S&W are now selling a version of the .22 AR-15 patterned M&P15-22 that is compliant with Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey and New York law.
It has been made compliant by fixing the stock so it cannot be adjusted and supplying a 10 round magazine. The MSRP is still $499.
The pistol grip and removable magazine prevent it from being California compliant. .22 Rifles are exempt from California Assault Weapon laws.
The FN Five-SeveN Standard is a new model from FNH USA. The Standard has fixed three dot combat sights, while the other models feature an adjustable rear sight.
The MSRP is $1316.56, which I presume is less than the other models because of the cheaper sights. I have emailed the PR person to confirm this.
The FN Five-SeveN chambers the 5.7x28mm which is a round marketed at law enforcement who can use it with ballistic-vest penetrating ammunition that is not available to civilians.
UPDATE: These are actually better sights than the other models which have a $1237.50. Thanks to David for the info.
James has written a post about five very interesting, but ultimately useless handguns. Very funny to see what some people thought were good ideas.
The HDH: Greater capacity than a Glock 17
As of this month the M4 technical data has been transfered to the Army. The Army can now purchase M4 carbines from companies other than Colt, which up to know was the exclusive producers of the M4. Army Times reports:
As of July 1, the Army has taken control of the design rights to the M4 carbine from its sole maker, Colt Defense LLC. Translation: With an uncertain budget looming, the service is free to give other gun companies a crack at a carbine contract.
The transition of ownership of the M4 technical data package marks the end of an era and Colt’s exclusive status as the only manufacturer of the M4 for the U.S. military for the past 15 years.
What does this mean for Colt as a company? Not a lot. They will continue to be a supplier and will probably be able to manufacture the M4 cheaper than competitors when / if any more M4 carbines are purchased.
Over at Snowflakes in Hell Daniel E. Watters, an expert, said that the Army will still have to pay in royalties to Colt for every non-Colt M4 purchased. The technical specs are owned by Colt. Anyone wanting to supply M4s to overseas customers will need to get a license from Colt.
Colt has a few different next-gen carbines ready for the carbine competition later this year which could result in a selection of an M4 replacement.
There is also a discussion about this at Gun Pundit
Zel Custom Manufacturing recently purchased the Ultralite50 line of .50 BMG AR-15 Uppers. They have just released an improved version of the Ultralite50 called the Tactilite.
As you can see above the Taclite is a single shot bolt action that sits atop an AR-15 lower. Because the lower is considered a firearm by the BATFE, the Tactilite is legally an accessory not a firearm, a fact that I am sure would freak out certain elements of society if they ever found out!
It features a free-floating barrel and is available in barrel lengths 18.5″, 22″, 29″ or custom lengths up to 30″. There are three main models. The Ultralite is the budget model that has a Mossberg barrel. The Duty is next step up and is the basic law enforcement / military model. It features a Lothar-Walther barrel. The Super Match is the competition-grade model featuring a Lothar-Walther Super Match barrel.
TactLite UltraLite Defender with custom finish.
They also sell a variety of packages. One of the packages they sell is the ultra-short 18.5″ barrel UltraLite Defender. It is designed to be fired from the shoulder (as opposed to a bi-pod) and is packaged with a set of back-up iron sights (BUIS) and sling. I don’t think a single-shot .50 BMG is ever a good choice for self defense, as the name suggests, but it could be popular with hunters wanting to carry something exotic during their next hunt. While it would have the power for African dangerous game, civilian ownership of military cartridges are banned in many African countries where hunting is popular.
Pricing starts at $1550 for the most basic model.
Jonny Depp has just gone right up in my estimation after reading that he learnt to shoot as a youngster and now takes his own children shooting. Yahoo News reports:
Johnny Depp is keen on teaching his children to handle guns.
The ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ star, who learnt shooting at the age of six in Kentucky where he grew up, wants to pass on his experience to his kids.
“We would just go out and line up a bunch of cans and shoot with rifles, handguns and at times, submachine guns,” the Daily Star quoted him as saying.
“When I was a kid it was a controlled atmosphere, we weren’t shooting at humans – we were shooting at cans and bottles mostly. I will most certainly take my kids out for target practice,” he added.
There is at least one real man left in Hollywood!
Johnny Depp
Mike, a reader of TFB, bought a K98 Mauser from Mitchell’s Mausers and emailed me some photos.
Mike says …
I also have a Yugo Mauser from them. The Yugo was made in 1946 at a German plant after they were kicked out. The K98 was made in 1941, the quality isn’t as good as the Yugo one.
It didn’t come with a sling, just with a “military strap with buckles” (read, Mosin Nagant sling), and they were out of some of the goodies (new ads reflect that), but I’m happy. I wanted a German Mauser and got one.
Many thanks to Mike for emailing me the photos.
A couple of SNAFUs caused images not to load in some situations, such as when reading the blog on Google Reader in certain web browsers. This has now been fixed.
Another problem of some pages displaying incorrectly has been fixed.
The site colors have also been tweaked. There is not a lot less green and a lot more grey.
If you have problem please let me know so I can fix them right away.
Extreme Shock have introduced a .223 Remington load called that the Short Ranged Tactical (SRT). It is very low powered producing just 745 ft. lbs. of muzzle energy, approximately 57% less energy than a 62 grain 5.56mm NATO round (SS109). This is about as much muzzle energy as a 10mm Auto round fired from a pistol.
Like all most of the Extreme Shock range, the bullets are made from compressed tungsten powder enclosed in a copper jacket. The round fragments when it hits a hard surface. As the name suggests this round is not intended for long range gun fights. It is a short range round suitable for self defense when over penetration of a standard 5.56mm or .223 Rem. round could have serious consequences. Extreme Shock says the round has enough energy to cycle a semi-automatic action.
The SRT’s 100 grain projectile is a frangible, lead-free design that will fragment on harder surfaces that would typically cause a lead-core bullet to ricochet. This projectile consists of a compressed tungsten powder core that is encased in a high quality copper jacket, with a special DuPont coating to reduce the velocity. This all works to produce lower recoil and minimize muzzle flash, thus enhancing the ability to acquire second shot placement faster.
The MSRP is $41.27 for a 20 rounds. Not at all cheap.
While browsing the Ruger website I noticed that the Ruger M77 Mark II Frontier rifle has been discontinued.
The Frontier rifle featured a forward scout-style scope mount and a very short 16.5″ barrel. Sixteen inches in barrel length may be considered normal for rimfire or intermediate cartridges, but the Frontier was chambered in full power cartridge such as .308 Winchester and .300 Winchester Short Magnum.
The short barrel would certainty have had quite an impact on performance. These cartridges are usually fired in 20+ inches of barrel length, and this may have contributed to its demise.
The advantage of a short barrel is less weight and easier maneuverability in a tight space, such as shooting varmints from a vehicle, or when traversing heavy bush.
I was really hoping this concept would take off and am saddened that it did not catch on. Once you have fired, or owned, a short barrel (SBR) rifle, everything over 14″ seems much too long!
Does anyone own one of these rifles? I would really like to get my hands on the ballistic data for the cartridges the rifle fired. Ruger have not responded to my requests.
