While browsing the Tortuga Trading Inc1 website I came across this bizarre knife/mini-cannon/pistol weapon. I can't even figure out how it is supposed to be held. It is such a terrible idea that in comparison it makes the infamous Apache Pistol look ingenious.
The owner of Tortuga Trading frequently appears in the TV show Pawn Stars. ↩
Sons of Guns have blogged about rebuilding a Lahti L-39 Anti-Tank Rifle from a deactivated parts kit.
It was developed in Finland by Aimo Lahti around 1939 in response to the many doubts of the original idea of the 13 mm anti-tank machine gun. After testing, those boys found that the 20 mm offered better penetration than its anti-tank counterparts. It was put into action in several wars including World War II and the Winter War.
Nowadays, the de-militarized version of this big boy are pretty rare. When you are able to reactivate one, like we did, the value skyrockets. Which is why Flem’s welding was key to this project.
... Most of the ammo was from World War II–it was at least 60 years old–which meant we had a lot of problems with the cases breaking and sticking. The crew polished them as much as we could, but some of the odd ball manufactured cartridges didn’t cycle at all. We just used it as a single shot at that point.
The only way to make a 20mm cannon rifle more cool is to mount it on a truck, and thats just what they did 
The mystery of how a bullet from a 14.5×114mm round ended up in an Afghan soldiers head without killing him has been solved. It turns out the round was not fired from a gun but was used as shrapnel in an IED. It would have been travelling much slower, and probably tumbling, when it hit the soldier. Sprites.com has interviewed the surgeon and anesthesiologist who performed the operation.
I had struggled to believe that a bullet from a 14.5×114mm round would fail to cause fatal damage to a man's head. The large caliber, armor piercing and heavy bullet would have had to have used up almost all its energy to not cause a fatal wound. Bullets usually hit the ground before they slow down to 0 fps.
According to my back-of-the-envolope calculations, at 1.8 miles (3000 yards) a bullet from a 14.5×114mm will be travelling at around 1000 feet per second. It will have dropped hundreds of feet from the point of zero. The energy contained will exceed 2000 ft/lbs. Being hit in the head by this bullet at 3000 yards will cause far more damage than a .223 / 5.56mm would at the muzzle!
I believe the doctors are using the term 'high explosive round' incorrectly. The x-ray looks constant with Amour Piercing Incendiary (API) bullets. API bullets contain white phosphorus (or equivalent substance) in the bullet nose. White phosphorus burns rather than explodes.
A high explosive round would contain a secondary high explosive inside the round with a primary primer/detonator in front (see above image). The primer mechanism would be visible in the x-ray. It is far more likely that bullet is API or API with tracer. Regardless, white phosphorus burns easily and if it was ignited it would cause a lot of damage to the patient and doctors. The precautions the doctors took were necessary.
[ Many thanks to Tony for solving the mystery. ]
Glock has begun a program to replace the recoil spring assembly (RSA) for Glock Gen4 pistols. If you send in your recoil spring, they will send you back a replacement. They have not specified exactly what was wrong with the previous RSA design.
GLOCK ANNOUNCES VOLUNTARY REPLACEMENT OF RECOIL SPRING ASSEMBLIES IN GEN4 PISTOLS Replacement Program Limited to Gen4 Model with GLOCK Covering All Shipping Expenses
SMYRNA, GA – September 7, 2011 – GLOCK Inc. announces that it is voluntarily exchanging the recoil spring assembly (RSA) on its new Gen4 pistols shipped since August, 2009, to ensure each pistol’s performance meets the company’s demanding standards. With several variations of the RSA in the market today, GLOCK’s goal with this voluntary exchange is to standardize the RSA to gain the best possible performance in each pistol.
GLOCK’s product development team has modified various elements of the RSA. The new RSA compensates for all design modifications made to the Gen4 and allows the pistols to function up to GLOCK’s rigid quality standards and reliability goals.
Consumers should note that Gen4 G26 and G27 models will not require a modified recoil spring.
“We are moving proactively and quickly to standardize this part of the pistol. This is a voluntary exchange specifically for the new Gen4 models,” said Gary Fletcher Vice President GLOCK Inc. “We have developed a program for consumers to send in their existing recoil spring assemblies and receive new ones at no cost.”
The replacement of the Gen4 pistol RSA can be performed as part of the regular field-strip process; consumers do not need to take the Gen4 pistol to an armorer. Consumer’s wishing to participate in the exchange program are urged to call 1-877-745-8523 to order their new recoil spring.
For more information on the details and shipping requirements on the replacement program, visit www.teamGLOCK.com.
UPDATE: I posted an image of the wrong spring. A chart of recoil springs is at Guns, Holsters & Gear.
Chiappa Group is a corporation that includes Armi Sport, Kimar, Chiappa Firearms Ltd. and other companies in the firearms manufacturing world. The following information was compiled by the GunsForSale.com staff after interviewing members of the Chiappa Group at IWA 2011 in Nuremburg, Germany, and after touring the Chiappa factory in Azzano Mella, Italy.
Chiappa has been producing firearms of various types for over 50 years, but it wasn’t until 2002 that the company consolidated many of its operations into one facility. Not only did this provide an updated corporate headquarters, but it also included storage, manufacturing, research and development, and engineering facilities. The main building is over 70,000 square feet.
Inside, the company’s administrative staff are few in number, but efficient, knowledgeable, and friendly. They field calls and emails from around the world, as the Chiappa Group has distributors in 34 countries. Chiappa family members not only still own the company, but are also involved in the day-to-day operations.
Deeper inside the building are the CAD (computer aided drafting) and rapid prototyping machines. With these, Chiappa can quickly create the physical form of a design to test its suitability or interoperability with other components, or test the ergonomics of a complete firearm design. Chiappa was an early adopter of CAD/CAM technology, having done so over 20 years ago.
Chiappa manufactures almost every part for their firearms – in fact, it’s rare for anything to be sourced outside of the Chiappa Group. Some of this is due to the types of firearms that Chiappa produces. They are one of the few companies in the world that make a wide array of replica firearms, so there aren’t too many companies that they could purchase, say, hammers for a replica revolver from – and those that do produce such hammers are likely to be close competitors.
As a result, a strong culture of self-reliance has grown at Chiappa. This self-reliance includes the manufacture of barrels, which are made on site for everything from the short-barreled Rhino revolver to the Sharps replica rifles.
For the manufacture of small parts, Chiappa uses Cincom machines, made by the watchmaker Citizen. These machines are capable of intricate and detailed work, and do so faster than human craftsmen could perform the same tasks. To manufacture other components, Chiappa employs computer-controlled lathes, mills, and wire EDM machines.
Because of the unique and historic nature of some of the products Chiappa makes, the tooling required to manufacture and service them is simply no longer available at any price. This, however, is no great obstacle to Chiappa, and the skilled machinists employed there make all of the tooling necessary to ensure accurate production.
To verify this accurate production of components, Chiappa uses a COORD3 computerized measuring machine. It’s capable of producing a computerized 3D model of any part, which can be used to ensure product quality as well as detect the exact dimensions of an antique firearm that Chiappa is looking to produce.
While this first half of the manufacturing floor is decidedly high-tech, with computer-controlled tooling at every turn, the other half of the company places a high emphasis on craftsmanship. In fact, a Chiappa executive described them as “artisans,” and this is an entirely accurate description. This is where wood stocks are made practically by hand, go through finishing and climate-controlled curing processes, and are inspected for quality. In fact, each stock is unique, and intended to be used with one firearm receiver only.
After all the components have been manufactured, they are assembled by hand. Almost all of this assembly is done by female employees, because they are believed to have better hand-eye coordination and manual dexterity.
Testing of the assembled weapons is done in several ways. By law, all firearms produced by Chiappa – and even some of the blank guns made for KIMAR – must be proof tested, or high pressure tested. This testing is done by the Italian national proof house, which has an office at the factory. In addition to this, experienced employees perform function tests and live fire testing of every weapon that goes out the door. For example, every .22LR caliber firearm is tested with at least ten different types of ammunition.
After this testing is complete, and final quality checks are done, the firearm is ready to be shipped to one of Chiappa’s distributors. The process is not simple, but each weapon is uniquely – and proudly – a Chiappa.
For the first time in the U.S. Army International Sniper Competition's history competitors will be provided weapons from the Army's inventory instead of bringing their own. The Army will provided each team with a 7.62x51mm short-action Remington 700 for the primary sniper, a M110 semi-automatic rifle for the spotter and two M9 pistols. The teams can bring their own daytime optics, provided they are no greater than 12x in power, but night time optics will be provided.
These rules are supposedly to level the playing field. The overseas teams, which includes Canada, Australia, Ireland, Germany and possibly Thailand, might disagree that the playing field in level when they are required to use weapons they are unfamiliar with. Sniping is supposed to be a lot more than just shooting. If equipment plays such a great role in determining the winner, the competition course should be redesigned rather than penalizing the overseas teams.
[ Many thanks to Lance for emailing me the link. ]
A reader brought my attention to Jim Bunting, who is producing a nifty bullpup stock for the Ruger 10/22. The stock chassis is CNC machined from aluminum. The stock has a simple design, which I think looks much more attractive than the futuristic curvy design of bullpups such as the FN2000 and Walther G22.
The stock makes use of an AR-15 compatible pistol grip. The aluminum trigger is skeletonized. The standard package includes a 10" top rail and 2" under rail. Side rails are optional.
The system is compatible with Ruger 10/22 extended magazines and regular magazines. Judging from the photos, an extended charging handle is required.
I would love a rifle like this with a 14" barrel registered as a Short Barrel Rifle. It would be the ultimate pack gun.
The basic stock costs $295. A vented for-end (pictured above) costs an additional $80 and side rails costs $40-$50. According to the website there is a waiting list.
[ Many thanks to Kody for emailing me the link. ]
Last week I took a look at a patent application for an AR-15 muzzle climb reducer. Bandito762 emailed in the class presentation for an engineering project he and a classmate undertook at the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. They attempted to developed a spring based muzzle climb reducer but discovered that their concept did not work. Science does not always go to plan The presentation is embedded below.
I congratulate Bandito762 and his friend on attempting to advance the state of our art. I hope they both peruse gun-related inventions in the future.
For a gun to be useful it needs to be at hand when needed. Some folk carry whilst they are at home whilst others, like Jack, embark on a quest for the holy-grail of gun storage: a gun stored in every room. Jack has stored guns in 15 places in his house, everywhere from a piano (before his wife noticed) to the classic gun-in-a-book.
Robert B. Davies has applied for a patent (#20110209377) for an interesting AR-15 modification. He proposes inserting a spring loaded counter weight into the back of the bolt carrier. This combined with a complicated hybrid spring/hydraulic bolt buffer should, according to the inventor, reduce muzzle rise.
The patent is to technical for me to comment if this system would work as described or not. It looks to me like it would be a lot less effective than the balanced recoil system of the AK-107 / AK-108 and the AEK-971. Also, the bolt buffer looks to me, a layman, as far too complex to maintain and too costly to manufacture. Still, it has given me a few ideas ... 
