“Beneath this mask of a failed bullpup there is more than double feeds and malfunctions. Beneath this mask there is an idea, Mr. Creedy, and ideas are bulletproof, especially when they jam!”, in other words, the SA80/L85 bullpup rifle platform probably [Read More…]
It’s not just the Yanks that are getting improved ammunition: Our friends across the pond have developed their own firepower upgrade for 5.56mm and 7.62mm weapons alike. Jane’s has a modest article on the subject, while The Register provides a quite good [Read More…]
On Saturday we looked at one British “contender” which could have in some alternate reality become the NATO standard round, and today we’re going to look at another: The 4.85x49mm. After the United States adopted the .223 Remington round as the [Read More…]
British Army Photographers posted up some videos of soldiers training in CQB and CQM. Here is the CQM (Close Quarters Marksmanship). The soldiers appear to be using SA80 bullpups, Benelli M4 shotguns and Sig Sauer pistols. In this CQB video one soldier is using [Read More…]
A report from Jane’s highlights a move within the British Army to review the requirements and usage of their LMG, the famously nicknamed “Minimi” (FN Para Minimi), and their M6-640 Commando 60 mm mortar system. Both of these weapon systems are [Read More…]
The 43 Commando’s Fleet Protection Group has recently come out in a press briefing that the unit has replaced the L95 service rifle (bullpup SA80) with Colt Canada C8s, which the MoD classifies as L119. This is particularly interesting as this will be the first [Read More…]
The U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit (AMU) sent their Action Shooting Team to train the British Army Combat Action Shooting Team. Here is a video of the BACST showing off what they learned in a 3Gun style action stage. They are using the SA80 and what looks like a Glock 17. [Read More…]
Tavors, SA80s, FAMASs, AUGs, QBZ 95s. Whether for better or worse, the majority of bullpup weapon systems in the world are manufactured and in use by countries and militaries outside of the United States. Sure there was the Bushmaster M17S way back when, and now we have [Read More…]
Now, what you think you saw in the title picture was an MG42 and a British Bren light machine gun. However, what you are actually lovingly gazing at, are .22 LR rifles inserted into the parts kit of those guns, and indeed, are fully functional with their .22 LR [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…]
In about an hour’s time we will be publishing a TFBTV video about the Pedersen rifle, which was chambered in the .276 Pedersen. Almost three decades later the British developed the .280 British round, very similar to the .276 Pedersen, and an experimental [Read More…]
As in all Small Caliber Book Reviews here at TFB, I will be covering the area of relevance and strengths and weaknesses of the book, as well as whether it is more introductory or advanced. The recent mud and sand tests of the M14 by InRange TV have blackened the eye [Read More…]
The Ak5 is the Swedish military’s variant of the FNC carbine. The “C” variant is the short-barreled carbine model, now widely used by the Swedish Army. Shorter still, though, is this bullpup conversion of the Ak5, shown below: The image first appeared [Read More…]
10. Thorneycroft Carbine Some of you might be familiar with this gun, but few know that almost all available pictures of it are misleading, at best. The picture below is not of the original Thorneycroft Carbine, but of the later Thorneycroft-Farquhar rifle. The title [Read More…]
MagLula (which stands for Magazine Loader & Un-loader), has put up initial details of the forthcoming Maglula Range Benchloader. Different from previous releases, the Range Benchloader is designed to work with ALL .223/5.56 systems, whereas legacy systems have been [Read More…]
The city of London does an excellent job of maintaining it’s medieval heritage even unto the 21st century. The streets are spontaneous and winding, just as Jack the Ripper wanted them to be. Tower of London is still as ominous, except instead of slicing heads, [Read More…]
HERA Arms recently announced that their windowed H3 mags will now come in Flat Dark Earth and OD Green. Also available in black, HERA Arms H3 magazines are made in Germany and feature a window positioned along the spine of the magazine, as opposed to the side like on [Read More…]
The British Army’s future solider program, FIST (Future Integrated Soldier Technology), has fitted every day and night scope in the program with the Shield CQB red dot sight to use as a close quarters or backup sight. So far the UK Ministry of Defense has [Read More…]
The Kord Defence SmartGrip RIC (Rifle Input Control) is a picatinny rail mounted device which allows easy control of electronic devices attached to the gun itself and of devices carried by the user. The control has four buttons which can be programmed so that certain [Read More…]
Lusaka, our man in Paris, had the opportunity to closely examine and review the brand new Thales/Steyr F90 rifle. [ Just to avoid confusion: the EF-88 is an experimental designation for the next-gen rifle being developed by Thales Australia for the Australian Army. The [Read More…]
It has been reported on the ARFCOM and Lightfighter forums that some USMC battalions are banning or restricting the use of Magpul PMAG magazines because they are incompatible with the M27 IAR. The PMAG does not work with the HK416 (it does not drop free and needs to be [Read More…]
During a firefight in Afghanistan in 2007, British soldier Pte Cole’s SA80 rifle was hit three times by 7.62x39mm bullets! It continued to function and he continued to return fire, despite the fact that the scope, bodywork and pistol grip was ripped off the gun. [Read More…]
The Royal Navy HMS Cumberland (Type 22 frigate) took on a pirate dhow on the high seas. No prize for guessing who won that fight! The Times has the story Pirates caught redhanded by one of Her Majesty’s warships after trying to hijack a cargo ship off Somalia made the [Read More…]
