Every now and again, a manufacturer decides to market a weapon that seemingly speeds right past all sense of aesthetics and functionality, to happily embrace a level of crudity and expedience normally reserved only for improvised or homebuilt guns. The Cobray Terminator [Read More…]
After the Ichord report of 1967 identified the early failures of the M16 rifle in combat, particularly failures to extract, solutions to the problem of fouling were investigated by Colt, as well as Rock Island Arsenal (a government entity), and Olin/Winchester. [Read More…]
As our regular readers have by now guessed, early selfloading rifle design is a major point of interest for me. It’s not well-known, but before the US entrance into World War I, Ordnance was extremely interested in procuring a self-loading rifle design to arm US [Read More…]
As part of their series on interesting weapons found at Rock Island Auction house, Forgotten Weapons has taken a look at something… A little different: The weapon is essentially a Mauser fitted for an under barrel .22 caliber single-shot rifle with a tilting [Read More…]
Rock Island Auction time means we get to look at a bunch of really neat guns, thanks to Forgotten Weapons’ Ian. Today he examines one of the most important early selfloading rifles, the model 1908 Mondragon: The Mondragon is widely recognized as the first [Read More…]
Ian over at Forgotten Weapons, takes a look at a M3 Carbine kit going up for auction through Rock Island Auctions later this December. Weighing in at a stout 30+ lbs and an effective range of 75-100 yards does not make this that amazing compared to modern technology. [Read More…]
It’s not every day you see a gun as rare and historically significant as this for sale! Rock Island Auction is selling a British Pedersen rifle, an early American selfloader design and direct competitor to the early Garand. What’s more, Ian of Forgotten [Read More…]
Recently the author embarked on heavily modifying a Kimber Custom II Series 80 style 1911. In the process he ordered custom parts, some of which will be reviewed on TFB. Some of the parts he ordered were from proven companies such as Ed Brown and Wilson Combat. Other [Read More…]
1911Junkie sent us this photo of his 1911 build. A really like the lines, the grip and the finish. A beautiful combination. He wrote … I thought I would send you a picture of my latest build (to be honest, the only one so far). I’m an amateur gunsmith, so [Read More…]
Rock Island Armory is now shipping bolt action rifles to the United States chambered for the .22 TCM cartridge. The rifles come with a 5-round magazine, but will also accept the 17-round magazines used in the company’s pistols chambered for the same cartridge. The [Read More…]
Armscor, a gun manufacturer in the Philippines, have been manufacturing Ruger 10/22 clones for a while now, as have many other companies in the USA and around the world. Most, if not all, US clone makers are targeting the high-end semi-custom/custom market, while [Read More…]
While we have come so far with modern manufacturing, it would seem that we have lost many of the old skills. Rock Island Auction company is soon to offer two two Le Page shotguns that showcase the true art of gun-making from the 1800’s. There are precious few [Read More…]
About two weeks ago I read an interesting article on the Rock Island Auction Company blog and published a blog post on TFB linking to it. A competing auction house, James D. Julia, then sent out a email newsletter accusing RIA of orchestrating an internet wide [Read More…]
The law requires guns imported into the USA to be stamped with its caliber and the company that imported it. According to Rock Island Auction, collectors do not like these import marks and stamped guns sell for a lot less than non-stamped guns. Take the Lugers in the [Read More…]
When I wrote about the auction of Saddam Hussein’s Ruger M77 last month I said the estimate sale price of $7,000 – $15,000 was to low. At the low end of that estimate even I was considering bidding on the historic and very symbolistic gun. I contacted Rock [Read More…]
Nothing shoots like a 1911. The crisp single-action trigger pull and comfortable grip angle has been pleasing shooters for over 100 years now, and the market for the 1911 pattern pistol shows no signs of waning anytime soon. There are and have been so many manufacturers [Read More…]
Large caliber rifle LAR Grizzly and LAR Manufacturing have been acquired by Remington / The Freedom Group. Remington has not yet sent out a press release about this acquisition, but Ethan at Aftermath Gun Club spoke to the LAR Manufacturing who confirmed the news. LAR [Read More…]
In their latest newsletter, BudsGunShop.com revealed their top selling guns of 2012 (which are currently in stock) … Mosin-Nagant M91/30 7.62X54R Ruger LCP .380 M10-762 Semi-Auto AK Style Rifle 7.62×39 Soviet Nagant M1895 Revolver W/ Accessories Mossberg 500 [Read More…]
The Para GI Expert is a well made entry level 1911. Nothing fancy here this is a working gun. It has all the desirable features to get the job done and that’s the most important consideration. There are more and more of these entry level pistols being offered from [Read More…]
The Army has “clarified” (reversed) the ban on non-GI magazines. Matt Cox reports … “At best, the message is incomplete; at worst the message allows soldiers to jump to the wrong conclusions,” Bourke said. “Maintenance Information Messages [from [Read More…]
This beautiful “Coffin” cased pinfire revolver/dagger was made for Jose Balta, the 19th President of Peru, by the French firm Lefauchaux Casimer & Eugene in 1870 is being auctioned off by RIA. Jose Balta is notable for among other things being deposed [Read More…]
The BATFE have published a list of the top countries which exported firearms to the USA and how many gun were imported from them. Most of these countries have only one, two or three major firearm manufacturers, so it is not hard to figure out how many guns these [Read More…]
A common misconception is that the desire for high capacity firearms is a relatively new phenomenon. This is far from the truth. Since the at least the mid 1800s designers had been experimenting with many novel ideas in an attempt to increase magazine capacity, mostly [Read More…]
Colt have won a contract worth $126 million to manufacturer the FN designed M240B machine gun, the standard medium caliber machine gun of the Army and Marines. Colt Defense, LLC., West Hartford, Conn., was awarded on Sept. 25, 2009 a $32,143,048 firm-fixed-price [Read More…]
Rock Island Auction are auctioning off a beautiful engraved and gold in-laid .25 ACP Colt Model 1908 “Vest Pocket” pistol. In my opinion it is absolutely beautiful. Wikipedia has an article about John Browning’s creation. Hat Tip: Ammoland
The Rock Island Auction Company are holding a massive auction next week (April 25, 26 & 27). Thousands of guns are being auctioned from some prestigious collections. All the guns can be viewed online and it makes for interesting reading. Here are a few interesting [Read More…]
Alliant Lake City Small Caliber Ammunition Co., LLC is a subsidiary of Alliant Techsystems (ATK) who among other things manufacture military and commercial ammunition. They own the CCI and Federal premium brands. In the fiscal year 2008 ATK’s annual report says [Read More…]
Continuing on with our coverage of the Forgotten Weapons Moons Out Goons Out night vision carbine competition, we’ve brought back an old friend, Les Winner with Polaris Logistics, to talk about his crucial role in the safety of the match. I think it goes without [Read More…]
Competitions are one of my favorite ways to enjoy my firearms outside of getting to test and review them. Often I like to combine those two things and test out new or unfamiliar equipment at matches. Moons Out Goons Out 2024 is exactly this type of match which is why [Read More…]
I absolutely love doing competition coverage of just about any kind and recently I’ve had a special opportunity to bring on a guest who isn’t a member of the media, but who managed to snag one of the highly coveted Finnish Brutality slots for the last [Read More…]
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