The Outdoor and Shooting Wires have received- and verified the accuracy of an internal Remington memorandum that effectively answers most of a question that has been making the rounds of the industry: Is Remington getting into the handgun market?

Short answer, yes.

...

A 1911 is in first-production testing, and may be ready for introduction at SHOT Show in January.

This is incredibly interesting news! I have wondered for a long time why Remington did not seem to want a piece of the handgun market. Not wanting to be associated with "evil" handguns was my guess.

I do find the suggestion that they are going with the 1911 platform odd. While the 1911 is a very popular pistol with civilians, police departments are not adopting it. Instead they are dropping the Glock in favor of other polymer pistols like the Springfield XD and Smith & Wesson M&P pistols.

We know Remington loves military and police contracts and that they are willing to delay consumer products in order to make a grab for lucrative military contracts. The constant delays of the Bushmaster ACR are a testament to this.

So is Remington making a 1911 because they know something we do not? Will we soon be hearing about a new military competition for a .45 ACP pistol¹ ? Or are they developing a polymer 1911 or some other polymer pistol ² ?

The Associated Press reports:

"Age is not significant. I have plenty of life left in me. But still, this is a special date and it needs to be celebrated," the white-haired inventor said in remarks broadcast on Russian television.

Kalashnikov, whose tie was decorated with a metal pin shaped like an AK-47, smiled and read patriotic poetry to journalists in Izhevsk, his hometown located 1,300 kilometers (800 miles) east of Moscow.

A fine award for a great man.

Many thanks to Morten for the link.

A survey of more than 50 servicemen who have fought in Iraq and Afghanistan concluded that the 5.56mm calibre rounds used by British soldiers 'tailed off' after 300 metres yet half of all Helmand firefights are fought between 300 and 900 metres.

...

The study, co-written by Nicholas Drummond, a strategy consultant and ex-Welsh Guards officer, described British soldiers' rifles as "not much more useful than a peashooter".

...

The Ministry of Defence told the newspaper the 5.56mm calibre rounds used by United States and other Nato allies are "proven to be both accurate and powerful."

Typical government response.

Many thanks to RootMan for the link.

Gun Holsters and Gear has info on the Fourth Generation Glock.

We all thought that the RTF2 Glock that come out this year was the 4th gen glock.

UPDATE: Gun Holsters and Gear takes a look at probable features of the next gen glock.

Designed by master gunsmith Arsenal Real in Lisbon Thomás Jozé de Freitas, weapons (one-offs that charge after he unscrew the pipes, which are embedded in gold and silver) were eventually stolen, along with a set of parts lowest, by a burglar who at the time was right pages in the newspapers but that, far from being an Arsene Lupine, it would reveal a "brick" because that stole not meet even the approximate value of the goods. Still, it was celebrated by the method, but effective, he chose to commit the crime: he hid inside the museum, behind a large clock, and when he was alone, plundered what was at hand.

The pistols. Beautiful guns!

Thanks to my Portuguese source for sending me the photo and links.

It is being advertised on the Huff Post ... so be warned, it could be very very bad.

Thanks to Sven for alerting me to it.

I really think its important to remember that they sued over trademark and trade dress infringement ... not patent infringement. Very different things.

Add to that the fact that ATI openly claimed it to be a MP5 lookalike:

Add to that the fact that HK can absolutely smother them in legal fees and you have a no win situation for ATI.

Love them or hate them i feel HK had the legal right to pursue this course.

... i’m just glad i got my gsg-5 long ago

I had forgotten about that advertisement.

H&K produce a special version of their SL8, itself a consumer friendly version of the G36, for the Australian market called the R8. It functions as a bolt action. The rifle is not manufactured with a gas system, that is then blocked to make it single shot, as other single shot conversions have been.

H&K R8

Last year H&K Australia were informed that they could not longer import the R8 because it is duplicates a military rifle. They are pissed because as you can see below it barely resembles the G36. The R8 receivers and barrels were never capable of functioning as a semi-auto (or at least that is what they claim).

Earlier in the year H&K again entered into proceeding to get it reclassified.

Many thanks to Ben for sending me the documents relating to the story.

Guys,

As some of you know, we are under litigation attack by A.R.M.S. (Dick Swan) for using the numerals 1 and 7 in our LT-170 mount part number. He filed for and last spring outrageously got a trademark on "#17" and then he sued us. IIRC, he also trademarked 7.62, 5.56, 50BMG, etc., etc.

I'm more than a little perturbed.

One of his interrogatories (sic) is what evidence I have of soldiers ever having an A.R.M.S. mount fail on them. Ask and ye shall receive.

I know a gent that says that roughly 20% of the A.R.M.S. mounts have to be replaced before he can run the guys in his sniper course. Says they come in flopping in one way or the other, levers loose, roll pins shot, whatever. And these are the ones that are left of the ones that haven't already been replaced.

I have replaced numerous busted A.R.M.S. units in the past, and have heard more stories than I can count ... the gist of one story - "busted levers on square ranges crunching under the boots of trainees" ...

So, I am officially offering to replace/exchange any in-op/broken A.R.M.S. mounts for the LaRue product that best fits as a replacement.

I'll do it even at the unit level. If your team has a bucket full of dead A.R.M.S. mounts of any sort laying around, then put them to good use. I am aware that due to NSN numbers, many are the failed units are likely sh*tcanned and a replacement bought (with taxpayer money). Either way, I don't care how many ... besides, it won't be nothing compared to the attorney bills we are incurring weekly.

I do ask that some sort of note be written that says what the problem is, i.e. broken levers, loosened roll pins, stripped-out threads, etc.

Let me know about any and all A.R.M.S failures you know about ... even if you threw them away, no worries, please let me know about it here.

We may have to spend $100,000 dollars to fend off this attack, and that's money we can't buy equipment with, money we can't hire more folks with, money shot to hell.

Any help from you guys will be much appreciated.

v/r

Mark LaRue

Obviously this is only from the point of view of LaRue Tactical, but I still thought it was worth posting.

Many thanks to Kevin for emailing me the link.

Portuguese Police Glock 19. Photo from Portal das Curiosidades forum.

The police upper management then proceeded to tell the public how wonderful their new pistols were. The cops on the street must have been given a different gun because their pistols were having all sorts of problems. They had magazines randomly falling out of the guns, magazines refusing to drop out when the mag release was pressed, brass being ejected into the shooters face and just plain failing to cycle. The Portuguese IPSC community, where I believe Glocks are popular, were not at all surprised.

FORÇA DE SEGURANÇA translates to Security Force (Police force)

A few weeks ago the Portuguese media discovered that the police have signed a contract with Glock to retrofit all their pistols with normal, safety-less, Glock 19 frames. No doubt at a significant cost to the tax payer.

The government fears that the other pistol manufacturers such as HK, Beretta, Walther and Mannlicher, who were passed over in the search for the new pistol, will sue them for choosing a faulty pistol and for stipulating that a safety was a requirement, only to drop the requirement a few years later.

Many thanks to my anonymous Portuguese source for the links and translations he sent me.

This was my father’s military rifle and of course he got to keep it when he was finished. I have my grandfather’s military rifle hanging on the office wall. This was mine when I did service. It’s quite an old one it was introduced in 1957 and used until 1990. And this is my son’s. It’s the current model. That’s what’s being used today. That’s what we’ll be using the shoot the Feldschiessen today.

The Feldschessen, or Tiro Federale in Campagna as it’s known in these parts is an annual Swiss event and the largest shooting festival in the world. Roughly 200 thousand people come out to target practice all across the country. ammunition is provided by the government.

A shooting content with 200,000 people! Crazy!

And for your viewing benefit, here are some swiss made Sig 550 rifles from CS's collection.

Many thanks to CS for the photos and the link.

The WSJ reports tonight that Cerberus is preparing an initial public offering for Freedom Group, a little known company that it started in 2006 and has grown into a big player in the rifle industry.

The deal, of course, will prove to be a headline writer’s dream: (Cerberus Guns for IPO; Cerberus Aims to Take Freedom Group Public). It could also prove to be a profit machine for the private equity firm, as it cashes in on the growing market for guns and ammunition.

Comparison chart from Yahoo

While I The Freedom Group is too powerful, much like Google in the tech industry, I would rather they were public than private.

The other big news is that the WSJ quoted Bitter, a well known gun blogger. Bitter blogs at Snowflakes in Hell and The Bitch Girls. Congrats bitter! Now the race is on to be the first gun blogger quoted in The Economist

Bitter has written a post-WSJ post about the IPO.

Hat Tip: Sebastian @ Snowflakes in Hell

UPDATE: Ed Friedman has written an article about this.

Production and importation of the original design GSG-5 ceased as of Oct, 8, 2009 with the signing of the agreement. The remaining inventory now in the USA can be sold by ATI, all distributors and dealers. ATI currently has GSG-5's in stock.

Read the full press release over at at Ed's blog.

The GSG-5. If you want one, buy it NOW.

Senators diverted $2.6 billion in funds in a defense spending bill to pet projects largely at the expense of accounts that pay for fuel, ammunition and training for U.S. troops, including those fighting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to an analysis.

Lance, I think correctly, pointed out to me that this attitude of cutting defense spending to the max, probably guarantees that the M4 and M16 are not going anywhere anytime soon.

Many thanks to Daniel Watters for the link.

Heckler and Koch is suing German Sports Guns and American Tactical Imports over trade dress infringements. Seems they don’t like GSG making a 22LR version of their MP5.

These cases, like when Colt sued H&K over the 416, are counter productive to the industry in general. It seems bizarre that a firm, which is a subsidiary of a German company, is suing the importers of a German made gun. They must not be able to sue for it in Germany court.

I know nothing about "trade dress infringement", but I do know that those fanciful concepts of "common sense" and "justice" have long been forgotten in intellectual property court, thanks to the efforts of Disney Corp's hard working lawyers and lobbyists.

I recently reported that H&K has licensed the production of .22 rifles patterned after the MP5, MP7 and other H&K firearms to Umarex. No doubt this is the reason they have taken legal action against ATI.

UPDATE: H&K and ATI settled. GSG-5 sales will cease.

UPDATE:

How long till the Wii MP5 controller gets banned! (Thanks David for the link)

The Marine Corps plans to announce next month a heavily anticipated plan for the infantry automatic rifle, which is expected to replace the M249 Squad Automatic Weapon in Marine fire teams.

“We’re close to having a decision,” said Maj. John Smith, the weapon’s project officer at Marine Corps Systems Command in Quantico, Va. “I’m on schedule to have a decision on the program to move forward. Maybe within three weeks or so, there will be a lot more information.”

Testing is complete, Smith told Marine Corps Times on Wednesday, and plans are underway to make sure logistics, training and maintenance of the weapon are handled.

The article is not entirely accurate. The Corps will not be replacing the SAW with the IAR, but rather adding the IAR to their weapons mix.

I have covered the Infantry Automatic Rifle many times on the blog.

Many thanks to Walt for telling me about the article.

In India the opposite has occurred. The Indian government has a monopoly on the manufacture of civilian arms. Only a limited number of Olympic class shooters are allowed to import guns.

Indian government manufactured "Revolver 32 (7.65 mm x 23)". It costs about US$1366 (excluding taxes).

The consequence of this is that the government factories, which number about 40, can afford to let quality drop because they have a captive market of over 1 billion people. Now even the military are complaining about the monopoly.

The Hindustan Times reports:

“India produces the shoddiest guns in the world and sells them at ridiculously high rates,” says Swaran Singh, who owns an arms repair workshop in Jalandhar. “Every gun which comes out of the factories in Jammu or Bihar or the ordnance factories in Kolkata and Kanpur has a problem,” he says. Guns manufactured by the ordnance are marginally better, adds Singh, who repairs at least 25 new guns manufactured in Indian factories every month.

...

However, private licence-holders aren’t the only ones complaining. Forced to cope with weapons considered virtually obsolete in the international market, armymen are also saying it would be wiser to allow private players to manufacture arms and ammunition. “The government monopoly would break, the quality of weapons would improve and prices would fall,” says an official at the Army Headquarters. Besides producing defective weapons, the ordinance factories also do not meet delivery deadlines, says an official.

Over the years, the army has moved from the 7.62 mm self-loading rifle to the next generation Indian National Small Arms System (INSAS). But this 5.56 mm assault rifle is also known to develop major defects like cold arrest, breakage and cracking of components in strategic areas like the Siachen Glacier, Kargil and other high altitude areas, senior army officials say. Such defects were seen even during the critical Kargil conflict. The government was then forced to allow the import of one lakh AK-47 assault rifles from Romania at a cost of Rs 85 crore.

I highly recommend reading the whole article [ Google Cache Link ] . It gives insight into a unique situation.

Many thanks to Mehul for sending me the link.

RUAG 9mm Luger SINTOX Action 4

It seems like they are more interested in law enforcement and government contract that they are in civilian sales. From the press release:

Precision Ammunition, established in 2001, holds extensive patents for their Copper-Matrix NTF® Non-Toxic Frangible bullet. Providing a healthier shooting environment, Copper-Matrix NTF is particularly well-suited for training law enforcement, military and security personnel, as well as being a perfect match for use in shooting ranges.

“RUAG Ammotec and Precision Ammunition are a perfect fit for each other and will drive forward RUAG Ammotec’s growth strategy worldwide by opening up new markets and strengthening individual product groups. The combination of innovative bullet design with large scale, high quality component production reflects the increasing demand for non-toxic frangible ammunition,” stated Cyril Kubelka, CEO of RUAG Ammotec and a member of the Executive Board of RUAG Holding AG. “Additionally, it establishes a US presence for the RUAG family of business to actively bid on US Government contracts.”

I hope they decide to sell to individuals in the future. They make some very interesting rifle and pistols round.

Just last week we discussed RUAG Ammotec on The Firearm Blog.

German military pistols are being sold on the black market in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The weapons were sent in 2006 and were intended for local police and army personnel.

Arms dealers in the region told German public radio that hundreds of German weapons were for sale carrying a price tag of over 680 euros a piece ($1,000).

In 2006, the German Defense Ministry shipped 10,000 old Walther-P1 pistols to the Afghan Interior Ministry to equip Afghan police and army. However, both the German government and the responsible US-led security team in Afghanistan reportedly failed to properly monitor the guns' whereabouts.

The US unit said that it only had detailed records of 4,563 pistols out of a total 10,000.

Current and former Afghan soldiers and police officers are said to be among those illegally selling and trafficking the pistols, some of which have ended up in Pakistan's north-west border provinces and neighboring tribal areas.

...

The team of NDR radio reporters who discovered the black market guns said it's not clear exactly how they ended up there.

"Apparently, most of these pistols haven't been stolen, but were simply taken home and sold by former police officers and soldiers after they'd left the service," said Christoph Heinzle, who headed the NDR team. "But corruption and theft cannot be ruled out because neither the Afghan authorities nor the US and German armed forces carry out effective controls to prevent [theft]."

The United States has also come under criticism in the past for losing track of weapons donated to local forces. Short of retina scanning, which is being used to keep track of Iraqi M16 rifles, there is very little that can be done to prevent the end-users stealing the weapons they are issued.

Walther P38 (designated the P1 by the Bundeswehr)

Many thanks to Daniel for the link.

Earlier this month there was a huge military parade celebrating the 60th anniversary of People's Republic of China. I was astounded to see a photo from the event of what appears to be a sub-carbine version of the QBZ-95 being carried by Chinese sailors.

Photo originally from O.cn via. MP.net

To the best of my knowledge the existence of this weapon has never been reported. The barrel is definetly shorter than the 14.5" of the QBZ-95B (Carbine) that was developed for use in the Navy. I suspect the sub-carbine / PDW has a 10" or 11" barrel.

QBZ-95B Carbine. Photo from Wikipedia.

Has anyone here heard of a QBZ-95 PDW?

Thanks to Caleb for sending me the link to the Chinese parade photos.

The M4 Carbine

The AP infers that the barrels of many of the weapons were getting white hot. From the AP article:

The platoon-sized unit of U.S. soldiers and about two dozen Afghan troops was shooting back with such intensity the barrels on their weapons turned white hot.

There is only one reference to a gun getting white hot in the draft report, and it is a SAW not a M4 Carbine:

Specialist Bogar fired approximately six hundred rounds at a cyclic rate of fire from his SAW when that weapon became overheated, and eventually jammed the bolt forward. Specialist Stafford noted, “Bogar was still in our hole firing quite a bit. Then Bogar’s SAW jammed. Basically it just got way overheated, because he opened the feed tray cover and I remember him trying to get it open and it just looked like the bolt had welded itself inside the chamber. His barrel was just white hot.”

In fact, it is not even possible that an M4 barrel can heat up to the point of being white hot. M4 barrels are made from Alloy Steel 4150. The melting point of this steel is 1426 degrees Celsius. For steel to go white, it needs to be over 1400 degrees Celsius.

The Ground Precautionary Message ACALA #97-03¹, from November 1996, clearly states that if an M4 barrel reaches just 737 degrees Celcius, the barrel will be weaked to the point where burst.

(3) BURST BARRELS RESULT WHEN THE WEAPONS ARE FIRED UNDER VERY EXTREME FIRING SCHEDULES AND THE BARREL TEMPERATURE EXCEEDS 1360 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT. WHEN THE BARREL REACHES THESE EXTREME TEMPERATURES, THE BARREL STEEL WEAKENS TO THE POINT THAT THE HIGH PRESSURE GASES BURST THROUGH THE SIDE OF THE BARREL APPROXIMATELY 4 INCHES IN FRONT OF THE CHAMBER. THIS CONDITION CAN RESULT IN SERIOUS INJURY.

You are not going to see an M4 barrel white hot because by that point it would have exploded!

The AP also infers that the M4 Carbine is designed to handle a high rate of fire

The high rate of fire appears to have put a number of weapons out of commission, even though the guns are tested and built to operate in extreme conditions.

This is also not true. From the Ground Precautionary Message[^1]:

(B) FIRING 140 ROUNDS, RAPIDLY AND CONTINUOUSLY, WILL RAISE THE TEMPERATURE OF THE BARREL TO THE COOK-OFF POINT. AT THIS TEMPERATURE, ANY LIVE ROUND REMAINING IN THE CHAMBER FOR ANY REASON MAY COOK-OFF (DETONATE) IN AS SHORT A PERIOD AS 10 SECONDS.

...

(D) SUSTAINED RATE OF FIRE FOR THE M16 SERIES RIFLES AND M4 SERIES CARBINES IS 12-15 ROUNDS PER MINUTE. THIS IS THE ACTUAL RATE OF FIRE THAT A WEAPON CAN CONTINUE TO BE FIRED FOR AN Indefinite LENGTH OF TIME WITHOUT SERIOUS OVERHEATING.

No operator should empty more than 4 magazines rapidly. The AP quotes the draft report:

My weapon was overheating. I had shot about 12 magazines by this point already and it had only been about a half hour or so into the fight. I couldn’t charge my weapon and put another round in because it was too hot, so I got mad and threw my weapon down.”

I sympathize with the solider and would not dare to presume to question his actions in combat. He did what he had to do in the heat of the moment, but I cannot think of any current weapon in the M4 class that can sustain continuous fire. To make such a weapon it would need to have a heavy quick change barrel and maybe also include a heat sink. I doubt any soldiers will want to trade in their M4 for a heavy automatic rifle.

Many thanks to Jay, aka. jdun1911, for his research into this controversy. He should get all the credit for this blog post.

UPDATE: I just want to clarify a point mentioned by commenters below. If the solider fired his 12 magazines evenly over a 30 minute period he should have had no overheating problems (assuming the Army GPM info is correct). What we do not know is the period of continuous fire. As Bram, who has seen combat, said "Time moves very differently while under fire. It’s impossible to judge how fast those soldiers were actually firing.".

Don't quote this as fact, but I think there is a good chance we will finally see the launch of the civilian Remington / Bushmaster / Magpul ACR at this seminar.

Why do I think this?

Firstly, Remington unveils their exciting new products at this event. In October 2007 we saw the launch of the Remington R-15. October last year was when the .30 Remington AR cartridge was launched.

Secondly, a few months ago Magpul said we would see the rifle unveiled late this year.

And my final reason for thinking it will be unveiled this week is that a semi-automatic version of the ACR is already in the hands of a civilian. At the recent AAC Silencer Shoot, AAC (now owned by Remington) auctioned off an ACR. The proceeds went to the Wounded Warrior Project.

In a few days we shall see if I was right ... or not.

Many thanks to Jay for emailing me the video link.

The fact is this: on 21.09.2009 has been reported that a company declare named Gremikha LLC "at the Economic and Trade Arbitration matters relevant indicative of the Republic had requested Udmurtia, the" Izhmash AG "for insolvent. More backgrounds were, and are not known. Maybe Gremikha is or was a creditor of Izhmash who wanted to recover in this way its accounts receivable. As the court date was 07.10. scheduled and thus took place yesterday, the court dealt with the case. Result: The application is not accepted. Izhmash is not insolvent and can thus continue its business operations as normal. Good news!

I was very worried about the outcome of the court case and am relived the supply of Saiga's and Tigr's will not run out anytime soon.

Moments before, Sherri Thourot had watched her husband fire and reload the Jennings 9mm. Then he set it down for her to shoot next at the range.

That's when the handgun started firing on its own, she said, spinning around in circles, landing the Thourots and an Irish tourist in the hospital.

I once belonged to a club with a private range. Club members had shot themselves in the foot at least a few times in the club's recent history. This happened when race guns with hair triggers were drawn from a holster. The pistol would fire a burst into the shooters foot and an ambulance would need to be called.

The Polk County Sheriff's Office said the gun may have been altered, leading to the malfunction. Detectives expect to know more when they take the gun apart and inspect it as they continue to investigate.

Sherri Thourot said her son, 29-year-old Jeremy, brought the 9mm back to the United States after one of his tours in Iraq with the Navy. He gave it to them this summer.

So it may have been a souvenir from Iraq. They do not list the exact model of the Jennings pistol and I don't know much about those guns, other than they were budget pistols.

Jennings Model 58

Flynn was listed in stable condition at the hospital, while Michael Thourot was released Sunday. His wife said doctors put pins in his hand to help heal shattered bone.

...

But the freak accident won't keep her away from guns.

"I can't allow something like this to cause me to be afraid of something I've done all my life."

I am very glad they are all ok.

Many thanks to Mason for the link.

“We welcome Kevin and his team of engineers and designers on board,” commented Theodore (Ted) Torbeck, CEO of Remington and its parent, Freedom Group, Inc. “With the acquisition of AAC, we can enhance our research and development capabilities and deliver a more competitive product to the end user; further strengthening Remington’s position in the domestic and international markets.”

I think there will be many changes to AAC in the future. They have a unique company culture and I wonder if it will survive the Remington takeover.

AAC Advertisement.

Remington is owned by The Freedom Group, which is the firearm division of Cerberus Capital Management.

The Freedom Group's subsidiaries

UPDATE:

Jason from ACC has just posted this on the ACC blog ...

The crew that you know will still be here doing what we do. AAC is still AAC, but we will be moving into a brand new much larger space, and have access to more R&D and production resources than ever. We are really excited about what the future holds.

Don’t worry, we will continue to make cans for guns from every manufacturer and their various models- and stock and delivery issues will soon be a thing of the past! More news soon.

"Among the many misdeeds of the British rule in India, history will look upon the act of depriving a whole nation of arms, as the blackest."

Page 446. An autobiography: the story of my experiments with truth By Gandhi (Mahatma), Mahadev Haribhai Desai

I love this quote. Gandhi, the iconic pacifist, recognized that free people require arms to defend themselves and their ideals. He did not believe arms were inherently evil or that the world would be better without them.

Gandhi was born on 2 October 1869 and would have turned 140 this year.

The above image comes from Ecorazzi.com, a "green" blog.

With the hunting season starting I think we will be seeing a lot more of these offers.

Many thanks to Jonathan for the info.

It has come to our attention that KRISS CRB/SO and SBR/SO models with SN's between 1100 - 1633 MAY experience ejection issues due to an out-of-spec ejector. Typically, the symptom is consistent failure to eject (FTE). THIS IS NOT A SAFETY ISSUE. If you are the owner of a KRISS CRB/SO or SBR/SO within this SN range, there is a small chance your ejector may be defective. THIS IS NOT A FACTORY RECALL. IF YOU ARE EXPERIENCING FREQUENT FTE'S, KRISS-TDI will work with those original owners of KRISS firearms who are covered under our Lifetime Warranty on defects of materials and workmanship and your KRISS Certified Dealer to refit your firearm with a new ejector at no cost to you. WE WILL REFIT ONLY THOSE FIREARMS THAT HAVE DEMONSTRATED THE FTE BEHAVIOUR. Owners of used firearms who purchased their firearms from private parties and not KRISS Certified Dealers, the Lifetime Warranty does not apply to your firearm as it was purchased used. HOWEVER, we will make a repair kit available to you at no cost as a one-time exception to our original owner Lifetime Warranty program. Owners: for a full description of the problem and how to determine if your firearm is affected, please click here. KRISS Dealers, for full information on the KRISS Ejector Refit Program, please click here.

More info at TDI's website.

Hat Tip: New Jovian Thunderbolt

And now it appears that the financial difficulties facing the weapons manufacturer have reached crisis point: its very existence is threatened. A businessman in Izhevsk has filed a motion to declare Izhmash Arms bankrupt because of outstanding debts of around 8 million rubles (around €180,000 or $265,000). The case has caused a sensation in Russia because for a long time the Russian armaments industry has been one of the only industries considered competitive on an international basis. And Izhmash, which was founded in 1807 by Russia's royals, is one of the largest firearms manufacturers in Russia.

A debt of $265,000! That would be petty cash to The Freedom Group.

Izhmash has made an official statement. Translated into English using Google (emphasis added):

Official commentary of the situation, established in connection with the statement OOO Gremikha " recognition "Izhevsk machine-building plant" bankrupt

As is known, the Arbitration Court of Udmurtia admissible statement OOO Gremikha "on the recognition bankrupt OAO Izhevsk Machine-Building Plant", as posted a message on the website of the Supreme Arbitration Court of Russia. Trial was to verify the validity of this statement is scheduled for October 7.

OOO Gremikha "to" Izhevsk machine-building plant "does not apply. This situation has arisen as a consequence of a dispute businesses. Right debt requirements this society was through the chain cessions rights from third parties, the validity of which "Izhevsk machine-building plant" is going to find out by contacting law enforcement authorities.

Note, this is not the first treatment of small company's creditors in the arbitration bodies, in which, as practice shows, then is not grounds for the organization of the bankruptcy process.

Which occurs in this case, the dispute between economic entities in no way affect the activities of the group companies Izhmash in particular on the work of the major groups of plants and its subsidiaries. Existing obligations under the state defense order and contracts for the supply of special equipment and civilian goods strictly enforced. The company has a long-term orders and plans for the development of production, including in the framework created by the CC Rostekhnologii holding company for the development and manufacture of small arms.

"Izhevsk Machine-Building Plant

Hopefully this means that exports of civilians arms will not be halted.

Many thanks to the anonymous person who emailed me the link.

Prvi Partizan is Serbia's largest ammunition factory. It produces military and hunting ammunition as well as gun powder and explosives.

Maric said firefighters had "doused the fires and there is no danger of more explosions." He did not elaborate about the causes of the blast pending the end of the initial investigation.

Interior Minister Ivica Dacic was on his way to the site, said a ministry spokeswoman.

Serbian defense industries have stepped up production in past two years, mainly exporting to Iraq, Libya, the United States and Myanmar. The total value of export deals in 2008 exceeded $600 million.

Prvi is notable for being the manufacturer of many obsolete cartridges. This year they started manufacturing the 8mm Lebel, which has not been manufactured by any other factory in the past few decades.

8mm Lebel

Thanks to mrwon and Himmel for the info and link.

UPDATE. Sadly the final casualty count was 7 dead and 14 injured.

Thanks Matt for the link.

Washington has approved South Korea's plan to sell about 86,000 M1 and 22,000 carbines together valued at 130 billion won (108 million dollars), the ministry said.

The rifles used during the Korean and Vietnam wars have been kept at military warehouses, it said.

"The US government recently approved our plan to sell old M1 and carbine rifles, which were given to our soldiers as part of a US aid programme," a ministry spokesman told AFP.

The rifles are occasionally used by reserve forces for drills, he said without giving details.

The military will dispose of all its M1s but will keep about 640,000 carbines for reserve forces, the Chosun Ilbo newspaper said.

That means 640,000 more are patiently waiting in cosmoline to be shipped over stateside

Many thanks to REMOV for the link.

Izhmash, the pride of the nation’s defense industry, may prove to be an unprofitable enterprise. Udmurtia’s Court of Arbitration will look into the financial documents of the group of enterprises of Izhmash Concern. If reasons for bankruptcy are unveiled, Russia’s largest maker of firearms will have to be reorganized. >

Izhevsk owns the designs and trademarks of many different guns including:

• AK-47, AK-74, AKM and AK-100 series.
• SVD Dragunov sniper rifle.
• Tigr rifle (civilian SVD).
• Saiga rifles and shotguns.

I asked Max Popenker, well known author and owner of world.guns.ru, about the situation. Max told me that the upper management of the company has been absolutely useless for years. He thinks eventually the government will save the company, but he is not optimistic about its future.

If you were thinking about buying a Saiga rifle or Saiga-12 shotgun. I suggest you buy it right now.

Many thanks to Jay for alerting me to the situation.

In April, Lashmore had a mechanical multicaliber gun shoot bullets at different versions of his sheet, each less than a fifth of an inch thick, at a speed of 1,400 feet per second. Four sheets were breached, but three showed no damage. Lashmore and his 35 employees were ecstatic.

"We didn't expect it to work at all," he admits.

According to Nanocomp's website.

our spun conductive yarns exhibit breaking strengths up to 3 GPa expressed or in other terms: 1.5 Nt/Tex or 450,000 psi and with fracture toughness that is higher than aramids (such as Kevlar® or Twaron®). Our CNT sheets have breaking strengths, without binders, that range from 500 MPa to 1.2 GPa depending upon tube orientation. Aluminum breaks at 500 MPa, carbon steel breaks around 1 GPa.

...

Extremely Lightweight – Less than half the weight of aluminum

Not being an engineer or physicist, I really don't know what to make of their claims. Feel free to chime if you understand this stuff.

Many thanks to Mark for emailing me the link.

I can see at least three features not found on a mil-spec 1911 pistol

The incompetence of journalists when writing about guns is staggering. It never ceases to amaze me.

Many thanks to Jay for sending me the link.

Hat Tip: ar15.com

On the afternoon of a meeting scheduled at Ewert's office near the tony Rue Royale in central Luxembourg, Glock was attacked in an underground garage. The hit man, a former professional wrestler and French Legionnaire named Jacques Pecheur, bashed the businessman on the head with a rubber mallet, a technique apparently aimed at making it look like the victim had fallen down and fatally injured himself. Glock, physically fit from daily swimming—often in the frigid lake abutting his home near Klagenfurt, Austria—fought back. When police arrived, they found Glock bleeding from gashes to his skull. Pecheur, 67, was unconscious.

The assassination attempt on Mr. Glock is well documented, but it remains to be seen how much of the tax evasion, extreme right wing connection and money laundering is fact and what is fiction.

I was interested to learn the estimated profit margin on the manufacture of Glock pistols.

the Glock costs relatively little to make. In a 1994 patent lawsuit in the U.S., Glock estimated its profit margin per pistol at 68%. The guns typically sell for $450 to $600 in U.S. retail gun stores.

The Glock 17 RTF: The Latest in the Glock line.

Glock is like the Apple Computers of the gun world. They have a less is more philosophy towards their product design and yet maintain high profit margins and market share.

The author of the above article actually spent from time behind a Glock pistol, as part of his research, with blogger Massad Ayoob (Hat Tip: SayUncle). I wish more journalists would try that.

Many thanks to Daniel Watters and LeisureGuy for the link.

UPDATE:

Forbes wrote two articles about the Glock saga back in 2003:

• Top Gun
• Follow-Through

Thanks to Daniel Watters for the link.

Purchase a new SIG SAUER® P220®, P226®, P229®, 1911, SIG556 pistol, or SIG556 rifle from your dealer’s inventory from September 7th through November 30th, 2009, and SIG SAUER will give you $200.00 for your old KLUNKER* pistol or revolver.

Good move Sig!

Thanks to Adam for the link.

“The fortunes are to be made in weapons,” he said. “Prices are doing very well. If you bring in $20,000-worth over a month, you can make a profit of $5,000.”

Kalashnikovs, I presumed.

“No, Kalashnikovs are very cheap. They cost only $400. Sometimes the Tajiks buy them from us and we get them from the Chinese. But it’s the Kalakov everyone wants.” Kalakov is the Afghan name for a new model of Kalashnikov that is lighter and uses smaller bullets.

They seem to be under the impression that the 5.42×39mm round has some magical armor piercing capability! While the bullet the Russian currently use has improved penetration, compared to the original, I doubt it is any better than the 5.56mm NATO. I very much doubt that the Taliban are getting recently manufactured ammunition or the AP version of the 5.45mm.

“The Taliban like it because it pierces body armour.” Hekmat tapped at his chest to demonstrate and showed me a small bullet. “They cost $700 in Dushanbe and we sell them for $1,100. There is an extra charge of $150 if you want the weapons delivered in the south.”

This is good news for the coalition forces, better that they spend their money on weapons that they think will give them armor piercing capabilities, rather than weapons that could do real damage. I hope they do not catch on that the Dragunov SVD rifles they seem to love are not near accurate enough to be considered a real sniper rifle, nor can the 20 year old surplus Chinese 7.62×54mm be considered an accurate round for a sniper.

Hat Tip: Danger Room

UPDATE: I was emailed to say that vets report that AK-74 are not uncommon in Afghanistan. The Guardian’s source is a random smuggler that a reporter happened to talk to. I think this is pretty much a non-story.

Modern Submachine Carbine

The firearm chambers a round developed in India called the 5.56×30mm. This round is sometimes referred to as the “5.56×30mm INSAS” after the first gun to chambered the round, the INSAS Carbine.

5.56×30mm MARS

Those of you who follow the industry closely may recall that Colt developed a round named the 5.56×30mm MARS during the 90’s as part of their now defunct Mini Assault Rifle project. I imagine the INSAS cartridge is very similar. The Colt patent describes the MARS cartridge:

The MARS cartridge is designed as part of the weapon system and exploits the high energy densities of modern ball powders. It for the first time uses magnum pistol type powders burned at rifle pressures to achieve high rifle velocities in a short rifle barrel. It uses a fast ball powder to achieve 2600 ft/sec with a 55 gr full metal jacket projectile in only an 11 inch barrel.

The MARS cartridge/rifle was able to achieve similar ballistics as a ultra-short barreled 5.56×45mm NATO rifle (I use the term rifle loosely, sub-carbine is more correct), but with less muzzle flash, noise and weight. The Indians went with the 5.56×30mm over the 5.56×45mm for these exact same reasons as Colt.

Out of a 11″ barrel, the MARS Rifle was able to push a 55 grain bullet at 2600 fps, generating 825 ft/lbs of muzzle energy. For comparison, according to Wikipedia, the original Colt Commando (11″ barreled sub-carbine) could push a bullet (presumably a 55 grain M193 Ball) at 2750 fps.

Colt M4 Commando (current model)

While the 5.56×30mm has advantages over a pistol cartridge such as the 9mm NATO, to wit, less weight and kevlar vest penetration, it has in my opinion one fatal flaw. 5.56mm bullets were never designed to operate at such low velocities. While 2650 fp/s may seem fast, that is at the muzzle, not 200 meters downrange where the target is situated.

A graph I generated. Numbers are estimates for illustration only.

Col. Martin L. Fackler, MD famously did a study which determined that a 5.56mm bullet (M193 and M855) would fragment only slightly ,or not at all, when hitting flesh below the speed of 2500 fps. Low fragmentation results in a .22″ sized hole in the target – less damaging that a .38″ (9mm) or .45″ hole.

Col. Martin L. Fackler, MD results

It will be interesting to see how this new sub-carbine and perform in real life, and what official nickname the cartridge is given. I think 5.56mm India or 5.56mm Short should are much better named than 5.56×30mm INSAS.

Hat Tip: 8-AK Defense News and Ammoland

Tag: 5.56×30

Cerberus Capital Management has been swamped with redemption requests with the Wall Street Journal reporting that investors are asking to pull out $5.5 billion or 71 percent of assets from its hedge funds.

Cerberus last month tried to entice investors into staying with the firm, but found that its clients overwhelmingly wanted to leave, the newspaper reported.

…

Last year, when the average hedge fund lost 19 percent, Partners lost 24.5 percent on investments.

I am not sure how this is going to effect the other assets owned by Cerberus. According to Wikipedia Cerberus have $24 billion in assets.

Among their assets is the Freedom Group which owns Remington, Bushmaster, Marlin and other gun manufacturers.

Freedom Group’s gun businesses

Thanks to jdun1911 and Brian info about this story.

It promised to stretch reality television to the limit: one man pitting his wits against the Yukon wilderness with just a camera for company.

But hopes for an epic three-month contest between man and nature were dashed when adventurer Ed Wardle failed to go the distance.

Seven weeks after striding out into the rugged forests of western Canada armed with a rifle and a fishing rod, Mr Wardle had to be airlifted back to civilisation suffering from starvation.

This first thing that crossed my mind when I saw the photo was the fact he was using an extended magazine tube on this shotgun. What use is that in the wild? I have no idea. Seems to me like extra weight and one more aftermarket part to break.

Jim Downey has also blogged about it.

… other than that the bank robber is holding it like a gangster moron? Tam has the answer.

The Bangkok Post interviewed the man of whom only a few years ago precious little was known. Emphasis mine.

Bout becomes incensed at the suggestion he supplied weapons to Farc or other terrorist organisations.

”No, I didn’t. Never! This is all bullshit,” he says. ”Everything is in the Americans’ minds. They don’t know what to do anymore in the world. During the past eight years the Western media didn’t want even to talk to me because they knew that they would have problems.”

Bout is particularly angry about the 2005 film Lord of War starring Nicolas Cage as Yuri Orlov, which is allegedly based on his life story and details the gruesome trade of weapons-trafficking in Africa.

”The movie is pure fiction, fantasy and fabrication which has nothing to do with me or my previous business. The movie didn’t make much money either. I used to admire actor Cage, but not anymore.”

However, when asked if his air-freight company shipped arms before it went out of business, he replied: ”Some cargo shipped by my air-freight company included weapons, but it doesn’t mean that I am an arms dealer.”

When asked if he was involved in air freighting goods for America’s war in Iraq after 2003, he said ”I can categorically state that I have never shipped anything to Iraq as reported by the BBC and other news organisations, nor did anything for the Americans there whatsoever.”

He added: ”I must condemn reputable news organisations such as the British Broadcasting Commission, the Cable News Network and other Western media for totally distorting the facts about my past activities. I would describe most of what they say about me as lies and fabrications.”

My understand is that nobody ever talked to him because they could not find him. If you consider how much an interview with him would have been worth for the Times or Post, it seems unlikely that they did not try. My understanding is that even photos of him were scarce.

My theory is that Bout will be delivered to whoever is more embarrassed by what he knows. While he disputes it, it is generally accepted that the US made use of him to transport weapons in the Middle East. I am sure the Russians also used his services.

The famous .416 Rigby cartridge, named after the company that invented it.

This story begins in the late ’90s when John Rigby & Company, who presumably were having financial problems, closed down. Geoff Miller, a Californian, purchased the trademarks and intellectual property of the now defunct John Rigby & Company. He subsequently started the firm John Rigby & Co. (Gunmakers), Inc. operating it out of the same premises as his Rogue River Rifle Company business. I am not sure if the latter firm still exists.

Double Rifle enthusiasts were not altogether keen on having a Californian firm take over the name of a famous London double rifle manufacturer. California is often associated with the glamour of Hollywood, the technology of Silicon valley and sun bleached surfers of Long Beach. What it is not associated with is the the romance of the olden age of dangerous game hunting during the heights of the British Empire.

Much to the continued chagrin of enthusiasts, Miller imported shotgun actions make by Merkel of Germany to build their Rigby branded double rifles. According to Dangerous Game Rifles (Terry Wieland, 2006), Miller did this because wages in the former East Germany, where Merkel was located, had still not caught with the rest of the West since reunification and so the actions could be produced very cheaply.

Fast forward to 2009. A group of investors start up a company based in London and name it John Rigby & Co. (Gunmakers) Ltd. (henceforth referred to as Rigby-London, and the Californian company as Rigby-Cali). Rigby-London plan on offering the same types of guns as Rigby-Cali (double rifles, shotguns and Mauser-style bolt action rifles) in a similar price range (approx. US$10,000 – US$100,000). Notably their “A” and “Best” grade double rifles will use the Rigby Bissel Rising Third Bite action – a very strong but expensive to manufacture action designed by the original Rigby & Co. back in the early 1900’s.

A Rigby-London shotgun.

As you can imagine, Rigby-Cali was not at all happy to learn about this new Rigby. To add insult to injury, Rigby-London posted a message online offering to replace any Rigby-Cali double rifle for just the net-cost of a replacement.

We are cognisant of the fact that the few of you who have over the past years purchased a “Rigby” double rifle, made in California, may now feel that your investment has been devalued.

We here, are not desirous of a situation where the shooting and collecting public are harmed by our insistence on a quality hand built product. Quite the opposite.

We would like to extend the following offer to the few owners of these guns.

We will by private treaty, on an individual basis, supply you with a replacement equivalent John Rigby & Co. (Gunmakers) Ltd., gun for a sum representing the net cost of production of the replacement gun.
If you have had bespoke engraving, we will arrange for the duplication of that engraving, again at net cost.

You may retain your John Rigby&Co. Inc. gun and dispose of it in any manner you feel appropriate.

All such transactions will be strictly confidential agreements between such parties and ourselves.

The Board of Directors,
John Rigby & Co. (Gunmakers) Ltd., Jno.Rigby & Co.

Rigby-Cali responded with a strongly worded press release that leaves no doubt as to their intentions in perusing legal action against Rigby-London.

John Rigby & Co. (Gunmakers), Inc. is the only company that has legal right to use the JOHN RIGBY trademarks and logo worldwide. We are advised by our legal counsel in both the UK and in the U.S. that the London based company’s unauthorized use of our JOHN RIGBY name is a clear infringement of our registered trademark rights and is clear grounds for a passing off claim as well. We intend to initiate legal action forthwith seeking an injunction, damages and attorney’s fee for this wilful and egregious violation of our intellectual property rights. We are absolutely confident in our legal position and we have the legal right, the ability, the economic strength and the will to support this position.

On the other hand, Rigby-London told me that they also feel that they occupy the legal and moral high ground.

John Rigby & Co. (Gunmakers) Ltd. is a correctly constituted and legally registered UK company. It has no connection what so ever to any company bearing the same or similar name that may be registered in the US. We do not have the rights to nor have we used any trade marks that may be registered to any US company. You will note that our guns are engraved Jno.Rigby & Co. as they were in the past. This company, is also owned by this board of directors.

A search of the Intellectual Property office in London, will reveal that John Rigby&Co.(Gunmakers) is not a trade mark owned by anybody, although Rigby Inc of California have made a belated attempt on 11.June.09 (06.11.09 US) to register that name following the publication of our website, it has yet to be gazetted and we have 6 months to lodge an objection..

It should be noted that “Jno.Rigby & Co.” is not a spelling mistake. The original Rigby company did indeed use this odd abbreviation to mark their weapons.

The markings on a original Rigby .470 NE double rifle made in 1911.

I looked up the term “Rigby” in the UK Intellectual Property Office trademark database and found that Rigby-Cali did indeed attempt to trademark the name “JOHN RIGBY & CO. (GUNMAKERS)”, although they did previously own the trademark “RIGBY’S” as well as the original Rigby logo.

Rigby-Cali’s registered trademark logo.

The logo being used by Rigby-London.

I did not look up to see what trademarks are registered with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) because it has no bearing on this case. A common mis-conception is that there are international treaties regarding trademarks. Unlike copyrights or patents, no such agreements exist and a trademark needs to be individually registered in any country where a corporation wishes it to be protected.

So do Rigby-Cali have a legitimate case against Rigby-London? I think only a judge will be able to authoritively say one way or the other. My understanding of trademark law does not extend past my research for this article. Saying this, I understand there to be two issues at stake. The first issue is whether or not rifles branded “Jno.Rigby & Co.” are an infringement on the Rigby-Cali “RIGBY’s” trademark.

The second issue is if Rigby-London, operating under the same name as Rigby-Cali, is guilty of what is known as Passing Off (using an unregistered trademark in order to pass yourself off as the original user of the trademark). If Rigby-Cali were based in the UK, Rigby-London would likely lose the case.

What I do know is that there is sure to be more drama to follow in the coming months and years before a winner emerges. I also know both sides will be more than a few Pounds and Dollars lighter by the time the dust settles.

But Cpl Reynolds, of Dalgety Bay, in Fife, together with his spotter Lance Corporal David Hatton, worked out different factors such as wind speed and the trajectory of the bullet to hit the target. Musa, who was more than 1,500 metres away, was taken out with a single shot to the chest.

Cpl Reynolds, who has killed 32 Taliban fighters, said: “I was quite proud of that shot. It is the longest recorded kill in Afghanistan. I am going to use that fact as a chat-up line in the pub when I get back home.”

An incredible feat! I wonder if his “chat-up” lines are as deadly on the ladies as his sniper skills are on Taliban.

UPDATE: The UK newspapers are incorrectly stating that it is the longest kill in Afghanistan. I think it should read “the longest British Army kill in Afghanistan”. The longest confirmed kill of all time was made by Canadian Rob Furlong at a distance of 2430 metres in Afghanistan. Thanks to Rob and Eric for the corrections.

Many thanks to Sven for the link.