At this point we’ve looked at the data for seven intermediate calibers currently on the market, each of which is – one way or another – influencing the discussion around the question of what next generation military rifle caliber will be. Those rounds [Read More…]
Sport Systeme Dittrich (SSD) is a German company specialized in making reproductions of historical German firearms. Besides that, they also make modernized versions of the legendary WW2 German paratrooper rifle, the FG-42. The SSD’s modernized FG-42s feature a [Read More…]
This is not the average AK we normally see, is it? DNO Firearms DX-7 is an interesting take on redesigning and modernizing the AK platform at the same time keeping the features and parts that don’t need to be changed. The most significant change is obviously the [Read More…]
With the recent push for small arms ammunition with increased range, power and capability, are military customers in danger of being taken for a ride by industry marketeers working to sell rifles in new calibers? Is the primary driving force behind new infantry [Read More…]
When I started the Modern Intermediate Calibers series, I did not expect it to grow as large as it has. The initial plan was for 7 major calibers, which grew into well over 20, and the spinoff Modern Personal Defense Weapon Calibers, which itself will have at least 20 [Read More…]
Oh yes, it’s that time. The 10mm Automatic, what hasn’t been said about it? Well, a decently sourced article about its history*, maybe, but that’s for another time. Right now, we’re considering the 10mm Auto (or 10mm Norma as it’s more prim [Read More…]
The US .30 cal M1 Carbine is one of the most important developments in the personal defense weapon story, being one of the very first* intermediate calibers to be adopted as standard issue by a nation, and arguably the first purpose-designed PDW caliber in history. [Read More…]
Today on Modern PDW Calibers we’re going to look at what might seem like a humdrum round, but which represents an important performance band for the modern personal defense weapon. That round is the 5.56x30mm MARS, a purpose built “micro assault rifle” [Read More…]
It’s been a while since we’ve done one of these Modern PDW Calibers installments, but we’re back, and today we’re looking at a very new round on the market, one that is currently making some pretty big waves in the pistol world. I am talking of [Read More…]
What do you get when you combine what’s widely regarded as one of the best rifle operating mechanisms ever invented, an innovative and promising concept, and a factory with over 150 years of history making some of the finest small arms in the world? If you said [Read More…]
Since we’ve covered the two most prominent PDW rounds of today, I want to take a quick detour and look at an interesting – but obscure – personal defense weapon/assault rifle round from history. After World War II, the apparati of the German war [Read More…]
At this point, we’ve talked about 25 different intermediate and full power calibers as part of a series comparing different types of modern small arms ammunition. However, one subject not yet thoroughly covered is rounds for personal defense weapons (PDWs). These [Read More…]
As politicians pass laws, its inevitable that ingenious people with a passion will do everything they can find the limit of the letter of the law. Latest up is a company not based in the United States, but rather Canada, long known for its direct ban on both the AR-15 [Read More…]
TFB writers typically receive a lot of e-mails. Often, readers are asking us opinions on various weapons, set-ups, or engaging in lively debate on a myriad of topics. Personally, I love it and just wish I could spend more time getting back to those who take their [Read More…]
What was the first intermediate cartridge? Who designed it, and why? How did the concept evolve? These are all good questions deserving of thorough, thoughtful answers. Sadly, to give a comprehensive history of the intermediate cartridge concept would require a project [Read More…]
Each day a different image from the World of firearms. We call this POTD, short for Photo Of The Day, and it is our daily article series where we go to great lengths trying to find the most interesting pictures for you out there. Today the image itself is very basic, [Read More…]
Savage Arms knows how to troll a salivating crowd. Last week they popped a picture on Instagram with Valkyrie imprinted on the handguard. Over the past month, dribbles of information on the new round have come from a select few sources. But from all the smart people I [Read More…]
Radical generation upgrade is what Ceska Zbrojovka calls their new CZ 600 series of bolt action rifles that has just been introduced. The CZ 600 rifles are packed with a lot of new and innovative features and will apparently replace both CZ 527 and CZ 557 becoming the [Read More…]
We’ve all heard the tired “boating accident” trope, and it was funny while it lasted, but in all seriousness, boating season is upon us, and a lot can go wrong on the water, so let’s take a look at boat guns. The term boat guns is an aquatic [Read More…]
Though not common today, the 5.45x39mm AR-15 was popular for a time. There are still a fair number of these guns in circulation but they are something of a novelty today. Why the 5.45x39mm? The USSR issued the 7.62×39 round in the AK-47, AKM, RPK, and others, but [Read More…]
Ukrainian Mayak arms plant has designed an AK variant called KalashNash that has a quick barrel change feature. It is possible to change the caliber of this rifle to any popular intermediate cartridge (5.56×45, 7.62×39, 5.45×39, 6.5 Grendel, etc.) by [Read More…]
Federal has landed a new contract with the Department of Justice (DOJ) – Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The contract will run for 5 years and is described as a multiple-award, indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity for Federal’s 5.56mm NATO Service [Read More…]
AG-026 (АГ-026) underwater machine gun was developed by TsNII TochMash along with other Soviet amphibious weapons such as the APS (АПС) assault rifle and SPP-1 (СПП-1) pistol. Although all of these guns are rare firearms, the pistol and rifle are relatively [Read More…]
Faxon Firearms has released a limited edition rifle called Mustang, themed after the iconic American WW2 warbird, the P-51 Mustang. The custom laser-engraved Cerakote finish that resembles the fuselage of the airplane is applied by One Off Coating LLC. The Faxon [Read More…]
AKs of Zastava Arms USA are some of the highest quality production Kalashnikov pattern rifles currently available in the USA. Their full-size 7.62x39mm rifle, ZPAPM70, is a rugged and reliable gun and as the company says, is built like a tank. However, 7.62x39mm Zastava [Read More…]
Evocatus Strategic is a relatively new company specialized in building AK pattern rifles. If you visit their website, you’ll see that they are focused on building rifles chambered in non-mainstream AK calibers such as the 6.5 Grendel and 9x39mm Their latest [Read More…]
You know how it goes, you’ve seen a few AR-15 builds, you’ve pretty much seen them all… until today! We truly do live in strange times, when someone can build an AR-15 made to accept AK patterned magazines made to hold 6.5 Grendel cartridges, with [Read More…]
If ammunition is something that you are especially interested in in the firearms world, then you probably frequently visit the websites of SAAMI and CIP. While doing a research for another article, I visited the New Cartridge & Chamber Drawings page of SAAMI website [Read More…]
Leapers have been teasing the pictures of this new AR-15 magazine for at least a year and apparently, it became available on their website at the beginning of the current year. This is a 30-round .223 Remington / 5.56x45mm NATO windowed magazine made of [Read More…]
Slagga Manufacturing, a company that has been working on creating a US-made replica of the Soviet VSS Vintorez rifle, has announced about a significant progress in this project: they’ve built a working prototype of Viska, the American Vintorez. VSS Vintorez is a [Read More…]