Long before the MHS, the M1911, and even before the Colt Single Action Army the U.S. adopted its first sidearm. After the Revolutionary War Connecticut gunmaker Simeon North won a contract to manufacture the fledgling nation’s first officially adopted pistol. The [Read More…]
Like many Vets these days, Steve Russell was very frustrated that he or any of the soldiers under his command couldn’t actually bring back captured rifles from their campaigns overseas, unlike previous generations of American infantrymen. So if you can’t bring back rifles, maybe the next [Read More…]
Mike takes a look at a very old Swiss favourite, about which much incorrect information abounds – the Schmidt-Rubin M1889 rifle in 7.5×53.5mm GP90 calibre. A smokeless calibre. Yes, you heard that right – smokeless. Turns out all the books that say “semismokeless” are [Read More…]
This episode of TFBTV, Patrick finds a new favorite range toy and starts the break in process for his new handgun, the Ruger Mark IV 22/45 LITE. This pistol is the latest in the line of lightweight .22lr pistols that have changed how we look at the Mark series of pistols. Now they are the […] [Read More…]
The Ruger SR-22 is a wonderful choice if you are looking for your kid’s first handgun on paper. It fits just about any criteria that you might have set out for a first semi-auto pistol be it for yourself or your kids. At first glance it might be easy to look over things like the […] [Read More…]
I’ll bet you can’t figure out what is a slide stop and what is a slide release. Even though most people have no idea what the heck the terms mean if anything, the rife thing that is thrown around when talking a slide lock reload it some fool regurgitating what the manufacturer calls the [Read More…]
Mike takes a look at another early Euro semiautomatic pistol, with which he has a bit of a love-hate relationship: the FN 1903, more specifically the Husqvarna m/07, which is the Swedish version used by their army as late as the 1980’s together with its oddball 9x20SR ammunition. Possibly the [Read More…]
In this episode of TFBTV, James reviews the Savage MSR-10 Hunter. (Full disclosure in the interest of transparency for our viewers: Some time after James reviewed this rifle, Savage agreed to sponsor the channel starting August 1. It did not affect the review). The Savage MSR 10 Hunter is a compact [Read More…]
Blank cartridges have been around for some time now and are found all over Hollywood, reenactments, and in various training settings within the Military and Law Enforcement communities. Although they add a great amount of potential in their use, they do require extensive safety precautions and care [Read More…]
We shoot Wolf Gold .45 Auto 185 gr semi jacketed hollow point ammunition produced by Prvi Partizan from a 1911A1 with a 5″ barrel into Clearballistics ballistic gel and measure velocity, penetration, expansion/fragmentation, and retained weight. Buy it at Ventura Munitions: [Read More…]
The 2.36 inch M1A1 “Bazooka” entered service midway through the Second World War in the U.S. campaign in North Africa. From there it become widely liked that the rocket launcher was issued at the infantry platoon level and used with much success against German and Japanese enemy [Read More…]
Armscor .45 Auto 230gr JHP fired from 5″ SA 1911A1 at 20 feet into ClearBallistics ballistic gel to measure velocity, penetration, expansion/fragmentation, and retained weight for the purpose of assessing the usefulness for defense. Buy it at Ventura Munitions: [Read More…]
In this episode of TFBTV, James gets his hands on the newly released (May 2017) S&W Model 69 Combat Magnum 2.75″ barrel in .44 Magnum. This diminutive magnum packs 5 rounds of .44SPL/MAG into a package smaller and lighter than a standard 1911. Truly, this gun is small enough that it can be [Read More…]
In recent days, Glock’s reveal of their MHS submission has caused quite a bit of hand-wringing in comments sections across the internet – specifically regarding the uncharacteristic safety. This particular case falls outside my knowledge or experience (or [Read More…]
We traveled to Austria to see how Ritter & Stark is making some of the most advanced factory rifles on the market, but to totally understand the thought process behind what they do we were invited to tour EPT Precision Technologies. I have been told that EPT has been in the gun making game for [Read More…]
Collector alert! Finnish Sako, now part of the Beretta Group, is making a limited and numbered edition of the Sako TRG 22 “Finland 100” sniper rifle. You can have any color and caliber you like, as long as you accept “white camouflage” and “.308 [Read More…]
The multi-lug rotating bolt as used in a number of semi-automatic firearms today has a significant number of advantages over numerous other designs, to include tilt locking or blowback operated mechanisms. Ability to unlock becomes easier than a standard two lug design, the forces on the lugs are [Read More…]
Have you ever wondered what benefit a sawed off shotgun barrel gives you? Does it spread the shot more? Does it remove the need to aim? In this episode of TFBTV, Patrick breaks out his short barrel Remington 870 and tests a barrel sawed to 14″ with a hacksaw against a 20″ barrel with a [Read More…]
Gathering material for articles here at TFB is a mixture of results for this senior scribe, ranging from full exultation to sheer deception. Sometimes an interesting photo negative is dug out from surviving files, just for yours truly to find out that no related info is [Read More…]
The age old question of Remington 870 vs. Mossberg 500 has plagued shooters for decades. In this episode of TFBTV, Patrick takes a look at the two shotguns to talk about some of the features of each and reveals what shotgun is his favorite based on the features alone. What choice would you make? [Read More…]
Colonel Isaac Lewis was an early pioneer in 20th-century machine gun design. His developments butted heads with John Brownings on numerous occasions, to include this peculiar case. Stemming from his work on the light machine gun, Lewis like others in his peer group saw the problems with the [Read More…]
If you look in the trunk of just about any patrol car in America you are going to find a Remington 870 of one flavor or another. Over ten million of the legendary pump action shotguns have been produced over the years, and there is no sign of them stopping now. In this episode of […] Read [Read More…]
Take a look at our test of Speer’s .45 Auto 230 Gold Dot. The Gold Dot is not technically a bonded bullet, but rather a plated one. Nevertheless, it tends to perform like bonded bullets and the plated construction is essentially the same as a bonded bullet in that core and “jacket” [Read More…]
In my recent article (https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2017/06/09/brazils-7-62x51mm-mosquefal/) on the Mq 7,62 M968 rifle made by Fábrica de Itajubá (Itajubá Factory) for the Brazilian Army, I also showed said gun in a photo alongside two shorter carbines, one [Read More…]
If you are looking for the toughest pump action shotgun out there, chances are you have already strongly considered the Mossberg 590A1. In this episode of TFBTV, Patrick takes one of his favorite shotguns out to the range to show you guys the military grade Mossberg 590A1. The 500 series of shotguns [Read More…]
The 9x19mm Uru submachine gun, created in the mid-1970s by Brazilian designer Olympio Vieira de Mello Filho and placed into series (though, limited) production in the early 1980s by Mekanika Indústria e Comércio Ltda. in Rio de Janeiro, has already been the subject of [Read More…]
When the Smith & Wesson M&P22 was rolled out in 2011 many shooters rejoiced that there was a new full size .22 on the market that closely resembled a centerfire handgun. At the time of its introduction, the number of choices in that segment was rather limited. In this episode of TFBTV, [Read More…]
Since the Smith & Wesson Bodyguard .380 was introduced in 2011 it has been at the top of the heap when it comes to .380 mouse guns. Recently the market has been flooded with several really good 9mm single stacks that have almost rendered the .380 mouse gun irrelevant … or has it? In this [Read More…]
The St. Louis Police Department is upgrading their hardware by selling off some historic and collectible submachine guns. Twenty Seven iconic Thompsons bought newly 100 years ago for $125 will be sold to Midwest Distributors in Kentucky for $22K each. Being that they [Read More…]
An e-mail was recently sent out to all Gander Mountain customers with a simple message from the new CEO, Marcus Lemonis. An Important Message to Gander Mtn. Customers from Marcus Lemonis, CEO of Camping World & Good Sam. We are delighted to announce that Gander [Read More…]
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