The Firearm Blog

Backyard Safari has a collection of images showing the AEK-919 K Submachine gun being used in training by the Vityaz (counter-terrorism Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs special forces unit).

Click to expand.

A surprisingly aesthetically pleasing gun. The Russians tend to ignore appearances.

The AEK-191 was designed during the mid 90’s and fires the marginal 9×18mm Makarov cartridge. It takes 20 or 30 round magazines, has a 6.5″ barrel, weights 4 lbs unloaded and has a rate of fire of 900 rpm.

Many more photo here.

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

Gunpundit has spotted photos of the Veritas Mark IV in Denver. The Veritas Mark IV is a paintball/airgun gun that shoots .68 Caliber paintballs filled with a pepper spray type substance. The gun is patterned after and the same size as the M and accepts most AR-15 accessories.

More info about the gun here. More photos here.

They have got the prerequisite Glocks, now they just need MP5s. Click to expand the photos.

Iraqi Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team members storm a bus during a demonstration drill held during a handover ceremony in Diwaniyah, 181 kms south of Baghdad, on July 16, 2008. Iraq took control of security in the Shiite province of Diwaniyah today and said it hoped to regain control of the entire country from US-led forces by end of the year.

H/T: MP.net

I just really like the design. Simple and functional. It looks like it should fire something more powerful than the 7.62×25mm Tokarev.

SinoDefense:

The Type 79 submachine gun is more or less patterned after the Type 56 (AK-47) assault rifle. It uses gas-operated, rotary bolt action with short stroke gas piston located above barrel. The bolt group and fire mode/safety switch are similar to those of the Type 56 rifle. The barrel, receiver, pistol grip, magazine and shoulder stock are all made from stamped steel. The weapon fires 7.62 X 25mm pistol cartridge in either single or fully automatic mode. Ammunitions are fed from a straight box magazine that holds 20 rounds. Shoulder stock folds up and forward when not in use.

Hat Tip: MP.net

Snow Wolf Commando Unit (Beijing Special Police) are premier Chinese SWAT unit and will be the behind the scenes at the Olympics.

The QBZ-95 rifle

Type 79 SMG (7.62×25mm)

If is interesting to see the Type 79. Gun.ru:

Type 79 submachine gun is rather unusual for its class as it is very lightweight and uses locked breech, gas operated action instead of more traditional (for SMG) blowback action. This weapon was (and probably still is) widely used by PAP (Chinese police).

If the SAS can do it …

No doubt these guys will be quelling the protests against Chinese policy that could break out.

A lot more photos here.

Taser recently announced a deal to sell 3000 M26 Tasers, an older model, to an undisclosed country. After a 30 second google search I guess it is Australia.

From CourierMail (dated January 29 2008):

POLICE will not say how many Tasers will be issued across the state after Police Minister Judy Spence brokered a deal with the controversial police union to provide one to every front-line officer.

I say three thousand. I don’t know they bother hiding these details in the information age.

According to the Motley Fool Taser increased is value on the stockmarket by $43 million on this deal which is worth only 1.2 million. The market sure likes Taser.

The older M26 model

A guy, likely drunk, thinks pointing a machine gun shaped liquor bottle at a cop during a traffic stop would be a good idea.

Edmonton police say they’ve arrested a 24-year-old suspect after a man pointed what turned out to be a machine gun-shaped liquor bottle at an officer conducting a traffic stop Friday night.
…
Around 11 p.m., police say a second officer noticed a man in a nearby house pointing what looked like a long barreled gun at the officer doing the traffic stop.

Tommy Guns Vodka

For the sake of all Canadians I hope he is barred from ever owning or using a firearm.
More at CTV.ca

Hat Tip: MilitaryPhotos

… and their use, or lack of use, of iron sights amazes me.

From MilitaryPhotos.com

Palestinian police officers loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas violently dispersed a demonstration against the Annapolis peace conference, and medical workers said one protester was killed in Hebron, a West Bank city, according to The Associated Press. A Palestinian police officer pointed his weapon at protesters during clashes in Hebron.

In case you did not notice, the above ‘police’ officer is holding the rifle sidewards ‘gangster’ style. Why these soldiers/’police’ officers cannot be taught to aim their full auto AKs is beyond me. I know some people think iron sights are hard but I started shooting with them and to this day still do most of my shooting with iron sights. I think they are easier to use than scopes once you know what to do (obviously depending on the application).

Here are some of those classic Liberian rebel photos

More of the above photos here.

Walking into the Colur Tyme Tattoo Parlor is a lot like walking into a head shop. One wall is lined with gang monikers and symbols, the other with bongs for smoking marijuana and other drugs — one even shaped like a skull

Only this head shop was a setup. It was a police front in a sting operation to bust gangs in this Georgia river city that most people associate with the Masters Tournament — not violent thugs with high-powered weapons….

Sixty-eight suspects were arrested on charges ranging from trafficking of illegal weapons to serious drug offenses. Authorities seized more than 300 weapons, including high-powered assault rifles.

From CNN.

ha! They say “high-powered assault rifles” then show a photo of a bunch of .22’s!

Look at the below photo of some of the confiscated firearms.

I see a Ruger 10/22, a Savage .22, a Marlin .22 (?).

Some more photos from the ATF.

The president of the republic of Georgia declared a state of emergency Wednesday night, after riot police officers used tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannon to clear thousands of demonstrators from the streets.

Check out these ‘riot police officers’:

If the photo didn’t come from the NY Times I would have thought it was a photoshop. I have seen movies portraying aliens who look less ‘alien’ than these guys!

The camo, armor and 40mm / 37mm multi-launcher in combination with the weird mask makes for a chilling effect.

More here.

I cam across this poster @ PAFOA posted by JayBell.

“More Law Enforcement Officers are Killed in Vehicle Accidents than by Guns”

*Very interesting* comparison of three flashlights including photos of how effective they are.

I have about 200 lights between flashlights and tactical lights, and also this idea of taking beam shots, so members can compare between them.

First, lets take a look at some lights that are used by police for traffic stops, search and even clearing houses.
These are not for CCW, but good to have in the car or truck to take care of big illumination needs.

This post will try to show how different lights used in law enforcement compare with each other, and will clarify the difference between the lumen ratings used in Luxeon (LED) lights and incandescent lights. In short, I will show (through pictures) how Luxeons lack definition when used at increased distances.

HERE IS A PICTURE OF SOME OF THE CONTENDERS, FROM LEFT TO RIGHT; THE MAGCHARGER 200 LUMENS AND 6 VOLTS BATTERY STICK, THE STREAMLIGHT ULTRA STINGER 295 LUMENS AND 6 VOLTS BATTERY STICK AND THE BOREALIS 1050 LUMENS (TWO MILLION CANDLEPOWER) AND ROLLS ROYCE BATTERY CARRIER WITH 12 VOLTS SYSTEM

More here.

GunBlast.com reviews Kimber’s Advanced Tactical Rifle Kit

As neat as the kit is, though, if the rifle isn’t good it’s just window dressing. Kimber’s Advanced Tactical Rifle is chambered for the .308 round, the standard for law enforcement and many military applications. Probably the first thing most shooters will notice with the Advanced Tactical is the McMillan A-5 stock in desert camo. It is very striking in appearance, but it also incorporates a lot of really useful tactical features.

For example, it incorporates five sling swivel studs, one of which is only for bipod attachment. The others, however, offer the ability to attach a sling in various positions using quick detach swivel connectors. Since the rifle weighs close to 10 lbs without scope and bipod, a good sling is a necessity.

The choice of attachment points allows a tactical marksman to tighten up to use the sling for shooting from the seated or kneeling position or even from off hand but or have the option for switching attachment points for ease of carry. Length of pull is adjustable through removal or addition of spacers beneath the recoil pad. Drop at heel and drop at comb are adjustable as well. I also like the flat on the forearm which allows use of a sand bag or other rest.

More here.