Max Popenker & Antony G Williams, both readers of the blog who help me out frequently with research, have co-authored another book together entitled "Sub-Machine Gun". It should be out this summer.
They have also co-authored Machine Gun, Modern Combat Pistols and Assault Rifle.
Congrats Max and Tony.
A Canadian group recreated scenes from the computer game Modern Warfare 2 using actors and special effects to create a short film/trailer called Find Makarov. It is shot in the 'first person' and is very impressive. I would be the first in line at the cinema if this was made into a full-length movie.
[ Many thanks to Paulo for emailing me the link. ]
This video is a few years old, but a reader who was there and treated the injured soldier told me about the situation and the outcome.
Sean said ...
Video was shot by an Oregon National Guard Embedded Training Team member that I worked with at FOB Tillman in OEF VII/VIII, it's been posted by a couple people on youtube since but i helped treat the guy after the incident. All the talk about recoilless rifles made me think of it, thought you'd enjoy. The story was that the Afghan was insistent that he could shoot it off the shoulder, and the ETT got tired of arguing with him and let him try.
The guy was fine, just lost a couple teeth. And probably an eardrum.
[ Many thanks to Sean for emailing me the info. ]
Former competitive shooter and gun dealer Deryk Walker moved to Taiwan and had to leave his guns back home. He found a substitute called Paintball Marksmanship Competition, a practical rifle-style competition using paintball markers instead of rifles.
I was an international competitive shooter and Firearms Dealer in the UK, then I moved to California in 1990. 4 years ago I moved to Taiwan and had to leave my guns behind so I had to find a substitute. I found the only steel plate paintball range in Taiwan, (I have never been keen on the person vs person type of paintball shooting). The International Paintball Marksmanship Competition promotes speed and accuracy and is actually a lot of fun, however the rifles and pistols are quite expensive and you can add more dollars for customization. Apart from the price of the guns, it does offer a low cost alternative to center fire shooting as it requires the same disciplines and can be done in any safe area.
It looks fun, especially if you like in a part of the world where you cannot own firearms.
The German company SIGG, who developed the double-pistols I recently blogged about, are well known for their FSSG drop-in full-auto selector switches for Glock pistols.
This small selector switch replaced a Glock's rear slide plate. It allows the selection of full-auto or semi-auto fire and is compatible with any Glock. The rate of fire can reach 1200 rpm depending on the ammunition being used.
How much fun would would a 10mm Auto chambered Glock 20 be on full auto ? Watch to video below to find out ...
eGun.de is currently auction off one of these switches for about $280 (202 Euro).
[ Many thanks to JA$ for emailing me the link. ]
The 20mm semi-automatic grenade launching Denel Neopup PAW-20 remains one of the weapons I would most love to get my hands on. Unlike the XM25 and simular airbirst grenade launcher, the Neopup is a direct fire weapon. In other words, you aim at your target and pull the trigger.
The first 1:30 minutes of this video is old material, after that it is new video footage of the Neopup being tested against doors, a truck and some brick walls.
Winchester is recalling some 5.56 ammunition after catastrophic failures destroyed a number of law enforcement AR15 type rifles.
Here’s a recent teletype regarding the failures:
ATTN: REQUEST FOR NATIONAL BROADCAST – FIREARMS HAZARD INFORMATION
****** CORRECTION TO ORIGINAL BROADCAST SENT 2/25/11 *******
Attention Law Enforcement Agencies, this Police Department is seeking any similar incidences with the .223/5.56 style rifles.
On 02/14/11 an officer was attending an M4/MP-5 class and during a shooting session, the .223 rifle (Stag Arms) experienced a catastrophic failure resulting in an upper receiver cracking and the bolt being pushed into the bolt assembley.
During a SWAT training day on 02/23/11, three more M4 style rifles experienced a catastrophic failure at the same time. All three rifles experienced the bolts being pushed into the bolt assembly, the upper receivers were cracked and / or broken apart, and the lower receivers were bowed outward. The ammunition we used in all the rifles were Winchester RA223R2 Ranger 64 gr. Power Point.
The Rifles were: 1-Colt, 2- Bushmasters and 1 – Stag Arms
Back in January, this teletype was making the rounds:
**ATTENTION ALL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES**OFFICER SAFETY INFORMATION**THE XXXXXXXX POLICE DEPARTMENT HAS EXPERIENCED THREE CATASTROPHIC FAILURES OF AR STYLE RIFLES/THE FAILURES INCLUDED THE COMPLETE DESTRUCTION OF THE UPPER AND LOWERS OF THESE WEAPONS/THE THREE WEAPONS WERE WELL MAINTAINED WITH REGULAR DOCUMENTED MAINTENANCE PERFORMED BY A CERTIFIED ARMORER/THE THREE WEAPONS HAD BEEN IN SERVICE FROM 3 TO 10 YEARS/THE COMMON DENOMINATOR CONSIDERED WAS THE AMMUNITION USED DURING THE FAILURES/THE THREE RIFLES EXPERIENCING FAILURE WERE FIRING WINCHESTER RANGER RA223R2, 64GR POWER POINT, LOT NUMBER 065DK31/OTHER WEAPONS FIRING THE SAME AMMUNITION BEARING A DIFFERENT LOT NUMBER WERE NOT AFFECTED AND PERFORMED NORMALLY/IF YOU HAVE AMMUNITION BEARING THE LAST FOUR DIGITS DK31 IN THE LOT NUMBER IT IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED YOU QUARANTINE THAT AMMUNITION AND CONTACT WINCHESTER**
The recall info can be found here.
3/1/2011
Olin Corporation, through its Winchester Division, is recalling six (6) lots of its RANGER® 223 Remington 64 Grain Power-Point® (PP) centerfire rifle ammunition (Symbol Number RA223R2).
Lot Numbers (last four characters): DK01, DK11, DK21, DK31, DK41, and DK51
Through extensive evaluation Winchester has determined the above lots of RANGER® Law Enforcement ammunition may contain incorrect propellant. Incorrect propellant in this ammunition may cause firearm damage, rendering the firearm inoperable, and subject the shooter or bystanders to a risk of serious personal injury when fired.
DO NOT USE WINCHESTER® RANGER® 223 REMINGTON 64 GRAIN POWER-POINT® AMMUNITION THAT HAS A LOT NUMBER ENDING IN DK01, DK11, DK21, DK31, DK41 or DK51. The ammunition Lot Number is ink stamped inside the right tuck flap of the 20-round carton, as indicated here:
To determine if your ammunition is subject to this notice, review the Lot Number. If the last four characters of the Lot Number are DK01, DK11, DK21, DK31, DK41 or DK51 immediately discontinue use and contact Winchester toll-free at 866-423-5224 to arrange for replacement ammunition and free UPS pick-up of the recalled ammunition.
This notice applies only to RANGER® 223 Remington 64 Grain Power-Point® centerfire rifle ammunition with lot numbers ending in DK01, DK11, DK21, DK31, DK41, and DK51. Other Symbol Numbers or Lot Numbers are not subject to this recall.
If you have any questions concerning this RANGER® Law Enforcement ammunition recall please call toll-free 866-423-5224, write to Winchester (600 Powder Mill Road, East Alton, IL 62024 Attn: RA223R2 Recall), or visit our website at www.winchester.com.
Because of noise complaints from their civilian neighbors, the South Korean army has begun issuing 5.56mm rifle suppressors. A Korean reader told me that unlike during the military rule which ended in the 80s, the ROK army is very concerned about public relations and they have had problems utilizing land for training because of noise pollution.
[ Many thanks to the reader who emails me the photos. ]
[Hat Tip: Tactical Forum ]
TimberSmith (A Tapco brand) are now selling a laminated thumbhole SKS stock. The stock counts as two 922r compliant parts.
I really like the look of this stock. With an MSRP of $215, I am really tempted to buy one.
Fred Ray went to some lengths to find and obtain a legible copy of a 1959 Department of the Army research paper entitled "Operational Requirements for an Infantry Hand Weapon". The author interviewed 602 veterans on their use of the M1 Garand during the Korean War. Tests were also done with rifleman using the M1. It is a very interesting to read what was going though the minds of the Army command prior to the M16 and 5.56x45mm cartridge being adopted.
As you can see below in TABLE 1, "expected fraction of hits" is a probability of the two independent events "probability of seeing target" and "probability of hitting target". Today the "probability of seeing target" is greatly enhanced with modern high-quality optics such as the Trijicon ACOG.
The paper also advocates using toxic ammunition to increase the probability of a kill. Today, of course, nobody is advocating this. Toxic ammunition would probably endanger the troops themselves, would significantly raise the cost of manufacturing, be an environmental hazard at military ranges not to mention the ethical and legal ramifications of using chemical weapons.
I highly recommend you download the PDF. If can be downloaded from the CFS Press website. Fred's comments on the paper can be found on his blog.
[ Many thanks to Fred for taking to time to obtain this paper. ]
