Rampart Pictures has just published a new promotional video they produced for Barrett Firearms. If you like .50 caliber action, check out the video. I especially enjoyed watching the .50 being used at a aerial-operations training facility.
Much has been written about the relationship men have with guns. Photographer Lindsay McCrum's new book Chicks with Guns1 instead explores the relationship between woman and guns. The photography looks amazing. I will definitely be buying a copy.
MSBN reports ...
“Their numbers are really high but their profile is actually really low,” said McCrum, who spent three and a half years capturing artistic and arresting portraits of women with their weapons of choice.
“I was so surprised by the variety and breadth and diversity of these women,” McCrum said. “There are so many stereotypes about guns, mostly derived from popular culture, but the reality is so much more complex and varied than you can imagine.”
“Chicks with Guns” reveals just how true that is. The book features nearly 80 portraits and captions in which women describe the role of guns in their lives in their own words. It quickly becomes apparent that rich women, poor women, young women, old women, athletic women, sedentary women and a fair number of confident girls possess guns for reasons that are peculiarly their own.
Amazon says ...
In Chicks with Guns, Lindsay McCrum has created a cultural portrait of women gun owners in America through photographs that are both beautiful and in a sense unexpected. The book examines issues of self-image and gender through the visual conventions of portraiture and fashion, but the guns are presented here not as superimposed props but as the very personal lifestyle accessories of the subjects portrayed. And it defies stereotypes often associated with aspects of the popular culture of both guns and women. Like the 15-20 million women gun owners in this country, the women we meet in Chicks with Guns ( their portraits are accompanied by their own words), reside in all regions of the country, come from all levels of society, and participate seriously in diverse shooting activities. The women here are sportswomen, hunters, and competition shooters. Some use guns on their jobs and some for self-defense. They may not all be classically beautiful, but in these photographs they all look beautiful, exuding honesty, confidence, poise, power and pride. They are real women with real guns that play a part in their lives. By focusing her camera respectfully on this particular aspect of the American scene, gun-wielding women and girls, Lindsay McCrum sheds new light on who we are in America today.
[ Many thanks to jdun1911 for emailing me the link. ]
This is a non-affiliate link. In other words, I don't get paid to promote the book. ↩
SOCOM has purchased $23.3 million worth of suppressors and accessories from Surefire. I am sure they are partying hard at Surefire HQ!
From the press release ...
Fountain Valley, CA—SureFire, LLC, manufacturer of high-end illumination tools and tactical products, has been awarded its largest suppressor contract to date. The $23.3 million contract, for an indefinite quantity of sound suppressors, suppressor adapters, blank firing adapters and training adapters, was awarded by officials of the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division—the pri- mary solicitation center for U.S. Special Operations Command—as part of the Family of Muzzle Brake Suppressors (FMBS) contract.
The FMBS solicitation was the most comprehensive modern suppressor evaluation conducted by the U.S. military to date. It focused on criteria that subjected suppressor systems to prolonged testing on a variety of firearms platforms. SureFire suppressors were chosen based on test criteria such as: Reliability, Sound Reduction, Accuracy, Point of Impact Shift, Endurance/Durability, and Op- erational Suitability. While these requirements reflect the suppression needs for firearms including the MK13 sniper rifle, the United States Marine Corps is already employing SureFire’s FA762SS suppressor system on every M40A5 sniper rifle.
[ Many thanks to Lance for emailing me the link. ]
A Brazilian drug dealer was captured earlier this month along with his gigantic homemade 11 lbs revolver. The revolver chambers five 2.75" 12 gauge cartridges. This dealer went with a traditional revolver look, rather than the tacti-cool styling of the infamous Taiwanese 12 gauge revolver.
It is sad that the drug dealer, or whoever made his gun, needed to resort to crime rather than putting their considerable talents to good use in the legitimate gun industry, especially in Brazil, home of the 28 gauge Taurus Tracker.
[ Many thanks to Eduard for emailing me the photos. ]
James D Julia is auctioning off the Winchester Model 21 shotgun given to Joe DiMaggio by NJ Police Capt. Jos. Cocozza after his record setting 42 game hitting streak (his streak ended at 56). This shotgun is sure to sell for a fortune given its appear to both gun collectors and sports memorabilia collectors.
[ Many thanks to Daniel for emailing me the link. ]
Yesterday I blogged about the comments made by Russia's Chief of the General Staff and First Deputy Minister of Defence General Nikolai Makarov who said that the Russian Army had too many AK-74 rifles and would not be ordering more of them until 2014. I pointed out that this would be a blow to AK manufacturer Izhmash who are struggling to stay solvent.
Reading between the lines, I believe that the Russian Army faces a problem also face by the US Army: politicians. Over here congressmen, for better or worse, regularly try to make the US Army upgrade its firearms, something they are always reluctant to do. It sounds like in Russia the politicians make their army buy guns it has no use for. I can sympathize with the Russians, from time to time I also run out of gun storage space.
A few readers emailed me suggesting that Izhmash could make a lot of money if it exported more guns to the USA. They certainly could make a fortune. Their newer guns like the Saiga-22, a .22 rifle patterned after the AK-105, would sell incredibly well, as would some of their older guns like the Tigr (Dragunov).
The problem is that the State Department struck a deal with Russia back in 1996. In exchange for lifting the Soviet-era ban on firearm imports, the Russians would agree to a list of restrictions on what could be exported to the USA. Only firearms listed in T.D. ATF-393 can be imported into the USA from the former Soviet states. These restrictions were purportedly to prevent the US market being flooded with cheap handguns. The other roadblock to importing Izhmash's guns is the BATFE ban on importing guns that they do not consider to be "sporting guns". This bans imports of all guns with vaguely tactical features such as a pistol grips or flash suppressors.
If Russia could negotiate a lift of these import restrictions, they would be able to keep Izhmash workers employed without forcing the Army to take guns it does not want. That said, subsiding Izhmash may well be cheaper than the trade concessions they would have to offer the United States (assuming the State Department and White House were even interested in entering negotiations).
Because of popular demand Sig Sauer has developed a line of Direct Gas Impingement AR-15s to complement their line of SIG 516 piston-operated ARs.
The SIG M400 features a SIG 516 lower receiver with it ambidextrous magazine release, rear quick-detach sling mount and tensioning device that ensures a tight lockup between the lower and upper receivers. The upper is a standard M4-style upper receiver. The enhanced model features Magpul OEM stock, pistol grip and handguard.
| Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Caliber | 5.56m NATO |
| Capacity | 30 rounds |
| Barrel | 16" M4 profile |
| Twist | 1:7 |
| Overall Length | 34.6" |
| Weight | 5.65 lbs |
| Front Sight | Post |
| Rear Sight | Carry Handle |
| Trigger pull | 7.6 lbs |
| MSRP (Price) | $1065 (standard model) |
| Availability | Shipping now |
The USMC will be replacing their nylon pistol holsters for Blackhawk's polymer SERPA Level 2 Tactical Holster. The holster is controversial because if not careful, a shooter can hook their finger in the trigger when drawing it and discharge the gun into their leg.
Marine Corps Times reports ...
In an emailed response to Marine Corps Times’ questions, officials at MARCORSYSCOM said the holster was put through rigorous safety tests in July by Marines assigned to Quantico’s Weapons Training Battalion. After giving the holster to Marines of varied pistol-shooting abilities, from expert to novice, Weapons Training Battalion concluded the SERPA holster is safe for issue, according to MARCORSYSCOM.
“We did not see a trigger-hooking problem,” officials said. “We found the SERPA design allowed natural positioning of the trigger finger during the draw so that it was straight and off the trigger when drawn. … Weapons Training Battalion, our premier weapons trainers, oversaw the evaluation of the holsters and no safety concerns were identified by the users or the observers of the evaluation.”
The Azerbaijan Ministry of Defense Industry have licensed the AK-74M design from Russian AK-maker Izhmash and will be producing it domestically. The rifle will be called the "Khazri Assault Rifle". It sounds like it will feature accessory rails for lights, lasers and optics.
It is interesting that they did not decide to adopt the older AK-74M instead of the the newer AK-10x line.
[ Many thanks to Lance for emailing me the link. ]
