In a post on AR15.com, a gunsmith going by the screen name “IronBalaclava” recounts being presented with the aftermath of a catastrophic failure. The customer was shooting three rifles that day: two chambered in 5.56 and one in .300BLK. The incident occurred [Read More…]
Information on this round and the weapons designed to fire it is scarce, so the details in this article may be at times incorrect. Just letting you know. -NF Before the SIG SG 550 was adopted by the Swiss Army as the Stgw. 90, there was another series of rifles, called [Read More…]
If any of you still had doubts about the HK416’s rumored win of the French AIF (Arme Individuelle du Futur – Future Individual Weapon) contract, doubt no more. The French DGA (Direction Générale de l’Armement, their defense procurement office) has released [Read More…]
CruxOrd is introducing a new .22 lr to .223/5.56 muzzle brake that looks like it is going to do a wonderful job of not only reducing felt recoil, but also destroying the hearing of anyone you shoot with. I kid well… sort of. The new muzzle device features some [Read More…]
A military group requested a heat shield on the barrels to protect slings, cables and pouches. Since the Micro Gun is so short it would be easy to swing it and have it touch something. Here is what Empty Shell came up with. It looks slick.
What was the first military .22 caliber high velocity infantry rifle round ever developed? Many would name the 5.56mm round designed in the 1950s to that title, but that would be incorrect. In truth, it’s probably impossible to know for sure due to the large [Read More…]
Today I want to address something that has come up in small arms ammunition development several times in the past 150 years: The small caliber bullet problem. For the sake of this article, I’ll characterize this problem as a perceived trend recognized on several [Read More…]
We have been covering the US Army’s latest M855A1 and M80A1 “Enhanced Performance Rounds” (EPRs) here at TFB for the past few years. We’ve seen how in independent tests both M855A1 and M80A1 fragment early, thanks to their yaw-independent [Read More…]
We live in a world today that is completely inundated with AR-15 pattern rifles. In 2016, for just five Benjamins – sometimes even less! – you can purchase your very own fantactical black rifle and rely on it to work when you need to and shoot where you [Read More…]
@Empty_Shell_LLC and @Aeroknox have been posting progress pics of their 5.56 minigun project and their D12 bullpup shotgun project. Here is a video of a successful test fire. It is a burst of 5.56. Looks like 10-15 rounds. The first clip of the video is real [Read More…]
While I am sure that most would opt to select .223/5.56 NATO over .22LR for home defense, but I have heard the argument that .22 would be “better” for home defense since its reduced energy would mean that it would penetrate through fewer walls. On the flip [Read More…]
Back in March, I wrote a post on caliber configuration, or the effort to create and standardize effective and economical ammunition for infantry small arms. As mentioned in the post itself, it was written as a more in-depth companion article for a podcast recorded by [Read More…]
As I am sure many would attest, being “Mil Spec” does not necessarily mean that something will be the exact same between different manufacturers. Manufacturing methodologies, tolerance stack-ups, etc all contribute to variations of the same product. A prime [Read More…]
This post was written as a companion to an upcoming Gun Guy Radio podcast, hosted by Ryan Michad. The discussion below will be expanded upon in the show when it’s released later this month, but for now, read on to learn more about the past, present, and future of [Read More…]
The Rock River Arms PDS – Piston Driven System – may not be new, but this SBR certainly is. At the Rock River Arms booth at SHOT Show this year they showcased a few guns so new they had little information available beyond the caliber and length of barrel. [Read More…]
Hill & Mac Gunworks brought to the show their brand new rifle, the HMG Sturmgewehr, a reproduction of the famous German StG-44 assault rifle of World War II. The company bought prototypes of three different configurations of the new gun, the STG-N, a rifle, the [Read More…]
SIG Sauer featured a wide variety of firearms at their own range event the Monday that kicked off SHOT Show 2016. Among those guns was the SIG M400 Predator, a rifle that was originally debuted in 2013 but has now been upgraded. The SIG M400 Predator comes chambered in [Read More…]
Gun blogger superstar Eric of the Iraqveteran8888 YouTube channel is happy to once again get behind a rifle going cyclic until failure. This time, Eric’s victim is a Vepr 7.62×39 AK rifle made by Molot and modified by Copper Custom. Those who watch these [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…]
The Finnish Commander of the Army has announced that the Nordic country will not be purchasing 5.56mm replacements for their existing 7.62x39mm caliber Rk. 62 rifles, but instead will seek to upgrade the venerable Kalashnikov-based Valmet. Altair.com reports (machine [Read More…]
Have you ever wanted a major piece of Armalite/Colt history? Then the rifle for you is up for auction at GunBroker: A low serial Colt 601, the first AR-15 variant manufactured at Colt. Still marked “Armalite”, this rifle’s serial number is 00059X: [Read More…]
The Stoner legacy goes beyond just the AR-15. Several firearms designed either by Stoner or based off his work continue to impress modern shooters at the range and in use. One very notable such weapon is the Stoner 63 LMG, the weapon Larry Vickers has taken to the range [Read More…]
Rufus writes: This is a picture of my original Armalite AR-180 manufactured in England by Sterling. I saw it in a shop next to one of the new ones produced by the current Armalite (which is the same company in name only) with the polymer lower. I fell in love with [Read More…]
When you travel abroad, there’s no telling what you might find. Tim of the Military Arms Channel was visiting the MKE factory in Turkey, when he stumbled upon an extremely rare original Stoner 63 rifle sitting in an arms locker. The very short video he made to [Read More…]
Good news for those looking for a micro-action custom hunting rifle; CZ USA has just announced they are making available 7.62×39 CZ 527 unbarreled actions to the US consumer market. From Jerking the Trigger: CZ USA has announced that they will be making their CZ [Read More…]
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. To write my ongoing series of posts on the Light Rifle, I first had to hit the [Read More…]
According to their laws, the Iraqi Army isn’t allowed to enter Iraqi Kurdistan. Because of that they have the Peshmerga, the military forces who provide security for that region. “Peshmerga” literally translates as “one who confronts death” [Read More…]
Originally posted on Reddit, one very fortunate shooter survived a catastrophic failure by detonating a 300 BLK in 5.56 firearm. 300 BLK has many advantages, but can have one real disadvantage. It can chamber in a 5.56 firearm under certain circumstances. Quote from [Read More…]
Nathaniel S has given you most of the information on the C22 yesterday but there are some range impressions and additional information I’d like to share with you, our readers. Katie A and myself have been at the annual Remington Tactical event at Gunsite this past [Read More…]
In 2012, AR-15 designer Jim Sullivan applied for a patent for a new rifle design. Apparently based on his Ultimax 100 light machine gun, the rifle features a quick-change barrel, a guide-rail-less receiver with a “backbone” guide rod attached to the lower [Read More…]