Andrew Tuohy was a Navy Corpsman with the 5th Marine Regiment. He makes a living by producing written and visual content within the firearm industry, and he also teaches carbine courses. He prefers elegant weapons for a more civilized age, and regularly posts at Vuurwapen Blog.
While at IWA, I had the chance to sit down with two very knowledgeable guys from the Turkish firearms manufacturing company, Sarsilmaz. Semih, a sales executive, talked to me about the company itself and their plans to expand to the United States, while Ahmet, an [Read More…]
Due to import restrictions, the Sig 55X rifle series is pretty rare in the United States. As a result, many Americans are unfamiliar with this excellent weapons system, while others around the world are intimately familiar with it. Rico Ghinolfi was the Swiss Arms [Read More…]
In order to find out which method of rifle barrel manufacturing was best, I interviewed Jochen Anschutz (president of Anschutz) and Woody Woodall (president of Lothar-Walther). I found it interesting that although Mr. Woodall stated that all three of the major methods [Read More…]
I spoke with the president of Steyr Mannlicher at IWA and he informed me that they will import the AUG to the United States through their Trussville, Alabama facility. This is good news for AUG fans, especially since the quality control will be under Steyr’s [Read More…]
While at IWA, I had a chance to interview world champion pistol shooter Rob Leatham. Mr. Leatham has won the IPSC World Championship 5 times and the USPSA National Championship an incredible 24 times, among many other prestigious victories. He’s been described by [Read More…]
Steyr-Mannlicher, which is located, naturally, in Steyr, Austria, has been hammer forging barrels longer than any other firearm manufacturer. They’re located in the same town as GFM, the company that manufactures the massive, complex, and very expensive hammer [Read More…]
As I mentioned previously, the KRISS booth was pretty impressive. They had lots of Sphinx pistols on display, as well as Defiance suppressors and pistol sights. Last but not least, they also had the KRISS Vector .45 caliber submachine gun. Before I continue, let me say [Read More…]
For a “gun guy,” few things are cooler than being able to visit the factory where some of your very own firearms were made. While in Europe, I had the opportunity to visit a number of different factories, including Sig Sauer’s plant in Eckernförde, [Read More…]
Christophe Guignard, CEO of Defiance (and VP of KRISS and Sphinx) explains the features of their pistol and submachine gun suppressors. Innovative is an overused term in this industry, but these products definitely have innovations that set them apart from practically [Read More…]
For dangerous game hunters, a reliable rifle is a must; having your rifle fail when a triceratops or other African game is charging you is simply not an option. Enter the Winchester Model 70 Safari Express, built on the pre-’64 action with its claw extractor for [Read More…]
Engraved firearms are incredibly popular outside the United States, and many manufacturers of high-end rifles are more than happy to grab a share of this market. Several engravers were actually working while at the show, but none looked quite like Verena of Steyr, who [Read More…]
The Sig P210 is without a doubt an iconic handgun, highly respected for being an incredibly accurate firearm. However, the design didn’t lend itself to rapid and easy production, and as I was told by various sources in Europe, quality varied with the mood of the [Read More…]
Perhaps the most impressive booths at IWA came from Switzerland – KRISS Group and RWS went all-out with details such as live music, waitresses serving free alcohol, and Swiss chocolate being handed out like, well, candy. While I didn’t spend much time at [Read More…]
Sig had many weapons on display at IWA, including several 516s. One was actually Made in Germany and featured a number of differences from the US-market 516s, which I go over in the video. I’m not sure exactly where in Germany it was made, because I saw no signs [Read More…]
Benelli’s MR1 is a development of their ARGO rifle (sold in the United States as the R1), which is itself related to the excellent Benelli M4 shotgun, in use by the US Marine Corps as the M1014. While the M4 makes good use of the ARGO gas system and offers a true [Read More…]
I learned a lot about Europe’s firearms market while at IWA and touring various factories. One of the most important things I learned was that quality sells in Europe – and a lack of quality doesn’t. When I asked, for example, why a certain US-market [Read More…]
The German product Ballistol is popular with shooters the world over as an effective cleaning, lubricating, and protecting agent. Now, its aerosol cans are available in many different languages. I saw the display at IWA and had to take a few photos. [Read More…]
While at IWA, I had a chance to familiarize myself with many fine firearms, including high end rifles from Blaser. Their newest rifle is the R8, a development of the straight-pull bolt action R93. The R8’s action has been beefed up and is currently available in [Read More…]
Dan Wesson, a subsidiary of CZ-USA, has been manufacturing 1911s for quite some time, and models like the Bobtail have gotten a good amount of attention for their carry-friendly features. The new Guardian pistol is available in .45 ACP and 9mm. It has a Commander length [Read More…]
Česká Zbrojovka Uhersky Brod (CZUB) is one of my favorite firearms manufacturers. Iconic weapons such as the Vz.58 and the CZ-75 came from behind the Iron Curtain and are still relevant today. The company itself has a rich and interesting history, as our guide [Read More…]
When Winchester/USRAC disappeared several years ago, so too did several iconic firearms such as the Model 70 and the Model 94. Consumer demand for renewed production has led Browning/FN to produce the Model 70 at FN’s manufacturing plant in South Carolina, and now [Read More…]
I am a tactical gun guy. I am not interested in spending a cold, wet morning in a duck blind, and I have little interest in competition shotgun shooting, although I like shooting clays and I respect the skills of those who are very good at it. Why, then, am I very [Read More…]
Here is a teaser of our behind-the-scenes footage of the Beretta Factory in Gardone Val Trompia, Italy. Enjoy (we did):
While demonstrating the features of the Browning Maxus shotgun, Browning rep Jean-Christophe told me that he could disassemble and assemble the weapon blindfolded. Naturally, this was something I had to see. [ Andrew is a former US Navy Hospital Corpsman who was [Read More…]
At the Browning section of IWA, there were a number of “IWA Specials” – weapons that are going to be sold in small numbers to test the reaction of the market. One such weapon was a Winchester Model 70 SPR – in simple terms, a very nice precision [Read More…]
While at IWA, I had a chance to look at some Swiss Arms rifles. They were all interesting, but the SG553 which takes AR mags definitely caught my eye. Of course, the aluminum receiver stood out also. Older Sig 55X pattern weapons had steel receivers, but they’ve [Read More…]
While touring the Beretta factory in northern Italy, I was able to handle a Beretta ARX-160, their newest 5.56mm carbine, and a weapon that could be considered comparable to the FNH SCAR-L. I was impressed with a number of its features, including a toolless quick-change [Read More…]
Winchester is recalling some 5.56 ammunition after catastrophic failures destroyed a number of law enforcement AR15 type rifles. Here’s a recent teletype regarding the failures: ATTN: REQUEST FOR NATIONAL BROADCAST – FIREARMS HAZARD INFORMATION ****** [Read More…]
[ Andrew is a former US Navy Hospital Corpsman who was deployed to Fallujah, Iraq with the 5th Marine Regiment. Today, when not at the range or a Larry Vickers tactical training course, he blogs at the excellent Vuurwapen Blog ] At SHOT 2011, Glock displayed a new [Read More…]
[ Andrew is a former US Navy Hospital Corpsman who was deployed to Fallujah, Iraq with the 5th Marine Regiment. Today, when not at the range or a Larry Vickers tactical training course, he blogs at the excellent Vuurwapen Blog ] Having made many other components for the [Read More…]
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