Today Media Day, media shooting day held a day before the actual show, car dove in front of the live firing line. WTF? I was shooting a 9mm carbine at the time. Other guns shooting at part of the range included .338 Lapua's, and 7.62mm NATO machine guns!!!!!! EPIC FAIL. I could barley believe my eyes.
This novel magazine design uses a series of magnets instead of a metal spring to apply upwards pressure to the magazine follower.
A controversial topic in the gun world is whether or not the spring of a loaded magazine will become weaker over time if left loaded for extended periods. Using magnets would eliminate this possible problem.
[ Many thanks to Ryan for emailing me the video. ]
CB Online reports that the German government is investigating H&K for some undefined weapon export violations and is preventing the company from exporting weapons to Mexico until the investigation has been concluded.
BERLIN (AP) - Germany's government has banned weapons manufacturer Heckler & Koch GmbH from any new arms deliveries to Mexico amid concerns they are ending in parts of the country where Berlin has forbidden weapons exports over human rights issues, according to a letter obtained Thursday by The Associated Press.
The letter from the Economy Ministry to the arms manufacturer, dated Jan. 4, says the company's applications for exports of "weapons and other defense goods" to Mexico are suspended pending the outcome of judicial investigations in Germany.
Heckler & Koch is under investigation by prosecutors for allegedly providing its G36 assault rifle to Mexican police in the states of Chiapas, Chihuahua, Guerrero and Jalisco, where Germany prohibits such exports over alleged human rights violations.
...
Heckler & Koch maintains it did not deliver weapons to those four states, but only to the country's Mexico City-based central weapons purchasing authority, which is overseen by the Defense Ministry.
"Heckler & Koch has at no point in time delivered to any Mexican states," the company said in a statement late December.
It sounds to me that the German government suspects that H&K knew where their weapons were headed and were knowingly selling them to a straw buyer. I believe it is the Mexican Army who runs the Mexico City gun distribution center. It seems crazy that they are allowed to export to Mexico, to a central distributor, but that only certain state police can receive them, and others cannot.
[ Many thanks to Tip for emailing me the link. ]
Earlier this year South Korea made news by deploying two experimental sentry robots that were able to shoot at perceived threats without human intervention. A few days ago the UTSPO granted Samsung Techwin, a subsidiary of South Korean giant Samsung, a patent for an "Automatic shooting mechanism and robot".
Samsung reminds me of Veridian Dynamics, the fictional corporation from ABC's short-lived sitcom Better Off Ted. Veridian went to great lengths to promote themselves as a green and family friendly company, while secretly developing high-tech next-generation weaponry. Samsung Techwin's website is covered with photos of children and friendly looking robotos.
The below text was taken from the patent (emphasis added) ...
Intelligent robot technology is one of the next generation new technologies which will lead the 21st century's industrial and military science technologies with the development of artificial intelligence (AI). For example, a monitoring and sentry system can be a sophisticated system employing a variety of technologies such as ultra-low brightness camera technology, image recognition technology, image processing and storing technology, voice recognition technology, servo technology, image tracking technology, and system control technology.
As the security industry grows rapidly, demands for the use of intelligent monitoring and sentry robot systems in important national facilities such as airports, harbors, and nuclear power plants have increased accordingly. Such systems can be used in military settings to provide efficient sentries during peace time, and to improve the security of soldiers during war time by performing 3D (dangerous, dirty, dull) duties that are usually performed by soldiers. Accordingly, an unmanned robot employing Al technology can efficiently reduce manpower and greatly enhance a military's competitive power.
As can be appreciated from the above, a monitoring and sentry robot can perform an important role in the development of military strategy. Also, the use of robots can prevent or at least minimize fatigue and loss of concentration due to repetition of simple tasks performed by soldiers on sentry duty. Furthermore, the systems can have accurate tracking and instant reaction abilities, including high speed and accurate shooting capabilities.
Wouldn't a CCTV camera and senor network connected to a central command center, with personnel able to analyze threats and order countermeasures, be better and cheaper than robots with potentially buggy and dangerous software? I would have thought so. In locations where threats are imminent and snap fire/no-fire decisions need to be made, it is probably worth the expense of highly trained security guards or soldiers on duty.
They say "beware of the man with one gun, he knows how to use it". I say "beware of Sgt. Jonathan Sweetnan, he looks like he knows how to use both of them".
The caption from Army.mil ...
Sgt. Jonathan Sweetnan, Bulldog Troop, White Platoon, looks through his rifle scope to scan for insurgents during a reconnaissance patrol near Combat Outpost Delorean, Bala Murghab, Baghdis province, Afghanistan, Jan. 9, 2011. Sweetnan led one of the four fire teams on the patrol and all four teams came under accurate small-arms fire. Insurgents also launched a large-scale attack on COP Delorean Jan. 6, from this field and two other areas.
[ Many thanks to Lance for emailing me the photo. ]
The above photo is of a new rifle from Indian Ordnance Factories. Enfield aficionados will recognize it as the Ishapore Enfield Rifle 2A1 with a modern sniper stock, scope and bipod.
The Ishapore Rifle 2A1 is based on the Lee-Enfield SMLE Mk. III and is chambered in 7.62x51mm.
More information at Indians For Guns.com
[ Many thanks to Moa for emailing me the link. ]
I have accumulated a terrible level of email/inbox debt. There are over 300 emails needing a reply. I have no choice but to declare 'email bankruptcy'.
This means that if you have emailed me and expect a reply, you probably won't get one. This applies to everybody, even friends or family who have emailed me at thefirearmblog@gm...com.
Please do not take offense. If you email was very urgent or important, feel free to resend it.
I can now start afresh and try to keep my inbox cleared.
I am really excited to announce that I am able to attend SHOT this year. I only bought my plane ticket a couple of days ago 
You can look forward to some great SHOT Show coverage on the blog next week. To wet your appetite, here is some unpublished photos from last year ...
[ Many thanks to Thomas for emailing me the link. ]
JayG was the first person to publish a photo of the SIG SAUER 522 Commando, a soon-to-be-launch .22 LR rifle from SIG.
The rifle features a carbine length barrel, faux suppressor, quad rails, "classic" stock and forend grip.
UPDATE: I have just been informed that the final product (the above is a prototype) will not be sold with a foregrip or scope.
JayG photographed the rifle during a tour of the Sig Sauer Academy in Epping, New Hampshire. Jay writes ...
George gave us a brief history of the Academy, from the origins in the early 1990s to their guiding philosophy of SIG: Simple Is Good. He told us that one of the questions he heard the most was "What do you teach at the Academy?", to which he invariably responds "Anything you can legally do."
