The Firearm Blog

Yesterday a video surfaced on a YouTube account under the name Matt Kennedy with B&H Gun Sales (or B&H Police Supply) out of Merritt Island, FL. The video is about a new lower called the SCR (Sporting Configurable Rifle) that is currently a prototype from Ares Defense. It looks to be a traditional style monte carlo stock, which would make it legal in states like California and New York.

While not the first AR lower of its type, it certainly looks to be a more traditional style stock.  According to the video it is set to be officially released at NRA later this month and will ship with an upper similar to the one in the video.

Looking at the design, I am a little interested in what they did with the buffer tube, because there is nothing to the rear of the upper that would act as a buffer tube.  According to the video, it will accept any upper 223/556 or 300BLK.  I would also think that it could accept any other upper that is able to be used on a standard AR lower, but that remains to be seen.

Take a look at the video, let me know what you think.

Prior to pillaging me for this articles’ title, I will state that this was the actual title for the entry on Beretta’s Blog. According to it, I am not racking my slide like a boss and I would suspect that many other shooters are likewise members of the “support staff.”

Title aside, the blog post does break down into layman’s terms the body mechanics of racking a slide. My wife (an OT-R) read through and verified that Beretta is probably spot-on from a physio-muscular

Polymer80 is now pre-selling the new G150 80% lower.  According to Polymer80, the new G150 features “a solid core design, stiffened magwell and beefier buffer tube housing.”

For $90, a shooter gets a single G150 unfinished AR-15 lower, a jig and the needed drill bits.  Quantity purchases earn discounts, dropping the price to $76.50/each with an order of at least 10.  Polymer80 projects a shipping date of June 1, 2014.

From the Polymer80 Facebook page:

THE RETURN OF THE POLYMER80!

We are back!!!

Announcing the pre-sale event for Polymer80 G150 (Phoenix edition)!!!

The Navy is testing an electromagnetic rail gun that can hurl a 23lb projectile over Mach 7.

More information can be found here.

Here is a test video of the gun and what the projectile can do.

Why don’t we have more commercials like this? It has EVERYTHING. A soothing British voice explaining the features of the rifle. Everything sounds better coming from the British, or Morgan Freeman. Then there is the sweet 80′s era rock music. I find it energetic and gets me pumped up watching this video.

Listen up Gun Industry, do more of this.  “And most importantly, Imagnination”

As reported here at TFB back in December 2013, Steyr Arms was moving to a new manufacturing facility in Bessemer, AL.  Tactical-Life.com, as well as several other publications are now reporting the grand opening of the new Steyr Arms facility in Bessemer, AL.  On  on April 4, 2014 Steyr through a grand opening party and on hand was Ernst Reichmayer, owner of Steyr Mannlicher as well as the Mayor Kenneth Gulley, Mayor of Bessemer, AL and Allan Cors, Vice President of the NRA

For more on the grand opening celebration, visit the story from Tactical-Life.com here.

For more about Steyr, please feel free to visit their site steyrarms.com or give them a call at (205) 417-8644.

Thanks Jefferson for the tip!

This video demonstrates how the TrackingPoint AR functions in default mode (‘red dot’), free fire (range adjusted mode) and the advanced mode where the operator can tag moving targets. This product looks absolutely phenomenal.

Three new precision guided firearms allow the novice shooter to engage long range targets with semi-automatic rifle speed.

TrackingPoint™, creator of the world’s first Precision Guided Firearm (PGF) system, today announced the debut of the TrackingPoint 500 Series ARs for the modern sporting rifle market at ShowStoppers @ CES 2014 in Las Vegas. The three PGF rifles, offered in 7.62, .300 BLK and 5.56 calibers, incorporate the company’s ground breaking Tag Track Xact technology, accuratel

It all started when I was at my local hardware store that also sells firearms and firearm accessories. I was looking around on the ammo isle and on the very bottom shelf I saw a dusty label that said “Caseless .223″. I did a double take and opened one of the boxes. Sure enough, a dozen odd little caseless rounds were packed neatly in a foam retaining block. The boxes were covered in a thick layer of dust and priced decently, so I bought them as a curio. It wasn’t long until my curiosity got the best of me and I found a VEC-91 for sale and just had to have it to write about. I was happy to have this strange little Austrian rifle!

So what if I told you that this unassuming little bolt action rifle caused the ATF and proponents of gun control in the United States to freak out and cause a whirl of controversy:

The ATF has officially banned “Russian-made 7n6 5.45×39 ammunition” after a request for review from US Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

As Bearing Arms points out, the Special Advisory specifically calls out “Russian-made”. It is possible (but highly unlikely) that surplus from other locales may allowed. We will continue to investigate.

Full announcement below (click the picture to be taken to ATF website):

My personal take? This sucks.

Franklin Armory is now selling what may be the first gas-operated, semi-automatic rifle chambered for the .17 WSM (Winchester Super Magnum) cartridge.  The F17-L rifle uses a Stoner-like system with direct gas impingement and a rotating locking bolt.  Although it is a rimfire cartridge, the .17 WSM runs at centerfire rifle velocities.  Factory ammo is rated up to 3,000 fps with a 20 grain bullet.

Specifications

• caliber:  .17 WSM
• magazine capacity:  10 rounds (20 round mag in development)
• barrel:  20″ bull barrel, 1:9″ twist, 4140 chromoly steel
• upper and lower:  7075-T6 aluminum with anodized Desert Smoke finish
• buttstock:  Magpul MOE

The Dual Cycle Rifle was a revolver based weapon that was designed to fire a three round burst at a high rate of fire from a single barrel. 4,900 rounds per minute! The inventors noticed that conventional automatic weapons suffer from many complications. Too many oscillating parts and springs surging can induce malfunctions if you increase rates of fire. To eliminate this handicap, they opted for a cylinder design.

Here is the patent for more information.

RatedRR tested out Google Glass 2.0. Using high speed video he captures all the information and shows us the details. The Google Glass did very well in its first two tests. But does not fair well against the KRISS SMG test. Just to kick it up a notch, he uses two KRISS SMGs. Totally scientific and worthwhile test. Now those with Google Glass 2.0 will no longer ponder if their Google Glass will protect their eyes. Clearly not.

While I was down in Phoenix for the 3MR event, I learned that the trigger system had a coating on it called NP3.  Also on hand for the media event was someone from ROBAR that was able to talk about the NP3 coating, and what it does. NP3 is a coating that is Electroless Nickle plating with PTFE (Teflon) in it.  It is being used on firearm parts that are prone to wear, and has its own lubricity.  After seeing triggers with several thousand round over them and they were barely even broken in, I wanted to know more about NP3.

ROBAR NP3 Coating (Courtesy of ROBAR)

NP3 has a lower coefficient of friction ranging from .07-.1, which provides even better performance than straight nickle boron coatings.  As the NP3

Kaliber magazine’s editor turned TFB onto a new development from Hungary. A small company called KolArms has created a 9mm conversion kit for the Vz. 58 rifle. Mr.Vass (Kaliber’s Chief Editor) breaks the conversion and other developments down:

As an ACR shooter/owner, I have been following the development of the Polish MSBS rifle system with keen interest. It would seem that the platform is getting closer to full deployment (slotted for starting formal force-wide adoption later this year).

Equipped.PL was given the opportunity to shoot and photo both the traditional and bullpup layouts, fresh off of product improvement efforts. Google translation below;

Tests MSBS-5, 56B lasted a few months – and introduced several changes to the structure.Simultaneously, a 

Central Missouri Machine Guns, more commonly known as CMMG, started as a print shop in the early aughts before heading down the path to become one of the most well-known AR manufacturers in the industry.  Starting with barrels and uppers exclusively, CMMG now manufactures complete rifles under its own name, and has been doing so since 2005 – nearly ten years.  Each of their rifles is made in the USA and is protected by a lifetime warranty.

CMMG introduced and developed its .308 Mk3 line over the past few years, and now makes a half-dozen varieties of the Mk3 in varying configurations, ranging from $1,600 to $2,000 MSRP.  The subject of this review is the base model Mk3, with an MSRP of $1,599 (the upper by itself is MSRP’d at $999).  My research indicates that street price has hit as low as $1,100 on some variations of the Mk3 (complete rifle), however.

Franklin Armory is selling a single-shot, 12 gauge conversion for the Beretta 92/96 series and Taurus 92 series pistols called the Convert.  According to Franklin Armory, the Convert is available in two models: an AOW (any other weapon) and as a flare launcher.

The Convert replaces the normal slide assembly of the Beretta with a unit that has a tilt-up barrel.  The barrel is aluminum with a steel lining.  There is also an accessory available for the Convert that would allow a shooter to mount the Convert-equipped pistol to the Picatinny rail on a rifle.

Thanks to Cymond for the tip.

ENDO posted up a video testing out OAMC (Over All Master Cloth) kevlar shoes. They put it to the test, with an M4. The video is visually stunning, like the shoes. However they do not hold up well to the M4 test.

You can get these $868 shoes online

X Products is partnering up with another company to produce a Soda Can launcher. It will be a dedicated upper and fires from blanks. It will shoot a soda can about 100-150 yards.

They have a video on their Facebook page.

It looks just like this one.

US PALM was recently purchased from SBC Global Industries by Robert Anderson.  Anderson originally founded US PALM in 2009.

April 2nd, 2014

Scottsdale, AZ – US PALM, the industry leader in AK47 accessories and soft armor solutions, is pleased to announce that founder Robert Anderson has purchased US PALM [US Primary Armament Logistical Manufacturing] from its holding company SGC Global Industries. Anderson founded US PALM in the spring of 2009 and has seen successful growth each year since its creation. With flagship products such as the AK30 magazine and the Defender soft armor solutions, US PALM looks forward to long term continued growth under Anderson’s direction as President of US PALM, LLC.

With US PALM entering its 5th year of business, the transition away from SGC Global Industries comes during a growth cycle for each company. “The timing was right on both sides to execute the break-away,” Anderson state