The redheaded stepchild of the SCAR contract was Robinson Arms’ XCR, an interesting design from a small company in Salt Lake City, UT. A rifle that is part AR-15, part FNC, and part noodle, the XCR represents an attractive looking and interesting might-have been, [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…]
It feels like déjà vu: India has once again issued a Request For Information (RFI) for a new rifle, this time in 7.62x51mm NATO caliber. The RFI was reportedly issued on the 27th of September, making it two and a half months between the nation’s government [Read More…]
Shouldn’t “Modern Full Power Calibers” be its own series? No, because then there would only be two episodes! So instead, we’re rolling today’s two most popular full power .30 cal rounds into the series on intermediates, primarily as [Read More…]
Like the .300 AAC Blackout that we discussed earlier, the 7.62×40 Wilson Tactical was intended to be a medium-performance .30 caliber cartridge that would function in standard AR-15 type rifles with minimal modifications, such as a barrel change. Also like the .300 [Read More…]
Perhaps the oldest rival of the 5.56mm round is its older brother in the intermediate cartridge world, the 7.62x39mm round developed by the Soviets in the late 1940s from their earlier 7.62×41 M43 cartridge. The 7.62x39mm, despite its age, has maintained a very [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…]
Arizona based K&M Arms was present at the 2016 National Rifle Association Annual Meeting, and they brought with them their M17S series of bullpup, triangular-bolt rifles. New for the show was the finished .308/7.62x51mm variant of the M17S, prototypes of which had [Read More…]
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 [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…]
In this episode of TFBTV, James review’s Ruger’s new piston operated AR10, the Ruger SR762, with and without a silencer. The Ruger comes with a bevy of features and accessories, right out of the box including: -Two piece chromed piston and 4-position regulator -Free float handrail [Read More…]
The next few installments of my Light Rifle series of articles will cover in detail the development of the two calibers that shaped the NATO rifle trials until 1953: The .280 British and the .30 Light Rifle, the latter of which – spoiler alert – subsequently [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…]
Poland is seeking to adopt a new sniper rifle as part of its modernization program. The new rifle, the tender for which was released earlier this week, will fire .338 Lapua Magnum and, with a conversion kit, 7.6x51mm NATO. Jane’s reports: Poland has begun a tender [Read More…]
Previously, we looked at the Breda Model 39, an Italian rifle that competed against what would become the Beretta BM-59 in a bid to be the Italian military rifle of the 1950s and ’60s. TFB friend Trevor Weston sends along more photos of three Italian rifles [Read More…]
An older design for an AK bullpup has surfaced from a trade show in the Ukraine, named the “Malyuk” and coming from a company called Interproinvest. Work was started on it in 2005. Essentially it appears to be an AK bullpupized, with the addition of a [Read More…]
A week ago, Alex C. and Miles Vining pitted the Russian Mosin-Nagant against the German Mauser Gewehr 98 in a battle royale shootout to see which was the best rifle. Unsurprising to some, and outrageous to others, Paul Mauser’s masterpiece took home the gold and [Read More…]
At this point, I’ve written relatively few articles about small arms design in general, due to my time going to a certain other writing project. However, small arms design and theory has always captivated me, since the beginning of my interest in firearms. Ian [Read More…]
The Imbel IA2, a 5.56mm caliber distant relative of the FAL which has been in development since 2008, has officially been standardized by the Brazilian Army. From IHS Jane’s: The Brazilian Army approved the IA2 5.56×45 mm assault rifle, developed by [Read More…]
The woes continue for famed gunmaker Heckler & Koch. Apparently, the Bundeswehr’s procurement of the new HK121 7.62x51mm machine gun, designated MG5, has been delayed significantly, though the reasons why are vague. DW.com reports: According to the [Read More…]
Trevor Weston sends us more information on obscure Italian prototypes, this time two general purpose machine guns design by Breda. Trevor’s contact Vic Tuff writes: The Breda machine guns are very interesting and the LMG version has a definite ‘Bren’ [Read More…]
Royal Armouries’ Trevor Weston recently sent me an email with some details relayed to him about a little-known Italian rifle from the 1950s, the Breda Model 39. This firearm was apparently intended to compete with what would become the BM59, among other weapons [Read More…]
C Products Defense has released two new 7.62×39 magazines to the market. The new 28 and 20 round magazines are designed to fit in the standard STANAG magazine pouch without issue, unlike previous in-house and competitor designs that were so large they earned the [Read More…]
There’s been a good deal of anticipation of the release of the new Daniel Defense 7.62. DD is giving us a bit of info at a time so we still don’t know the name of this new 7.62 rifle or the release date. My guess is six weeks but that’s just a guess [Read More…]
ABM Ammunition has released two new loads for the .308 Winchester, utilizing parent company Berger’s 185gr Juggernaut bullet, an OTM designed for both tactical and target use. The two new loads are likewise each optimized for tactical and benchrest purposes, [Read More…]
SureFire has announced a new .30 caliber quick-detach suppressor, which they are advertising as “the quietest suppressor ever built” for the caliber. From the press release: Fountain Valley, CA — SureFire, LLC, manufacturer of high-performance illumination [Read More…]
Though I’m spending most of my time this Saturday hitting a stack of thick books as part of my ongoing research, I wouldn’t want to leave our readers hanging. So, today we’ll take a look at an older – but still extremely impressive – video [Read More…]
Wilson Combat has entered the big bore EBR market with its new line of .308 caliber AR-pattern rifles. They feature Wilson Combat’s trademarked “BILLet-AR” receiver construction, and come in both 16″ and 20″ lengths. From the somewhat [Read More…]
Our own Alex C has already posted a thorough review of the new CMMG dedicated 7.62×39 AR-15, so be sure to go check that out. Meanwhile, CMMG has released model and pricing details, through a press release: Fayette, MO (Dec. 1, 2014)-CMMG Inc. today announced the [Read More…]
Mike Pappas, formerly of SilencerCo, is coming to market via Dead Air Armaments with a three new suppressors; the 7.62 Sandman line. From the press release: The 7.62 Sandman-S® delivers performance in a small package. The “S” stands for short, measuring in [Read More…]
Your Privacy Choices