The Firearm Blog

Last month in the Russian town of Tarusa, IDPA shooters held a public demonstration of their sport and allowed the local to give it a go. I must admit I was shocked to see that the demonstration was done out in the open, from an elevated position, with people, vehicles and boats behind the targets!

If you look closely, there appear to be people on the other side of the river.

The guns appear to be real, not airsoft or air guns.

Google Translate is a crude tool at the best of times, but I think they are saying that it was safe because the boat pictured above was 200-400 meters away from the firing line! I looked up the probable location on Google Earth / Maps and I think at best the boat was 200 meters, probably less.

According to Hatchers Notebook, the classic text on ballistics, a .45 ACP and .38 Special round can reach as far as 1200 yards ( 1097 meters ) if fired at the right elevation!

Am I missing anything that would make this safe? Can any Russian speakers please read the forum thread and let us know in the comments if they were doing anything that made it safe.

UPDATE: trigger288 says in the comments that the pistols are loaded with low powered rubber bullets, which are only dangerous up to 50m.

Hat Tip: Дмитрий Кочетков

Browning BAR ShortTrac is now available chambered in the very popular 7mm-08 and the .325 Winchester Short Magnum.

BAR ShortTrac Stalker

The .325 WSM is an 8mm round that was introduced about four years ago.

David E. Petzal has tested and written a brief review about the new TC Venture. The new sub-$500 budget bolt-action rifle not only meets but exceeds its 1 MOA guarantee. Just look at these groups David was getting with a variety of loads:

Federal 168-grain Match–.789”

Federal 165-grain Nosler Ballistic Tip—1.195”

HSM 165-grain soft-point–.855”*

Nosler 180-grain E-Tip handload–.919”

Winchester 180-grain Power Point—1.163”

Berger 155-grain VLD handload–.667”**

I cannot wait for it to come out in a short action. A .308, 7mm-08 and .243 would be awesome.

Read the review at The Gun Nut

The Atlanta Business Chronicle reports that Taurus USA is looking relocate the company in order to expand their domestic production. Currently most of their guns are imported from their Brazilian parent company Forjas Taurus.

The reason: Police departments and other government agencies increasingly want their guns made in the United States, Taurus CEO Bob Morrison said.

While no decision has been made, Morrison praised Georgia’s efforts to lure the company.

“Gov. [Sonny] Perdue has been particularly anxious to extend the warm hand of Georgia,” Morrison said. “It’s a very attractive offer that he’s made. He’s gone way, way out of his way to try to get us to understand that Georgia is more than willing to have a firearms company move there.”

JMB’s Utah 6,912 square foot home is currently on the market for $374,900.

The NY Times reports:

COMMON SPACES: Most of the house is original, including a banister stretching from the entry to the attic, beveled windows, hardwood floors and fireplaces. There are built-in cupboards in the dining room and storage drawers on each of the house’s three floors.

PERSONAL SPACES: There are two bedrooms in the finished basement, one on the main level and four on the second level. An eighth bedroom is in the attic suite, which includes a living room that, according to the listing agent, served as a workshop for John Browning (and includes remnants of a wiring system used to buzz his maids). Most bedrooms have views of the yard and neighboring historic houses; the attic has treetop and mountain views.

How cool would it be to say you live in the house where JMB designed guns!

Hat Tip: Guy Sagi @ Guns and Hunting

I won’t be blogging tomorrow, so you can skip TFB on Thursday without missing anything.

San Diego Reader has published a very well written article about open carry in California, which is legal as long as the gun is unloaded. The author, Rosa Jurjevics, who had never fired a gun let alone carried openly, met up with a few open carry enthusiast at a boardwalk at Pacific Beach. After giving her a lesson on the legalities of OC and how to deal with the police, they handed her a Ruger Single Six.

Kudos to the Rosa for writing an article that did not portray those who open carry as extremists or agitators, but simply as a group of people who choose to exercise their legal right to carry openly, and who hope that their constitutional right to carry will be recognized in the future.

Hat Tip: Say Uncle

The specifications of the Remington ACR (Adaptive Combat Rifle) have finally been published. Bushmaster and Magpul are both still very much involved in the development of the rifle although I can see very little that has changed since the original Magpul Masada was unveiled.

Original Magpul Masada. Original handguard is not mentioned on Remington’s website.

Remington ACR.

The ACR is made up of an aluminum upper receiver and lower polymer receiver.

The lower receiver resembles the AR-15 and SCAR lower receivers. Like the polymer AR-15 lower receivers made by Calvary Arms, the ACR’s pistol grip is part of the mould and cannot be removed. The trigger group has a two stage trigger that has a pull weight of 6.25 lbs. The trigger group parts are compatible with the AR-15 / M16. Modes of operation are semi-automatic or fully automatic. All the controls are all ambidextrous.

The operating system was inspired by the AR-18. It uses a short stroke piston system – meaning the piston slams into the bolt carrier knocking is back and cycling the action. The AR-18 bolt carrier design has been improved, at least in my opinion, although it would be more costly to manufacture than the AR-18. The AR-18 has twin guide rods and twin recoil springs, see the photo below. The ACR has a recoil spring that inserts into the bolt carrier and is guided by steel rails that are attached to the receiver.

The bolt is in the AR-15 style with 8 lugs, one of which is an extractor. The bolt can be easily swapped out and a 6.8 mm SPC or 6.5mm Grendel bolt swapped in.

AR-180 (semi-auto version of the AR-18). Photo from carteach0′s blog.

ACR bolt carrier.

Steel guide rails indicated by arrow.

The rate of fire is 650-700 RPM. This is slightly higher than the SCAR which features a larger/heavier bolt carrier.

The side mounted charging handle does not reciprocate, unlike the SCAR, but can engage the bolt carrier and used as a forward assist.

Barrels offered will 10.5”, 14.5”, 16.5” and 18” in length and can be changed by the operator without tools. Magpul originally touted compatibility with standard M16 barrels, although Remington does not mention this on their website.

Two stocks will be offered: a foldable / adjustable stock and a fixed stock.

The 14.5″ carbine version of the ACR weights 7 lbs (unloaded)

Drake from Magpul posted these photos online:

More info at Remington Military
Hat Tip: ITS Tactical

Advanced Armament Corporation (AAC) have developed a new ultra high-end suppressor called the Ti-RANT. It weights about 1 oz less than their Evolution 9mm suppressor while offering greater sound reduction. This is achieved by using titanium and titanium alloys, hence the name Ti-RANT.

The specs are:
Weight: 8.6 OZ (244gm)
Length: 7.9” (201mm)
Diameter: 1.38” (35mm)
Finish: GunKote, T3 HARD COAT& SCARMOR
Sound Reduction: 35-38dB

The business end of the Ti-RANT

Of course the high-end construction and technology comes at a price. AAC will be selling it for $1195 shipped. That is about $300 more than the Evo 9.

More info at AAC

When I posted a link to the American Rifleman double rifle “plinking” video I did not realize there was an accompanying article to go with it.

American Rifleman have reviewed four different double rifles, all with a starting price of about $10,000! The double rifle has a special place in the collective psyche of hunters. I can think of few things in life that I want more than to hold one under the hot African sun in the pursuit of Cape Buffalo.

“the double rifle is a weapon of romance … [it] connotes ivory hunting, long lines of safari porters, drinking sundowners beside a fire of nyombo wood while lions roar on the veldt, affairs of the heart with comely lady leopard hunters.” – Jack o’Connor in Complete Book of Rifles and Shotguns, 1961

Holland and Holland double rifle in .375 H&H Magnum. From Wikipedia.

At the bottom of the article there is a PDF link to view the entire article as it appears in the print magazine.

Hat Tip: The Unforgiving Minute