The Firearm Blog

This is an old video, but I got a good laugh watching it again.

[ Many thanks to jdun1911 for emailing me the link. ]

From the Zel Custom website ...

If you have a Tactilite T1 .50 BMG that has a bell-shaped handle with 3/16" threading and a roller (as shown below), there is the potential for an out of battery detonation and very serious injury, up to and including death. Do not fire your weapon and contact us immediately.

We have found that some of these handles can be over-tightened so as to bind the firing pin. If you have a unit that fits this description, regardless of whether you have fired it safely in the past, we ask that you contact us immediately to arrange for replacement components.

We are not aware of any incident of an out of battery detonation or any injury. However, we have been able to make this happen in controlled conditions and out of caution we ask that customers contact us immediately to arrange a free replacement.

At Zel Custom Mfg. we are dedicated to providing high quality, American-made products at a great price, and the safety of our customers is paramount. Again, we ask that regardless of whether you've used your unit safely in the past, please contact us immediately to arrange a free replacement of components.

Ten rounds.

Why did I stuff ten rounds into a empty case? Some people measure case capacity in Milliliters, I prefer to measure it in Longrifles. For comparison a .338 Laupa has a capacity of 3 LRs.

I admit it is not the most accurate method of gauging case capacity

Last year American Tactical Imports was forced to take their GSG-5, a .22 MP5 patterned pistol and rifle, off the market after they were successfully sued by H&K for trade dress infringement. You can imagine my surprise when I saw them on display at SHOT only a couple of months after the lawsuit.

It turns out H&K had initially sued them over a long list of complaints. Most of these, the trade dress infringement being the sole exception, were thrown out of court. By simply making some design changes to avoid the GSG-5 being confused with the H&K MP5, ATI has been able to bring the gun back into the market under the GSG-522 name. The GSG-522 design was signed off by H&K and no royalties are required to be paid.

The GSG-522 has many subtle design changes. The biggest changes are ...

• Textured pistol grip
• Redesigned selector switch
• Picatinny rail on top
• Square "open" front sight rather than the classic H&K ring front sight.
• Integrated sling bracket (on trigger guard ... looks a bit flimsy to me)

New GSG-522 Pistol (bottom) compared to original GSG-5 PK Pistol

Close up of the new sight.

It still retains the MP5 style but is much less likely to mistaken for a real MP5 (although in reality the original GSG-5 would also not have been confused with the real deal).

The joke is that ATI will offer "upgrade" kits that will allow you to retrofit a GSG-522 to look like the original GSG-5.

GSG-522 Pistol and SD Carbine (with 110 round drum!!!)

The GSG-522 will be available in many configurations:

• GSG-522 Carbine with 16.25" barrel
• GSG-522 SD Carbine with 16.25" barrel (MP5-SD style)
• GSG-522 Pistol with 9" barrel
• GSG-522PK Pistol (MP5K style) with 4.25" barrel

The carbines will be available in black, nickel and camo finish. Each model will ship with either a 10 round or 22 round magazine.

One of the coolest features of the new GSG-522 line is the 110 round drum magazine.

The drum does not need to be wound. This is a plus, although I imagine after 75 rounds your fingers are going to be very tired (a mag loader is not yet available). An adapter will be offered at a later time which will allow the magazine to be used with the ATI GSG Kalashnikov.

As soon as this drum goes on sale you can be sure that in no time Youtube will be filled with videos of people dumping 100 rounds as quickly as possible

I do not yet have pricing info for the drum or GSG-5 firearms.

GSG-522PK

One of the criticisms levied at the Bushmaster ACR by the internet gun community was that it was only available with a 1:9 barrel twist. Bushmaster has quietly updated their website and added a 1:7 twist rate barrel as an option alongside the 1:9.

The 1:7 twist helps stabilize the heavy 75 grain bullets.

These advertisements appeared in issues of Guns Magazine in 1959.

At that price I would haven taken 'em all.

The Blue Book of Gun Values has increase in price as much as the guns inside it.

The following advertisement for Norma ammunition surprised me because it is so modern looking in contrast the above ads. Compare it with the cover of Hornady's Handbook of Cartridge Reloading (below).

Cover of Hornady's Handbook of Cartridge Reloading (7th Edition)

[ Many thanks to Tarkan for emailing me the pics. ]

Prexis plans on selling a US made kit version of the Enfield L85 / SA80. The PL85 kit contains all the parts needed to build the rifle. The catch? The lower receiver which will require bending into shape.

I have no word on pricing or when this kit will be on sale.

Refer to state law before building your own rifle and don't even think about building with the intention of selling unless you want the BATFE knocking down your door!

British made Enfield L85A

[ Many thanks to Kenneth for emailing me the info. ]

UPDATE: Preorder price is $1800. Final list price will be $2400.

The last gun Garand worked on before retirement was the T-31 Bullpup. From the Springfield Armory website ...

U.S. RIFLE GARAND T31 "BULLPUP" .30 (T65E1) SN# 2 Manufactured by Springfield Armory, Springfield, Ma. - Limited prototype experimental select-fire weapon shoulder weapon; never went into production. Lightweight, selective full and semiautomatic rifle with an in-line stock in an attempt to reduce recoil. Cyclic rate of fire 600 rpm. Weapon weighs approximately 8.7 lbs. without accessories. Handguard cooled by circulating fresh air. German FG42 rear sight. Rubber stock and handguard. This was the last model worked on by John Garand.

What is especially interesting about this gun is the recoil system. The tube that surrounds the barrel is not a handguard but gas tube (I use the term lightly). A small around of gas deflected by the muzzle brake would enter the tube causing a shockwave to ripple down the tube towards the receiver end where it would actuate a piston. The system did not work very well because the tube would accumulate 3 grains of dirt for every shot fired!

Garand retired before the second version of the rifle was complete and so the project was terminated. The legacy of this rifle can be seen in the magazine design which was adopted for the M14 rifle.

[ Many thanks to Sven (Defense and Freedom) for emailing me the the info. ]

Two years after burying his Glock 21, this guy digs it up, washes it off with water and, without any lube, fires 500 rounds of .45 ACP through it. Not bad.

[ Many thanks to jdun1911 for emailing me the link. ]

Back in August (2009) the Department of Justice published their intention to purchase AR-15 carbines chambered in .40 S&W from Rock River Arms.

Civilian model of the LAR-40. FBI will probably use a short barreled version.

Their reasons for choosing the RRA LAR-40 carbine is that, because they already use AR-15s, training and maintenance will be minimized. From the solicitation notice ...

BASED ON THE MARKET RESEARCH AND FBI REQUIRMENTS, , USE OF A COLT PATTERN .40 S&W CALIBER CARBINE, WILL RESOLVE THE MAINTENANCE ISSUE, ENSURING A RELIABLE SOURCE OF PISTOL CALIBER CARBINES. FURTHER, THE ROCK RIVER ARMS LAR40 PISTOL CALIBER CARBINE WILL ALLOW THE FBI TO MAXIMIZE TRAINING, SINCE THE OPERATIN SYSTEM AND CONTROLS ARE VIRTUALLY IDENTICAL TO THE COLT PATTERN 5.56 X 45 ADDITION, BY USE OF A COMMON WEAPON PLATFORM, THERE IS A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF PARTS INTERCHANGEABILITY BETWEEN EXISTIN FBI 5.56 X 45 MM LAR15 ROCK RIVER ARMS CARBINES AND THE LAR40, FURTHER ENHANCING THE COST EFFECTIVENESS OF THIS ACQUISITION. THE FBI REQUIRES AN INTEGRAL MAGAZINE WELL (AS OPPOSED TO A PINNED MAGAZINE WELL ADAPTOR) AND A CALIBER DEDICATED MAGAZINE, DEVELOPED SPECIFICALLY FOR THIS WEAPON SYSTEM AND CALIBER, WHICH ENSURES THE LEVEL OF RELIABILITY REQUIRED BY FBI SPECIAL AGENTS DURING HIGH RISK SITUATIONS. THE FBI REQUIRES THIS CARBINE TO BE MANUFACTURED IN .40 S&W CALIBER, WHICH WILL PROVIDE GREATER OPERATIONAL EFFECIENTCY, SINCE BOTH THE ISSUED SERVICE PISTOL AND THE PISTOL CALIBERCOLT PATTERN CARBINE WILL BE CHAMBERED FOR THE SAME AMMUNITION (I.E., .40 S&W CALIBER). ROCK RIVER ARMS IS THE ONLY MANUFACTURER KNOWN TO MEET THESE CRITICAL REQUIREMENTS.

You have got to hand it to the FBI, first 20mm rifles and now AR-15 carbines chambered in .40 S&W, they do think outside the box.

[ Many thanks to jdun1911 for emailing me the link. ]