#Italy

Here’s a very neat little takedown gun seized by police in Italy which is entirely handmade, fits in a backpack and is chambered for either .22lr or .22 hornet. Intended varmint may or may not have included local magistrates.

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 that are not well known today. The first two are Beretta-made licensed-produced copies of the 7.62mm  SG 510-4 rifle, the more conventional one being the first Chilean contract rifle of 13,000 made by the company for that country. The other is a Beretta-made “improvement” of the 510, called the BL-62, with a combined buttstock and pistol grip.

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:

ARpilot sent us this photo of a Thompson submachine gun Model 1919  replica being used by reenactors celebrating the anniversary of the liberation of Italy. He wrote …

LifeSizePotato is the YouTube channel of a collector of rare, antique, unusual, and high quality handguns, which hosts video reviews of the weapons he collects. This week, he stepped outside of his box a little bit to review the Strike One handgun, a modern polymer commercial grade handgun unlike his regular features.

The Italian Media are upset that Armalite used a photo of Michelangelo’s David in an advertisement for their AR-50A1 .50 BMG rifle. The UK Guardian newspaper, with all the hyperbole they could muster, likened this a worse affront that when the statue was vandalized with a hammer. The city of Florence has told the company to remove the advertisement because it is in violation of an Italian law.

Italian firm BCM Europe Arms was exhibiting their Extreme rifle at the Italian gun expo EXA 2012 which finished earlier this week.

The pistol-sized rifle craze is hitting Europe. Beretta has revealed that they are developing a .22 LR pistol based on the Beretta ARX-160 rifle. I do not think the receiver or internals will be compatible with the full size 5.56mm ARX-160.

The CompBullet is an interesting bullet made by an Italian company. The bullets, made from a solid copper alloy, have vents machined into them. According to the company, these vents reduce friction by allowing gas to lubricate the bullet as it passes through the barrel and then act as a muzzle brake as the bullet exits the barrel. They apparently also reduce smoke, increase velocity (a rocket effect as they leave the barrel) and reduce muzzle flash. In other words, they are miracle bullets.

The Beretta is now producing ARX160 carbines in a Tan / Flat Dark Earth color. The light-brown colored rails and backup iron sights are a very nice touch.

I knew when I said that the Browning was the first post-patent Inertia operated shotgun, a reader would find one produced earlier 😉 A reader pointed out the SI 12 shotgun made by the Italian firm Marocchi since 2009. You readers are just to clever for me.

Gun archaeologists Max Popenker and Anthony Williams uncovered a previously unknown prototype machine gun that dates back to WWII. Max blogged the below photos, but is tight lipped about the details. The gun will be featured in their upcoming book Sub-Machine Gun.

Paolo spotted the FABARM Martial Ultra Short 14″ SBS (short barreled shotgun) at the EXA 2011 gun expo in Italy. The pump-action shotgun fits five 3″ 12 gauge rounds into its magazine that is just slightly shorter than the 14″ barrel.

It is officially Guns-In-Castles week at The Firearm Blog. YamaLink emailed in a photo he took last week of some very old pistols that are on display at the Palazzo Ducale di Venezia (the Palace of the Doge) in Venice, Italy.

New in the US from Fausti …