The Firearm Blog

What can I say ... its pink. I guess if you are into pink guns this is probably pretty cool

I am not sure what the MSRP is. It is being distributed exclusively through MGE Wholesale.

Kahr will soon be shipping a California approved version of their P380 pistol. They are claiming it is the only polymer framed ultra-compact that is approved for sale in the state.

The pistol has the required loaded chamber indicator ...

Loaded Chamber Indicator

The MSRP will be $733 and it should be shipping later this year.

Thank you for all your sacrifices.

The new Barrett MRAD is looking very cool. Its design looks more akin to a autoloader than a bolt action. This video demonstrates its features ...

The MRAD will go on sale mid-year 2011.

A reader, Nooky, posted this photo of the prototype 7.62x39mm SIG550 that Swiss Arms developed a few years ago but never put into production.

Gun Blobber posted this photo comparing an AK bolt with a SIG550 bolt ...

Many more cool photos at GunBlobber.

As you can see, very similar. Nooky also posted this photo comparing the action of the SIG550, AK and SIG552 ...

Sig SG550 (top), AK-47 (middle) and Sig SG552

More info about the upcoming 7.62x39 SIG550.

[ Many thanks to Noody, TroubleShooter and Gun Blobber for the info. ]

Mr Completely and KeeWee visited the Ruger factory in Prescott, AZ.

A Ruger machinist (before halloween) Photo from KeeWee

Mr Completely says ...

It seemed like we had just started out tour, and suddenly it was lunch time. As we were walking back to the front of the plant and to the reception area, a number of thoughts crossed my mind. I think I can sum it up in two words, Pride, and Quality. The folks out in the plant, in the front office, and everywhere in between definitely gave you the impression that they were proud to be part of an American company building American firearms, and building them to be the best they can be.

Read Mr Completely blog post here and KeeWee's blog post here.

The Packing Rat reviews the MidwestPX "neutered" PMAGs. They are permanently modified to hold no more than ten rounds, thus making them Cali-legal.

Huey's Gunsight tests how well brass and steel cased ammunition holds up in field conditions ...

I had never considered the fact that steel ammunition will rust. I use high quality brass factory ammunition for hunting but the cheapest ammunition I can find for just about everything else, which for centerfire often means steel cased.

Sig Sauer Guns have confirmation that the SIG556 (the civilian SIG550) will be made available chambered in 7.62x39mm and will be able to use standard AK-47 magazines.

We just received a phone call from our contact at Sig and Sig Sauer is producing a SIG 556 chambered in 7.62×39. This new SIG556 will have a AK-47 bolt and it will support standard AK-47 magazines. Apparently these new models are in production and will be shipping from the factory in roughly four to six weeks.

Read more about it here.

This is pretty nifty if you ask me.

SIG556 Classic (the 5.56mm model)

Olin Corp. is moving its Winchester Centerfire plant to Mississippi after the Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 9. Union rejected their proposed contract for the second time. BND.com reports ...

The Clayton, Mo.-based company said that its Winchester Centerfire division in East Alton and the unit's approximately 1,000 jobs will be relocated to a new 500,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art plant to be built in Oxford, Miss. The relocation is expected to take place over several years.

...

the union voted "no" Tuesday in the revote -- 593 to 470. The union also voted against this contract on Oct. 17 by a two-to-one margin. St. Peters said most workers refused to accept concessions because they believe the munitions manufacturer has been profitable.

Just 56% voted to reject the contract. From what I have read it does not sound like any of the parties were at fault. Winchester wanted to cut costs and just under half the union employees were willing to accept a wage freeze. A slight majority wanted to rather relocate (and risk their co-workers jobs) rather than earn less in the future. The real loser here is the community of East Alton, IL who are losing a major employer.

Olin recently reported that Winchester's profits have been declining ...

Winchester's third quarter segment earnings of $18.8 million are lower than the record earnings of $23.0 million achieved in the third quarter of 2009. The decline reflects the combination of lower commercial volumes and higher commodity costs.