Nathaniel is a history enthusiast and firearms hobbyist whose primary interest lies in military small arms technological developments beginning with the smokeless powder era. He can be reached via email at nathaniel.f@staff.thefirearmblog.com.
Have you ever wondered about the origin of the .22 LR? Have you ever wanted a small, utility rifle for bicycle or pocket carry? It turns out those two subjects are related: The New Model Pocket Rifle (First Issue) was the same basic design as the Old Model Pocket Rifle, [Read More…]
It’s been a matter of reflection for me that the gun culture – what I like to call the gun hobby – has dramatically changed in the past two decades. Even when I was a lad, gun magazines were still mostly about hunting and target shooting arms; [Read More…]
The AR-15 family of rifles was accepted into US service under strange circumstances. In 1962, Ordnance – previously in charge of rifle and ammunition procurement – was abolished by Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, and the offices themselves [Read More…]
CZ USA has collaborated with Colion Noir to bring us an announcement regarding the availability of Scorpion Evo 3 pistols in 2015: 2015 brings the CZ Scorpion EVO 3 S1 Pistol to the US market. Easy to shoot, accurate and reliable, its only drawback is how fast it [Read More…]
Out with the old, in with the new! Here at The Firearm Blog, we’re excited for what the new year will bring! It is a time for hopefulness, but also for reflection. Our readers have made this a great year for TFB, and we’re ever grateful for your continued [Read More…]
The standing position is my favorite position. Prone is more accurate, and my choice for if I absolutely, positively have to hit something that I have a clear line of sight to or if I’m practicing the basics, but standing is more broadly useful and more fun, too. [Read More…]
The AK-12 has just been approved for use in the Russian Army, but what else do we know about the weapon? TV Zvezda has released a helpful video describing the rifle to the public: The problem for monolingual English-speakers such as myself being that we cannot [Read More…]
Coming on the heels of (and surely related to) news that Kalashnikov Concern has decided to launch the AK-12 on the open market, the Russian Army has announced today that both the AK-12 and the A545 (improved AEK-971 variant) have passed state trials and will be [Read More…]
Russian news media today reports that, one year after Mikhail Kalashnikov’s death, the company that bears his name has officially launched the AK-12 rifle on the open market. Russia Today reports: Концерн «Калашников» планирует в [Read More…]
Controversy over small arms is nothing new. Back in the early 1950s, when the 7.62x51mm was called the “.30 Light Rifle” and NATO still believed it could achieve the goal of a universal standard rifle, there was (quite naturally, given the large number of [Read More…]
The Galil rifle has become famous as the rugged but heavy Israeli Kalashnikov (by way of Finland). Less well known is the Galil’s competitor designed by Uziel Gal, who lent his name to the famous Uzi submachinegun he also designed. The Gal rifle was a [Read More…]
It’s often said that small arms technology has plateaued; that development of better kinds of weapons is essentially unfeasible for the moment, and that non-optic related small arms technology had pretty much reached its peak by 1965. It would be very difficult to [Read More…]
B&T AG (formerly Brügger & Thomet AG) of Switzerland have introduced a new sound suppressor targeted at the .380 subcompact market. The suppressor is partnered with a barrel either for a Glock 42 or a SIG P238 pistol. Designed to be smaller than other [Read More…]
Bob Holloway, then of Fort Worth, Texas, in the 1980s built on his experiences in Southeast Asia and Rhodesia to design a .308 caliber military rifle, what eventually became the HAC-7. His rifle was an amalgamation of Armalite, FN, and Kalashnikov designs, with a [Read More…]
For December’s BoTM, we’ll be stepping a little bit outside of our comfort zone. If you’re like me, small arms is one interest of several (though by far the biggest), and just like discovering or finding out more about rare or unique firearms excites [Read More…]
Aren’t there enough calibers in the world? Is there really a need for any new entries into the endless list of different kinds of ammunition that have been created? This argument makes a lot of sense; with virtually every nook and cranny in the spectrum of [Read More…]
In the spirit of giving, Gun News’ Darryl Blonski has endeavored to make the cheapest possible AR-15 lower receiver that money can buy (so that there is all the more left over for gifts for his family). What do the fruits of this exercise in inexpense look like? [Read More…]
How exactly does a 1911 work? To fully answer that question, one used to have to get a set of punches, a hammer, a set of gunsmithing screwdrivers, a parts list, a 1911 of course, and a couple of hours of time. However, animation takes this one step further, and Jacob [Read More…]
IAA Forum user PaulSmith received several x-ray images of ammunition, and was able to take photographs: Last week I was given some excellent x-rays. By having a diffuse light source behind the film I was able to take some pictures. The quality of the x-ray images are [Read More…]
Rifleslinger of Art Of The Rifle has discovered an interesting practical shooting tip: Covering the muzzle of a firearm with a “water grenade” (olive drab colored balloon made to resemble a pineapple grenade when inflated) to prevent dirt or other debris [Read More…]
Is the M16A4 worth the extra weight and length it brings? Howard of LooseRounds has weighed in with an article relating some of his experiences with the rifle. His conclusion is as follows: I have often told people that the M4 is a jack of all trade, but master of [Read More…]
For this week’s DTIC, we have a document that’s not so much significant as it is interesting. Round-Robin Comparison Test of Light Rifle Ammunition Caliber .30 is an early look into the program that would beget the 7.62x51mm NATO round. An atom-sized [Read More…]
Strange Guns has finally uncovered the identity of a pistol that was for some time a mystery to that site: The BSW pistol prototype, a weapon that was a competitor to the Walther P38, and one of the few handguns with a gas system (more on that below): As Ian notes over [Read More…]
In my critique of the M1 Garand rifle on Sunday, I noted that John Cantius Garand was not only a firearms designer, but a machinist as well. It was his intimate understanding of the world of the shop floor that made his rifle economical to produce, which is in my [Read More…]
WeaponsMan has begun a project that I personally find very interesting: Recreating a SOCOM M4A1 from the initial 2002 Afghanistan campaign. Hognose’s goal is to recreate with as high a fidelity as possible the weapon he served with during that period, using a [Read More…]
The M-1 rifle is the most deadly rifle in the world. – General George S. Patton, April 3rd, 1944 Hindsight is different when applied to the distant past of someone else than when applied to the recent past of oneself. Patterns jump out that might not have actually [Read More…]
10. Thorneycroft Carbine Some of you might be familiar with this gun, but few know that almost all available pictures of it are misleading, at best. The picture below is not of the original Thorneycroft Carbine, but of the later Thorneycroft-Farquhar rifle. The title [Read More…]
The Vz. 52 rifle is a favorite of mine; it hits all the right notes for being “weird”: It shoots a weird caliber – 7.62x45 (nope, that’s not a typo!), uses a weird operating mechanism (a forward-tilting bolt), and has a great big integral [Read More…]
For those who thought the GunLab VG1-5 project was très chic, the first example is now complete and awaiting BATFE approval. Even better, Allegheny Arsenal is now accepting preorders! The guns will cost $4,000 each (despite the decidedly inexpensive construction [Read More…]
InRange has got something very interesting for their viewers this week: Two segments on the SMG Guns project to create a modernized FG-42. They also released a trailer on YouTube, embedded below: The SMG Guns MK42 – as they’re calling it – is a [Read More…]
Your Privacy Choices