Lithgow Arms is a small arms manufacturer located in Lithgow, New South Wales of Australia which surprises a lot of people. Not the ideal country to be manufacturing firearms, but they have been successful even still. They are primarily known for producing quality [Read More…]
The legendary French Lebel rifle was a revolution in small arms design: It introduced smokeless powder, which gave the rifle double the power and effective range of its competitors like the Mauser 1871/84 or American Springfield Trapdoor. The French Lebel and its new cartridge (usually called 8mm [Read More…]
Background I do not have a history with bolt action precision rifles. My only real experience was with a beat up Mosin Nagant, and I was lucky to fire five to six rounds in a range trip before having to have my shoulder dislocation reduced. Fast forward to a couple of [Read More…]
With the advent of red dots and inexpensive optics, I have heard from more than a few “old timers” that “marksmanship” is a dying trade. While I disagree, as it is just evolving (as the fundamentals are still the same), I do understand it [Read More…]
There’s a new hunting blind coming to the woods near you, and it’s hard to miss. That’s because it measures 6 feet tall, 6 feet wide, and stands 7 feet tall (yes, really). The company behind this behemoth is Ameristep, and they readily admit it’s [Read More…]
One of the common questions seen in hunting groups on social media is some variation on asking what caliber is best for X animal. It pops up everywhere and instantly results in dozens of opinions, all backed by the commenter’s claim of extensive knowledge and [Read More…]
Everyone has a few purchases that have resulted in no buyer’s remorse whatsoever, and in this list I breaks down five of mine. The firearms on this list can meet a pretty broad set of criteria, ranging from how fun said gun is to how useful it has been over the years. What are the top [Read More…]
Myths may come from many places; one of the most common sources of myths is the gap between languages. Translations, no matter how good, are imperfect, and this is especially true when concerning delicate works like poetry or technical documents. Even translations [Read More…]
The MAS 36 is a greatly underappreciated rifle that we have worked a lot with on TFBTV, but it occurred to us that we had never taken one apart on camera. In this episode, we decide to do just that. MAS 36 Video: MAS 36 Run and Gun:
Measure twice cut once. Well in the case of selling firearms you should probably measure a few more times and understand ATF NFA guidelines of what constitutes an SBR. Josh P. saw this at a local Cabela’s. The store purchased a used Remington 700 chambered in [Read More…]
Note: In this article, I call this mechanical feature “underlug”. However, this is an error. Several friends of mine and I have been discussing the mechanics of firearms operation for close to a decade now, and we misremembered the term [Read More…]
In the first post of the 101 level series on firearms operating systems, we briefly described what the word cycle means in terms of the operation of automatic firearms. However, there’s a lot more to the cycle of an automatic firearm than just the completion of [Read More…]
So far we’ve looked at the most basic concepts in firearms operating mechanisms as part of the 101 series of posts, and some more advanced concepts like locking and bolt configuration in the 201 level entries. However, there is a whole lot more depth to the [Read More…]
The Springfield Trapdoor was America’s first standard issue breech-loading rifle beginning in 1873. The advantage of rifles using metallic cartridges was quickly realized, and the hinged breechblock action of the Model 1873 was chosen over competing designs because of the ease by which [Read More…]
So far in our exploration of firearms operating systems, we’ve covered ten different mechanisms for locking and actuating an automatic firearm, with two supplementary introduction posts. There’s still a lot more to talk about, but at the request of our [Read More…]
If you live in a state that allows the use of night vision for hunting, the ATN X-Sight HD digital night vision riflescope would be an excellent choice of optic. The ATN X-Sight HD series of night vision rifle scopes are digital night vision scopes. These scopes do not [Read More…]
Daniel Defense announced a new .308 semi-automatic rifle called the Ambush. The new hunting rifle is chambered in .308 Win, a cartridge considered by some to be the perfect hunting round for North America. The SR-25 compatible rifle is distinctive with a Kryptek [Read More…]
Don’t get me wrong, I’m a fan of the long handguard on a rifle, but there is a thing as TOO long of a handguard. In recent years the trend has been to push handguards out as far as possible with the non-firing hand pushing forward on the gun for better [Read More…]
There is a lot going on with this Kel-Tec Sub2000 Gen 2. First it is a modified version that is now a takedown model. While not approved by Kel-Tec and would certainly void any warranty, it is an interesting design. While the concept of a takedown is intriguing on other [Read More…]
Few rifle designs make me stop in my tracks. The JARD J67 was one of them. Browsing through Google looking to build my own pistol caliber carbine (and sick of all the AR variants), a lone photo grabbed my attention screeching for attention. Having been struggling [Read More…]
Kirsten Joy Weiss posted up a video about the M1 Carbine which she calls “The Mutt Gun” due to its many different origins. For those who are not familiar with the M1 Carbine, the information is interesting and you may learn something new? The video has [Read More…]
In the comments to James’ recent video review of the SIG MPX (click here to see it), he noticed that a number of TFB viewers said the MPX was filthier than daytime television when you shot it suppressed. Given that so many TFBTV commenters claimed that a silenced MPX would gas out anyone behind [Read More…]
It just might be the unsung hero of the ammunition world: frangible rounds. Of course, it also seems to be widely misunderstood, not to mention underused. And while there aren’t a lot of companies out there manufacturing quality frangible rounds, there are a few. [Read More…]
The McMillan Group, known for their high-end fiberglass stocks for bolt-action rifles has announced the formation of a new company, “Grayboe”, to offer high-volume high-value stock systems for the consumer and OEMs. The new company is launching with three [Read More…]
In the first article discussing the mechanisms by which a firearm locks its breech, we mentioned briefly two quantities that are important for small arms design: Pressure, and bolt thrust. The latter we’ll discuss in a later installment, but today we’ll [Read More…]
This is one of those posts I’ve been meaning to get to for a while, but haven’t really felt the urge to write. The subject came up recently* in my comments, though, and I really enjoy responding to people, so I might as well kill these two birds with one [Read More…]
What if there was a caliber that was suitable for everything from coyote to brown bear, kicked less than your whitetail gun, fit in a micro-length (2.25″/58mm) action, and cost a quarter a round to shoot? That would be a pretty awesome caliber, wouldn’t [Read More…]
Some guns just seem to attract the most ravenous fanboys. These fanatics collaborate and overtime form cult-like cells within the community of firearm enthusiasts. In this video we explore five firearms that have developed a fan base akin to cults, often bordering on outright religious behavior.
Does anyone know what this rifle is? It has a huge magazine that looks similar to a SureFire 60rd magazine. But seeing how this bullpup has three barrels, I think maybe it has three magazines coupled into one giant magazine feeding all three barrels. I am curious if [Read More…]
Heckler and Koch has won a major victory against the German government this week, regarding the sale of G36 assault rifles to Saudi Arabia. In the mid-2000s, Heckler and Koch sold tooling for the G36 to the Saudi government capable of producing 14,000 rifles per year. [Read More…]
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