Infantry Marine, based in the Midwest. Specifically interested in small arms history, development, and usage within the MENA region and Central Asia. To that end, I run Silah Report, a website dedicated to analyzing small arms history and news out of MENA and Central Asia.
Please feel free to get in touch with me about something I can add to a post, an error I’ve made, or if you just want to talk guns. I can be reached at miles@tfb.tv
Lewis Machine and Tool has won a contract from the New Zealand Defense Forces to completely replace the Steyr AUG A1 with their 5.56x45mm CQB16 platform, coming on top of eight competitors. The contract is for 8,800 rifles, while the Army has around 6,500 troops. This [Read More…]
The mostly shotgun accessary company Mesa Tactical, based out of California is partnering up with Beretta USA to bring their popular Urbino pistol grip stock to the 1301 line of tactical shotguns. This is an interested development because previously the 1301 was not [Read More…]
It seems that hacking into commercial technology is all the rage these days, including the ability to hack into Tracking Points digital scope that pretty much shoots a rifle for the shooter. In a piece by Wired, a hacker couple recorded how they got into the wifi system [Read More…]
In yet another saga of the Canadian Ranger rifle ordeal, a good twist has come out in a recent story by the Ottawa Citizen, in that the Rangers themselves might actually be able to hold on to their issued rifles, in a personal capacity though (through either gifting or [Read More…]
The Firearm Blog recently received a chance at an exclusive interview with Sven Jonsson, founder and owner of Manticore Arms, based in St. Charles, Illinois. Sven founded Manticore on innovative parts for the Steyr AUG and MSAR rifle platforms and has continued into [Read More…]
A 1911 enthusiast in Virginia recently had a buddy ask him if he could work on his 1911 for him. The buddy’s relative had brought back a 1911 from Vietnam. This is the resulting encounter- Well he brings over this gem and the first thing I tell him is … Well [Read More…]
Bravo Company came out with these rail sections at SHOT 2015, but have since worked some more on the design and they are now ready to ship for $9.95 a pack of five, with each section covering 5.5 inches. However, the materials they picked allow users to clip the length [Read More…]
I came across this movie on youtube from a TFB reader recently. It is a series of movies made about various artisan trades in the 1700s, there is one on blacksmithing and so on. However this entire movie is about the process that a colonial gunsmith would go through to [Read More…]
I love covering these stories about small arms turning up all over the place, and in the oddest of circumstances, the criminals who stashed the MP40 and Lee Enfield, or the elderly lady who passed away and left behind a fully functional Sten gun. But I think this one [Read More…]
A TFB reader sent this into us about the Chinese Type 05 Police revolver in their new 9mm round. China adopting a 9mm revolver for their police forces is old news from last year, however the particular round they’ve adopted has apparently been featured on the [Read More…]
Nathaniel F covered the choice of Sako in an earlier TFB post with some very detailed information about the rifles adoption, so I’m not going to rewrite what was put down about the specifics of the rifle. However Beretta recently released a new press release [Read More…]
These news items are always so interesting when they come up, as if to say “Dear god, a working firearm!” Anyways, in Sydney, Australia apparently some criminals were stashing a modified No.4 Lee Enfield and an MP40 in an abandoned house, intending to do [Read More…]
So you know those anti material rifles we’ve been posting about in use by some of the Kurdish Peshmerga forces against Daesh? The 14.5mm ZPU barrels turned into anti material rifles otherwise known as Zagros? Well apparently, video has come out of Syria and [Read More…]
A TFB reader sent these into us about West Point professor Arthur Alphin making firearms development and history videos for his classes, using his own firearms, and those from the West Point Museum. We’re so used to seeing videos explaining cycles of operation [Read More…]
Now I’m no knowledgable business guru, but Jane’s is reporting that the state owned company that had a stake in Izhevsk, Rostec (which by the way, did you know Kalashnikov Concern also makes boats?) has now sold 51% to a company called Ural Mining and [Read More…]
In a recent press release, American Sportsman Shooting Center is putting together a summer camp for high school/middle school teenagers (it actually doesn’t specify an age limit, but this is what I am assuming). – Grapevine, TX – American Sportsman [Read More…]
These pictures and video were published on War History Online in two separate articles over the course of the past six months. The images and video are absolutely astounding. It seems that a duo of treasure hunters or artifact seekers, using commercial metal detectors [Read More…]
Jane’s has come out with a report that Australia is in the final stages of procurement of the EF88 5.56x45mm service rifle, or the “Enhanced F88”. Currently, the Australian Defense Force (ADF) has just over 80,000 servicemen and women. With this [Read More…]
Outdoorhub just posted this link to a news report about the Svalbard island in Norway where it is legally mandatory to carry a firearm while on the island. I couldn’t find any further news reports other than this one to back it up, or how seriously it is enforced. [Read More…]
In a twist with their usual designs, Slide Fire Solutions came out with a completely different approach to their rapid fire bump fire stock systems in the SSAK47-HYB. Unlike their other models for the AK and AR, which have a very simple appearance, this one is actually [Read More…]
Jane’s is reporting that the Dutch special forces are putting out a contract request to buy 195 carbines chambered in .300 BLK and an assorted amount of ammunition to go along with the package. Now, this isn’t big news yet, because all this is, is a request [Read More…]
A reader sent this in to TFB when they stumbled across an odd patent for a type of “Vermin Control”, patented in 1882 by a certain James A Williams. It uses a lever that a rodent would feasibly step on and would be connected to a trigger, which would set it [Read More…]
The Oklahoma Highway Patrol has selected the SIG Sauer P320 full size in 9mm as their new duty gun. I’m not sure what they had before, but from an overview of media pictures it appears that they formally had Glock 17s as standard issue with some officers with [Read More…]
Kalashnikov USA has come out with a press release stating their new products are ready for sale/shipping in the United States, under the new banner “Russian Heritage/ American Innovation”. The company is not directly connected with Kalashnikov Concern (more [Read More…]
At the recent IDEF Istanbul exhibition held this past May, Azerbaijan had some interesting developments of various small arms on display. Interestingly there wasn’t any demonstration of their service rifle, the Tavor (similarly, it appears most of the military [Read More…]
Heckler & Koch released a press release on June 12th about their newest addition to the VP line up, a .40 caliber version, VP40. I’m curious as to why it took them this long, being that .40 and 9mm handguns usually share the same dimensions when it comes to [Read More…]
The pictures are a couple of years old (prior 2009), but interesting nonetheless. Apparently it is a picture from a seized weapons cache in Iraq, later in the war due to the ACU helmet cover on the kevlar laying on the floor. The gas tube is completely removed so [Read More…]
Pistol caliber Kalshnikovs are nothing new at all, made in Peshawar and most notably with the Russian Bizon. But it’s the configuration that caught my eye with this gun shop out of Arizona called Kalashnicohn (Facebook page). They make standard SBRs or [Read More…]
Two high end, precision 1911 manufacturers, STI International and Detonics Defense, have entered into a business partnership in the hopes of producing better 1911s. It seems that the two seem to compliment each other, with STI having very good quality control and [Read More…]
A film casting company by the name of Project Casting has put out a request for people with extensive firearms experience and happen to live near or in the state of Georgia, for the chance to be used in the oncoming episodes of The Walking Dead Television show. The [Read More…]
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