The Sig Sauer P365 was one of the most talked about semi auto pistols to SHOT Show this year. TFB sat down with Sig’s media team and got the low-down on the newest member of the Sig Sauer family. The Elephant in the Room The very first thing I noticed about the [Read More…]
ORSIS has first introduced their semi-auto rifle about a year ago during MILEX-2017 arms exhibition in Belarus. Recently, they have released it to the Russian civilian market. The Russian designation of the rifle is ORSIS-K15 “Брат”. The word [Read More…]
The US Army wants to give its soldiers more punch and reach: In the Fiscal Year 2019 Budget Estimate Justification Book for the United States Army, the service outlined its strategy for procuring M110A1 Compact Semi-Automatic Sniper System (CSASS) rifles from Heckler [Read More…]
While doing a research for another article I came across a set of photos taken during live firing exercises of Russian Ground Forces’ snipers in Alabino proving grounds. Reportedly, the images are taken in December 2017. Let’s take a look at them and [Read More…]
The USMC has begun fielding an unspecified number of M38 Designated Marksman Rifles. Converting existing M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle’s to the designated marksman role by adding a Leupold TS-30A2 Mark 4 MR/T 2.5-8x36mm variable power scope, replacing the standard [Read More…]
Whatever the next infantry small arms configuration is, I hope it does away with the failure that is the belt-fed Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW). Why? Let’s talk about it. On the surface, the idea of augmenting the firepower of a rifle squad with a belt-fed machine [Read More…]
The US Army’s embattled CSASS program has moved forward slightly with a sources sought notice posted to the Fed Biz Opps website, seeking manufacturers who can make many of the accessories that equip the M110A1 rifle. The notice isn’t itself for a contract, [Read More…]
The US Army will be holding a second Industry Day for its Next Generation Squad Automatic Rifle program, which seeks to replace the M249 light machine gun with a new longer-ranged, lower signature automatic rifle. The Industry Day will be held at Picatinny Arsenal on [Read More…]
A warning against romanticism in military planning. In the early 1940s, the US Army Air Corps (USAAC) made a fateful decision that would affect the lives of tens of thousands of men over the next decade. Two years prior, the Army had just begun testing her newest [Read More…]
Earlier this month, the Serbian Army debuted a new 6.5 Grendel weapon system, developed by Zastava. The rifle, called M17, is a heavily modified variant of the M70 AK family that has been developed by the company for decades. It incorporates a number of significant new [Read More…]
At the 2017 Association of the United States Army annual meeting, Oberndorf gunmaker Heckler & Koch had on display the latest configuration of their CSASS winning rifle, the G28E-based M110A1. The rifle is similar to the M110A1 displayed at the 2017 SHOT Show in Las [Read More…]
In examining the future of infantry capability, we must not only be aware of potential technological solutions, but of the need to re-think and re-work what it means to train and prepare troops for future battlefields. At the core of this is the simple matter of man and [Read More…]
Gun accessory manufacturer Geissele has revealed its first ever production suppressor. The new can, called the “Super Night Owl”, was revealed at the Modern Day Marine 2017 industry demonstration. Soldier Systems Daily broke the story with a teaser post, and [Read More…]
Several models of rifles from manufacturer SIG Sauer are now being recalled, the company announced in a release Friday. The issue stemmed from a problem in the heat treatment of the hammer of SIG’s two-staged trigger used in the SIG716 DMR, SIG516 Carbon Fiber, [Read More…]
Polish arms maker Zakłady Mechaniczne Tarnów (ZMT) has released a new large-caliber semiautomatic sniper rifle system. The 100 year old company, formerly known for their bolt-action sniper rifles and autocannons, introduced the new advanced rifles at the [Read More…]
This rifle was earlier announced by the Kalashnikov Concern. It was initially called SVK. Recently, Kalashnikov has renamed the rifle to include the designer’s last name (Chukavin) into the designation of this firearm and revealed more details. Now the rifle is [Read More…]
Russian ORSIS arms company has introduced a new semi-auto rifle during MILEX-2017 exhibition in Belarus. The rifle is called K-151 and it is chambered in .308 Winchester. This rifle incorporates design features borrowed both from AR and AK platforms. The gun feeds [Read More…]
According to SoldierSystems.net, FN America has shown a .260 Remington conversion unit for FN SCAR Mk 20. What makes this news even more interesting is that it happened shortly after the US Special Operations Command (SOCOM) announced that they are exploring a [Read More…]
The Firearm Blog would like to extend its thanks to reader and contributor Giorgio, who lent his journalistic services to us at this years IDEX conference in Abu Dhabi in February. Thanks, Giorgio! The Kalashnikov Concern booth at IDEX 2017 was reportedly packed with [Read More…]
At the 2017 SHOT Show, Heckler & Koch was proudly displaying their victorious CSASS entrant, now designated the M110A1 by the US Army. The Compact Semi-Automatic Sniper System competition was created to find a lighter weight, more compact sniper weapon system to [Read More…]
Recent experience in Afghanistan, coupled with concerns about the effectiveness of the M4 Carbine – and perhaps also just a general long-term swing of the pendulum – has spurred many to advocate for a new configuration of infantry weapon centered around [Read More…]
More and more, it seems like we are on the cusp of a break in the small arms “plateau”, and that major changes may be coming both in the technology and use of infantry small arms and ammunition. The biggest harbinger of this coming paradigm shift has been [Read More…]
The 6.5 Grendel is in many military small arms enthusiasts’ eyes the ideal military caliber, in theory combining the best characteristics of both 7.62mm and 5.56mm rounds. However, in the thirteen years since the round’s introduction, it has found little [Read More…]
As part of Kalashnikov Concern’s new product rollout for the Russian government’s ARMY 2016 military technology conference, the company has announced a new designated marksman’s rifle, named the SVK. Earlier this year, an article in PopMech.ru showed [Read More…]
A measure of intelligence is being able to make complex matters simple and easy to understand. FK-Brno, Czech manufacturers of the 7.5mm FK Field Pistol, aim to do such a thing with their recently unveiled 6.5×55 “Blind Sniper System”. The System itself weighs 9.5 Lbs, and [Read More…]
The venerable SVD “Dragunov” (after its designer, Yevgeny Dragunov) was one of the first successful squad designated marksman’s rifles ever developed, and it spawned numerous copycats and competitors. In the more than half-century after it was [Read More…]
Earlier this year, Daniel Defense announced their new entry into the thirty-caliber AR-15 market: The DD5V1, a lightweight, direct impingement 7.62x51mm/.308 Winchester rifle using a shortened rear receiver with a dedicated bolt and bolt carrier for the .308 cartridge [Read More…]
Released at the SHOT Show 2015, Minox USA introduced their new tactical line of optics and among those is the new ZP8 1-8x24mm model. For those that have never heard of the brand, Minox is a very old German optic maker and it has recently acquired Optronica, [Read More…]
Almost four years in the making, Hi-Lux displays their new PentaLux line of DMR and long range scopes at the SHOT Show. In Latin, penta means five, as in 5x magnification ratio of both models. Those will be available in 2-10x42mm and 4-20x50mm models. Hi-Lux is [Read More…]
Brazil’s Federal Police Department (Departamento de Polícia Federal) is one of three federal police forces. Their role is roughly the same as the FBI and ICE in the United States. They are tasked with investigating drugs trafficking, money laundering, public [Read More…]