The Firearm Blog

This Glock 17 pistol, with thumb safety, was designed by Glock for use by the British Army. It was on display at DSEi '09.

Safety in the on position (the safety is the button above the magazine release)

This is not the first Glock designed with a manual safety. Glock has previously designed a Glock 17 for the Tasmanian Police force that featured a standard 1911-style thumb safety.

This safety works differently. In order to engage the safety, it is pushed through the frame with the thumb, much like the magazine release. Disengaging the safety is done with the trigger finger.

At first I thought what a ridiculous mechanism this was until it was explained to me that the SA-80, the British Army service rifle, has a very similar safety which is manipulated in the same way. Glock designed this safety so that it would be familiar to British troops. Very clever!

The SA-80

One problem I do see is an operator going for the magazine release and accidentally engaging the safety. At best it would make the magazine change take longer, at worst the operator could forget to disengage the safety and pull the trigger at a bad guy only to find nothing happens.

I do not know if the British Army are considering replacing their current service pistols or if Glock is just making sure they have a model ready if they do in the future.

Big thank you to Lusaka for the information and photos.

No other shoulder fired firearm throws a bigger mass of lead than the mighty 2 bore rifles. Ever since learning about the existence of these monster arms I have been fascinated by them. Sir Samuel Baker, the famous British adventurer, wrote about his personal 2 Bore rifle named, ironically, "Baby".

I was afraid to use it, but now and then as it was absolutely necessary, it was cleaned after months of staying loaded. On such occasions my men had the gratification of firing it, and the explosion was always accompanied by two men falling on their backs (one having propped up the shooter) and the "Baby" flying some yards behind them. This rifle was made by Holland and Holland, of Bond Street, and I could highly recommend it for the Goliath of Gath, but not for the men of A.D. 1866."

- Sir Samuel Baker -The Albert N'Yanza, Great Basin Of The Nile, 1866 pp.138

Colin, of Stolzer & Son's Gunsmithing, apprenticed under Master Gunsmith Steve Zihn. I have previously covered the amazing 2 Bore that Steve built. Colin assisted Steve with some of the parts for that 2 Bore and recently has been building a 2 Bore himself and chronicling the build in detail on his website.

8 bore ball (middle), approx. 3500 grain 2 Bore ball (right)

He had two main design goals. The first was to slim down the profile of the pistol grip so it was easy hold. This was achieved by building a solid steel boxlock action with dimensions similar to that of an 8 Bore (.835″ in caliber vs. the 1.326″ of a 2 bore¹ ), but which could support the massive 2 bore barrel.

Note the beautiful animal's head hammer.

The second goal was to reduce the recoil as much as possible. In pursuit of lower felt recoil, Colin tried to make the weight of the rifle as close to 30 lbs as possible. By the time it was finished it weighed 24 lbs. For comparison that is more than a loaded M249 Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW)! A recoil pad was added, something purists of these guns avoid (for reasons I cannot fathom).

Adding lead to the stock for weight and balance.

The finished rifle is a beautiful work of art and engineering.

The stock was made from a piece of American Black Walnut cut on Collin's own property.

Colin made matching accessories.

This blog post has only scratched the surface of the detailed documentation, photos and videos that Colin made while building the rifle. I highly recommend reading Colin's account of the process.

Colin told me that he plans on selling his creation. I do not know how much these custom rifles are worth, but I am sure he will discuss it with you if you are interested. His contact details can be found at Stolzer & Son's Gunsmithing.

A big thank you to Colin for providing me with information and letting me use his photos.

Somebody at Marine HQ realized that if you buy a lot of M1911A1 frames, you are probably are going to need slides to go with them!

The Marine Corps System Command (MCSC)intends to issue a solicitation number M67854-09-R-1146 for 1800 M45 .45 cal pistol slides. The Government anticipates a resulting firm fixed price contract for this commercial procurement ...

Slide blueprints available from navy.mil

The slides are for the MEU(SOC) pistols that are used by Force Recon. Daniel Watters noticed that they are referring to the pistols as the M45. Daniel, who knows far more about these things than I do, is not sure if that is an official designation or a colloquial one. Anyone heard of the M45 designation before?

Thanks to Daniel for the link and info.

James explores the idea of using a carbine chambered in a pistol cartridge for home defense (emphasis mine):

The fact that carbines are larger than handguns, and that they are fired while braced against the shoulder, means that the perceived recoil is almost unnoticeable even if you are using Magnum ammunition. A few of my students who were suffering from disabilities painful enough to keep them from using handguns, rifles, or shotguns for their defense had great success when they used carbines. Accurate, light, relatively inexpensive, easy to use. They were literally the answer to a few prayers.

I had not considered before the benefits they would offer to a person with certain disabilities.

Caleb spotted a fellow IDPA competitor using .45 GAP cartridges in a revolver! I had never heard of such a thing before.

The .45 GAP (Glock Auto Pistol) was designed to duplicate the .45 ACP ballistics but in a shorter cartridge more suited to high capacity semi automatics. It is the last thing I would have thought of using in a revolver, but the owner of the wheelgun had some good reasons.

.40 S&W (left) and .45 GAP

This Egyptian Steyr Maadi AKM, which is being auctioned on Gun Broker, was one of the prop AKs from Red Dawn.

Bona Fide Credentials

Last year Ed Friedman got the opportunity to get his photo taken in the legendary WOLVERINES!!! pose with one of the Red Dawn guns. The benefits of working at the NRA!

Hat Tip: Xavier

Aside from the questionable name of SOCOM being applied to air rifles, I really like the styling of these new rifles. Three models will eventually be available but only the Socom Extreme is currently available to be purchased.

The SOCOM EXTREME was created for an all new level in long distance air gun shooting and hunting.

Gamo took their famous 1250 powerplant and re-tuned the beast to deliver a stunning velocity of over 1650 fps using the new PBA Platinum .177 ammo. The powerplant was matched to a precision steel, composite jacketed bull barrel which also helps reduce the larger cocking force. The precision barreled action is mated to a newly designed tactical, light weight composite stock. This specially engineered stock has a long tapered sure grip forend which leads back to pistol grip with palm swell for quick steady mounting. The buttstock features an ergonomically shaped cheekpiece which works for right and left handed shooters. Each SOCOM EXTREME air rifle is fitted with a special 3-9x50 Scope with red, green and blue illuminated glass etched reticle securely anchored by the Gamo solid one-piece mount. The composite stock reduces gun weight to a manageable 9 lbs compared to a heavier wood stock air rifle.

MSRP $399.95

SOCOM EXTREME

The SOCOM TACTICAL is the ultimate air rifle for high performance flexibility for day or night shooting. The Tactical composite stock has a custom molded forepiece and palm swell grip area for maximum control. The fully adjustable tactical comb has a raised cheekpiece and allows for an instant sight picture adjustment using the optical or the included fiber optic fixed sights. The receiver is topped with a precision 3-9x40 AR Scope anchored by a solid Gamo one-piece rail mount. The scope is fitted with a powerful, fully adjustable precision laser and light which quickly readies the SOCOM TACTICAL for night operations. The 26" barrel is made of precision rifled steel and is shrouded in a fully composite jacketed fluted polymer bull barrel. The barrel on the SOCOM TACTICAL is also fitted with the Gamo ND52, Noise Dampening Technology muzzle dampner. Combined with outstanding velocity at nearly 1300 fps with new PBA Platinum .177 ammo. The Tactical is fully capable of handling any backyard varmint incursions 52% quieter than a standard spring air rifle.

MSRP $329.95

SOCOM TACTICAL

The SOCOM CARBINE is specially configured to offer quick mounting and target acquisition. Its Gamo power plant is tuned to deliver a sizzling velocity of nearly 1300 fps with the new PBA Platinum ammo through a short, composite jacketed, precision rifled .177 cal steel barrel. The 3-9x40 precision AR scope is securely anchored to the receiver by the solid, one-piece Gamo mount. The long eye relief and brilliantly clear optic work in tandem with the special all-weather composite stock with sure-grip forend, palm swell pistol grip and adjustable comb with cheekpiece. The shooter can instantly adjust the stock for his or her comfort.

MSRP $329.95

SOCOM CARBINE

You saw it here first! I had no idea that Sig Sauer were making AR-15 / M16 rifles but my DSEi spy spotted this prototype SIG516 ¹ PDW at the DSEi 09 expo. It features a 7" barrel, putting it firmly in the PDW class, and chambers the 5.56mm NATO.

The SIG 516

Markings indicate manufacture at the Sig Sauer plant in Exeter, NH, USA

I do not know if Sig plan on a civilian carbine version. If they did it would compete directly with their Sig 550 line of full length and short barreled rifles.

UPDATE: jcmiller points out that the lower receiver is semi-automatic. A production PDW would have to be fully automatic. Maybe Sig are thinking of civilian sales.

UPDATE:

The SIG516 Tactical Rifle line has three different models:

• SIG516 PDW : 7" barrel. A personal defense weapon (pictured above).
• SIG516 CQB : 10" barrel. A Colt M4 Commando equvelent.
• SIG516 BASELINE CARBINE : 14.5" barrel. A M4 Carbine equvelent.
• SIG516 Patrol. 16" barrel.
• SIG516 Tactical Marksman: 16" barrel A squad level sniper / designated marksmen rifle.
• SIG516 Precision Marksman: 20" barrel. Possibly a true sniper rifle, or designated marksmen rifle.

They are all piston operated and feature an adjustable gas regulator like the Ruger SR-556.

Upper receiver assemblies will be sold. Just before anyone gets their hopes up, while it is likely that Sig will sell civilians models, this has not been confirmed.

Big thank you to Lusaka for the information and photos.

I made a couple of additions and one alteration to Joe's Journalists Guide to Firearm Identification.

Guides like this should be regularly updated with the latest terminology. When they are not updated you get journalists writing nonsense, like we saw yesterday on The Firearm Blog.

On display at the DSEi 2009 defense expo was this cut down Benelli Super Nova pump action shotgun. Apparently it is popular with South American Law Enforcement.

In this short and stock-less configuration it is more like a pistol than it is a shotgun.

The information and photo were kindly provided by Lusaka who took the time to hunt for, and photograph, new and interesting arms on display at the expo. Thanks Lusaka, your efforts are appreciated. More cool guns from the show will be posted tomorrow.