Guns Holsters and Gear reports:
The first product in the lower receivers line is the LR100 DTI Stripped Lower Receiver, made of hard coat anodized forged 7075 T6 Aluminum. Product includes the stripped lower only, does not include any internal parts. Del-Ton price is $120.00.
Next is the LR101 DTI Complete Lower Receiver. Buyer can choose his own grip and lower parts options. Complete lower receiver includes all internal parts and is completely assembled. Standard price is $180.00.
Finally, the LR102 DTI Complete Lower Receiver with Buttstock. Buyer chooses the buttstock, grip and lower parts options. Complete lower receiver includes all internal parts & buttstock and is completely assembled. Standard price is $240.00.
After a nearly 6 months hiatus I was very pleased see a new post at Tam's The Arms Room. Her latest blog post in the Sunday Smith series covers the S&W Number 1 revolver.
I was very surprised when a reader email me about this new rifle from Winchester. The poor Browning BAR hunting rifle has been through yet another evolution and rebranding.
In early 2008 FN announced a tactical sniper rifle, the FNAR, based on the Browning BAR (FN owns both Browning and Winchester Arms). It added a detachable magazine, pistol grip and top, bottom and side picatinny rails.
The new SX-AR is a heavy barreled FNAR in a Mossy Oak camo finish but without the side rails and full length top rail (interestingly the bottom rail remains). It comes full circle, taking the tactical FNAR improvements back to the hunting market.
| Specifications |
|
| Caliber |
308 Win. |
| Finish |
Mossy Oak Brush |
| Receiver |
Aluminum |
| Magazine Capacity |
10 (compatible with 20 round FNAR magazines) |
| Barrel |
Match grade hammer forged chrome plated heavy contour with recessed target crown |
| Barrel Length |
20" |
| Rate of Twist |
1:12" |
| Overall Length |
41 1/2" |
| Length of Pull |
14 1/8" |
| Weight |
9 lbs. 14 oz. |
| MSRP (Price) |
$1,379.00 |
This rifle will have been developed to fight the new AR-10 based hunting rifles that have been coming into the market, for example, the Remington R-25. I suspect the reason it is being rebranded and marketed under Winchester, and not Browning, is so that the risk of the BAR being named in any Assault Weapon Ban (federal or state) is reduced. The Browning BAR can continue to be a "traditional" styled hunting rifle.
For comparison, there are photos of the SX-AR ancestors ...
A big thank you to Reese for emailing me about this new rifle.
I missed this article when it was published last month, but luckily a reader alerted me to it. The Marine Times reported last month (Sep 21, 2009) that the result of the Infantry AUtomatic Rifle competition will be announced this month!
The Marine Corps plans to announce next month a heavily anticipated plan for the infantry automatic rifle, which is expected to replace the M249 Squad Automatic Weapon in Marine fire teams.
“We’re close to having a decision,” said Maj. John Smith, the weapon’s project officer at Marine Corps Systems Command in Quantico, Va. “I’m on schedule to have a decision on the program to move forward. Maybe within three weeks or so, there will be a lot more information.”
Testing is complete, Smith told Marine Corps Times on Wednesday, and plans are underway to make sure logistics, training and maintenance of the weapon are handled.
The article is not entirely accurate. The Corps will not be replacing the SAW with the IAR, but rather adding the IAR to their weapons mix.
I have covered the Infantry Automatic Rifle many times on the blog.
Many thanks to Walt for telling me about the article.
DPMS have teamed up with Gun Broker to auction off a pink version of their Lite 16" rifle.
100% of the proceeds with go towards Susan G. Komen for the Cure, an organization which supports breast cancer research.
UPDATE:
Hat Tip: ericire12 @ Downrange.tv
Just a joke. The EOTech sight is not attached 
SayUncle was given a 1873 Trapdoor Springfield which belonged to his great grandfather.
Read about it here and the follow up post here.
Michigan based Defcom LLC is a new firm that have designed two lightweight grenade launchers which make maximum use of polymers. They are in a sense the Glocks in a world of Beretta M9s.
The DEFCOM XL 79 COMPOSITE is essentially a M79 that has been brought into the 21st century. It weighs 1.41 kg, about half of the original metal-and-wood M79.
The Defcom M79 type product improved grenade launcher receiver, barrel shroud, stock, and front hand guard are manufactured from composite materials. Double action trigger with shotgun-type safety. Matte finish colors: black, desert sand, or woodland green. Top of barrel fitted with MIL_STD 1913 Picatinny rail system. Rear sight is a detachable flip-up scale graduated to 425 meters. Front sight is fixed. Fixed stock launcher has two (2) sling swivels, folding stock has a third swivel mounted on stock hinge. Ambidextrous safety and barrel latch. M16 style pistol grip.
The other Defcom product is the XL 200 under barrel rail mounted launcher. It weights about 40% less than the M203 and M320 launchers.
XL 200 with American Defense locking
latches. instant on / instant off. The launcher drops free when the latches are opened.
The XL 200 opens by moving forward, and then tips up at a 40 degree angle, which allows it to be loaded with the new larger low velocity less lethal ammunition.
The Defcom 40 mm grenade launcher is designed to mount to any Mil Spec 1913 Picatinny Rail system. It has a double action trigger with ambidextrous safety and barrel latch. Barrel tilts downward and locks at end of forward travel to permit loading of all low velocity 40 mm ammunition. Titanium breech face. Trigger mechanism is modular and can be easily repaired in field. Barrel meets U.S. military specifications for material and rifling.
XL 200 mounted on the XL-220 standalone mount.
I will be watching this new company with interest to see how their products do.
The Defcom website is not yet up, but the sales office can be contacted at 559.585.1712
When I recently blogged about TACOM's efforts to expand the US small arms industrial base, Btr astutely noted that if the government was really interested in expanding the industrial base they would re-open the machine gun registry.
In India the opposite has occurred. The Indian government has a monopoly on the manufacture of civilian arms. Only a limited number of Olympic class shooters are allowed to import guns.
Indian government manufactured "Revolver 32 (7.65 mm x 23)". It costs about US$1366 (excluding taxes).
The consequence of this is that the government factories, which number about 40, can afford to let quality drop because they have a captive market of over 1 billion people. Now even the military are complaining about the monopoly.
The Hindustan Times reports:
“India produces the shoddiest guns in the world and sells them at ridiculously high rates,” says Swaran Singh, who owns an arms repair workshop in Jalandhar. “Every gun which comes out of the factories in Jammu or Bihar or the ordnance factories in Kolkata and Kanpur has a problem,” he says. Guns manufactured by the ordnance are marginally better, adds Singh, who repairs at least 25 new guns manufactured in Indian factories every month.
...
However, private licence-holders aren’t the only ones complaining. Forced to cope with weapons considered virtually obsolete in the international market, armymen are also saying it would be wiser to allow private players to manufacture arms and ammunition. “The government monopoly would break, the quality of weapons would improve and prices would fall,” says an official at the Army Headquarters. Besides producing defective weapons, the ordinance factories also do not meet delivery deadlines, says an official.
Over the years, the army has moved from the 7.62 mm self-loading rifle to the next generation Indian National Small Arms System (INSAS). But this 5.56 mm assault rifle is also known to develop major defects like cold arrest, breakage and cracking of components in strategic areas like the Siachen Glacier, Kargil and other high altitude areas, senior army officials say. Such defects were seen even during the critical Kargil conflict. The government was then forced to allow the import of one lakh AK-47 assault rifles from Romania at a cost of Rs 85 crore.
I highly recommend reading the whole article [ Google Cache Link ] . It gives insight into a unique situation.
Many thanks to Mehul for sending me the link.
I just received a press release saying that RUAG Ammotec, a Swiss firm, has just established a subsidiary in the United States.
RUAG 9mm Luger SINTOX Action 4
It seems like they are more interested in law enforcement and government contract that they are in civilian sales. From the press release:
Precision Ammunition, established in 2001, holds extensive patents for their Copper-Matrix NTF® Non-Toxic Frangible bullet. Providing a healthier shooting environment, Copper-Matrix NTF is particularly well-suited for training law enforcement, military and security personnel, as well as being a perfect match for use in shooting ranges.
“RUAG Ammotec and Precision Ammunition are a perfect fit for each other and will drive forward RUAG Ammotec’s growth strategy worldwide by opening up new markets and strengthening individual product groups. The combination of innovative bullet design with large scale, high quality component production reflects the increasing demand for non-toxic frangible ammunition,” stated Cyril Kubelka, CEO of RUAG Ammotec and a member of the Executive Board of RUAG Holding AG. “Additionally, it establishes a US presence for the RUAG family of business to actively bid on US Government contracts.”
I hope they decide to sell to individuals in the future. They make some very interesting rifle and pistols round.
Just last week we discussed RUAG Ammotec on The Firearm Blog.
Defense Aerospace reports that many of the Walther P1 pistols, which Germany donated to the Afghan police force, have found their way onto the black market. Defense Aerospace reports:
German military pistols are being sold on the black market in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The weapons were sent in 2006 and were intended for local police and army personnel.
Arms dealers in the region told German public radio that hundreds of German weapons were for sale carrying a price tag of over 680 euros a piece ($1,000).
In 2006, the German Defense Ministry shipped 10,000 old Walther-P1 pistols to the Afghan Interior Ministry to equip Afghan police and army. However, both the German government and the responsible US-led security team in Afghanistan reportedly failed to properly monitor the guns' whereabouts.
The US unit said that it only had detailed records of 4,563 pistols out of a total 10,000.
Current and former Afghan soldiers and police officers are said to be among those illegally selling and trafficking the pistols, some of which have ended up in Pakistan's north-west border provinces and neighboring tribal areas.
...
The team of NDR radio reporters who discovered the black market guns said it's not clear exactly how they ended up there.
"Apparently, most of these pistols haven't been stolen, but were simply taken home and sold by former police officers and soldiers after they'd left the service," said Christoph Heinzle, who headed the NDR team. "But corruption and theft cannot be ruled out because neither the Afghan authorities nor the US and German armed forces carry out effective controls to prevent [theft]."
The United States has also come under criticism in the past for losing track of weapons donated to local forces. Short of retina scanning, which is being used to keep track of Iraqi M16 rifles, there is very little that can be done to prevent the end-users stealing the weapons they are issued.
Walther P38 (designated the P1 by the Bundeswehr)
Many thanks to Daniel for the link.
