The Firearm Blog

Earlier this year Anschutz unveiled their first tactical-style semi-automatic target rifle. The Anschutz MSR (Modern Sporting Rifle) RX 22 is clearly inspired by the AR-15 design. It has an upper aluminum receiver and lower polymer receiver. The folding stock and handguard is made from an attractive grey laminate wood. UPDATE: The MSR RX22 is a variant of the ISSC MSR MK22.

The upper receiver is grooved for Anschutz 6834 front and rear target sights but also has a picatinny rails for mounting optics. The charging handle can be can be moved into 6 different positions (you can see the holes for the charging handle above the handguard in the photo above).

I really like this design and in typical Anschutz style I am sure is it super accurate, which will appeal to benchrest shooters in the USA.

Thanks to zbranekvalitne.cz for the photo.

I have blogged about soap guns, gold guns, ice guns, lego guns and chocolate guns but I never thought I would be blogging about meat guns. These "guns" were made by the artist Dimitri Tsykalov.

Remember kids, that just because Lady Gaga did it once, does not make it a good idea.

[ Many thanks to Whaleoil & Christopher for emailing me the link. ]

The M992 40mm IR cartridge, 5.56mm M855A1 & M240L were all winners of this years Army Greatest Inventions competition. Most of you will be familiar with the M240L, the lightweight version of the 7.62mm M240, and the 5.56mm M855A1 Enhanced Performance Round, the new environment-friendly 5.56mm round, which I have blogged about many times in the past. I had not heard of the M992 40mm IR cartridge before.

Chemring Ordnance M992 40mm IR cartridge

The M992 is fired from regular 40mm grenade launchers. Unlike other 40mm parachute flare rounds, which illuminate the battlefield for both its users and opposing force, the M992 produces very little visible-light. Instead, it lights up the battlefield with IR-spectrum light, benefitting only those equipped with nightvision equipment.

I guess the downside of this round is that the bright IR light would make the ITPIAL infrared laser aiming systems harder to see.

M240L

M855A1 Enhanced Performance Round

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

James made this high speed video (120 fps) of people shooting machine guns at the 2011 IFC & NRA Second Amendment Rally at Big Springs Range near Searsboro, IA.

Very cool

Of all the guns I saw when I visited the National Firearms Museum last year, one of my favorite was definitely the S&W revolver recovered from the World Trade rubble. Its owner, Officer Walter Weaver of the New York City Police Department, went in to help but did not make it back out. The gun was identified by its serial and returned to Walter's family who donated it to the National Firearms Museum.

You can read more about the revolver at NRA Blog.

The Beretta BU-9 Nano pistol has been officially announced by Beretta. The 9mm sub-compact carry pistol will go on sale in late October.

The most interesting feature of this gun is that the serial number is not attached to the polymer frame. The serial is attached to an inner steel chassis. In the future, owners of the Nano will be able to purchase aftermarket frames without having to worry about FFL transfers.

The Nano has no external safety (it does not a Glock-style trigger 'safety') but does have a striker deactivator, allowing the gun to be decocked before disassembly without having to pull the trigger.

The serialized steel chassis.

The pistol has the sleek Beretta Strom look. Its frame has no protruding levers or buttons for a snag-free draw. The slide has a ProNox black nitride finish and user removable/adjustable sights.

The MSRP is $475. A .40 S&W will be released in the near future.

[ Many thanks to Darryl for emailing me the info. ]

Stag Arms have developed a 3-Gun rifle for their new 3-gun team Team Stag Arms.

The rifle features a 18" stainless fluted heavy barrel with the new Stag Arms Super 3Gun compensator. The handguard is Samson's 15” free-floating Evolution handguard. The trigger is a Geissele Super 3-Gun trigger. The stock is a Magpul ACS and the pistol grip is a Magpul MOE.

The MSRP is $1,459 and will go on sale next month.

FNH USA has announced their first over and under shotgun, the FN SC-1. The gun was designed for their competition team and they are producing just 200 guns of this model (with a second generation of the gun coming next year). The Belgium-made shotgun is essentially a Winchester Model 101 trap gun with a laminated stock and FN engraving (Winchester guns are manufactured by FN).

I really like the blue/gray stock, blue-colored FNH logo and the 'arrow' checkering. The Winchester Model 101 ranges in price from $1,800 to $2,600. I expect the FN SC-1 to sell for somewhere in the middle of that price range.

Readers of The Firearm Blog, we need your help to quantitatively track the historical price of ammunition. What we’re looking for is the historical yearly data over the past 20 to 30 years of the price of these popular handgun and rifle cartridges:

• 9mm Ammo such as Remington’s 115 grain FMJ 9mm ammo*
• 7.62×39 Ammo such as Wolf’s 124 grain FMJ 7.62×39 ammo*

*Note that we’re more interested in the cartridge than the manufacturer.  If you have this historical data for any well-known manufacturer – as long as that manufacturer has not materially changed what goes into that cartridge & load for the past 20 to 30 years – please share.

To find this, we’re looking for someone who has access to old print catalogues which has consistently published their prices for rounds in these two calibers.

If you have access to this data (whether it comes from the print catalogues or other sources), please email steve@thefirearmblog.com with the subject “Historical Ammo Prices”.  Also, please leave a comment in this post if you have other ingenious ideas about where this data could accurately be found.  Thanks for helping TFB!

NOTE: To get up-to-date pricing & to purchase this rifle & ammunition, please click this link to visit Guns For Sale:17HMR ammo for sale

I’m a big fan of the .17HMR no question about it. I’ve owned several rifles in this caliber and enjoyed every one. My favorites are the Savage and the Marlin 17VS. My 17 VS is stainless steel with a laminated grey/black stock and 22 inch heavy varmint barrel.

When I bought my 17VS and took it to the range the first time I was not happy with the trigger. Saying the trigger was terrible would be an understatement. It came in at almost 6 pounds and not even close to being smooth. I seriously thought about trading it in but after some thought I starting searching for a replacement trigger. This rifle is just too nice other wise to give up on right away.

I settled on a Rifle Bazix trigger from E. Arthur Brown Company. The trigger is adjustable using two screws that adjust for sear contact and trigger pull distance. Adjustment is from 1—2 ½ pounds. Granted it’s touchy but a great trigger that’s easy for even a novice to install. The trigger can be found for approx. $75.00. It’s certainly worth it if you have one of these rifles.

The next item of business was to replace the old scope I temporarily used. I mounted a Nikon Pro Staff Rimfire 4X and called it done. If I had it to do over again I’d buy a 3-9X scope since the 17HMR has an accuracy range greater than the ability of the 4X scope to provide adequate magnification at 200 plus yards. This is especially true for small targets.

After these photos were taken I also added a Harris 6-9 inch bi-pod. There are cheaper copies of the Harris but none as stable or durable. If you shop around the Harris brand can be found for $65.00.

Marlin has since discontinued the VS. The new version is the 917VS. The only difference between the two is the new Marlin T-900 trigger system. This trigger group is supposed to be a competitor to the Savage Accu-Trigger. Well, they didn’t get that close to the Savage system.

I tried one of the new Marlins with this trigger and it’s too heavy. The range of adjustment is also limited. If you like these Marlin 17HMR’s it better to just buy either model and replace it with the “Rifle Basix” trigger group. There’s no doubt it’s far superior to the new T-900 trigger.

As much as I hate to say it with a trigger like mine it will beat my Savage 17HMR with the Accu-Trigger. That isn’t a knock on the Savage because it is a fine rifle.

The new Marlin 917VS

Speaking of shooting past 200 yards with the .17HMR it is very wind sensitive. Even at 2550 FPS a 17 grain bullet is going to be a bit erratic in a significant wind. Practice in all conditions is very important to achieve consistent results. However on a calm day the accuracy is especially amazing. I’ve read the .17 HMR holds most of the rimfire records and I can believe it.

This little wildcat can take down a Coyote pushing 250 foot-pounds of energy at the muzzle and 90 foot pounds at 175 yards depending on bullet weight. Where I shoot 200 yards is about the max distance available for varmint hunting.

The property belongs to the small town where I live. The city lagoon is on this property and it seems to draw varmints for some reason. All the better for me since the city asked me to do some varmint control for them. The little pest dig holes in the walls of the lagoon, which cost the city a good deal of money. They buy the bullets and I take care of the problem.

Conclusion

Even if you don’t varmint hunt the 17HMR is just enjoyable to shoot. Target shooting with the Marlin can be challenging whether it’s shooting paper or improvising by shooting eggs at distance.

Deciding on which rifle is right for you partly depends on whether you want to spend the money on a match trigger or just shoot your rifle right out of the box. For me it’s pretty simple. I’ll stick with the Marlin with the Basix trigger. This Marlin is the most accurate I’ve shot.