Rock River Arms announced an upgrade to the company’s varmint rifles. The new rifles now use a proprietary free float handguard called the Top Rail Octogonal or TRO.
The TRO design allows for better airflow around the barrel for cooling and more options on the placement of accessory rails. The rifles are available in right- and left-hand models.
Barrel lengths of 16″, 18″, 20″ and 24″ are available. The guns have .223 Wylde chambers.
With a sufficient order, a firearm manufacturer will make a limited run of guns for a distributor. Ruger is well-known to work with distributors to make interesting variations of guns, and the latest collaboration between TALO and Ruger is no different.
Ruger is making three new models of 10/22 rifles for TALO that use the TacStar Adaptive Tactical Stock. The three models are essentially the same with the exception being the color of the stocks. One is black, a second is Legends camo while the third uses the increasingly popular Kryptek Highlander camo.
All of the guns use a blued finish on the metal, have an 18.5″ barrel and weigh in at five pounds. No MSRP is indicated.
Ten Pound Monkey sent us these photos from the AUSA Expo of the upcoming SIG MCX PDW. The upper receiver contains a short stroke gas piston system with a forward recoil spring, doing away with the need for a buffer tube and allowing foldable stocks and collapsable wire stocks.
SIG are utilizing carbon fiber for the lower section of the handguard, reducing weight while looking pretty nifty, and also in some capacity for the suppressor. Suppressor tubes made entirely of carbon fiber do exist, even for medium sized calibers like .308 Win., but they are very expensive and have a reduced lifespan. It is more likely that SIG are reinforcing steel, titanium or a lightweight alloy with carbon fiber.
At the AUSA Expo a Colt Advanced Piston Carbine (APC) was on display with a new monolithic upper. Instead of the regular Colt APC quad rail, this version only has a picatinny rail along the top. It is tapped and drilled for picatinny rail sections, or other compatible accessories, on the sides and underneath. The rail extends to the end of the gas block and a rail extension can be bolted on allowing for an extra few inches of rail forward of the front sight/gas block.
Many thanks to Ten Pound Monkey for the photo.
Bravo Company is now making a third generation Gun Fighter’s Grip for M-16/M-4/AR-15 style rifles.
The Mod 3 changes include:
Aspar Arms, an Armenian company, is chambering two rifles for the .300 BLK (aka .300 AAC BLACKOUT) cartridge: the AS300 and the ASR300.
The AS300 is an integrally suppressed AK-style rifle that is adorned with a variety of rails and has an adjustable length stock. The barrel length is about 9.8″ and the gun has an overall length of about 36.2″. The rate of fire is listed as 500 rounds/min.
The ASR300 is a bolt-action rifle that is also designed for use with a suppressor. The gun uses a folding buttstock and a seven round, detachable magazine. Barrel length is only 9.8″ and the suppressor adds another 10.2″ to the length.
The Rosch Works SL1 SIGHT-LIGHT is a very nifty front sight for any picatinny railed firearm that has a built in 250 lumen LED flashlight built in. This is one of those products I wish I had thought up myself!
The specifications are …
It is being sold by Rosch Works for $235.
A reader noticed this strange looking short barreled rifle being auctioned off on GunBroker. The upper receive resembles the Sten submachine gun’s receiver and its lower looks to be a modified AR-15 lower with a AR-15 pistol grip and a A2-style stock.
Despite being as long as a 5.56mm AR-15 with a 8″ barrel, this 9mm carbine has what looks to be a 2″ (maybe 3″ max.) barrel. A Glock 26 is going to have greater muzzle velocity. Still, I would love to have some trigger time with this gun. It looks like a lot of fun.
The gun was built by a company named MK Gun Mods of Mt. Dora, Florida. The auction’s “Buy Now” is $650 (not including the $200 tax stamp for the transfer).
On a Form 3 currently . Custom built Half Sten ,half AR . Uses 9mm sten Magazines .1 included. Fun little blaster with an A2 stock . Built by MK gun Mods ,here in Florida . Currently on Form 3 will transfer to your SOT . You must pay the 200$ tax to the NFA/BATFE Shipping lower 48 40.00 Buy It now gets 3 Magazines. any questions please email me thank you
Thanks to Cymond for the tip.
A Chinese TV station has broadcasted footage of Chinese PLA Navy drivers with their clone of Russia’s APS Underwater Assault Rifle. The existence of this gun was confirmed only three years ago and until now I have not seen clear above water photos of the gun.
The gun has improved on the original by adding a forward handguard, improved sights (although I am unsure how useful sights are at close range underwater) and a snag free magazine.
The original Russian Tula APS Underwater Assault Rifle
Unlike the new Tula ADS Underwater Rifle, this gun is not useful above water. The bullets, which resemble long needles, are designed to operate in water and have very limited range out of it. On the other hand, many folks argue it is not particularly useful below water either …
Thanks to Sven for the link.
Mission First Tactical is making a 7″ aluminum quad-rail for the AR-15. Called the T-MARC (Tekko Metal AR Carbine) Integrated Rail System, it replaces the standard handguard with a unit that has four Picatinny rails.
No screws or gunsmithing is needed to install this quad rail, rather it is held in place by a ring and cap. The rail system is made of 6061 aluminum in the United States. It is hard coat anodized and comes with a lifetime warranty. MSRP is $124.99.
Plinker Tactical is releasing three new .22 LR upper conversion kits for the AR-15 rifle. The three kits are the standard, bull barrel and SBR.
Uppers are forged 7075 T6 aluminum alloy and should fit all MIL-SPEC lowers. Quadrail handguards are standard on all models. All kits ship with a 25 round magazine and ammunition loading tool.
The standard model uses a 16.25″ threaded barrel and a flash hider ships with it. The SBR model is also threaded and ships with a flash suppressor, but barrel length is 12.5″ The bull barrel is 16.25″ long and has a match-grade crown.
MSRP ranges from $499.99 to $519.99, and all units come with a lifetime warranty.
American Tactical Imports (ATI) showed the .22 LR GSG MP-40 at the 2011 SHOT Show, but has yet to deliver any to the public. But, it looks like that will change in the coming months.
As you might imagine, there has been pent-up demand for such a gun. Unfortunately, US gun control laws makes the sale of an exact clone difficult, as the shoulder stock plus a shorter than 16″ barrel makes the gun a “short barrel rifle” (SBR) and subject to additional scrutiny.
ATI will address the SBR issue by offering two variants of the MP-40: a rifle version with a folding stock and faux suppressor, and a pistol version with an original length barrel and the stock permanently locked in the folded position.
ATI states the guns will be available in the Spring of 2014. No MSRP was announced.
Over at AllOutdoor, Oleg Volk reviews the GWACS Lower, an updated version of the polymer lower that used to be manufactured by Cavalry Arms. The Cav Arms lower was popular back in the day but the company went out of business and sold off their designs and equipment. Oleg writes …
Unlike polymer clones of the original metal receiver, the GWACS Lower is extensively reinforced with internal ribs for strength in key points. Currently available in five colors for $199 each, these Lowers represent a saving of $126 over a conventional complete AR Lower ($325). That is achieved in large part by molding the grip and the buttstock integrally with the receiver. Shorter AR-15 A1 length stock makes the rifle suitable for a wider range of shooter sizes.
The third batch of the limited edition LaRue Tactical Costa Edition 5.56 is now on sale. The price is $2,895.
Optional aftermarket Tactical Beard is NOT included.
The quest for a perfectly-balanced and reliable 5.56 rifle led Chris Costa to LaRue Tactical for a custom “signature series” rifle to bear his name. Costa requested the best of both worlds; the popular and lightweight PredatAR chassis, combined with the accuracy and reliability of an OBR 5.56 barrel. LaRue brought these elements together and provided it with a 14.5” barrel that is pinned and welded with a SureFire Muzzle Brake.
A LaRue Tactical first, The entire frame is finished in FDE, KG GunKote with the “COSTA LUDUS” logo engraved on the left side of the receiver. Black parts and rail covers provide dramatic contrast. The first 500 units will be match-numbered on the upper and lower.
Rifles will ship within one business week (providing we have a proper FFL to ship to).Specifications:
Caliber: 5.56 x 45 mm NATO
Rifle Weight: 7.9 lbs
Rifle Length: 31.75”, collapsed
Barrel Length: 14.5” (muzzle device is pinned & welded, per law)
Muzzle Device: SureFire Muzzle Brake
Rifling Twist Rate: 1/8
Barrel Material: Stainless Steel
Barrel Life: 10,000 (approx)
Gas System: Direct Impingement with LaRue PST™ port selector
Trigger Group: Geissele SSA Trigger
Word on the street Youtube is that the Ruger BX-25 is not as reliable as the standard 10 round rotary magazine. No surprises there, the original Ruger magazine is the gold standard of rimfire reliability to which all others are measured. ZiP Factory has developed an upgrade kit for Ruger’s 25-rounder. The ZiP Mag ZX-30 Reliability Upgrade corrects the follower angle, adds an additional independent follower (not sure what that means) and add duel constant force springs and rollers.
The magazine kit will be available later this year. No word on pricing yet.
Henry Repeating Arms recently announced several new guns that the company will make in 2014.
One of the newly announced guns is a deluxe engraved edition of the .44-40 original Henry rifle. This will be a limited run of 1000 guns that have a American walnut stock and engraved hardened brass receiver. MSRP will be $3,495.
Another of the new guns will be the American Farmer Tribute Edition. This rifle will be part of the Golden Boy .22 LR line and will have farm theme embellishments on the gun. MSRP will be $1,020. A second Golden Boy tribute gun will be made for coal miners and will sell for the same price.
Oil workers will be commemorated in the Big Boy American Oilman Tribute rifle chambered in .44 Magnum. This gun will have embellishments similar to the Golden Boy tribute rifles. MSRP will be $1,450.
Strike Industries have been hard at work for the past six months perfecting their new Cobra Fang Trigger Guard for AR-15 lower receivers. The Cobra Fang has three functions: it acts as a trigger guard, it provides a finger rest and best of all it acts as a magazine reload assist. The “fang” that protrudes from the front helps guide magazines for quicker reloads.
The Cobra Fang is made from nylon-reinforced polymer, weighs 0.2 oz and costs $10.50.
Despite a previous ban, the Norinco T97 is quickly becoming one of the most popular black rifles in Canada.
It is a .223 bullpup with a 19” barrel that uses a short stroke gas piston and a rotating bolt, along with a reciprocating charging handle. At its core, the Type 97 is a civilian version of the Chinese QBZ-95 rifle; standard issue to the Peoples Liberation Army.
This is the latest version, imported by North Sylva as the T97NSR, manufactured by EMI (aka Norinco) in the People’s Republic of China.
Rather than the proprietary 5.8x42mm cartridge, the Type 97 has been converted to 5.56x45mm for the Canadian market. Along with commonly available ammunition, the T97 also benefits from STANAG magazine compatibility rather than using the curved rock-in magazines specific to the military’s rifles.
The design of the Type 97 fits into a 90s idea of small arms. Any kind of “modularity” is built around proprietary parts. There is a scope rail, but it’s specific to Chinese military optics. There is a flash hider, but not only is it pinned and welded, it uses a non-standard metric thread. As the product of a communist country: user experience comes second to the requirements of manufacture. Concepts like ambidexterity, customization, and standardization with other small arms are not prioritized.
The most glaring ergonomic flaw is the safety. It is positioned on the back of the rifle just below the shooters cheek and requires a full 180 degree rotation from Safe to Fire. The most recent QBZ rifles have been updated with a safety at the pistol grip (similar to an AR-15 or Tavor) but for years the entire family including the T97 have been stuck with this almost inaccessible safety.
Another design unique to the T97 rifle is the magazine release. Having been retrofit with a STANAG magazine well, the release lever leaves something to be desired. A button about the size of a pencil eraser sits on the right side of the rifle, leaving the shooter to go through a variety of contortions to remove and re-insert a magazine.
Some users reach their reaction hand into their arm-pit and release the magazine with their index finger, while others imitate a PLA manual of arms by using their firing hand to strip the magazine. (This is what I found most natural)
But that doesn’t mean there is no expanding the platform. The core of the rifle can be stripped away from almost all its plastic components, which certainly opens the door for industrious local entrepreneurs to produce aftermarket chassis systems, one of which is already in the testing stage: T97.ca has produced what they’re calling the FTU (Flat Top Upper.) With this setup, the rifle is permanently modified by removing the front and rear sights to allow for a proper picatinny optics rail with a lower cheek weld.
Why do Canadian shooters love this ugly beast? The government banned it once, and now we’ve finally got it back.
The T97 was originally imported in 2008 and registered as non-restricted. The QBZ and its variants were not named in our list of prohibited guns that wiped out popular bullpups like the FAMAS and AUG.
But, an RCMP investigation determined that the initial batch could be converted to full-auto fire “with relative ease.” That model was re-classified as a prohibited firearm and all the guns that had been sold into private hands were confiscated (compensation from the federal government amounted to $800 per owner.) An entire shipment of T97s destined for Canadian customers was seized. Spiraling legal battles over the abrupt seizure and defining “easily converted” led to a common cry among Canadian gun-owners: “registration leads to confiscation.”
It’s been years of subtle redesign and another rigorous approval process by the RCMP Firearms Lab, but now the T97 is back on store shelves in a 100% semi-auto form. It no longer has to be registered with the government, does not require authorization to transport or transfer, and can be fired anywhere it is legal to hunt or shoot (unlike all the AR-15 variants in Canada)
With a retail price just under a $1000, the T97 is the robust, capable black-rifle that any Canadian can afford to own and shoot, despite our flawed firearms legislation.
A very prominent member of the /k/ weapons board (anonymous forum) sadly passed away recently. In tribute to his friend, a member of /k/ is designing a rifle that can be built entirely of handtools. His design is a straight–pull tactical-looking rifle which can be adapted to a wide range of calibers. All the parts for this rifle should be purchasable online and finished without milling or welding. Once the design has been complete the designer plans on making the blueprints free and hopes that the community will start designing improvements.
The progress of this project, still in its early days, can be followed at Tumblr.
A couple of months ago, I found out that the man who got me into mechanical design many years ago passed away. This is my goodbye gift to him, the TOFYJ-30/12. It’s a multi-caliber (.308, 7.62x54R, and 12 gauge, depending on barrel and extractor) straight-pull bolt-action garage gun that uses heavy gauge tubing as a receiver. At a bare minimum, it requires no milling or welding (I’m building the prototype exclusively using hand tools) and parts readily bought online. In accordance with the mannerisms of the man this project is devoted to, the blueprints will be available for free. Once the blueprints are made available, I’ll be encouraging the community to add to the number of parts- new magwells, new bolt designs- I’m sure a semi-auto one could be built. I want this project to grow. I want this to be a collective thanks to a great man.
Heckler & Koch has applied to the German government for permission to sell a new civilian-legal version of the H&K G36, one that is much truer to the original than the sporterized HK SLR. In Europe the gun will be called the HK243 and in the USA it will be marketed as the HK293.
The rifle is made with parts from the G36, but the bolt and the .223-chambered barrel design are unique. The reason for this is that gun companies in Germany cannot sell “weapons of war” to civilians. This gun has been sufficiently changed that it cannot be easily converted to a military-stye fully-automatic G36.
The rifle will feature a quad rail and a STANAG magazine well that accepts standard AR-15 magazine. Four different types of stocks will be offered, a short fixed stock, a long fixed stock (hunting/SLR style?) and two types of adjustable stocks.
There will be four different model (Compact, Kurtz (Short), Sporter and Long) which vary by barrel length from 8.9″ – 18.8″. It is not clear if H&K actually plan on selling the shorter barrel (SBR) versions in the USA, or if they are just apply for approval in case they ever wish to in the future.
The compact (C) model will be classified as a handgun in Germany and so is the only version not legal for hunting.
Many thanks to our German source for the documents and to Axel for the english translation.
