#1950s

In mid-1970s USA, a revolution was brewing, but not one of disenfranchised peasants or minorities. Instead, the time-tested and classic pistols of American gunmakers were about to be upset by European invaders. The Wondernine was coming, and on its heels the Aglockalypse. By the end of the second decade of the new millenium, no challengers would be left standing, and the high capacity Europellet 9mm would reign supreme.

Today on an extra special episode of Historical Intermediate Calibers, we’ll be taking a look at one of the most controversial experimental military rounds, one that many believe should have become the standard for the Western World at the beginning of the Cold War. That round is the .280 British, also known as the 7x43mm, and beginning in 1947 it competed head-to-head against the caliber that eventually became the 7.62 NATO in trials to become the standard infantry small arms caliber of the free world. The .280 British has, in the almost 70 years since its invention, become one of the great “might-have-beens” of the small arms ammunition world. Many small arms enthusiasts wonder how firearms history might have been changed if this brilliantly designed British 7mm round had been adopted by NATO instead of the overlarge and too-powerful US-designed 7.62mm.

The mid-late 1950s… Could there be a more optimistic time in United States history? I feel there’s no better rifle to illustrate the industry, innovation, and unbridled optimism of that time than the Armalite AR-10 7.62x51mm select-fire military rifle. Made of aerospace materials, using an advanced operating mechanism, and weighing in at an inadvisably light 7 pounds and change, unloaded, the AR-10 was an exercise in logic of the type best said “we have defeated Germany and Japan, and split the atom, why shouldn’t we do this?”

Probably my favorite “retro” AR-15 build comes from ar15.com poster and master AR builder John Thomas, and isn’t a faithful representation of any actual historical AR-15 at all. Rather, it’s a “what-if?” that John calls the “AR-14”:

This is the zeroeth part of a series of posts seeking to describe and analyze the 7.62mm Light Rifle concept promoted by the Americans, and subsequently adopted by NATO in various forms. This series will cover development from before World War II to the present day, but will focus primarily on the period from 1944-1970, which constitutes the span of time from the Light Rifle’s conception until its end in the United States with the standardization of the M16.

Since I started this series, I’ve reviewed books according to criteria of relevance, appropriate audience, strengths, and weaknesses. This method is a shortcut allowing me to provide a compass for my readers without wasting their time.

Retro AR-15s seem to appeal on more than just a level of nostalgia. Of course, ’80s action movies, Clancy novels, and other media featuring the early Black Rifles activate a certain nostalgic fondness, but aesthetically these first generation guns have much to recommend them, too. Their smooth triangular handguards, slick receivers, slim uncluttered carry handles and distinctive flash hiders give them the look of an arrow, pointing downrange, as if the rifle itself were in motion.

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.

It’s been a matter of reflection for me that the gun culture – what I like to call the gun hobby – has dramatically changed in the past two decades. Even when I was a lad, gun magazines were still mostly about hunting and target shooting arms; so-called “tactical” weapons took a definite back seat (though their growing popularity was by this point very evident). Today it seems “tactical” is everything, and while that does have its perks (the AR-15 in particular is a real friendmaker – those who consider it a dangerous weapon of mass destruction fail to realize how easy and enjoyable it is to shoot), it’s about this time in the conversation that I begin waxing poetic about the virtues of simpler weapons. Weaponsman, too, reflects on how much the hobby has changed: