The Firearm Blog

Grant Imahara posted this photo on twitter of Mythbusters co-host Kari Byron.

Looking hot (in both meanings of the word)

I really hope this means the mythbusters are going to prove that .50 BMG rifles cannot shoot down a Boeing 747 cruising at 35,000 feet at a speed of 555 mph

Can anyone identify the bullpup, possibly single action and probably .50 BMG rifle? The first thing that popped into my mind was "Steyr" but the only similar looking gun that Steyr ever made was the Steyr AMR / IWS 2000 prototype. Maybe it is a custom stock?

UPDATE: Daniel points out that Kari's rifle seems to be a Maadi-Griffin single shot - I agree.

Hat Tip: Crunchgear

Thanks to mrsatyre for the link.

UPDATE: More pics from the show. Thanks to James for the links.

From Left: Sako TRG-48 in .338 Laupa Magnum, Maadi-Griffin .50 BMG, Barrett 99

Myth: Are phone books good for vehicle armor??!?! Seriously?

UPDATE: As HeartlessLibertarian pointed out that the rifle in the second picture is a Barrett 99, chambered in .416 Barrett.

[ I am pleased to present this guest post written by Ed Friedman. Ed is the Associate Editor at the NRA's Shooting Illustrated magazine and blogs at Tell Me Why?. ]

First off, thanks to Steve for letting me guest blog. It's an honor to be here.

I just got back from an antelope hunt in Wyoming with Barnes, Weatherby and Zeiss (the best perk of working for an NRA publication). Weatherby supplied a very nice shooting Vanguard in .257 Wby. and ammo topped with 80-grain Barnes Tipped TSX bullets. As you might imagine, these lead-free projectiles simply scream out of the barrel-with a muzzle velocity of 3,870 fps.

Photo Credit: Kyle Wintersteen of the NRA's American Hunter.

Fortunately, Wyoming is overflowing with pronghorn, and finding one was not a problem. We also had a guide who knew how to judge wind, though he wasn't 100 percent certain how the little 80-grain bullet would handle the roughly 25 mph gusting winds accompanying the lovely sleety snow falling as we came up on my goat. I ended up holding about 2 feet behind the vitals to compensate for the wind. At 230 yards with a .257 Wby., I didn't need to worry about bullet drop. A single shot dropped the antelope, though the wind pushed the TTSX bullet to the critter's neck. Still, it was about as humane a kill as possible-essentially koshering the animal.

We couldn't find the bullet, which obviously passed through the animal, what with its solid-copper construction and a velocity of more than 3,000 fps at 230 yards, but I'd say it performed as advertised. The TTSX is hyper-accurate and even a lightweight model can do a ton of damage when you push it so darn fast.

We spent the next day of the hunt shooting prairie dogs to see if the TTSX would have a chance to expand in tiny varmints. I don't recommend trying this with .257 Wby. simply because it's on the expensive side, but when the ammo is free, knock yourself out. The velocity causes the TTSX to expand even in prairie dogs, which vaporized into a fine red mist to the delight of all spectators.

With the growing restrictions on lead ammo, Barnes has a bunch of all-copper bullets that perform as well or better than traditional lead. They tend to be a bit pricey, but the accuracy and terminal performance make them well worth the cost.

[ I am pleased to present this guest post written by Brendan Leo, an Australian Army Cadet corporal. ]

As a corporal with the Australian Army Cadets, I recently had the opportunity to play with the Weapons Training Simulation System. As the name suggests, this is a fully featured simulation system. Trainees fire modified weapons at a cinema sized projection on a wall 10 meters away. Between the wall and the shooters are rocks, obstacles, and anything else you might find on a battlefield. Wind machines and lights provide for weather effects.

Army Cadets using the WTSS range.

The trainees usually fire modified F88 Austeyr rifles and F89 Minimi machine guns at the screen, but any weapon currently used by the Australian Army, as well as several of those used by an opposing force can be simulated. The scenario is controlled by a technician at a console behind the firing line, who sets the wind speed and direction, the weather, and even the number of round through each barrel. The weapon recoil is provided by a tethering line connected to a tank of CO2, and speakers in the butt replicate the sound. Everything down to magazine changes, and jams are simulated, and the weight of the weapon is almost identical to the real thing.

Reservists using a machine gun with the WTSS system next to 2 F88s.

The main utility in the WTSS system is in the many different scenarios that can be replicated, such as defending a position, quick reaction, and even the sudden appearance of a helicopter. The idea behind the system is that soldiers can be placed outside of their comfort zone, using their weapons against a range of targets in different conditions. Different accessories can also be used with the weapons, including but not limited to Ninox (night vision goggles), grenade launchers and reflex sights, in addition to the standard 1.5x scope on the Steyr.

Open day. Civilians loading the F88s.

At the end of the simulation, the simulated weapon is cleared in exactly the same way as the real thing; by locking back the bolt, removing and clearing the barrel, then replacing it and rendering the weapon safe. Scores are usually calculated by grouping, at the standard target range, the PASS mark for the Australian Army is a grouping of 200mm at 100m. A grading of sniper is achieved when a group of < 40mm is achieved with 4 groups of 5 shots.

Upon completion, a standard range declaration is carried out, and the trainees receive a printout of their score. The next detail then moves in to shoot. The convenience of having no brass to clean up and no targets to patch out is shadowed by the $15 million AUD price tag for each range.

[ I am pleased to present this guest post written by David Gomez (aka. redmanlaw). The photo was by his 7th grade son Joaquin. ]

The term “Black Rifle” has become synonymous with the AR-15. My Black Rifle is a 1942 Remington M1903A3.

The rifle came into the family when my late father in law Tom Ansley, a union electrician who worked in West Texas and eastern New Mexico, ordered it for $14.50 around 1961 from the Pueblo Ordnance Depot. After I married Tom’s daughter Inez I would bump into the action and barrel in the closet of his wife Emerita’s sewing room at their ranch in Mora County, New Mexico, put aside and forgotten, but not by me.

Feeling the burden of his 90-some years, Tom and Emerita had me bundle up his rifles – a pair of Savage 99s in .308 and .250-3000, a pre- 1964 Model 70 .243, a 1943 M1903A3 and an old Savage 28 12 ga shotgun - and other shooting and reloading gear one day and take them back to Santa Fe. I pledged to care for them and cherish them just as I did several years earlier with their daughter.

The unstocked M1903A3 intrigued me with “SA 4-42” stamped above and below the Flaming Onion cartouche. It had been drilled and tapped for a scope mount, its dark finish was mostly unmarred, except for some wear and tear. Wanting to shoot it, I ordered an inexpensive black synthetic stock from Cabela’s and dropped in the action and barrel. A gunsmith cut a notch in the stock for the bolt handle and checked the headspace.

I wanted to make my version of a post-war sporterized rifle, something a guy would put together for hunting deer and elk. I found a vintage Weaver K4 scope in Tom’s stuff and mounted it on the rifle. The scope was high enough so that the safety worked. I laser bore sighted it and headed to the range, actually just a berm bulldozed into some BLM land west of town.

Once sighted in, my black rifle easily shot groups of two inches or so at a hundred yards with ammo it liked. The old scope with a dot reticule was sharp despite its age. I’ve been shooting it weekly recently as I’m taking it hunting this fall as my backup to Tom’s .308 Savage 99.

Tom died two years ago this winter. I’ll be in the woods every year as long as I can, carrying one of Tom’s guns or a Marlin .30-30 I got from my dad.

[ Steve says: One of the attributes I love most about firearms is the very personal history each one carries with it. A gun will easily outlive its owner and, if well cared for, outlive generations. ]

Weatherby's 2010 product line-up includes the new tactical-style Mark V Threat Response Rifle (TRR). In terms of bolt-action rifles, the term "tactical" can mean it is either designed for close up urban police work or for long range military sniping. With this rifle not being chambered in anything less powerful than the .300 Win. Mag, it it definitely in the latter category.

The Mark V action is a medium to high-end rifle action, with the most basic Mark V rifle starting at $1200. I would class the TTR as a custom-grade rifle.

It comes with Weatherby's well-known SUB-MOA guarantee, although sub-moa performance would be expected from any rifle in its class. A Oehler 83 Ballistic Imaging System target is included with each rifle to prove its capabilities.

The composite stock can be adjusteted for length of pull, drop at heel and cant of the pad. For now it is only avalible in desert camo.

The TTR package includes ...

• Leupold Mark 4 4.5-14x50mm Long Range/Tactical M1 scope (illuminated reticle and bullet drop compensation dials).
• Harris Model bi-pod
• Weatherby bore sight.
• Talley Picatinny rings and bases

The good news is that you have a few months to start saving!

How frick'n awesome is this ...

Reminds me of the FG-42 ... only more awesome!

I have never seen a side magazine mounted .50 BMG upper for the AR-15 platform. Tactlite have outdone themselves!

The T-2 will also be available chamabered in .338 Laupa and .416 Barrett.

The price starts at $2,198 and preorders require a $500 deposit (refundable at anytime before shipping). It is expected to ship by Christmas.

[ Blogging is addictive ... I really need to take a break ]

Ethan Dublin, a very innovative 18 year old college freshmen, has developed an interesting charging system for AK-type rifles.

Ratchet Charging System

The Ratchet Charging System comes with a replacement gas tube and a sleeve that bolts onto the end of the gas piston. The design offers quite a few advantages over the standard charging handle. Being on the left hand side it is faster to manipulate when doing magazine reloads (if you are right handed), it can be used as a manual bolt hold open and, if the standard charging handle is removed, the Ratchet system can cycle the bolt and chamber a round with the safety engaged. This video demonstrates it in action ...

I asked Ethan if the cut out gas tube venting gas would affect the operation of the rifle. He said it would not.

The only major disadvantages that I can see is that the charging handle must be unscrewed when field stripping and that leaving the bolt locked back in the field could allow dirt to get into the gas block.

Bolt locked back.

The installation is gunsmith free and it is compatible with ...

• Romanian AK-47 (7.62x39)
• Saiga (5.56)
• Polish Under folder (7.62x39)
• Bulgarian AK-74 (5.45)
• Egyptian Maadi (7.62x39)
• Russian Milled AK-47 (7.62x39)
• ROB. Arms VEPR (7.62x39)

I wish Ethan the best of luck with his endeavor and future engineering studies. Maybe we have our next Eugene Stoner here?

Truvelo, a South African company is best known internationally for manufacturing traffic lights, also makes firearms - notably the infamous NEOSTEAD Bullpup shotgun and the Raptor rifle.

Truvelo Raptor Rifle

I was very pleased to see that the Raptor has been given a makeover. The older stock made it look like a cheap toy rather than a real rifle.

The old style stock ... they need to update their website.

Truvelo claim the gun provides excellent controllability during full auto fire due to the recoil and bolt system. It also features is the ability to easily switch between 5.56mm NATO and 7.62x39mm.

A big thank you to Lusaka for the information and photo he provided.

Earlier this year Soroka, a New Zealand firm, unveiled their Soroka 07 rifle action. It based on the famous falling block Gibbs Farquharson action.

Internally it differs from other rifles that make use of the Farquharson action by its use of a in-line striker driven by a coil spring rather than a rotating hammer. This decrease lock time and allows repeated dry firing. Soroka says ...

Firstly it is 100% manufactured in New Zealand. Secondly, my action whilst looking like a later model Gibbs Farquharson is completely different inside. It uses a striker (firing pin) that is in-line with the bore that is powered by a chrome silicone coil spring. This gives extremely fast lock time and reliable ignition. The design also allows for dry firing which many single shot designs abhorr. Every single component in this action is either CNC'd or wire cut. All the major components- receiver, trigger plate, underlever, quarter rib are CNC'd from Boehler P 20 vaccuum re-melted billet bar stock, a couple of minor items, safety button and bar from 4140, the internal links and other components EDM wire cut from from 17-4 ph stainless ground plate. My machinists are are arguably the best 3d machinists in this part of the world. I can assure you it takes some doing to machine the compound curves found in this design. Ask anyone who knows.

This stunningly beautiful work of art comes at a price. The total price (inc. shipping overseas) is US$14,500!

Many thanks to Mehul for the link and info about the rifles.

This video shows Groot Mamba, a reader of the blog, rapidly firing the NTW 20mm rifle. Groot is firing the 20X82mm round, which is, in a sense, a "20mm Short" round. When firing a projectile that can carry a high explosive warhead, kinetic energy is not necessarily required against soft targets because energy can be delivered with the chemical payload - hence the lower powered cartridge.

Groot says that the larger, and more common, 20x110mm round is nicer to fire because the muzzle brake is more effective.

Because Australians are not allowed semi-automatic guns, rifle manufacturers make some interesting bolt and pump action conversions of AR-15s, AKs and other rifles for the Australian market.

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.

Since SHOT Show the KAC SR-15 E3 Carbine/IWS rifles have been slowly trickling out of the factory. I believe that they are now in full production.

The Stoner Rifle 15 series are semi-automatic rifles featuring a 16" chrome chamber barrel, a URX free floating barrel system, an ambidextrous control system, a two-stage trigger, an improved multi-lug E3 bolt and integral front sight and sling mounts. This is already a comprehensive package on its own and does not require excessive modular accessories for performance enhancement. The KAC SR-15 is the first rifle model with an Integral Weapons System (IWS) that combines both built-in and modular features.

One of the upcoming guest blog posts is a review of the SR-15 so watch out for it.

The Cav Arms guys did an extreme dust test on an AR-15. Turns out AR-15 cannot handle being buried in sand and then run over by a Jeep ... who knew? Apart from the "Jeep test", it did really well.

They also tested an AK derivative, a 5.56mm SAR-3, which did not do as well. It seems odd that the trigger group would fail to function. I have posted videos on the blog showing AKs working under worse conditions.

There is an interesting video at WorldRadio.ch about the famous unique gun culture of Switzerland. At the start of the video a Swiss guy shows the rifle he used in military service, his fathers service rifle and says that his grandfather's service rifle is hanging in his office. How cool is that?

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.