The Firearm Blog

A few days ago Remington announced their line of 12 Gauge HD Ultimate Home Defense Shotshells. What intrigues me is that these shells are not loaded with buckshot, but with bird shot.

The HD Ultimate Home Defense comes in two loads. The one load contains BB bird shot and the other has a mixture of #2 and #4 sized birdshot. The shot is made from the Remington HD (High density) tungsten alloy.

Both contain 1.25 ounces of shot (547 grain) which is launched at a velocity of 1250 fps. That works out to be 1898 ft/lbs of energy.

Just a few months ago Federal launched a line of self-defense .410 Shotshell, also loaded with bird shot. There was a long discussion on The Firearm Blog about the suitability of these shells for self defense. The consensus was, to borrow an old maxim, that birdshot is for the birds!

The fact that a two major ammunition manufacturers are selling bird shot for self defense makes me wonder if they know something we do not?

The HD ammo is loaded with very hard, but dense, tungsten alloy shot which would give it greater penetration than lead. On the other hand, 00 (”double-ought”) buck shot is .33″ in diameter, much larger than BB birdshot (0.18″) and more than twice the diameter of #2 (0.15″) and #4 shot (.13″). It is almost universally accepted than bigger == better for self defense.

For the sake of those who purchase it, I hope it performs well. Remington and Federal could certainly ease our fears by releasing their test data for public scrutiny.

If any of your want to test the ammo and do a write up for The Firearm Blog, get in touch with me.

UPDATE: I forgot to list the price. Both loads cost $34.99 for a box of 10 rounds.

A while ago a friend recommended I try the game Call of Duty (Modern Warfare). After reading Traction Control’s review I knew I had to give it a go. Soon after I became addicted.

I was looking forward to the Modern Warfare sequel but, after reading the excellent IMFDB overview of the in game guns, I am downright salivating at the thought of playing it!

Magpul Bushmaster Remington ACR

Armsel Striker / Streetsweeper like shotgun

Other guns that may be appear in the game are the M26 Masterkey Shotgun accessory (under barrel shotgun), Winchester Model 1887 lever action shotgun, IMI Tavor, FN SCAR-H and more.

Read the whole list at IMFDB

Big thanks to Tarkan for the link.

Being the complete and certified gun nut that I am, few thing excite me more than coming across unique and exotic firearms, the more unique, exotic and arcane the better!

Sucang, a resident of Xinhua, Taiwan, sent me these photos of his antique shotgun. He was hoping some readers of the blog could identify it. I was very excited when I opened the attached photos, I had never seen a rifle or shotgun with an action like it.

The shotgun is 170 cm (67″) in length and weighs 4.5 kg (10 lbs).

The action.

I presume a percussion cap is inserted into the removable breech block (see below), then the striker is pull back to cock the action. Click the photos to expand them.

Load information was been engraved onto the gun in English. Not necessarily when it was first made.

Markings.

I don’t know what that cartridge-esque thing is.

One striker cocked.

Breech Blocks removed.

Sucang thought it could be from the 1600’s when the Dutch, who were fond of hunting, occupied Taiwan. This is not likely as the 17th century would place it squarely in matchlock territory and the striker design is quite advanced. I suggested mid 19th century. My buddy Mehul, who knows far more about classic firearms that I do, suggested early 20th.

Has anyone seen anything like it before?

On Point Firearms have just started selling a great looking over-sized charging handle for the Benelli M1, M2, M3 and M4 shotguns. It is machined from aluminum and simply bolts onto the existing charging handle.

Benelli M4 with Extended Charging handle.

On Point are selling them for $30.

Weatherby have added two new additions to their line of SA-08 semi-automatic shotguns.

The Youth Synthetic is a 20 gauge shotgun with a short 12.5″ length of pull and low weight of 5.75 lbs. It has an MSRP of $449.

The Youth model also comes in a wooden stocked version. The lower recoil of the twenty gauge makes it a good choice for youngsters and the recoil sensitive (myself included).

The 12 gauge Waterfowler features a Mothwing Marsh Mimicry finish and is available in 26 and 28″ barrel lengths. The MSRP is $649.

Introduction by Steve: This is a guest post is written entirely by Y-Man. He has shown incredible ingenuity in a country that severely restricts the firearms and ammunition civilians can purchase. I have previously blogged about Y-Man’s exploits.

Imagine that all you could ever get in terms of ammunition is this:

Ordinary 12 gauge, BB Birdshot.

Well, I got some of that, but was I satisfied? NO! I needed something I could really use to “Reach out and touch…” Something that would penetrate at range with some accuracy.
Continue Reading »

Benelli, not wanting to miss out, has entered the lucrative black rifle market with Benelli MR1 Carbine, a 5.56mm gas piston operated rifle.

Benelli MR1 Carbine

The MR1 Carbine is the civilian version of the Beretta Rx4 Storm (which never took off). Benelli, a subsidiary of Beretta, designed the ARGO gas system used by the MR1/Rx4 and manufactured both the MR1 and the Rx4 Storm.

Beretta RX4 Storm with accessories. The collapsible stock is not available currently on the RX4.

What differentiates the MR1 from other 5.56mm rifles is the gas system it uses. Originally the Auto-Regulating Gas System (ARGO) was designed for the Benelli M4 Super 90, better known by its US Military designation, the M1014 Joint Service Combat Shotgun. Benelli then adapted the system for their ARGO line of hunting rifles (branded the R1 in the United States). In 2005 the Beretta Rx4 Storm, a tactical version of the ARGO rifle, was introduced and marketed to law enforcement. As far as I know the Rx4 has never been available in a select fire variant but they decided to market it to civilians as the Benelli MR1.

Benelli M4 Super 90 / M1014

Benelli ARGO EL

The ARGO gas system has an interesting short stroke piston design. Gas is trapped very close to the chamber. The high pressure gas ensures reliable cycling regardless of ammunition. This means that it can cycle any shotgun shells, regardless of the load. For a rifle it means the barrel can be very short and a suppressor could be fitted without any cycling issues. This gun is just asking to be converted into a Short Barreled Rifle!

The gas is then fed into an expansion chamber. The pressure in the chamber drives the piston assembly, which has dual rods. The high pressure is regulated by a release value. These diagrams should illustrate how the system works.

The receiver is made of aluminum, it is fully compatible with AR-15 magazines (including the 100 round drums) and, like all Benelli shotguns and rifles, the main spring is placed inside the butt stock - meaning a folding stock is not an option, although hopefully an M1014 folding stock will be made available.

MR1 Specifications:

Caliber: 5.56mm NATO / .223 Rem. Barrel: 16". Hard chrome lined. 1:9 twist. Rear Sights: Military-style Aperture Weight: 7.9 lbs.

The MSRP is $1299. I think they have priced it right. Although not cheap, and they can do better than the one five round magazine they ship with it, I doubt they could sell it much cheaper.

MR1 with 5 round magazine.

Some Eastern Bloc countries have restrictive self-defense laws that prohibit bullet firing handguns but allow less lethal weapon systems such as guns that shoot solid rubber balls or paintballs filled with capsicum (pepper spray). Once such company that produces these guns is the Hungarian firm Keserű.

They make a particularly interesting rubber ball shooting gun called the Dragon which resembles what I imagine the mutant offspring of a pump action shotgun and under-over shotgun would look like.
The Dragon is powered by a .380R blank cartridge (the “R” is for “Rimmed”), which propels a rubber ball which is 18mm (0.7″) in diameter.
What I find fascinating is that the chambers are removable. To facilitate fast loading, instead of loading the ammunition components, the operator loads pre-loaded chambers, much like you would load a magazine. I suspect the local laws require the projectile and propellent to be loaded into the chamber separately, so innovative the locals came up with this duel chamber system.

18mm Rubber Balls and .380R Blank

The pump mechanism is used to lock and unlock the chambers. Its trigger makes use of a double action striker fired mechanism.

While this system has nowhere near the power of a self defense handgun, it can generate considerable energy. I am not sure about the Dragon, but the Omerta-T, which uses the same ammunition, generates an impressive 95 ft/lbs of energy. This is slightly lower than a Standard Velocity (sub sonic) 40 gr .22 Long Rifle round. The rubber ball would hurt like hell. I have a high pain tolerance and I can assure you that a less than one foot pound plastic bb fired at point blank onto bare skin is very sore. I know I would much rather be hit by a taser than a rubber ball being propelled by 95 foot pounds of energy!

Omerta-T with its magazine style removable chamber.

A Tacti-cool Dragon

Hat Tip: Дмитрий Кочетков

For a company that supplies bayonets with some of their pistols, I am surprised it has taken CZ-USA this long to offer a breech choke.

I presume that it will fit in all their 12 gauge semi-automatic shotguns. I don’t know how useful this would be in a home defense situation, but it sure looks cool and at $39.99, is not all that expensive.

Kamil Arikut, who works at Safir Arms, makers of the .410 AR-15 shotgun, posted a comment on the blog saying that a english language forum has been created for American users of the Safir T-14 so that they can get in touch with their Turkish counterparts. If you have questions about the gun, they probably know more about it than anyone in the USA.

Earlier this year ATI began selling the T-14, an AR-15 style .410 shotgun that uses a standard AR-15 lower. I have been asked many times if and when just the upper on its own will be available for sale. I learnt from Suburban that AIM Surplus are now selling just the upper for $499.95.

The upper had a 20″ smoothbore barrel and is supplied with a five round magazine. Two models are available, the Classic and the Compact. The only difference between the models is the handguard length.

The Compact Model


The Classic Model

GunVault have introduced a new gun lock for Winchester, Remington and Mossberg pump action shotguns called BreechVault. As the name suggests, it locks into the breech. The magazine can still hold ammunition so chambering a round simply requires the lock to be removed and action pumped. The lock is made from \glass nylon so it will not damage the gun.

Locks are often frowned upon by self defense experts, but some people cannot legally leave their guns unlocked, or are simply unwilling or unable to do so for whatever reason.

The MSRP is $19.95.

There has been a discussion on the blog about the controversial new Federal Personal Defense Handgun .410 shotshell ammunition designed exclusively for the Taurus Judge .410 revolver.

.410 Personal Defense opened and pellets dumped. Thanks to Stephen for the photo.

The round contains 60 pellets of #4 bird shot (each pellet is .13″ in diameter). The load of pellets weight 1/2 oz (218.75 grain). Velocity is listed as 1200 fps which makes the total energy delivered at the muzzle to be 700 ft/lbs.

Federal said to Guns Holsters and Gear that:

The #4 pellets (approximately 10) penetrate to a depth of up to 6″.

(the pellet number is wrong, but the penetration depth sounds right for .410)

So with these facts in mind do you think that this round is capable of delivering a blow that warrants its name? I am not sure it does, but I welcome your opinions in the comments. I have a few issues with this round and how Federal have marketed it.

Firstly, the FBI requires penetration of at least 12″ for their ammunition, added to this is the fact that the pellets are individually, only .13″ in caliber and weigh about 3.6 grain. I would not want to be shot by one, and they could certainty kill if they traveled around the body and hit a vital organ, but I seriously doubt an attacker would be stopped in their tracks.

Another problem is shot dispersion. Dick wrote this comment on the blog about he groupings he achieved.

NOT SUITABLE FOR PERSONAL DEFENSE AGAINST MUCH OF ANYTHING LARGE ENOUGH TO WARRENT “SELF DEFENSE” EXCEPT PERHAPS SMALL SNAKES! A large one shot with this round at 21′ will likely kill you before it bleeds to death! With 2 rounds it put 18-20 pellets inside a 12″ circle so the snake better be curled up and there were plenty enough large gaps to miss a head shot.

Another issue I have is the published velocity. When firearm manufacturers publish velocity they usually base it on their test barrels, which are usually longer than what you would buy. For example shotgun velocities would be recorded from 28″ or 30″ barrel. The 1200 fps this round achieves is very similar to other standard shotgun loads, the difference being it is intended for the Judge. Most of the Judge models have a 2.5″ chamber and 3.5″ barrel. Revolvers measure barrel length forward of the chamber, so compared to a normal shotgun this works about to be 6″ of barrel. I believe shotguns are loaded with fast burning powder (reloaders please correct me if I am wrong), but this seems pretty amazing if it can achieve maximum velocity in only 6″ of barrel.

Finally, if Federal believe this is an adequate round for self-defense, why have they not published their own internal studies? Telling me it has 6″ of penetration, presumably in ballistic gelatin, is just not enough information.

So far Federal have not delivered a .410 buckshot model of the Personal Defense Round, but likely will later this year.

I am interested in your opinions. I don’t consider myself very knowledgeable in this area.

UPDATE:

Other blogger have weighed in on the issue. Go read what they have to say (if you have blogged about it and I don’t know, tell me and I will add your blog to the list):

Michael Bane @ The Michael Bane Blog

Caleb @ Gun Nuts

Command Arms Accessories have developed a new Remington 870 and Mossberg 500 stock and forend.

The stock features a collapsible M4-style stock, pistol grip, aluminum buffer tube and picatinny rails for optics. There also appears to be a rail on the side of the stock, although I am not sure what could be attached there.

On a Mossberg 500

The new forend features a lower rail, which could be used to mount a forward handgrip, and side rails for lights or lasers. I like the grip design.

CAA are selling the stock for $199.99 and the forend for $59.99. Mossberg kit here, Remington kit here.

Hat Tip: Tactical Life