The Firearm Blog

Surefire have released a Shot Timer iPhone application called, you guessed it, “ShotTimer”. It shows elapsed time, split time and allows you to email results.

I am slightly annoyed, I was seriously thinking about writing a shot timer but looks like I was beaten to it.

I predict it will not be long until a full IPSC timer and external ballistic calculator are released for the iPhone. Both make sense for such a cool device.

Hat Tip: Captain of a Crew of One va. Snow Flakes in Hell

James has an interesting post about the lowly .25 ACP cartridge and the “St. Etienne Policeman” autoloader pistol which chambered it.

The BBC reports that South Africa has held the biggest ivory sale in 20 years:

The auction in Pretoria of more than 51 tonnes of elephant tusks was sanctioned by the UN body which oversees trade in endangered species.

The tusks sold for $142 per kilo, netting the government $6.7m (£4.2m) -less than expected.

The UN has allowed Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe to each sell off their elephant ivory stocks this year. These were one-off sales and are not allowed to be repeated. The total ivory sold was 107.75 tonnes.

Hopefully this will have a significant impact on the price of ivory grips.

Boone Trading Company AAA Grade Colt Officers’ grips: $230

The BBC article I linked to above was not well researched. Mammoth tusks are not uncommon and sales are legal, although I expect elephant ivory is of much better quality than bones which have been sitting in permafrost for 4500+ years.

Last month the Deputy Head of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, Lieutenant-General Mikhail Suhodolskogo, announced that Russian police (the MVD) would be moving away from the AKS-74U (5.45mm 8″ barreled sub-carbine) and the famous Makarov pistol.

Reasons cited are increased gang violence (seems police use this line all over the world) and the potential for ricochets and over penetration of the 5.45mm cartridge.

The police are too replace the AKS-74U with two submachine guns: The Knight and the PP-2000.

The Knight / Vityaz / PP-19-01. Photo from Lenta.ru

I know very little about the Knight. I know it is made by Izhmash and I would guess by looking at the photo that it will fire 9×19mm Luger/Parabellum and will be able to handle the +P+ Russian 7N31 armor piercing round. The receiver also looks shorter than the AK carbines and rifles. I can’t make out if it is gas operated or not.

The Knight could be possibly be a redesign of the 9A-91 compact rifle that fired the 9×39mm cartridge.

UPDATE: —-
Thanks to jdun and R.A.W in the comments I have more information on the Knight. It looks like it was originally known as the AK-9, but this may just be a name given to it in the west. The russian name in the Arabic alphabet, according to guns.ru, appears to be Vityaz with one model called the Vityaz-SN. The word Vityaz means ancient warrior, hence the translation as Knight. It is not clear if the westernized name is used officially. According to guns.ru the official product name is PP-19-01 but I am not sure if that is accurate.
—-

PP-2000

The PP-2000 is a cool looking submachine gun. It fires the 9×19mm Luger/Parabellum and can handle both AP (7N31) and armor piercing (7N21) loads. It operates with a telescoping bolt, thereby reducing size, and although it looks like it may be gas operated in the photo, it is not. It uses 20 and 44 round magazines. A spare 44 round magazine can be inserted into the back of the receiver and used as a stock if the wire folding stock it not attached.

The Baikal Yarygin PYa / MP-443 “Grach” pistol, which I dubbed the “Ugliest modern pistol“, will be replacing the Makarov PM. The reasons for this are obvious. Twice the magazine capacity and a much more powerful round. The 9×18mm Makarov cartridge is closer to the .380 ACP rather than the 9×19mm Luger/Parabellum.

Baikal Yarygin PYa / MP-443 “Grach” pistol

In Moscow’s Shadows analyzed what this announcement means. Like US police departments the Russian police have been buying cheap military surplus firearms, but unlike US law enforcement this is all they have been buying.

Also unlike US police departments, and like much of the world, the MVD are employed, financed and administered by the central government. I think this arms upgrade, which will cost a fortune, demonstrates Russia’s new found wealth.

Hat Tip: Backyard Safari

Guns Holsters and Gear has the gun gossip:

“I wouldn’t bet my life on it, but if somebody was taking bets, I would bet that in the year 2009, Ruger might come out with one of those [the SP101] in .38 Special, +P rated in an aluminum frame…”

If they do release it then they will probably aim to do so at SHOT Show 2009 in January.

Ruger SP101 in .327 Federal Magnum

S&W have just released a press release saying that they are supplying 7500 M&P9 pistols to the Iraq Military and security forces. I don’t know how long they have been using the pistol. I was not aware they had adopted the M&P9 before reading the press release.

Nichols, added, “In addition to the M&P9s currently used in Iraq, Smith & Wesson firearms have also been used in active duty for the last two years with several security forces in Afghanistan including the Afghanistan National Army and Border Patrol as well as the Afghanistan National Police. To date, over 80,000 Smith & Wesson firearms are currently being used in these two countries. Reports from the field continue to indicate that the firearms are exceeding all expectations in the areas of reliability and durability. We are honored to continue delivering firearms that support men and women serving in Iraq and Afghanistan and we remain committed to supplying high-quality small arms to the military and federal government.”

Smith & Wesson M&P9

Full press release here.

The Kahr P380 .380 micro compact pistol will be shipping next month (November 2008). This pistol competes with the Ruger LCP and the Kel-Tec P3AT.

The pistol was originally supposed to be shipping earlier this year in June. The press release today came shortly after the Ruger announced a recall on the .380 LCP. Coincidental? I think not.

Ruger: This is getting really old. Both your new pistols have been recalled. How do you expect us to trust you?

The press release:

SOUTHPORT, Conn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE:RGR - News) announces that it has recently received a small number of reports from the field indicating that LCP pistols can discharge when dropped onto a hard surface with a round in the chamber. Although no injuries have been reported, we are firmly committed to safety and will retrofit all older LCP pistols (described below). The retrofit involves installation of an upgraded hammer mechanism at no charge to the customer.

As a responsible manufacturer, we want to make our customers aware of this FREE safety upgrade. All LCP pistols bearing the prefix “370” (that is, serial number 370-xxxxx) may be affected. LCP owners can sign up for the safety upgrade or obtain additional information by:

* Visiting our LCP recall website at www.ruger.com/lcprecall
* E-mail: LCPrecall@ruger.com
* Fax: 928-541-8873
* Calling the LCP Recall hotline at 1-800-784-3701

The new parts are being built and we will retrofit LCP pistols on a first-come, first-served basis as soon as they are available. When Ruger is ready to retrofit a consumer’s pistol, Ruger will send a shipping label and package with instructions for the FREE return of the LCP pistol to our factory in Prescott, Arizona. Ruger will install the new hammer mechanism, plus some other functional upgrades that have been added since the LCP’s introduction, at no charge to the consumer and the pistol will be returned at Ruger expense. All owners will receive a FREE LCP magazine with the new finger grip extension as a “thank you” for their patience and cooperation.

ATI have announced the GSG5-PK pistol.

The new GSG-5PK pistol is a .22 Long Rifle HV Caliber with a barrel length of 4.52″, total length of 15.275″ and a total height of 10″. It weighs in at a dainty 5.2 lbs. It has an alloy frame construction and features a magazine safety and click-adjustable target sight. At a MSRP of $549.95, the GSG-5PK pistol is the perfect partner to the original GSG-5 rifle model.

It is basically a GSG5-P (pistol) with a shortened barrel and MP5K style handguard. Some photos (click to expand):

Hat Tip: SayUncle

These run the end of the year.

Smith & Wesson

Through December 31, 2008, consumers will have the opportunity to take part in two promotions from Smith & Wesson - the Hunting Fall Spectacular and the Holiday Handgun Promo. During the designated months, consumers will be able to receive rebates or free magazines with the purchase of select firearms.

Hunting Fall Spectacular:
· Purchase a new Smith & Wesson Elite Gold or Silver shotgun and receive a free shotgun case
· Purchase a new Model 500 or 460XVR revolver and receive a $75 rebate
· Purchase a new i-Bolt™ rifle and receive a $50 rebate
· Purchase a new 1000 Series shotgun and receive a $50 rebate

Holiday Handgun Promotion:
· Purchase select J-frame revolvers and receive a $30 rebate
· Purchase select revolvers over $500 and receive a $50 rebate
· Purchase a new M&P pistol and receive a $50 rebate or two free magazines
· Purchase a new Sigma pistol and receive a $50 rebate or two free magazines

Thompson/Center Arms

Thompson/Center will offer new incentives this year as part of the Get in the Hunt Promo, which began October 1 and continues through December 31, 2008.

Get in the Hunt:
· Purchase any new Encore barrel and receive a $25 rebate
· Purchase any new Omega Z5 muzzleloader and receive a $50 rebate
· Purchase a select Encore Pro Hunter or Endeavor and receive a $50 rebate
· Purchase a new ICON™ rifle and receive a $50 rebate

Walther

Walther will begin its PPK & PPK/S Promotion starting October 7, 2008 running through January 7, 2009. During the three month long promotion, consumers will receive a $50 rebate or two free magazines with the purchase of a new Walther PPK or PPK/S pistol.

James Yeager and associate put 1000 rounds, 68 magazines, through a Glock 19 in just under 14 minutes. 4 stoppages, some of which were attributed to bad ammo. The guide rod melted right off but it continued to function.

Part 1

Part 2:

Thanks to Jay for emailing me this video.

There is a discussion about this video at AR-15.com.

David via. SayUncle reported on a company called Constitution Arms who plan on producing palm pistols.

The Palm Pistol is an ergonomically innovative single shot double action only defensive firearm chambered in 9mm that may be fired using either hand without regard to orientation of the stock. Suited for home defense, concealed carry or as a backup gun. It is also ideal for seniors, disabled or others who may have limited strength or manual dexterity. Using the thumb instead of the index finger for firing, it significantly reduces muzzle drift, one of the principle causes of inaccurate targeting. Point and shoot couldn’t be easier.

I do wonder how useful a single shot 9mm is but they are pretty up front about the disadvantages of their product in the product specification PDF. It will be interesting to see if this goes into production.

This type of palm held squeeze to fire pistols have been around for quite some time. James has a write up about them here.

The “Protector”.

James, of Hell in a Handbasket, has written a post about his “new” S&W Model 10 he recently purchased.

What a great photo Full sized version here.

This revolver is at least 50 years old. As James pointed out, it will still be useful in another 50 years time. My great-grandfathers rifles are still floating around my family. This is one of the things I love about firearms. When you buy one you know it will outlive yourself if you look after it. Compared to ipods ( I have bought two ipods in the last 3-4 years and am about to purchase a third), cell phones, cars etc. firearms are really cheap when you consider how long they last.

More here.

The other new Polish pistol at MSPO 2008 is the 9mm MAG 08. It is a redesign of the MAG 98 which itself was a redesign of the MAG 95. It looks nice, but I do remember reading complaints about the previous generation MAG pistols somewhere.

The original (from the manufacturers website)

MAG 98C

The new pistol

From what I can make out the frame is made from aluminum and it takes 15 round and 18 round magazines.

More here (google translation)

I have done my best to find accurate information about this firearm on the Polish MSPO 2008 website. I do not speak or read Polish so I had to rely on Google Translate. If I got something wrong, please correct me in the comments.