Metal Storm seems to have survived the ... uuuggghhh ... storm. This video shot by the US Navy (who funds Metal Storm research) shows a Metal Storm FireStorm 40mm grenade launcher mounted on a iRobot 710 Warrior unmanned ground vehicle.
The four barreled FireStorm holds 24 40mm grenades.
[ Many thanks to Daniel Watters for emailing me the vid. ]
Tyler has photos from the new Hollywood Guns exhibit at the National Firearms Exhibit. This photo is of the Barrett M107 used in The Hurt Locker.
Michael Bane reports.
I have been remiss in not discussing Hornady's new Superformance Ammunition before now. The Superformance loads attain a 100-200 fps increase in muzzle velocity at standard SAAMI pressures (ie. they are not hot loads). Hornady’s chief ballistics scientist told American Hunter ...
“Until now, center-fire ammunition performance has been based on the IMR-series propellants developed in the 1930s and ’40s,” he said.
They achieve this by developing a set of new powders and blending these powders specifically for each cartridge so that all the powders burns completely inside the barrel. This allows maximum power transferred to the cartridge but also lower muzzle blast, thereby reducing recoil.
Graphs from the Superformance White Paper ...
So why have handloaders not attempted this before? I am sure some have, but blending powders is dangerous because the pressure curve cannot be predicted. You cannot create a load made up of 50% of Powder A and 50% of Powder B and assume max pressure will equal (Amax+Bmax)/2 or when the maximum pressure will occur.
Currently Hornady is offering Superformance loads in .243 Win, .257 Roberts, .25-06 Rem., 6.5mm Creedmoor, , 7mm Rem Mag, .270 Win., 7mm-08 Rem., .300 Win. Mag, .300 RCM, .308 Win. .308 Win., 30-06 Springfield, .338 Win Mag, .338 RCM, .375 H&H , .375 Ruger and .458 Win.
It is interesting to note that Hornady is not offering any intermediate/varmint cartridges. A Superformance 5.56mm round tuned for the M4 (but fully compatible with other 5.56mm systems) would be very useful.
It is good to see commonsense prevailing. ArmyTimes reports ...
The Army is finally going to give soldiers the green light to paint their black weapons so they blend in with the terrain on the battlefield.
Soldiers have been using commercially available, spray-on camouflage paint since the beginning of the war — despite an unenforced Army policy prohibiting the practice.
Allowing troops to color their rifles may also help prevent the enemy identifying higher value targets such as the tan-colored M110 Semi-Automatic Sniper System. I have long since wondered why the M110 was not finished in black, which would allow it to blend in with the black M4s and M16s.
[ Many thanks to Fred for emailing me the link. ]
Hi Y'all,
Thanks for your kind words, I am feeling a bit better and I plan to be back blogging on Tuesday.
But ...
I have amassed hundreds of emails in my inbox. I estimate is would take many hours to reply to them all. It would mean another whole week of no blogging in order to clear the inbox 
I know you want me back blogging, and I want to be back blogging, so to achieve this I am going to have to clear my inbox as fast as possible.
This means I will read but not reply to the vast majority of emails that are currently in my inbox. I promise to read them all so if you have sent me tips or press releases I will be sure to file them away for future blogging.
If you have emailed me regarding business, freelance writing or advertising I will do my best to get back to you ASAP. If I have not done so by the end of the week, feel free to send me a reminder.
I enjoy conversing with all of you, and will resume writing personal replies to all the emails I receive after the end of the week.
Thank you for your patience.
Sorry guys, I have been sick during the past week so been unable to blog as much. I should be better in a few days.
Anyone who has visited Vegas knows that there is money to be made selling range time to tourists. There are advertisements for machine gun shooting everywhere. Apparently it is also big business in the US territories of Guam.
The Japanese monarchs and governments have never trusted them to own guns. Apparently heading to Guam, a three hour flight from Tokyo, is how many of them get their fix. A Japanese guy has documented his past three trips to shoot guns in Guam
[ Many thanks to Yoshi for emailing me the link. ]
From the NYT ...
As envisioned, the teams will work like American politicians who campaign door to door and learn what voters care about. A team is to arrive in a village, get permission from the male elder to speak with the women, settle into a compound, hand out school supplies and medicine, drink tea, make conversation and, ideally, get information about the village, local grievances and the Taliban.
...
On patrols, the women will carry M-4 rifles, which are shorter and more maneuverable than the military’s standard M-16s, but once inside an Afghan compound, and with Marine guards posted outside, they have been instructed, assuming they feel safe, to remove their rifles and take off their intimidating “battle rattle” of helmets and body armor.
In my opinion the article implies that these woman are being treated less-equal than the male Marines when behind the wire, but isn't it standard operating procedure to remove armor and helmet?
UPDATE: As some commenters realized, I misinterpreted "Afghan compound" to mean inside their base of operations, not inside a native compound.
[ Many thanks to Mik for emailing me the link. ]
There has been a lot of discussion about the 5.56mm cartridge recently. I highly recommend reading Daniel Watters's history of the development of the 5.56x45mm cartridge. It is incredibly detailed and continuously updated.
