#SubmachineGuns

“Now I Have A Machine Gun Ho-Ho-Ho”. Yes, it’s a Christmas movie and no I still can’t afford an H&K SP5 (or a genuine MP5 for that matter). That being said, I can’t even really find any of them for sale these days despite it being more than a year since they were released into the US market. However, if you’re looking for a pistol caliber carbine that isn’t an H&K SP5 this holiday season, then I’ve gathered up some of the most popular (and some not so popular) pistol caliber carbines that are in stock and ready to ship just in time for you to make a new years resolution to not spend so much money on guns in 2022. Better get ’em before you commit!

Hello and welcome to a special edition of  The Rimfire Report! As you can expect from the title of this article it will be on the American 180, specifically hands-on experience with the American 180 at TFB Gun Fest 2021. While at Gun Fest, Blue Force Gear  Director of Medical Programs Brad Gilpin brought his own personal American 180 to range day and a few of the TFB writers had a chance to shoot the elusive .22LR submachine gun. Today, I’ll detail our experiences and reactions to shooting the American 180 as well go over a few observations about the gun.

Welcome back to The Rimfire Report. In this ongoing series of articles we explore, discuss, and examine various firearms, ammunition, and topics surrounding the rimfire world. This week we’re exploring a somewhat unknown firearm that hails from Slovenia – the MGV-176 22LR submachine gun.

B&T, Inc has just announced that the Miami Beach Police Department has purchased some of their APC9K PRO submachine guns. The APC9 has been in service with various law enforcement agencies across the world including its country of origin, Switzerland. However, the Miami Beach Police Department will be the first agency to purchase the SIG P320 magazine compatible version.

Unlike many other countries, Russia always celebrates May 9. In fact, it is one of the biggest holidays of the year. On May 9, 1945, at 00.16 local time, Germans signed the Instrument of Surrender, which ended World War II in Europe.

We have been closely following the developments of the US Army’s new Sub Compact Weapon Program since the release of an extremely broad Request For Information back in May. With the recent award of no less than 13 sole source evaluation contracts for submachine guns its time we broke down the entries. In this two-part series, we’ll look at the entries.

Back in March we reported on Chinese SWAT teams operating with modded Type 79 submachine guns. The venerable Type 79 was developed in the 1970s and despite efforts to improve its modularity the guns are showing their age. They may now be supplanted by a new 9x19mm submachine gun.

The US Army’s PEO Soldier – Project Manager Soldier Weapons has issued an Request for Information (RFI) to obtain industry feedback on possible submissions to Sub Compact Weapons (SCW) evaluations. The specification details offered by the Project Manager Soldier Weapons (PMSW) are scant and extremely broad. Describing potential SCWs as being select fire weapons, chambered in 9x19mm and having MIL-STD 1913 rail (Picatinny Rail) space.

On the 19th January, a contract award notice was published announcing that Italy’s Carabinieri have ordered 1,000 new Beretta PMX submachine guns.  Beretta unveiled their new submachine gun, the successor to the iconic Modello 12 submachine gun, back in November at the 2017 Paris Milipol expo.

This unusually configured homemade 9mm submachine gun was seized by Israeli police last year while executing a search of a suspect’s home.

I love it when Ian over at Forgotten Weapons falls off the actual “forgotten” weapons and delves into well-known and respected designs. His brain housing group is replete with an encyclopedia of facts and history on weapons and when applied to even well-known guns, I personally come away learning more.                 In this case, Ian takes a look at the M3 submachine gun fielded by the United States in World War 2 and slightly beyond. The M3, knick-named the “grease gun” for its external resemblance to

In 1991 the Croatian parliament voted to seceded from what was formerly the ‘Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia’, leading to armed conflict between Croatian and Serbian government forces as well as various paramilitary groups formed along ethnic lines. An international arms embargo encompassing all of former Yugoslavia was passed shortly afterwards, leading an under-equipped newly independent Croatia to focus on domestic production of various small arms. On the lower end this included dozens of small workshops operating in rural areas which produced crude weapons for insurgency.  Ante Lišnić, a 20 year old working out of his garage in Vrpolje, Trilj, produced various improvised firearms starting from single shot muzzleloading weapons to submachine guns and grenade launchers which were passed on to guerrilla fighters. Examples retained after the conflict ended in 1995 can be seen below.

This particular post need very little in the way of a lead. That’s because it’s not only a post showing one of Hickok45’s better videos but one featuring my personal top wish-list firearm, the Thompson Submachine Gun. Tommy guns were designed in 1917 by General John T. Thompson who hoped to create a gun capable of replacing the bolt-actions in service at the time. The story of the gun’s creation is actually pretty interesting, but most people think of the Tommy gun in one particular way: as a mobster gun. Tommy guns have become the guns of a bygone era, one of gangsters, full-auto rifles, and moonshine. Hickok45 captures those things in his own way in the following video. If you are a fan of this gun, odds are good you’ll enjoy this video. One of these days I’ll get my hands on a Tommy gun…one of these days (to keep, not just to shoot). Hey, I can dream, can’t I?

The famous Uzi 9mm SMG was introduced to the world in the 1950s, and was a huge hit that made its way into military and police armories around the world. With millions sold, the gun has been engaged in numerous conflicts and famously helped protect the life of President Reagan. The gun’s proliferation is a result of the low cost, ease of manufacture, and merits as a fine submachine gun. In this episode of TFBTV, we take a look at what makes the Uzi deserving of its reputation as a great gun.

Following on our earlier article about improvised and homebuilt weapons, Brazilian gun writer Ronaldo Olive emails us this article he wrote for Harris Publications in the 1980s about some of the simple underground improvised submachine guns seized by Brazilian police during that time. The article is copied below, but for those who prefer, they can download a PDF version I created at this link.