This would certainly be consistent with other “bubbles,” and that may mean an opportunity. Remember we reported from the NRA Show that manufacturers thought we’d reached “peak AR” and that anywhere from 30-60% of their backorders would vanish as the market cooled.
The NY Times reports that the Glock Saddam Hussein had with him when he was captured may go on display at the George W. Bush Presidential Center
Before Mr. Bush left the White House in January, he made arrangements for the gun to be shipped to a national archives warehouse just 18 miles north of his new home in Dallas. His foundation said a final decision had not been made on including the gun in the presidential library. But his associates and visitors to the White House said Mr. Bush had told them of his intention to display it there.
I actually had no idea the pistol found on Saddam was a Glock 18C. In my mind I always pictured him clutching an old Makarov. The Glock 18C is a fully automatic machine pistol and is probably the best choice of weapon for someone hiding in a spider hole, although the pistol was ironically unloaded at the time he was captured.
Earlier this year ATI began selling the T-14, an AR-15 style .410 shotgun that uses a standard AR-15 lower. I have been asked many times if and when just the upper on its own will be available for sale. I learnt from Suburban that AIM Surplus are now selling just the upper for $499.95.
The upper had a 20″ smoothbore barrel and is supplied with a five round magazine. Two models are available, the Classic and the Compact. The only difference between the models is the handguard length.
The M16 in this photo, which was taken in Afghanistan a few days ago, has a carry handle mounted on the 9 o’clock handguard rail.
I had not seen a carry handle mounted there before so I asked about it on MP.net. BumpkinBoy and scrybe suggested he has it there in case his optics fail. If it failed he would need to detach the scope and carry handle, then reattach the carry handle.
I suppose it is not a bad idea if you cannot afford, are not allowed, or do not have backup iron sights (BUIS) on hand.
I forgot to mention this last week, but better late than never. Gun Nuts Radio, a live podcast run by Caleb and Breda, has just had their one year anniversary. They now have over 2000 listeners! A big congratulations to Caleb and Breda. I can only imagine the amount of work that must go into it!
If you cannot listen live, you can download individual episodes or, as I do, subscribe to the podcast via. iTunes.
I learnt from Caleb at Gun Nuts that Daniel Defense are launching a new AR-15. The Daniel Defense DDXV Carbine is an entry level version of the DDM4 which was launched earlier this year. The main difference is that the DDXV has a standard M4-style butt stock and plastic handguards rather than a fancy stock and rail system.
Daniel Defense DDXV
Daniel Defense are making a California specific version that requires a tool, in this case a bullet tip, to be used when changing magazines. This allows it to be Cali-legal, although somewhat decreases its utility as a self-defense weapon. The California version also includes a 10 round Magpul PMAG magazine instead of a 30 round magazine.
10 round Magpul PMAG. Same size as the standard 30 round magazine.
It will retail for about $1150 and should be available later this month.
Last week I went to see the movie Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen and I really enjoyed it. It is not the type of movie that will provide intellectual stimulation, an emotional experience or give insight into human character, but it is very entertaining. For those of you who are not familiar with the Transformer story, is basically about an intergalactic war between two races of robots that is being fought on Earth. There are good guys, the Autobots, who are allied with humans, and the Decepticons, who want to wipe out both Autobots and humans. UPDATE: Matt corrects my ignorance about the Transformers story in the comments below.
Optimus Prime. The Autobot leader.
While I enjoyed the stunning CGI effects and battle scenes I could not help but notice that the humans soldiers, a mixture of British and American special forces, were getting a very raw deal. They were being sent into battle armed with M16s against robots that are about 20-30 feet in height and made out of metal.
Taking some serious punishment from the Decepticons
What the Robot Fighting Warriors were Carrying
I did not pay much attention to the weaponry as I normally do when watching a movie because I was enjoying all the special effects, but if my memory serves me correctly the human were all armed with M16 rifles that featured some funky, almost triangular, handguard. Below the handguard they had a fore-grip with light attachment. I cannot remember if there were any M203 grenade launchers. If there were they were not using them much.
Major William Lennox (left), leader of the humans, on the run.
The M16 fires the 5.56mm NATO round which is an intermediate (low power) rifle cartridge. Although an armor piercing variant is available, it was never intended as an anti-vehicle round. It is not even considered powerful enough to hunt deer, let alone robots.
How to Destroy a Robot
One word: Power. Lots and lots of pure armor destroying power. Forget about pistols, which can be seen dangling off the legs of the soldiers in the above photo. Forget about low powered assault rifles. Leave them at home.
The Neopup PAW (Personal Assault Weapon) is manufactured by South African firm Denel. It is a semi-automatic 20mm grenade launcher. As far as I know it is the only semi-automatic grenade launcher designed explicitly to replace a rifle in the hands of a soldier, unlike the XM25 (I believe XM25 operators would carry an M4 or equivalent weapon).
The latest model. Note the more compact curved magazine.
The Neopup fires high explosive 20x42mm grenades. These grenades are designed to have a very flat trajectory, allowed you operator to point and shoot, rather than lobbing shells into the air on a steep trajectory. This is what makes it the perfect robot killer. The user simply needs to aim at the head, neck, chest or any other venerable area and fire a HE (High explosive) round to do some serious damage. Try doing that with an M16! I propose the robot warriors dump their rifles and pick up Neopup PAW.
20mm grenade 20×42 vs. 40mm grenade trajectory.
2. Milkor MGL – 40mm Multiple Grenade Launcher
While the 20mm grenade launcher may offer fast reloading and more accurate shooting, outfitting grenadiers with 40mm “artillery” could turn the tide of a battle.
The Milkor MGL has an interesting history. It is basically a scaled up version of the infamous South African Armsel Striker aka. the Protecta aka. the Street Sweeper 12 gauge shotgun. The design made for a scary looking but very inefficient shotgun. Another South African firm, Milkor, scaled it up from 12 guage to 40mm and developed a very successful multiple grenade launcher that was recently adopted by the US Marines as the M32 MGL.
A Marine with the M32 in Iraq.
The weapon can fire six 40x46mm grenades as fast as the operator can pull the trigger, although aimed fired from this heavy recoil weapon does slow down the effective firing rate. At relatively close range a trained operator should be able to hit a Decepticon robot and a high explosive round would do considerable damage. It can also be used to lay down indirect fire much like a mortar.
3. Denel NTW-20 – Long Range Anti-Robot Sniper Rifle
Denel also produces the enormous NTW-20 anti-material rifle. This rifle can be configured to fire the Semi-Armour Piercing High Explosive Incendiary (SAPHEI) 20x82mm rounds or the 14.5×114 mm Armour Piercing Incendiary (API).
Click to expand the image.
A better sense of scale. It is huge!
This weapon is more than twice as powerful as .50 BMG (12.7x99mm NATO) rifles! It can accuracy fire out past 1000 meters taking the fight to the enemy before than are in range.
The reason I chose the NTW-20 over other anti-material rifles is that is can quickly be broken down in half for portability.
Being carried by a two man team.
4. Metal Storm MAUL: A pistol that packs a punch
A couple of months ago the Australian firm Metal Storm unveiled the MAUL. It is a lightweight semi-automatic shotgun that is being funded by the US Navy. The unique Metal Storm technology stores the ammunition inside the barrel and then electronically fires it one round at a time. This allows for a shotgun so compact, it can be configured as a pistol!
While this would be no-where as powerful as a full-sized shotgun, due to the short barrel length, if it was loaded with 12 guage grenades it would pack a punch orders of magnitude more powerful than a conventional pistol making it a perfect last ditch defense side-arm to use against ranpaging robots.
5. RPG-7: An oldie but a goodie
This weapon needs no introduction. The Soviet designed RPG-7 is by far the most well known and recognizable grenade launcher and is favored by third world armies, rebels and terrorists.
An Afghan policeman being taught how to use the RPG-7
So why would a nearly 50 year old weapon make a good robot killer? Versatility. The large size of the warhead allows for a wide variety of ammunition.
Currently high explosive anti-amour, tandem anti-armour (two charges fired in tandem to defeat reactive armor), fragmentation and even thermobaric ammunition is available. The RPG-7 would make a perfect platform for an anti-Robot weapon such as some sort of Electromagnetic pulse (EMP) device.
Conclusion
The troops in Transformers 2 were very poorly armed. If an alien race of robots landed on earth today, any half-decent arms dealer could could supply much better weapons that what the script writers of the movie came up with.
Hopefully the producers will hire me as a technical consultant before the next Transformers movie comes out
The new Hyper Speed HP load is a very hot load that matches the ballistic characteristics of the CCI Velocitor round. The Hyper Speed HP, like the Velocitor, features a copper plated 40 grain hollow point bullet. The bullet has a published velocity of 1435 fps at the muzzle, which works out to be 183 ft-lbs of muzzle energy.
A significant difference between the CCI load is that is will be sold in a 100 round box, rather than the CCI 50-round box. This suggests it may be quite a lot cheaper that the Velocitor. If it is, I will defiantly consider switching to this for my hyper velocity needs.
Winchester are also introducing a 555 round bulk pack, giving it a slight edge quantity wise over the Federal 525 and 550 bulk packs.
The bulk pack features high velocity (36 grain / 1280 fps) rounds with copper plated hollow point bullets. Nothing fancy.
Overall I am quite impressed with the new offerings from Winchester. I don’t think there is much else they can do as far as rimfire ammunition is concerned.
Colt have recalled six different of their 1911 models. The Slide Lock Safety and Recoil Spring Guide Pad were not build to spec and could wear and break prematurely. The recalled pistol were sold since March 2007.
1911 WWI Replica (O1911) From: 4597WMK To: 5414WMK
1918 WWI Replica (O1918) From: 1001WWI To: 3431WWI
New Agent (O7810D) From: GT01001 To: GT04505
Combat Elite (O8011XSE) From: CG10000E To: CG11293E
Defender (O7000D) From: DR33036 To: DR35948
Talo Night Defender (O7000NDF) From: NDF0001 To: NDF0400
