Robinson Armament has produced a video demonstrating the "over the beach" capabilities of their XCR rifle. It performs admirably.
Head on over to the XCR Forums and download the HD version of the video. It is over 100mb but the quality is worth it.
Many thanks to Pete for sending me the link to the video.
Guest author Wayne Watson who wrote the recent blog post The Walker Colt – by A. Uberti has written a book. It, of course, features a gun on the cover 
Just $2 in electronic format.
EmptorMaven has reviewed the NATO conversion kit for the Steyr AUG SA. The kit allows the use of STANAG (AR-15) magazines.
Steyr has always offered the NATO version as an option to military customers, but no country, as far as I know, has chosen to adopt it over the standard AUG.
CAA Tactical are selling a new Glock Carbine conversion kit called the RONI-G1 for €380 (US$567 at the current exchange rate).
More information and a video at Armed & Amphibious.
I am in full agreement with David Crane, who says that the VBR-B Compact is "arguably the most intelligently-developed PDW weapon/ammo concept to date". Why? It is small, can fire 9x19mm armor piercing ammunition, uses glock magazines, includes a foregrip and is not much bigger than a Desert Eagle pistol.
I highly recommend the detailed article David wrote about is at Defense Review.
UPDATE: PersonalDefenseWeapons.com also has info about the gun.
A common misconception is that the desire for high capacity firearms is a relatively new phenomenon. This is far from the truth. Since the at least the mid 1800s designers had been experimenting with many novel ideas in an attempt to increase magazine capacity, mostly with little success.
Early next month, the Rock Island Auction Company will be auctioning off a collection of prototype arms which include some interesting "high-cap" guns.
The bullet chamber houses nine pinfire 38 cartridges. The action functions in both single and double action. There is lower trigger attached to the rear of the primary trigger which fits through a slot in the bottom of the trigger guard that when pulled back advances the chamber and cocks the hammer. To fire double action one simply uses the primary trigger in the traditional manner. Fitted
Estimated Price: $9,0000 - $14,000
Manufactured circa 1878, this unusual and rare rifle features a chain housed in the frame and stock which holds 80 rounds of centerfire cartridges. The "endless chain" has carrying cups that hold the rounds. Once loaded the rifle can be fired as fast as the trigger can be pulled. The belt is revolved until a chamber (or cup) faces the barrel. At the same time a long firing pin is retracted. An inner barrel is drawn back through the heavy outer barrel until it covers the bullet end of the cartridge. When the long drag on the trigger end, the final pressure releases the needle like firing pin, which drives through a small opening in the base of the cup detonating the cartridge primer. The rifle fires a lead conical bullet which is hollowed out to accommodate the powder
Estimated Price: $6,500 - $9,500
Patented by Captain Josiah Meigs in 1866, this carbine is fitted with a unique action which provided a level of firepower virtually unknown in the era, with a potential rate of fire of nearly 160 rounds per minute, as compared to the 200 rounds per minute of the Model 1861 Gatling Gun. Blade front and flip-up adjustable rear sights, with no visible makers marks. The buttstock of the arm consists of a buttplate and carved walnut cheekpiece fitted to the 50-round tube magazine, which contains a replaceable 5-track rotating frame with spacers for 10 rounds per track. These frames could be preloaded, cutting down reload times substantially. Mounted on a rail between a pair of mortised tracks is the trigger guard assembly, which has a checkered firing trigger and a smooth long release trigger, and is reciprocated back and forth to rotate the magazine frame and move the breechblock, which extends up out of the frame to eject spent cartridges, Full length forearm with raised decorative carving and cord wrap, leaf pattern raised carving on the cheekpiece and nickel finished brass buttplate.
This design resembles the helical-feed magazine design used by the Calico guns and its clones that were designed over 100 years later!
Global Security report ...
Eight servicemen were killed and two injured on Monday in a new explosion at an arms depot in the city of Ulyanovsk, in Russia's Volga region, a Defense Ministry spokesman said.
Col. Alexei Kuznetsov said the explosion occurred when ammunition was being loaded into a truck.
This happens just 10 days after since the last ammo dump explosion in Ulyanovsk. RTE News (via. Shooters Log) report ...
The blasts took place while munitions were being detonated in a controlled operation at the city's number 31 arms depot, the Ulyanovsk branch of Russia's FSB security service said in a statement.
May the dead rest in peace, and the military prevent this tragedy happening for a third time.
Inevitably, Kel-Tec's new .22 Magnum (WMR) chambered PMR-30 pistol will be compared to the FN Five-seveN pistol which fires the ballistically similar 5.7x28mm cartridge. If people are not saying it now, they will be soon saying that the .22 Magnum is the same as the 5.7x28mm. I used to say the same thing. It turns out that this is far from the truth.
Kel-Tec have stated [PDF Link] that a 40 grain .22 WMR round should reach a velocity of 1230 fps from the 4.3" barrel of their PMR-30 pistol. This works out to 134.40 ft/lbs of energy.
This is a significantly less than the FN Five-seveN USG (4.75" barrel), which can push a 40 grain bullet at 2009 fps. This works out to 358.57 ft/lbs! Nearly three times as powerful as the .22 WMR! 1
This does not mean that the .22 WMR is not a good cartridge. It simply means that the 5.7mm is optimized to be fired from a pistol, rather than the slower burning .22 WMR loads which are designed to be fired from a rifle.
UPDATE: Added correct link to specs on Kel-Tec's website : http://www.kel-tec-cnc.com/downloads/SHOT2010_preview_keltec_PMR-30.pdf [PDF Link]
I assume that the 5.8mm load mentioned above it a hot load. I also assume that Kel-Tec will be publishing the results of the best performing ammunition they could find ↩
This monster of a gun is manufactured by German firm WTS Waffentechnik in Suhl GmbH. While it is technically a pistol, it weights just about the same as the M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle!
The action is of a single shot design which requires the bolt to be removed in order to load another round. Two large lugs keep the bolt in place.
| Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Length of barrel | 430 mm / 16.92" |
| Total length | 615 mm / 24.21" |
| Weight | 7.2 kg / 15.87 lbs. |
| Caliber | .50 BMG |
| Action | single shot bolt action with 2 lugs |
| Sight | picatinny rail for scope |
| Ignition mechanism. | striker (firing pin) |
| Trigger mechanism. | multi-stage, adjustable |
| Safety | grip safety |
| Muzzle brake | two recoil-reducing chambers |
| Proof | Suhl proofhouse |
German gun magazine Visier are featuring the pistol in their December issue. This is a real gun, not a hoax!
Many thanks to Sven (Defense and Freedom) for emailing me the info about the pistol.
Zoltan, who recently translated one of my articles in Hungarian, was kind enough to explain the gun laws in Hungary.
No restrictions: air rifles and air guns (airsofts too) are free to buy and shoot at home if it is under 7.5 J (5.53 ft/lbs) in energy of the bullets.
No restrictions to purchase but able to carry hidden only with a simple license: the gas/alarm guns. Some of them can fire rubber balls, but it must loaded seperately from the ammo.
No restrictions to purchase museal guns, which works with seperated bullet, blackpowder and primer. Blackpowder and primer is only keeping by fire fields, so you can keep at home only the weapon and the bullets, nothing else. There are a special type of the museal guns, wich works with a 9mm R blanc or a 6 mm FB platz and fires rubber or metal bullets. You can use them at home, for home defence (the bigger patron and the gum, check my picture gallery "Gumilövedékes teszt") or practice. For practice, the best is a modified TOZ-8. You must not bear them in the street.
Shooting Rubber Balls. Many more interesting photos here.Real Firearms: You need serious and expensive licences and a long procedure, if you want to buy a real firearm for sport. It could be semi-automatic. Our sportshooters are less year by year. Of course, you need the same procedure, if your airgun is stronger than 7.5 J.
If you need a real gun for self defense, it is almost impossible. For the cops, soldiers too. If you get the licence (smaller wonder), you are limited to two guns. You can be allowed to carry them hidden, of course.
Gas aerosols (pepper spray): Most of them have no restrictions to buy and carry.
Knives: Blade must be under 8 cm. You must not hold automatic knives, or "french" knives (automatic knife where the blade shoots out of the handle).
It is sad to hear that these restrictions are causing a decline in participation of shooting sports.
I am always interesting in hear about gun laws in other countries.
Many thanks to Zoltan.
