops comes with more expensive parts installed from the factory. The only real gripe or complaint I have with the Tacops is the weight. I though the MK18 was a pig, this gun is heavy for its size. Not the end of the world but it sure makes me appreciate my DD V7S.

Nice!

I’m a big fan of the MCX. I think it’s a tremendously underrated rifle and pistol platform. I didn’t realize they made this Tacops model. I have a Rattler in .300blk and I love it, but as you correctly point out, the rattler uses a different gas system and thus handguard than the full-size MCX. It would be nice to have my Rattler use the same parts. Adding a little extra barrel length is worth it to have commonality imo.

I really don’t like the spinning brace that Sig puts on it. I really like the Gearhead Works “Sig Spin Fix” adapter and then putting a tail hook on it. Much better brace imo.

Nice review and thanks for posting it. Never knew this beauty existed until now.

I'll be getting the Gearhead brace soon. I have one on another
pistol and almost prefer it over the SBA3

I dig it. That makes a lot of sense to me. I'm too invested elsewhere for a new caliber or to try the MCX platform but I keep my eye on it from a distance, and this one really makes for a nice option it appears.

Nice looking pistol

Nice writeup and sweet gun! I did not know of the Tacops model and agree it looks like a great option, especially with that new handguard.

Finally go the 6in handguard in, this will easily fit in my smallest backpacks:

How do you like the FCD birdcage? I bought several but haven’t had a chance to install and shoot them. Do they work as advertised (other than the wire cutter capability)?

quote:

Originally posted by kilyung:
How do you like the FCD birdcage? I bought several but haven’t had a chance to install and shoot them. Do they work as advertised (other than the wire cutter capability)?

I like it more than the Dead Air offerings, aesthetically. I havent run it with the short rail yet but I imagine it will perform as well as standard birdcage.