The Firearm Blog

The Tavor’s factory trigger is a heavy beast. Anywhere from 10-15lbs depending on who you believe, with plenty of creep. The US rifles are a marked improvement from the first Tavor trigger I pulled back in 2007, but even now owners will take apart their trigger packs.  to remove springs and smooth surfaces in an effort to lighten the pull.

Not quite – though as this recent article points out, there do appear to be increasing numbers of staplers converted into fairly advanced zip guns being confiscated worldwide. The common double action stapler is highly modular, regularly seen trivially adapted to fire .38 spl, 12 gauge shotgun shells and even 40mm grenades.

A crude but highly refined .38 ‘pepperbox’ recently confiscated from youths in Brazil:

Practical break barrel shotguns much l

Squirreled away in the Troy booth at SHOTShow 2014 was the “PAR” or Pump-Action Rifle. All golf jokes aside, the PAR is a AR-style pump rifle and looks to be a real (tack)driver. Built for states and countries with restrictions on ownership, the receivers are proprietary. One will not be able to mount them to standard AR uppers and lowers. Fortunately, the PAR is compatible with AR-style magazines (Troy Industries BattleMag shown) and triggers.

The pump itself is cleverly hidden under otherwise ubiquitous rail covers. The action stroke is in similar length to 12-gauge shotguns with just enough travel to eject and load 5.56/.223 rounds. Full-length top rails compliment the Troy Alpha-style fore-end and the rifle uses Troy’s medieval brake to reduce recoil. 

Diamondhead USA just released their new Polymer Flip Up Sights. Known for their metal sights, their new polymer versions are a more affordable alternative that have some of the same features as their metal flip up sights. As with most other back up sights they mount to a Picatinny rail, they’re made out of a advanced polymer/composite material and weight in at just 1.2oz for the front and 1.5oz for the rear. They feature the patented Diamond-shaped apertures and housings as Diamondheads metal flip up sights as well NiteBrite Photoluminescent Inserts that can be charged with natural light or with a flashlight.

The sights are spring-loaded and deploy quickly with the push of a button. The rear sight has dual same plane long and short range apertures with .5MOA windage adjustment  and are the exact same height as A2 sights. The front sight features elevation adjustment that doesn’t require tools. However just like other front sights on the market, the front sight can’t be mounted directly onto gas blocks. The front sight retails at $49 and the rear for

Winchester just announced a recall of two batches of their M*22 line of .22LR ammunition. The lot numbers that are part of the recall are GD42L and GD52L. According to Winchester these lots may have double powder charges which can cause your gun to go kaboom and seriously injure you. If you have any of these batches of ammo DO NOT use them, I know finding .22LR these days is like finding a unicorn, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. More info on the recall can be found below.

DO NOT USE WINCHESTER® M*22™ 22 Long Rifle RIMFIRE AMMUNITION WITH LOT NUMBERS GD42L or GD52L. The ammunition Lot Number is imprinted (stamped without ink) on the left tuck flap of the 500-round carton as indicated here. The 1000-round intermediate carton does not have a Lot Number.

To determine if your ammunition is subject to this notice, review the Symbol Number and Lot Number. If it is Symbol Number S22LRT with a Lot Number containing GD42L or GD52L immediately discontinue use and contact Winchester toll-free at 866-423-5224 or visit http://www.winchester.com/Product-Service/Pages/Conta

Optic mounting on an AK is problematic for two reasons: one, the platform is not ideally designed for optics mounting.  Second, when an AK operator does decide to shoehorn glass onto this six-decade-old design, there are actually many good options for solid mounting available, and the decision can be just as tough.

Fortunately, (or perhaps unfortunately for those of us who are already suffering from choice paralysis) Arsenal’s SM-13 mount is another a good option to add to the pool of effective optic mounting choices.  Not only is it a solid and easy-to-install mount, but the Arsenal SM-13 has some other features that set it apart from other models.

The SM-13 is a one-piece CNC machined mount made of “aircraft grade aluminum alloy”, according to Ars

I am sure many of you noticed we have been offline for over 24 hours. A perfect storm of server and database problems happened all at once, for reasons not yet known. A number of people worked all through last night and all day to get it fixed and are in desperate need of sleep. Our sister site All Outdoor will hopefully be back online shortly.

Headlamps have been around for a long time and have evolved from the large and helmet mounted lights used in mines, etc., to small and sleek headlights used today for sports, caving, hiking as well as being used in occupations.

Compared to many recent lights, this Streamlight Headlight is on the large side physically and it makes the most of it in output.  It uses two CR123 cells to produce a rated 540/95/18 lumen output.  Specs from the Streamlight web site:

In my sphere with the supplied Duracell CR123 batteries, I measured 500/80/20 lumen output.  Since I was unable to fully insert the body of the light into my sphere receiving tube, I have to believe that the d

It have been two years since the prototype of the Mepro M5 was appeared at the previous SHOT Show. During SHOT Show 2014, The Mako Group have shown me the production model of the Mepro M5 reflex sight. It has a number of design changes and the final design was certified by the Israeli Defense Forces with extensive field trails.

The Mepro M5 feature a EOTech-esque large viewing window for achieving the biggest possible field of view. The Mepro M5 is powered by a single AA size battery for 5,000 hour of illumination. The power system has an auto-shutoff mode to conserve battery but it also has an auto resume feature to turn the sight back on. I am assuming that’s with a help of build-in motion sensor.

Jon Stokes posted on LMT’s new rifles for 2014, but I was able to go hands-on for a bit with the new stock. It immediately illicit thoughts on MagPul’s PRS, but upon closer inspection the stock is a unique solution for those seeking that extra customization. It is not “just a copy”.

Unlike the PRS, LMT’s DMR stock mounts to a carbine buffer tube, giving the user the option of switching stocks on lowers that already have carbine adjustable buffer tubes available. It will be nice to take the same lower and switch stocks (and uppers) to move to precision work with the same trigger

While walking the hallways of the Sands Convention Center during SHOT Show, I happened to come across a booth showing the iMarksman Training System. It consists of a computer program which allows you to take a picture of familiar scene, such as a parking lot, your family room, your work, garage, etc, and then you can display the image on a TV, projector screen, wall, etc, and the software will insert virtual good guys and bad guys that randomly appear.

Remington recently sent me a delightful AR15 style rifle to test, called the R15 that I think is quite neat. The R15 comes from the factory with a camouflage color scheme, 22″ barrel (other lengths available), A2 stock, free floated barrel, and a low capacity 5 round magazine. This rifle is truly a hunter’s AR platform; The rifle should be legal in most states due to being featureless (no evil collapsible stock, threaded barrel, etc.) and should also be hunting legal in many states due to the 5 round capacity (many states limit the number of cartridges in your rifle). Of course, when hunting the name of the game is accuracy so I had to put Remington’s gun to the test with their own ammunition:

Since I only had 20 rounds of this, I shot five groups of four shots each at 100 ya

Walther Arms introduced the PPQ M2 pistol at SHOT Show this year.  This pistol is  striker-fired with a polymer frame that Walther has directed at keeping pace with similar competitor offerings.  The PPQ M2 has similarities to the recent Walther P99 and PPX, but there are several key differences that make this pistol stand on its own.  Where the P99 and PPX were marketed more towards military or law enforcement duty pistols, the PPQ M2 is being targeted towards the self-defense market.

The standard-sized PPQ M2 profile.

One of the first features to jump out is the new “quick-defense trigger”.  Where prior Walther pistols have had a single trigger,

Arsenal had this knife gun on display at SHOT Show. The .22 LR revolver is hidden inside the knife grip. Actuating a lever that extends out of the grip fires a round. Because the trigger-lever is forward of the chamber/cylinder, this is technically a bullpup revolver. It is considered an AOW (All Other Weapon) because it is a gun concealed inside another object.

A cleverly placed needle-like spike insures you don’t accidentally place your finger over the barrel.

The price: a mere $4,000 + $200 NFA tax.

Many thanks to Todd for the photos.

Most of the guns in the original Star Wars Trilogy were hacked-up / bubba’d / tacticool versions of classic WWII, or earlier, vintage guns. The Ion Blaster was a Enfield rifle, the Blaster pistol was a broomhandle Mauser, Bob Fett’s carbine was a Webley flare gun and the T-21 Light Repeating Blaster was a Lewis Machine Gun. I was sent a link to a toy maker who has reimagined the Star Wars universe in different historical eras, and armed them with non-tacticool period weapons, from Colt revolvers to M1 Garands. A few of his models are below …

Booth babes are employed by companies to tempt people (and by people I mean men) to visit their SHOT Show booth. If you want to guarantee that people will visit your booth you bring along a Tactical Velociraptor wearing panoramic night vision goggles and camo, which is exactly what Blue Force Gear did. The Blue Force Tactical Dino is named Terry Clausen and even has his own website.

Photo © Bryan Jones

The G2 Research 9mm RIP round has been making waves online over the weekend. The company claims its 96 gr copper bullet is “the last round you will ever need”. The design is inspired by a triangular tipped surgical tool called the Trocar. It has 8 segmented spikes which break off as the bullet enters its target, while the solid base continues on its original trajectory.

This is not the first segmented bullet round to have been developed. Two examples of segmented bullets designed to break apart are the popular CCI .22 Long Rifle Segmented HP round and the Winchester PDX1 Segmented Slug. The theory beh

Streamlight is now offering an IR model of the TLR-2 light and laser aiming unit.  The TLR-2 IRW is designed for use on long guns or full sized handguns with a Picatinny or other accessory rail.

The unit uses a white light that puts out 300 lumens and 12,000 candela.  On a pair of CR123A batteries, the light will run for 2.5 hours.

The TLR-2 IRW has a Class 1 IR laser that works with NV gear to “enhance long-range targeting capability” but is still considered “eye safe.”  The unit will run for 45+ hours on the laser alone.

MSRP for the TLR-2 IRW is $575.

Springfield Armory introduced the new XDs 4.0 to the Media Range day this year.  The XDs 4.0 is an extended barrel version of the striker fired XDs 9mm released at last year’s SHOT Show.  Still marketed towards the concealed carry audience, the XDs 4.0 has several dimension differences from the XDs 3.3 while still maintaining the sleek and compact features demanded of a concealed carry pistol.

The new Springfield XDs 4.0.

The XDs 4.0 will have the following changes over the XDs 3.3:

• Extended overall length of 0.7 inches
• Extended barrel length of 0.7 inches
• Increased weight with empty magazine of (2) ounces

While perusing the “New Products” section at the SHOT Show looking for ideas, I happened across a complete AR-15 with the all new Magpul gray furniture (hand guard, grip, stock).  Gray seemed to be a new move this year, as 5.11 had a full line of “tactical gray”.  However, as I looked closer I saw something I did not expect to see.  On the side of the magazine well I observed the famous Magpul name engraved in the metal receiver.  The other side was not observable in the case.  Could this be?  Could Magpul be making their own brand of AR-15’s?

Could this be the new Magpul AR-15?

The recent changes in Colorado led Magpul to make a stand for their