The Firearm Blog

I rarely watch The Daily Show but I got a good laugh from this video. The biggest joke of course is that its all true.

Much better than The Onion’s take on guns.

Thanks to Sven for the link.

Those of you who do not work in the IT industry may not have heard about the new search tool from Google called Squared which launched yesterday. It takes a search query and turns it into a database. It handles firearms very well. It can find out the range, caliber, barrel length and all sorts of other facts.

Click to expand.

Try doing a search for “guns”.

Nighthawk Custom have introduced two lines of high end semi-custom bolt action rifles.

The Nighthawk Tactical series is available with either their own hunting action, which includes a bolt-on picatinny rail, or a Surgeon action which has a picatinny rail machined into it. It is stocked with a Manners Composite Stock that can be finished in a Perma Kote color scheme of choice. The rifle can be chambered in .308, 7mm Remington Magnum, .300 Winchester and .338 Lapua.

The Nighthawk Hunter series is similar to the tactical series. The main differences are that it is only available in the Nighthawk action, it can be stocked with a HS Precision stock instead of a Manners Composite stock and can be chambered in a variety of hunting cartridges.

No prices are listed … in other words they are very expensive.

As many of my regular readers will know, I love aperture sights. I have never been able to understand why they did not catch on in the East. Tech-Sights have just started selling their new AK Aperture sight system.

The system requires no permanent modifications (a scope cover is included) and returns to zero after being removed for cleaning. The consistent recoil spring pressure and the rear trunion keep it in place.

Depending on your particular AK a couple of extra parts may need to be ordered for the sight to fit your rifle. There is a chance that your particular AK may be incompatible with the sight. If that is the case Tech Sights will allow you to return the sight to them.

All sights are windage adjustable. The cost is $110 for a duel aperture version and $125 for the elevation adjustable version. Compared to their other sights (SKS, 10/22, Marlin), the AK sight is about double the price.

I am a HUGE fan of Tech-Sights. They make great products and their service is excellent.

[ I have never received money or free stuff from them, I just love their products ].

fluwoebers, who must be in one of the SOCOM units, has written a must-read review of the FN SCAR, both light (5.56mm) and heavy (7.62mm) models.

Reciprocating Charging Handle
I remembered to keep my thumb down most of the time, but while practicing switching back and forth between strong hand and week hand, the charging handle caught me.
My thumb slowed it down enough that it caused a FTF.
It was not painful enough with 5.56 to learn my lesson.
I did it again with 7.62. That hurt.

…

“Softness/Brittleness” of plastic
The polymer is very dense.
It is a little on the soft side, so it is not likely to crack very easily.
It is not so soft though that it bends or deforms easily.
It feels like a pretty good balance in strength and rigidity.

…

Bottom Line:
The SCAR is a good system. I’m not ready to give up my M4.
As the SCAR evolves over the next couple years, it will be a top-of-the line rifle.
I’m not convinced that it is worth the cost to purchase and train on a completely new system.

I highly recommend reading the whole review. It is very comprehensive.

Big thank you to Jay for emailing me the link to the review.

The Next Chapter reviews the AR-7

IMHO, this is an affordable, expendable rifle. When weight and size are critical for packing, it is something that I can carry for use as a last resort, something that may be just barely enough gun to do get me through an unexpected crisis. It will never be my first choice for a kit gun or a survival rifle; it is an alternative.

…

While it will never be as popular as the versatile Ruger 10/22, the AR-7 does have a following. Only you can decide what would be a good fit for your kit.

More here.

Manu of Indian Defence News emailed me a link to a online reprint of a New Zealand newspaper article that was originally published on 13 May 1909. It says how New Zealand and Australia army rifles destined to Great Britain ended by being used by rebels on the Indian (now Pakistan) Afghan border.

The Englishman states that arms are being smuggled across the Pathan frontier which bear the Australian and the New Zealand Government marks. It is believed that they were sold when the new rifle was adopted.

Two years ago the New Zealand Defence Department disposed of a large accumulation of obsolete Snider and Martini rifles by tender, a condition being that they must go to England.

The purchaser of the greater number of the rifles gave an assurance that they were being sent to Birmingham, presumably to be taken to pieces and some of the parts used for more modern rifles.

The Government has since received advice that 28 of these rifles (bearing the New Zealand stamp) have been taken from the rebel hill tribes on the north-west frontier of India.

…

That must have been very embarrassing for the colonial New Zealand and British governments. I recently blogged that these old single shot Martini rifles are still being used by insurgents in the region.

1870 Martini-Henry .303 rifle which has been converted into a pistol.

About a month ago I mentioned a post by Caleb warning people not to use 9mm NATO rounds in 9mm Luger / Parabellum pistols.

A reader, who shall remain anonymous, emailed me this account of what happened to him.

Your message about the 9 mm Nato versus 9 mm Luger (9×19 mm, 9 mm Para) is correct and should be a warning to all users of 9 mm pistols. I found out the the higher pressure of the Nato round can be punishing. The same day as I received my first and brand new police service pistol, the Walther P5, I took it to my shooting club to show it to the lads and to shoot it.

Because I ran out of ammo, I borrowed a box from a military friend, who used 9 mm Nato rounds. After two shots my new pistol jammed, because the extractor broke off. I had some explanation to do the next day in order to get my service gun back in working order and got the message: Never use military ammo in non-military firearms. So, any surplus army ammo: use it in the Browning High-Power or the Glock, but not in “civilian” pistols.