The Firearm Blog

While demonstrating the features of the Browning Maxus shotgun, Browning rep Jean-Christophe told me that he could disassemble and assemble the weapon blindfolded. Naturally, this was something I had to see.

[ Andrew is a former US Navy Hospital Corpsman who was deployed to Fallujah, Iraq with the 5th Marine Regiment. Today, when not at the range or a Larry Vickers tactical training course, he blogs at the excellent Vuurwapen Blog ]

At the Browning section of IWA, there were a number of “IWA Specials” – weapons that are going to be sold in small numbers to test the reaction of the market. One such weapon was a Winchester Model 70 SPR – in simple terms, a very nice precision rifle. Made by FN in South Carolina, it features a pre-’64 type action and what I believe is a MacMillan stock with an adjustable cheekpiece. The barrel is hammer forged and chrome lined, and was exceptionally thick. It’ll be available in the US very soon.

[ Andrew is a former US Navy Hospital Corpsman who was deployed to Fallujah, Iraq with the 5th Marine Regiment. Today, when not at the range or a Larry Vickers tactical training course, he blogs at the excellent Vuurwapen Blog ]

While at IWA, I had a chance to look at some Swiss Arms rifles. They were all interesting, but the SG553 which takes AR mags definitely caught my eye. Of course, the aluminum receiver stood out also. Older Sig 55X pattern weapons had steel receivers, but they’ve tested these aluminum prototypes to 18000 rounds of full auto – and that was the 7.62×51 version.

Other different features include a 4 position adjustable gas system and an ambi mag release. It’s not something that’ll be available to civilians in the US any time soon, but that doesn’t make it any less cool.

[ Andrew is a former US Navy Hospital Corpsman who was deployed to Fallujah, Iraq with the 5th Marine Regiment. Today, when not at the range or a Larry Vickers tactical training course, he blogs at the excellent Vuurwapen Blog ]

While touring the Beretta factory in northern Italy, I was able to handle a Beretta ARX-160, their newest 5.56mm carbine, and a weapon that could be considered comparable to the FNH SCAR-L. I was impressed with a number of its features, including a toolless quick-change barrel and the ability to switch both the charging handle and the ejection pattern from side to side in seconds, again, without tools - or even breaking the weapon down at all.

It was fairly light (3.2 kilos) and very well balanced. The ambidextrous magazine release was easy to use, but that's not really a very unique feature in this day and age. What I did find unique was the centrally located (in the bottom of the trigger guard) bolt catch, which also doubled as a magazine release.

This was intended for use with gloves and seems quite easy to use, but I don't think accidental activation would be a problem, as it required a bit of force to activate the magazine release. I'm not completely sold on pressing down on the center of the trigger guard to release the bolt - this is a bit different than other rifles which feature a bolt release near or on the trigger guard. However, it did seem easy to use after I worked with the weapon for a few minutes.

The charging handle placement was quite good. It wasn't so far forward that it might interfere with the support hand while reciprocating, but it was forward enough to allow for easy manipulation. The side picatinny rails are removable, but I didn't really like their location.

Barrel removal is dead simple. Lock the bolt to the rear, then pull small levers on either side of the weapon down - think Glock disassembly - while pulling the barrel forward. Installation requires only that you put the barrel in place and then press down firmly. Whether this is needed at the end user level is a topic for discussion, but the simplicity of this design is very impressive.

Beretta has conducted extensive environmental testing of the ARX-160, and it's been in use with Italy's armed forces since 2008. We'll have more information about the ARX-160 and other Beretta products, including videos and photos of these items being manufactured and assembled, over the next few days.

The .270 Schuster, or .270 SCH, is a new wildcat European cartridge. It is basically a necked down .308 Winchester to 6.8mm (.270").

.270 SCH (left), .308 Win. (right)

What is most interesting about the cartridge is that the inventor is trying to patent the cartridge case dimensions both in Europe and the United States (patent application #20110048269, published 3 March).

I hope that this patent is rejected by the USPTO. Prior art must exist. I am sure wildcatters have necked the .308 Win. up and down to every conceivable caliber.

The below videos shows a guy shooting arrows with 400 grain arrowheads from a slingshot. While it is a nifty trick, I would not recommend, as the video suggests, using this technique for self-defense or hunting. Skip ahead to 3:00 to skip the introduction.

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

At IDEX '11 Caracal unveiled a prototype for their first hammer operated pistol. Their current pistols are all striker operated.

I know little about this gun, other than it has a Scandium frame and is probably chambered in 9x19mm like their other pistols.

Airtronic USA has introduced a lightweight version of their RPG-7 launcher. The MK777 weighs just 7.7 lbs, about half the weight of their other RPG-7 launcher, the Airtronic RPG-7(USA).

The launcher has a metal liner covered with a carbon composite wrap manufactured by ATK. It is compatible with RPG-7 ammunition.

Benelli's Vinci autoloader shotgun is now available in a version capable of chambering 3.5" magnum shells. The new version is called the Super Vinci and is the first significant upgrade to the Vinci line since its introduction in 2009. It costs about $300 more than the standard Vinci.

The new Vinci 3.5" Reciever

Like the original Vinci, and Benelli's other autoloaders, it uses an inertia system to cycle the action instead of a piston. The minimum load that Super Vinci's inertia action can cycle is 3-dram 1-1/8 oz 12 gauge loads.

Super Vinci Black Synthetic - $1649

Super Vinci Realtree MAX - $1759

Super Vinci Realtree APG - $1759

BoingBoing published this interesting photo taken during the Tunisian revolution showing a solider equipment with a Steyr AUG and fixed bayonet.

(c) REUTERS

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