History certainly does repeat itself, at least where Army procurement is concerned. US Senator from Iowa Joni Ernst has, in an address to Vice Chief of Staff Daniel Allyn on Capitol Hill earlier last week, called for a new upgrade program for the US Army’s [Read More…]
Vitaly Kryuchin, the president of Practical Shooting Federation of Russia (the Russian branch of IPSC), has announced, that Kalashnikov Concern is planning to make an AK-based pump-action rifle for the competition shooters. The new rifle will be called KSZ-223 [Read More…]
Battlefield Vegas is nothing short of gun nirvana. While we were at SHOT James, Steve, and I felt it was a good idea to take our camera crew to Battlefield Vegas. After all, this is the only place in town that can really excite the discerning gun nerd after a week at the world’s largest gun [Read More…]
Previously on TFB we covered the 26,000 Beryl rifle order by the active component of the Polish Land Forces. That May 2016 contract was at the time the largest acquisitions order in recent Łucznik-Radom history, but this confirmed order of 53,400 5.56x45mm NATO 96C [Read More…]
The ARES Hoplite blog has researched and reported on a growing trend within terrorist groups in Bangladesh using .22 LR cosmetically similar Kalashnikov blowback rifles to carry out violent attacks. This particular attack was carried out on the Holey Artisan Bakery on [Read More…]
The AK has a problem as a defensive rifle. Rifle projectiles that do not yaw, fragment, or expand tend to produce wounds that are little more severe than those produced by pistol bullets. In 7.62x39mm, this problem is compounded by its relatively low velocity, when [Read More…]
SHOT 2017 has come and gone. Hopefully we did our duty in providing the best coverage we could put together to you, our readership. I certainly had an exhausting show, staying up many late nights, even unto first light, hustling USBs over to fellow writers to get [Read More…]
We have seen some rather impressive AK magazine reloads but this one is not only smooth it looks refreshing. Disclaimer: TFB does not condone the consumption of alcohol with the use of firearms. Shoot and drink responsibly. Just don’t do them at the same [Read More…]
In what appears to fly in the face of the Bureau’s prior attitudes towards enforcement of gun laws, a white paper by BATFE Associate Deputy Director Ronald Turk was recently leaked which proposed loosening or modifying gun regulations in sixteen ways, to be [Read More…]
Although KVAR has these new Aresenal models in stock, I did not find them in either of their SHOT Show booths. And while they aren’t drastically different from previous rifle configurations, both guns will appeal to AK lovers. Below are the two new SLR107 and [Read More…]
Kalashnicohn is bringing to market Vityaz, completely manufactured in the United States. Apart from the few parts that are subcontracted out, the machining and receiver stamping is manufactured at the companies store in Phoenix, Arizona. Compared to the clone being [Read More…]
The redheaded stepchild of the SCAR contract was Robinson Arms’ XCR, an interesting design from a small company in Salt Lake City, UT. A rifle that is part AR-15, part FNC, and part noodle, the XCR represents an attractive looking and interesting might-have been, [Read More…]
On May 8th (Victory Day Eve) Russia will unveil a large monument in the likeness of Mikhail Kalashnikov as a testament to his influence on modern day weapon design and, as the sculptor stated, to commemorate “the struggle of good versus evil”. If my [Read More…]
M+M Industries is a budding small arms design firm out of Colorado that has been bringing the 7.62x39mm M10X rifle to market for over a year. The overall goal of the design was to bring a modular rifle to the civilian market (LE/Military also a possibility) that has a [Read More…]
Zentico, based in Moscow, Russia, are about to release the B-13N suitable for Tigr and SVD rifles. Mounting optics on Russian firearms is typically a nightmare compared to, let’s say, more Westerns designed firearms. Luckily Zentico are doing their best to develop [Read More…]
Midwest Industries showed off two new rails during the 2017 SHOT SHOW. Joining an already impressive suite of accessories are the MI AR-15/M16 Gen3 Extended Rail One Piece Free Float Handguard, and the MI Gen 2 Extended Universal AK Handguard. The MI Gen2 Extended [Read More…]
Anything that can go wrong will go wrong. -Murphy’s Law, wording attributed to Major John Paul Stapp Yesterday at TFB, we published an article that I wrote about some of the displays at the Kalashnikov USA booth, specifically criticizing the worryingly poor [Read More…]
Brownells has traditionally been a gunsmithing and parts destination for a number of decades but at SHOT 2017 the company has come out with offering full firearms for sale through their dealer network. We reported on this back in November and the company is in full [Read More…]
James River Armory is a North Carolina based company that specializes in reproduction rifles for the collector market. Something we are seeing a lot of today is that collectors will have a number of specimens of historical rifles that are very rare, but they still want [Read More…]
Kalashnikov USA had two potentially very exciting rifles at SHOT 2017. Unfortunately, the guns that I got to handle were not so great. After this article was published, I met with Kalashnikov USA’s CEO to discuss the issues with these rifles. Please see the update [Read More…]
Iron Claw Tactical is a Wisconsin based custom firearms company that is coming out with several innovative upgrades for the Kalashnikov platform. Most importantly being their non-rocking magazine well. Kalashnikovs are notorious for the particular method of [Read More…]
The American company Aeroscraft, founded by an immigrant from Ukraine, and the State owned company Ukroboronservis will co-operate to produce M4 carbines to NATO standard. The production will take place in Ukraine, and is a start to NATO-ify the Ukranian Army. The M4 [Read More…]
Obviously keying in on the newest trends in tactical sporting rifles and carbines, Kalashnikov is releasing 9mm AK47s that will use proprietary magazines (inexpensive at $30), obviously to compete with the MPX, CZ Scorpion, and the host of 9mm AR15s that have sprung up over the past few years. [Read More…]
Last year TFB reported about the MPT-76 rifle with some unique pictures from the MKE stand at IWA. As you may recall, this project first started as a 5,56×45, but has since developed to a 7,62×51 mm after feedback and new research and development. I guess if [Read More…]
During SHOT Show 2017 Industry Day at the Range, I dropped by the IWI USA booth to see what they had for attendees to shoot. Besides their highly competitive Galil ACE 308, they had also brought the 5.56mm variant of the ACE, which is just now making it into the [Read More…]
Signaling the arrival of a surplus firearm from a time and world nearly forgotten, the sweet smell of the Cosmoline protective coating invokes a Pavlov-like reaction in even the most novice collector. Sure, the moment can be short lived as you decide on a removal [Read More…]
I recently received an email from Adam of PSA. JJE Capital Acquires DDI under same umbrella as PSA Columbia, S.C. (January 2,2017)- In an acquisition that strengthens the USA made AK market JJE Capital (PSA’s parent company) announced the purchasing of a majority [Read More…]
I challenge you to watch the above video, and tell me the majority of the tactics, gear, people, and location couldn’t have been easily mistaken for a large training center in the United States, such as Gunsite, Blackwater. The Erbil Training Center (ETC) claims [Read More…]
Before you all go crazy with questions about where to order, pricing, delivery and so forth I have to start this article by typing that all the pictures you are seeing are – unfortunately – edited and Photoshopped. It seems someone simply took a picture of [Read More…]
The Small Arms Survey is a global center with a mandate to “generate evidence-based, impartial, and policy-relevant knowledge on all aspects of small arms and armed violence“. Over ten years ago, in 2006, the Small Arms Survey launched a set of Small Arms ID [Read More…]
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