The Firearm Blog

Ashton Kutcher tweeted this photo of his wife Demi Moore shooting an AR-15.

Nice!

[Hat Tip: Everyday, No Day Off]

The N-Strike Stampede Blaster is fully automatic, is magazine fed, has a foregrip bipod and is probably illegal in California

Gizmodo report it will go on sale in September for $50.

[ Many thanks to Fred and Rolf for emailing me the link. ]

Bloggers listen up! I am running an ammo giveaway contest for Lucky Gunner. In exchange for posting a link to Lucky Gunner (and to this contest) I will enter you in a draw to win 1000 rounds of .380 ACP (Military Ballistics Industries 95 gr FMJ ).

Make sure you follow the instructions. They are ...

1. Write a blog post about this contest (and The Firearms Blog and Lucky Gunner) on your blog or website. This post should be unique and can be anywhere from a short paragraph to a 5,000 word thesis.

2. Don’t forget to include a link back to this blog post and http://www.luckygunner.com/ in the post.

3. Send me an email (my email address is on the contact page) with the URL/link to your post to make sure I put your name in the hat! Make sure you include "Lucky Gunner Contest" in the email's subject.

4. Extra credit: if you also promote Lucky Gunner on your Facebook and Twitter accounts, I will put your name in the hat twice (just make sure you forward me the links).

5. Tell your friends & family about this contest – if they win maybe they will share the ammo with you at the range?

Note: If you don’t like .380 ammo, Lucky Gunner will give you a gift card of equal value so you can order what you want! Lucky Gunner can’t break the law just because of this contest – you will still have to comply with their terms and conditions in order to receive the free ammo (i.e. they can’t ship to Massachusetts or sell ammo to felons). This contest if for bloggers only. I will be checking each entry.

Each entry will get entered into a list. I will then use the random.org random number generator to pick an entry at random.

Good Luck!

UPDATE: The competition runs until the end of the month.

UPDATE: The competition is now close.

Shooting Illustrated has posted an article written by Steve Adelmann about the latest in 1x, 1.1x and 1.5x zoom scopes.

While passing through Leupold’s booth at the SHOT Show in January, I noticed crowds gathering around several CQBSS scopes on display. The company’s new optic is user-friendly, and its tactically appealing features were generating much buzz. For example, the zoom function is handled by the entire ocular bell. There’s no need to apply gorilla strength to a small ring.

The article is well worth reading.

Earlier this gun blogger Say Uncle wrote about wrote about the 1x scope he purchased ...

The concept of a 1-4x always intrigued me but I never really bought one or shot one. I reasoned that pros would be that it is suitable at 1x for close work with both eyes open and for a wide field of view. The center portion of the German #4 reticle seems to function adequately has a red dot for fast target acquisition.

I love low powered scopes

Anthony Williams has just posted a new article online which discusses what is needed for the next generation of small arms.

Before the Afghan conflict began, it was assumed that small-arms engagements would continue to take place within the traditional 300 metre limit, as they had in Iraq, and ISAF forces were equipped accordingly. The rifles and LMGs carried by the infantry on foot patrols were overwhelmingly in 5.56mm calibre, using the NATO standard SS109/M855 ammunition. The US forces used three principal weapons: the M16 rifle (favoured by the USMC), M4 Carbine (increasingly favoured by the US Army because its compactness makes it more suitable for urban fighting, the typical scenario in Iraq) and the M249 development of the FN Minimi LMG. Some 7.62mm weapons, most notably the M240 (FN MAG variant) and also some sniper and marksman rifles, were available for use in a support role when required. The British patrols used the L85A2 rifle, L86A2 Light Support Weapon (effectively an IAR) and the L110 LMG (FN Minimi Para). As with the US forces, the L7 GPMG (FN MAG) was available in support, and bolt-action 7.62mm sniper rifles were also in service.

These arrangements were thrown into disarray when faced with the very different circumstances of Afghanistan, where the Taliban noted the range limitation of the 5.56mm weapons ...

Tony shooting the infamous and ill-fated British EM-2 in .280/30.

At the end of the article Tony has included a brief range report comparing the SCAR-H, HK417, HK G3K, Dragunov and EM-2.

Read the article here.

Steve_NEPhila noticed that Jerry Miculek, the famous speed shooter, has de-locked the S&W 627PC he uses for IRC Open Division competitions.

If you looks closely you can see that the locking flag has been removed from the mechanism.

If someone is good enough for Jerry it is probably good enough for the rest of us!

The S&W internal locks have irked shooters since they were introduced. The locks can engage under recoil rendering the gun useless. It may be an annoyance at the range but could be life threatening elsewhere.

Michael Bane experience this issue with a dangerous game backup gun ...

On the second round, the "flag" part of the locking system flew up and locked the gun up at almost a full cock.

I couldn't unlock it; I couldn't uncock it; I couldn't get it to fire. It took me 20 minutes of working v....e....e....r....r....y gingerly with a screwdriver to get the lock to release enough to allow me to bring the 329 to full cock and subsequently unlock the cylinder and empty the gun.

I'd say this was NOT GOOD for a gun billed as a dangerous game back-up gun!

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

The Vollmer Maschinenkarabiner M35 was developed in Germany sometime pre-WWII. Fortunately they never adopted it!

There is practically no information on the internet about this gun, so please share your knowledge in the comments below.

[ Hat Tip: (Defense and Freedom) ]

The Freedom Group is now using my blog to advertise Remington products. This will not effect my coverage of The Freedom Group or their competitors. I cover all firearms manufacturers with equal enthusiasm.

The Freedom Group

It is great to have the biggest player in the industry seeing value in my blog.

UPDATE: I have gotten messages from people concerned that I will ban all comments criticizing Remington or I will refuse to write anything critical. I can assure you that my editorial policy has not changed. The Freedom Group purchased ad space, not my integrity.

The new Browning White Gold X-Bolt brings new meaning to the word class. With features like a stainless barrel and action, gloss finish high grade walnut stock complete with rosewood fore-end and grip capand Inflex recoil pad, the new White Gold X-Bolt is truly a work of art.

A very nice looking rifle. It will be avalible in calibers from .243 Win. to .338 Win. MSRP is $1439 to $1469.

The Marine Times reports ...

The Marine Corps intends to purchase 1.8 million rounds of the Army’s new green bullet in addition to the millions of U.S. Special Operations Command cartridges already downrange as the service looks to find the best replacement for its Cold War-era ammo.

The new environmentally friendly M855A1 Enhanced Performance Round is on the way to U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan, Army officials said, with about 1 million rounds arriving soon. The updated 5.56mm round is touted as more effective than old M855 ammunition and, in some cases, 7.62mm rounds currently in use.

More info on the M855A1 here.

[ Many thanks to Tony Williams for emailing me the link. ]