The Firearm Blog

The 9mm compact Glock 19 and .40 S&W compact Glock 23 will both be offered with the Rough Textured Frame (RTF2). This frame does not replace the standard Glock frame, better known as the 3rd Gen Frame, on the G19 and G23, but will be available as an option.

From the press release:

The G19 and G23 are two of the most popular GLOCK models. The G19 9x19 compact is widely used all over the world. In addition, the G23 in .40 caliber is quite popular with both law enforcement and private individuals as a back up or concealed carry firearm. Adding the RTF2 finish to these compact models increases the options for law abiding

individuals and organizations. Along with the new RTF2 finish, each of these GLOCK pistols have the same time tested "Safe Action" system, durable exterior finish, cold hammer forged barrel, durability, reliability, and light weight that GLOCK is famous for.

Glock G22 .40 S&W with RTF2 frame. © Ken Lunde. Used with permission.

The first RTF2 pistol, the G22 RTF2, was unveiled in January after much speculation. This was followed a few months later by the G17 RTF2.

This year the Dutch Police have been trailing new pistols which will replace their current service pistol, the Walther P5.

A new cartridge, called the 9x19mm NP (Netherlands Police), has been developed for their future service weapon. The 9mm NP features a 94 grain (6.1 gram) solid copper hollow point bullet with a plastic cap inserted into the hollow.

The "AA" stamp indicates that this is trial/prototype ammunition. Photo by Marco.

Ballistically it is the same as 9mm Luger / Parabellum. It is given a separate designation because some firearms, such as the MP5, will need to be modified to function correctly with the lighter bullet.

Many thanks to my source for this information.

Khar have given the PM9 sub-compact what I call the "Massachusetts makeover". An external thumb safety has been added along with a loaded chamber indicator. It has already been added to the Massachusetts EOPS Approved Firearms Roster. I think this model, with the safety, is probably going to be popular outside of MA.

Advanced Armament Corporation (AAC) have developed a new ultra high-end suppressor called the Ti-RANT. It weights about 1 oz less than their Evolution 9mm suppressor while offering greater sound reduction. This is achieved by using titanium and titanium alloys, hence the name Ti-RANT.

The specs are:
Weight: 8.6 OZ (244gm)
Length: 7.9” (201mm)
Diameter: 1.38” (35mm)
Finish: GunKote, T3 HARD COAT& SCARMOR
Sound Reduction: 35-38dB

The business end of the Ti-RANT

Of course the high-end construction and technology comes at a price. AAC will be selling it for $1195 shipped. That is about $300 more than the Evo 9.

More info at AAC

CZ have introduced a new 9mm submachine gun called the Skorpion EVO III. Contrary to what the name suggests, it shares no heritage with the classic CZ Škorpion vz. 61 subgun.

CZ’s 2009 military weapon line up.

Since the 1993 split of Czechoslovakia into the Slovak Republic and the Czech Republic, the Slovakian arms industry has gone into decline and is now only a shadow of its former self. The fact that the Czech arms industry is doing well seems to be a source of irritation to the Slovak government.

The Skorpion EVO appears to be a cosmetic update to the Laugo LG 205 submachine gun that was designed by a Slovakian firm sometime in the last decade. They must have been unsuccessful in generating interest in the product and appear to have sold the design to CZ.

From the excellent site Small Arms Illustrated.

I know very little about the gun other than it is chambered in 9mm Luger / Parabellum, made of lightweight polymer and has all the picatinny rails you could want.

CZ are marketing it as a PDW (Personal Defense Weapon), although I cannot see any feature that distinguish it from any other 9mm submachine gun. You can see in the top image that they have given it the same stock and pistol grip as the new CZ S 805 rifle, which their marketing department are using as a selling point.

It will be interesting to see what becomes of this gun. At one point the designer (I have no idea who designed it, despite an hour and half of research) had it on display with a thumbhole stock and carbine length barrel. Personally I think it would have a great 9mm civilian carbine.

About a month ago I mentioned a post by Caleb warning people not to use 9mm NATO rounds in 9mm Luger / Parabellum pistols.

A reader, who shall remain anonymous, emailed me this account of what happened to him.

Your message about the 9 mm Nato versus 9 mm Luger (9×19 mm, 9 mm Para) is correct and should be a warning to all users of 9 mm pistols. I found out the the higher pressure of the Nato round can be punishing. The same day as I received my first and brand new police service pistol, the Walther P5, I took it to my shooting club to show it to the lads and to shoot it.

Because I ran out of ammo, I borrowed a box from a military friend, who used 9 mm Nato rounds. After two shots my new pistol jammed, because the extractor broke off. I had some explanation to do the next day in order to get my service gun back in working order and got the message: Never use military ammo in non-military firearms. So, any surplus army ammo: use it in the Browning High-Power or the Glock, but not in “civilian” pistols.

I know I said I was not going to blog for the next few days but I am very excited to finally see photos of the new Chinese made submachine gun I had heard about.

It looks a lot like what I would expect the child of a Sig 550 rifle and an H&K MP5 submachine gun would look like. I actually think it looks pretty good. Not much is known about this gun. It chambers 9mm less-lethal rubber bullet rounds (effective range of 10-80 meters) and 9mm Parabellum. The intended users are law enforcement.

It features a folding stock, H&K style diopter iron sight and quick detach red dot sight.

Grenade launcher attachment. Probably for less-lethal / crowd control ammunition.
Note MP5 style forward charging handle.

A few more images:

Hat Tip: china_police at MP.net

Caleb wrote an interesting blog post last month about the the different in pressure between the SAAMI spec’ed 9mm loads (9mm Luger / Parabellum) and the NATO load (9×19mm NATO). I had forgotten to mention it here until I was browsing his blog today.

The ammo industry uses something called SAAMI Standards to establish the pressures that ammo should be loaded to. The SAAMI pressure for 9mm Luger ammo is around 35,000 PSI, and C.I.P (think European SAAMI) rates 9mm Luger ammo at 34,080 PSI. According to documentation, the 9mm NATO rounds are pressured at 36,500 PSI (again according to CIP). That means that when compared to standard 9mm ammo, the 9mm NATO ammo is running a higher pressure, analogous to a 9mm +P load, which SAAMI rates around 36,000 PSI.

Read the full post here.

Next month the 9mm Glock 17 will be available with the RTF2 (Rough Textured Frame version #2) frame. The RTF2 frame is often called the “4th Generation” frame.

Glock 17 RTF2

Earlier this year at SHOT Show Glock introduced the RTF2 variant of the Glock 22. From the press release:

The G22 RTF2 has been received with excellent reviews and is one of the top 10 sellers for FY 2010. In addition to the G22 RTF2, GLOCK, Inc. is proud to announce that on May 1, 2009, they will offer the 9×19 G17 RTF2 pistol, as they continue their pursuit to expand their RTF2 series. The G17 RTF2 is the second pistol that GLOCK, Inc. has released with the new rough textured frame and slide serration pattern. The newly designed frame incorporates more than 4,000 raised pyramids on the front, rear and sides of the polymer receiver and has a newly designed crescent shaped serration pattern located at the rear of the slide.

Recently, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office was the first local agency in the United States to convert to the G22 RTF2, while at the same time the Louisiana State Police and Louisiana Department of Public Safety purchased 1300 G22 RTF2 and G17 RTF2 pistols, which has made them the first state agency to convert to both RTF2 series of GLOCK pistols.

Ammoland reports that the Palm Pistol development is moving forward:

The response to the design has been very encouraging. Mainstream media and trade press stories coupled with the gun’s initial designation by the FDA as a medical device, created widespread domestic and international publicity. As a result, we received 417 pre-production reservations to date. Several well known gun magazines have informed us they are eager to conduct a detailed review of our prototypes as soon as they become available.

…

We are engaged in promising discussions with several small arms manufacturers regarding bringing the Palm Pistol to market. We are working toward the goal of creating prototypes late in 2009 with deliveries sometime in 2010, although a number of factors could change this timeline.

More here.

These photos are of a gold plated Cobray M11/9 (9mm) machine gun that is being auctioned at GunBroker. The suppressor is fake and bidding starts at $4,799.

Click to expand the photos.

The GSh-18 Pistol can fire a very hot (similar to 9mm +P+) 9mm Luger round loaded with an AP bullet called the 9mm PBP. It has the capability to punch holes through 8mm of steel or a Class III bulletproof vest at 20 meters. This video (from RIAN) shows off its capabilities:

Defense Review wrote about the pistol recently.

H/T: Reddit

$10,500 will buy this gold inlaid 9mm Glock 19. Engraved by Glock’s (Austria) master engraver. Click to expand photos.

Hat Tip: Say Uncle

Caleb just posted on his blog that the Boberg XR-9 is going to launch this year.

The pistol features a unique design in which the magazine sits beneath the chamber instead of behind it. This allows a longer barrel, thereby generating more muzzle energy than a shorter barreled pistol of a similar size chambering in the same cartridge. I wrote a blog post about the pistol last year.

More information at Gun Nuts Media.