In this episode of TFBTV James Reeves interviews Mr. Stanislav Strizic, an engineer for CZ and a member of the design and testing team for the original CZ-75. Mr. Strizic designed a competition version of the Vz. 58 which was never commercially released, thus, only two prototypes exist. The Vz. 58, [Read More…]
Back in pre-pandemic times, Mark Serbu of Serbu Firearms brought to SHOT Show 2020 an interesting prototype of a semi-automatic rifle chambered in 5.56×45 mm, which he christened the Diabolus. Now, after about 17 months, we’re given the opportunity to get an [Read More…]
Sharps Bros published on their social media pages pictures of a 3D printed prototype of what will eventually become an aluminum grip and Picatinny rail compatible stock adapter for Thompson/Center Contender rifles and pistols. For decades, Thompson/Center Contender has [Read More…]
DNO Firearms has published a video where they test a DX-7 rifle with 3D printed polymer receivers. The DX-7 rifle is basically an improved AK that utilizes upper and lower receiver layout still using many standard AK parts with no or minor changes. The original DX-7 [Read More…]
Pictured is an ultra minimal, highly compact submachine gun design which is a clear contender for the simplest ever conceived. Disassembled It consists of only nine parts including screws and springs. Almost every main component is fabricated using steel box section [Read More…]
Russian Kalashnikov Gun Magazine has published several images of a semi-auto pistol that was designed by MOLOT Oruzhie, but because of the changes of Russian legislation was never manufactured. The pistol had a model designation VPO-514. This pistol was designed in [Read More…]
Kel-Tec has published on their social media pages images of a prototype rifle. It is a bullpup rifle with an unusual orientation of the magazine and a humongous 32″ long (813mm) barrel. The magazine well of this rifle is angled up to the right side which [Read More…]
At an AUSA breakfast conference yesterday, US Army Chief of Staff General Mark Milley gave us a hint at exactly what the US Army’s next rifle could look like, and the focus was on extended range capability. The rifle, Milley said, will give a 10x improvement in [Read More…]
Looking like the bizarre lovechild of a bolt-action rifle, a boat oar, and those weird prop rifles from the original Planet of the Apes movie, the Thorneycroft Carbine is one of the unsung “firsts” of the 20th Century. Specifically, this British [Read More…]
Recently on The Firearm Blog we talked about one of the great might-have-beens, the German caseless G11 rifle developed by Heckler & Koch during the 1970s and 1980s. Today we have a video from 1990 filmed at Aberdeen Proving Grounds of a demonstration of the G11K2 [Read More…]
In the comments section of my recent Brief Thoughts article regarding caseless ammunition, there was a discussion about whether the cookoff issues of caseless would also be problem for LSAT-style polymer cased telescoped ammunition. Based on conversations I have had [Read More…]
In the world of “might-have-been” small arms, a world of .276 Garands and NATO-standard EM-2s, none flew so high nor fell so far as the Heckler & Koch G11 caseless hyperburst assault rifle. Designed to out-match any contemporary small arm in a Cold War [Read More…]
When the subject is the future of infantry, the conversation inevitably turns to one thing: Powered, armored exoskeletons. Since the publication of Heinlein’s Starship Troopers in 1959, the concept of an armored suit with enhanced mobility from an internal power [Read More…]
Caseless: The ammunition designer’s holy grail, and the engineer’s worst nightmare. It would obsolete the cartridge case overnight, resulting in cheaper, lighter, and more compact ammunition. Weapons would be able to carry 50, 60, or more rounds in slim, [Read More…]
The roller-locked* Heckler & Koch G3 rifles and MP5 submachine guns have become iconic weapons of the Cold War era, being used in conflicts everywhere from civil wars in Africa, to hostage rescues and counter terror operations in Europe, to anti-cartel operations in [Read More…]
We have already seen the 6.5mm CT Carbine prototype brought out by Textron for the 2017 Association of the United States Army annual meeting, but TFB also got an up close and personal look at Textron’s cased telescoped machine guns. Textron has two different cased [Read More…]
General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems (GDOTS) brought their .338 Norma Magnum caliber Lightweight Medium Machine Gun (LWMMG) to the 2017 Association of the United States Army (AUSA) annual meeting, giving TFB the chance at a closer look at this [Read More…]
At the 2017 Association of the US Army (AUSA) Annual Meeting, Textron System displayed for the very first time their firing 6.5mm CT Carbine prototype. Previously, only non-firing mockups had been shown to the public, but after successful tests this summer the real [Read More…]
While exploring the Springfield Armory Museum’s online archive I stumbled across an interesting experimental modification made to an M1918A2 BAR. The archival entries don’t offer much information but the photographs show an experimental kit developed to enable [Read More…]
Yes, you don’t own a flying car, but at least some of the promises of the future are coming true: The United States Navy has successfully tested its railgun prototype in multi-shot (autoloading) mode, earlier this summer. Although the US Navy has been testing [Read More…]
A concept for an advanced suit of powered personal armor was unveiled late last month at the Moscow Prototyping Center, sporting hexagonal modular armor panels, full face helmet with mocked up information display, and a bullpup rifle. The suit, revealed to the internet [Read More…]
At the 2017 National Defense Industry Association’s (NDIA) annual Armament Systems Forum in April, Mr. Howard Kent of Armor Development Group, and Dr. Jeffery Widder presented a concept for a caseless grenade system which allows the user to aim by changing the [Read More…]
Not long after SHOT Show, I got the chance to interview Mrs. Kori Phillips, former program officer for the Army’s Lightweight Small Arms Technologies (LSAT) program, and current program officer for the Cased Telescoped Small Arms Systems (CTSAS) program. We talked [Read More…]
Not long after SHOT Show, I got the chance to interview Mrs. Kori Phillips, former program officer for the Army’s Lightweight Small Arms Technologies (LSAT) program, and current program officer for the Cased Telescoped Small Arms Systems (CTSAS) program. We talked [Read More…]
The Sterling L2A3 was the iconic Cold War submachine gun of the British Army. Inexpensive to make, compact and rugged, it was a design that incorporated the experience from the Sten submachine gun, a weapon which though inexpensive really left a lot to be desired. In a [Read More…]
Not long after SHOT Show, I got the chance to interview Mrs. Kori Phillips, former program officer for the Army’s Lightweight Small Arms Technologies (LSAT) program, and current program officer for the Cased Telescoped Small Arms Systems (CTSAS) program. We talked [Read More…]
In January, just before the 2017 SHOT Show, I got the opportunity to travel to Cody Wyoming to visit the Cody Firearms Museum at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, to see some of their rare firearms and bring photos of them to our readers. For our showcase today we [Read More…]
In January, just before the 2017 SHOT Show, I got the opportunity to travel to Cody Wyoming to visit the Cody Firearms Museum at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, to see some of their rare firearms and bring photos of them to our readers. On Wednesday we looked at a [Read More…]
In January, just before the 2017 SHOT Show, I got the opportunity to travel to Cody Wyoming to visit the Cody Firearms Museum at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, to see some of their rare firearms and bring photos of them to our readers. Over the past two weeks, [Read More…]
In January, just before the 2017 SHOT Show, I got the opportunity to travel to Cody Wyoming to visit the Cody Firearms Museum at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, to see some of their rare firearms and bring photos of them to our readers. The gun we’re taking a [Read More…]
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