In a crowded field of GunTubers, Garand Thumb consistently brings high production values with every video. Although Micah Mayfield often acts as comic relief to the star of the show, he is behind much of the magic as the videographer. While Micah’s hardware preferences aren’t the subject of the production, Jeremy Stone of GMW joined him to talk shop and his top three favorite firearms.
Langdon Tactical Beretta 92 RDO
A consistent theme of Micah’s likes is they often come from work on Garand Thumb. Previously, Micah was an anti-red dot stalwart before he was handed a Langdon Tactical Beretta 92 RDO during a production shoot. He quickly realized the benefits of the red dot and glassy single-action trigger pull on the Beretta. In short order, he got his hands on a similar model.
Langdon Tactical does custom work on a number of pistol platforms including the imminently familiar Beretta 92. The RDO model comes with the option of five optic plates and high profile iron sights. It’s conveniently built around the M9A1 frame and allows the user to mount a weapon light.
Later, Micah had the pistol worked over by Blackbeard Tactical, who gave the pistol a new set of pirate-inspired grips, patina-like cerakote, and ported the barrel. Micah played up the virtues of the 92’s single-action trigger pull; in particular, the very short reset that allowed for quick follow-up shots. The trigger reset is so short that Micah had an easy time bump firing it on the range. Jeremy shot more conservatively but remained impressed. The combination of the Beretta’s all-steel weight and Blackbeard Tactical’s port job made for very little muzzle flip. The RMR’s dot scarcely moved out of frame between shots.
The Henry Steel 45-70 Side Gate
While Micah doesn’t consider himself educated in all aspects of lever action rifles, his custom Henry Side Gate in .45-70 Gov’t. is one of his favorite all-around rifles. Micah received this particular rifle from Michael, the star of Garand Thumb.
The Henry .45-70 is a favorite of timber hunters and usually cased in blued steel with checkered walnut stock. Meanwhile, Micah’s model is more a cowboy gun out of Borderlands. This Henry features custom hardware and paint from Mad Pig Customs. It uses a skeletonized Chisel Machining stock and has a green Cerakote M-Lock handguard with weapon light. While the Henry still loads from a five-round tubular magazine, the inclusion of a Chisel Hop Quiver holding a few extra rounds makes topping off on the fly a breeze.
LMT Defense Mars H DMR
Micah’s three favorite guns are three excellent options for covering all your bases. The Langdon Tactical Beretta 92 for up close, a Henry .45-70 Side Gate for further out, and an LMT Defense Mars H for even further than that!
The Mars H is LMT’s not-so-subtle take on a direct-gas AR-10 rifle. Available in either 6.5 Creedmoor or 7.62×51 NATO, the LMT has all the familiar AR controls where you expect them to be. It comes with a 20-inch stainless-steel barrel and monolithic rail platform that is one-piece with the upper receiver. This is the defining feature of LMT’s design as the rail fixes the barrel in place via a pair of set screws. Loosening these screws allows you to quickly change barrels and calibers with a negligible loss of zero.
As the DMR moniker suggests, the Mars H is setup as an ambidextrous full-powered rifle meant to fill the role of a designated marksman. Jeremy, Micah, and Charlie took turns chewing targets and construction posts out to 380 yards with the Mars H. Although shooting offhand with boulder for a rest against the bipod is not ideal, each got in more hits than misses.
