The Firearm Blog

A couple of days ago I posted a photo of a crude AK rifle that had been turned into a bolt action. A few readers noted that they saw guns like it when they were serving in Afghanistan.

These gun appear to have been mass manufactured, probably in the semi-autonomous tribal region of Pakistan. REMOV emailed in these photos of another example ...

They are more sophisticated than I imagined. As you can see, custom magazines have also been produced. The rifle base is based on the AKM. The bolt action appears to be inspired by the Enfield P14.

This gun actually makes plenty of sense. The tribal regions do build automatic AK rifles chambered in full power cartridges such as 8mm Mauser but a bolt action chambered in such a cartridge would be easier to build, lighter to carry and safer to shoot. Any operator familiar with the AK would be comfortable with its ergonomics. In fact, in the United States and Europe, AR-15s can be purchased as bolt action rifles. Many competition shooters use bolt action rifles that are much inspired by the AR-15 ergonomics.

Custom Bolt Action AR-15.

Photo from Accurate Shooter

[ Many thanks to REMOV for sending me info and photos. ]

UPDATE: This video shot in Multan, Pakistan, shows a woman handling a bolt action AK.

Thanks to overzero for the link.

Mossberg has added a field length over-and-under double barrel shotgun to their budget Maverick brand. The Maverick Hunter has a 3" 12 gage chamber and a blued 28" barrel. The stock is polymer. Two choke tubes are provided (improved cylinder and modified).

I am willing to bet that next year at SHOT we will see a tactical double barrel maverick branded shotgun to compete with the Stoeger Double Defense.

MSRP is $411.

Glenn M. Gilbert of American Rifleman reviews the ACR ...

Was the ACR worth the wait? To my way of thinking, the question is moot. Bushmaster didn’t tie up anyone’s money by taking orders it wouldn’t be able to fill or leave anyone hopelessly unarmed. The ACR also didn’t become obsolete or antiquated during the time it was in development. So I don’t see any point in judging the Bushmaster ACR on anything other than its merits. The gun certainly delivers on performance and handling, and given the speed with which one can change the barrel, it is certainly adaptable.

I do agree with Glenn's sentiments. On the other hand, it is only luxury items such as Rolex watches, 8-ply toilet paper and diamond rings where the price:performance ratio not important.

Most people understood that theH&K MR556 was always going to be a luxury item. The Magpul Masada was supposed to be, or at least we thought it would be, a rifle of the people.

Browning has added a stainless model to their BLR lever-action takedown line of rifles. The new 81 Lightweight Stainless features a nickel finished receiver and stainless barrel. It will be offered in both short and long actions. The MSRP will be $1149 to $1199 depending on the cartridge it is chambered on.

I have always wanted a high quality takedown hunting rifle but there is always something I have needed wanted more. We have an expensive hobby!

Steyr Mannlicher has just been awarded a patent (US7698844) for an innovative rifle box magazine design. The patent application was first published by the USTPO back in 2008, so it may be already being used in some of the newer Steyr rifles (in the future I must start examining the magazines on new rifles).

The design allows for multiple cartridges to be fed from the same base magazine. A clip is inserted into the front of the mag which changes the feeding angle. This allows for cheaper manufacturing because one magazine can be produced instead of one type per cartridge offered.

Clip indicated by arrow.

The scenes in this movie are from the upcoming French film entitled "The Dodging Bullets". Aurelien, a French military and firearm expert who frequently comments on the blog, was one of the film's technical advisors. Good job Aurelien!

Hopefully the film will be released internationally with english subtitles.

UPDATE: The film is entered in this film festival / competition.

Steyr Mannlicher (The European firm, not to be confused with Steyr USA) is selling , or will be so shortly, a range of AUG carbines chambered in 9x19mm NATO and 9x21mm IMI¹. The STEYR AUG Z A3 9mm is a very cool looking gun.

Standard Model

The standard model is chambered in 9mm NATO and has a 16.5" barrel. The Italians, who are not allowed to own military cartridges, are getting a 9x21mm model with a 13" barrel.

With Muzzle brake

Italian 9x21mm model. How cool is this?

The magazine capacity is 25 rounds. The standard model has an overall length of 27.6" and weights 7.3 lbs.

I will endeavor to find out if there are any plans to manufacture these stateside.

UPDATE: Steyr USA currently no plans to introduce this gun into the US market.

Back in 2001 four Cornell engineering students designed a lightweight shotgun for their master of engineering project. Ten years later it has finally gone into production.

From Cornell.edu ...

Ithaca Gun, an Ithaca fixture since 1880, ran into financial trouble soon after the students completed the design, and the company assets were sold in 2007. The students had graduated, and they assumed the gun would never actually get made.

Now based in Upper Sandusky, Ohio, Ithaca Gun recently informed John Callister, the students' faculty adviser, that their long-dormant designs were to become reality after all.

"The folks in Ohio called me and said they were hoping I still had the computer files on a disk," said Callister, senior lecturer in mechanical engineering and operations research.

All the parts, including the breech block, receiver, slide, carrier and trigger plate, were designed by the students. Dimensions and tolerances were specified to within four decimal places -- possible because of the students' precise calculations.

"It's heartening to see it's actually happening after all these years," said Tupino, an industrial engineer at Northrop Grumman Corp. in Baltimore. He says he keeps a copy of the design report in his desk at work to this day and still gets asked about the unusual project.

The gun in question is the Ithaca 28 Gauge Model 37 II. I am please for the fellas that their project is finally being produced.

[ Many thanks to Jesse's mom for finding the story. ]

Metal Storm and General Dynamics have been awarded a research contract to develop a vehicle mounted non-lethal counter-personnel[^1] weapons system. Military & Areospace reports ...

The system is to dispense a new non-lethal munition that will incapacitate personnel through light, sound, and pressure stimuli and will provide longer range, greater area coverage, extended duration, and better scalability of effects than current non-lethal weapon systems, Marine Corps officials say.

Metal Storms technology makes perfect sense as a vehicle mounted anti-personnel system. The Metal Storm 3LG (pictured in the video above) is semi-automatic but light weight and compact (no protruding magazine). It would be much easier to add to a vehicle alongside lethal weapons than a belt-fed or cylinder fed 40mm launcher.

As an aside, the political correctness of less lethal systems always amuses me. The word "pressure stimuli" is used instead of "blunt force trauma" to describe whacking a person in the chest with the force of a baseball bat! I also like how they use the term "counter-personnel" instead of "anti-personnel".

[ Many thanks to Daniel E. Watters for the info ]

Buffer Technologies are now selling a hydraulic buffer designed for .308 chambered AR-10 rifles.

More info @ Down Range TV Blog.