The Firearm Blog

The Marine Times reports that the USMC have adopted the new SOST (Special Operations Science and Technology) 5.56mm ammunition ...

The open-tipped rounds until now have been available only to Special Operations Command troops. The first 200,000 5.56mm Special Operations Science and Technology rounds are already downrange with Marine Expeditionary Brigade-Afghanistan, said Brig. Gen. Michael Brogan, commander of Marine Corps Systems Command. Commonly known as “SOST” rounds, they were legally cleared for Marine use by the Pentagon in late January, according to Navy Department documents obtained by Marine Corps Times.

SOCom developed the new rounds for use with the Special Operations Force Combat Assault Rifle, or SCAR, which needed a more accurate bullet because its short barrel, at 13.8 inches, is less than an inch shorter than the M4 carbine’s. Using an open-tip match round design common with some sniper ammunition, SOST rounds are designed to be “barrier blind,” meaning they stay on target better than existing M855 rounds after penetrating windshields, car doors and other objects.

The full name and designation of the round is the MK 318 MOD 0 "Cartridge, Caliber 5.56mm Ball, Carbine, Barrier". The 62 grain bullet was designed by Federal / ATK. It features an open tip with lead at the front and a thick copper base. The lead is designed to defeat barriers and the copper to penetrate the barrier.

Trophy Bonded Bear Claw

Many have said that it closely resembles the Federal Trophy Bonded Bearclaw bullet. Personally I think the similarities are superficial.

It should be noted that the bullet is open tip, not hollow point. Bartholomew Roberts explains ...

It isn't a hollow point. It is an Open-Tip Match round much like the M118LR. The jacket is drawn from the base (instead of the cheaper method of jacket drawn from the nose and an exposed lead base) to the tip of the bullet. The tiny little hole there is just a remnant from jacketing the bullet that way. It isn't designed for expansion or calculated to cause unnecessary suffering, so it doesn't violate the Hague conventions

The load has been optimized for ballistic performance and reduced muzzle flash from short barrels. From a 14" barrel is achieves 2925 fps.

A 7.62mm version of this round, the MK 319 MOD 0, has also been developed. It also has been optimized for short barrels (16") but also for reduced recoil. I have not heard of any adoption outside the special forces.

[ Many thanks to Matt Groom and Stu C. for the info. ]

UPDATE: The Marines are not dumping the standard M855 round, but will be the SOST alongside it in situations where the SOST will be more effective.

This is not going to make customers happy ...

If you purchased a GSG 5 SD model with a barrel shroud (Fake Suppressor) ATF has now determined that this is regulated by the NFA and must be replaced. To all retail customers:

On January 2010 American Tactical Imports Inc received official notification from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and explosives that the original barrel shroud (aka: fake suppressor) supplied with your GSG 5 SD model must be replaced. It has been determined that this shroud is regulated under the National Firearms Act. American Tactical will provide a replacement shroud at no charge for each GSG 5 SD model sold or currently in inventory.

More info at Gun Trust Lawyer.

Cavalry Arms, a manufacturer polymer AR-15 lowers and furniture, have quit the firearm business. From the press release ...

Dear Friends and Loyal Customers:

As you may be aware, we have been engaged in an ongoing dispute with the ATF for the past two years. While Cavalry Arms has at all times tried its best to run a lawful and honest shop, unfortunately, some regulatory compliance mistakes were made. We have now come to the point where we feel it is in our best interest to close our FFL and to cease all firearms operations. The owner of Cavalry Arms, Shawn Nealon, has elected to leave the firearms business and concentrate on firearms accessories instead. We are currently in negotiations with another company for that company to purchase the CAV-15 product line. Rest assured that any resulting purchase agreement will address the issue of providing service and support with regard to existing CAV-15 firearm products. We will continue to manufacture quality plastic components, grow our Medical products line, and work to bring new innovations to the relevant markets. Over the next several weeks we will be conducting a wind-down of our firearms manufacturing and FFL operations. Accordingly, please do not send us any firearms for repair or replacement. Instead, such issues should be addressed to the ultimate purchaser of our assets. Due to our limited personnel resources, during this transition/operation wind-down period, the final processing and shipping of firearm receivers already in our inventory will be our first priority.

We deeply appreciate your patience and understanding and anticipate that the relevant asset purchaser will begin operations in March of 2010. We sincerely thank you for your prior and ongoing support during these troubled times and look forward to better years ahead.

Thank you, Cavalry Arms

Very sad news.

[Hat Tip: SaysUncle]

The ad is sadly ironic.

An interesting piece of intel I picked up at SHOT was that C-MORE are considering civilian sales of their M26 Modular Accessory Shotgun System.

I love this photo. M26 Pistol (top), Standalone version (middle), M4 underslung version (bottom)

The pistol and underslung version would have NFA requirements (destructive devices AOW or Short Barreled Shotgun) but the standalone "carbine" would be civilian legal without any paperwork if the barrel was extended to 18".

The M26 is a breaching tool and not designed as an anti-personnel weapon. It was chosen by the US military over the KAC Masterkey and Remington MCS Accessory Weapon, both of which use the Remington Model 870 shotgun as a base. The M26 distributes its weight further back compared with the 870 and so it feels lighter.

Remington Model 870 MCS Accessory Weapon

MrSteve has posted unboxing photos of his new Bison 6.8 SPC AR-15 upper. Worth taking a look.

Before

After

Bison Armory is partly owned by blogger extraordinaire SayUncle.

UltiMAK has developed a forward optics mount for Arsenal's AK-74U clones, the SLR-107UR, and SLR-106UR. It is not listed on their website but OneSourceTactical are selling it for $114.99.

Very cool. Now I wish they would develop a mount for the SKS (I hate gas tube mounts).

Prof. Osvaldo Gatto is a Argentinian gun maker who has quite a following around the world. He makes reproductions of a variety of weapons ranging from swords to blackpowder cannons and everything in between.

I love the clean lines on the reproduction of a German wheel lock pistol from the 1630s. It sells for $1700 (USD)

His Enfield Pistol reproduction sells for $600.

Lots more photos of the guns he makes over at his website.

[ Many thanks to Mehul for emailing me the link. ]

The new 300-SD for .300 Win. Mag. and .308 Win. is a baby version of the .338 LM TiTAN-QD. Unfortunately civilian sales are on hold until military contracts have been fulfilled.

By the way, AAC are advertising for an assembler position.

The Bushmaster ACR may have gotten all the attention from the press, but Bushmaster have also launched a few other products. The Bushmaster MOE is a new entry-level M4-style carbine which features Magpul MOE accessories. They feature an MOE collapsible stock, MOE pistol grip, MOE polymer hand guard, MBUS rear flip sight and Magpul PMAG.

Available in Black, Flat Dark Earth and Foliage Green

Bushmaster are now selling a AR-15 chambered in 7.62x39mm. The carbine takes 7.62x39mm specific magazines that hold 26 rounds. From its 16" M4-profile barrel Bushmaster say it will achieve 2300 FPS velocity with 122 gr. bullets.

It is available with either a 6-position M4-style stock or a fixed A2-style stock.