Nathaniel is a history enthusiast and firearms hobbyist whose primary interest lies in military small arms technological developments beginning with the smokeless powder era. He can be reached via email at nathaniel.f@staff.thefirearmblog.com.
The views expressed in this opinion article are those of the author, not TheFirearmBlog.com, or anyone else. Energy is a pretty hot quantity in the firearms industry: Guns in new calibers are marketed by how much more energy they produce than the competition, [Read More…]
What do you do when you need a full-heft, realistically-recoiling .22 caliber training pistol? Why, call up convicted murderer David Marshall (later called “Carbine”) Williams, of course! The 1930s were a different time, when convicts were encouraged to use [Read More…]
On the 10th anniversary of the famous Najaf firefight in which he was a participant (and which was caught on video, watchable here), Travis Haley created a video recounting his experiences in that battle. It’s better to just let him speak for himself, in my [Read More…]
Stepping out of the chronology that the past few Weekly DTIC entries have taken, today we’ll be examining two much more modern pieces of research, which help explain some of the phenomena observed by end-users when firing their weapons in anger. The first document [Read More…]
IDFblog reports that during an operation about a month ago, IDF forces raided a Palestinian weapons cache in Judea and Samaria, finding several improvised weapons and what appears to be a shop dedicated to constructing them. While not an arsenal by the standards of most [Read More…]
In the early Sixties, just as the Indochina conflict was beginning to draw serious attention from the Americans, the Army noticed a gap in effectiveness between their then-new rifle, the M14, and the new Soviet AK series of rifles (commonly known in the West as the [Read More…]
Following the publication of the Hall report, but preceding it in conception, were two important documents in the origin story of the military .22 caliber cartridge. These were Operational Requirements for an Infantry Hand Weapon by Norman A. Hitchman, and Design and [Read More…]
Continuing my series on articles found at the Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC), today we will be taking a look at another landmark document in modern firearms history, An Effectiveness Study of The Infantry Rifle, by Donald L. Hall, and more commonly known [Read More…]
Colt Canada is advertising an L119A2 variant of their L119 rifle intended for UK special forces. The rifle features a monolithic upper receiver, new prong flash hider, ambidextrous controls, and a partial 1913 rail handguard. No word yet on whether these rifles have [Read More…]
Small arms science and history are both areas of great interest for me, and the Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC) is the primary source of the historical documents I use to feed this interest. DTIC is a wealth of information on all defense topics, and the [Read More…]
Meprolight has announced at Eurosatory 2014 the introduction of a line of compact, mounted erbium-doped glass laser rangefinders for vehicles, static emplacements, and other fixed applications. From the press release: Meprolight – a leading manufacturer of Laser [Read More…]
Colt Canada intends to release semi-automatic versions of its C7 rifles and C8 carbines on the Canadian commercial market under the Diemaco name sometime this summer. The rifles and carbines will be categorized as “restricted” under Canadian law. The C7 and [Read More…]
Colt is now selling upper receiver kits in various lengths. From the press release: WEST HARTFORD, Conn. (May 8, 2014) – Colt’s Manufacturing Company, oneof the world’s leading designers, developers and manufacturers offirearms, is now offering complete upper [Read More…]
There is now a Chinese-made rail system (which appears to be 1913 standard or similar) for the QBZ-95 rifle. It replaces the top handguard/carry handle. A logo is visible that reads “ACP” or “AGP”. More pictures at Sinodefenceforum. Also found [Read More…]
Nikon has added a new scope to its AR product line, the M-223 1.5-6×24 BDC 600. The scope has a 30mm body tube, and gradiated marks for 55gr .223 Remington ammunition. It will also come in an adjustable-illumination variant called the M-223 1.5-6×24 BDC 600 [Read More…]
Since the ’80s, Singapore has paved its own way in the small arms world, producing the Sullivan-designed Ultimax 100 machine gun and bullpup SAR-21 rifle. Now, information has been released on two new rifle prototypes produced by ST Kinetics, the primary [Read More…]
The good news for IWI continues to roll in: Army Recognition relays an Interfax report that Vietnam will shortly begin license production of the Galil ACE 31 and 32 rifles. This contract, which will produce rifles to supplant the ageing AKM rifles in use by the [Read More…]
Robert Harper sent The Firearm Blog photos of a convertible FAL with a 5.56mm magazine adaptor and a user-removable barrel. Included in the images are different length gas pistons and springs, presumably for the different length barrel and handguard assemblies. One of [Read More…]
As begins L. P. Hartley’s novel The Go-Between: “The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there.” Indeed, they do. Almost exactly 85 years ago, existentialist philosopher and feminist Simone de Beauvoir visited a fairground [Read More…]
Hexmag’s first product on the shooting market is, appropriately, their hexagon-patterned 30 round AR-15 magazine. According to Hexmag literature, the HX30-AR offers an alternative 30 round high impact resistant fiber reinforced polymer magazine design with an [Read More…]
An article posted to the Irish web magazine Independent.ie featured pictures of Haitian police sporting a Galil ACE 21 rifle and a Taiwanese T65 rifle or carbine. The T65 is in use by Haitian forces officially, but the ACE is not. The Galil ACE has garnered considerable [Read More…]
Nosler has announced that it is making a line of Noveske branded ammunition intended for Novekse rifles. Initial release calibers include 5.56mm in 55gr Varmageddon and 60gr Ballistic Tip varieties, .300 AAC Blackout in 110gr Varmageddon (supersonic) and 220gr Subsonic [Read More…]
The assault rifle is the defining individual weapon of warfare in the latter half of the 20th century, and the 21st. It’s history is deeply intertwined with the political and war-making developments of the era. Fast, mechanized maneuver warfare, the decline of [Read More…]
Four years ago, frustrated after having a bad experience with an Armalite AR-180B, I purchased a Colt 6920 rifle from a gun store in Northwest Louisiana, which I was passing through at the time. Since then, I have put close to five thousand rounds of steel-cased [Read More…]
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