In a surprising move, the German Defense Ministry has accepted an order of 600 new rifles and 600 machine guns to replace the troubled HK G36 that was savaged by scandal earlier this year. Their choice? The 7.62x51mm HK 417 rifle. The Local reports: Junior Defence [Read More…]
James wrote … I built this rifle for a fellow Infantryman as a end of service gift. The upper receiver is a Palmetto State Arms carbine length gas system with a FN made cold hammer forged barrel chambered in 5.56 with a 1 in 7 twist rate, Lower receiver is a [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…]
When you’re shooting at close ranges, ricochet is always one of the top concerns. It doesn’t matter if you’re running a 3-gun course or training for CQB, the problem is the same, and now there’s going to be a target designed specifically for [Read More…]
About a month and a half ago, Ryan Michad of the Firearms Radio Network reached out to ask me to do a segment for the Gun Guy Radio show. He wanted to tackle the subject of the selfloading rifle trials that led to the US adoption of the first standard-issue [Read More…]
The dark horse of the Russian next-generation individual weapon trials has been the A545, better known as the AEK-971. Where the AK-12 is essentially the well-known and respected Kalashnikov with some new architecture that supports the modern accessory-driven paradigm, [Read More…]
The QBZ-03 is the mysterious conventional-layout younger brother of the more well-known Chinese QBZ-95 rifle. While the QBZ-95 uses a novel hybrid mechanism, the 03 uses the mechanism of the older 7.62mm Type 81 and 5.8mm Type 87, but marries this to architecture [Read More…]
Kalashnikov Concern has been hard at work improving the AK-12 rifle, which – although its status has waffled between “adopted” and “not” – is expected to be adopted and standardized by the Russian armed forces. The YouTube channel of [Read More…]
Gun writer Ronaldo Olive sends us photos of a .50 cal sniper/anti-materiel rifle captured in a drug raid. He says: This .50BMG rifle has just been seized in Rio de Janeiro by crack BOPE (Batalhão de Operações Policiais Especiais) Military Police troops in he [Read More…]
Russian ammo maker Techkrim (small company specializing mostly in less-lethal and sporting ammunition) has introduced a new shotgun round, called the .366 TKM It is based on the 7.62×39 M43 case necked out to .366 (9.5mm), with taper but no neck. Its main intent [Read More…]
Bill from the excellent blog RifleShooter.com sent us this photo and wrote … A few years ago we were messing around with my friend’s Sako TRG and ended up attaching a bunch of bipods to it. We thought it was a pretty useful modification. haha. Bill, thanks [Read More…]
The Trijicon MRO leaked datasheets have been making waves across the internet. The optic is very small, not much larger in width and height than the generous 25mm objective lens. It has a snag free design with nothing protruding from it other than the brightness [Read More…]
A few months ago, I posted to my personal blog a brief evaluation of the ARAK-21 rifle that I conducted at Faxon’s Las Vegas shooting event, and it seems that since then more reviewers are getting the chance to take the rifle out for a spin. The AK [Read More…]
This fully automatic Fusil Automatique Leger (FAL) was manufactured by Fabrique Nationale d’Herstal (FN) and imported into the USA by Browning somewhere between 1959 and 1963 (It was not until the 1970s that Browning was purchased by FN, but companies had a [Read More…]
For the collector of firearms owned by famous people in history, Rock Island’s next auction holds a weapon that could be the centerpiece of any collection: An M1 rifle, the “deadliest rifle in the world”, owned by John F. Kennedy: This M1 started from [Read More…]
Nigel saw this photo on the Australian Defense Force’s Facebook page showing one of Australia’s new AuSteyr EF88 rifle (the latest evolution of the Steyr AUG) with an interesting camo pattern painted on. Australian Army soldiers from 1st Battalion, Royal [Read More…]
In this TFB TV review, James gets to try out Magpul’s new “Zhukov,” a folding and telescoping AK-47 stock built from the ground up with the Kalashnikov in mind. Is the relative budget price of $99 worth it for this polymer folder? James tells you in this video. The gun used is a [Read More…]
VDC Armory sent us a photo of their Tornado Hunter 5.56. It gets it name from the Tornado Grey finish. The specs are … Custom Tornado Hunter 5.56 Enhanced PHNX 52 Lower and Gen 2 Upper by VDC Armory with Titanium Cerekote. •Fortis HAMMER Charging Handle [Read More…]
The S805 Bren pistol from CZ, the company’s next-generation modular follow-on to the often-mistaken-for-an-AK Vz. 58 has finally reached American storefronts. We’ll talk about the rifle itself in a minute, but first Tim of the Military Arms Channel has [Read More…]
It seems that hacking into commercial technology is all the rage these days, including the ability to hack into Tracking Points digital scope that pretty much shoots a rifle for the shooter. In a piece by Wired, a hacker couple recorded how they got into the wifi system [Read More…]
If you own a 10/22 and you’re looking for tactically appealing aftermarket components, take a look at the latest offering from Hogue. New from Hogue is a tactical thumbhole rifle stock specifically designed for 10/22s. It’s manufactured as one piece and [Read More…]
In yet another saga of the Canadian Ranger rifle ordeal, a good twist has come out in a recent story by the Ottawa Citizen, in that the Rangers themselves might actually be able to hold on to their issued rifles, in a personal capacity though (through either gifting or [Read More…]
The Firearm Blog recently received a chance at an exclusive interview with Sven Jonsson, founder and owner of Manticore Arms, based in St. Charles, Illinois. Sven founded Manticore on innovative parts for the Steyr AUG and MSAR rifle platforms and has continued into [Read More…]
In the Marine Corps, every man is a rifleman, but it seems the days of the full-length rifle with the USMC may be coming to a close. The M4 Carbine, pending approval by the commandant, will likely become the general issue weapon of the Corps, replacing the M16A4 for the [Read More…]
At the end of last year, we told you about the US Army Marksmanship Unit’s .264 USA round, which has been designed for an intermediate length AR platform rifle larger than an AR-15 but smaller than an AR-10. The round is one of the first to incorporate polymer [Read More…]
Bravo Company came out with these rail sections at SHOT 2015, but have since worked some more on the design and they are now ready to ship for $9.95 a pack of five, with each section covering 5.5 inches. However, the materials they picked allow users to clip the length [Read More…]
I came across this movie on youtube from a TFB reader recently. It is a series of movies made about various artisan trades in the 1700s, there is one on blacksmithing and so on. However this entire movie is about the process that a colonial gunsmith would go through to [Read More…]
I love covering these stories about small arms turning up all over the place, and in the oddest of circumstances, the criminals who stashed the MP40 and Lee Enfield, or the elderly lady who passed away and left behind a fully functional Sten gun. But I think this one [Read More…]
In response to the German government’s declaration that the G36 rifle had “no future” with the Bundeswehr, the Lithuanian government has announced it has ceased all procurement of the rifle, also used as standard by their armed forces, [Read More…]
These news items are always so interesting when they come up, as if to say “Dear god, a working firearm!” Anyways, in Sydney, Australia apparently some criminals were stashing a modified No.4 Lee Enfield and an MP40 in an abandoned house, intending to do [Read More…]