The Firearm Blog

These photos are of a AMT Combat Government Hardballer 1911 pistol that fired a handloaded .45 ACP round that was overloaded with powder. The result is quite spectacular. The top of the chamber has been blown right off taking a considerable section of the slide with it.

That looks sore.

The photos are from Photobucket via. the Blue Gun Blog.

UPDATE: Elvis for identifying the pistol.

Wilson Combat are now selling accurized FN Herstal Patrol Bolt Rifles (PBR).

Wilson Combat FN Bolt Rifle

It features a green Hogue stock, fluted barrel, fully bedded action and trigger work done by Wilson Combat gunsmiths. The PBR action is based on the Winchester Model 70 action and is chambered for .308 Winchester.

Wilson are selling it for $1995.

GunVault have introduced a new gun lock for Winchester, Remington and Mossberg pump action shotguns called BreechVault. As the name suggests, it locks into the breech. The magazine can still hold ammunition so chambering a round simply requires the lock to be removed and action pumped. The lock is made from \glass nylon so it will not damage the gun.

Locks are often frowned upon by self defense experts, but some people cannot legally leave their guns unlocked, or are simply unwilling or unable to do so for whatever reason.

The MSRP is $19.95.

dfwgun @ ARFCOM posted a short tutorial on how to modify a Magpul MOE AR-15 pistol grip so that it will fit on an AK.

As you can see in the photo some dremel work is required but it is a pretty straight forward procedure.

Remington’s entry into the Precision Sniper Rifle (PSR) competition is the Remington Modular Sniper Rifle (MSR).

The first thing you notice when looking at the rifle is the striking stock design. The butt stock is adjustable every-which-way and can fold for easy transport. The pistol grip is AR-15 compatible, just like the new Savage bolt action Model 10 BAS, so it can be swapped out for something the operator is more comfortable with. The free-floating handguard features rails at 3, 6, 9, 10:30 and 12 ‘o clock positions.

Stock folded. 20″ barrel. Interesting that the bolt is lock closed, but trigger is accessible.

Remington have taken no chances and have designed the rifle to be compatible with all of top contenders for selection as the next US Military long range sniper cartridge. The MSR can be easily switch between calibers by changing the barrel, bolt face and magazine. At the moment it is compatible with .338 Lapua Magnum, .338 Norma Magnum, .300 Winchester Magnum and 7.62mm NATO. The fluted barrels are available in 20, 22, 24 and 27 inches in length and can be swapped out in minutes. Accuracy is 1 MOA at 1500 meters.

It weights 13 lbs with 22” barrel and loaded 5 round magazine and 17 lbs with 22” barrel, scope, bipod, loaded 5 round magazine, and AAC Titan suppressor.

Posted by boottrac at Sniper’s Hide forum.

A video of the rifle in action:

Overall this rifle seems to meet, and in many cases exceed, the SOCOM Precision Sniper Rifle (PSR) requirements. It is good to see Remington MPD (Military Products Division) innovating. They have not introduced new military hardware for quite a long time (aside from the Remington ACR, which they did not design).

More info at Remington.

Hat Tip Accurate Shooter

The US Military is looking for a system to replace the existing bolt-action SOF Sniper Systems M40, M24 and MK13 which are all based on Remington 700 actions.

Marine’s M40A3 Sniper rifle.

One of the key requirements for this system that differentiates it from the existing 7.62×51mm NATO and .300 Win. Mag. sniper systems is that it needs to reach out to 1500 meters with MOA accuracy. Armed forces around the world have long recognized the need for a system that can reach out further than the 7.62mm NATO but is lighter than .50 BMG rifles. Many have adopted the .338 Lapua Magnum chambered rifles to fill this niche. The .338 Lapua Magnum was originally a US Military project but it lost traction and the .300 Win. Mag. is currently used for longer range shooting. The .300 Win. Mag. lacks downrange energy and the lighter projectiles mean greater wind drift at long range (1000 – 2000 yards).

The current Precision Sniper Rifle, as at March 2009, are as follows.

1) The system shall be chambered to safely fire factory produced “non-wildcat” Small Arms Ammunition Manufacturing Institute (SAAMI) or Commercial European standard (CIP) ammunition.

This eliminates some of the fancy odd-ball caliber long range cartridges such as the .408 Cheyenne Tactical (CheyTac). The most obvious choice is the before mentioned .338 Lapua Magnum. The cartridge has been around for a while and manufactures know how to get the most our of the cartridge. Another alternative is the .338 Norma Magnum which is only coming into production this year. It is similar in length to the .338 Lapua but has a slightly shorter and fatter case so it can use heavier and longer bullets which have a higher ballistic co-efficient.

.338 Lapua vs. .338 Norma Mag. Photo from Wikipedia.

2) The action can be either manually or gas operated and available in left and right hand versions.

I think most, or all, entries will be bolt-action rifles. They are easier to make accurate, lighter and more reliable than autoloading rifles. The advantage of a semi-auto is of course rate of fire, but this is not a requirement for this weapons system.

3) With primary day optic and ammunition the system shall provide 1.0 MOA from 300 to 1500 meters (in 300 meter increments) when fired from the shoulder or an accuracy fixture in nominal conditions. This is further defined as 1 MOA Extreme Vertical Spread for all shots in a 10 round group at the stated distances.

1500 meters = 1640 yards.

The rifle is fired from a rest and 80% of the fifty 10 round groups need to be 1 MOA. Note that the MOA is measured only for the vertical spread which eliminates the effects of wind on the measured accuracy. 1 MOA spread is over 10 round groups is much harder than getting 1 MOA for a standard 3 round group!

4) Mean Rounds Between Failures (MRBF) shall be 1000 rounds.

5) The system shall have an overall length no greater than 52″ in full configuration / extended excluding suppressor with a single component no greater in length than 40″.

6) The system shall weigh no more than 18 lbs with a 12:00 MilStd 1913 rail and a loaded magazine with 5 rounds.

7) The system shall be capable of operator breakdown into major components in less than two minutes.

The barrel also needs to be able to be swapped out by the operator within 20 minutes.

8 ) The system will assemble from the major component breakdown in less than two minutes by the operator.

9) The system will assemble from breakdown with no change in weapon zero.

10) The system will have an integral MilStd 1913 rail at the 12:00 position, the rail will be capable of maintaining bore sight alignment and weapon zero while conducting routine firing combined with combat movement and operational training drills.

These are all pretty standard requirements. One other test than will be performed will be drop tests with loaded rifles. The rifles are expected to be able to be dropped 1.5 meters at various angles without firing the chambered cartridge.

Overall they seem very sensible requirements. It will be interesting to see how this competition progresses.

This is the first video I have seen of the new Beretta ARX 160 carbine.

Looks like a very easy to handle rifle. I think this would sell well if it made it stateside.

Smith and Wesson have announced a recall of the S&W 22A Pistol.

Smith & Wesson has identified a condition that may exist in certain model 22-A pistols. Based on our ongoing product review, we have determined that the slides of certain pistols manufactured from August 1, 2008 to February 19, 2009, may not meet the design specification. This can create a situation where insufficient headspace exists creating a risk of unintended discharge.

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

Over at GunNuts, VegasChris posted a link to photos of his 22A pistol which self-destructed

You can see the raw metal where the piece was blown off

Hat Tip: Caleb @ Gun Nuts Media
.

Thanks to Sven for sending it through.

Strategy Page reports:

June 18, 2009: The U.S. Army has ordered 38.4 million rounds of .300 Winchester magnum ammunition for its newly modified M-24 sniper rifles, as well as similar SOCOMs Mk13 models. The new ammo will cost about $1.30 per round. The .300 Winchester magnum will be ordered in minimum lots of 56,160 rounds (117 boxes of 480 rounds each). The entire 38.4 million rounds will last a while.

$1.30 a round! I would have thought they could get it cheaper than that!

There is a discussion at SaysUncle about the pro’s and con’s of the cartridge.

Thanks to David for the link.

UPDATE:

A more factually correct article is at Defense Industry Daily, and it quotes regular TFB commenter Daniel Watters.

D.E. Watters of The Gun Zone adds that .300 Win Mag is used in the Mk13 sniper rifle, another Remington 700 long receiver derivative that’s assembled from parts at NSWC Crane. The most recent version is the Mk13 MOD 5, which allows the use of the same sound suppressor as the Knight’s Armament Company SR-25/MK11 sniper rifle.

David Crane of DefenseReview.com was on the Military Channel. I often link to Defense Review. Well done David!

Murdoc spotted a video where a Remington VC referred to the ACR, formerly Magpul Masada, as the Remington ACR. It looks like the rifle, or at least the marketing, has been transfered from Bushmaster to the military devision of their sister company Remington.

I found this Remington promotion material online.

Click to expand.

It says that the rifle will be available in 5.56mm NATO, 6.8mm SPC and 6.5mm Grendel.

There is no indication that Remington will be offering civilian sales.

K.B.I. Inc. , which includes Charles Daly, is again importing the IWI Jericho 941 pistol that was previously imported by Magnum Research under the Baby Eagle brand name.

The “Military-Tuff” Jericho 941 pistols are available in three calibers (9mm, 40S&W and .45ACP), three frame sizes (Full, Mid-size & Compact), in both Polymer and Steel frames. Standard Features include: ambidextrous de-cocking (firing pin block) safety; double/single action trigger function; combat style trigger guard; chrome-lined polygonal rifled barrels; under frame picatinny rail (except compact); low-profile combat style sights; two magazines & hard case. The Jericho’s time-tested, field-proven reliability and performance may be its best feature.

The pistol comes in three different sizes and chambered in 9mm, .40 S&W and .45 ACP. MSRP starts at $647 for the blue steel / polymer frame models to $749 for the chromed steel models.

The mid size steel / chromed model model

More info here.

Guess how much this Knights Armament muzzle break sells for …

Photos by unclemoak @ ar15.com

The Answer: About $450!

The muzzle brake is made from one of the Inconel family of nickel-chromium superalloys and claims 40% reduction in recoil.

Thanks to Jay for the link.