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TheFirearmBlog.com – Managing Editor
OvertDefense.com – Managing Editor
Matt is a British historian specialising in small arms development and military history. He has written several books and for a variety of publications in both the US and UK. He also runs Historical Firearms, a blog that explores the history, development and use of firearms. Matt is also co-founder of The Armourer’s Bench, a video series on historically significant small arms.
Here on TFB he covers product and current military small arms news.
Reach Matt at: matt@thefirearmblog.com
Ukroboronprom, the state-owned Ukrainian defence concern, has confirmed the first deliveries of its M4-WAC-47 rifle to Ukrainian troops for evaluation. The rifle, based on the M4, is chambered in 7.62x39mm, earlier information had referred to the weapon as the [Read More…]
Arms of the 80’s, a blog that focuses on firearms advertising from the 1980s, has uploaded and shared a fascinating documentary made in the 1990s. The Stoner Machine Gun: A Navy Seal Remembers, features an interview with retired SEAL Lt. Cmdr. Michael J. Walsh. [Read More…]
The Department of Homeland Security has begun rolling out their virtual school shooter training program to staff working at schools across the US. The program uses established gaming software to allow various agencies and school staff to play out active shooter [Read More…]
With the interest in DroneShield’s drone jammer from various militaries around the world growing, the company’s shoulder-fired jammer, the DroneGun MkII, has been certified safe for human exposure. This certification is significant because the DroneGun uses [Read More…]
Kalashnikov Concern has released a video of their MP-446C VIKING-M competition pistol in action via their Kalashnikov Media site. The video shows the pistol running some drills and breaks down some of the weapon’s features and attributes. Designed for competition [Read More…]
Hot on the heels of news that Berlin’s 17,000 strong police force will replace its aging SIG P6s (P225) with Heckler & Koch’s SFP9, better known as the VP9 in the US, it has been announced that Baden-Württemberg will also be buying a new batch of [Read More…]
The USMC has begun fielding an unspecified number of M38 Designated Marksman Rifles. Converting existing M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle’s to the designated marksman role by adding a Leupold TS-30A2 Mark 4 MR/T 2.5-8x36mm variable power scope, replacing the standard [Read More…]
While Barrett Firearms Manufacturing is best known for their .50 BMG anti-materiel rifles they also produce a series of AR-based designs, the REC7, offering both piston and direct gas impingement systems. While the REC7 is chambered in 5.56×45 or 6.8 SPC, Barrett [Read More…]
Three-time US Olympic medallist Lt. Colonel Lones W. Wigger, Jr. passed away on the 14th December. Lt.Col. Wigger joined the US Army in 1960 and represented his country at the Olympics on five occasions, winning three medals: two gold and one silver between 1964 and [Read More…]
2018 is set to see the return of Fabryka Broni Łucznik-Radom (FB Radom)’s iconic pistol, the wz.35 VIS, widely known simply as the Radom. Milmag reports that the pistol will return to production next year and hopefully be available in the in the second half of [Read More…]
Brownells, SilencerCo and Auto Ordnance have teamed up to offer a suppressor ready semi-automatic Thompson submachine gun. The new gun is the latest in SilencerCo’s Summit series, working together with other companies and manufacturers to offer a unique package. [Read More…]
Slovenian firearms manufacturer AREX has been bought by the Czech Republic-based investment company RSBC. RSBC is a private investment group founded by Robert Schonfeld, with around €100m in assets, which focuses on investments in real estate, agriculture, [Read More…]
The veteran owned and ran Black Rifle Coffee Company have rung in the festive season – literally. The Salt Lake City, Utah based company released a special Christmas video on 15th December showcasing some of their musical and shooting skill. Using a musically [Read More…]
TFB have been closely following the news that the Civilian Marksmanship Program is set to obtain as many as 10,000 surplus M1911A1s. The 2018 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) was signed into law on 12th December, but the CMP had preempted this, sending out an [Read More…]
A number of British police forces are considering arming their officers. The move comes in the wake of the UK suffering five high profile terror attack in 2017. Three regional police forces are reported to feel that the large areas they police mean that the current [Read More…]
Poland’s elite counter terrorism unit, Jednostka Wojskowa GROM (JW GROM) are set to procure more M134 Miniguns. In a contract award notice published 12 December, it was confirmed that Poland would purchase a small, but unspecified, number of M134s. The Polish [Read More…]
What do you think of when you think about SOCOM Operators? Beards, Heckler & Koch MK 23s and HK416s? Well maybe you should be picturing multi-lingual, water polo loving dads instead. US SOCOM have just released their 2018 Fact Book,written by USSOCOM’s Office [Read More…]
The late 1800s and early 1900s are undoubtedly a period of American firearms design dominated by one man, John Moses Browning. But many of Browning’s contemporaries were no less able and men like Andrew Burgess, William Mason, John Pedersen, Frank Burton and T.C. [Read More…]
Episode 65 of C&Rsenal’s landmark rundown of the weapons of the Great War covers something very, very special – the Pedersen Device. John Pedersen’s ‘device’ has an almost mythical reputation as a World War One wonder weapon that could [Read More…]
In addition to adopting a new service rifle, Poland is also seeking to replace its current P64, P83 and WIST-94 pistols. In addition to the MSBS Grot 5.56×45 rifle, FB “Łucznik” Radom will also provide the PR-15 RAGUN, the Polish army’s new [Read More…]
Christmas is coming. But what do you buy the operator that has everything? He/she has every kind of 5.11 khakis available, caps from every major firearms manufacturer (including Hi-Point), a dozen pairs of tactical gloves, their gun safes are full and they even have one [Read More…]
Back in July, we reported that the Estonian Army was in the market for a new service rifle. A tender worth €75 million (approx. $86 million) was released calling for 20,000 new rifles, to be chambered in both 5.56x45mm and 7.62x51mm. The rifles are to replace the [Read More…]
Back in September TFB reported that Poland had officially renamed its new MSBS 5.56x45mm infantry rifle the ‘Grot’. The move to rename the MSBS came as Poland increased its orders for the new rifle. The significance of the new name has a great deal of [Read More…]
If you’re not following both C&Rsenal and Forgotten Weapons you are missing out on some of the best gun history videos around. With C&Rsenal’s current World War One focus, systematically working their way through the weapons of the Great War, and [Read More…]
Spike’s Tactical’s have unveiled their new 37mm flare launcher. Tapping into the nostalgia factor they have built a clone of the classic Vietnam War-era 40mm grenade launcher. The M79 nicknamed the ‘blooper’ or ‘thumper’ by troops [Read More…]
The Czech Republic are to purchase over 100 general purpose machine guns from FN Herstal. The Czech Army has agreed a deal to procure FN’s version of the Minimi light machine gun chambered in 7.62x51mm. In a contract notice published on 22 November, the Czech [Read More…]
America’s largest police department is set to finally decommission the last of its service revolvers. The Gun Free Zone blog shared a photograph of a NYPD memo, dated 11/20/17, announcing that all remaining revolvers are to be replaced by department authorised [Read More…]
The 27th ASEAN Armies Rifle Meet (AARM17) has concluded with Indonesia emerging as overall winners for the second year in a row. Indonesia have form when it comes to the ASEAN Rifle Meet having won the competition an impressive 12 times over the Meet’s 27 year [Read More…]
Poland’s Prison Service, Służba Więzienna, are set to purchase 500 Mossberg shotguns. The contract was announced 21 November and will see the Służba Więzienna receive new Mosberg 500 shotguns. Poland’s Central Board of the Prison Service purchased [Read More…]
Rest in Peace Interim Combat Service Rifle, we hardly knew thee. The Army’s ICSR program has joined the much more ambitious Advanced Combat Rifle program of the 1980s and the more recent ill-fated Individual Carbine program in the annals of US Army rifle [Read More…]
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