The Firearm Blog

The hen harriers were reported to have been killed on the Queen’s Sandringham estate in Norfolk. There are now believed to be just 20 breeding pairs left on mainland England. Killing the birds could lead to a fine of up to £10,000 and six months’ jail.

The 23-year-old Prince, a bloodsports fan, was said to have been out shooting with a pal from the Van Cutsem family when the birds died last Wednesday evening. It was claimed they were the only people known to have been out shooting that night.

More here.

Hat Tip: The Ready Line

All I can say is I hope that this is a lifelike airsoft Glock 20 and not the real deal.

Blackwater sure are pushing their brand. I am sure they will have Blackwater action-figures ready for Christmas.

The SIG SAUER® P226 Blackwater Special Edition was designed in cooperation with some of the world’s best known experts in tactical operations – Blackwater Training Center. When personal protection of world leaders in high-risk environments is your job then you only want the best equipment. You want a SIG SAUER® pistol because it’s engineered to perform and built to protect.

The Blackwater Special Edition P226 is a full-sized 9mm featuring a stainless steel slide with rugged, wear-resistant Nitron® finish, front cocking serrations and SIGLITE® contrasting red front and green rear night sights. The frame is black hard anodized light weight alloy with integral Picatinny rail and is accented with the famous Blackwater logo on the top of the slide and Blackwater Custom Wood grips.

The pistol comes with an extra set of durable SIG SAUER® factory grips and five (5) 15 round magazines so it’s ready to see action. The SIG SAUER® P226 Blackwater Special Edition pistol is backed by SIG SAUER® with a Limited Lifetime Warranty.

From sigsauer.com
The Specs:

Caliber 9mm
Trigger Pull DA/SA 10.0 lbs/ 4.5 lbs
Overall Length 7.70”
Overall Height 5.50”
Overall Width 1.50”
Barrel Length 4.40”
Sight Radius 6.30”
Sights SIGLITE® Night Sights
Weight w/ Mag 34.0 oz
Mag Capacity 15 Rounds, 10 Rnds in certain states
Grips Blackwater Custom Wood
MSRP $1,100.00
CA Compliant Yes
MA Compliant No

Photos:

Hat Tip: Danger Room

Everyone has seen Saddam Hussein’s gold plated AKs. I came across this photo on the Wired Danger Room blog (they took the post down)

I am fairly certain that this rifle is an Iraqi Al Kadesih rifle (a 7.62mm Nagant firing Dragunov SVD clone) but I could be wrong. Please correct me if you know what it is.

I cam across this poster @ PAFOA posted by JayBell.

“More Law Enforcement Officers are Killed in Vehicle Accidents than by Guns”

A great photo of a Nighthawk Custom 1911 by MOUNTAINORACLE @ PAFOA. Click to enlarge.

He also posted another photo here.

Stevedcross @ The Gun Blogs has just posted a review on his new Sig 556 rifle

I brought home a new baby. A brand new Sig 556 rifle. Forward grip, stream light tactical light, HALO sight. What a wonderful piece of engineering! I have as of yet not done any formal accuracy testing, but during the basic sight in session, the rifle was easy to shoot, minimal recoil, very steady, and shot well.

More here.

More info on the Sig 556 can be found at the Sig Sauer website

The SIG 556 features the same high-performance two position adjustable gas piston operating rod system engineered by SIG’s sister company Swiss Arms and marries it to a trigger housing that not only cuts the rifle’s weight by a pound but is designed to accept standard AR magazines. The SIG 556 features a 16″ military grade cold hammer forged barrel, chambered in 5.56mm NATO, with a twist rate of 1 in 7″. The flash suppressor uses a standard .5 x 28 TPI thread pattern, ensuring compatibility with after-market accessories. The forearm housing the gas operating system is a vented non-slip polymer featuring the SIG TriRail design with three integrated Picatinny rails for mounting accessories. The optional flip up front combat sight is adjustable for windage and elevation.

More here.

The Gun Nut has published a letter from Fred Thompson, actor and presidential candidate. It is worth reading:

Last year, the United Nations Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights declared that international human rights law requires all nations to adopt strict gun control laws. These “minimum” provisions are much more restrictive than any of those on the books anywhere in the U.S. and would almost certainly violate the Second Amendment of our Constitution.

Besides concluding that all nations are obligated under international human rights law to control the small arms and light weapons to which its civilian population has access, the UN report remarkably denied the existence of any human right to self-defense, evidently overlooking the work of Hugo Grotius, the 17th century scholar credited as the founder of international law, who wrote, “It is to be observed that [the] Right of Self-Defence, arises directly and immediately from the Care of our own Preservation, which Nature recommends to every one. . . ,” and that this right is so primary, that it cannot be denied on the basis that it is not “expressly set forth.”

More here.

Ruger has just released their disastrous third quarter results. Their share price fell 37.71% as of Wednesdays close!

This graph shows the last three months of Ruger (RGR) trading. Click on the graph to expand it.

Their CEO, Michael O. Fifer, wrote a letter to Ruger shareholders. He had this to say:

For decades, Ruger introduced innovative designs on a regular basis, stimulating consumer demand. That strength has waned in the past few years with the passing of Bill Ruger, Sr. and a weakening of the product development resources at Ruger.

Nothing new here. It has taken them 20 years to clone the Glock pistol and produce the recently released SR9 striker fired pistol.

He goes on to say:

Ruger has not participated in some of the fastest growing segments of the consumer firearms market. These segments, which include AR-15 style rifles, compact carry pistols and revolvers, and striker-fired, auto-loading pistols, have recently been the engines of growth in the consumer firearms market.

Several of our top distributors have experienced growth rates in one or more of these categories in excess of 40% for the first nine months of the year. We plan to develop products for several of these markets. We recently had a very successful launch of our new striker-fired, auto-loading pistol, the Ruger SR9.

They have already launched a striker fired pistol so that leaves compact carry pistols and revolvers and AR-15 rifles.

Remington, one of their major competitors in the rifle market, have just announced their first line of AR-15 hunting rifles, the R-15.

The Remington R-15

I think Ruger will announce an AR-15 hunting rifle this time next year.

(The above photo is a photoshop I made… obviously. Not to mention the ‘evil’ 30 round magazine that Ruger will never sell.)

It makes perfect sense. The black, or more politically correct, camo rifles are what is selling.

I came across this thread @ ArmyRanger.com. These images show the not yet released Magpul Masada rifle being stripped down.

(Click to enlarge the photos)

More photos here.