The Firearm Blog

Have not been blogging for a few days but will be posting quite heavily shortly.

Sorry if I have not replied to your emails. I will be making my way through the inbox shortly.

Hold on the heels of the Remington .30 RAR announcement, sister company Marlin have announced the .338 Marlin Express. John Snow has the scoop:

These bullets will use the same soft-tip technology that the other LeverEvolution cartridges employ and the result will be a round that is the rough equivalent of a .30-06.

…

According to the spec sheet, the initial offering will be a 200-grain bullet, which will exit a 24-inch barrel at 2,565 fps. Sighted in 3 inches high at 100 yards, the bullet drops only 7.8 inches at 300. At the 300-yard mark, the bullet is carrying 1,760 ft-lb of energy–plenty for even elk-sized game.

More info @ Gun Shots

A while back I reported that GSG (German Sport Guns), makers of the GSG-5, announced an endorsement by General Kalashnikov and that they would name a rifle after him. It looks like the GSG .22 “Kalashnikov” is now in production.

Click to expand

Impact Guns says it features a 16.5″ barrel and 15 round magazine and has it listed for $529.99. It is not clear when it will ship.

These ATI ads have been floating around the internet. The girl looks like a stock image and rifle is not the actual .22 Kalashnikov.

General Kalashnikov at GSG holding a GSG-5

Ed Friedman, Associate Editor of the NRA publication Shooting Illustrated, has started a blog called “Tell Me Why?”. Go check it out.

It is always great to see new gun bloggers!

Barrett has finally published the specs of the M98B. I have updated the blog post about the rifle if you are interested.

ATI have announced the GSG5-PK pistol.

The new GSG-5PK pistol is a .22 Long Rifle HV Caliber with a barrel length of 4.52″, total length of 15.275″ and a total height of 10″. It weighs in at a dainty 5.2 lbs. It has an alloy frame construction and features a magazine safety and click-adjustable target sight. At a MSRP of $549.95, the GSG-5PK pistol is the perfect partner to the original GSG-5 rifle model.

It is basically a GSG5-P (pistol) with a shortened barrel and MP5K style handguard. Some photos (click to expand):

Hat Tip: SayUncle

This is a snippet of the future weapons episode about the .50 BMG Accuracy International AS50. It is amazing footage, you can see the scope, scope rail and barrel flexing during the recoil.

Watching that scope move around really made me wince.

Remington, and sibling Bushmaster, have announced a new cartridge designed for the AR-15. The 30 Remington AR is a .30 caliber cartridge the length of a .223, allowing it to be chambered in AR-15s rather than AR-10 style rifles.

John Snow has the details:

The big difference is in energy. The .30 RAR in this bullet weight has about 500 ft-lb. less of energy than the 165-gr. .308 at any distance. A substantial amount less and one that will certainly have an effect on game in the field—but how much of a difference we’ll just have to see once we start killing some deer with it.

…

The R-15 is said to weight about 7.5 pounds, a full pound less than the R-25 in .308 Win.

More info @ Gun Shots

UPDATE: tammons @ ar15.com came up with this diagram of the case:

Short and stubby. It reminds me of the 7.62×39 as some have said in the comments. Oh and lets not forget the .30 Steve.

The consensus seems to be that it is a cut down .284 Winchester case, as is the .450 Bushmaster.

Yep looks like a short 284 case.
Good. I am glad somebody is doing this.

Should be a great hunting round, but hopefully they will be slow twist for less pressure like 1:16 – 1:18 twist etc.

Its sort of a AR15 version of a fatter 30BR. The 30BR case is 1.51″ L, the 30 RAR is 1.53″L.

A 30 br with a 22-24″ barrel can push a 125 gr moly bullet to 3000 fps with 34.5gr of H4198. I had one for a while and they are nice.

I doubt they will be able to run it at 55-60k unless they use an oly wssm upper and bolt.

For benchrest nothing is going to beat a BIB 118 gr bullet in a slow twist barrel
This should be a really good round if they do it right.
Look at some of the groups on the link below.

Here is a good read on the 30BR if interested

http://www.6mmbr.com/30BR.html

I had actually already designed something similar, a longer case version a while back just playing around.
I have a couple of 284 based bolt rifles, one straight the other 338/284 and its a good case. Very efficient case.

I ran it through case designer and modified it to a 30 RAR and the case should hold right at 43-45 gr h2o.

Its a short stubby little bastard.

The case capacity is just slightly more than the 30 BR but you cant hang the bullets out like a bolt rifle.

UPDATE: The GunPundit (Murdoc) says it will uses .450 Bushmaster magazines. Presumably single stack.

A couple of comments have asked how it stack up against the 7.62×39mm and if there is any need for such a cartridge.

How does it compare to a 7.62×39?

The 7.62×39 FMJ 123 gr round leaves the barrel at 2,300 ft/s with 1480 ft/lbs of energy. The 123 gr .30 RAR will leave the barrel at 2800 ft/s and generate 2141 ft/lbs. That a 30% increase in muzzle energy. This is a significant increase in a hunting situation.

This splits the difference between a 7.62×39mm and a 7.62×51mm (.308 Win.).

If the round uses .308 projectiles there will be a very wide variety available to the hand loader. Much more than is available for the 7.62×39mm (.310 projectile).

UPDATE: The outdoor wire has more info and this photo:

Left: .30 RAR, middle: .223, right: .308 Win.

The new shell will be available in three initial loadings: AccuTip BT, Core-Lokt PSP and a UMC MC the company describes as the “practice ammunition” for the hunter or shooter who doesn’t want the hunting round characteristics – or price. The two hunting rounds are 125 grain bullets; the full-metal rounds are 123 grain. Pricing is currently listed at $35.99 for the AccuTip, $26.49 for the Core-Lokt, and $18.99 for the FMJ.

KABUL, Afghanistan: Afghan national security forces will receive a huge capability and mobility boost throughout the next year with more than 6,000 up-armored vehicles and more than 75,000 M-16 rifles from Combined Security Transition Command Afghanistan.

…

“Accuracy will always be more important than lots of shots,” McPhail said. “They wanted a weapon that doesn’t waste shots. That’s the reason the Afghan government asked for the M-16.”

Do you want fries ammo with that?

More @ Defense Talk

Bill emailed me a photo of a friend’s 2-bore rifle and another of the 2-bore balls. The first photo really gives a sense of scale.

Click to expand the image

I assume the bigger balls are for the 2-bore
and the smaller for another gun

The guy in the photo is apparently a big guy (so you get the sense of scale)

The rest in the above photo came with the gun.

A big thanks to Bill for the photos.

More 2 bore goodness:

- S&H 2 Bore Blackpowder Express
- Cost of big bore ammunition
- 2 bore rifle photos

Scott emailed me with information about his new business called PayWithAmmo.com. It is an online marketplace/auction website for firearms and related products and services.

The difference between it and other sites, such as gunbroker.com, is that all transactions are done in ammunition. You can either pay the equivalent dollar value at an exchange rate set with the current price at Ammoman.com or ship 9mm ammunition. The ammunition must be new, brass cased, boxer primed, FMJ and in the designated grain weight (115-124 grains for 9mm ammo).

I asked Scott why he thought this was a better system than using dollars:

All ammo must be new, brass cased, boxer primed, FMJ and for 9mm the bullet must weight between 115 and 124 grains.

The benefit of selling in ammo and not dollars is that ammo is, like gold, is “real” money, that is: 1,000 rounds of 9mm will always be 1,000 rounds of ammo and 1oz of gold is always 1oz of gold; there is no inflation or depreciation. Thus, if a particular rifle is presently valued at 5 thousand rounds of 9mm, all things remaining equal, next year the rifle should still be valued at 5 thousand rounds of 9mm. In dollar value, the rifle has to have “inflated” in price due to inflation, (more dollars needed as value of dollar declined), even if the list price has remained unchanged.

Sites like e-gold cost money as there are storage costs and if someone were to take delivery of the gold, once in their possession, gold has no intrinsic value except as a paperweight.

Pay With Ammo (”PWA”) seeks to provide a solution to those who rather invest in a commodity that has an inherent value, ammo.

The problem is ammo, unlike gold, doesn’t have a ready secondary market to convert back into dollars. Thus, PWA, would like to provide a means for a person who has made a sizable investment in ammo to be able to trade that ammo for goods and services. If PWA takes off, ammo can become a somewhat “liquid” asset that can be used when needed to acquire goods/services.

It is not hard to sell gold and gold does have industrial uses such as in electronics, medicine and jewelry although the demand and price of gold far exceeds that of its industrial uses. On the whole I agree with Scott and I like the concept he has come up with.

I also asked him what happens if an odd number of rounds such as 27 or 219 are the price of a good or service on the website:

Right now, if someone swaps dollars for 10, 20, or even 50 thousand rounds of ammo for personal use, they are pretty much stuck with it. With PWA, however, they can swap a couple thousand rounds for a new gun, accessory or even a service…the options are basically limitless.

If something is priced at less than 500 or 1000 rounds, if someone doesn’t have the ammo on hand and ready to ship, they will just have settle the account in dollars at the daily exchange rate.

I will be keeping my eye on the website to see how it progresses.

Sruli Recht has designed a Kevlar handkerchief for those with more money to spend than they know what to do with.

The First Bullet-Proof Gentlemen’s Pocket Square

offered Solely in Military Grade lemon Kevlar Aramid – To protect the heart.

This ‘pocket-protector’ of the Modern Ages limits in Quantity to an Edition of 10… Numbered each from i/x through to x/x, devised and instituted personally for the Liborius Trading Boutique. Two Qualities of Bound Edge have been dispatched; Five in Raw Golden Silk and Five in Citric French Cotton.

I wonder how those who purchase this tell people about it. Do they blow their snotty nose loudly on the handkerchief to get everyones attention and then wave it around and mention the price? Who knows.

Hat Tip: Engadget

Sebastian linked to this very interesting article about gun laws at sea.

Is it lawful to carry firearms?

This depends of several factors.

· Flag State your yacht is registered with.
· Area you are likely to operate in.
· Type of firearm.

If I were sailing around the world I would probably want to carry a pump action shotgun in 12 gauge and a bolt action rifle in a non military caliber such as 7mm-08 Rem., .260 Rem. or .270 Win.

Why?

Semi automatics are illegal or have various arbitrary restrictions in most of the world for civilians. At best it could be confiscated, at worst you could be fined or arrested.

Bolt actions are used all over the world and most countries will allow hunters or competition shooters to bring them into the country for sporting purposes. Military calibers are banned in some countries. Better to stick with something nobody is going to object to.

A removable magazine would be a plus and so would a stainless steel action and barrel. The Savage Weather Warrior Series Model 16FCSS in 7mm-08 would be my choice. It has a four round detachable magazine. I would be surprised if any countries has a problem with a four round magazine in a bolt action.

Some type of illuminated scope with quick detachable mounts and open sights would be a must.

Savage Model 16FCSS

Next up, a shotgun. A semi-automatic would be out for the same reason as the rifle. I am pretty sure pump actions are illegal in the UK, so if I were stopping by there then that would not be an option. The alternatives such as a double barrel, bolt action or lever action shotgun do not seem to me to be a credible threat to a ship full of pirates.

I would go with the Mossberg Mariner. At most I would install a magazine extension. Pimping it out withe pistol grips, fore grip and detachable magazines would not be a good idea.

Mossberg Mariner: A good idea.

Mossberg Mariner: A bad idea.

Lastly a replica RPG might not be a bad idea! Many years ago I was watching something on TV about super yachts and there was a brief clip of police somewhere in world showing off a cache of weapons they confiscated from super yachts including what looked like an M72 LAW. I am sure the LAW was not real.

Orange tipped replica.

My experience at sea is limited. I think the above would be good enough on small yacht. The aim really is to make it hard for pirates to come close while out maneuvering them.

I have traveled on very large cargo ships and defending them from pirates would be no different from defending a building.

What do you think about my ideas? Realistically what would you carry on the high seas?

I missed a press release that Kel-Tec issued last month. The 18″ barreled version of the bullpup RFB Carbine will be shipping next month.

In order to keep the costs down the rifle will not include sights, although it will include a Picatinny rail, and “will ship in an in-expensive box”.

RFB Carbine Features:

- 18” Chrome lined 7.62 NATO chambered barrel
- Birdcage flash hider included
- Front ejection of cases
- Top Picatinny rail for mounting sights (no sights included)
- Gunsmith replaceable barrel with adjustable headspace
- Click adjustable gas system for various power ammo, or suppressor use
- Accepts FAL metric magazines with straight-in/drop-free magazine well (one magazine included)
- Nylon sling and hardware included
- In-grip storage capability

More info on the rifle here.