FN America have announced the introduction of some improvements to their semi-auto SCAR line of rifles. The main upgrade is the inclusion of non-reciprocating ambidextrous charging handles to the SCAR 16S, 17S and 20S. This mirrors upgrades already made to the military [Read More…]
The thirteenth Installment of Build of the Week was contributed by Steve. This is Steve’s FINAL submission. Submit early and often and you too can showcase your works. Honestly I like most everything on this build–it is pretty clean and has a nice [Read More…]
I attended Practical Urban Carbine (PUC) with Sentinel Concepts in Alliance, Ohio. Steve Fisher, the owner of Sentinel Concepts, brought an incredible depth of knowledge to the course. After realizing many in his carbine courses had minimal understanding of their [Read More…]
At the second SCAR Owner’s Group Shoot down in North Carolina, Jarod of Parker Mountain Machine was there showing off many of his products. In the SCAR Owner’s Group he is well known for his barrel re-threading services as well as his SCAR upgrade [Read More…]
Program Executive Officer (PEO) Soldier out of Fort Belvoir, Virginia recently tweeted an image depicting U.S. Army Brigadier General Anthony Potts (currently commanding PEO Soldier) on the test range firing a test rifle apart of “emerging technologies for Next [Read More…]
In a recent propaganda video released by the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (Report Number 190 to be precise), a 7.62x51mm NATO MK 17 SCAR was spotted over the course of the propaganda video. Of course, there is nothing new about this development, we’ve covered [Read More…]
In today’s episode, we follow Miles to Shot Show 2018 and visit the FN Herstal booth. Miles meets with Ben, who tells us the history and origin of the FN Scar SC which is short for sub-compact. The SC is a shortened version of the Scar Light with a collapsed overall length of only 21″. [Read More…]
In today’s episode, we follow Miles to Shot Show 2018 Media Day at the Range and visit the Unique AR booth. Unique grips offers AR platform shooters a truly custom grip that can be easily adjusted for each shooter. When the grip is untightened, the shooter simply holds the grip and then tightens [Read More…]
Choose your own (bolt) path Stopping by VLTOR’s booth, they showed me a cool new development of theirs. On the exterior, it looked to be just another pistol caliber AR. VLTOR explained to me however, that their PCC MUR upper receiver has the capability to [Read More…]
The ability to execute complex operations in conditions of low light or complete darkness has been an asset unique to NATO militaries since the 1990s when fighting against local insurgencies. Often within planning sessions for OIF, OEF, or the current Resolute Support [Read More…]
DefenceWeb recently released a video overview of the new Steyr / Rheinmetall RS-556 assault rifle. The rifle, a sort of hybrid between an AR-15 and a Steyr AUG, was submitted to the Bundeswehr’s System Sturmgewehr Bundeswehr trials, competing against both Heckler [Read More…]
The HK433 family is going full power, Heckler & Koch told TFB at the 2017 Association of the United States Army annual meeting. When speaking to representatives of the company about their new rifle which was being shown off in the USA for the first time, I asked the [Read More…]
The defense forces of Cyprus will soon be turning in their H&K 7.62x51mm G3 rifles for 5.56x45mm X95s in a recent deal between the government of Cyprus and Israeli Military Industries. The X95 is already seeing limited issue, most recently at an annual independence [Read More…]
Representatives of the German gun manufacturing company Heckler & Koch confirmed today that the company has submitted both the HK416 assault rifle and the new HK433 modular assault rifle to the Bundeswehr’s System Sturmgewehr Bundeswehr (SSB) rifle [Read More…]
At the 2017 Association of the United States Army annual meeting, Heckler & Koch brought out a weapon much talked-about but not seen on a US show floor until now: The HK433 rifle. Designed on the heels of the G36 controversy and intended to add a modern, inexpensive [Read More…]
There was a Tweet from the West Midlands Police (United Kingdom) that woke my interest. A picture of what – at a glance – looked like a FN SCAR with the words “LOOK what was handed in to police in Coventry last week − a semi-automatic rifle with [Read More…]
Polish arms maker Zakłady Mechaniczne Tarnów (ZMT) has released a new large-caliber semiautomatic sniper rifle system. The 100 year old company, formerly known for their bolt-action sniper rifles and autocannons, introduced the new advanced rifles at the [Read More…]
Kalashnikov Concern recently released a new English language video regarding their PL-15K compact pistol, MP-444 pistol, AM-17 and AMB-17 compact assault rifles, and SVCh semiautomatic sniper rifle. By way of a walkthrough from Kalashnikov Concern technical consultant [Read More…]
The US Army’s Program Manager for Individual Weapons has issued a new Request for Information (RFI) to the industry for a new 7.62x51mm Interim Combat Service Rifle, which seeks to bring out the best battle rifles the market has to offer. The RFI, posted at [Read More…]
In recent testimony to the Senate Armed Services Committee, General Mark Milley, the Army Chief of Staff, admitted during questioning that the Army is looking at alternative rifle platforms to the current M4 Carbine. Milley’s comments were made primarily during a [Read More…]
Thanks to a recent leak exclusively to The Firearm Blog, we have now become aware of a new tender for rifles issued by the Pakistani government. According to the tender document, the Pakistani Army is looking for 75,000 “modern 7.62x39mm caliber weapons”, [Read More…]
According to a recent article on Soldier Systems, the US Army is considering an “interim” switch back to the 7.62mm caliber in standard infantry rifles. Eric Graves of the site lays out a reasonable overview of the situation on the ground, and what sort of [Read More…]
Today, a variant of the Heckler & Koch HK416 rifle is the standard squad infantry automatic rifle (IAR) of the United States Marine Corps, as the M27. At one time in the mid-2000s, though, companies from Colt to LWRC competed against each other in a competition to [Read More…]
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…]
If any of you still had doubts about the HK416’s rumored win of the French AIF (Arme Individuelle du Futur – Future Individual Weapon) contract, doubt no more. The French DGA (Direction Générale de l’Armement, their defense procurement office) has released [Read More…]
France, one the world’s first adopters of the bullpup rifle, will officially be abandoning the stockless rifle concept for good, it seems. The competition to replace the venerable FAMAS bullpup rifle has moved forward, and the only competing bullpup design, HS [Read More…]
In a world full of AR15s and AK variants, few companies dare to be different. This list deals with a few offerings on the market that we wish would make more range appearances but tend to sit on the shelves or in distributor warehouses. Criteria for this list requires the guns to be listed by [Read More…]
It’s no good to discuss how firearms work without also giving the context surrounding the firearms themselves. With that said, let’s talk about the AR-15, its copycats, competitors, and relatives. Together these rifles share space under the loose umbrella [Read More…]
The latest country to seek an upgrade to their aging fleet of small arms is Pakistan, according to statements made last week by military officials from that country. The current Pakistani rifle suite consists of license-produced Heckler & Koch G3 rifles, and Chinese [Read More…]
Dust, mud, dirt, sand: Ideally, a firearm should be kept clean and free of debris so that it functions optimally at all times. After all, the user’s life may depend on the firearm working properly! Sometimes, though, the worst happens and a firearm is exposed to [Read More…]