EnforceTac

This year saw the tenth iteration of this international exhibition of law enforcement, tactical solutions and homeland security at the Messe exhibition center in Nuremberg, Germany which was held during 28 Feb 23 – 1 Mar 23 with the second day running concurrently with IWA Hunting and Sporting exhibition at the same location. The show, which it should be noted is only open to professionals in the law-enforcement/security industry continues to expand and the footprint this year had increased to three halls to cater to the range of exhibitors which had risen to a record number, just short of 500.

In addition to the main exhibitor areas, the show organizers also offered a live demonstration area and what was termed a ‘Blackbox’ facility where vendors could demonstrate a variety of thermal imaging, residual light amplifiers, torches and other devices in a suitable environment. A specific area was also designated for new “start-up” companies to demonstrate their product lines.

The product ranges and services offered have dramatically increased since the early years of EnforceTac, when the focus was primarily on personal issue law-enforcement firearms and individual equipment. This year, exhibitors were permitted to display a much greater range of products, such as the Diederich Defense Systems ATR with the Diehl Defence/EOS M134 Minigun overhead weapon-station, to the more mundane uniforms and international police insignia, the variety of the latter is difficult to believe!

The regular Turkey-based exhibitors continue to expand their law-enforcement and military product line. The Turkish company Çanik displayed a range of products from their twin-mount .50 Browning HMG’s and well as a line of their handguns each configured for a specific purpose.

Readers with an interest in small arms might recall an earlier controversy over reported ‘inaccuracy’ issues when using the G36 assault rifle at “high volumes of fire.” Whether or not the claims are correct, the Austria based Steyr Arms GmbH have offered a fix with their G62 option, which allows current users of the 5.56 mm NATO caliber G36 to replace the H&K made polymer receiver with the Steyr option of an all-metal receiver. It’s claimed all other original (G36) components can be used, although Steyr also offer a replacement barrel with extended life and an alternative STANAG compatible magazine, well as a replacement for the propriety-design H&K magazines. Not a few countries armies and police forces have taken the G36 into service and the Steyr G62 package might well be a good option for a mid-life upgrade?

The long-established manufacturer of firearms Zastava of Serbia displayed an extended line of their military and law-enforcement products, which ranged from handguns to .50/12.7mm caliber anti-material rifles and machine guns.  Their current assault rifle, the M19 is offered in two calibers with quick change barrel facility, the universal standard 7.62 x 39mm and the unique 6.5 x 39mm round, which was developed by Prvi partizan Uzice using the 6.5 mm Grendel as a base for Serbian special forces use.

Swedish Ordnance, another EnforceTac regular attendee, offer a line automatic weapon feed systems and belt-filling devices as part of their product line.

Sabre Defense and Pepper Ball were two U.S. companies offering less-lethal personal protection devices that travelled long-distance to attend.

FAB Defense of Israel exhibited their range of tactical equipment and weapon accessories.

Drones have become part of everyday life. The law enforcement community has been drawn remorselessly into the tug and pull of drone use/misuse and drone suppression and increasing numbers of venders of aerial platforms, counter-drone measures ranging from hand-held devices to sophisticated command & control software solutions.  One such exhibitor was Aaronia AG of Stricksheid, Germany whose impressive booth presented a vast range of options to monitor, detect and defeat unwanted drones.

A much updated “paddy wagon” was displayed by Rheinmetall, the SurvivorR’ “Protected Multirole Vehicle” weighing in at about 17,000kg fully loaded and carrying a maximum of 11 personnel. A number of capability enhancement options are offered for the SurvivorR, including a CBRN suite, riot control grid/dozer blade/battering ram, and high performance loudspeaker, amongst others.

Future Planning included the MBDA shoulder-fired Enforcer lightweight missile system, developed by the company for use by military, and other specialist units when enhanced barrier defeat at distance is required. It also has an alternative enclosed space firing-mode.

A regular visitor to such shows is the Swiss firm B&T who specialize in law-enforcement firearms and less-lethal devices, in addition to their well-established line of suppressors which have seen widespread police and military adoption.

New to EnforceTac was the B&T KH9 ‘Covert’ 9x19mm submachine gun. The Covert has the ability to be rearranged into a smaller package for concealment purposes.

IWA – 2023

This year, to use its rarely used full title, the Internationale Waffen Ausstellung or International Trade Fair was billed as “IWA Outdoor Classics 2023”.  The final count on exhibitor numbers reached around 1,100, attracting some 34,000 trade visitors from 119 different countries according to official figures issued after the show; with the organizers claiming its position as the “leading trade fair for global trade in the fields of hunting, shooting sports, outdoor activities and security.”

The footprint of the show also continues to expand with nine halls in use this year at the expanded Messe Exhibition Centre. The halls are generally organized by theme to a specific product groups or topic which assists with visitor navigation and access. The previously rigid demarcation line between what the show organizers considered “sporting” and of a more “official” use has been relaxed. Hall 3 this year was staged for security equipment for civil and official agency purposes. Hall 4 for clothing and outdoor equipment for hunting, sport, fishing and leisure time.  Hall 5 focused on knives and was again the focal point for U.S. vendors. The remaining halls offered shooting accessories, firearms, sporting ammunition and optics.

HS Produkt of Croatia offered their popular line of HS self-loading pistols.

Collocated with the HS booth was the U.S.-based Springfield Armory whose extensive ‘XD’ pistol line is manufactured by the latter in Croatia. The latter also now offer a revamped version of the select-fire military VHS-2 assault rifle as the ‘Hellion’ in caliber 5.56 mm (.223 Rem).

Black Powder shooting continues to be popular in Europe and a major supplier of quality reproductions arms is the Italian manufacturer Davide Pedersoli & Co. of Gardone Val Trompia who supply an extensive range of black powder muzzle-loading, flintlock, percussion and breech loading longarms with a complimentary handgun range.

With firearms ownership restricted or banned in many countries, ‘blank-firing’ weapons, particularly handguns, have become very popular with several Turkish manufacturers offering a wide range of types. While primarily offered as ‘blank-firers’ for recreational or warning purposes, where legislation allows gas-cartridges for personal defense are available. It has been noted that the die-cast metals used in earlier production have been replaced by models of more substantial materials and construction, it is sometimes now hard to tell blank-firer from the genuine article at a distance!

A U.S. manufacturer who made the journey to IWA was Sturm Ruger & Company, Inc., more commonly known as Ruger. The company displayed a full range of the product line of handguns and sporting rifles.

Vertex of Sofia, Bulgaria exhibited a range of their product line of specialist less-lethal ammunition in various calibers, together with their range of hand-held flare and distress signaling devices.

The Czech Republic based Alfa Proj offer a range of pistols and revolvers both in common calibers, and rarely seen these days in calibers 6mm and 9mm Flobert for use in indoor ranges using modified actions.

LCT Airsoft of Taiwan offer a wide range of airsoft replicas of military style weapons. 

Zastava Arms of Serbia crossed over from EnforceTac and offered their range of sporting and target shooting firearms including the Model SP M07M, bolt-action precision rifle in .338 Lapua Magnum calibre.

Ceska zbrojovka (CZ) of the Czech Republic had their usual large booth which attracted much visitor attention throughout the show. CZ are the current owners of the ‘Colt’ brand name and displayed range of the latter’s products in addition to their own.

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The Turkish manufacturer Sarsilmaz is one of an increasing number of Turkish arms manufacturers who have exhibited at IWA over many years and who have constantly developed their product line from a small range of handguns in the early days to a complete range today of military, law-enforcement, sporting handguns, and long arms.

Reflecting the opportunity to display more military style weapons, FN Herstal of Belgium’s large booth offered the visitor their product line from .50 cal. Browning HMG down to handguns and their less-lethal range.

There seems no end in sight and yet another Turkish manufacturer, DAĞLIOĞLU is offering copies of the iconic AK47, in this case a copy of the AKMS, or if, from the same manufacturer you want your particular gun to stand out in a crowd, the 12ga option should fit the bill?

EnforceTac/IWA Show Info:

Contacts:

EnforceTac (For Media Enquiries)

Luisa Seibt, Ruth Cuyap, Phone: +49 9 11 86 06-88-75

Social Media:

https://instagram.com/enforce_tac

https://facebook.com/enforcetac

https://linkedin.com/company/enforcetac/

IWA (For Media Enquiries)

Georg Loichinger, Phone: +49 9 11 86 06-81 91; e-mail: press@iwa

IWA General Inquiries:

Stefanie Leege, Ellena Probst, Phone: +49 9 11 86 06-81 85/+49 9 1186 06-80 88

Next Show Dates:

EnforceTac:  26-28 February 2024 (Note:  The show has been extended by one day for the first time.)

IWA: 29 Feb-3 March 2024.

Story & Photography by Richard Jones

In the last months of World War II, Hitler decreed that Germany would fight to the last man.  All males between the ages of 16 and 60, not already serving, were drafted into the Volksturm, or “People’s Army”.  To arm these soldiers, and Hitler was careful to declare them soldiers so that they would fall under the protection of the Geneva Convention, Hitler ordered a series of cheap and easily manufactured weapons be developed.  One of these weapons was the VG1-5, a semi-automatic, gas operated “assault rifle”. This gun was a straight blowback design utilizing the 7.92×33 Kurz cartridge, the same as that used by the Stg 44.  It also utilized the same magazine.

The VG1-5 is pretty much a straight blow back operated rifle. There are four holes in the forward part of the barrel that vent gas into a barrel shroud to retard blow back. These four holes aren’t really necessary. I decided to make mine in 9mm. An Airsoft Mp44 served as a parts donor. The airsoft gun is made of pot metal, but I was mainly interested in the magazine housing. The magazine is made of steel and appears to be a replacement mag for the MP44 rifle that has had the follower removed. I could interchange my real MP44 mag with the airsoft mag with no problem.

The receiver and fire control group is from a Sten MKII converted to comply with NFA rules.  The gun is semi -auto, straight blowback, striker fired from a closed bolt.  I fabricated the butt stock and fore-end from Birch blanks.

My only plans were photo’s and illustrations from books.  The original gun had a barrel shroud that served as a gas chamber and charging handle.  Mine would only need to serve as a charging handle since it wasn’t necessary to bleed off any pressure.  The barrel shroud/charging handle reciprocates as it fires.  The original dust cover was stamped from metal and was corrugated.  I made my dust cover from a reproduction cas mask canister.  The muzzle cap is from an M3 grease gun.  The safety, charging handle and front sight were completely hand fabricated.

Markings for the stock and receiver were copied.  The metal parts were chemically etched while the stock was stamped and pyrographed.

The shortened and re-welded Sten magazine was acra-glassed into an MP44 magazine body. 

The completed gun was given a battle-worn finish in matte-black and glacier silver Cerakote.  The stock was was given some battle scars and finished with boiled linseed oil.  The original guns used gas can canister straps for slings so I fashioned one of those and attached it as the originals were done.  A test fire showed good function and a fair level of accuracy at 100yds…around 5moa.  I decided to mount a period correct Meopta ZF-4 scope to make shooting a little more fun.  I had to make a custom off-set mount.

A video of the gun firing is available here. https://youtu.be/zZSKtvGFL28

Tinkering with a Thompson

Story & Photography by Richard Scheidel

This tale started with my subscription to Machine Gun News way back in the day, circa May, 1990. I read every issue of MGN cover to cover every article was fascinating to this young life-long shooter. I read it all, The Forms by Dan Shea, Strictly Stens and Focus On by Carl Silver, and of course…Raffica.

Years would go by before I got my West Hurley  M1-A1, courtesy of a fellow gun club member in Connecticut who got nervous with Connecticut’s various then new weapons restrictions and bans. Seeing as I had recently moved out of state, he asked if anyone would be interested in purchasing his Thompson. I only asked him what he had to get for it and he wanted everything he had into it…accessories, etc. I told him I’d see if I can find someone and on the way home called my wife to tell her we were buying a Thompson.

SO… now out come the old issues (in perfect condition, thank you) of MGN and there it was…Tinkering with Thompsons. Supposedly, the old girl had some issues. Long story short, the gun was up and operating just fine. However… there were some cool articles in those pages of Klodzinski’s ramblings.

Jim Klodzinski had some radical ideas and of course, being a noob in the Title II world, I was fascinated by everything.  One of his better ideas was his “Quick Change Barrel” system. That caught my eye. I followed the recipe…not to the letter. He wanted a hand tightened screw and I preferred an Allen wrench screw. He also filed a flat in the Thompson barrel; I ran a flat-faced mill down the hole to mark the barrel and with the barrel removed just enlarged it a bit. Now the setscrew sat down in the barrel a bit. Mission accomplished!

Then the Internet happened. Now known simply as the Machingunboards.com, it was then the source of Thompson info. One individual changed the caliber of his gun to 9mm. Hmmm. Everything was there… what he used, what magazine, and all the necessary modifications. But to me the gun was missing certain panache. It didn’t look like a Thompson anymore. It was different, the barrel profile just looked wrong. But I can fix that. I found 9mm barrel blanks on the West Coast.  Lathe took care of the rest with a new chamber reamer to boot. The bolt needed to be modified. I had a broken faced 45 M1-A1 bolt in the drawer and welded it up, brought it into spec on the lathe and now sporting a 9mm chamber face. The extractor groove on the bolt nose had to be lowered as well. Some adapters were machined and welded on a Suomi 50 round magazine as well as a Suomi 70 round drum. The ejector needed to be welded up a bit longer and reshaped. No adjusting needed…it was ALIVE! It made its debute at the Marietta, Ohio shoot that fall. Now it looked like a Thompson…except for the magazines.

Then Shotgun News started running ads for boatloads of 7.62×25 ammo, cheap. Hey, why not? I started looking for 308 caliber donor barrels and accidently banged my shin on a stack of Browning 1919A-4 barrels. Hmm. After finding one with SOME rifling still left, it was back to the lathe. This time, even the barrel fins were reproduced. A 7.62×25 chamber reamer was bought and not wasted…I made three MP-5 barrels out of some more Browning barrels. Bonus! The 9mm bolt was perfect for the 7.62×25 round. I only had one 7.62×25 magazine in my possession, a PPSh drum. The adapter went on, but the drum had to be thinned a bit, it was too fat to fit the mag well. Worse, I missed the 7.62×25 sales glut and only found one box (50 rounds…who buys ammo per box anymore?) and I found that one box at Cabala’s in East Hartford CT.

So I go to my old gun club and a fellow hoser sees the Thompson with a PPSh drum hooked up and says, “What the heck you doing now? (You know who you are…) Does it work?” I honestly replied, I didn’t know if it would. I put it on semi and banged one off. Then a couple more. Meh, switched to rock & roll and let it rip. Yeah, emptied the drum and the gun hardly moved. He grinned, shook his head and went back to his shooting.

Then PK at Diamond K advertised a .40 caliber barrel for sale. A quick phone call and it was mine. This caliber change still needs a bit of magazine work. I occasionally get a Brass Rainbow out of the top of the magazine if it gets jostled a bit. Embarrassing, yes. Four empty cases followed by twenty-six intact rounds flying out of the ejection port. Needs some mag tweaking. Thinking about rechambering it to 400 Corbon. That’ll take care of the magazine issue, not to mention the sloppy bolt face.

Now I have to mention Merle Bitikoffer here. He has done a simply marvelous job of making an absolutely functional .22LR conversion that doesn’t run at 1,000 rpm or better. His Thompson Conversion kit runs at a real enjoyable 550-600 rpm and actually lets you enjoy shooting 22s in a machine gun. Now I’ve got 22 conversions for my Macs, some HK’s, even my 1919A4. But only Mel’s kit runs at a nice sedate rate of fire. I added a half dozen 30 round Black Dog Machine magazines and yeah, one 50 round Black Dog drum. That went to the Eden shoot as well as The Bum’s Rush at Knob Creek. The magazines were loaded with nothing but Piney Mountain 22LR red and green tracers, the $50 suppressor was greased up with pine scented Bore Butter, acting as an ablative and unleashed on the world. Can you say… Christmas? Yeah, man. Red and green tracers alternating with the pine scented Bore Butter wafting in the air.

All in all, the modifications were fun. The gun raises some eyebrows in the Thompson circles, but I have to throw in the disclaimer that whoever sold the Thompson originally modified it for a drum. Now a West Hurley isn’t exactly known as any kind of collectible, but seeing that somebody actually cut the receiver to accept a drum eliminated my concerns of destroying a “pristine” Thompson M1-A1. I’m certainly not selling it while I’m alive, so why not have fun with it?

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