ZEV Technologies makes some of the finest firearms on Planet Earth. Combine the superlative ZEV AR15 Billet Core Elite rifle with a SilencerCo Velos LBP sound suppressor and a Pulsar Thermion XL60 thermal riflescope then feed it some world class Black Hills Mk 262 77-grain OTM match ammo and you have a day-or-night, all-weather counter-predator package that is second to none.
Jason Ellis recently took this very rig to the field to help rid the world of a few coyotes in a special standalone entry in the H&B Lights Out video series: Skate or Die.
The Guy Behind the Gun
Australian Jason Ellis is a walking, talking example of redemption. Born in 1971 into a broken world characterized by utter chaos, Ellis ultimately found his life’s purpose in skateboarding. He moved to the U.S. at age 17 to become a professional skateboarder. It turned out that he was really good at it.
After setting a Guinness World Record for the biggest drop ever on a skateboard (70 feet–holy crap), he eventually got into mixed martial arts, truck racing, boxing, and music. This led to a fifteen-year stint hosting the Jason Ellis Show on Sirius XM satellite radio. Along the way, drugs and alcohol took their inevitable toll.
Jason eventually got sober and turned his life around. Nowadays, he folds these successes into comedy routines as well as his 2013 book, I’m Awesome: One Man’s Triumphant Quest to Become the Sweetest Dude Ever. Jason recently found himself the subject of the Hook & Barrel predator hunting film, Lights Out: Skate or Die.
A coyote once killed Jason’s cherished pug dog Grimey, and he has little use for the critters. In the film, we hear his story as he uses a couple of tricked-out ZEV rifles to put paid to some of these feral beasts. These are his guns.
The Quest for Quality
Just like everything else in a capitalistic society, tactical firearms stratify based upon such stuff as quality and price. If you need a gun just to play with on the weekend then, by all means, bodge together something cheap on a plastic receiver and get to it.
There was a season in my life when such stuff was all I could afford. However, if you have the means and you might actually have to use this thing to defend your home or family, it behooves us to do that up right. Would you really buy a cut-rate parachute?
When Jason set out to make a dent in the local predator population, he started out with a foundation from ZEV and a sound suppressor from SilencerCo. He used thermal sights from Pulsar and stoked the rig with match-grade fodder from Black Hills Ammunition. The end result is pure unfiltered synergy — something greater than the sum of its parts.
ZEV: Origin Story
ZEV got its start as a manufacturer of drop-in replacement triggers for GLOCK handguns. Glock pistols are the gold standard for reliability in harsh environments around the world. They are used by 65% of the cops in America and most of the Special Operations units on the planet.
Despite all of that, GLOCK factory triggers are one of the first thing most users replace (along with the plastic sights). The merry mob of maniacs at ZEV thought the same thing, so they set out to build a better mousetrap.
ZEV has since carved out a niche in the market by producing the finest tactical firearms in the world. That’s not hyperbole.
The Department of Energy operators who guard America’s nuclear stockpile enjoy an ungodly huge budget. They fill their teams with former Tier 1 guys and appreciate that failure really is not an option. They pack ZEV handguns.
Great guns start with great parts, and ZEV wrote the book on great parts for tactical weapons. Their AR15 Billet Core Elite rifle is the top of the heap. That’s because every piece they use is as good as mankind can make it.
ZEV AR15 Billet Core Elite Features
Upper and lower receivers are precision machined from billet 7075-T6 aluminum and finished in a true black Type III class 2 hard coat anodizing.
The ZEV Wedge Lock handguard offers ample real estate for optics and accessories and includes an integrated anti-rotation pin to keep everything aligned despite hard use. The .223 Wylde chambering means the Core Elite will eat whatever .223 or 5.56mm ammo you might have handy.
The 416R 16-inch fluted match barrel sports a bronze PVD coating and a 1-in-7 twist that will stabilize any conceivable bullet weight. No kidding, expect sub-MOA performance on the range with decent ammo.
A heavy H3 carbine buffer maximizes dwell time and minimizes port pressures for reliable function, smooth operation, and optimized service life. The bolt carrier group is finished in manganese phosphate for corrosion resistance and ease of cleaning.
The controls are all bilateral, to include the bolt catch and magazine release. That’s neat. The adjustable buttstock features six detent positions. The ZEV Slide Lock charging handle doesn’t care what hand you favor.
The castle nut on the buffer tube is staked in place at the factory and includes a Magpul ASAP QD endplate for maximum sling flexibility.
Keeping Things Awesome
You can’t really eat with the cool kids these days if you don’t have a sound suppressor on the snout of your favorite gat. To be honest, if I lived in one of the eight American states too lame to trust its citizens with these delightful contrivances, I would just move. For the rest of us, the top of the tactical heap is SilencerCo.
SilencerCo offers a wide selection of sound suppressors for everything from rimfire plinking toys up through 12-bore shotguns. Their Velos LBP is optimized for use in Stoner-inspired direct gas impingement rifles. LBP stands for, “Low Back Pressure.” The Velos LBP comes in both standard and short “K” variants in 5.56 as well as a heavier .30-caliber version.
The Velos LBP is purpose-designed to minimize gas blowback in Stoner-inspired direct gas impingement firearms. In addition to keeping the vast majority of those foul gases out of my lungs, the Velos LBP is also both indestructible and delightfully effective.
The Velos LBP was specifically designed to seamlessly interface with the classic Stoner rifle design.
Black Hills Ammo makes the finest 77-grain open tip match 5.56mm ammunition in the entire world. It’s not just me who thinks that. The Navy SEALs who shipped Osama bin Laden off to his eternal reward used this stuff. Utterly consistent and insanely effective, this is as good as it gets.
The Pulsar Thermion XL60 thermal riflescope that Jason used on his recent hunting foray represents true military-grade performance in a rugged, compact package.
This thing is endlessly customizable and offers a borderline-unfair advantage when dealing with nocturnal pests. Running one of these things for real after dark will spoil you rotten.
These optics aren’t cheap. However, I took one out to a field down the road from my house in rural Mississippi in the middle of the night and was gobsmacked at the number of deer, opossums, coons, and sundry critters wandering about in the darkness.
The Thermion XL60 shows warm-blooded anything up against a cool background like a supernova. All of the targeting info you might need is generated within this compact unit.
ZEV AR15 Billet Core Elite: Trigger Time
The ZEV trigger breaks like a prom queen’s heart at 2.5 pounds. Optimized everything really does conspire to provide some pretty unnatural precision.
When fired off of a sturdy carbon fiber tripod from Field Optics Research, I really could keep my groups at less than an inch at a football field so long as I did my part. Everybody talks about sub-MOA performance in their tactical rifles, ZEV is actually doing something about it.
The shooting experience with the ZEV Core Elite rifle is as smooth as humanity can make it. The Velos sound suppressors excise most all of the muzzle noise without asphyxiating you in the process.
The full-size version is perhaps a bit more effective that the stubby sort, but they both get rid of most of the muzzle chaos. The racket that remains comes from the supersonic bullet in flight, and there is literally nothing to be done about that.
I am forever amazed at the performance of Black Hills Mk262 77-grain Open-Tip Match ammo. I have been squeezing triggers for fun and money since I was twelve. I have shot everything from .22 plinking rifles up to 155mm howitzers.
This match ammo from Black Hills is the most accurate load I have ever fired. When coupled with a Pulsar Thermion XL60 thermal riflescope, you can put paid to any typical rural pests out as far as you might reasonably see both day or night. It’s kind of like having superpowers.
Range Performance
| Load | Group Size (inches) | Velocity (fps) |
| lack Hills Ammunition 77-gr OTM | 0.8 | 2,674 |
Group Size is the best four of five rounds fired off of a Field Optics Research tripod at 100 yards. Velocity is the average of five rounds measured by a Garmin Xero C1 chronograph.
Ruminations
Once you total all of this stuff up, it comes to an eye-popping sum for a rifle setup. However, what you get for that not-insubstantial investment is a precision instrument that will drop your rounds inside a quarter at a football field day or night. If you’re a world class skateboarder with a compelling story who really dislikes coyotes, there is simply no better tool.
H&B Bottom Line: ZEV AR15 Billet Core Elite
The H&B Bottom Line is a rating system based on seven criteria. Each category is worth five points (or ampersands) for a total maximum score of 35.
Ergonomics and Handling: &&&&&
Gene Stoner’s AR15 is apparently perfect. The ZEV AR15 Billet Core Elite optimizes that chassis yet further.
Recoil: &&&&&
Laughable—this is a .223 rifle that weighs 10.8 pounds. Recoil in this case is not a real thing.
Action and Reloading: &&&&&
The ZEV AR15 Billet Core Elite rifle offers bilateral everything. This gun’s speed is limited solely by operator skill.
Sight Mounting Ease: &&&&&
There is Pic rail for miles.
Intended Purpose: &&&&&
Unbelievably accurate and pure death on the furry vermin.
Overall Versatility: &&&&&
This same target rifle could just as easily be configured for home defense or competition by mixing and matching accessories.
Value-Price Point: &&&&&
Not one single thing about the rig is cheap, but true perfection never is.
FINAL SCORE: 35/35
ZEV AR15 Billet Core Elite Specs
CALIBER: .223 Wylde
ACTION: Direct Gas Impingement Semiautomatic
BARREL: 16 inches
OA LENGTH: 38/41.5 inches collapsed/extended with suppressor
WEIGHT: 10.8 pounds (empty)
STOCK: Magpul
SIGHTS: Pulsar Thermion XL60 thermal riflescope
FINISH: True Black Class 2 Type 3 Hard Coat Anodize
CAPACITY: 30 rounds
MSRP: $2,284 (rifle)/$7,200 (thermal sight)/$1,174 (suppressor)
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