#Ar

In preparation for the 29th South East Asia (SEA) Games being held in Kuala Lumpur, Royal Malaysian Police held Exercise Rimau 2017, a public counter-terror exercise designed to prepare law enforcement for worst case scenarios that could take place during the SEA games. Some of the situations appear to have been a VIP armed escort out of a hostile environment, an NBC or bomb attack, and assaulting an enemy hardpoint. Three Malay LE units in particular were pointed out by a TFB reader that were training in the event, the General Operation Force, VAT 69 (69 Commando), and Unit Tindak Khas (UTK). A mixture of small arms were in use, mostly various AR variants and some handguns. We’ll try to outline of the tactics, techniques, and procedures in use throughout the exercise, in addition to the small arms. Earlier we reported on Sultan Muhammad V of Malaysia being into competition shooting. The question begs to be asked if his shooting hobby allows a larger budget to be set aside for Malay Military/LE forces to be better armed than their counterparts in neighboring Indonesia or Thailand.

Is the People’s Republic of China about to be the latest nation to abandon the bullpup configuration in favor of the “traditional” rifle layout? That seems to be the word on the street since about September of last year, when Chinese news outlets and blogs online began publishing articles claiming the PLA had already selected a new rifle, which was set for “practical training” (troop trials) and service with the PLA Special Operations Forces before going on to replace the bullpup QBZ-95 and conventional QBZ-03 in both the PLA Ground Forces and the PLA Marines. The news articles themselves – some of which appear to be related to state-controlled media – included the header image of this article and the image below, suggesting that is the rifle that the PLA is set to adopt.

In what perhaps many fanboys of the two platforms are viewing as the ultimate sacrilege, photos of a proposed design incorporating an AK-style safety onto an AR-15 have been setting the forums ablaze with voices of dissent the loudest while those of reason are largely ignored due to the passions aroused.

In a recent announcement, the U.S. Government has released a 7 million dollar award modification notice for Colt Defense’s over 35 million dollar contract to provide M4 and M4A1s in the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program. This modification notice specifically mentions the countries of Georgia, Lebanon, Iraq, Slovakia, Pakistan, and Bahrain.This latest modification tacks on another 7 million dollars for the additional countries, specifically mentioning the number of 8,730 M4/M4A1 carbines. The numbers bring this to around $800 per carbine, but we assume the actual cost per rifle is much lower with the extra cost being taken on by other equipment.

Honestly, I’m a little tired of seeing the cult of the AR-15 preach its superiority as an “ergonomic” platform. While the AR-15 is an excellent weapon, and lord knows I own many of them, it’s not the superior choice for a weapon platform in a sea of continuously expanding alternatives. A weapon designed mid last century for right-handed operation only cannot hold a candle to other later generation platforms.

A number of AR15s that have been turning up in Iraq appear to be counterfeit products but are in the markets and treated as legitimate production versions of the rifle companies the producers are seeking to counterfeit. Some of them are very small differences, only being distinguished by the wrong roll mark or incorrect engraving. Others are blatantly obvious through the combination of several companies on a single lower. As an example, the largest indication that we are seeing is an AR15 with a 14.5 inch barrel, Burst selector, and with both Colt markings above the serial number and FN Herstal markings above the selector switch. Although both companies have been making M4s and M4A1s for the U.S. Military, neither of these companies have ever actually combined forces and produced a joint rifle. We’ll post the glaring examples we have seen so far down below. There are far more examples that are borderline counterfeit, but I don’t want to post them because I just don’t have the in-depth Colt roll mark knowledge to be able to discern whether or not it is genuine.

No, not that Arsenal, the other Arsenal. At SHOT 2017, I briefly swung through the Arsenal Firearms/ Salient Arms International (SAI) booth looking at Glocks, but I must have missed the bigger news. DefenseReview.com is reporting on the company’s new rifle the ‘Switch’. The AR/AK-patterned gun is piston-driven, accepts AK magazines and utilizes a reciprocating side charging handle. Currently the Switch is chambered in either 7.62x39mm or 5.45x39mm.

Aimpoint was very recently awarded a 10 million dollar contract for the delivery of 30,000 M68 Close Combat Optic reflex sights to the U.S. Army. The commercial variant of this sight is the Aimpoint CompM4. These sights have already been in use with the U.S. Army for some time now, seeing much usage in Iraq and Afghanistan. Primarily they are for the M4 carbine, but can also be used for the M16A4, M249, and M240 weapon systems. Although some Army units have purchased Trijocon RCOs and Elcan Spectres with their own budgets, the M68CCO is mounted on a majority of the Army’s individual weapon systems. The price equates to around $360 per sight, but this is also including spare parts and other pieces of equipment that the Army stipulated, so the actual per sight cost might be somewhat lower.

Recently my local gun shop in Bloomington, IN allowed me to sit in on one of the shop’s new AR build courses being offered. I didn’t build a rifle there myself, just simply watched the course intently and took a large number of notes and photographs of what was going on. Because I wasn’t an actual student involved in the course, this won’t be an article detailing the intricacies of putting together an AR15 but is simply more a reflective perspective of what I learned. If you are interested in a rather in-depth critique of putting together an AR15, take a look at Patrick R’s writings. In addition, I know I’ll get some particular facts here wrong, so please take this as an outsider’s perspective on a very detailed aspect of the AR15, instead of a true testimony.

Our first episode with Callum from English Shooting covered the intricacies of the laws and regulations that govern firearm and shotgun ownership in the United Kingdom. But in this episode, we discuss the growing sport of Practical Shooting. Essentially based on Three Gun, or Two Gun in the United States, the sport is appealing to British shooters for a number of reasons, one of which is that it offers a diverse and changing environment for shooters to compete in, unlike anything that has been available before.

Our good friends over at TorkMag have launched the new G-Block mag well with a video showing the new conversion block in use. Our very own Ray got a chance to catch up with Jarret at SHOT 2017 and was able to look at one of the prototypes at the show, you can read his post HERE.

To me, the only major and glaring design issue behind the AR-15 and similar two-receiver designs is the interface between the two receivers. By using only two pins and having variable tolerance between them for mass-manufacturing inevitably leads to excessive slop. This is compounded by the choices in materials as steel rubs on aluminum receivers (but that is another issue entirely).

BNTI Arms is a Jacksonville, FL based company that is releasing a dedicated 7.62x39mm AR15 to the public called the AR/AK 7.62 BA Beast Optics Ready Rifle. The company has previously focused on .308 Win and 5.56x45mm NATO rifles in the past and this will be the first 7.62x39mm rifle released. Interestingly the company appears to have primarily developed the rifle for the Nigerian Military/LE market, possibly through U.S. AFRICOM, or it could have been otherwise contracted and exported. Previously we reported on the presence of 7.62x39mm Polish Beryl AKs in use by the Nigerians, in addition to the AKMs already in service with the country. The U.S. civilian version is of course semi-automatic and has a legal 16″ barrel. It features a Magpul ACS-L stock, Magpul handguard on a carbine length gas tube. It comes with one steel 28 round 7.62x39mm magazine. The upper and lower receivers are both forged 7076 T-6, which is usually not seen on many civilian ARs. From the press release-

Ever had a gas key that came loose? I know I have, especially with some of the bargain prices bolt carrier groups that I have bought over the years. The Michiguns MOACKS Plain is designed to allow the home gunsmith the ability to stake the gas key screws properly without expensive machines. This particular BCG is an IWI that I purchased on closeout and hasn’t come loose yet, but it is a matter of time in my opinion.

Before you start roasting me for posting yet another AR-15 handguard option on the market, hear me out. Most of the options made by Cooltubz may not be my style, but they certainly are unique. I’ve aways been a fan of the MP5SD look, and on an SBR AR the “Operator” model may work quite nicely.