You might think of the CZ P-07 Suppressor Ready as the updated polymer sibling of the classic CZ 75. Handgun aficionados often cite the CZ 75’s grip angle and feel as ideal, and the P-07 comes very close to the CZ 75’s grip ergonomics. But the P-07 has several modern touches while maintaining the lineage of the legendary CZ 75. For example, the frame has been upgraded with a railed dust cover for mounting accessories like lights and lasers. Let’s take a closer look.

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Old Meets New

One of the features that attracted many to the CZ 75 was that you could carry it “cocked and locked” like a 1911 or Browning Hi-Power. However, hammer-down carry was also possible with a double-action (DA) trigger pull initiating firing.

Unlike the CZ 75, the P-07 comes standard with a decocker/safety lever. But CZ 75 aficionados should not despair, as CZ’s Omega trigger system is at the heart of the P-07 design. This system has fewer parts compared to the CZ 75 and in turn touts a better trigger pull in both DA and single-action (SA) modes. While the trigger pull is long—as is typical of DA/SA handguns—it’s smooth in DA mode and light with a short reset in SA mode. The other benefit of the CZ Omega system is the ability to switch the P-07’s standard decocker to a safety setup similar to the CZ 75’s, allowing for “Condition One” cocked-and-locked carry. Performing this switch is simple enough for a layman to accomplish.

The P-07’s frame, with its high-swept beavertail, is textured for a positive grip, even with wet or slippery hands. CZ even included rough-textured areas on the forward part of the frame that serve as “memory” spots for a shooter using a thumbs-forward grip. CZ also refined the pistol a year or so back, changing the name from the “P-07 Duty” to “P-07” and including interchangeable small, medium and large backstraps so users can adapt the pistol to fit their hand size better. The pistol was also dehorned for concealed carry, and CZ included a snag-free hammer and refined the trigger profile for more comfortable shooting during high-round-count range sessions. Metal three-dot sights and a beefed up magazine spring round out the P-07 updates.

Additional Details

The P-07’s slide is a tad thicker than the CZ 75’s. Many will find this thicker slide easier to grasp for sure manip-ulations. Forward cocking serrations are included for this purpose, too. The slide moves within the frame via rails embedded inside the polymer frame, versus more prevalent Western designs where the slide fits over the frame. The slide has a nitride finish that wears longer and increases the slide’s corrosion resistance.

The P-07 is a short-recoil-operated, locked-breech design, a la John Moses Browning, with a camming cut below the barrel. This serves to unlock and lower the barrel during the recoil cycle. But CZ has slightly modified Browning’s design by moving the locking recess from the barrel and instead using a single lug milled above the chamber that uses the slide’s large overhead ejection port as its locking recess. The front contour of the barrel lug cam slot has been cut square to direct counter-recoiling forces up and forward into the barrel itself to reduce stress on the lug. The pistol also uses an external extractor for enhanced reliability.

Finally, after making absolutely sure the pistol is unloaded, the P-07 disassembles quickly by pulling back slightly on the slide, aligning witness marks found on the frame and slide, and then pushing the slide stop lever out of the frame.

P-07 Suppressor Ready

My test model was the 9mm P-07 Suppressor Ready. It came with a threaded barrel and taller sights that work over the top of a sound suppressor. With its 1/2×28-tpi threading, the barrel is 4.36 inches long. The pistol weighs 28.7 ounces unloaded with an overall length of 7.9 inches. And while the standard P-07 comes with 15-round magazines, the Suppressor Ready variant comes with extended 17-round magazines. My test pistol was matte black, but a model with an Urban Grey frame is available.

The P-07 Suppressor Ready’s tall, adjustable, steel sights are set up in a three-dot configuration, with two tritium inserts in the rear sight and one in the front sight. The elevated sights are quick to pick up and work well in low-light situations. Of course, a user concerned about these sights snagging on gear could always resort back to normal-height sights if needed, but as is, these are highly functional.

Range Time

At the range, the P-07 Suppressor Ready impressively handled all of the test ammunition, across bullet weights and styles, with equal aplomb. I ran the pistol with loads from Black Hill; Federal; Hornad; and Winchester with both hollow points and FMJs ranging between 115 and 147 grains. Significantly, I didn’t experience a single malfunction over 500 rounds of testing.

Testing a weapon like this should replicate how it’ll be used in the real world—firing off-hand without support and while moving to get off the “X.” This is the true measure of a pistol’s accuracy, combining its trigger pull, grip and sights. After a few runs to get used to the trigger pull, first-round hits became the norm on the various steel targets, plate racks and dueling trees at my local range. And let me just say that this is easily one of the nicest DA/SA trigger systems I’ve used. Being able to convert the decocker to a standard thumb safety is also a nice bonus; the Omega’s flexibility is a great enhancement. Once you’ve mastered this trigger—which doesn’t take much time at all—you’ll be able to fire multiple shot strings with the utmost accuracy.

More Testing

The P-07 Suppressor Ready’s threaded barrel and tall sights indicate that it’s designed for more tactical or home-defense purposes. So, with that in mind, I decided to dedicate some time at the range evaluating the pistol using several drills I’d previously learned from training courses at various schools over the years. These drills included dynamic entries and other CQB-type exercises inside a shoothouse. Tight confines require an accurate, fast-handling handgun that can put multiple rounds on target in quick succession—and this is where the P-07 Suppressor Ready really shined. It came into its own thanks to its natural “pointability,” and during high-volume drills I experience no problems reloading the P-07 thanks to its easily accessible magazine release button.

Adding The Suppressor

More importantly, the pistol’s ergonomics and handling characteristics are exceptional, and you’ll immediately understand why the CZ 75 platform is so highly regarded. The beavertail grip frame and overall balance of the P-07 made the felt recoil almost negligible. The P-07’s slide reciprocated smoothly with the sights tracking perfectly in between shots fired.

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To evaluate the handgun’s full potential, I attached a Cobra M2 sound suppressor from Yankee Hill Machine (YHM). Mounting the suppressor simply required removing the included thread protector and screwing the Cobra M2 via onto the barrel via the appropriate YHM adapter. With this setup, I chose to run the pistol with 147-grain 9mm loads because they’re typically subsonic. This is one of the reasons why 9mm handguns are favorites for suppression. However, the YHM Cobra M2 proved effective at taming the muzzle blast of even supersonic 115- and 124-grain +P loads. Also, all loads could be comfortably fired without the use of ear protection with the YHM suppressor installed. Even in an indoor environment.

The added weight of the YHM suppressor did not hinder the pistol’s handling, and the 17-round magazines minimize the likelihood of needing to reload during a typical engagement where the P-07 is used as a primary weapon. The tall sights were also highly visible over the top of the suppressor. As a side note, however, the taller sights make holster selection a bit more problematic. As I said before, even if not so equipped, the P-07 would have performed fine within 10 yards using point-shooting techniques or simply sighting down the extended length of the mounted suppressor.

Modular Machine

The key selling feature of the CZ P-07 Suppressor Ready is that it is eminently adaptable to an individual or department’s needs. Everyone from a homeowner with a light/laser combination unit to an elite military team with night-vision gear, infrared target designators and suppressors will find the CZ P-07 Suppressor Ready a handgun worthy of consideration. The pistol arrives ready to go right out of the box, especially with the threaded factory barrel. Kudos to CZ for including the right features for maximizing this handgun’s performance. The CZ P-07 Suppressor Ready is a potent package due to its accuracy, reliability and capacity.

CZ P-07 Suppressor Ready Specs

CZ P-07 Suppressor Ready Performance

*Bullet weight measured in grains, velocity in fps by chronograph and accuracy in inches for best five-shot groups at 25 yards.

For more information, visit cz-usa.com.

The post The CZ P-07 Suppressor Ready Pistol Is Built for Covert Strikes appeared first on Tactical Life Gun Magazine: Gun News and Gun Reviews.

The second most-issued percussion revolver during the Civil War has become known as the Remington Model 1858. This designation is somewhat erroneous, however, as it’s based on the date of Sept. 14, 1858, when the patent was granted to inventor Fordyce Beals. The first version was called the Remington-Beals Army revolver, and it had a large frame, an 8-inch barrel and a six-shot cylinder in .44 caliber. Beals had also worked with Remington on other percussion revolver designs in smaller .31 and .36 calibers. The Remington Army did not go into serious production until 1861, and less than 8,000 were made before the New Model Army revolver became the standard design in 1863, with some 122,000 made before production ceased in 1875. There was really little difference in the Army model versions—mostly improvements to the cylinder, loading lever and hammer, as suggested by the U.S. Ordnance Department.

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Competing Designs

Unlike its chief competitor, the Colt Model 1860 Army, the Remington Army had a topstrap that added strength to the design of the gun and provided for a better rear sight. It also added a bit more bulk and 2 ounces of weight. One big plus was the ease of cylinder removal. To do this, the hammer was put on half-cock and then the loading lever was pulled down far enough to expose the T-shaped base-pin head, which was used to pull the base pin out. The cylinder could then be removed from the left side of the frame window. It could then be replaced with a loaded cylinder.

The Colt, on the other hand, had a barrel wedge secured with a screw that had to be removed to free the barrel/loading lever unit, which was pulled forward off the base pin, allowing the cylinder to be removed. It wasn’t something you’d want to do on the back of a horse or in the heat of battle. The open-top design of the Colt did make it less susceptible to blackpowder fouling. The fouling could build up after firing just a few loaded cylinders. Exploded percussion caps seem less likely to fall into the action of a Remington Army due to the topstrap, at least in my experience.

At the conclusion of the War Between the States, many issued sidearms were “liberated” or sold as surplus. Thus, the Remington made its way west with military veterans looking to make a better life. Frontiersmen, settlers, cowboys, outlaws and lawmen found favor with the big Remington Model 1858, which explains its continued production several years after revolvers began to be made for self-contained metallic cartridges.

Buffalo Bill

One of the adherents of the Remington percussion .44 was William F. Cody. Raised in “Bleeding Kansas” in the pre-war years, there’s conjecture on whether he was involved in any fighting. He became a rider for the Pony Express during its history from 1860 to 1861; Bill Cody was likely introduced to the Remington New Model Army revolver in 1868. That’s when he became an Army scout for General Philip Sheridan. Cody’s revolver, serial number 73293, had a standard blued finish and was fitted with ivory grip panels.

As a scout, Cody carried dispatches or rode out ahead of the soldiers he was guiding to get as close to hostile Indians and gain information before an attack. This was dangerous work; a good, reliable revolver would provide at least a small measure of comfort. Bill Cody was credited with a number of heroic actions during his service from roughly 1868 to 1876. He made long rides to warn frontier forts of impending attacks, led the 5th Cavalry to a large hostile Indian village, resulting in a mounted charge and victory. He led hunting parties like the one for the Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich of Russia.

In 1872, Cody and an Army sergeant battled hostile Indians who had raided a station near an Army outpost. Outnumbered two to one, they fought on horseback and three of their foes were killed—at least one directly attributed to Cody. For this action, he was awarded the Medal of Honor. Cody became “Buffalo Bill” as a professional meat hunter for the railroads. He later created “Buffalo Bill’s Wild West” and was an internationally famous showman for the remainder of his life. Cody’s old Remington Model 1858 was sold towards the end of his career along with a note saying, “It never let me down.”

Enter EMF

Now EMF Company is offering a Pietta-made Remington Model 1858 replica to commemorate Buffalo Bill. I saw one of these revolvers at a firearms trade show and was immediately taken with it. As a devotee of Col. William F. Cody, I requested one for testing, and it didn’t take too long before an example was in my hands.

Hands On

The Buffalo Bill Commemorative is a .44-caliber New Model Army with an 8-inch barrel. It has a polished, blued finish and is embellished with gold-filled etchings paying tribute to Buffalo Bill. The receiver has gold scrollwork on the sides, below the recoil shield and forward of the cylinder window, as does the loading lever. More scrollwork adorns the barrel, and “1885-BUFFALO BILLS WILD WEST-1917” is engraved on both sides. The left-side recoil shield has a gold “BB” while the cylinder has a head-and-shoulders portrait of Cody. On the opposite side you’ll find another etching of him on horseback. On the whole, I think the embellishments are tasteful and well done.

The two-piece walnut grip panels are finely checkered with a diamond pattern encircling the grip screw. The triggerguard is made of polished brass and offers a pleasing contrast. Overall, the fit and finish get high marks in my book!

About The New Model Army

A few other notes on the Remington New Model Army are in order. The front sight is a high “pinched” post with a rounded top, which gives a much better sighting picture than a Colt with its small, silver blade front sight and V-notch in the hammer nose for a rear sight. When you put the Remington hammer on half-cock and release the loading lever from its locked position, the cylinder has turned just enough so the rammer doesn’t go into a chamber mouth, but the lever is low enough so you can remove the base pin and cylinder.

The locking notches on the cylinder are oversized, and the bolt is large. There are also generously sized cuts between the nipples at the rear of the cylinder for the hammer nose to rest in safely. It appears that the nipples turn outward ever so slightly to make capping easier. The trigger on my gun was wide and smooth with a crisp pull breaking at about 4.5 pounds. The hammer spur is deeply serrated for ease of cocking.

More Than Looks

Yes, I know it’s a pretty gun, but I wanted to see if this gun was more than just its looks. My powder flask for .44-caliber handguns throws a 23-grain charge of Goex FFFg black powder, and I had 0.454-inch lead balls that weighed an average of 143.8 grains as well as conical lead bullets measuring 0.45 inches and weighing an average of 194.7 grains. My Oehler chronograph showed the average velocity of the lead ball ammunition to be 642 fps while the conical bullets, though a tad heavier, gave an average velocity of 702 fps.

To test the gun on paper targets, I loaded each cylinder with powder, a “Wonder Wad” and a lead ball, then capped the nipples with Remington #10 percussion caps. I put a large bullseye target out at 10 yards and squeezed off six shots from a sandbag rest, aiming at the center of the red aiming circle. When the smoke cleared, I was pleasantly surprised to see my shots going a little left and just below the point of aim (POA). My best group of three 6-shot groups measured 1.43 inches with all of the bullet holes touching.

I did the same loading regimen with the conical bullets; the only difference is that I had to remove the cylinder to load the longer bullets and use a wooden mallet to position them before replacing the cylinder and doing the final seating with the loading lever. My best group with the conical bullets was 1.93 inches, and it was actually two rather small three-shot groups a little over an inch apart. The POA was the same, and the point of impact (POI) was 0.5 to 1.5 inches high.

Additional Testing

To see how the Buffalo Bill Commemorative translated to steel targets like I’d use in Cowboy Action Shooting competitions, I loaded up the Remington and repaired to the “cowboy” portion of the range. With both lead balls and conical bullets, I had 100-percent hits shooting in “Duelist” mode with only one hand at steel targets placed about 5 to 7 yards away. During the testing, I had no malfunctions whatsoever, and no caps fell into the cylinder star or action to jam things up. After a good cleaning, the gold etching was still present—it was just a bit darker in a couple of places on the cylinder.

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I was also lucky enough to use the Buffalo Bill Commemorative in a local Cowboy Action match. The day’s event consisted of six match stages, and I elected to shoot in the two-gun, blackpowder Duelist class. I didn’t use any fancy gadgetry; I just loaded the gun in the field and checked it between stages for excess fouling. There was one miss on a moving target during the match with the Remington; I gained some extra points by hitting an optional long-distance target placed about 50 yards away. There were no malfunctions, and the gun shot to the POA and was very easy to cock even using only my strong hand. Again, the gold etching remained after another cleaning, and I came away very impressed with the gun’s looks and performance.

EMF Model 1858 Buffalo Bill Commemorative Specs

EMF Model 1858 Buffalo Bill Commemorative Performance

*Bullet weight measured in grains, velocity in fps by chronograph and accuracy in inches for best five-shot groups at 10 yards.

For more information, visit emf-company.com.

This article was originally published in “Guns of the Old West” summer 2017. To order a copy and subscribe, visit outdoorgroupstore.com.

The post The EMF 1858 Buffalo Bill Commemorative Shoots as Good as It Looks appeared first on Tactical Life Gun Magazine: Gun News and Gun Reviews.

Little more than a week had passed after the First Battle of Bull Run in 1861 when Eliphalet Remington signed a contract to produce 10,000 Model 1861 rifles in support of Union troops. But Remington’s massive factory conversion from peacetime sporting arms to military weapons proved too stressful for the elderly gun-maker. He died a few days later, and his sons then took over the company. Taking advantage of the extensive machinery used in the production of the Model 1841 Mississippi Rifle and the Model 1855 rifle, the brothers proposed a number of changes to speed up manufacturing that were so vast that a new contract was signed on August 11, 1862, for the production of what would later be termed “Zouave” rifles. These new rifles cost the U.S. government $17 each, a cost that bears little resemblance to Big Green’s most recent U.S. military contract.

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Remington, a member of the Freedom Group family of companies, announced on April 20, 2012, the award of an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for the procurement of a maximum of 120,000 M4/M4A1 Carbines by the U.S. Army Contracting Command. When Eliphalet Remington passes Samuel Colt on that street where all old gun-makers go, he likely won’t be able to suppress a prideful smirk. The massive military contract award for M4 Carbines is ironic too, given that Remington has invested so heavily in the Remington Gas Piston (RGP) AR configuration. Not too long ago, I was able to test Remington’s newest version of the RGP, the R5.

Compared to direct-impingement rifles like the standard M4, piston-driven rifles are typically easier to clean and maintain in the field since they don’t get as dirty inside, nor do they run as hot, thus requiring less lubrication and maintenance. “With a gas gun, you can go a thousand rounds without cleaning it,” Tim Mulverhill, a former Army Ranger and AR piston system expert, noted. “Piston guns don’t suffer from heat fatigue or as severe a heating and cooling cycle. If you run eight magazines through a gas gun, the bolt and other parts climb to 800 degrees. But a piston gun, you can do the same thing and take the bolt out, and it’s barely warm.”

Remington learned from its own experiences with the RGP and from issues found in other manufacturers’ piston-driven designs. The R5 RGP benefits from a host of improvements, including a dependable one-piece upper receiver and handguard, and it is capable of sub-MOA accuracy.

Tank-Tough AR

The R5 RGP is available as a standalone carbine or as a complete upper that’s ready to install on an M4-style lower. This weapon represents the next leap forward in the evolution of modern combat rifles.

Featuring a monolithic upper with a free-floating handguard, a robust gas piston operating system and tool-less disassembly for cleaning, the R5 RGP is designed for rugged, accurate service in the most extreme conditions. The carbine is available with either a 10.5- or 14.5-inch barrel that is cold-hammer forged with a 1-in-7-inch twist rate to stabilize the heaviest military 5.56mm NATO rounds. The barrel has also been given a ferritic-nitrocarburized finish to increase resistance to wear. The AAC Blackout flash suppressor allows for the quick attachment of an AAC sound suppressor.

The 10.5-inch-barreled version weighs 6.56 pounds unloaded, while the 14.5-inch-barreled model weighs 6.95 pounds. Though production models come with Magpul CTR stocks, I tested early models with collapsible, mil-spec buttstocks. The lower receiver is the same lower used on Remington’s R4. My test models also came with select-fire control groups, though civilian models are obviously semi-auto only.

Since Remington Defense has the versatility to customize many of its weapons to a customer’s needs, there are also options for stocks, sights and grips. The weapons I tested carried A2-style pistol grips and Magpul MBUS front and rear sights.

Additional Details

According to Robbie Johnson, a former Special Forces sniper who now works for Remington Defense and competes in 3-Gun matches, the R5 RGP was designed to “compete with the SIG516. And we’ve done a lot more to the R5 than just taking an M4 and putting a piston system on it. The R5’s upper receiver and handguard is a monolithic system. This gas piston operating system disassembles in seconds without tools—just pop the pin out. All of the gas seals are in the gas block. It has 15 gas seals to keep it operating. It can run with as few as three seals, and it’s a self-cleaning piston. This weapon is made to run with or without a suppressor, without the need for a regulator.”

Remington’s engineers also re-designed the R5 RGP’s bolt. It has no gas rings. “We eliminated the carrier tilt problems with the new operating rod,” Johnson said. “The bolt is made a lot harder with a nickel-boron treatment. It has a one-piece bolt carrier, too, that’s Melonite-coated. One thing we have done at the rear is radius the back of the bolt, to reduce wear in the upper receiver when you get carrier tilt. We also adjusted the weight of the bolt for increased velocity in the middle of the operating range so it will run either dirty or lubed up.”

Johnson continued, “Flush-cup sling attachment points were made stronger on the R5, so a sling swivel will fail before the flush cup will pull out. Time serts were also made stronger than the rail mount screws. If it is over-tightened, the screw will shear off before the sert will pull out. The rail has channels for cable routing, too.”

First Hits

My first experience with the R5 RGP was during a writers’ event held at Gunsite Academy. I ran through five 30-round magazines but was limited to off-hand shooting at 25 yards. It was basically a familiarization and function testing opportunity. A month later, Remington’s Robin Eaves brought his R5 RGP sales sample to my range for a day of shooting. Since the gun was fitted with an AAC Blackout muzzle brake, we screwed on an AAC M4 2000 suppressor for testing. Even though the suppressor was sized to fit a 6.8 SPC bore, it performed just as well on the 5.56mm carbine.

Carbine Testing

My son, Luke, and I ran more than 250 rounds through the 10.5-inch-barreled R5 RGP over 10 minutes. After letting the carbine cool, we moved to the 100-yard range to ascertain the weapon’s accuracy potential. I mounted a Trijicon 5-20x50mm AccuPoint on the R5 to get the most from the carbine and each of the three loads chosen. An Oehler 35P chronograph gathered velocity data.

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Our first test load was Black Hills’ 75-grain match ammo. The average velocity was 2,302 fps. The first five-shot group measured 1.95 inches center to center; the second, 2.06 inches; the third, 2 inches. Remington’s 69-grain Premier Match SMK rounds averaged 2,482 fps, and we tested this load with and without a suppressor. On the first five-shot group, the point of impact matched the point of aim and the group measured 2.67 inches. The second group measured a fantastic 0.73 inches. Then, with the sound suppressor attached, I got a 2.47-inch group that struck 1.16 inches left and 2 inches above the point of aim. The next 2.23-inch group matched the previous group, printing high and left.

Hornady’s 75-grain Superformance Match BTHP rounds averaged 2,373 fps, with groups measuring 1.96, 2.66 and 2.48 inches. Federal’s 69-grain Gold Medal Match SMK load averaged 2,298 fps, with groups measuring 2.47, 2.14 and 2.05 inches. In semi-automatic fire, the R5 RGP easily kept five rounds in a roughly 2-MOA group with a variety of ammunition. With loads tailored for the weapon, it is capable of sub-MOA fire—that’s pretty commendable for a CQB rifle.

Remington R5 RGP Specs

Remington R5 RGP Performance

*Bullet weight measured in grains, velocity in fps by chronograph and accuracy in inches for best five-shot groups at 100 yards.

For more information, visit remington.com.

This article was originally published in a previous issue of our “Gun Annual.” To order a copy, visit outdoorgroupstore.com.

The post Gun Review: Remington Defense R5 RGP 5.56mm Rifle appeared first on Tactical Life Gun Magazine: Gun News and Gun Reviews.

One of the most secretive societies in the world today is North Korea, a reclusive communist nation that is often at odds with the Western world. Due to the nature of the Cold War conflict in the 20th century, the North Korean army was initially supplied with small arms provided by the Soviet Union, including the Mosin-Nagant, the SKS and some SVT-40 rifles as well as several types of machine guns. During the Korean War, many former U.S.-made Lend-Lease weapons were supplied to the North Koreans by Red China.

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Prior to the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, few Communist weapons were available in the U.S. and relatively little was known about them. Many details about ComBloc weapons were revealed after the demise of the Soviet Union, but the weapons produced in North Korea remain clouded in secrecy. Much of the available information about North Korea has come from refugees with a military background who have been debriefed by U.S. officials. Often these reports are exaggerated to make the defecting individual appear more important by claiming to have essential information about the North Korean military.

In most cases, the individuals have been subjected to excessive communist propaganda. Details of the North Korean small arms have largely come from the study of weapons captured by U.S. forces in Vietnam, Grenada, Iraq and Afghanistan.

North Korean AK: Type 58

North Korea was a Russian satellite nation that received assistance from the Soviets to set up manufacturing plants for weapons and ammunition during the late 1940s. The first weapon known to be manufactured by North Korea was the Type 49 subgun. It was a copy of the Russian PPSh-41.

North Korea began producing 7.62x39mm AK rifles in 1958. Designated as the Type 58, the weapon is a copy of the Soviet AK rifle with the milled receiver. Some of the early manufacture Type 58 rifles were assembled using a number of Russian-made parts until eventually the Koreans were able to produce all of the components in-country. The North Koreans produced the rifles under license in two state-run factories. These have been identified only as Factory 61 and Factory 65. Both are reportedly located in Jyn Chun, North Korea. The weapons were produced from 1958 until approximately 1968. It’s estimated that 800,000 Type 58 AKs were made during its 10-year production run.

The Type 58 was manufactured in full wood-stock and under-folding-stock models. Identifying marks on the receiver’s left side include a five-point star inside a circle and the model number, “58 Type.” On the right side, the selector positions are designated with Korean Hangul characters. However, the “safe” position is umarked. North Korea also manufactured a copy of the SKS rifle designated as the Type 63. After enough AK rifles were manufactured for the army, the SKS weapons were relegated to the Labor-Farming Red Guard (Home Guard). Some of the features on some North Korean AK rifles suggest that they may have also received some help from China. North Korean-made Type 58 rifles have surfaced all over the world, first in Vietnam and Cuba during the 1960s and more recently in the Middle East, South America and Africa.

North Korean AK: Type 68

DPRK began to convert its AK production over to the Soviet AKM-style stamped receiver in 1968. The North Korean Type 68 AK has many features similar to those found on the Soviet AKM and the Chinese stamped-receiver Type 56 rifles. The Type 68 trigger group does not have the Soviet-designed hammer-delay system components; the trip sear is fabricated from a sheet-metal stamping. The trigger is the earlier double-hook design found on milled-receiver models.

Another exclusive feature found on North Korean Type 58 and Type 68 rifles is a disconnector with a hole in the top that extends down into the spring cavity. The Type 68 also retained many other features from the earlier Type 58 model. These include the solid catalpa wood stock; the pistol grip; the handguards; and the smooth, pressed-steel top cover. It should be noted, however, that some North Korean Type 68 rifles have been documented with ribbed top covers.

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On Type 68 rifles, the fixed buttstock is supported by two tangs; a second tang is riveted to the inside of the receiver. One other small but unique feature noted on some North Korean Type 68 full-stock rifles is a sheet-metal roller on the rear sling swivel. The swivel is mounted on the side of the receiver. The threaded block for attaching the pistol grip screw is riveted or welded in place. The gas block is flat on both sides. There are dimples around the hammer, trigger and trip-lever axis pinholes on the left side of the receiver. The trip-lever’s axis pin also has an I-shaped dimple on the receiver’s right side. The triggerguard is also unique, having a lengthwise reinforcing rib pressed into it.

North Korean AK: Additional Type 68 Details

Identifying marks on the left side the receiver are the North Korean star inside of a circle and the model number, “68 Type.” On the right side, the selector positions are designated with Korean Hangul characters, though the “safe” position is not marked. The finish used on North Korea AK rifles is a dull bluing. The rifle’s serial number is marked on the left side of the barrel trunnion.

Like the Chinese Type 56 stamped-receiver model, the rear sights on the Type 68 are only graduated out to a distance of 800 meters (the rear sights on AKMs are usually marked out to 1,000 meters). The 300-meter battle sight position is marked in Hangul characters, and three different style characters have been observed. Type 68 rifles were fitted with either slant-style or flat muzzle nuts.

There is also an export version of the North Korean Type 68 with universally recognized markings. The selector positions are a Roman numeral “I” for semi-automatic fire and an infinity symbol for full-automatic. The standard AK battle sight position of 300 meters has a number “3” or the Roman numeral “III.” There is no identifying “Type 68” or “circled star” marking on the North Korean export model.

The Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front, or FMLN, guerrillas in El Salvador received a large shipment of North Korean-manufactured AKM-type rifles during the late 1980s. North Korean-manufactured export models of the Type 68 rifles have been widely distributed throughout Central and South America as well as Cuba.

Standard 30-round, stamped-steel magazines with strengthening ribs were issued with the 7.62x39mm weapons. North Korean-made magazines have the star-in-circle stamp on the back spine. Also documented have been orange synthetic magazines with North Korean markings.

North Korean AK: Type 88

North Korea has also adopted and manufactured its own version of the 5.45x39mm AK-74 rifle, designated as the Type 88. There has been no evidence that the North Koreans obtained a license to produce the weapon from Russia. Reportedly, the North Koreans received technical assistance from China.

A few Type 88 assault rifles were salvaged from a North Korean spy ship that was sunk after a brief battle (known as the Battle of Amami-oshima) with the Japanese Maritime Safety Agency, later named the Japanese Coast Guard, in 2001. The vessel was raised in 2003 and a number of weapons were recovered, including some Type 88 AK rifles. The weapons have a Russian-style AKS-74 metal, sidefolding, skeleton-type buttstock attached to the receiver by an adapter block; there is also a full-stock model.

A Russian-pattern AK-74 style muzzle brake is fitted to the muzzle. The 30-round magazines are made of steel. There have been no known exports of the North Korean Type 88. Thus, few examples have been available for study in the West.

Editor’s Note: Sections of this article have been excerpted from the author’s book “AK-47: The Grim Reaper.” Pick up a copy at smallarmsreview.com or call 702-565-0746.

This article was originally published in a previous issue of “AK-47 & Soviet Weapons” magazine. For more information, visit outdoorgroupstore.com.

The post DPRK’s AKs: Inside the Shadowy World of North Korean AK Rifles appeared first on Tactical Life Gun Magazine: Gun News and Gun Reviews.

I recently attended a training course at Altair Training Solutions’ Regional Training Facility in Florida, which used to be a high-security state prison. We ran simulations in this environment with white lights, night-vision gear and short-barreled rifles (SBRs).

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Ballistics are always a concern with really short barrels (8 inches or less), but SBRs can be incredibly effective when engagement distances are close. Of course, there are some detractors, but you’ll never find someone willing to “take one for science.” There are always compromises in the tactical world, but in close, tight spaces, shorter ARs are noticeably easier to run. They’re just a lot handier than rifles with full-length barrels.

It wasn’t that easy maneuvering around with a suppressed, 10.5-inch-barreled rifle during the Altair course, especially considering my short arms and the IR and night-vision equipment involved. So when I got home, I decided to take one of my shortest ARs from Primary Weapons Systems (PWS) and install a new stock from Maxim Defense to see if I could make an ultra-compact SBR for extreme close-quarters operations.

Meet The MK107

One of the most reliable short-barreled ARs I’ve ever tested is the PWS MK107. It typically runs a wide variety of ammunition and will also work reliably with a sound suppressor—not something every 7- to 8-inch-barreled AR can do. When PWS recently unveiled its upgraded MOD 2 rifles, I jumped at the chance to add one to my arsenal.

The MK107 MOD 2 is a piston-driven AR with a short 7.75-inch barrel. The gas piston operating system can be adjusted to three different positions to compensate for sound suppressors, various ammunition, heavy fouling, environmental conditions, etc. The chrome-moly barrel has a QPQ coating for corrosion resistance, and it comes fitted with PWS’ CQB compensator, which helps mitigate muzzle blast in close quarters.

Surrounding the barrel and piston system is a new handguard with PicMod technology. KeyMod slots run the entire lengths of the sides and bottom, but Picatinny slots are machined near the front so you can quickly add whatever accessories you might need. You won’t have to worry about rails coming loose.

Strong yet lightweight, the MOD 2 upper and lower receivers are forged from 7075-T6 aluminum. The upper features a hardened bolt carrier group made from tool steel, and the lower comes with ambidextrous controls, including the safety selector, magazine release and bolt release. The enhanced trigger is factory set for a crisp 5.5-pound pull.

A Closer Look

The lower also features a redesigned buffer tube made from extruded 7075-T6 aluminum with PWS’ new Ratchet-Lock design, which eliminates the need for a staked castle nut. The buffer tube comes fitted with a collapsible polymer BCM Gunfighter stock that complements the MK107’s BCM Gunfighter pistol grip.

Now, for this specific test, I swapped out the BCM stock for a Maxim Defense CQB unit. This stock is reminiscent of the kind used on the HK MP5A3, as it rides on two rails that run alongside the receiver. The CQB stock is made of machined 7075-T6 aluminum, and it mounted easily to my registered lower. Fully extended, the stock adds 10 inches to the rifle’s overall length, or just 5.38 inches collapsed. There are also two intermediate length-of-pull positions. The CQB comes with a few different buffer options, including those set up for JP Enterprises’ Silent Captured Springs, but my test model came with a standard spring and light buffer.

Because of the MK107’s intended uses, I decided to add a Trijicon SRS red-dot sight to the flattop upper. The SRS provides a wide field of view and incredibly clear glass. You also won’t notice much “tunneling” with this sight. Backup sights are also mandatory for entry weapons, so I added a set of fixed iron sights from Daniel Defense. I mounted my SureFire X300 in front of the Daniel Defense front sight, and I included my Blue Force Gear sling. Finally, I stored everything—including various magazines—in a Vertx EDC Gamut Plus backpack to discreetly transport the weapon system.

Range Test

My initial testing involved clearing rooms in a shoothouse, and this is where the MK107 MOD 2 really shined. It’s handy and easy to maneuver. Loaded with DoubleTap 55-grain TSX ammo, this SBR is plenty lethal. I was also able to keep the Maxim Defense CQB stock centered against my plate carrier for solid support in close quarters. This keeps the SBR in close so you can easily work around corners. You pretty much just drive the gun where you need to go and you’re already on target. During about an hour or so of room-clearing practice, the stock never shifted or came loose.

Shooting on a square range is easy, but working inside and around a vehicle is a different story. Thankfully, this weapon system was perfect for these situations. The PWS CQB muzzle brake sends all of the blast forward. As long as the muzzle is outside a window, for example, no muzzle blast or debris comes back your way. The recoil was also minimal, so it’d be easy to shoot this SBR with just one hand if needed. The MOD 2 lower receiver is lightweight, and the controls are excellent. In short, moving in and out of nooks and crannies, behind the wheels, over the hood—it was all very easy with the MK107. It would definitely be a solid choice for professionals who work in executive-protection details, and it’s also very well suited to home and or vehicle defense.

Flawless Performance

Thanks to PWS’ long-stroke gas piston operating system, the MK107 MOD 2 ran flawlessly on the range. In fact, this is one of the few 100-percent-reliable SBRs in 5.56mm NATO that I’ve tested. With three different gas settings. it runs with just about anything you can put in it, including steel-cased practice ammunition. And it does all of this while remaining lightweight, comfortable to shoot and accurate.

Though the rifle is really designed for close-range engagements, I tested it out to 100 yards just to see what kind of groups I’d get. My best five-shot group, produced with Barnes’ 70-grain TSX ammo, measured just 0.9 inches. This proves that the PWS MK107 MOD 2 can get the job done if you need to take long-distance shots in the real world. With the SBR rested on a barricade and shooting out to 100 yards as fast as I could center the Trijicon SRS’ reticle, I was able to keep 20 DoubleTap rounds within 2 inches. Careful aiming from an unsupported prone position at 50 yards with the same ammunition created a 1.5-inch cluster. What more could you want from a rifle like this? It’s very versatile; there isn’t much it can’t do.

Born To Fight

Make no mistake: The MK107 is still loud—just not to the shooter. The CQB brake sends all of the blast forward, which shouldn’t affect even close teammates. But you’ll still notice it in a shoothouse, for example. Under normal rates of fire, the CQB does a good job of reducing flash, but rapid fire will occasionally produce a fireball. Of course, this is ammunition dependent, but physics still applies, and a 7.75-inch .223 barrel will leave plenty of unburned powder. You can also run the MK107 with a sound suppressor, but more gas will be blown back into your face. It’s certainly viable, but I’d prefer to just keep the CQB in place because it’s such a pleasure to shoot with on its own.

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With the Maxim Defense stock installed, the MK107 fit in my Vertx pack, but it took a little finagling to manage it. If you want an even more compact setup, you could always install a Law Tactical Folding Stock Adapter.

To be honest, I’ve never been a huge fan of short-barreled ARs, mostly because they never seem to run well, and they are just plain loud and obnoxious to shoot. But this tame rifle has made me rethink SBRs in general, and I’ll definitely be keeping this one around as a truck/self-defense rifle. It’s incredibly handy working around my truck, it’s easy to carry and it’s about as good as it gets when it comes to clearing rooms. Primary Weapons Systems’ new MOD 2 upgrades have only made a strong, proven design even better. If you are in the market for a super-short AR, consider pairing the MK107 MOD 2 with a Maxim Defense CQB stock. I know I wasn’t disappointed.

PWS MK107 MOD 2 Specs

PWS MK107 MOD 2 Performance

*Bullet weight measured in grains, velocity in fps by chronograph and accuracy in inches for best five-shot groups at 100 yards.

For More Information

Primary Weapons Systems
primaryweapons.com

Maxim Defense
maximdefense.com

The post Gun Review: The CQB-Capable PWS MK107 MOD 2 SBR appeared first on Tactical Life Gun Magazine: Gun News and Gun Reviews.

Move over, .308 Winchester and .30-06 Springfield. Make way for the 6.5 Creedmoor Spike’s Roadhouse AR.

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This new semi-auto gets the most from the “six-five” and delivers better overall 1,000-yard performance than the .308 and .30-06 with about a third less recoil. The .308 and .30-06 might offer some advantages when hunting extra-large game such as elk and moose at less than 300 yards, but beyond that distance, the cartridges are similar in trajectory and velocity. And by 650 yards, the 6.5 Creedmoor begins to have a slight advantage over the .308 and .30-06 in terms of kinetic energy. That statement will upset a lot of .30-06 and .308 fans like me, but ballistics don’t lie. And long-range ballistics is the name of the game with precision rifles.

Built-In Precision

I first saw the Spike’s Roadhouse in 6.5 Creedmoor at the spring Big 3 East Media Event at the Big 3 East Training Center near Daytona Beach, Florida. It had the look and feel of a substantial, well-made rifle. I had a brief chance to fire the rifle at the center’s 950-yard rifle range. We had a half-sized silhouette set up at 550 yards, and I hit it despite a 10- to 20-mph crosswind. In fact, one of the young shooters said, “I wish my grandfather could shoot that well,” which I took as a compliment.

I had another chance to examine the rifle when I visited the Spike’s Tactical factory in Apopka, Florida, and discussed how the rifle is built with the staff. Then we headed to the range for some long-distance live fire.

The billet upper is precisely hand- fitted to the billet lower. There is no play between them. Both are made from aircraft-grade 7075-T6 aluminum alloy and are hardcoat anodized to military standards. This rifle is available in matte black or with a distressed black and bronze finish that is very attractive, and the finishes are applied to the 15-inch M-LOK handguard and Magpul ACS stock as well. The barrel on both models is finished in black Cerakote. The Spike’s Tactical Pro pistol grip and Magpul magazines are also matte black on both models. The bolt carrier group is coated in nickel-boron for less friction, smooth operation and easy cleaning.

Top Of The Line

The 6.5 Creedmoor Spike’s Tactical Roadhouse is offered with a 20- or 22-inch Krieger barrel and might be available with 24-inch tube on special order if there is sufficient demand. The bore is not plated. It features hand-cut rifling with a 1-in-8-inch twist rate so it can handle long bullets, such as Hornady’s ELD series rounds, which have high ballistic coefficients. The barrel is also hand-lapped for accuracy and ease of cleaning, and the muzzle is equipped with a very effective R2 brake.

The gun is sold in a flattop configuration, and the handguard and upper receiver mate perfectly, providing an excellent platform for mounting a set of Spike’s Tactical flip-up sights. The sharply pointed front sight is paired with a rear sight that has two different pop-up apertures. This makes precision shots possible during various lighting conditions. In addition, extra care is taken to firmly join the barrel and upper so there is no play between them. This rigidity, along with the high-quality barrel, makes for a stable platform for launching bullets.

The trigger is a Geissele Super Semi-Automatic (SSA), a two-stage unit with a 2.5-pound take-up stage and a second stage that requires an additional 2 pounds of pressure to disengage the sear. It’s non-adjustable.

The gun I test-fired had three aftermarket accessories: a Harris bipod, a Spike’s Tactical one-piece scope mount and a Leupold 8.5-25x50mm Mark 4 ER/T first-focal-plane scope. This excellent scope is precise and clear. It’s no longer available, but Leupold has a similar product in its Mark 5 series that should do an equally fine job of getting bullets on target at long range.

Spike’s Armorer

After I toured the facility, Bob Roebuck, Spike’s head armorer, and I took the 6.5 Creedmoor Spike’s Tactical Roadhouse to a private range to put it through its paces at 100, 200, 400 and 500 yards. Bob is a graduate of the prestigious Colorado School of Trades gunsmithing program. In addition to playing a central role in the 6.5 Creedmoor Spike’s Tactical Roadhouse project, he also supervises the assembly of firearms by the Spike’s Tactical staff. As a part of that, he randomly pulls out 10 percent of the guns produced and does an in-depth quality check to ensure they meet Spike’s strict standards of craftsmanship.

As we headed to the range, we talked about how the accuracy of Spike’s Tactical Roadhouse rifles is built in from the ground up. We looked at each other and almost simultaneously quoted Colonel Townsend Whelan, who said, “Only accurate rifles are interesting.” Our shooting that morning and afternoon indicated that the 6.5 Creedmoor Roadhouse is a very interesting rifle.

Live-Fire Testing

Bob and I fired more than 150 rounds of two brands of ammo to test the rifle. Both loads had 140-grain, boat-tail bullets. The first and most accurate was Federal’s open-tip match (OTM) ammo. The second, which also shot well, was a Sellier & Bellot load with semi-spitzer FMJs. Conditions that day were less than ideal, with a left-to-right wind that gusted from infrequent periods of near calm to more than 10 mph. In addition, the day was bright, sunny and warmer than 80 degrees, creating an intermediate to heavy mirage.

At 400 and 500 yards, we had to continually readjust our holds for windage and mirage. When the wind blew hardest, we needed to aim quite low for the upward shift of the image because of the mirage coming off of the hot ground, and then aim considerably left to adjust for wind drift of the bullet and wind drift of the mirage to the right.

More Testing

It was challenging, but the high ballistic coefficient of the 140-grain 6.5 bullets provided considerable help. I kept the 16-by-16-inch hanging steel plate spinning at 500 yards. We even placed most of our shots on the 500-yard, 12-inch circular steel plate. Even at 100 yards, the total effect of wind conditions and mirage generally added 0.3 to 0.5 inches to our groups. Even so, we shot some groups that were well less than an inch wide, which is very respectable for factory loads. In my 6.5 Creedmoor rifle, I’ve found that my handloads are 17-percent more accurate and about 7-percent faster than some of the commercial loads I’ve tested. Given that, I believe that the 6.5 Creedmoor Roadhouse could easily shoot half-inch or smaller groups using carefully assembled handloads in better conditions.

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The live-fire test also let us measure ammo velocities and check the reliability of the rifle. I was pleasantly surprised with the velocities registered on the Competition Electronics chronograph we used. The S&B ammo came in just slower than 2,600 fps, and the Federal American Eagle ammo was just faster than 2,600 fps. This is excellent performance for a 20-inch barrel. Given that the velocity of the 6.5 Creedmoor is nominally 2,700 fps in a 24-inch barrel, I would have expected a decrease in velocity of about 150 fps for the shorter 20-inch barrel rather than the 100-fps drop we recorded.

With respect to reliability, the Roadhouse ran well with the 10-round PMAG, which fit in the magazine well with little play. Given that the 6.5 Creedmoor has a relatively narrow bullet for the diameter of its case, how the magazine fits in the mag well is important in terms of reliability, as are the shape of the feed ramp and the magazine’s feed lips.

Well Worth It

At $2,900 for the basic black version and $3,300 for distressed version, the Roadhouse isn’t exactly cheap. But shooters who want the most in a semi-auto precision rifle that can be used in long-range competitions, hunting from blinds over bean fields and powerline cuts, or for everyday shooting will find a lot to like with this rifle. I can also see a clear role for it in military and law enforcement designated marksman programs.

Spike’s Tactical Roadhouse Specs

For more information, visit spikestactical.com.

This article was originally published in “Tactical Life” August/September 2018. To order a copy and subscribe, visit outdoorgroupstore.com.

The post Big Bore Test: Spike’s Tactical Roadhouse Rifle in 6.5 Creedmoor appeared first on Tactical Life Gun Magazine: Gun News and Gun Reviews.

France’s main battle rifle of World War II, the 7.5x54mm MAS Modèle 36, often carries the reputation of being “never fired, only dropped once.” This slight is based on the fact that the French Army was utterly defeated in the field by the German Blitzkrieg in the May and June of 1940.

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That statement forgets that the rifle was used by various free French forces throughout the world; it remained in use as a training rifle all the way through 1978. The rifle also saw action in far-flung conflicts, including the First Indochina War. It also saw action in the Algerian War, where, yes, France did end up on the losing end. Captured rifles were used in the Vietnam War and the Cambodian Civil War. This proves that it is still the man carrying the weapon that has to do the fighting. In the deserts of North Africa and the jungles of Southeast Asia, the MAS 36 proved to be more than up to the task.

The rifle was first adopted in 1936 by the French military. The French military had looked to replace the Berthier and Lebel models of rifles. It was produced by Manufacture d’armes de Saint-Étienne (MAS), as the Modèle 36. It was chambered for the modern, rimless 7.5x54mm French cartridge, which was a shortened version of the 7.5x57mm model 1924 cartridge.

Clearly the designers had memories of the horrors of the trench warfare of the Great War (World War I) in mind; the MAS 36 was designed to address the shortcomings of the earlier Berthier and Lebel service rifles. Most notably, the MAS 36 was much shorter and lighter than those rifles of the previous generation. Despite the fact that the French Army might not have been up to the task of beating the German Wehrmacht in the early summer of 1940, the MAS 36 has maintained a reputation as one of the most robust rifles of the era.

World War I Influences

While Germany, the Soviet Union, Great Britain and even the United States essentially entered World War II with rifles that were little more than updates of their respective WWI rifles, France looked forward. This is notable in that the MAS 36 was meant to be shorter and more compact; clearly the designers expected a repeat of the cramped trench warfare of WWI. This no doubt helps explain why the French political planners invested so heavily in the Maginot Line from 1930-40.

However, while the Maginot Line (which was costly to build and even more costly to maintain) accomplished little as the Germans flanked it during the 1940 Blitzkrieg, the military planners created not only a new rifle, but a new cartridge to go with it. This began in the early 1920s when the French, who were among the first to adopt smokeless rifle ammunition in the form of the 8mm Lebel cartridge in 1886, developed a modern, rimless cartridge for a new light machine gun in the 1920s. The first result was the 7.5x57mm cartridge, which proved to be unsuccessful. This however led to the 1929 7.5x54mm round—the Cartouche Mle. 1929C—to be used with the new MAC 1929 light machine gun.

A New Design

From this the French military explored new designs for a battle rifle and the result was the MAS 36. It was designed with many features for issue to a large, quickly trained army of conscripts, which is noted in that it is very rugged.

The French designers clearly liked what they had seen with the British Short Magazine Lee-Enfield (SMLE) Mk III. That had been introduced in 1907 and was the main British rifle in use during the outbreak of World War I. At 44 inches, it was considerably shorter than the French Lebel Model 1886, which came in at nearly 52 inches. In the tight confines of the trenches the SMLE had a clear advantage, and Manufacture d’armes de Saint-Étienne managed to reduce the MAS 36 to just over 40 inches in total length.

As with the SMLE, the MAS 36 featured a short barrel along with locking lugs at the rear of the bolt. This was to minimize the effects of dirty conditions, something the French had experienced during the fighting in the trenches.

Rifle Details

The MAS 36 features an internal, non-detachable, five-round box magazine. It also features a manually operated, magazine fed, rotating bolt action design. The rotating bolt, which locks directly into the receiver walls, incorporates two opposing lugs located at the rear of the bolt body. The bolt handle is notable in that it features a bent-forward design—with the intention being to provide more comfortable operation, despite the fact that it looks somewhat awkward.

This design was reportedly devised to move the handle closer to the shooter’s firing hand, with the goal of cycling the action faster and smoother. The reports from soldiers firing it is that the rifle does have a smooth action, but whether it cycles any faster than other bolt-action rifles of the era is certainly open to debate.

The MAS 36 features a rather short barrel of just 22.6 inches. The rifle is fitted with a large aperture in the rear along with a front post for sights. The rear peep diopter sight is comparable to the SMLE. It is marked from 100 to 1,200 meters in 100-meter increments. The rifle also features a two-piece stock. A slab-sided, square-shaped receiver is machined from steel and contains the internal magazine. The stock group includes a separate buttstock and forend system. The magazine is loaded utilizing charging clips or by single rounds. The clip guides are machined directly into the receiver bridge.

The French military planners also clearly had conscripts in mind when devising the MAS 36. It is reportedly not an easy rifle to service, nor was it intended to be one that could be easily worked on in the field. Soldiers were responsible for the basic cleaning, and when kept relatively free of dirt, the rifle responded accordingly.

Unique Characteristics

Unique among French rifles of the era is that the MAS 36 does not feature any safety mechanism. Once a round is in the chamber there is no safety. The theory is that soldiers behind the line could carry a weapon that was unloaded, and when approaching combat could load the magazine but leave the chamber empty until necessary. This follows the French doctrine that called for soldiers to fire at the command of their respective officers and fire as a group, rather than firing at will.

There was also the thinking that safeties might be a hazard in a battle and that the mechanism could get stuck due to mud and dirt. While this might seem dangerous by our modern standards, the conscripts would have been drilled to avoid negligent discharges. French troops were also taught to cycle the bolt twice and even visually inspect that the chamber was empty when ceasing fire as a way to ensure that there were no rounds left.

The other unique characteristic of the MAS 36 is that despite (or because of) the role the bayonet had played in the trenches, the French military planners saw that a socket bayonet would be an improvement over sword-style bayonets. There is also the consideration that sword bayonets were expensive to produce and were typically not used. The MAS 36 solved the latter problem and ensured that soldiers also had the bayonet as long as they had the rifle, as it was positioned in a tube directly below the barrel, in a reversed position when not in use. When needed it could be pulled out and reattached in the same tube, and this removed the need for French soldiers to have a scabbard. At 17 inches, the spike bayonet would certainly make a point when needed!

World War II

The MAS 36 was used throughout World War II by the Vichy French and Free French forces. As such, it likely may have been one of the rare cases where both sides utilized the same rifle in combat during the war. However, due to budget constraints (again, the French had that Maginot Line to pay for) MAS 36 production had been limited, so that at the outbreak of war many colonial units and even some units in France were still equipped with the Lebel rifles. The MAS 36 was often reserved for frontline troops, where many were captured by the Germans.

It was put into service with garrison troops and was later used by the German Volkssturm (People’s Army) at the close of the war. It was dubbed the Gewehr 242 by the Germans.

Post-War Conflicts

The MAS 36 remained in production after the war until at least 1951, and was used throughout the French colonies. As noted earlier, it was used as a training rifle until the late 1970s. It was replaced by the semi-automatic MAS 49 and MAS 49/56 rifles.

While the basic MAS 36 was the most common version, the French military had designed a notable variation in the form of the MAS 36 CR39. That model was designed specifically with paratroopers in mind. It differed most from the original version in that it featured an aluminum buttstock. The buttstock could be folded down and under the forend of the rifle.

In addition, beginning in 1951, the MAS 36 was converted to the MAS 36/51, which added a permanently attached grenade launcher and rifle grenade sights. The launcher was attached to the muzzle of the gun, while folding grenade sights were attached to the left side of the front sight base. It launched rifle grenades by utilizing special blank ammunition.

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A marksman-designated model was designed and used at the time of the Suez Crisis in 1957. This model, the FR-G2, featured a telescopic sight and a match-grade barrel with harmonic compensator. This model was reportedly produced in extremely limited numbers.

As the rifle was removed from service in 1978 some models were imported into the United States, but converted to 7.62x51mm NATO from 7.5x54mm. These rifles also feature an SKS-type trigger safety fitted to them.

MAS 36 Legacy

If there is one significant problem with the MAS 36 it is that the 7.5x54mm ammunition is hard to come by. As a collector of militaria, the French MAS 36 has appeal for me beyond being able to shoot it. It is a fine-looking gun that probably in some ways was ahead of its time, and sadly, in other ways, is an example of why the French Army was utterly defeated so badly and so quickly in June 1940.

The rifle is short and handy and thus would have been perfect in trench warfare. For the fast-moving Blitzkrieg, however, it was far from ideal. Still, the design was solid enough that its influence can be seen in the subsequent semi-automatic rifles that followed it, as well as later bolt-action rifles. Had World War II gone another way and been a repeat of World War I, perhaps it could have left its mark in other ways.

MAS 36 Specs

This article was originally published in a previous issue of “Military Surplus” magazine. For more information, visit outdoorgroupstore.com.

The post France’s MAS 36 Battle Rifle Fought in WWII and Beyond appeared first on Tactical Life Gun Magazine: Gun News and Gun Reviews.

One of my favorite Cowboy Action Shooting (CAS) games is the Wild Bunch match. Introduced a number of years ago by the Single Action Shooting Society (SASS), the match is based on the 1969 Western epic “The Wild Bunch,” directed by Sam Peckinpah and starring William Holden, Robert Ryan, Ernest Borgnine, Ben Johnson and Warren Oates.

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Set on the Texas-Mexico border in 1913, “The Wild Bunch” tells the story of an aging outlaw gang that pulls one last big score that goes sour, causing the gang to flee into revolutionary Mexico. They take refuge in a small village ruled by a corrupt Mexican general, whom they end up working for. Their task is to steal a shipment of U.S. Army weapons. They make the heist in military garb, with the movie setting a new milestone for bloody special effects. The story calls into play the modern weaponry of the time, such as Model 1911 pistols, Winchester Model 1897 shotguns and the ubiquitous lever guns. This was the impetus for the guns used in SASS Wild Bunch matches.

Match Rules

Per Wild Bunch rules, participants can only use a Model 1897 or Model 1912 pump-action shotgun, a lever-action rifle of .40 caliber or larger, and a Model 1911 or 1911A1 pistol in .45 ACP. Generally, I have used plain-Jane military-type 1911A1 pistols in this competition, but the “Modern” category allows you to compete with a more contemporary style of 1911. Your pistol must have a standard-weight, 5-inch barrel with a standard bushing. Any finish is legal. But then there is a whole laundry list of nos.

The empty pistol cannot exceed 42 ounces in weight, and it can’t have barrel ports, a compensator or a recoil-reducing device, flared magazine wells, an external rib on the slide, magazine basepads or target-style grips—you get the idea. You can have dot sights, but no fiber-optic inserts, reflex sights or lasers. The controls can be extended but not oversized. Match triggers and internal action tuning is okay, but everything must function normally. For the full list of dos and don’ts, see the SASS handbook.

Custom Ruger SR1911

I decided to compete in the Modern category using my Ruger SR1911. This particular pistol was made up as a commemorative for a shooting organization I belong to, but otherwise it’s a stock SR1911. What’s most distinctive is the gun’s two-tone finish, with a matte black side and a brushed stainless frame. It also has special laser-engraved wooden grips. The three-dot Novak sights are mounted to the slide in dovetail slots so they can be moved laterally for windage.

The 5-inch, stainless steel barrel has six-groove, 1-in-16-inch-twist rifling. The barrel and bushing are machined from the same bar stock for improved accuracy. The ejection port is oversized, and the slide is deeply serrated.

The hammer is skeletonized, as is the aluminum trigger, which is lightweight and adjustable for overtravel. Extended parts include the grip safety, manual safety and magazine catch. The flat mainspring housing is checkered, and the magazine well is beveled. Finally, it accepts all standard 1911 magazines.

Choice Ammunition

Like lots of CAS competitors, I handload my ammunition. This is a good thing, since you must use .45 ACP cartridges with lead bullets in Wild Bunch matches. This can pose problems for those who don’t “roll their own.”

I’ve had discussions with some large cowboy ammo producers in the last couple of years as to why they don’t include a load with 230-grain lead round-nose (LRN) bullets in their lines specifically for Wild Bunch matches. Nobody seemed interested at the time, but now things are different. At a firearms trade show, I was introduced to Choice Ammunition. Among the company’s self-defense, hunting and competition ammo is the Cowboy Choice line. These loads run from .32 H&R to .38 Long/.38 Special, .357 Magnum, .44 Special/Magnum, .44-40, .45 Schofield, .45 Colt and the newest offering, the .45 ACP Wild Bunch! I’d like to think I had a hand in this last cartridge.

Factory Direct

Choice Ammunition started from scratch and began with new Jagemann Technologies (JAG) cartridge cases made from American-made drawn brass cups. Then the company added a 0.452-inch, 230-grain LRN bullet with a 12 to 15 Brinell hardness rating that is also coated to prevent barrel leading. The overall cartridge length is 1.27 inches.

The ammo I was sent has a factory-listed velocity of 675 fps, which gives it a power factor of 155 and makes SASS minimum requirements. This load is billed as being super accurate in 5-inch barrels and cycles in 1911 variants fantastically. It’s tailored for steel plate shooting; the load’s components and ballistics come together to provide reduced muzzle rise for better control during rapid-fire shooting.

These Wild Bunch .45 ACP cartridges come in 50-round boxes with an MSRP of $23 each, and you can order directly from Choice Ammunition. The 150 rounds of test ammunition I received came in a clear plastic canister with Cowboy Choice labeling; it sells for $67. There’s also a 250-round canister for $110.

Dressing The Part

You’ll want to dress properly for a Wild Bunch match. Traditional cowboy duds or even early 1900s military-style outfits will work. I added a “Smokey” campaign hat to my costume. Your leather must also conform to requirements for looks, function and safety. The holster must cover the barrel and slide from muzzle to ejection port, with no open front. You can’t use metal or plastic rigs, and no shoulder or cross-draw holsters are allowed. You can also use military-style single or double magazine pouches that must cover at least 2 inches of the magazine, and they must be worn opposite the holster.

For the competition, I used a Barranti Leather Border Ranger holster that was made especially for my Ruger SR1911. It is a reproduction of the holsters made and used by the late Texas Ranger Tol Dawson. Mike “Doc” Barranti makes these holsters by hand out of choice saddle leather. Mine is dark brown with oak leaf stamping and a black stippled background with a 1.5-inch-wide belt loop. It is mated with a matching single magazine pouch, which I put on an oak-leaf-stamped Ranger-style belt.

Pre-Match Test

Prior to shooting the Wild Bunch event, I took the Ruger SR1911 and Cowboy Choice ammo to the range to see where the gun was shooting and gauge its accuracy potential. Running a bullseye target down to the 15-yard line, I used an impromptu rest and fired with both hands. Using a dead-center point of aim, I pressed the trigger and the big 230-grain bullets “thunked” into the center of the target.

My best five-shot group measured 2.09 inches and would have been about 1.73 inches were it not for a flyer. The average of three 5-shot groups was 2.32 inches, all shot to point of aim. Next, I sent a target to 7 yards and cranked off shots from a standing isosceles stance, using three magazines loaded with five rounds each. All 15 shots went into the black of the 12-inch bullseye, and there were zero malfunctions during this limited evaluation.

Well Heeled

The day of the SASS match, I loaded my gun cart into my vehicle along with my original Winchester Model 97 shotgun from 1902, #8 low-brass shells, my old Rossi Model 92 lever-action carbine in .45 Colt, plus Choice Ammunition’s .45 Colt load. Next came the Ruger SR1911, the Cowboy Choice .45 ACP Wild Bunch ammo and my Barranti Leather rig, to which I added a slide that held six 12-gauge shotshells. Next stop was the Pleasant Valley Renegades SASS Club, located in the wilds of Southern Indiana.

Even though I was shooting in the Modern category, I elected to shoot with one hand, Duelist style, instead of two-handed, which the rules allow. The shooting scenarios were loosely based on the movie “Tombstone,” as were the phrases uttered by shooters to start the timer. Wild Bunch is much the same as regular CAS with the exception of the regimen at the loading table. You are only allowed the one pistol, and you must show it is cleared/empty to the cowpoke manning the loading table. You can have up to four magazines on your person with five rounds loaded into each.

As you are staging your long guns, the buckaroo running the timer will have you load a magazine into your Model 1911, but leave the chamber empty. Once you get to the handgun portion, the shooter racks the slide, chambering a round, and then fires the course. Unlike the sixgun shooters, the Wild Bunch shooter changes magazines instead of wheelguns. After the pistol is fired, it is cleared and then left at the shooting station with the slide locked back and no magazine inside. The long guns are checked at the unloading table as usual.

Taking The ‘Wild Bunch’ Challenge

I’m no speedster. My ambition that day was just to have fun and maybe score a clean match with no misses. Well, the no-misses thing ended at stage four. The Ruger SR1911 ran famously using the Cowboy Choice ammo. The only malfunction I had all day with the handgun was a feeding failure I caused when I tried to get off a quick first shot on stage four and limp-wristed the pistol—a real no-no with the Model 1911.

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I only had one miss all day with the SR1911, putting a shot in the dirt just ahead of the steel target during stage five. With the Cowboy Choice ammo, the Ruger was accurate and easy to control in rapid fire, empty magazines popped right out when the catch was pressed, and the Barranti holster and mag pouch kept both the pistol and spare magazine secure until they were needed.

Good Times

I had a hell of a good time with old and new friends alike. This is what Cowboy Action Shooting is all about! I was impressed with the performance of my Ruger SR1911; I will no doubt use it in future Wild Bunch SASS competitions. In addition, I was equally impressed with the Cowboy Choice .45 ACP cartridges and plan to use the rounds I have left in a later CAS match.

Finally, let me just say that Choice Ammunition is a very young company, but it has big plans. Future endeavors include new pasteboard boxes for the Cowboy Choice cartridges with a classic Old West look and instead of loose rounds, the inside of the boxes will be partitioned to enclose each round. I look forward to using his ammo again real soon.

Custom Ruger SR1911 Specs

For More Information

Barranti Leather
barrantileather.com

Choice Ammunition
choiceammunition.com

Ruger
ruger.com

Single Action Shooting Society
sassnet.com

This article is from the winter 2018 issue of “Guns of the Old West.” To order a copy and subscribe to the magazine, visit outdoorgroupstore.com.

The post Shooting a SASS ‘Wild Bunch’ Match Using a Custom Ruger SR1911 appeared first on Tactical Life Gun Magazine: Gun News and Gun Reviews.

When I was first assigned this article, I was in a bit of a conundrum. The reason being that the handgun under discussion here was designed primarily for 3-Gun competition. This discipline requires competitors to engage targets at various distances with rifles, shotguns and handguns. While I have competed in action pistol sports for the past 35 years, I must confess that I had never actually competed in a 3-Gun match before receiving this pistol for testing. But one thing helped dispel my initial anxiety—a trend regarding the 9mm that I’ve noticed at recent USPSA matches.

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Reliable Racer

The STI Marauder is built on the company’s well-known, multi-material 2011 modular frame. The upper assembly is made from steel. It contains the rails and full-length dust cover that supply weight up front where it does the most good to dampen muzzle flip. An accessory rail on the dust cover makes it easy to mount tactical accessories such as lights or lasers. This can be very handy for shooting in night matches or training in low-light conditions. At the rear of the pistol is an extended, ambidextrous thumb safety; a high-swept beavertail grip safety; and a lightweight, skeleton-ized hammer that helps reduce lock time.

The carbon-steel slide features sharply cut front and rear grasping grooves while the sights are both mounted in dovetail cuts, with the front being a red fiber-optic unit while the rear is STI’s low-profile Tactical Adjustable Sight (TAS), which is fully adjustable for windage and elevation. I am not a fan of three-dot sight systems. So, I was very pleased to see that the rear sight is plain black with a serrated rear face to cut down on glare.

The frame is made from glass-filled nylon polymer. The use of a polymer grip assembly keeps this component narrow. This allows the use of double-column magazines while still keeping the grip suitable for shooters with smaller hands. The polymer grip frame also has metal panels molded into it for metal-to-metal contact with the slide; it contains a skeletonized, match-grade trigger. The frontstrap and mainspring housing are aggressively checkered.

Distinctive Features

One of the pistol’s really distinctive (and practical) features is its Tactical Magwell funnel. Not only does this accessory provide a gaping opening so that even the most fumble-fingered among us (like me) can perform fast, smooth reloads, but oval reliefs on the either side of the funnel body allow the shooter to grasp and extract a recalcitrant magazine that refuses to fall free. The magazine baseplates have matching reliefs so you can really get a good grip on a stuck magazine.

The slide and upper frame assembly boast a black Cerakote finish that not only protects the pistol from wear, environmental extremes and the vagaries of Mother Nature but whose dull black color emphasizes the pistol’s practicality as a truly serious competition/fighting handgun. It should also be noted that the Marauder’s top end is slightly lighter than some of STI’s other pistols to ensure reliable operation with various 9mm loads.

A stainless steel, fully supported, ramped barrel is retained by a traditional Browning-type bushing. I mean, why screw around with success? A full-length, one-piece recoil spring guide rod ensures smooth operation and consistent lockup, and greatly eases disassembly. The Marauder comes standard with a 20-round magazine, although 15-, 17- and 25- rounders are available as options.

Power Factors

Now a bit about the STI Marauder’s chambering. Those of you familiar with USPSA competitions are well aware of the discipline’s “power factor” rules. For those of you who are not, here is a quick tutorial. The USPSA recognizes two power factors: major and minor. These are determined by multiplying the weight of the bullet you fire from your handgun by its velocity, divided by 1,000. Major power factor is 165 while minor is 125.

Using a major cartridge gives you advantages when it comes to scoring on the sport’s cardboard targets. These are divided into “A,” “B,” “C” and “D” zones. The value for a hit in each zone depends on the power factor of the caliber being used.

In addition, if you are competing in the Limited, Limited 10 or Single Stack divisions, you can only claim major if you are using a cartridge of .40/10mm or larger. Limited is the most popular USPSA division, which explains why the majority of Limited shooters utilize high-capacity pistols chambered for the .40 S&W cartridge.

Match Rules

But 3-Gun match rules regarding handgun calibers are less convoluted, especially for the mathematically challenged among us: “Handgun ammunition shall be 9mm Parabellum (9x19mm NATO) or larger, unless otherwise stipulated under equipment division rules.” And 9mm handguns are generally the most popular for 3-Gun due to their higher capacity and lighter recoil. It is rare to encounter scoring systems or targets that reward larger calibers.

As for my situation, as a result of 50 years of firing handguns and an inordinate amount of time spent using typewriters (remember them?), word processors and computer keyboards, I suffer periodically from carpal tunnel syndrome in my right hand. On occasion, the discomfort from this condition has made firing larger-caliber pistols quite painful. As I am not a fan of Production division (the only division where using a pistol with a minor power factor is not a disadvantage), over the years I have used several different high-capacity 9mm pistols in the Limited division.

This may also be due for the fact that, unlike many of my fellow pundits, the 9mm is my favorite pistol cartridge. Most of my concealed-carry, home-defense and competition pistols are chambered for Georg Luger’s legendary cartridge. And while I wish to avoid another 9mm versus .45 ACP argument here, it should be noted that the 9mm is the most popular centerfire pistol cartridge in the world, and thanks to improvements in its performance, many military/police agencies who formerly used larger-caliber pistols are reverting to 9mm service sidearms.

9mm Advantage

Several manufacturers now offer high-capacity 1911 pistols chambered for the 9mm cartridge specifically designed for competitive shooting, and in the past few months I have noticed a number of experienced USPSA shooters using them to compete in Limited division matches.

When I queried them as to their choice of a minor power factor chambering, their answers followed a similar pattern. First of all, the 9mm has less recoil, which allows them to shoot faster and more accurately (remember, an “A” hit counts the same regardless of power factor). The magazines hold more rounds while still keeping within the 140mm length mandated by USPSA rules. This means fewer reloads during a particular stage. Lastly, 9mm ammunition—whether factory or reloaded—is cheaper, allowing them to practice more.

Because of its lighter recoil, 9mm pistols are also popular (and practical) for new shooters, younger competitors or those who have trouble handling recoil. In fact, at one of the clubs I shoot at, several young ladies compete in Limited division with high-capacity 9mm 1911s.

Several months ago, I tested an STI 9mm DVC Limited pistol in competition. Despite using a minor power factor cartridge, the pistol’s above-average handling qualities, high-capacity magazines and excellent sights (with a bit of help from yours truly) went a long way towards overcoming this disadvantage, and I finished the match in a respectable position. So when STI asked if I’d like to test one of its Marauder pistols, I’m afraid my quick positive response may have caused some alarm.

As I mentioned before, over the years I have tested a number of STI pistols. It would be redundant to go into detail as to the quality of materials, fit, finish and assembly of the Marauder I received. Let’s just say it was one fine-looking and fine-handling pistol.

Running & Gunning

Some severe rainstorms had destroyed my shooting club’s 25-yard backstop, so my wife, Becky, and I paced off to what we estimated to be about 20 yards and began our test of the STI Marauder by shooting it from an MTM K-Zone rest.

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And was it accurate? Well, of the dozen targets we fired at, only 10 rounds wandered outside their respective 10 rings, and not very far at that. Our best group, fired with Winchester’s 3-Gun ammo, measured a mere 0.8 inches. Yup, it’s accurate! Off-hand drills on a combat target from 5, 7 and 10 yards showed the STI could put 9mm rounds just where I wanted them.

A few weeks later, I got a chance to the run the Marauder through its paces at a USPSA match at the Carolina Guns & Gear Range in Franklinville, North Carolina. A Blade-Tech Dropped Offset holster that I’ve used for years proved a very comfortable way to carry the STI and provided fast, smooth presentations.

The STI performed flawlessly through the 150-round match. The pistol’s excellent sights and light recoil allowed me to engage the large number of reactive steel targets included in the course design. The 20-round magazines required only one quick reload to complete each stage.

Final Thoughts

I usually end these types tests and evaluations by voicing any criticisms I have of the firearms under discussion. In the case of the STI Marauder, I have only one and it is relatively minor. I don’t have large hands. The option of an extended magazine release would be most welcome by those shooters like myself who possess short digits. Now if STI will just let me keep this Marauder for a few more months so I can really wring it out at matches, I’ll be a happy camper.

STI Marauder Specs

STI Marauder Performance

*Bullet weight measured in grains, velocity in fps by chronograph and accuracy in inches for best five-shot groups at 20 yards.

For more information, visit stiguns.com.

This article was originally published in a previous issue of our “Gun Annual.” To order a copy, visit outdoorgroupstore.com.

The post Ready to Race: Running the STI Marauder 9mm 3-Gun Pistol appeared first on Tactical Life Gun Magazine: Gun News and Gun Reviews.

In the mid-1970s, the Soviets finally introduced the next generation of the Kalashnikov rifle and light machine gun based upon the AK-74 rifle—a thoroughly modified AKM chambered for the new 5.45x39mm caliber.

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Soon, Poland and the other Warsaw Pact states started to prepare for the inevitable introduction of the new standard. However, when they inquired about the license rights, the price tag and export limitations proved so outrageous that a decision was quickly made: The future Polish soldier would wield a similar, but not necessarily the same, rifle.

In order to achieve that goal, Polish designers undertook an ambitious task: To build a rifle that was identical to the AK-74 but at the same time completely different. Poland took the bumpy road ahead by deciding to produce its own new rifle. The rifle was an indigenous circumvention of the Soviet AK-74.

Looking Forward

The Polish 5.45mm rifle program was codenamed Project Tantal. Initial studies were undertaken at the renowned Radom factory’s research center as early as the spring of 1980. The receiver of the AKM was modernized only out of necessity. The ejector was extended to reach the much narrower case head. A new rear sight base was necessitated by the redesigned gas tube and upper handguard. This eliminated the previous gas tube latch on the side of the sight base. The new latch was fitted to the opposite end of the gas tube, onto the handguard ring.

First Steps

The moving parts consisted of the lightening-cut AKM bolt carrier and a modified AKM bolt with a smaller-diameter bolt face and an open-sided (AK-74 style) extractor cutout. The brass hats envisioned fitting each of the new rifles with a rifle grenade capability, with a new generation of bullet-trap rifle grenades. At the same time, the new rifle was to be fitted with a folding stock only. This meant that the twin-strut underfolder stock of the AKMS had to go; it was all too easily damaged by the hefty recoil of the grenade discharge. A new, more durable, inline-strutted stock was needed. It was soon to be nicknamed “pogrzebacz” (ash poker) by the Polish troops.

The handguard and gas tube retention ring, as well as the upper handguard and gas tube itself, were a significant departure from both the AKM and AK-74. The retaining ring latch is a cross-bolt with a cutout that rotates in a perpendicular groove on top of the barrel.

Unlike the AK, the Tantal’s upper handguard is not fixed to the gas tube. The gas tube is a separate part that’s wedged between the gas chamber flange and the rear sight base. It is then topped with a plastic upper handguard. Both are held in place by the handguard retainer ring. This unusual feature’s sole purpose was to enable the lower handguard to be dismounted without the need to field-strip the rifle. This was required to attach the underbarrel wz.74 Pallad 40mm grenade launcher, via its special mounting jig, replacing the regular lower handguard.

Fire Selector & Safety

The new rifle differed from the original AKM in having fire-selector and safety functions entirely separated. There was a safety lever on the right side of the receiver that looked just like the original safety/selector, but now with only the two extreme positions—“Z” for zabezpieczony or “safe” and “O” for odbezpieczony or “fire”—instead of the original three (which included “C” for ciagły or fully-automatic and “P” for pojedynczy or semi-automatic). The selector was also now a separate knob (in series production rifles replaced by a lever) added on the left side. It had three positions: “C,” “S” (for seria or burst) and “P,” set in counterclockwise order.

Unlike the U.S.-made three-round burst mechanism, upon releasing the trigger, the Tantal’s limiter always resets itself, no matter how many rounds of the three-round burst are actually fired.

First Test Batch

After Skarzysko-Kamienna’s Works 21 ammunition plant (a.k.a. Mesko) finally mastered the tricks of the 5.45x39mm ammunition in 1983, the Ministry of National Defense’s Office of the Chief of Military Technology R&D ordered in 1984 the “5.45mm automatic carbine” to be developed.

The initial batch sent out for testing in 1986 failed terribly. This means it missed its chance to be introduced into the inventory of the Polish army. Two new prototype Tantalus were tested in late 1987. They had completely new AK-74-compatible bolt carriers, bolts and magazines. They were also shortened to match the AKMS’ length. Roughly 15,000 rounds (Polish RS ball and Soviet 7N6 tracer) were pumped through one test model. Over 20,000 were also put through the other, until major parts breakage occurred.

Fielding

The improved rifles were again tested early in 1989 and finally found compliant. Thus, the troop-testing batch could have been ordered in 1990. In 1991 the 5.45mm rifle came into series production and was issued as the “5,45 mm karabinek wzór 1988 (kbk wz.88),” thus officially dropping the R&D-phase codename of Tantal, even though it also persevered as the rifle’s nickname. Just as the Tantal was finally ready, it became redundant overnight, after Poland opted for full integration with the West and future NATO membership, and so the Tantal was dropped in 1994.

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Design Changes

Even over this short span of the production period, some design changes were introduced. In 1992 the metal magazine maker for Works 11, the Wifama of Łódz, went bankrupt and the Radom factory had to start making its own magazines. They were made from plastic instead of all steel.

A limited run of the early Tantal models were fitted with a mounting rail on the left side of the receiver, which was meant for the NSP-3 and then for the indigenous Polish NV sight, the PCS-5 Gabro from Warsaw’s PCO company. Fitting these rails impaired the function of the fire-selector lever, which extended only 2 to 3mm past the edge of the deployed NSP-3.

The Tantal’s muzzle device is much longer than the Soviet device, as it also doubles as the rifle grenade spigot. The external diameter is 22mm, to prevent fitting of an older-style rifle grenade without a bullet trap. The expansion chamber of the device has three holes that serve as a compensator and two side windows that act as a muzzle brake. The initial Tantal rifle had an integral bipod, but after it was nearly torn off by the rifle-grenade discharge, a new detachable bipod was fitted, patterned after the M16 “clothespin.”

The stock hinge latch, which enables the folding of the stock, is placed on the left side of the stock hinge assembly and doubles as the stock retainer in both positions. One has to depress the stock latch with one hand and only then fold or open the stock. To avoid losing the receiver cover, which was common during rifle-grenade discharges, a manual latch was added to the return spring guide.

Forgotten Service

Nowadays, Tantals are ancient history in the Polish army. After the modest ammunition stocks were used up, the rifles were consequently withdrawn from the units and stored. They were replaced by either AKMS or the new Beryls. The Beryls were in fact updated Tantals chambered for the 5.56x45mm. The last unit to utilize these was (until 2004) the Polish contingent of the UNIFIL, the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon.

Later on, they were mostly cut down and sold to the U.S. as parts kits, where they enjoyed enormous popularity as some of the first 5.45mm rifles relatively cheaply available in the mid-2000s. While the Tantal matured into a highly capable AK-74-style rifle, its service life was cut short due to political realities at the end of the Cold War.

Polish Tantal wz.88 Specs

This article was originally published in a previous issue of “AK-47 & Soviet Weapons.” For more information, visit outdoorgroupstore.com.

The post Polish Tantal: Remembering FB Radom’s Interesting AK-74 Variant appeared first on Tactical Life Gun Magazine: Gun News and Gun Reviews.

This year’s crop of new smoothbores is dominated by the cut-down “Shockwave-pattern” design introduced by Mossberg in 2017. Though Mossberg didn’t invent this new breed of gun, it was the first major player to commercialize it. The Shockwave is classified as a “firearm” by the BATFE and not a shotgun; its tremendous success has created a barrage of copycat models made by big and small players alike.

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This year has also seen a number of noteworthy designs like bullpups and those that use detachable magazines. In short, shotguns are still going strong after hundreds of years. Let’s take a look at 18 new shotguns for 2018.

This article was originally published in “Tactical Life” August/September 2018. To order a copy and subscribe, visit outdoorgroupstore.com.

New Shotguns: American Tactical Omni Hybrid

The redesigned .410-gauge Omni Hybrid shotgun looks and operates like a typical AR-15. It’s named for its lower receiver. The receiver is made of polymer molded over a zinc-aluminum shell. This helps cut the firearm’s weight to only 6.5 pounds when it’s unloaded. This year, American Tactical updated the design by changing the magazine, bolt, chamber and gas piston system. A set of four internal chokes and a magazine loader are also now available. One 5-round magazine is included, and 10- and 20-round versions are available. Finally, the Omni Hybrid takes 2½-inch shells, and American Tactical imports several affordable loads. (americantactical.us)

New Shotguns: Benelli Super Black Eagle 3

Benelli’s new Super Black Eagle (SBE) 3 Left Hand and Rifled Slug are semi-autos. Its features have been refined over several model revisions to make them more accurate and easier to use. The safety, bolt handle, magazine tube cap and triggerguard are all oversized for easier operation while wearing thick winter gloves. Both are inertia operated, which means fewer parts and much easier cleaning. The ComforTech buttstock helps absorb recoil and can be adjusted for length of pull, cant and drop. The barrels—24 inches for the Rifled Slug and 26 or 28 inches for the Left Hand—are cryogenically treated for tighter, more consistent patterns downrange. (benelliusa.com)

New Shotguns: Beretta 1301 Tactical

This year, the 1301 Tactical is offered in four new finishes. It’s also equipped with the new Optima Bore HP choke. This produces better shot patterns through more gradual constriction. It also has a modified bolt release lever that eliminates the possibility of putting two shells onto the shell lifter at once. In addition, the Picatinny top rail has been upgraded to aluminum instead of polymer. The loading port is also oversized with beveled edges for faster reloading. The front sight is removable for easier changing should it become damaged, and the rear sight is fully adjustable. Completing the package is a stock adjustable for length of pull, cant and drop. (beretta.com)

New Shotguns: Charles Daly Honcho

The new Honcho from Charles Daly may look like just another short-barreled smoothbore, but it’s the only commercially made .410. It also has a spring-assisted pump that slams the action closed. Spring-assisted pump actions have been around for some time; their use in guns classified as “firearms” is confined to Black Aces Tactical and the Honcho .410. The theoretical benefit is faster cycling, but the more realistic value is to assist someone with an injured hand. Honchos are also available without the spring-assist feature in 12 and 20 gauge, and every model has a 5+1 capacity. (charlesdaly.com)

New Shotguns: CZ-USA Sharp-Tail

CZ-USA is now importing Sharp-Tail side-by-side shotguns that have modern features like single triggers; coil springs; and barrels with black chrome finishes. These shotguns are made in 12, 16, 20, 28 and .410 gauges with Turkish walnut stocks, 28-inch barrels and color-casehardened receivers. Five chokes are included in all but the .410 variant, and they all have manual safeties. For those who prefer something shorter and more maneuverable for hunting or Cowboy Action Shooting, the Sharp-Tail Coach has 20-inch barrels and is made in 12 or 20 gauge with 3-inch chambers. (cz-usa.com)

New Shotguns: Fabarm STF 12

New to the U.S. market this year is the Italian-made Fabarm STF 12 pump action with a 3-inch chamber and a 5+1 capacity. This tactical shotgun’s action and controls are based off the ubiquitous Remington 870, but the barrel, stock and sights are enhanced. The STF 12 is also proof-tested to a higher pressure than required by law as a testament to its strength, according to Fabarm. The full-length Picatinny rail on top has a removable, fully adjustable ghost-ring sight with fiber-optic inserts while the grip and forend use rubberized inserts for a comfortable hold. There’s also a detachable muzzle brake with rows of sharp teeth for breaching duties. (fabarmpro.com)

New Shotguns: Fostech Origin 12

The semi-auto Fostech Origin 12 has been produced for several years, but it’s still among the most unique combat shotguns available. The Origin 12 uses a patented long-stroke gas piston system based on the AK-47, but shooters can tune the action to optimally cycle everything from target to magnum loads. You simply turn a knob on the gas block by hand. The Fostech Origin 12 also uses detachable box magazines that hold five, eight or ten 2¾-inch shells, and 20- and 30-round drums are also currently available. Several variants are made. (fostechoutdoors.com)

New Shotguns: IWI Tavor TS12

The most unique shotgun hitting the market in 2018, this 12-gauge bullpup can be configured for either right- or left-side ejection and operation. It feeds from one of three magazine tubes that can hold four 3-inch shotgun shells or five 2¾-inch shotgun shells. This means the gun can potentially hold 15+1 rounds. The Tavor TS12 also automatically loads a round in the chamber once the subsequent loaded tube is rotated into position. Additional features include four sling- attachment points, M-LOK rails and an overall length of only 28.34 inches despite an 18.5-inch barrel. (iwi.us)

New Shotguns: Mossberg 590 Shockwave JIC

Mossberg’s 590 Shockwave has several companies trying to offer similar short-barreled “firearms.” But the Shockwave holds more rounds, 5+1, and it’s also the only one with a forend strap to keep your support hand from sliding in front of the muzzle. Joining the lineup of Shockwaves this year are a 20 gauge for more manageable recoil and two 12 gauges with Flat Dark Earth or stainless Cerakote finishes. The latter is sold as the JIC (Just In Case) and comes in a water-resistant plastic tube that floats on water or can be safetly buried for a future emergency or rainy day. (mossberg.com)

New Shotguns: Inland Stakeout II

Built with help from the Ithaca Gun Company, Inland’s new 12-gauge Stakeout II sports an oil-finished walnut stock while the 20-gauge model (so new its name hasn’t been finalized) has a black, right-hand, wooden thumbhole stock and a waving American flag on the receiver. Both of their magazines can hold four 2¾-inch shells, and they use the M37’s unique bottom feeding/ejecting design that works well with righties and lefties. The receiver is made from a solid billet of steel. (inland-mfg.com)

New Shotguns: Mossberg 590M

The new pump-action 590M uses detachable magazines holding five, 10, 15 or 20 rounds. The magazines are made of very durably polymer with heat-treated feed lips, and they’re double-stack designs, which reduces their length considerably for better handling over comparable single-stack magazines. The 590M also features an ambidextrous steel mag release, and the mag is secured on all sides when inserted. The shotgun takes 12-gauge, 2¾-inch shells and is offered with a bead sight or as a tactical model with a front post sight, a ghost-ring rear sight and a heat shield on the barrel. Both versions have ribbed pump handles. (mossberg.com)

New Shotguns: Nighthawk Tomahawk

The Tomahawk starts as a Remington 870 before Nighthawk adds several features for enhanced performance. Along with an action job for smooth cycling, the barrel is ported and back-bored by Vang Comp for tighter patterns. The 24 ports near the muzzle provide better control by reducing muzzle rise while the Hogue forend and pistol grip cushion against recoil. The sidesaddle holds four rounds at the ready, and the safety is oversized. The Tomahawk also has a mag extension so it can hold 5+1 shells. (nighthawkcustom.com)

New Shotguns: Remington 870 DM

Remington’s new 870 DM shotguns use detachable box magazines and are available with traditional hardwood or synthetic stocks. There’s also a camo-clad Predator variant with a thumbhole stock, a Tactical model with a pistol-grip stock and another version with a special Magpul stock. Several 870 DMs have receiver-mounted Picatinny rails with ghost-ring rear sights as well as ported breacher-type muzzle brakes. (remington.com)

New Shotguns: Remington 870 TAC-14

Remington’s line of short-barreled TAC-14 “firearms” has grown to include five models. Now there’s one that uses a detachable box magazine, another with an arm brace, and the Marine Magnum version has nickel plating on all of its steel parts for extreme rust resistance. There’s also a 20-gauge TAC-14. Every variant has a tubular magazine that holds four shells while the DM version holds 6+1. (remington.com)

New Shotguns: SRM Model 1216

SRM shotguns have many worthwhile features like a roller-delayed mechanism that reduces perceived recoil and a break-action design for easy cleaning of the internals. The charging handle and ejection can also be reversed to accommodate left- or right-handed shooters. The Model 1216 has a relatively compact length of only 32.5 inches thanks to its magazine, which has four separate tubes that each hold four standard shells. The magazine is mounted under the barrel and is grasped by the support hand. As one tube is emptied, the operator manually indexes it to a loaded tube. (srmarms.com)

New Shotguns: Standard Manufacturing SKO Shorty

Standard Manufacturing is no stranger to designing blockbuster tactical shotguns, and the SKO Shorty is a cut-down version of the SKO released last year. It’s a gas-operated semi-auto “firearm” with detachable two-, five- or 10-round magazines that accept 2¾- and 3-inch shells. SKO shotguns have right-side charging handles as well as ambidextrous safeties, bolt catches and magazine releases. The 18.88-inch barrel is threaded for chokes, and the SKO Shorty is 28.75 inches long. (stdgun.com)

New Shotguns: Standard Manufacturing SP-12 Shorty

The SP-12 Shorty from Standard Manufacturing is a pump-action “firearm” with a 14-inch barrel and 26-inch overall length. It’s based off the DP-12 and holds 5+1 standard shells or 10+1 mini-shells. Like the DP-12, no adapter is needed to reliably cycle the minis, according to the company. This piece works well for right- of left-handers with its bottom feeding and ejection, ambidextrous safety and slide release lever positioned just in front of the triggerguard. (stdgun.com)

New Shotguns: UTAS XTR-12

The XTR-12 is the closest you can get to a 12-gauge AR with a lower receiver that accepts .308- caliber DPMS uppers. This shotgun uses a gas piston system, and the action locks back after the last round is fired. Aside from lacking a forward assist, the XTR-12 also has the same manual of arms and identical takedown procedures of an AR. The platform has evolved over the years, but the barrel is 20 inches long and can be threaded and modified to accept Benelli-style chokes. The XTR-12 accepts 2¾- or 3-inch magnum shells, and several Cerakote finishes are available. (utas-usa.com) 

The post 18 New Shotguns That Highlight the Modern Scattergun Spectrum appeared first on Tactical Life Gun Magazine: Gun News and Gun Reviews.

I’m blessed with the ability to choose from several different handguns these days, and my decision is usually based on my environment. I normally carry a customized Colt Delta Elite that holds nine 10mm rounds in a Milt Sparks Nexus inside-the-waistband (IWB) holster. When I need a bit more ammo on tap, I have a few polymer-framed 9mm pistols for concealed carry. But I needed a dedicated pistol for training courses—whether I’m teaching a course at Gunsite Academy or attending one. A lot of students carry high-capacity, polymer-framed pistols these days, so it only makes sense to demonstrate with one. But my hands typically don’t fit many of these kinds of guns well without some sort of grip modification.

Then a friend of mine suggested I try the Heckler & Koch VP9, indicating it was the most comfortable polymer-framed pistol he had used. After a quick trip to a local store to handle one, I had to agree with him. The 9mm VP9 fit my hand better than any in its class to date, so I ordered one and immediately put it into service.

Right out of the box, the VP9 was impressive. It was comfortable, reliable, soft shooting and accurate. Striker-fired pistols aren’t typically known for having quality triggers, but the VP9’s is easily one of the best I’ve ever tested. The photoluminescent three-dot sights work fine, but I upgraded to a set of Trijicon HD sights. I also ordered two more magazines, and the pistol ran flawlessly at my next police department training.

I carried this VP9 exclusively for months and used it for a couple pistol training courses. It worked well, but it just wasn’t quite there yet. The idea was to turn this into a do-it-all pistol that fit my needs for teaching and attending training courses. It’d also serve as a test platform for sound suppressors, and I wanted to add a Trijicon RMR reflex sight to the slide.

I use a number of different sound suppressors that use U.S./English or metric thread patterns, so I ordered drop-in barrels for each, allowing me to interchange barrels and suppressors as needed. I also wanted more ammo on tap for competitions and tactical training, so I ordered two of XTech Tactical’s five-round MTX magazine extensions, which brought each magazine up to 20 rounds. These modified magazines never caused a problem during any of the testing, and the large baseplates provided for fast reloads.

Next, I ordered two Kydex holsters from NSR Tactical—one to accommodate the VP9 alone and another for the pistol with a SureFire X300 Ultra flashlight equipped—as well as a double magazine carrier and a flashlight pouch. All of this I mounted on my ZeroBravo Kilo Assaulter belt, providing an excellent training rig. Everything carried comfortably and was solid as a rock. The final order of business was adding the Trijicon RMR to VP9’s slide.

Ashbury Precision Ordnance (APO) builds some fantastic precision rifles and chassis systems to support them. I’ve tested several of its weapon systems, and the company’s attention to detail is superb. Well, it turns out that APO also has a custom shop with extensive experience working on Heckler & Koch pistols. So, I sent the VP9 in for some customization work. The APO gunsmiths relieved the slide to accept the RMR and included a flush-fitting cover plate to install on the slide when not using the reflex sight. They also added Heinie SlantPro Straight Eight Suppressor sights with tritium inserts in the slide’s factory dovetails for fast targeting in any lighting condition. These sights perfectly co-witness with the RMR, and everything fit well.

You can send your pistol in for a similar conversion for $325, plus another $113 if you want a cover plate. APO will blue the slide where any machining is done, but Cerakote is another option for $90.

Gunsite Teaching

I received the tricked-out VP9 a couple of weeks prior to teaching a 250 Pistol class at Gunsite, my first time as a full-fledged instructor. Of course, I zeroed and tested the VP9 for accuracy and reliability beforehand. Gunsite’s 250 Pistol course was originally designed by Col. Jeff Cooper, and over the years it’s been altered to account for advancements in training and equipment. Many of this course’s students are handling a pistol for this first time, so it’s important to balance all instruction with plenty of demonstrations.

The first day of the course, I kept the VP9 in my NSR holster without the reflex sight or flashlight attached. The cover plate matched so perfectly that no one knew the pistol could mount a reflex sight. The second day, I added the RMR along with a threaded barrel, which took me all of five minutes. Prior to the class, I checked the RMR’s zero and it hadn’t changed—it was dead on at 35 yards. It worked perfectly, and most of the students thought it was a different pistol entirely. I later added the SureFire X300 Ultra for our night shoot.

Over the course of the week, this setup allowed me to demonstrate the strengths and weaknesses of every addition or accessory, and the pistol ran flawlessly throughout the class.

Range Testing

I spent time on the range to get acquainted to the RMR. In my experience, reflex sights are fast on target up close and offer precision for distant shots. I zeroed the VP9 at 35 yards using the factory barrel. My truck’s hood and a bag served as a rest.

Nosler’s 124-grain Match ammo provided the best five-shot group at just over an inch, and Remington’s 115-grain JHPs clustered into a group measuring 1.3 inches. Turning to a 6-inch steel target at 25 yards, I managed to get 15 hits out of 15 off-hand. Moving back to the truck hood, I tagged an 8-inch steel target 12 out of 15 times at 76 yards using the Remington ammo. Most pistols are capable of this, but not the shooter—and the Trijicon RMR made this kind of accuracy almost too easy. Just hold the red dot on the target and press the trigger.

The VP9 is no less accurate at practical ranges. From off-hand at 7 yards, DoubleTap’s 115-grain TAC-XP ammo cut one ragged hole. Remington’s 115-grain JHPs did almost the same thing at 15 yards using the RMR. In short, I’m not sure it gets much better with defensive pistols. Admittedly, it takes some practice, but consider me a reflex-sight convert. I still practice regularly with my iron-sighted pistols, but this RMR-equipped VP9 has become my go-to option. Over the past few months, I’ve run this pistol very hard use in numerous conditions using all kinds of ammunition, and I still haven’t experienced a single malfunction.

Parting Shots

I tested both of the threaded barrels using three different suppressors, and they all functioned well. Each barrel was as accurate as the factory barrel and fit without issue. I used the 1/2×28-tpi-threaded barrel for much of the high-round-count training and a department training course, and it was flawless.

I also altered one of my appendix IWB holsters to fit the RMR-equipped VP9 and used it extensively. This isn’t my preferred method of concealed carry, but it has its uses. It’s very convenient when standing, walking or even hiking without gear. It’s hard to beat if you have to take the gun off and put it back on repeatedly.

Ashbury Precision Ordnance did a fantastic job on this conversion. The RMR has never come loose or lost its zero. The gun looks great, is easy to fit in holsters and, with the addition of the co-witnessed Heinie sights, facilitates suppressor use at the same time. The fit and finish were excellent. If you have an HK pistol and need to add a reflex sight, APO is a great place to go.

The HK VP9 has been out there a while, and it’s earned a stellar reputation as time has gone on. Adding of all these accessories has turned mine into a workhorse that can handle anything you might need a pistol for. As I’ve said, it’s accurate, reliable, soft shooting and, thanks to a few upgrades, perfect for training. Adding the RMR only made it better for me. While the VP9 may not always be on my hip, it is seldom outside of my reach, and that probably won’t change for a long time.

HK VP9 Specs

HK VP9 Performance

*Bullet weight measured in grains, velocity in fps by chronograph and accuracy in inches for best five-shot groups at 25 yards.

For More Information

Ashbury Precision Ordnance
ashburyprecisionordnance.com

Heckler & Koch
hk-usa.com

NSR Tactical
nsrtactical.com

XTech Tactical
xtechtactical.com

The shotgun has been the go-to “big stick” for everyone from stagecoach operators and farmers with attractive daughters to soldiers and patrol officers. The modern-day 12-gauge shotgun is arguably the single most versatile weapon you can own. Just by changing the ammunition type you can hunt any animal in North America from fowl to bear. Plus, interchangeable barrels and choke tubes expand its versatility to an even greater extent.

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In the realm of personal pro-tection your standard 00 buckshot load carries a payload of nine .33-caliber lead pellets traveling at 1,300 fps. To put it another way, that is 484 grains of lead hitting a target with over 1,800 foot-pounds of fight-stopping force, assuming all of the pellets hit the target.

Action Styles

For most people who choose to use a shotgun, especially when it comes to law enforcement, military or self-defense purposes, pump-action models have been the way to go for over a century. Pump-action shotguns were issued to troops in World War I and are still being issued today. Nearly every police car you see has a pump-action shotgun locked in place and readily accessible to an officer needing a bit more firepower. There is also the legendary, if mythical, sound of a pump-action shotgun being cycled, which might just freeze an attacker in his tracks.

Indeed, pump-action shotguns have a lot to offer, with the biggest benefit being rock-solid reliability—as long as you do your part. That means aggressively working the pump so it can keep reliably ejecting spent cases and feeding live rounds.

Of course, there is another way to go. Many modern shooters are used to semi-automatics, so a manually operated firearm might seem antiquated and slow. Fortunately, there are also plenty of very effective and reliable semi-automatic shotguns now being produced that offer as much versatility and reliability as pump-action guns provide. Generally speaking, a semi-automatic shotgun will cost more, but if you are on a budget, American Tactical has a great smoothbore option for you.

Scattergun Details

American Tactical imports some high-quality yet very economically priced pump-action and semi-automatic self-defense shotguns from Turkey. Made by Ottoman Guns, these models come with many standard features; they are ready to be used right out of the box.

I recently got my hands on the 12-gauge, semi-automatic TAC SX2 shotgun. And while American Tactical is no longer offering this particular model, it should be available on secondary markets. But let’s take a closer look at the TAC SX2 I tested.

This shotgun is designed to accommodate 2¾- and 3-inch shells, and the 18.5-inch, blued steel barrel and has a smooth cylinder bore. A standard front sight post is included and appears to be permanently affixed. The receiver is made of aluminum with a matte black hardcoat anodized finish, which is expertly applied and matches the finish on the barrel. The overall finish is very smooth, and there is no extraneous engraving of any kind. In fact, all of the markings are etched on, even the manufacturer markings on the barrel.

On top of the CNC-machined aluminum receiver are serrations to eliminate glare. There is no rear sight; machined cuts on top of the receiver should accept a dovetail or claw mount for an optic. Having the receiver drilled and tapped for adding a ghost ring sight is another option. The charging handle protrudes from the right side of the receiver, and it’s large and easy to use even with gloved hands. The bolt release is located on the right side of the receiver, toward the front and just below the ejection port. The bolt, charging handle and shell lifter are all matte black.

Full-Featured

Behind the polymer triggerguard is a crossbolt safety. At the front of the triggerguard, on the left side of the receiver, is the magazine lock lever. The magazine lock engages automatically when the trigger is depressed. After the last round is fired, the bolt locks to the rear. With rounds in the magazine, a round in the chamber can be cleared by retracting the bolt handle. This ejects the round in the chamber. It also allows the bolt to close while leaving the live rounds in the magazine. You can then simply manually reload a round in the chamber.

To completely unload the shotgun, retract the slide to eject a round and then depress the magazine lock lever, thereby releasing a fresh round from the magazine into the action. The chamber can then be manually ejected by cycling the action. This will need to be done for each round in the magazine until it is emptied.

The magazine tube is made of steel and holds five 2¾-inch shotshells. With one in the chamber, a homeowner or tactical operator will have six rounds. If you plan on using 3-inch shells, the magazine will only hold four rounds. The forend is made from black polymer and extends the entire length of the magazine tube, providing plenty of space for a comfortable hold. It is checkered on the sides.

The stock has a 14-inch length of pull and is made from a matching black polymer with aggressive checkering on the pistol grip. The stock also features a recoil-absorbing buttpad, and a hole for mounting a sling swivel is included near the toe. However, there is no provision for a sling swivel or other sling-attachment at the front of the shotgun or on the forearm. You’ll have to add your own device up front.

Range Thunder

On the range, the American Tactical TAC SX2 performed well. The gun comes disassembled, but it is a quick procedure to put everything together. However, make sure to clean off the excess oil while leaving a light coat for lubrication. I initially experienced a few malfunctions where the shells became stuck in the magazine tube. It was almost as if the fit was too tight and the shells were slow in being pushed from the tube into the receiver. It was only an issue when manually loading the magazine tube, and the issue was resolved after a bit of a break-in and some minor cleaning.

Handling this shotgun was extremely easy. It points naturally, and with an overall length of only 39 inches and an unloaded weight of 6.5 pounds, it was a pleasure to carry. Shooting birdshot was very easy and comfortable, but buckshot, given the gun’s light weight, was a bit more stout. On the other hand, slugs were somewhat uncomfortable, but not unmanageable, to shoot. All of the ammunition functioned reliably without a single malfunction, and the gun fired as quickly as I could pull the trigger.

The trigger itself was very crisp and light at about 5.5 pounds. Shotguns are not generally admired for their triggers, but this one was notably easy to use, which helped me get some nice tight groups when shooting with slugs.

Slugs & Buckshot

I fired three different types of slugs at 50 yards and found that the TAC SX2 shotgun was hitting only a couple of inches below the point of aim at that distance. My groups ranged from 6 to 7 inches wide—well within acceptable lethal limits for slugs at that distance without a rifled barrel. As I mentioned, you will probably not want to shoot a lot of slugs through this gun anyway.

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I also tested three different types of buckshot loads for patterning at 15 yards using only the front sight. Standard Remington loads gave me a 10-inch spread; switching to Federal’s FliteControl buckshot cut that down by more than half. The average spread at 15 yards using Hornady’s Critical Defense Versatite buckshot was less than 4 inches. If engaging targets with buckshot at longer distances is a priority, I highly recommend using one of these two loads.

Turkish American

Turkish shotguns have a well-deserved reputation for quality, reliability and value; this shotgun from American Tactical is no exception, especially because it originally retailed for less than $500. That is great for a pump-action gun, and here you’re getting a semi-auto and so many other features in one durable package.

If you prefer American Tactical’s Turkish-made, pump-action shotgun, it has many of the same features and retails for even less, leaving plenty of dough left over for ammunition to practice on the range. And again, while American Tactical no longer offers this particular semi-automatic shotgun, it should be available on secondary markets.

American Tactical TAC SX2 Specs

American Tactical TAC SX2 Performance

*Pattern in inches at 15 yards. Accuracy in inches at 50 yards.

For more on American Tactical, visit americantactical.us.

This article was originally published in our “Gun Annual.” To order a copy, visit outdoorgroupstore.com.

All normal guys think machine guns are cool. Additionally, every properly wired American male loves ventilating empty Coke cans with a .22 rifle. As is the case with milk and chocolate chip cookies, politicians and taxes, or fast cars and pretty girls, some things just synergistically combine to produce a sum more compelling than their individual parts. Such is the case with the .22-caliber American 180 machine gun.

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Casull Model 290

Richard “Dick” Casull first got the ball rolling with his Casull Model 290. Dick was a gunsmith from Utah ultimately known for his work developing large-bore revolver cartridges. His .454 Casull was and is an absolute monster of a wheelgun round. He also pioneered Freedom Arms in 1978 with Wayne Baker to develop adorable little miniature revolvers. Casull’s mini-revolver designs were eventually acquired by North American Arms. They became the foundation for that company’s extensive line of compact stainless steel revolvers today.

The Model 290 was an expensive and fairly cumbersome gun that Casull designed in the 1960s. Patterned after the Lewis gun used by British forces in both World Wars, the Model 290 employed a top-mounted, spring-driven pan magazine to feed its voracious full-auto appetite. Scuttlebutt has it that only about 80 copies of the Model 290 drew breath prior to discontinuation. However, in the 1970s, several other manufacturers took up the design both within the U.S. and in Austria.

More On The 180 Predecessor

The gun was conceived to accept a primitive and bulky helium-neon gas laser designator. Thusly equipped, it was marketed aggressively as a military and law enforcement weapon. These early laser sights were enormous, bulky contraptions. They could run for about two hours on a single set of batteries. You could also plug the sight into a power outlet if the target felt really cooperative.

While a single .22 LR round doesn’t pack a great deal of horsepower, 20 of them delivered in the span of a single second can be quite literally breathtaking. The diminutive stature of the .22 LR produces minimal recoil, so the gun was easy to control. The original marketing literature touted the gun’s ability to chew through concrete walls, car doors and body armor. Though this would also presuppose a preternaturally cooperative target. To eat through body armor with a full-auto .22 demands that the hypothetical armor-clad miscreant hold still for a bit. The gun’s manufacturers claimed that you could place the contents of an entire 165-round magazine within a 3-inch circle at 20 yards in the span of eight seconds. Now that’s just cool.

Enter The American 180

The Casull’s successor, the American 180, weighs less than a stripped M16A1 unloaded; most variations are described as being well made and reliable. Original magazines carried 165 or 177 rounds, though larger- capacity drums of up to 275 rounds are still in production today. The 275-round drums do effectively occlude the weapon’s sights, however. E&L Manufacturing, the current producer of American 180 drums, includes an elevated front sight along with the
first 275-round drum you buy.

The open-bolt mechanism of the American 180 incorporates a series of grooves in the sides of the bolt that very effectively channel dirt and debris out of the mechanism. The British L2A3 Sterling submachine gun sports similar grooves. The non-reciprocating charging handle is oriented on the left side of the receiver, towards the rear, so that the bulky drum magazine does not interfere with its operation. The drum chassis spins on top of the receiver as it empties.

There is a captive screw underneath the forward aspect of the receiver that allows the gun to break down quickly into two handy components. The stock removes with the push of a button in the manner of the M1928 Thompson submachine gun. Particularly with a short 9-inch barrel in place, this makes the American 180 easily packable. The assembly and disassembly processes are relatively straightforward and easily mastered.

Additional 180 Details

The magazine release is fairly intuitive and simple to manage, though the bulky nature of the pan magazine does produce a cluttered sight picture. The ergonomics of the stock and pistol grip are better reasoned than those of the Thompson that obviously inspired them. Overall, the American 180 is a comfortable gun to run.

Semi-auto versions of the American 180 have been offered in the past, and these guns come up for sale occasionally on online used-gun forums. While the practicality of a 10-pound semi-auto .22 packing 177 rounds on board might be questionable, there is no better tactical tool should you ever find yourself attacked by a battalion of malevolent chipmunks. I’ve frankly bought guns for dumber reasons.

The magazines are a holy pain to load, and the American 180 runs through ammo like politicians burn through other people’s money. E&L Manufacturing also offers a magazine loader that renders this chore a bit less onerous. A single mechanical spring-loaded winder can be used
to power multiple magazines.

So What’s It Good For?

The American 180 was formally adopted by the Utah Department of Corrections, and it was undoubtedly intimidating when wielded from a guard tower at their state penitentiary. There are rumors that the Rhodesian Special Air Service used a few of these novel guns operationally in Africa. However, humping the African savanna with one of these hyperactive little buzz guns must have been a treat.

The nature of the design demands that it be fed high-velocity ammo, so suppressed versions remain fairly noisy. Regardless, the company’s marketing efforts were compelling, and quite a few examples were indeed sold to local law enforcement agencies. Many of the guns available today were traded out of police arms rooms over the years.

Real-Life Shootout

I could find but a single detailed anecdote involving the operational use of a laser-equipped American 180 by cops in a real-life shootout. In November of 1974, Officers Mike Gilo and Gary Jones of the Fort Lauderdale Police Department attempted to subdue a pair of evildoers driving a Chevrolet Camaro. As the driver of the Camaro accelerated in an effort to escape, his foolhardy passenger produced a handgun and fired at the officers. Gilo responded by unleashing a roughly 40-round burst through the back window of the suspects’ car while Jones engaged with his 12-gauge shotgun loaded with buckshot.

The 12 gauge failed to connect; the American 180 stitched across the back window of the car, removing the lot of it. The driver then crashed the car; the passenger was found already heading towards room temperature as a result of multiple .22 LR wounds to his back. The driver was apprehended later, grievously wounded by multiple .22-caliber gunshot wounds but still breathing. In today’s litigious environment, a fully automatic weapon that spews rounds so enthusiastically would be a plaintiff’s attorney’s dream. In the 1970s, however, there apparently weren’t as many lawyers are there are today.

How Does It Run?

Wow. Just wow. Loading the drums is just as big a hassle as I had anticipated; the American 180 does indeed burn through .22 LR ammo at a breathtaking rate. I sucked it up and bought 5,000 rounds for this project just so I wouldn’t feel the effects of ammo famine before I got done.

Keeping bursts in the five-round range is not tough for a disciplined trigger finger, and New Math tells us that even the smaller drums would pack 35 such bursts in a single charge. Visualize the fully stoked American 180 like a 10-pound recoilless shotgun that carries 35 rounds onboard. When so employed, the American 180 is accurate and controllable, allowing you to keep every round within a standard silhouette at typical handgun ranges.

Reaching out to 100 meters, the gun is more fun than a barrel of monkeys, particularly when fired into a wet target with a safe backstop. Each burst seems like the fistful of gravel we used to throw into the water when we were young boys, producing that lovely little coordinated splash around the point of aim. Against steel targets, the effect is positively musical. Much beyond 100 meters, the American 180 becomes an area weapon system.

Bad-Breath Distances

At bad-breath distances, the American 180 is just as nasty as the marketing literature claims it to be. The recoil is so trivial that you really could just about write your name with the thing. When firing a full magazine in a continuous burst from a proper rest, the tidy little gun will indeed group within about a teacup. Such antics will indeed put hair on your chest regardless of your gender, but you could die of old age trying to load enough drums to keep the process vibrant for a while.

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When appropriately maintained, the American 180 is a reliable and effective close-quarters weapon. With 275 rounds on board, the gun gets heavy, but it offers more controllable firepower than most anything else in the arms room. Given the dynamically rotating nature of the drum magazine and the unimpressive mechanical spunk of the .22 LR cartridge, the practicality of employing an American 180 in an austere field environment is questionable, however.

Pure Fun

The American 180 is one of the most novel and unusual combat weapons ever devised. For law enforcement or corrections applications, it indeed offers some unique capabilities. However, the real niche the American 180 enjoys is as a recreational range toy.

Fairly easy to tote and all but recoilless, the American 180 lets you chew up the range like a beaver on crack. Loading drums will test your patience, and the gun’s appetite will earn you Christmas cards from your favorite ammo supplier. However, as a delightful way to kill a lazy Saturday afternoon at the range, the American 180 is indeed unparalleled. Lightweight, accurate for its genre and just crazy cool, the American 180 is 10 pounds of raw, unfiltered fun.

American 180 Specs

This article was originally published in “Tactical Life” August/September 2018. To order a copy and subscribe, visit outdoorgroupstore.com.

The post American 180: A Rimfire Subgun With Full-Auto Firepower appeared first on Tactical Life Gun Magazine: Gun News and Gun Reviews.

When the United States entered World War I, in April 1917, our armed forces were woefully unprepared for the conflict. Among its myriad of challenges, our military faced a serious shortage of service rifles. There were about 600,000 M1903 Springfield rifles (along with some 160,000 obsolescent U.S. .30-40 Krag rifles) in inventory at the start of the nation’s active involvement in the war. Production of the M1903 was immediately increased at both Springfield Armory and Rock Island Arsenal. However, it was soon apparent that production at these facilities would be inadequate to equip the rapidly growing number of recruits and draftees flooding into training camps across the country.

The War Department had two options for the procurement of additional rifles. The first was to contract with domestic arms makers to manufacture the M1903 rifle. However, it was soon realized that the lag time required to acquire the necessary production tooling and train a new workforce from scratch would be too great to eliminate the looming draconian shortage of rifles. The second option would be to seek another type of rifle with which to augment the standardized M1903. The government had little choice but to pursue the second option.

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Fortunately, however, there was a source of available rifles. Three American firms had just completed manufacturing sizeable numbers of the “Pattern 1914” .303 caliber rifle under British contract. The machinery and trained workforces were still essentially intact and could go into production for the Pattern 1914 rifle for the U.S. government almost immediately. These firms were Remington, the Eddystone Rifle Plant (run by an affiliate of Remington) and Winchester.

While it was extremely fortuitous for the U.S. that these sources of rifles were available, the War Department was immediately faced with a quandary. Since it would take entirely too long for the three companies to tool up to make the M1903 rifle, the government initially considered adopting the British .303 caliber Pattern 1914 rifle. This would put the maximum number of rifles in the hands of our troops in the minimum amount of time. However, this course of action would result in logistical headaches by introducing an entirely new cartridge into American military service. Also, it was widely felt that the .303 was inferior to the U.S.’ .30 Springfield (.30-06).

Almost by default, it was decided to adopt a version of the British rifle modified for the American .30-06 round. However, it would take some time for the American arms engineers to finalize the engineering work required to change calibers, and the government was criticized by some for delaying the delivery of the sorely needed rifles. In retrospect, however, this was unquestionably the correct choice. In 1919, the Assistant Secretary of War Benedict Crowell stated, “The decision to modify the Enfield was one of the great decisions of the executive prosecution of the war—all honor to the men who made it.”

The modified rifle was adopted as the “U.S. Rifle, Caliber .30, Model of 1917.” Some people today also refer to the weapon as the “Pattern 1917” or “P17” rifle. This appellation is also factually and historically incorrect as the U.S. military never used the term “Pattern” or “P” to designate weapons. The rifle is also widely, but unofficially, referred to as the “U.S. Enfield” or “American Enfield” but the only official designations are “Model of 1917,” “Model 1917,” or “M1917.”

The Pattern 1914’s bayonet was also adopted by the U.S. as the “Model of 1917.” The bayonets were made by Winchester and Remington, but, for whatever reason(s), Eddystone did not manufacture M1917 bayonets. Additionally, the U.S. military acquired some of the Pattern 1914 bayonets and over-stamped the British markings with U.S. military markings.

In addition to criticism regarding the delay in production, there was a perception by some that the newly adopted rifle was not suitable for use by our armed forces. An example of this was an article in the The New York Times titled “Why our forces in France must use an inferior rifle.” The article cited a number of misleading, if not outright false, “facts” regarding the rifle. After the publication of the newspaper piece, Arms and the Man (predecessor to the National Rifle Association’s American Rifleman magazine), published an article soundly refuting The New York Times piece and also explained the valid reasons that led to the adoption of the Model 1917 rifle.

Although both the Model 1903 and the Model 1917 were bolt-action rifles, there were several differences in the mechanisms. The Model 1917’s bolt handle had a distinctive “crooked” configuration in order to place the trigger finger closer to the bolt to speed manipulation of the action. Although it may have slightly aided in manually cycling the bolt, it is a bit amusing to note that one post-war War Department report vastly overstated the utility of the design by claiming “…by bending back the bolt, we had placed two men on the firing line where there was only one before.” In addition to the configuration of the bolt handle, another difference between the M1903 and the M1917 was that the latter retained the typical British “cock on closing” action rather than the more familiar (to Americans) “cock on opening” action of the M1903.

Other complaints against the Model 1917 included the fact that it was heavier and more cumbersome than the Model 1903. Additionally, the Model 1917, unlike the M1903, did not have a magazine cutoff. This meant that when the magazine was empty, the bolt would not close unless the follower was manually depressed. This could prove awkward in close-order drills, and some soldiers resorted to inserting a dime to keep the follower depressed. While admittedly a stop-gap measure, the problem was eventually alleviated by the introduction of a sheet-metal “magazine platform depressor.” Most of these complaints were due in large measure to unfamiliarity with the Model 1917 as compared to the well-known Model 1903.

M1917 Enfield: Interchangeable Parts

Once the engineering work was finished, the three companies tooled up to manufacture the new rifle in quantity. From an engineering and technical standpoint, converting the rifle from .303 to .30-06 was not particularly difficult. On May 10, 1917, the three primary contractors submitted prototype samples of the modified rifle to Springfield Armory for evaluation. Many of the parts were also hand-fitted, which resulted in substantial lack of interchangeable components. Interchangeability of parts had been a touchstone of the Ordnance Corps since the 1830s and this situation had to be improved before the Model 1917 rifle could go into full production. Even in light of the pressing demand for more rifles, the Ordnance Corps ordered that manufacture be postponed until the interchangeability problem could be satisfactorily addressed.

On July 12, 1917, each manufacturer sent a second specimen to Springfield. Each sample reflected varying degrees of improvement in the interchangeability of parts, but it was determined that more refinement was needed. However, in light of the ever-growing demand for rifles, the Ordnance Corps gave each company the option of proceeding with mass production and working on the interchangeability issue along the way, or delaying manufacture until the problem could be rectified. Remington and Eddystone decided to hold off on mass production, but Winchester elected to proceed at once. As events transpired, Winchester should have given the idea more thought. Assistant Secretary of War Crowell later commented, “It would have been well if the same course of action [wait for final specifications] had been followed at the Winchester plant, for word came later from Europe not to send over any rifles of Winchester manufacture during that period.”

M1917 Enfield: Acceptable Interchangeability

Although the nagging interchangeability problems were never completely eliminated, once the standardized manufacturing tolerances and engineering drawings were completed, an acceptable 95-percent interchangeability rate was reached and Model 1917 rifles began flowing from all three factories. Despite the initial problems with the Winchester-made rifles, later production guns produced by the firm were equal in quality and interchangeability to the Remington and Eddystone rifles.

M1917 Enfield: Battle Built

The M1917 rifle was 46.25 inches in length with a 26-inch barrel. The weapon also weighed about 9.18 pounds and had a magazine capacity of six rounds. In addition, it could be loaded with the standard five-round Model 1903 rifle magazine charger (“stripper clip”). The folding leaf rear sight was adjustable for elevation but not windage. In addition, the front sight blade had two protective “ears” on either side. Although not as well-suited for match shooting as the M1903 rifle’s Model 1905 sight, the M1917 sight was actually better for combat use. The stock and two-piece handguard assembly were constructed of oil-finished black walnut. In addition, the stock had grasping grooves on the forend.

The major exterior metal components of the Model 1917 rifles made by all three contractors were also blued from the beginning through the end of production. The only exceptions were very late production Eddystone Model 1917 rifles, which began to be factory Parkerized just prior to the Armistice in November 1918. However, most Model 1917 rifles seen today will have Parkerized finishes due to the extensive post-WWI arsenal overhauls to which most of the rifles were subjected. The model designation, serial number and name of the manufacturer were stamped on top of the receiver ring. The first (approximately) 5,000 Winchester-made rifles were only stamped “W,” but later examples were marked “Winchester.”

M1917 Enfield: Post-War Development

The combined output of the three civilian plants soon dwarfed production of the M1903 by Springfield Armory and Rock Island Arsenal, and the “U.S. Enfield” proved to be the predominate American service rifle of World War I. It has been estimated that at the time of the Armistice some 75 percent of the American Expeditionary Force was armed with M1917 rifles. Ordnance Corps documents reveal that 1,123,259 Model 1917s had also been shipped to France. The vast majority of these rifles were acquired by the U.S. Army, but approximately 61,000 were issued to the U.S. Marine Corps, 604 to the U.S. Navy and 70,940 were also on hand at various ordnance facilities and military installations. By the time production ceased in 1919, a staggering total of 2,422,529 Model 1917 rifles had been manufactured.

Following the conclusion of World War I, the War Department evaluated whether the M1903 or the M1917 should be designated as the standard service rifle. There were good arguments on both sides. The M1917 had proven to be an excellent combat rifle and was available in large numbers. On the other hand, the M1903 was manufactured by government owned and operated facilities (Springfield Armory and Rock Island Arsenal) so any potential future production would not be affected by labor strikes, etc.

Also, the M1903’s sights were better for target use, which was felt to be an important attribute for the post-WWI military. The “War to End All Wars” had just concluded, and it was believed that soldiers would spend more time on the rifle range than on the battlefield. Of course, that belief was shattered just a couple of decades later, but, for a variety of reasons, the M1903 was retained as the standardized service rifle and the M1917 relegated to the war reserve stockpile.

M1917 Enfield: Use During World War II

During the late 1930s, a fairly large number of M1917 Enfield rifles were sold to the government of the Philippines. During the early days of WWII, many more were provided to China. When the U.S. entered World War II, the M1 Garand was the standardized service rifle, but the demand quickly outstripped the supply and the M1917s, along with large numbers of M1903 rifles, were called back into service. Most of the M1917 rifles had also languished in storage for over two decades and many needed refurbishment. Replacement barrels were manufactured during WWII by Johnson Automatics, Inc., the High Standard Manufacturing Company and Rock Island Arsenal for rebuild purposes. In addition to replacing barrels and other parts as needed, most of the formerly blued rifles were Parkerized as part of the overhaul process.

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While the M1903 saw a surprising amount of combat service during WWII as a supplement to the M1, the M1917 was used primarily for training purposes. After 1945, large numbers of M1917 rifles were sold via the Office of Director of the Civilian Marksmanship (DCM). Many were also “sporterized” to make low-cost sporting and hunting rifles. The large number of rifles given to erstwhile allies before and during WWII, the widespread arsenal overhaul programs and the subsequent civilian modifications (“sporterizing”) have resulted in unaltered Model 1917 rifles being surprisingly scarce today. Collector interest in the Model 1917 has always been much less than for the M1903. However, unaltered specimens in nice condition are finally being recognized as desirable collectibles and price tags for premium examples are continually rising.

M1917 Enfield: Call To Service

The “American Enfield” is sometimes overlooked today when considering the important U.S. military rifles of the 20th century. However, the historic significance of the M1917 Enfield rifle should not be forgotten. It may not have been the first choice of the U.S. military, but in the dark days of 1917 and 1918, the M1917 Enfield rifle provided valuable service to our “doughboys” at a time when they were sorely needed.

M1917 Enfield Specs

This article was originally published in “Military Surplus.” For more information, visit outdoorgroupstore.com.

The post Trench Fighter: The M1917 Enfield Served US Troops in WWI, WWII appeared first on Tactical Life Gun Magazine: Gun News and Gun Reviews.

As far back as the 1850s, Colt began offering silver plating and gold-washed cylinders, hammers and triggers as options on its percussion pistols and, later on, 1870s cartridge conversions. Gold plating (or gold wash) was usually added to engraved guns. Over time, silver plating wore thin on the high edges and tarnished unless well cared for. However, with the introduction of nickel plating, the average revolver could be given a finish almost impervious to rust and corrosion from gun powder (if modestly maintained) while providing a smoother, more durable finish than a blued revolver. Nickel-plated sixguns were also easier to wipe down and keep clean.

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Colt began offering nickel plating as the standard finish on its single-action line in 1877. On the Rockwell hardness scale, nickel plating is around 40 to 45 HRC. Heavier electroless nickel plating, which came into popular use in the 1940s, is 50 HRC. Of course, HRC ratings are based on plating over steel, not aluminum alloy, which is used for manufacturing the Colt-licensed Umarex CO₂ Peacemakers. The hardness of aluminum actually falls into the HRB category, but HRC and HRB ratings do overlap, and the hardness of nickel plating on aluminum is not significantly lower.

It was the proven durability of nickel plating that prompted the U.S. cavalry to specifically issue nickel-plated Colt Peacemakers to its scouts. This was often the reason many cowboys preferred nickel over blued guns as well—they were easier to maintain on the trail. The flashiness of a nickel gun wasn’t always the foremost reason. Many lawmen also chose nickel-plated guns over blued models. For example, Bat Masterson owned a total of eight Colt Peacemakers, all of which were nickel plated. Many well-maintained nickel-plated Colts from the 1870s and 1880s have survived in almost 100-percent condition for more than 120 years.

Umarex Colt Peacemaker: Nickel & Gold

Colt offered a variety of extras for its standard models, including several grades of factory engraving, high-polished blued finishes, nickel plating and several combinations, including bluing with a nickel-plated cylinder, hammer and trigger, and nickel with a gold-plated cylinder, hammer and trigger. Gold plating could also be added to the ejector housing and ejector rod if ordered. If you had the money, Colt had the options.

These same options could also be added at the customer’s request by specialty retailers like Schuyler, Harley & Graham in New York City. Tiffany & Company was also a major retailer of custom engraved and finished Colt, S&W and other premium revolvers from the 1860s to the mid 20th century. Umarex’s nickel and gold Colt CO₂ models are very much in keeping with that tradition.

In the 1870s, a 7½-inch-barreled Colt Peacemaker sold for around $18. Nickel plating was an extra $2 to $2.50, and gold plating could add another $2 to $3. In creating its superb CO₂ Peacemakers, Umarex and Colt did not wait long to introduce nickel-plated models back in 2015, and late last year they added a nickel and gold, 7½-inch-barreled, pellet-firing model stocked with attractive aged faux-ivory grips and inlaid Colt Peacemaker medallions. As non-engraved handguns go, this is one sharp-looking revolver and only $20 more than the all-nickel 7½-inch-barreled model.

Umarex Colt Peacemaker: Quick Draws

In filming a Western, a little added drama is needed, especially in a gunfight, and in fact, if one were wearing a long duster, it would have to be thrown back to clear the holster. In my action sequence drawing the Umarex Colt Peacemaker, the flaring coattail adds to the effect as it would in a film or even here in a still photo (shown at right). And there really weren’t “fast draws” in the Old West. The holsters just weren’t designed for it, especially in the 1870s. They were built to cover and protect the gun from the elements. Guns sat low in the holster because the throat was cut shallow to cover almost all of the triggerguard, like the copy of an 1870s holster I’m wearing in the photos. It was copied from an original by Chisholm’s Trail.

The best way to increase your speed with a period-style holster is to wear it in a crossdraw position and sweep the gun across your waist. Pulling a 7½-inch-barreled shootin’ iron from a vertical holster on the strong side takes a long motion before you can rotate the barrel upward. That’s why you see a lot of cowboys (mostly in films) wearing their holsters slung low on the hip. You rarely see this in period photos. The crossdraw sweep cuts the drawing time down a little if you’re fast enough; it’s really a personal choice.

Umarex Colt Peacemaker: Quick Draws On TV

Most gunfights in the Old West were slow, and more often than not, guns were already drawn before any shooting started. Sometimes that was enough to prevent it from starting at all if everyone had their wits about them. The quick draws like we see on TV and in movies is mostly exaggerated, and back in the days of the great black-and-white TV Westerns, quick draws were done from specially designed holsters with most of the triggerguard exposed by a deeply cut-down throat and a contoured pouch that allowed the gun to be cocked while it was still in the holster. That was part of the secret. Richard Boone in Have Gun, Will Travel was a master of the quick draw. Most of the Warner Brothers TV Western stars all used the same fast-draw rigs designed by Hollywood quick-draw expert and gun coach Arvo Ojala.

Pellet Power

The trigger pull on this latest two-tone 7½-inch-barreled Umarex is nearly a hair trigger, averaging 1.73 pounds. The average velocity for this pellet-firing Umarex is rated 400 fps, which is pretty decent for a CO₂ pistol.

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For the short series of tests I did for this article, I started by timing my draw and first shot. The fast draw is, of course, based entirely on my skill level; I am by no means at competition level when it comes to fast draws. My average time to draw and fire was 0.8 seconds. (I also ran the same test with a 5½-inch-barreled Umarex Colt Peacemaker, and my time was 0.5 seconds.)

The second part of the test involved shooting at a full-sized cardboard B-27 silhouette target. Holding the nickel and gold Umarex on targets 30 feet away, I put six rapidly fired rounds into a 1.5-inch cluster and created a second almost-matching group measuring 1.51 inches, all in the 10 and X rings. Shooting from the hip at 10 feet, I fanned off six shots that grouped into 1.75 inches, a little low and left of the bullseye. Of course, there’s no recoil with the Umarex Colt Peacemaker, so it’s a little easier to be accurate, especially when fanning.

If you are into Cowboy Action Shooting, practice sessions with this 7½-inch-barreled CO₂ Peacemaker (especially indoors) is time well spent honing your drawing and aiming skills.

Umarex Colt Peacemaker Nickel & Gold Specs

For more information, visit umarexusa.com and pyramydair.com.

This article was originally published in “Guns of the Old West” Summer 2018. To order a copy and subscribe, visit outdoorgroupstore.com.

The post Gun Review: Umarex Colt Peacemaker Nickel & Gold appeared first on Tactical Life Gun Magazine: Gun News and Gun Reviews.

Personal-defense handguns are more popular now than ever before. A big chunk of those sales are compact revolvers because of their inherent portability and reliability. To address the needs of American shooters with concealed-carry permits, Sturm, Ruger & Company introduced its Light Compact Revolver, or LCR, back in 2009.

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The first LCR versions chambered in .38 Special were followed in later years by .357 Magnum and .22 LR variants. The latest iteration of the LCR is chambered in the powerful .327 Federal Magnum, and I recently got my hands on one of these models for testing.

While I often carry a five-shot Smith & Wesson Model 637 Airweight in .38 Special concealed, this new Ruger LCR offers quite a similar fit and feel with the benefit of a sixth round. A longtime fan of the .32 H&R Magnum, the .327 Federal Magnum LCR may just be one of my new favorites for concealed carry.

Meet the .327

A collaborative effort between Ruger and Federal, the .327 Federal Magnum broke onto the shooting scene in 2008. The .327 Federal Magnum is a souped-up .32 H&R Magnum, which essentially makes the new round a super-magnum cartridge.

Origins

My personal interest in the .327 Federal Magnum is based in part on experience with the .32 H&R Magnum. More than two decades of shooting a Ruger Single-Six in this caliber to the point where it had to be factory rebuilt is a testament to the countless rounds I’ve sent downrange. I also regularly shooter and care for a couple of 100-year-old Colt Single Action Army revolvers in .32-20, rounding out my experience with the .312-diameter clan.

The .32 H&R Magnum was first introduced in 1984, but its colorful lineage dates back to 1878 with the introduction of the .32 S&W cartridge. The original .32 S&W was a blackpowder cartridge developed by the Union Metallic Cartridge (UMC) Company. UMC was founded by 19th century titan Marcellus Hartley. He reasoned that selling ammunition was the true path of sustainable wealth in the firearms industry. He and his partners were so successful in selling ammunition that they were able to partner with Winchester to buy Remington when the company went bankrupt in 1888.

.32 S&W

The .32 S&W cartridge case measures 0.61 inches long and develops about 700 fps with a 98-grain, lead bullet from short-barreled handguns. Later, the .32 S&W Long was developed in 1896 as a step up in case length (to 0.92 inches), powder capacity and velocity. Also known as the .32 Colt New Police, the cartridge was adopted by then-New York City Police Commissioner Theodore Roosevelt as his police department’s official cartridge.

Coupled with the Colt New Police revolver, Roosevelt made his decision based upon his police officers’ poor shooting abilities and the cartridge’s reputation as a very accurate round. Even today, the .32 S&W Long is chambered in international 25-meter competition pistols made by Hammerli, Benelli and others.

The biggest difference in the .32- caliber pistol cartridges spawned by the .32 S&W and today’s .327 Federal Magnum is what you can’t see from the outside of the case. The .32 H&R Magnum measures 1.075 inches long and offers increased pressure from 15,000 to 21,000 copper units of pressure (CUP). Bullet velocities hover around the 1,200-fps range.

The .327 Federal Magnum case is 1.2 inches long, and after you go beyond the obvious difference in case length, the .327 Federal Magnum gets its edge with a thicker case and some modern metallurgic magic. If you cut a cross-section from a .30 Carbine case, you will find what allows it to handle 40,000 psi of chamber pressure when you pull the trigger. The .327 Federal Magnum is rated at a working pressure of 45,000 psi, hence its ability to drive .32-caliber bullets faster.

Hitting the Scene

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When the .327 Federal Magnum hit the scene in 2008, several handgun manufacturers joined the movement.

Charter Arms chambered its Patriot revolver for the new cartridge, and Taurus introduced the Model 327.

Ruger’s initial contributions to the array of new handguns were its SP101 and GP100 double actions and the Blackhawk single action.

Freedom Arms and U.S. Firearms added .327 Federal Magnum single actions to the mix.

The real gem was the Smith & Wesson Model 632, which, even though it’s been discontinued, commands prices between $1,400 and $2,100 on the used-gun market.

The popularity of these handguns has been mixed over the past few years, with several models now discontinued.

Ruger Specs

To fan the flames for the popularity of this cartridge, Ruger introduced the Single-Six in 2014 and the SP101 in early 2015. Of course, the new LCR in .327 Federal Magnum is another big leap for this chambering.

This Ruger LCR has several notable features, including a Hogue Tamer grip and a monolithic frame. And, at 17 ounces, it’s truly a wisp of a handgun. Of course, LCR revolvers get their trim weight by virtue an aluminum alloy frame combined with glass-filled polymer with what Ruger calls a “Synergistic Hard Coat,” which feels a lot like anodized aluminum. Only the barrel and fluted cylinder are stainless steel.

The barrel measures 1.87 inches long with a 1-in-16-inch twist rate. Dimensionally, the revolver is only 6.5 inches long, 1.28 inches wide and 4.5 inches in height. As mentioned, the LCR carries six rounds in the cylinder. This is obviously better than the five rounds in the Model 637 in .38 Special. The cylinder is extensively fluted to reduce weight and features an Ionbond Diamondblack finish for excellent durability.

Additional Details on the Ruger LCR

The .327 LCR is a double-action-only (DAO) revolver with its hammer concealed within the frame. A polymer fire control housing holds all of the fire control components in their proper dimensional relationships, significantly reduces weight and helps reduce recoil. The friction-reducing cam is the next-generation design in fire control systems with an optimized cam that results in a smooth trigger pull. In fact, dry firing my test pistol revealed a smooth, crisp, light trigger pull that didn’t stack.

The monolithic frame is made from blackened 400 series stainless steel. The grip peg allows a variety of grip styles to be installed, leaving ample room for cushion against recoil. The standard model is fitted with a Hogue Tamer grip, which is highly effective at reducing felt recoil. Finally, the front sight is a pinned ramp that can be replaced, and the rear sight is an integral U-notch.

.327 Federal Magnum Vs. .357 Magnum

Much has been written about comparisons between the .327 Federal Magnum and the .357 Magnum.

Simply put, they are not equal at the top ends of their performance capabilities, but the .357 can be a handful for most average shooters. Several years ago, when recoil comparisons were conducted with Ruger’s SP101 and comparably-sized .357 revolvers, Federal’s figures showed 3.08 foot-pounds of recoil energy for the .327’s 85-grain JHP load. The 115-grain JHP load produced 5.62 foot-pounds of recoil energy, and the 100-grain SP load produced 5.58 foot-pounds. On the lighter side, the

.32 H&R Magnum loaded with an 85-grain hollow point produced 1.46 foot-pounds of recoil energy. Now brace yourself: 125-grain .357 Magnum JHPs produce 7.22 foot-pounds of recoil energy. To say that the .327 Federal Magnum would be easier on your hand and nervous system than a comparable .357 Magnum is pretty obvious.

A more realistic comparison would be between the new LCR and the five-shot Smith & Wesson Model 637 in .38 Special. Loaded with Winchester 125-grain +P ammo, the Model 637 produces an average velocity of 872 fps. This generates 211 foot-pounds of energy (fpe) on target. On the other hand, Federal’s American Eagle 85-grain, .327 Federal Magnum SP load from the LCR averaged 1,164 fps and generated 256 fpe. The standard deviation for 10 rounds fired across an Oehler 35P chronograph was 10.21 fps. (As another note of comparison, Ruger’s 4.2-inch-barreled SP101 generates an average of 1,462 fps and 411 fpe with the same load.)

Ruger LCR Range Test

I used three loads to test the Ruger LCR’s accuracy off-hand at 7 yards and 15 yards and from a rest at 25 yards. I fired three 5-shot groups with each load. Federal’s 85-grain Personal Defense JHPs averaged 1,182 fps. From the 25-yard mark, the best group with this load measured 2.65 inches. At 7 and 15 yards, the best groups measured 2.44 and 3.43 inches, respectively.

The Federal American Eagle 85-grain SP created the smallest groups from the 7-, 15- and 25-yard marks. These measured 3.11 inches, 2.74 and 2.09 inches, respectively. The Federal American Eagle 100-grain JSP was the hottest load, averaging 1,288 fps from the LCR. The smallest groups from 7, 15 and 25 yards measured 2.2, 2.45 and 1.98 inches, respectively.

Final Thoughts

The Ruger LCR in .327 Federal Magnum is an ideal size and weight for concealed carry or as a backup weapon to a duty sidearm. Its six-shot capacity is also a true advantage over .38 Special revolvers similar in size and weight. In short, this is a new weapon that I will frequently carry for years to come.

For more information, visit ruger.com.

Ruger LCR Specs

Ruger LCR Performance

*Bullet weight measured in grains, velocity in fps by chronograph and accuracy in inches for best five-shot groups.

This article was originally published in our “Gun Annual.” To order a copy, visit outdoorgroupstore.com.

The post Gun Review: Ruger LCR Revolver in .327 Federal Magnum appeared first on Tactical Life Gun Magazine: Gun News and Gun Reviews.

In a boost to his “tough guy” persona, Russian President Vladimir Putin was recently filmed firing Kalashnikov Concern’s latest sniper rifle prototype, the SVCh-308.

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Kalashnikov says the footage above was filmed on Sept. 19 at the Patriot Park shooting range in Kubinka, which is located in Moscow Oblast.

According to Sputnik International, Putin successfully hit three out of five targets firing at a distance of 600 meters.

First introduced at the Army-2018 International Military-Technical Forum, the SVCh-308 is reportedly based on the Dragunov SVD. ModernFirearms.net has a breakdown of the rifle:

SVCh Rifle

The Chukavin SVCh semi-automatic sniper / designated marksman rifle is a prototype of the new precision weapon system, being developed by “Kalashnikov” Group based on direct input from snipers from several Russian elite Special Forces units. It is intended for precision engagement of individual targets at ranges of up to 1000 meters or even further, depending on the version. With proper ammunition, these rifles are capable of 1 MOA or better accuracy.

The SVCh rifle is being developed for three most common military rifle cartridges, the 7,62×51 NATO, 7,62x54R and .338 Lapua Magnum (also known as 8.62x69mm). Between the two 7.62mm versions, rifle has very high commonality of parts. The .338LM SVCh-8.6 rifle has necessarily larger receiver, magazine housing and bolt group.

SVCh rifle has an inverted U-shaped receiver, made from steel, with solid top that offers a stable platform for optics, with integrated Picatinny rail. Trigger and magazine housing unit is made from lightweight alloy. Rifle features short stroke piston gas operated action and rotary bolt locking. Manual gas regulator ensures smooth and reliable operation under all conditions, with and without sound suppressor. Rifle is fed from detachable box magazines. In 7.62x54R version, it uses magazines compatible with Dragunov SVD sniper rifle; In 7.62×51 NATO and in .338LM  it uses proprietary magazines with standard and high capacity.

Rifle features ambidextrous controls. Side folding stock is adjustable for length of pull. Standard accessories include detachable folding bipod and quick-detachable tactical sound suppressor.

Below, check out the specs on the SVCh.

SVCh-308 Specs

See the photos below for a closer look at the SVCh-308 Putin fired.

The post WATCH: Vladimir Putin Fires the Kalashnikov SVCh-308 Rifle appeared first on Tactical Life Gun Magazine: Gun News and Gun Reviews.

Generally considered the second-oldest successful semi-auto pistol, the iconic Mauser C96 was developed and introduced in the 1890s and signaled the beginning of the modern era of the autoloading pistol. While the Borchardt C93 may have earned the title of being the first successful autoloader, it did not prove to be particularly popular (soon being overshadowed by the P.08 Luger pistol). Developed concurrently with the Borchardt pistol was a new .30-caliber “bottleneck” cartridge, the 7.65x25mm. This round featured a stepped neck like a modern rifle cartridge, and it proved to be a very capable round. In fact, a round almost identical to the Borchardt cartridge, the 7.63x25mm, soon thereafter found a home in the Mauser C96.

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While the name of the renowned gunmaker Paul Mauser is indelibly attached to the famous C96 pistol (known popularly as the “Broomhandle” due to the unique shape of the protruding pistol grip), he did not design the firearm. In fact, three brothers who worked at the Mauser factory developed the design over a period of several years, beginning in 1893. By March of 1895 the brothers, Fidel, Friedrich and Josef Feederle, had a working prototype made, and by 1896 Paul Mauser applied for patents in several countries as he quickly assessed the potential impact of such a revolutionary design.

First Steps

Manufacture of the 7.63x25mm C96 pistol began in 1896. Various prototypes were made with magazines with capacities ranging from as few as six to as many as 20 rounds. Most were designed to accept carbine-style shoulder stocks, if desired. These wooden shoulder stocks also doubled as holsters for the pistols. In early 1897 full production began and the design was finalized. Interestingly, serial numbers were not always consecutive; at later dates they sometimes went back to the lower numbers. Despite the impressive capabilities of the C96, sales proved to be disappointing, especially to the German military as they preferred the Luger P.08 as it was easier to shoot and better balanced.

While no nation officially adopted the “Broomhandle” Mauser, they were used in one form or another by the militaries of a number of countries. However, between 1916 and 1918, 150,000 Broomhandles were manufactured for Germany in the standard 9mm Luger chambering to supplement the short supply of P.08s, Germany’s official sidearm. They were ordered by the Die Gewehr-Prüfungskommission (Rifle Proving Commission) to make up for shortages and losses. They were marked with a red “9” on the grips to differentiate them from the 7.63x25mm models as they were externally similar. The Germans also produced a M712 Schnellfeuer, which is a full-auto version of the Broomhandle.

Unfulfilled Promise

The Broomhandles were manufactured from 1896 until 1937. Following WWI, the Treaty of Versailles prohibited Germany from manufacturing military weapons. Full production resumed around May of 1922 and continued until the late 1930s. According to some reports, all the production records at the Mauser factory were destroyed in 1945. Consequently, this makes it more difficult for collectors and historians to study the Mauser. However, it is estimated that a total of slightly more than a million Mauser pistols were produced. This does not include Chinese versions or the Spanish Astra pistols. In addition, there were about a thousand carbine versions produced, and if you run across one today it would be a very valuable collector’s item.

Gun Details

To load the C96, you open the action and put the stripper clip in the groove machined directly into the barrel extension/upper receiver. Once the stripper clip is in, just shove the cartridges down into the magazine of the pistol. You can also single load rounds if desired. Once the safety, a lever located to the left of the hammer, is disengaged you are ready to shoot. Loading and shooting can be pretty quick once you get used to the system.

The C96 Mauser has a locked-breech, short-recoil system that is fairly strong and reliable. The rectangular bolt moves within the barrel extension, which was machined as a one-piece unit with the barrel. Beneath the barrel is the locking piece, which is a one-piece steel block with a locking lug that engages a slot in the lower surface of the bolt. Shortly after production resumed in 1922, it was changed to two corresponding slots and lugs, and it stayed that way until production ceased in the late 1930s.

When a cartridge is fired, the recoil drives back the bolt, which is locked to the barrel extension by the bolt lock. When this happens, the bolt block pivots downward to disengage the lugs and allows the bolt to travel rearward. This subsequently cocks the hammer and extracts the empty case out of the chamber. The case strikes the ejector, which is machined into the receiver, and throws the case away from the gun. The bolt coming forward picks up a new round and re-engages the locking lugs as it closes. The inclined surface at the rear of the bolt also meets the surface at the top of the lock frame, forcing the lugs to engage firmly.

Fuel For The Fire

In 1930, Russia brought out the 7.62×25 Russian Tokarev round. Essentially, it has the same dimensions as the 7.63x25mm Mauser round, but therein lies a problem. The Tokerav round is 0.5 millimeters shorter but otherwise the same. I use the same set of dies to reload both rounds. The newer Tokarev round is loaded somewhat hotter than the Mauser offering, making it dangerous to fire in a Broomhandle. The rounds look identical, but I must emphasize again to not mix them up. Failure to heed this advice may result in a ruined pistol and injuries to the shooter and bystanders.

If you can’t find factory ammo for the C96 and are a reloader, then you are in luck. Starline makes plenty of quality brass casings at a reasonable price. Suitable bullets of various weights and styles are also available from Hornady, Speer and Sierra, among others. Cast bullets can also be successfully used with proper loads. For this test, I used some from Hornady and cast bullets from a couple of sources. Just to clarify, the Hornady bullets are swaged and are softer than the typical cast bullet. Shooting swaged bullets at higher velocities will lead up your barrel, so keep that in mind when working up loads.

My objective in making ammo for this pistol was to have something that approximated the military ballistics and would prove reliable. Keeping in mind that the design is over a century old and that my particular sample is about 85 years old, I didn’t try for the last foot-per-second in velocity. Rather, I wanted ammunition that was safe and enjoyable to shoot.

Range Report

The ammuniton is easy to make by using regular reloading techniques. Belling the case mouth is necessary, especially with lead bullets. You can buy an inexpensive Lee die that has two inserts that cover almost any caliber that you will encounter, and it also bells the case mouth just fine. Small pistol primers also work fine, and I used Winchester primers for this shooting test.

Shooting the gun proved to be an interesting experience. Since the magazine is located in front of the triggerguard, the balance is different than most other autopistols. The recoil was very mild, enabling me to consequently shoot accurately and have long shooting sessions. The trigger pull isn’t too bad for such a gun, though the hammer fall is a little heavy. It is a typical single-action auto, meaning you cock the hammer for the first shot and then pull the trigger for each succeeding shot. The gun can be fired rapidly without any problems, though the muzzle will climb a little.

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Final Thoughts

When you take something like a Broomhandle to the range, it generally attracts a crowd. Some of the more knowledgeable shooters may know what you have, but the majority of shooters do not have a clue. I also get some pleasure in explaining what it is and letting other shooters try it out. They get a kick out of shooting the antique, and sharing knowledge with other shooters is what it’s all about. Many shooters also don’t often get the chance to shoot such a neat gun.

How good is the Broomhandle? While it may not have been initially successful upon its release, overshadowed by follow-up designs in Europe such as the P.08 Luger and the American 1911 pistol, it still deserves a place of honor in the history of firearms development. Although ungainly looking and a bit odd in the handling department, the “Broomhandle” heralded a new age of autopistol design that would soon overtake the military and later police and civilian markets to supplant the revolver. Proving that an autopistol could reliably deliver potent power, the C96 Mauser set the stage for the future.

Mauser C96 Specs

This article was originally published in “Military Surplus.” For more information, visit outdoorgroupstore.com.

The post How the Mauser C96 ‘Broomhandle’ Ushered in the Era of Autoloaders appeared first on Tactical Life Gun Magazine: Gun News and Gun Reviews.

When news breaks that a law enforcement agency has adopted a Sig Sauer firearm, it would be entirely reasonable to assume the firearm in question is the SIG P320; that’s not the case here: the Detroit Police Department has selected the SIG M400 rifle for its SWAT officers.

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SIG M400

Chambered in 5.56mm NATO, the SIG M400 is an AR-platform rifle that uses a direct impingement gas system. It features a lightweight, full-length, free-floating MLOK handguard;  16-inch, 1:7-inch-twist barrel with a SIG Micro-Light Gas Block; enhanced SIG single-stage trigger; 6-position telescoping stock; rotating lock bolt; and a SIG enhanced pistol grip.

“The M400 rifle is designed to exceed military standards to be the most accurate and reliable rifle in its class, which makes it an optimal choice for specialized law enforcement units in extraordinary enforcement situations,” said Tom Jankiewicz, Sig Sauer’s executive vice president for law enforcement sales.

Detroit PD Responsibilities

The Detroit Police Department is a municipal police force that is made up of 12 different precincts. These precincts are tasked with protecting the largest city in the state of Michigan, and one of the 25 largest cities in the United States.

“We are honored that the Detroit Police Department has entrusted SIG SAUER firearms to support the special tactical operations of their SWAT officers, and we look forward to strengthening our relationship with the department,” Jankiewicz added.

Vance Outdoors will distribute these Sig Sauer M400 rifles to the Detroit PD.

The post Detroit Police Department SWAT Team Adopts the SIG M400 Rifle appeared first on Tactical Life Gun Magazine: Gun News and Gun Reviews.