Russian unveiled the new Balkan 40mm automatic grenade launcher at IDEX 2009 (massive military expo held in Abu Dhabi that was on earlier this week).
Click to expand.
The AGS-17 Plamya, the auto grenade launcher currently fielded by Russia, is 30mm. The new launcher extends the effective range from 1700m to 2500m and the larger round will of course give it more bite.
It is logical to compare it with the 40mm Mk 19 Automatic Grenade Launcher. The weight and rate of fire are much the same. The Balkan comes standard with optical sights and the Mk 19 can be fitted with sights if needed.
The ammunition is quite different. The Balkan uses Russian style 40mm grenades that are in a sense caseless. The primer ignites powder, the gas then exists through vents in the bottom of the case. This is similar to the infamous Gyrojet ammunition. Unlike the Gyrojet I think all the grenade powder is burnt before the round leaves the barrel, unlike the Gyrojet which burnt the propellant slowly and accelerated slowly.
The vents appear to have a shotgun-like star shaped crimp.
Another difference is that the ammunition box holds 20 linked rounds and weights 14 kg while the Mk 19 uses 32 or 48 round boxes weighing 20 and 30 kg respectively.
I covered the Safir T-14 / ATI AT-14 .410 AR-15 shotgun on the blog earlier this year. Mike, a reader of The Firearm Blog, emailed me photos the AT-14 he just received.
Click to expand the photos.
Two black shotugns. .410 Siaga shotgun (AK clone) left.
Annular piston system. ATI’s markings can be seen on the lower receiver.
If you have any questions I am sure Mike will be happy to answer them in the comments.
A big thanks to Mike for taking the time to strip his rifle shotgun for photos.
Attorney General Eric Holder has confirmed that the Obama administration will be reintroducing the “Assault” Weapons Ban. ABC reports:
The Obama administration will seek to reinstate the assault weapons ban that expired in 2004 during the Bush administration, Attorney General Eric Holder said today.
“As President Obama indicated during the campaign, there are just a few gun-related changes that we would like to make, and among them would be to re institute the ban on the sale of assault weapons,” Holder told reporters.
Attorney General Eric Holder raised the prospect Wednesday that the administration would push to bring back the ban. But Pelosi (D-Calif.) indicated on Thursday that he never talked to her. The Speaker gave a flat “no” when asked if she had talked to administration officials about the ban.
“On that score, I think we need to enforce the laws we have right now,” Pelosi said at her weekly news conference. “I think it’s clear the Bush administration didn’t do that.”
Do you believe that? I think the attorney general tipped his hand it a bit early.
Raul emailed me some photos taken in Reynosa, Mexico, which is directly across from the city of McAllen, Texas, after a gun battle with between police and Mexican military and a drug gang. I thought this photo of an AR-15/M16/M4 with a lot of accessories hanging off it was interesting. I have seen many photos of confiscated C-MAGS taken from drug gangs, but never a photo of one that was actually used in combat and the gun is was used with.
Back in the Age of Sail ships tended to carry many different types of cannons. The weapons mix was determined by the Captains preferences and what was available in the navel shipyard when the ship was being outfitted. Each cannon was crewed by the same set of men so they knew what had to be done to get the best out of it. Marine archaeologists
have discovered that the cannons on a English warship wreckage, dating back to the time of the famous defeat of the Spanish Armada, carried only one sized cannon ball and two of the recovered cannons both had the same bore size. The BBC reports:
“This marked the beginning of a kind of mechanisation of war,” says naval historian Professor Eric Grove of Salford University.
“The ship is now a gun platform in a way that it wasn’t before.”
…
The new research follows the discovery of the first wreck of an Elizabethan fighting ship off Alderney in the Channel Islands, thought to date from around 1592, just four years after the Spanish Armada.
The ship was a pinnace, a small ship carrying 12 guns, two of which have been recovered.
The BBC article has a lot of hype calling them “superguns”. I am an avid reader of novels set in that period and have read a lot of the period history, I can’t see anything impressive about the gun itself, rather how it was used and its superior logistics.
The BBC article more info and a video of a replica cannon modeled on those found in the wreckage.
It has been a while since I have posted an animation. This one, author unknown, shows how the balanced gas operating system works in the AK-107 and AK-108 rifles.
( If the animation is not playing, try this link: click here)
The AK-107 and AK-108 represent a significant change to the Kalashnikov operating system originally designed in the late 1940s. The new rifle features a balanced system that functions along the lines of Newton’s third law of motion, which states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. This system uses a recoil-dampening countermass mechanism with two operating rods that move in opposite directions, thereby providing “balance”. One operating rod, the upper, has a gas piston facing forward while the bolt carrier also has a gas piston. The gas tube at the forward end of the handguard is double-ended to accommodate the two rods. The enlarged gas tube cover of the upper handguard guides both rods in their travel.
When the rifle is fired, gas is tapped from the gas port to enter the gas tube, driving the bolt carrier to the rear and the counter-recoil upper rail forward. The critical timing of the reciprocating parts is accomplished by a star-shaped sprocket that links and synchronizes both components, causing both to reach their maximum extension, or null point where forces are exactly equal, at exactly the same instant. The felt recoil is therefore eliminated, enhancing accuracy and assisting control during fully automatic fire. The travel distance of the AK-107 reciprocating parts is less than other Kalashnikov designs, so the cyclic rate is higher at 850–900 rounds/min rather than 600 rounds/min on other AK rifles. However, as the felt recoil is virtually eliminated, the manufacturer claims that accuracy is enhanced, especially during burst fire. An enhancement of 1.5 to 2 times has been reported.
The system was previously used on the prototype AL-7 and AEK-971 rifles in the 1970s.
CMMG claims that no other magazine offers greater performance under extreme conditions. It has their new stainless steel anti-tilt follower which features superb stability, minimal drag and unmatched durability.
The new CMMG braided wire spring gives 40% additional pressure over standard USGI springs. A nano-ceramic plated braided wire spring protects for over 400+ hours against salt sea spray.
Wilson are looking for a name and running a competition to find it:
So from now until the 1st day in June, 2009 you have the opportunity to name the next Wilson Combat® Custom Polymer pistol. The best news of all, the lucky individual that submits the winning name will receive one to add to their collection. Please pick your very best as it will be limited to one submission per person.
My webhosting company took it offline without telling me – they said I was abusing their server. Finally they have figured out that it was a problem with their reporting software, not me.
Anyway it is back online.
UPDATE:Slicehost did the right thing by me. They apologized and gave me a months credit on my hosting account.
There seems to be a problem with the PPK hammer block in newly manufactured PPK pistols. The press release:
Smith & Wesson has identified a condition that may exist in certain PPK and PPK/S pistols which may permit a round to be discharged without the trigger being pulled. When the manual safety is disengaged, Smith & Wesson’s Product Engineering Group has determined that the possibility exists in certain firearms that lowering the hammer may cause a chambered round to fire.
This recall applies to all Walther PPK and PPK/S pistols manufactured by Smith & Wesson from March 21, 2002, until February 3, 2009. The Serial Numbers of the pistol subject to this recall are as follows:
STOP USING YOUR PISTOL AND RETURN IT TO SMITH & WESSON AT ONCE.
Any unintended discharge of a firearm has the potential for causing injury, and we ask that you stop using your pistol immediately.
To facilitate the repair of your pistol, please contact Smith & Wesson’s customer service department to receive instructions for the return of your pistol to Smith & Wesson.
When you return your pistol to Smith & Wesson, we will replace the existing hammer block feature with a new part at no cost to you. Your firearm will be returned as quickly and efficiently as possible.
To receive a UPS pre-paid billable stamp and shipping instructions to arrange for the modification of your pistol click here or contact Smith & Wesson directly at 1-800-331-0852.
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS RECALL, PLEASE CONTACT SMITH & WESSON AT 1-800-331-0852 or email us at PPK_S@smith-wesson.com.
I have designed and patents pending on this.. Its a beltfed 12 gauge upper receiver for a ar-15 or m16 lower receiver. It uses your lower receiver, so if you have a ar15 its a semi auto shotgun, however if you have a registered m16 lower or a drop in auto sear it becomes a full auto 12 gauge machine gun. This is a prototype model and all the bugs arent worked out quite yet. Most of the problems that I have encountered revolve around the shotgun sheels not being consistent enough to eject sometimes.
I will be doing a brief interview with the Derek soon.
Hi, welcome to The Firearm Blog! This blog is dedicated to all things firearm related. If you are into AR-15 and AK carbines, skeet shotguns, self defense pistols or hunting rifles then there will be something here for you. I hope you enjoy it.
I want this blog to appeal to a worldwide audience and so I will focus on firearms and shooting rather than country specific politics. There are already many great blogs defending your rights!
Hi, welcome to The Firearm Blog! This blog is dedicated to all things firearm related. If you are into AR-15 and AK carbines, skeet shotguns, self defense pistols or hunting rifles then there will be something here for you. I hope you enjoy it.
