The term “battle rifle” is a colloquialism that is generally used to refer to rifles firing a full caliber cartridge and generally are select fire. After WWII, many nations decided to forego intermediate rounds in favor of heavy hitting, powerful fully automatic long arms that lasted [Read More…]
(This is Part 2 of the TFB Rifle Weight Omnibus. You can read Part 1 here.) In October, I traveled out to see my co-writer Alex C. to collect data on the weights of different long guns and some of their components. Over that weekend, I weighed 58 rifles and submachine [Read More…]
The M1 Garand is certainly a great design, but it’s often forgotten that it is fundamentally a piece of late 1920s technology, and it has some serious flaws. Its Achilles’ heel, though, is probably its susceptibility to mud, dirt, sand, and other foreign [Read More…]
What was the standard issue U.S. Army infantry rifle with the shortest service life? The most common answer is probably the Springfield Krag–Jørgensen rifle, which was quickly replaced after its lackluster performance in the Spanish-American War versus [Read More…]
This is the third part of a series of posts seeking to describe and analyze the 7.62mm Light Rifle concept promoted by the Americans, and subsequently adopted by NATO in various forms. This series will cover development from before World War II to the present day, but [Read More…]
This is the second part of a series of posts seeking to describe and analyze the 7.62mm Light Rifle concept promoted by the Americans, and subsequently adopted by NATO in various forms. This series will cover development from before World War II to the present day, [Read More…]
This is the zeroeth part of a series of posts seeking to describe and analyze the 7.62mm Light Rifle concept promoted by the Americans, and subsequently adopted by NATO in various forms. This series will cover development from before World War II to the present day, [Read More…]
In 1957, the T44E4 rifle was formally adopted by the United States Armed Forces as the United States Rifle, 7.62mm, M14, but this only marked the beginning of the rifle’s troubles. After numerous delays and production crises – including the rejection in [Read More…]
Project SALVO’s experiments with multiple projectile ammunition did, surprisingly, result in the production of service ammunition. The 7.62mm M198 Duplex round was an attempt to improve the short-range combat effectiveness of the M14 rifle (so far as this author [Read More…]
The .300 Blackout market continues to steam ahead with Ruger’s latest offering, the Mini-14 Tactical in that caliber. From Ruger’s press release: Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE-RGR) is proud to announce that the Mini-14® Tactical rifle is now [Read More…]
As in all Small Caliber Book Reviews here at TFB, I will be covering the area of relevance and strengths and weaknesses of the book, as well as whether it is more introductory or advanced. To write my ongoing series of posts on the Light Rifle, I first had to hit the [Read More…]
Now here is a rail that I can get behind. Rather than be forced to use a “scout” scope or have to use a complete chassis, Low-Pro Products 15″ extended rail allows the shooter to use their standard optics and provides enough rail real estate to mount [Read More…]
In 1963, on the eve of the M14’s cancellation, and the adoption of the AR-15 by the US Army as the M16 rifle, Guns & Ammo published a remarkably well-researched (if characteristically over-optimistic) article on the M14 rifle, its uncertain future, and [Read More…]
In preparation for an upcoming article about “light rifle” development (i.e., full power automatic infantry rifles), I have been reading the excellent Collector Grade Publication three-part volume on the FN FAL rifle. In it is contained the transcript of the [Read More…]
In my ongoing research effort on the 20th Century infantry rifle, I found an interesting training film from the 1960s. The USMC video is not quite 22 minutes in length, and covers marksmanship instruction on the M14 rifle: The film teaches very traditional techniques [Read More…]
As in all Small Caliber Book Reviews here at TFB, I will be covering the area of relevance and strengths and weaknesses of the book, as well as whether it is more introductory or advanced. The recent mud and sand tests of the M14 by InRange TV have blackened the eye [Read More…]
Nearly two months ago, I wrote a critique of the M1 Garand which pointed out a vulnerability in the design – the great degree of openness it has, exposing the moving parts and critical surfaces to sand, mud, dust, debris, and the elements at large. Ian and Karl of [Read More…]
Inexpensive .22 caliber rifles that are modified to resemble military rifles are nothing new; the Stevens 87M was an early attempt to create a visually modified .22 rifle for military training, and today you can find many .22 LR weapons modified to look like almost any [Read More…]
Controversy over small arms is nothing new. Back in the early 1950s, when the 7.62x51mm was called the “.30 Light Rifle” and NATO still believed it could achieve the goal of a universal standard rifle, there was (quite naturally, given the large number of [Read More…]
Bob Holloway, then of Fort Worth, Texas, in the 1980s built on his experiences in Southeast Asia and Rhodesia to design a .308 caliber military rifle, what eventually became the HAC-7. His rifle was an amalgamation of Armalite, FN, and Kalashnikov designs, with a [Read More…]
Sage International is now offering a new configuration of its Enhanced Battle Rifle (EBR) chassis system. Meant for those in restricted-states or those who abhor pistol grips on rifles, Sage now offers an adapter that adapts their EBR chassis to the MagPul SGA shotgun [Read More…]
Dwavinchi sent us this photo of the M14 EBR (Enhanced Battle Rifle) he was issued Afghanistan. The US Army M14 EBR is one of many variants of the US Navy Mk. 14 Enhanced Battle Rifle created in the early 2000s at the request of the Navy Seals who needed a compact [Read More…]
dwavinchi sent us a photo of his Springfield Armory National Match M1A with a Sage EBR (Enhanced Battle Rifle) chassis / stock system installed and scoped with a Leupold 3-9x. The resulting rifle is not very dissimilar to the Mk 14 Enhanced Battle Rifle (and [Read More…]
Earlier this year we posted a controversial video of a Russian Confidence Drill. Well that was nothing compared to this Philippine Marine Scout Sniper Confidence drill. The shooter uses, what looks like, a M14 to shoot balloons that his partner is holding relatively [Read More…]
Smith Enterprises announced the company would introduce a number of new products at the 2014 SHOT Show including: M4/M16/AR15 muzzle brake that is sound suppressor compatible AR10 muzzle brake an improved quick disconnect bipod M14 muzzle brake that will be allowed in [Read More…]
Estonia is not a place I would have associated with the M14, but apparently the rifle has become very popular in the country. In the early 2000s the US government gave Estonia M14 rifles and their troops fell in love with them. The Estonian [Read More…]
Tim Shufflin of Shuff’s Parkerizing does a nifty M1 Garand conversion called the Mini-G. He cuts the barrel down, modifies the op-rod, installs an adjustable gas plug and parkerizes the receiver, barrel and a number of other parts. The .30-06 barrel optionally can [Read More…]
A Canadian firm has developed a very sleek and sexy looking M14/M1A stock. The Blackfeather M1A/M14 RS Aluminum Stock allows the user to attached an AR-15 pistol grip and butt-stock of their choice. Multiple butt stock adapters will be available in the future, including [Read More…]
Last week I blogged about the Taiwanese AR-15 on display at Taipei Aerospace & Defense Technology Exhibition (TADTE). Two other prototype weapons made by Taiwanese Military Combined Logistics Command, Arsenal 205 were on display, the XT98 rifle and XT97 pistol. The [Read More…]
McMillan has introduced the M3A rifle, a medium range .308 Win. semi-automatic built upon the Springfield M1A action (The M1A is based on the M14). At first glance it looks a lot like the Springfield M1A SOCOM II. Unlike the SOCOM, which is optimized for close range [Read More…]
Your Privacy Choices