Photos from OldPicture.com.

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

New Jovian Thunderbolt discusses the mythical Stoner 63 carbine/rifle/machine gun that never took off.

Navy SEAL in Vietnam with a Stoner 63 in a LMG configuration.

Posted because everybody love the MP7. My first impression was that it is much bigger in real life than in photos. While it is a sexy gun, the .17 cal (4.6x30mm) cartridge does not inspire me with confidence.

The entire TDI KRISS line is going to be available in .40 S&W later this year. Additionally, lower receivers will be sold so that a .45 model can be converted to .40 S&W. Like the .45 version, it also uses Glock magazines.

The photo below of the prototype .40 S&W submachine gun model. I had to promise them I would make is clear it is a prototype and that the finish on the lower is rough and not what will be seen on the production version.

The TDI KRISS Vector is now available in a pistol configuration. This allows civilians to purchase a short barreled configuration where previously they were limited to the 16" carbines. The military and law enforcement the select-fire pistol version makes for a compact and controllable PDW.

.45 KRISS pistol

M2A1 Machine Gun

The Army was recently demoing the upgraded, and long-overdued, version of the M2 Browning machine gun. Army.mil reports ...

The M2 A1 is an upgrade to the M2 machine gun. It provides a quick-change barrel and fixed head space and timing to reduce Soldier errors and associated safety risks, according to a report prepared by the Small Arms Branch. The Army is also working on a lightweight .50-caliber machine gun to augment the M2 A1, Henthorn said.

Also on demoed was the light-weight version of the M240, the M240L, which will be deployed next year ...

One of the weapons showcased was the M240L medium machine gun, a lighter alternative to the M240B machine gun. The M240L weighs 21-and-a-half pounds, six pounds lighter than the M240B.

"Lightening Soldiers' loads is a key element of what we want to do," Henthorn said. "We are carrying a lot of weight downrange on missions because we want capability. Every pound we take off a guy is a pound he doesn't have to carry up and down a hill."

Along with reduced weight, the branch is shortening the barrel and providing a collapsible butt stock for the M240 L, said Troy Harris, deputy chief of the small arms branch.

Henthorn said Army-wide fielding could begin in 10 months.

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

From the WHQ Forum ...

"Both the SOW (Special Operations Weapon) and its magazine-fed Remington 870 predecessor (bottom) were products of mechanical wizard Carroll Childers, an engineer at the Naval Special Weapons Center. The 870 mod kit provided SEAL shotgunners with a quick-change magazine holding 20 rounds. The SOW was full-auto."

http://img522.imageshack.us/img522/6861/sowg.jpg

Very interesting. It must have been a fun gun to shoot!

Thanks much to Sven for emailing me the info.

UPDATE: Daniel found the patent for the SOW. Worth reading if you are interesting how it worked.

CombatDriver writes at HighRoad.us ...

I discovered this light machine gun last month at a SF team house here in Afghanistan. Its an old post WWI French Mdle 1922 light machine gun in 7.92mm Mauser. There were two models one that fed from a box magazine on top and this one that used stripper fed clips (15,24 &30 rd cap). The French made them is several calibers, including 6.5mm Mannlicher-Schoenauer (Greek), 7x57 Mauser (Spain), 7.7x56R (.303, UK) and 7.92x57 Mauser (Czechosolvakia). This one is missing the charging hande, bipod and muzzle brake.

Cleaning rod has been jammed into the bolt carrier and used as improvised charging handle.

Umarex is also manufacturing .22 LR carbines patterned on the famous MP5 and MP5SD. These carbines features ...

• Metal revievers.
• Compensators
• NAVY style pistol grip.
• Retractable stocks.
• H&K style diopter iron sights. Adjustable for elevation or windage.

MP5 A5

MP5SD

The A5 model features a standard MP5 forend and a faux suppressor. The MP5SD foreend is modeled on the original SD forend although the suppressor is also just for the look and is non-funcationing. Standard fixed stocks will be able for purchase.

Both these guns will be able to be purchased with either a 10 round or 25 round magazine.

Hat Tip: On Point Supply

After a year of speculation and commentary from pundits, myself included, the Marine Times reports that the H&K has won the competition and that their entry will enter production next year ...

The Marine Corps has selected the infantry automatic rifle made by Heckler & Koch as the weapon that will replace the M249 Squad Automatic Weapon in infantry fire teams, a senior service official told Marine Corps Times on Wednesday.

The H&K IAR “was truly the best in the class on multiple levels and will finally allow the billet of automatic rifleman to be performed as intended without the disruption of the squad integrity that the M249 created,” Chief Warrant Officer 5 Jeffrey Eby, the Corps’ senior gunner, said in an e-mail.

Despite what is said in the above quotation, I do not think that the SAW is being replaced outright. The Marine Times has at times reported that the SAW would be replaced with the IAR, and at other times reported that it would augment the IAR, not replace it ...

The plan is to buy 4,100 IARs and reduce the number of SAWs in the Corps from 10,000 to 8,000, Cantwell said.

“We are still going to maintain SAWs in the company,” he said. “Only 2,000 SAWs will be replaced. The reminder will be kept as an organizational weapon for when commanders need them.”

The H&K entry was a modified version of their HK416 piston-operated AR-15 rifle. Unlike the Colt and FN entries, it is said to fire only from a closed bolt. Given the lack of an open-bolt fire mode I had presumed it was the least likely choice for an automatic rifle.

Presumably it is fitted with a heavy barrel, like H&K's previous, and commercially unsuccessful, attempt at the automatic rifle: the MG36. The Marine Corps has been reporting the weight of the 16.5" barreled H&K IAR as being 7.9 lbs. This is not possible as a standard 16.5" barreled Hk416 weights in at 7.84 lbs. I also think that the photo of the H&K IAR shown by the Military Times is that of a standard HK416.

HK416 standard rifle (not IAR)

I have contacted H&K to see if they are willing to publicly acknowledge if they have won. If they do, I will endeavor to get the specs of the new weapon.

UPDATE: The Marines Times has an updated article here.

Many thanks to Mark and Matt for sending me the news.

After writing the The quest for high-capactity firearms post, readers told me about other interesting attempts at high capacity guns.

Porter Revolving Turret Rifle

9-shot; .48 caliber. In excellent overall condition. Bore is excellent plus; 28" barrel. Metal is smooth and well marked. Showing little or no use. Manufactured in 1851. Mechanically excellent. Wood is excellent, with one tiny area of wood loss. Only 1250 Porter Turret Rifles made, in three types, of which approximately 375 were type II. Lacks rear sight, cover screw broken, otherwise complete and excellent. A very advanced weapon for its time, and a competitor to the Colt Revolving Rifle, many were used during the Westward Migration. Seldom available on today's market, this example is in far above average condition. $11400

If you are interested, this rifle can be purchased at 19thcenturyweapons.com.

Isaiah Jennings 12 shot repeating flintlock rifle

According to the press release [PDF warning], when this gun was auctioned off, it achieved a record sales price in Louisiana.

An 1820 Prototype Isaiah Jennings 12 Shot Repeating Rifle, engraved with the serial number “No. 1,” generated a great deal of interest on the telephone, through eBay and from within the room. Bidding finally stopped (and the applause began) when a local purchased this exceptionally rare rifle for $34,000.00, making it a Louisiana record price for a firearm sold at auction.

Does anybody know how this type of gun works?

Ingrham's Underhammer Harmonica Rifle

The Underhammer Society Blog has a post about a modern reproduction of this 175 year old rifle design. Be sure to watch the video.

The Puckle gun

This gun dates back to the early 1700s! It fired 32mm caliber projectiles at a rate of just under 10 rounds per minute. I think make almost makes it an Auto-Cannon

Photo from Wikipedia.

Many thanks to Mehual, Clodboy and El Duderino for the links.

"H&K 4 LIFE" sent me photos of his uncles' tricked out Uzi machine gun (Class III). It looks like a lot of fun to shoot

Many thanks to "H&K 4 LIFE" and his uncle for the pics.

Militärgewehre-Enzyklopädie, a German translation of a Dutch book, contains what I believe may be the only reference to the bizarre dual-barrel creations of ITM Tool and Die (Cleveland, OH).

The ITM Model-4 Prototype

Both barrels of the Model-4 are chambered in 9mm Parabellum. The top barrel is 12" and the bottom is about 6". It has a single trigger, and fires at a rate of 800 rounds/minute. It weighs nearly 8 lbs!

ITM Model-3

The Model-3 gun chambers 7.62x51mm in the 16" top barrel and 9mm Parabellum in the 7.8" lower barrel. This too has a single trigger. I am not sure if pulling the trigger fires both barrel, or there is a selector switch. Like the Model-4 also cycles at 800 rounds/minute. The Model-3 weighs 9.7 lbs, presumably unloaded.

ITM has developed many other 9mm and 7.62x39mm machine gun prototypes, both in single barrel and dual barrel configurations. You will have to purchase Militärgewehre-Enzyklopädie to see photos of these as I do not want to publish the entire chapter of a book. ¹

I spoke to the owner of ITM Tool and Die and he confirmed that they are still developing prototypes, although he was not willing to disclose any information about their current projects or the guns featured in Militärgewehre-Enzyklopädie.

Many thanks to Sven (Defense and Freedom) for the tip.

Many thank also to A. E. Hartink, the books' author, for letting me use his photos.

... with a Winchester 1300 12 Gauge Pump Action Shotgun, Springfield Armory M14, Colt M4 Carabine Colt with a M203 Greneade, Launcher, IMI Uzi, Auto Ordinance Thompson, Heckler & Koch MP5, Styer MP40, Cobray M11-380, a Colt M2 .50 cal Heavy Machine Gun on Navy Soft Mount. and explosives.

The videography is amazing. I highly recommend watching it in HD over at Youtube.

I will seriously consider KeepGoing.Biz if I ever need the services they provide.

Many thanks to Bill Rushmore for sending me the video.