Kramer Defense, the company that introduced the 6.8x45mm UCC cartridge based on the .378″/9.6mm diameter case head of 5.56mm, filed a patent on Aug 14, 2014 (approved Sept. 1, 2015) that has recently sent shockwaves through the 6.5 Grendel and cartridge [Read More…]
Dust, mud, dirt, sand: Ideally, a firearm should be kept clean and free of debris so that it functions optimally at all times. After all, the user’s life may depend on the firearm working properly! Sometimes, though, the worst happens and a firearm is exposed to [Read More…]
What if the Mini-14 had arrived over a decade earlier, and been a pound lighter? Would it have still played second-fiddle to the AR-15, or would US troops be using classically-lined rifles of wood and steel right up until today? Was there really an alternative to the [Read More…]
The most consistent request I received in the comments of my Weight Omnibus posts (if you didn’t catch them, here are Part I, Part II, and Part III) was to continue to expand the content of this series, both in the guns measured and the analysis of them. Further [Read More…]
This article is an English-language translation of an article written for Мир увлечений: Охота & Оружие (World of Hobbies: Hunting & Weapons) magazine, by Andrey Donets and Dmytro Adyeyev. TFB reader dnepr0mike graciously aided the [Read More…]
OK, so with the clickbait title out of the way, we’ve seen how the M1 Garand and the AK-derived Galil ACE fare in mud, but what about the legendarily reliable AK itself? Well, Ian and Karl’s recent round of mud testing continues, and next in line is Mikhail [Read More…]
The title of this article is an Anglicized version of the title of the article linked below. The search for a successful selfloading weapon that could be issued en masse to troops was closely related to the development of early weapons that were predecessors to the [Read More…]
Though rare in the wild, mostly seeing use with special units and some police departments, is a favorite of Hollywood movie-makers and Triple-A video game developers, thanks to its compact size, striking looks, and fully automatic firepower. The gun itself, however, [Read More…]
In the early 1980s, German gunmaker Heckler & Koch began to design a new submachine gun that would improve on the existing MP5, in response to a US Navy solicitation for an advanced submachine gun as part of the Joint Services Small Arms Program (JSSAP). The SMG I, [Read More…]
Gun blogger and MVD agent KardeN released some rare high-definition photos of the unique Russian PP-2000 submachine gun. This lightweight select-fire weapon was designed as a concealable PDW and CQB weapon for VIP protection and special police and military units. [Read More…]
In November of last year, we blogged about an early Soviet encounter with the MKb.42(H), the open bolt machine carbine that would become the famous closed bolt MP/StG.44 assault rifle. Ensign Expendable, author of the Soviet Gun Archives blog that provided the material [Read More…]
Another new rifle from the Islamic Republic of Iran was being shown at the 15th IPAS Exhibition. It is a modern-looking weapon, distinct from the very modern looking Fateh announced in 2014. It was developed by the state-owned Iran Defense Industries Organization, [Read More…]
George Kellgren is certainly one of the most inventive small arms designers alive today, although his company Kel-Tec has unfortunately become known for their QC troubles and availability problems more than how inspired the designs are. The latest offering from Kel-Tec [Read More…]
Czech small arms manufacturer Česká zbrojovka has introduced an improved, lighter variant of its 805 Bren rifle, called the 806 Bren 2. Altair.com reports: By the end of 2015, the Czech national arms manufacturer Ceska Zbrojovka provide the army last game of the [Read More…]
The first new rifles in the prototype batch made by Sako in Finland have been issued to Canadian Rangers, and initial reports are positive. The rifle, which has been designated “C-19”, will replace the venerable but aging .303-caliber Lee-Enfield rifles [Read More…]
So, one day you’re working on your ranch in Utah, and you think “you know, when the zombie elk apocalypse comes, I had better be prepared. I’ve got a rifle, and some ammo, but what happens when I run out?” Well, obviously you make your own [Read More…]
As evidenced by its substantial IMFDB page, the Pancor Jackhammer has been a popular inclusion in many popular video games. What’s interesting about this is that the Jackhammer, otherwise, would be an extremely obscure firearm. Only three were made, and of those [Read More…]
The Chauchat Machine Rifle, formally designated the Fusil Mitrailleur Modele 1915 CSRG, has come to be widely regarded as one of the worst firearms ever made. The rifles made for the French military during WWI were chambered for the standard 8mm Lebel, but the weapon [Read More…]
Polish gun manufacturer Fabryka Broni recently announced the full line up for the MSBS “Radon” modular dual conventional/bullpup layout rifle, in development since 2007. The MSBS is an improved relative of the Remington ACR/Magpul Masada. Frag Out! released [Read More…]
During the Army 2015 International Military-Technical Forum in June of this year, Kalashnikov showed off their products, including the AK-12, AK-15, and the new PL-14 pistol. Also present was the new upgrade kit for the AK-74 rifle, but what was missed by almost all [Read More…]
Sometimes, it seems like few gun designers are willing to throw caution to the wind and try something truly new, and that even fewer financiers are willing to help those few designers achieve their vision. The Gyrojet family of weapons is perhaps an excellent example of [Read More…]
In the twilight of the blackpowder era, the British tested many designs in one of the biggest firearms competitions of the era, in an effort to replace their increasingly obsolete Martini-Henry rifle. The winning design was the brainchild of Scottish-American designer [Read More…]
Earlier this week, we blogged about an AR-15 that had seen half a century of service; a weapon originally made by General Motors between January of 1969 and the end of 1971. Recently, pictures were circulated on Facebook of a rifle even older than that firearm: A Colt [Read More…]
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, [Read More…]
The Joint Service Small Arms Program (JSSAP), which includes the program formerly called Lightweight Small Arms Technologies (LSAT) has unveiled a new scaled-up 7.62mm machine gun that fires a larger variant of that program’s cylindrical plastic-cased 7.62mm [Read More…]
Those who frequent AR-15.com’s ammunition section or the IAA forums probably already know about poster wolfganggross and his excellent ammo cutaways, but for the rest, you’re in for a treat. Below are some samples of his high quality cutaways, exposing the [Read More…]
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 [Read More…]
Project SALVO’s experiments with multiple projectile ammunition did, surprisingly, result in the production of service ammunition. The 7.62mm M198 Duplex round was an attempt to improve the short-range combat effectiveness of the M14 rifle (so far as this author [Read More…]
In response to the recent EMI/WTD 91 audit report on the G36 rifle’s thermal issues, Heckler and Koch has issued a statement rebuking the claims made by the Ernst Mach Institute about the rifle. The statement has been machine translated into English and replicated [Read More…]
Larry Vickers’ TacTV YouTube channel has released a series of videos showcasing 40mm underbarrel grenade launchers, including uncommon footage of firing actual high explosive dual-purpose (HEDP) grenades. The videos are embedded below: The underbarrel grenade [Read More…]
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