Gemtech’s versatile “One” centerfire rifle suppressor and their G-Core GM-9, 9mm Parabellum suppressor. (Photo courtesy of Gemtech)

By Frank Iannamico

Recently, SAR had the unique opportunity to spend a few days at Gemtech’s research and development facility near Boise, Idaho.

Gemtech is one of the oldest firearm suppressor manufacturers in the U.S. still doing business. Dr. Phil Dater, one of the founders of Gemtech, has been experimenting with suppressors since 1976. His first experience was with a Ruger MKI integrally suppressed .22 caliber pistol manufactured by the Military Armament Corporation, then one of the few U.S. companies involved in the suppressor business. He soon discovered that the Ruger suppressor’s performance gradually deteriorated as shots were fired through it, and became virtually ineffective after firing a brick of .22 cartridges. A call was placed to the MAC factory in Georgia. They explained that the Ruger pistol suppressor was specifically designed for military operations with a life expectancy of approximately 200 rounds, after which the non-serviceable suppressed pistols were usually discarded. After disassembling the Ruger suppressor, and studying its construction, Dr. Dater felt that he could improve upon their performance and thus a lifelong quest began.

During 1978, Dr. Dater began manufacturing sound suppressors of his own design doing business as the Automatic Weapons Company in New Mexico. After relocating to Idaho, Dr. Dater founded Gemtech in 1993 along with Mark Weiss and Jim Ryan.

Today, Gemtech has grown into one of the largest manufacturers of sound suppressors in the U.S. In addition to the commercial civilian market, the company has many domestic and foreign government and military contracts. Most of Gemtech’s products meet or exceed specifications established by the British Ministry of Defence and the U.S. military. Additionally, Gemtech is the only suppressor manufacturer currently 9001 ISO certified.

First on the agenda was a tour through the research and development building where we were introduced to many of the people of Gemtech. In the rear of the facility, behind the offices, is a well-equipped shop where most prototypes are built and upgrades on customer’s suppressors are performed. The company’s barrel threading service is also done here. The production suppressor tubes and internal components are manufactured at Gemtech’s plant in Michigan.

The research and development team consists of several engineers and designers, well versed in suppressor design, and all of them are dedicated “gun guys”. The innovative team continually strives to develop new products that exceed the customers’ expectations for both sound reduction and durability. The task is accomplished by comprehensive range and laboratory testing using the best equipment available.

The next stop was the shipping department. In this building was an impressive array of suppressors being packaged and shipped to the customers. Stacked on shelves were adapters, muzzle brakes, flash hiders and accessories. On the floor were several pallets of Gemtech subsonic ammunition. For those residing in states that prohibit their citizens from owning suppressors, there are non-functioning display suppressors that are laser marked with the Gemtech logo and look identical to the real thing. The faux suppressors are very popular with the Airsoft “gun” enthusiasts.

The following day a trip to the firing range was planned with lots of ammunition and machine guns. Eye protection was mandatory, ear protection was not, and as it turned out was not needed. Some interesting weapons were fired; all fitted with production Gemtech suppressors along with a few new prototype designs. First up was an M240/MAG58 a 7.62 NATO caliber belt fed machine gun manufactured by Ohio Ordnance, The M240 was fired with the new Gemtech GPMG-762 suppressor, an extreme-duty, full-auto rated unit built of titanium with an inconel blast chamber. The suppressor was originally designed for the British Ministry of Defence for their 7.62 L7/MAG 58 machine guns; for military contracts a low-flash end cap is fitted. Next up was the MGA SAW, a muti-caliber capable belt-fed machine gun manufactured by the U.S. Machine Gun Armory in Salt Lake City, Utah. The SAW was chambered in 5.56mm NATO caliber, and was also fired with a Gemtech GPMG-762 suppressor.

Also demonstrated was the “One”, one of Gemtech’s Extreme Duty line of suppressors, tested and exceeding rigorous SOCOM standards. The “One” is considered hearing safe when used on designated minimum length barrels or longer. Why the somewhat peculiar name? The “One” is a suppressor that can be used on everything from a .300 Blackout carbine on up to the .300 Win Mag and everything in between. In other words it’s the “One” suppressor that you can use on virtually any centerfire rifle. The “One” is constructed of titanium and inconel with an overall length of 7.5-inches, and weighing only 16.3 ounces. It can be mounted with the two-lug quick mount or thread mount. The tube is finished in high-temperature black Cerakote.

One exceptionality impressive suppressor was the Gemtech Arrow test fired on a Primary Weapon Systems Mk 3 bolt action rifle chambered for the powerful .338 Lapua round. The rear half of the suppressor is made of titanium, the front 7075 aluminum alloy. The Arrow weighs only 27-ounces with an overall length of 12-inches and an outside diameter of 1.875-inches. The Arrow features a three-lug quick disconnect mount blast baffle that is threaded into the entrance chamber. The aluminum section has five baffles, which can easily be replaced by depot level military armorers.

A few of the other suppressors tested were the 15-ounce titanium Dagger mounted on a Remington 700 in .308, the Dagger is also certified for use with .300 Win Mag cartridge. The Gemtech Mist integral suppressor designed for the popular Ruger 10/22 rifle was test fired, as well as a few prototype suppressors designed for the .300 Blackout round, and the new lightweight Tracker suppressor designed for hunters.

Also on the agenda was a demonstration of the equipment Gemtech uses for testing the decibel levels of their suppressors. Comprehensive sound testing is performed using a Larson-Davis Laboratories Model 800B Integrating Sound Level Meter with the microphone placed at the shooter’s left ear. The goal for all production is a minimum hearing safe level of 140 decibels or less. A number of rifles and pistols were tested and fired five times each to get an average reading. In addition to production suppressors, a few very interesting new prototypes were evaluated. Some very impressive db numbers were recorded during the demo.

In addition to sound level testing, the company also measures the pressure generated inside of the suppressor, with a Kistler Piezoelectric Pressure Sensor and Charge Meter. This is done to ensure the materials used in the manufacture of their products are sufficient to provide a wide margin of safety under the most extreme of conditions. High speed cameras and video are used to study how suppressors affect weapon components such as bolt velocity.

One new product developed as a direct result of the high-speed video recording is Gemtech’s new AR-15/M16 adjustable bolt carrier assembly. The product is designed to reduce bolt carrier velocity to non-suppressed levels, increasing reliability and service life of the weapon. The Gemtech bolt carrier also reduces recoil and ejection port gassing. The product is adjustable for suppressed and non-suppressed operation, without any permanent alterations to the host firearm. The bolt carriers are available in 5.56 and 7.62mm calibers.

Other equally innovative products include a quick-detach adapter for .22 rimfire caliber suppressors. The device is made of aluminum and stainless steel, and adds less than one-inch to the overall length of the suppressor. There are several mounts available for most popular .22 firearms.

Gemtech also manufactures quick-disconnect flashhiders, muzzle brakes, and a new product called the Blast Jacket. This device is designed to keep muzzle blast from distracting individuals or team members positioned on the side of the shooter. The quick-disconnect Blast Jacket, made of titanium with a stainless steel spring, focuses the expelled gases forward of the barrel. The device also eliminates the cloud of dust or debris that can be created when shooting from the prone position. The Blast Jacket is available in 5.56mm or 7.62mm.

Gemtech offers their own brand of ammunition manufactured to their strict specifications. Currently available are cartridges in 300 Blackout and .22 rimfire. The subsonic ammunition is designed for optimum suppressor performance.

Gemtech is not a company that simply stamps out baffles and sticks them inside a tube. The company is a professional organization that puts a lot of research, testing and development into their products, and continually strives to improve their performance. One of their latest products is the Gemtech G-Core a CNC machined mono-core design, providing an extremely durable product that can be easily disassembled without “special” tools. The G-Core suppressors are currently available in 300 Blackout, 9mm Parabellum, .45 ACP, and .22 rimfire.

If you have an older Outback or Alpine suppressor, Gemtech offers their Improved Outback Upgrade program or I.O.U. The service includes opening up the original tube, removing the old baffles, and installing a new one-piece G-Core. After the upgrade the G-Core Outback is also rated for .22 magnum and .17 HMR calibers. The G-Core makes disassembly of the Outback for maintenance easy using only a common ¼-inch drive ratchet. The upgraded suppressor is returned to the customer in a new box with a manual, Molle pouch and G-Core patch.

When considering the purchase of a firearm suppressor there are many models and manufacturers to choose from. One important point that should be considered is customer service, and is the company going to still be in business to provide it in the future? Gemtech has been around for a long, long time, and continues to be an industry leader today.

The oldest surviving Ingram Model 10, serial number 2. (Courtesy Jeff Hooper)

By Frank Iannamico

In 1964, while working at the Erquiaga Arms Company, Gordon Ingram fabricated a compact submachine gun he chronologically designated as his Model 10. The original Model 10 was 9mm, full-automatic only, and was included in Erquiaga’s October 1964 catalog. There were no orders for the weapons, and Ingram’s original prototype Model 10 was confiscated in a government raid. An improved Model 10, serial number 2, was built during July 1965.

Mr. Ingram had a brochure printed up describing his Model 10, listing its attributes and specifications. The brochure was mailed to domestic and foreign firearms manufacturers and governments. During this period, the United States and many foreign armies, had recently adopted the select-fire mid-range assault rifle that fulfilled the role of the submachine gun and battle rifle in one weapon. It seemed the era of the pistol caliber submachine gun as a military weapon, was over. No one was interested in Ingram’s submachine gun.

The Military Armament Corporation is Born

Mitch WerBell III of Powder Springs, Georgia served with the Office of Special Services (OSS), forerunner of the CIA, during World War II. During the 1950’s, WerBell decided to get into the clandestine weapons business. His specialty was sound suppressors. Mr. WerBell named his company Sionics; it was an organization that specialized in counterinsurgency equipment.

During 1969, Gordon Ingram met with Mitch WerBell to demonstrate his prototype Model 10 caliber .45 submachine gun. Duly impressed with Ingram’s M10 as the perfect covert weapon, WerBell struck a tentative deal with Ingram, whereby he would take several of his submachine guns to Vietnam, and demonstrate them along with his Sionics suppressors. No Sionics made suppressors had yet been designed for the Ingram Model 10. The .45 caliber suppressor taken to Vietnam had been designed and built by Gordon Ingram.

Despite all of the previous rejections of his Model 10 submachine gun by the firearms industry, the suppressed weapon was an immediate hit in Vietnam. WerBell immediately contacted the Sionics Company officials back in Georgia, instructing them to contact Gordon Ingram and begin negotiations for the rights to manufacture his Model 10 submachine gun. WerBell offered Ingram a job as the Chief Engineer to oversee production.

Soon after Ingram joined Sionics, Mitchell L. WerBell III decided that the company name needed updating, and on 21 December 1970, the new name, Military Armament Corporation name became official. A new company trademark for application on all MAC products was introduced. Featured on the insignia was a mythical creature that was part Cobra snake and part Moray eel: a Cobray, wrapped around the world, which was covered with crosshairs from a rifle telescope.

The Quantum Corporation

On 11 June 1969, the Military Armament Corporation became a wholly owned subsidiary of the Quantum Ordnance Bankers Inc. of New York (who later changed their name to the less conspicuous Quantum Corporation). Quantum, headed by Rosser Scott Reeves III, was a holding company that was formed by a group of wealthy Wall Street financiers, to pump millions of dollars into the Military Armament Corporation. Investors were interested in MAC because they had been convinced that the U.S. Army was going to replace the 1911A1 pistol with Ingram’s submachine gun.

MAC Marietta, Georgia

As production of the Ingram submachine guns increased, the company quickly outgrew the Powder Springs production facility that was located on WerBell’s property. During February of 1970, the company relocated into a much larger facility on Glover Street in Marietta, Georgia. After relocating, the company address on the Ingram submachine guns made at the new facility was changed from Powder Springs, GA to Marietta, GA.

Shortly after the Quantum takeover of MAC, a bitter struggle broke out within the company over policies, procedures and operations. This struggle soon erupted into an all-out war within the organization. On 17 May 1972, Mr. WerBell and Ingram were forced completely out of the company. Quantum management then permanently changed the name of the Ingram submachine gun, to which they held all rights, to the MAC submachine gun (Military Armament Corporation). The M10 and M11 receivers with Ingram’s name on them were immediately pulled from the production line and placed in storage. Receiver production continued without the Ingram name, which was replaced by the name “MAC” on all M10 and M11 submachine guns. All weapon manuals, literature and advertising had the Ingram name replaced by MAC.

MAC Bankruptcy

By late 1974, the Military Armament Corporation was experiencing irreversible financial problems, resulting from mounting law suits, an over-staffed management team and a lack of sales. During 1975, the Military Armament Corporation began to default on payments to creditors, in December the Military Armament Corporation was forced to file for bankruptcy. There were several other contributing factors that lead to the demise of the Military Armament Corporation. One was the failure of the U.S. Army to adopt the small Model 11 submachine gun. Another was the U.S. State Department’s decision to stop all suppressor sales to foreign governments.

The MAC Auction

By April of 1976, the remaining inventory and assets of the Military Armament Corporation were ordered by a District Bankruptcy judge to be sold. The auction commenced at 10:00 am EST on 14 June 1976, and lasted for two days. The auction was held at the MAC factory on 440 Glover Street, Marietta, Georgia. Only those possessing valid FFL/SOT licenses were permitted to attend and bid at the auction, less than forty individuals were present.

Potential bidders were offered an extensive inventory of suppressors, and pallets of MAC submachine guns. Material presented at the auction consisted of: 2400 9mm Model 10 submachine guns, 6400 .45 caliber Model 10 submachine guns, 174 .380 caliber Model 11 submachine guns, 600 Stingers and 1925 suppressors of various calibers. There also large lots of receiver flats, parts and related components. There were many suppressor internal parts and tubes, but the ATF would not permit them to be sold. The manufacturing equipment, tooling, and test stands were sold at auction a week or so later. Reportedly, many of the submachine guns were sold as low as $600.00 for a pallet of one hundred guns, and there were few takers!

RPB Industries

After the demise of the Military Armament Corporation, three former employees; Ray R. Roby, Charles T. Pitts and Richard W. Brueggeman decided to form a new company to manufacture and continue selling Ingram/MAC submachine guns. With their collective knowledge of the business, the three men obtained the exclusive rights to manufacture the Ingram M10 and M11 submachine guns under the name RPB Industries Inc. The company was officially incorporated on 9 August 1976. The letters RPB represented the initials of the new owner’s last names. The company operated out of a building located at 1088 Huff Road N.W. Atlanta, Georgia. RPB had procured a number of lower receivers and parts prior to the MAC bankruptcy auction, but had only a limited supply of upper receivers, cash was tight and the company didn’t have sufficient funds to order a new run of the needed parts. By January of 1977, the under financed RPB Industries, Inc. was beginning to experience serious cash flow problems.

The Second RPB Industries

The original RPB Company, was short-lived. The company only remained active in business until the fall of 1977. During 1978, Wayne Daniel along with several investors, acquired RPB for $105,000; $90,000 went to the RPB partners for their inventory and $15,000 to J.P. Maguire Inc. for the company. The new partners soon resumed manufacture of the submachine guns under the RPB Industries Inc. name at a new location: 215 Chester Ave SE, Atlanta, Georgia, the same address as Mr. Daniel’s other firearms’ company Precision Armament.

The RPB Liquidation

Wayne E. Daniel’s RPB partners were allegedly involved in a few questionable ventures. As a result, a lot of unwanted attention was being focused on RPB from the authorities. Another problem facing RPB, was the semiautomatic open-bolt SAP (Semi Automatic Pistol) SM10 pistols that had been previously manufactured, were coming under increasingly heavy scrutiny from the BATF. In a desperate attempt to distance himself from all the attention, Wayne Daniel decided to discontinue doing business as RPB, and liquidate the corporation’s assets. RPB Industries Incorporated was officially dissolved on 21 April 1982. On 18 October 1982, RPB auctioned off their shop equipment and tooling. The Advanced Armament Corporation (James Leatherwood) bought the M10/9mm tooling, while the M10/45 caliber tooling was sold to Jones and Cox, an oil drilling company from Oklahoma. Eventually Mr. Leatherwood was able to obtain the .45 M10 tooling.

SWD Inc.

Several weeks before RPB was officially out of business one of the former partners, Wayne Daniel, started a new company naming it SWD, officially incorporating on 2 April 1982. Mr. Daniel had the manufacturing rights to the Ingram Model 11 submachine gun and the Cobray trademark. The company was initially located at 1872 Marietta Boulevard, Atlanta, Georgia. Under the SWD banner, Wayne Daniel introduced a new, small frame 9mm variation of the basic Ingram design, designating it as the M11/Nine in the summer of 1983. The new M11/Nine was available in a select-fire submachine gun form, or as a new BATF approved, closed-bolt operated, semiautomatic-only, pistol. SWD also marketed the M11-A1, a small frame .380 caliber submachine gun, also available in a semiautomatic-only pistol configuration. SWD marked all of their products with the Cobray logo, which differed slightly from its original form used by the Military Armament Corporation. As stamped on their products the SWD Cobray trademark was enclosed inside of a circle, and had the word Cobray at the bottom, and occasionally included a circled letter ® suffix indicating it was registered. The Cobray trademark stamped on the original MAC and RPB receivers was not encircled, and did not include the name Cobray.

The Daniel’s operation was run far more efficiently than the original Georgia based Military Armament Corporation. The SWD Company had far less overhead; there was no large management staff, no over-paid executives, no overseas sales agents, no large prototype shop or engineering department. Wayne Daniel often worked on the production line right alongside his employees. During its peak, SWD had 55 employees. The SWD Company did more with less, and was more successful than the Wall Street financed Military Armament Corporation.

The End of SWD

The Federal Firearms License of SWD was officially surrendered to ATF on 23 March 1994. Firearm sales continued at companies owned or associated with SWD, most of the entities were established during 1993, about the same time SWD went out of business. Many of the companies were located just across the Georgia border in Tennessee. The firms included; Mountain Accessories Corporation (MAC), Full Metal Jacket (FMJ), Cobray Firearms, Street Sweeper Sales Inc., All Purpose Ammo, The Ultra Force, Et Cetera, S&L Sales, D&L Sales, Excalibur and Leinad (Daniel spelled backwards). The companies sold knives, semiautomatic-pistols, suppressors, flare launchers, derringer pistols, part sets, accessories, receiver flats, fake suppressors, cane guns, shotguns and many other similar items.

The Texas MACs

During the 1970s, James Leatherwood had worked as an engineer with the Military Armament Corporation. Mr. Leatherwood left MAC in May 1972, and returned to Stephenville, Texas. Together, with his brother Charles, also a former MAC employee, formed a business partnership they called Leatherwood Brothers. The enterprise was organized to manufacture the auto-ranging rifle telescope that James had invented. From 1972 until 1975 their primary business was making telescopic sights for military use.

During 1980, the parts and tooling of RPB Industries was being liquidated. The Leatherwood brothers acquired the rights, to the Model 10 submachine gun design. Mr. Leatherwood also bought the remaining stock of Model 10 receiver flats and parts from Wayne Daniel in October of 1982. Although they did make a number of submachine guns, the Leatherwood brothers’ primary goal was to design and manufacture a semiautomatic pistol version of the Ingram Model 10. Gordon was asked him to endorse the new MACs as the “official” Model 10, by allowing his name to be placed on his new Texas made M10 pistols and submachine guns for a royalty fee, Ingram agreed.

The Texas M10A1 Submachine Gun

After implementing a few design changes in the Ingram Model 10, Leatherwood began production under the Military Armament Corporation name. Leatherwood’s new Ingram M10A1, which became better known, as the “Texas MAC”, with a few improvements incorporated into the basic design. The Texas Model 10A1 pistols and submachine guns were available in 9mm or .45 caliber. However, the Texas MACs encountered a number of problems because of the decision to use spot-welds in their construction.

The Texas MAC M10A1S Semiautomatic Pistols

The first M10A1S semiautomatic pistols were produced by Texas MAC in 1984. The pistols were essentially the same design throughout their production, primarily differing from earlier RPB semiautomatic models by their closed-bolt operation. Other differences included the design of their bolts, large cocking handle, open rear sight notch, trigger guard safety levers, front receiver pin, spot-welded receivers and the method that was used to attach their barrels.

The Commemorative Ingram M10

The American Historical Foundation decided to offer a “U.S. Army Special Forces” .45 caliber Ingram M10 to commemorate the use of the weapon by some U.S. Army units during the Vietnam War. The Model 10 closed-bolt pistols for the original project were purchased from Leatherwood’s Texas MAC Company. All of the Commemorative MACs were semiautomatic; wire buttstocks were added to give the appearance of a submachine gun, but to be legal, were permanently fixed in a folded position.

Gordon Ingram had signed a royalty agreement with James Leatherwood allowing him to use the Ingram name on his M10 pistols and submachine guns, but not those sold to the American Historical Foundation. The short-lived AHF Commemorative program yielded only a limited number of Ingram marked M10 pistols, making them highly desirable today by MAC collectors. The Commemorative M10 program continued with subsequent Leatherwood’s Texas guns being marked “MAC 10” in place of “Ingram”. Later production Commemorative “MACs” were supplied by Masterpiece Arms.

The End of Texas MAC

The Texas Military Armament Corporation ceased doing business during 1993 and all of the guns and parts sold off. Wayne Daniel eventually was able to purchase all of the registered M10 frames and components, the very same ones that he had originally sold to James Leatherwood. Mr. Daniel re-assembled them with a combination of RPB and SWD manufactured parts. The Texas/SWD 9mm guns used the same SWD Zytel magazines as the M11/Nine.

The Jersey Arms Works

During the mid-1980s, RPB introduced an open-bolt, semiautomatic-only version of their Model 10 “MAC” submachine gun. RPB’s SM10 design was originally classified by the BATF as a pistol and available to anyone that could legally buy a handgun. The SM10 was an instant hit with the gun buying public. Noting the success that RPB was having, Dominic Spadea, owner of Hatton Industries, a licensed firearms manufacturer in Westmont, New Jersey, decided to produce his own version of the semiautomatic-only “MAC” pistol. Mr. Spadea founded a new company he called the Jersey Arms Works or “JAWS” specifically formed to market his new pistol he designated the S-7 Avenger. The Avenger used the same open-bolt design as RPB’s SM10 semiautomatic pistol.

The BATF Technical Branch inspected a sample of the S-7 pistol. After their examination, the technicians advised the Jersey Arms Company representatives that the S-7 Avenger would most likely be classified as a machine gun, because of the weapon’s open-bolt operation and fire control components. At this time, Hatton Industries had receivers and enough parts to assemble 500 complete firearms. The BATF letter stated that the S-7 Avenger pistol was the same (open-bolt) design and function as the SAP SM10 firearm manufactured by RPB Industries, Georgia, which was reclassified as a machine gun by a BATF letter dated 20 May 1982. Since the S-7 Pistol was the same design and function as the SAP SM10, the S-7 Avenger was also being classified as a machine gun, regardless of their date of manufacture. There were 520 of the New Jersey S-7 Avenger submachine receivers manufactured before they were redesigned, and subsequently approved, by the BATF as semiautomatic pistols. During February 1983, Jersey Arms Works ran an ad in the Shotgun News. The ad offered the “1st Edition” of the S-7 Avenger. The ad stated that the S-7 was available as a semiautomatic-only pistol or full-automatic submachine gun, but in either configuration had to be sold as an NFA weapon, requiring a prospective buyer to go through the BATF paperwork procedure. The weapons offered in the ad were built on the receivers that the BATF had determined were machine gun receivers. The Jersey Arms Works sold 143 completed guns before the company folded in 1984, and the remainder of the unassembled receivers placed in storage.

Wayne Daniel of SWD purchased the entire inventory of Jersey Arms’ 377 unsold receivers in 1987. According to Wayne Daniel, the Jersey Arms submachine gun receivers were brand new, but had been improperly stored and needed attention. SWD replaced the receiver’s back plate with one having the MAC/RPB type rear sight, drilled a hole in the receiver for the sear pin, and modified the receiver to accept a buttstock. The buttstocks that were the same configuration as those used on the MAC carbines and SWD’s Terminator shotguns. The rest of the parts used to assemble the receivers were RPB M10 parts. The guns were refinished, test-fired and stamped with the Cobray trademark. The fully transferable submachine guns were advertised in a 1988 issue of the Shotgun News for $418.95 each shipped.

Learn more MAC history available in the book Gordon Ingram, the MAC MAN, available from Chipotle Publishing LLC.

MG11 Swiss Maxim.

By Robert G. Segel

The Swiss Maxim MG11 is considered by many as the Swiss watch of Maxim machine guns. Manufactured in Switzerland by Waffenfabrik Bern, the MG11 is noted for its precision manufacturing guaranteeing the utmost reliability in both form and function.

Each Swiss Maxim gun was issued a gunner’s kit with tools, cleaning components and key spare parts to keep the gun operating under all conditions with the ability to repair or replace certain vital parts by the gun team.

The metal gunner’s kit measures approximately 13.5 x 11.5 x 3.75 inches and is top opening with a single hinged locking clasp to the front. It also has two handles for carrying in either a vertical or horizontal manner. Wood compartments within the box allow for an orderly display and easy access to the contents. Small parts are contained in a leather pouch with a draw string.

1. Swiss Maxim MG11 compartmentalized gunner’s spare parts and tool box.
2. Three-piece cleaning rod
3. Galvanized tin 1 liter oil
container with handle
4. Two sheets of fine grit paper
5. Pliers
6. Brass drift
7. Steel drift
8. Punch 4mm
9. Punch 2mm
10. Small chisel
11. Screwdriver
12. Brass head hammer
13. Soft cleaning brush
14. Half-round file
15. Roll of barrel packing string
16. Bundle of cleaning cloths
17. Brass cleaning rod jag
18. Cleaning rod bore brush
19. Lifters (two)
20. Combination tool
21. Leather pouch with draw string (items 22 through 39 are contained in the leather pouch)
22. Firing pins (two)
23. Safety sear (complete)
24. Top cover springs (two)
25. Firing pin spring
26. Tumbler
27. Gib
28. Wire ring containing an assortment of 12 (6 pairs) of different length and diameter cotter pins
29. Extractor spring
30. Cleaning rod chamber brush
31. Side lever axis pin (two)
32. Trigger sear axis pin (three)
33. Side lever axis split pin
34. Safety-sear pin
35. Gib spring
36. Length of thin steel wire
37. Safety-sear springs (two)
38. Upper feed pawl springs (two)
39. Length of thin copper wire

By Robert G. Segel

Designed by Vasily Degtyaryov in 1927, the Russian DP28 was the primary light machine gun of the Red Army during World War II. Man portable with a distinctive 47-round pan magazine, the DP28 was produced in the hundreds of thousands of units and proved itself throughout its service life as a reliable and rugged weapon.

Whether from wear, breakage or battle damage, DP28 gunners carried a gunner’s kit with them to keep the weapon in operating condition. The gas-operated weapon was very simple in construction and the gunner’s kit reflected the simplicity of the gun.

The kit consists of a simple canvas bag with an adjustable leather shoulder strap. The top flap is secured by a metal roller buckle and leather strap. A single pocket is stitched to the rear inside of the bag to hold the three-piece cleaning rod assembly that also gives the bag form and rigidity. Contents of the bag consist of:

1. Canvas bag with adjustable leather shoulder strap
2. Three-piece cleaning rod assembly
3. Three assorted pin punches
4. Chamber rod
5. Ruptured case extractor
6. Combination tool/wrench
7. Double ended carbon scraper (large)
8. Double ended carbon scraper (small)
9. Spare striker (firing pin)
10. Spare extractor
11. Driving spring
12. Combined solvent and oil bottle. (The “W” is actually the Cyrillic “ShCh” and the word transliterates to “shchelo,” which means lye or alkaline solution/solvent. The “H” is the Cyrillic “N” that transliterates to “neft” or oil.)

Comparison of the spur, the cavity below the spur and hammer – the CZ P-07 on the left and the Duty on the right (Jiří Sedlačík)

By David Pazdera

The research and development program of the Česká zbrojovka Uherský Brod (CZ) company has added several alternate handguns to the classic CZ 75 series since the mid 1990’s. But none of them was launched into production. That situation changed after the arrival of a substantially simplified Omega trigger mechanism.

The breakthrough in Omega’s fate came in the winter of 2006, not long after the appointment of the new general manager of CZ, Ing. Lubomír Kovařík, whose priorities focused on the earliest possible addition of a technologically more efficient and a “tender” SA/DA pistol (Tender means offering to larger bids and contracts). The Omega mechanism offers such potential. The development process was given a go and CZ’s designer Ing. Ivan Filko poignantly summarised the efforts as follows:

“We wrapped the trigger mechanism with a pistol.”

That was the birth of the CZ 75 P-07 Duty model. However, the only immediate thing this polymer compact has in common with the initial Seventy-Fives is the operating principle of the trigger mechanism, the inner slide guide and the disassembly procedure. The rest of the design is based on what can be called the contemporary standard for service pistols. The frame of the Duty is made of Zytel polymer, free of fibreglass (used by CZ since the time of the CZ 100 striker pistol), fitted with a standardised mounting rail with three traverse notches, a large trigger guard for reliable shooting with gloves and a funnel-shaped magazine grip entry.

The initial version of the Duty had the walls of the polymer frame with slight bulges at the front of the insert. It had no impact on the operation and safety but it looked awful, and the knurled surfaces on the sides of the frame above the trigger fortunately provided a stylish camouflage. This feature was proven very useful in practice – not only for reliable “resting” of the index finger of the shooting hand off the trigger but also for reinforcing the grasp of the gun when held by both hands, when this knurled spot serves as a rest for the thumb of the other hand. That is why this feature has been preserved on the modernised CZ P-07 and its larger sister – the CZ P-09.

The polymer frame of the Duty houses two inserts manufactured by the MIM method. The top parts of these inserts are provided with notches to ensure the inner guidance of the slide. The rear insert is a container that carries the firing mechanism and its rear surface is provided with cogs to cover the back of the slide, the front insert is a container that serves for the fitting of the trigger and the slide catch axis runs through it, serving also as a connecting pin between the frame and slide assembly with the main and return springs. That is made of flat wire and it is fit freely onto a long plastic guide.

The Duty bets its success on the current and most common Browning system with an open quadrant comprising two hooks, locked by the square-shaped rear side of the barrel to fit the properly sized ejection port. The Duty further joined the systems locked in
horizontal position.

The Duty has been fitted with ambidextrous plastic controls and de-cocking levers. The hammer is provided with a classic round knurled thumb rest with a large relief hole.

Characteristic features of the CZ 75 P-07 Duty model include the slide with the large grooves below the rear sight and the markedly bevelled sides of the rear part to simplify drawing and re-holstering.

But one can never satisfy all demands of every user. Many shooters like to charge their pistols by grasping the front part of slide, which is quite problematic due to the bevelled section of the Duty. Testing under various conditions further revealed that the sheer lines of the slide and receiver are fairly sharp and may catch on clothes in case of swift drawing. Customers were also quite sceptical about the economical polymer sight. On the other hand, the new magazine was praised by everyone. It was developed by adaptation of the magazine from the CZ 75 Tactical TS and the manufacturer managed to achieve the same capacity as in the standard CZ 75, with a lower height.

The CZ 75 P-07 Duty model specification was initially for nitriding of the barrel and slide. However, this subcontracted surface treatment did not fully meet the expectations; the nitriding surface treatment turned out to be prone to scratching. The CZ finally opted for the surface protection of the barrel and slide on the Duty model with manganese phosphate coating, which improves the anti-corrosion and friction characteristics. The company processes this surface treatment on its own, using the automatic processing line purchased several years ago.

Reason for Modernisation

The development of the CZ 75 P-07 Duty was finished during 2007 and launched to retail shops in the spring of 2009. Nowadays, CZ admits that it needlessly hurried. Even though the pistol passed all the demanding tests performed in accordance with service standards, the launch of production and its practical use have demonstrated the need for fine tuning of certain details. But the initial stage of problems did not last very long and the new CZ “plastic” gun promptly began to make its way to both the service and civilian markets.

The launching of the Duty on the market was obviously associated with concerns about the material of pistol frame. Some customers perceived Zytel without fibreglass as being too soft and sensitive to temperature changes. The reality is that the fine tuning of the design has eradicated all operation problems and even proved the pistol as a potential rival to products of truly prestigious brands – the information available from the tender in Egypt show this pistol won the final stage, out-performing pistols from Glock and Beretta. Nevertheless, CZ resorted to substantial re-consideration of the polymer to be used for further expansions of its portfolio.

Looking at the fact that the CZ 75 P-07 Duty was originally designed as a “tender” pistol, it still lacked one important thing: the option to customise grip sizes by means of replaceable backstraps. Most shooters are impressed with the ergonomics of the Duty, so its development team had to tackle the actual need for the utilisation of this feature. The only problem here is that partial changes in the grip size have become one of the most observed conditions in tender proceedings over the recent years.

Having summarised all these facts, CZ reached a conclusion: the most convenient and fastest way forward is to modernise the CZ 75 P-07 Duty model. The same process was also destined for the high-capacity pistol unofficially called the “large Duty”.

Time for Changes

Following the appointment of the new general manager Kova?ík, CZ launched its ambitious scheme for the development and production of new service firearms and hired several ex-military personnel for product management positions in this respect. New product managers know the true needs and preference of their customers – as well as the things to be avoided, undesired or unusable.

The new pistols CZ P-07 and CZ P-09, both launched in 2013, have benefitted from a series of accurately aimed alterations to remove weak spots from the CZ 75 P-07 Duty: the features concerned are the sharp edges of the frame and slide, the smooth bevelling of sides on the slide front, the missing option to change the grip size, the dimensionally stable polymer used for frame manufacturing, the reach on the trigger in the DA mode, the plastic sights and the return spring fitted freely on the guide rod.

When it came to modernisation, the company needed to go lock, stock and barrel! That finally led to changes affecting the hammer with the aim to enable its easy and safe operation by harmonising the shape with a new, altered design.

Polymers reinforced with fiberglass are not absolutely flawless. Their high strength and dimensional stability regardless of temperature fluctuation are amazing. But polymers with fiberglass are fairly brittle. The problem arising on the Duty was with the spur and the trigger guard. Whereas this issue was solved by partially thicker walls, the alteration to the frame rear took the design engineer a lot longer – his aim was actually to preserve the existing rear container. He could not make it one hundred percent perfect anyway, strengthening the spur required both the reduction of its length and thicker walls, as well as a slight curving of the top part of the grip, and this solution employed a reduced original container insert instead of making a new one.

As for the replaceable backstraps, the design engineer was inspired by the proven solution on the CZ 75 SP-01 Phantom model: the backstraps are slid onto the grooves in checkering and secured by means of a cross pin holding the firing spring ramp as well. They are easy to replace, yet the manufacturer does not assume that these replacements would be very frequent, so the pistol is supplied without any special tool for removal of the pin – one can simply use anything of the right diameter. The CZ P-07 and CZ P-09 models are supplied with three replaceable backstraps as standard: S, M and L, where S is the smallest default one.

What Remains Hidden

The return spring preloaded on the guide mounted in the new CZ pistols can be spotted and definitely enjoyed by every user. On the other hand, the new design of the sights on the CZ P-07 and CZ P-09 will remain unnoticed by many. Those are made of steel, which improves the service life and durability. The new sights are provided with luminescent dots as standard, the product range also includes versions with optical fibre and tritium capsules.

During the modernisation of the Duty, the CZ has decided to use carbon nitriding in a salt bath (tenifer coating), specifically the process called Arcor. The procedure improves the resistance to corrosion and wear significantly. In for a penny: the Arcor surface treatment on pistols CZ P-07 and CZ P-09 is used not only on the slide and barrel yet also on certain inner metal parts.

The last detail that not every user necessarily notices at first, is the alteration of magazine capacity for the CZ P-07 model. Its basic version contains 15 rounds in calibre 9×19, which is one less compared to the Duty. The basic accessories include a plastic bottom, which expands the magazine capacity by two more rounds without any significant increase in dimensions. The forty version even offers the impressive combination of 12+3.

Summary

The new polymer pistols CZ P-07 and CZ P-09 bring more than just a cosmetic improvement. The adoption of reinforced polymer and the implementation of the modern surface treatment on metal parts have brought rapid improvement to such crucial characteristics as reliability and durability under any weather conditions.

Both models are available in calibres 9×19 (9 mm Luger), .40 S&W and 9×21. The portfolio will be soon complemented by the compact version in “calibre 9 mm Browning short”. Armed forces can be supplied with adaptors to enable shooting both models with marking ammunition – Simunition/CQT. The product range includes the extended barrel with arrangements for suppressor mounting. For both models there are available the quality plastic holsters for concealed carry, made by the Hogue Company, alternatively also with the paddle and belt sling, as well as the service ones. Especially for the armed forces a variant of the holster with a thigh belt clip or MOLLE clip and safety (level 2) is available. Both pistols can be also provided with “a bodywork” in the RONI carbine conversion to enable more accurate, faster and more comfortable shooting.

Shown is the author firing the Battle Arms Development lightweight rifle. Notice the Fortis rail and SHIFT™ vertical grip. Also the Israeli made Ultimag polymer magazine.

By Christopher R. Bartocci

Throughout the industry, many companies have come up offering “enhanced” components for the AR15/M16 family of weapons. One such company has experienced rapid popularity and growth is Battle Arms Development, Inc. or commonly referred to as BAD or Battle Arms. The company was officially launched on Independence Day, July 4th, 2009 as an online retail store. This 100% made American product company was founded by George Huang and Roger Wang. George has multiple patents either granted or pending. George’s background is really not what you would think of when you think about a firearms or firearms component designer. His degree in Architectural Engineering from Penn State University is not strange but the fact that he worked for twenty years on projects such as Disney’s Studio Paris, Disney’s California Adventure, LEGOLAND, Universal Studios Island of Adventure, Galaxy Casino Macau and Thunder Valley Casino is a bit odd in this industry. As it would be, George wound up designing lightweight carbines and other advanced small arms components because George was an avid firearms enthusiast. One particular pet peeve of George’s was not being able to find adequate firearms tools or components that suited his needs, so he went on to design his own. In 2013 George retired from the entertainment industry and went to work full time on BAD. He now spends full time designing the next level of AR components and other small arms products. One of George’s short term goals is to build a factory rifle with 95% of its components designed and manufactured by BAD, Inc. He is
well on his way.

The first product introduced by the newly formed Battle Arms Development Company was the BAD-T1 “The Armorer” multi-tool and gauge for the M14/M1A/M1 rifle. This multi tool is manufactured from 41L40 chrome-moly steel and brass and weighs .42 pounds. It actually fits in the storage compartment in the USGI M14 buttstock and commercial M1A rifles. This is truly a multi-tool which includes: trigger guard take down, .30 cal muzzle wear gauge, throat erosion gauge, M1 Garand throat erosion gauge, trigger group takedown tool, extractor removal tool, 3/8” hex gas nut wrench, bolt roller greaser, 1/4” hex socket for standard bits, gas piston holder, rear sight screw driver with torque handle, large flat head screw driver and flash hider alignment gauge, to just name a few of its functions. This product was quickly followed up by the BAD-T3 & BAD-T4 Gas Cylinder Lock Wrench for the M14/M1A/M1 Garand and Smith Enterprises Gas Lock Front Sight.

The next and perhaps the flagship product for Battle Arms Development, Inc. is the Ambidextrous Safety Selector BAD-ASS and the Combat Ambidextrous Safety Selector or BAD-CASS that is available in selective fire version. These are made in the traditional 0°-90° throw or the 0°- 50° short-throw variations. In recent years the short-throw lever has gained popularity. Lower receivers come marked for the use with this lever. These high quality components are manufactured from billet steel bars on a CNC Swiss machine. Some models are finished with manganese phosphate. The material was recently upgraded to 416 stainless steel for the center of the safety. Although this costs two times more than previously, it is worth the cost. This is coated in a PVD (Physical Vapor Deposition) ZrN process with a gold finish which is ultra hard and lubricious to give the safety its buttery smooth operation. The levers are held on each side by a T10 torx screw. The levers can be changed to one of nine that are offered by BAD including shorter levers, crank levers and also different color levers. This popular accessory has been offered by Original Equipment Manufacturers such as War Sports Industries, Rainer Arms, Spike’s Tactical, San Tan Tactical, Remington Arms, Wilson Combat, Adams Arms, Aero Precision, Seekins Precision and Midwest Industries.

The BAD-EPP (Enhanced Pivot Pin) and BAD-ETP (Enhanced Takedown Pin or collectively called the BAD-EPS (Enhanced Pin Set) are another popular offering. These pins fit all mil-spec lower receivers and have a patent pending pivot pin and takedown pin design, improved gripping surface and pull strength without the use of oversized heads. The low profile pin heads have low drag and have a lower profile than mil-spec pin heads. The pin tips are extended +0.030 over the mil spec pins which noticeably aids in pushing/pulling the pins, without any undue protrusion. There are bullet tip guides on the left side of the pins to aid in pushing out tight pins. These pins come with KNS hardened stainless steel detents, 17-7 nickel plated stainless steel springs and one high strength neodymium magnet for hassle free magnet assisted installation of the Enhanced Pivot Pin. These pins are also offered in Titanium and come in raw finish as well as matte black IONBOND PVD finish.

In August of 2014, Battle Arms Development Company entered the AR-receiver market with the introduction of their BAD-15 forged lower receiver. BAD did not want to come out with just another copy of the lower, only if they could present an improved one. The receiver is made from high quality aerospace grade 7075 T6 aluminum raw forging. No seconds or improperly heat treated forgings accepted. The magazine well is cut by way of ultra precise wire EDM process for consistency and reliability rather than traditional broach or CNC cut. This is an expensive enhancement which is usually a 30 minute process on a wire EDM machine that bills at $100 to $120 per hour. This costs more than some finished receivers on the market. The magazine well consistency will be identical from receiver number 1 to receiver number 10,000. Precision reamed-to-size holes for the pivot pin, takedown pin, hammer pin, trigger pin and safety selector holes, these are not simply drilled to size. The receiver extension threads are machined with high precision and low stress helical threading rather than drilled and tapped. The logo is 3D high power, deep laser engraved on a $150,000 German laser engraving machine that truly engraves, not superficially etches or burns only through the anodizing. Text and fire markings are engraved prior to anodizing and are razor sharp image quality. The caliber is marked “Multi” for build versatility. Legacy selector stops are removed. Pictogram selector markings are done for both 90° or 50° short-throw safeties. The receiver has a deep beveled magazine well and all sharp edges are de-burred by hand. The receiver is definitely a step above the rest in both fit and finish.

Battle Arms Development also offers a lightweight receiver set, the BAD556-LW. This comes with matching upper and lower receivers. Both are precision machined via CNC from solid billets of 7075 T6 aircraft grade aluminum. The lower receiver weighs just 6.84 ounces and the upper 6.31 ounces. Both receivers are patent pending. Both receivers have a MIL-A-8625F, Type III, Class 2, hard anodized flat black finish and laser engraved logos. Both receivers are compatible with any industry standard upper or lower receiver. All sharp edges are de-burred by hand. The lower receivers use pictograms for safety/selector markings and are set up for both 90° and 50° BAD-ASS/BAD-CASS selector levers. The magazine well is flared and beveled for easy magazine changing. The bolt catch has a screw instead of a pin, making for easier, non-marring installation. The rear takedown pin is held by a screw as well. The detent pin spring is trimmed down, inserted and the screw holds it in the receiver. The trigger guard is integral with the lower receiver. The upper receiver has machined T-marks and M4 extended feed ramp cuts. To save on weight, the upper receiver does not accept a forward assist. Not only is this good for weight reduction but a forward assist is not necessary on the rifle. Gene Stoner himself testified in front of a congressional defense subcommittee (Ichord Hearings) in 1968 to the fact it was not necessary nor desirable. If the bolt does not lock, a round should never be forced into the chamber. It should be removed. By forcing it into the chamber you are asking for bigger problems.

Along the same lines with the concept for a lightweight rifle, BAD introduced a new concept in a stock for the AR platform. It is the BAD-LBS-MIL or Lightweight Butt Stock – military specification receiver extension. This is the first of its kind. It’s such a simple idea to have a “Fixed” stock to attach to the standard carbine 2, 4 or 6 position receiver extension (buffer tube). The BAD-LBS-MIL uses an available component and allows the end user to switch out their heavier stock for a lightweight 3.0 oz butt plate (probably at least half the weight of a standard stock) for specific needs and to have the ability to return to a telescopic stock. With the use of heavy body armor, the extended stock is less practical. The LBS can even be placed on a longer A5 length receiver extension. The BAD-LBS-MIL is patent pending.

To go along with the BAD-LBS is the optional SABERTUBE™ receiver extension which is thicker in diameter than the Mil-Spec receiver extension for added strength and is dimpled to help reduce the weight. On average the SABERTUBE™ is .2 oz lighter than the Mil-Spec receiver extension. The SABERTUBE™ does not require a heavy steel receiver extension nut nor receiver extension end plate. It is also 1-inch longer than the Mil-Spec receiver extension but has better length of pull. BAD calls it a mid-length and a one size fits “most”. The SABERTUBE™ and the BAD-LBS are also sold as a kit.

Along with the lightweight, there is a really nice Titanium gas block, the BAD-LGB-Ti-625. Based on research, this 0.48 oz gas block is the lightest in the industry. This is actually lighter than the gas tube. The gas block is .625 inch diameter and is held in place by two hex screws. The one sent for test and evaluation is raw titanium.

As far as accessories go, another interesting gadget is the BAD-EMR or the Enhanced Magazine Release button. These are CNC milled from a billet of 7075 T6 aluminum. It is offered in anodized black, red, OD green, silver/clear, yellow lime, blue and light bronze finish. Also offered are Cerakote coated options in Magpul FDE and Smith & Wesson Red.

Battle Arms Development in collaborative efforts with Northtech Defense (NTD) have produced the LIGHTRIGID™ line of barrels. These are .223 Wylde chambered barrels (1 turn in 8 inch Right Twist) manufactured with a manufacturing process developed by BAD and NTD from tooling, gun drilling, contouring, reaming, etc. Every BAD barrel is double heat-treated/stress relieved, cryogenically treated and is meant to be a competition grade barrel. The barrels are dimpled to assist in location of the gas port, with the port on the gas block. The LIGHTRIGID™ line of barrels have a .625” diameter gas block journal and a mid length gas system designed around the BAD light rifle concept. As of this writing the barrels are offered in 14.5 and 16 inches. Soon to be released are 10.5 and 18 inch versions. Currently on the drawing board are .750 inch diameter gas block journal barrels with both rifle and carbine gas systems. Other calibers are in the works as well, including .308 Win, .300 Blackout and 6.8mm SPC II. BAD guarantees the sub-MOA accuracy capability of the barrel. Of course you cannot guarantee the shooter’s skill, proper installation and proper ammunition. BAD achieves consistent dime size accuracy at 100 yards, according to Huang.

Two rifles were built using Battle Arms Development components. One was based on the BAD lightweight rifle concept which utilized the billet receiver set, barrel and every component in the BAD Product line. The second was built on the forged lower receiver with BAD components.

Beginning from the rear of the Lightweight BAD build is the SABERTUBE™ pistol receiver extension tube with QD Endplate and BAD LBS Lightweight Buttstock. This was a very lightweight setup compared to the norm. Inside is a standard carbine buffer with a Blitzkrieg KynSHOT hydraulic buffer (P/N RB5000). This author has been testing these buffers for quite some time and has had very good experience with them. They do slightly lighten the field recoil impulse. Due to the light weight of the rifle this appeared to be a good fit. The BAD-EPS (Enhanced Pin Set) was used on the lower receiver. Both the rear takedown pin as well as the front pivot pin are black and well made. The Magpul MIAD pistol grip is this author’s pistol grip of choice. Normally the backstrap has the beavertail on it but due to the shape of the receiver the straight backstrap insert had to be used. The Norgon ambidextrous magazine is used along with the BAD-EMR (Enhanced Magazine Release) button in the Black variation. On the other side of the receiver is the Seekins Precision Enhanced Bolt Catch. This had a larger surface with dimples making for better no-slip surface. The trigger chosen for this rifle is the Hipertouch® EDT. This trigger is their Enhanced Duty Trigger. It has 2-user adjustable trigger weights which are changed by replacing the hammer spring. They are 4 1/2 and 5 1/2 pound trigger springs. There is a “hint” of creep, slightly shorter travel to break at the moment of reset with a very clean break. The trigger also has 25 to 50% faster hammer lock-up, Mil-Spec strike energy. This trigger is US Patent pending.

The charging handle is the FORTIS HAMMER™ charging handle which manufactured from a billet of 7075 T6 aluminum. This particular one is black Teflon. This is a robust charging handle designed to be used with and without gloves. There are grooves that work great with gloves yet do not cut up your hand. The charging handle has a roll pin/latch design key to stop the stress on the roll pin. The bolt carrier group is from WMD and is NiB-X coated. The carrier is polished prior to coating for a very smooth and slippery feeling.

The upper receiver has the BAD lightweight upper with the 16” BAD ULTRAMATCH LIGHTRIGID™ barrel chambered in .223 Wylde. This barrel is manufactured from 416R stainless steel with a 1 turn in 8 inch twist and a .625” gas block diameter which is dimpled for the BAD titanium gas block. This barrel uses a midlength gas system. It is cryogenically treated, double heat treat stress relieved, magnetic particle inspected and weights 24.6 ounces. The muzzle brake is the VG6 Epsilon stainless steel muzzle break. The handguard is the Fortis Manufacturing SWITCH system released in 2014. This 14.75 inch, 9.8 ounce rail was designed to have ease of switching from one configuration to another without a complete upper. One rail could be configured with an optic and bipod and another just with an optic and flashlight. This also makes for ease of cleaning and easy access to an adjustable gas block. Having multiple handguards eliminated the need for multiple uppers. This handguard is manufactured from 6061 T6 aluminum and is a truly unique handguard.

Also added to the rifle is an Aimpoint Micro T-1 2 MOA red dot sight and Magpul MBUS PRO Offset front and rear sights. At the same time this rifle was being tested, a new magazine was received. The Israeli Ultimag polymer magazine which is imported by FAB Defense. Very similar to the Magpul Maglevel magazine, but in its own way different. The texture and feel are quite different. The window on both sides is larger. The magazine holds 30 rounds and is Patent Pending. This magazine is very high quality and very durable.

The second rifle uses the Battle Arms Development forged lower receiver. This receiver is also equipped with the BAD-EMR, BAD-EPS, BAD-ASS, Norgon ambidextrous magazine release and Seekins Precision Enhanced bolt catch. Added to this is the VLTOR receiver extension and buffer and Modstock. Then a Magpul MIAD pistol grip and Geissele High Speed National Match trigger group complete the setup. This trigger is designed for high power match rifle competition. The trigger’s adjustability, lighter 1st and 2nd stage pull weights and fast lock-up time enhances the trigger control and accuracy while the hammer spring provides uniform primer ignition for more consistent bullet velocity.

The upper receiver on this rifle is the VLTOR VIS-KM9 with Keymod. The upper with integral rail weighs 21.4 oz with a handguard length of 8.82 inches. The overall length is 16.49 inches with an interior diameter of 1.25 inches. The upper has a forward assist, fired cartridge case deflector and ejection port dust cover. The lower handguard is removable for cleaning and also an M203 grenade can be attached. Any Keymod rail panel may be used. The receiver is manufactured from 6061 T6 forging and the handguard is made from the same material but is an extrusion. They upper receiver assembly is hard coat anodized, black per MIL-A,8625 TYPE III Class 2. The charging handle, also manufactured by VLTOR, is the Gunfighter ambidextrous charging handle which is manufactured from a forging of 7075 T6 aluminum. The extended latches are internally redesigned to direct the force off the roll pin and into the body of the charging handle during “support hand only” manipulations, making the charging handle stronger and less prone to breakage. The bolt carrier group is a standard LMT bolt carrier group.

The barrel is manufactured by Faxon Firearms. This 2 pound, 18 inch heavy fluted barrel is chambered in 5.56mm with a 1 turn in 8 inch twist and utilizes a midlength gas system. The barrel is manufactured from 416R stainless steel and button rifled. The inside of the barrel is raw stainless with the outside being matte blasted. The gas block has a diameter of .750 inches. The barrel features M4 extended feed ramps on the barrel extension and an 11-degree target crown. Quality control testing includes magnetic particle inspection and air-gauge testing. These barrels are manufactured in-house at the Faxon Firearms plant in Cincinnati, Ohio. Attached to the muzzle is a VLTOR flash supressor.

Both rifles were test fired with IMI 5.56x45mm M193 ammunition. This is Israeli made 55gr full metal jacket ammunition. Each was tested with 200 rounds of this ammunition with no malfunctions. The Lightweight rifle was tested at 25 yards off hand, due to the Aimpoint optic, which was designed for close range. With the combination of VG6 muzzle brake and the hydraulic buffer the rifle did not move off target. Quick and accurate follow up shots were easy. Off-hand groups were consistently under 1 inch. The second rifle with the heavy barrel was tested for accuracy with Black Hills Ammunition Mk262 Mod1 ammunition, this 77gr OTM is the standard which any 5.56mm/.223 Rem cartridge is compared for accuracy. At 100 yards all groups were sub MOA.

Battle Arms Development is without at doubt one of the industry leaders in high quality enhanced components and is very quickly becoming a respected manufacturer of complete firearms. As of this writing, short of a bolt carrier group, BAD manufactures enough components to build a complete rifle. BAD President George Huang assures SAR that many new products are on the way. This author will be anxiously waiting to see what comes next.

GE-Developed General Purpose 7.62mm Armor Machine Gun (Author’s Collection)

By George E. Kontis, P.E.

I had started a new job with Ajaxx Gun Works and was meeting with the Engineering Director to discuss my first assignment. Based on my past experience as a product engineer, the Director entrusted me with a project to find the cause and correction for malfunctions on a new automatic rifle that were occurring during automatic fire.

Two firearms technicians had been assigned to work under my direction. The Director asked me to proceed to the range immediately as the technicians would have the guns and the test equipment ready. “Are these two guys any good?” I asked him. “Beener has been with Ajaxx nine years and Chumwell has been here twenty two. Chumwell is the steward of the technician’s union,” he responded. “They both have done a lot of testing. Chumwell has an excellent attendance record. He only missed work when he blew the end of his finger off during a test. He put his finger over an open pressure transducer hole in a cannon barrel. Chumwell noticed he had forgotten to put the transducer in and decided he could plug it with his finger. He’s learned a lot since then.” That really wasn’t the answer I was looking for, but it did speak volumes. I let it all go as I was eager to begin the tests.

At the test site I found only one technician and introduced myself to Chumwell. When I inquired the whereabouts of Beener I learned that he went to get fans. Silently I told myself that fans might be a good idea to cool the guns and move the testing along more quickly. On the table was a stack of guns thrown together in a heap. Nearby was a pile of linked ammunition. “This can’t be our ammo– it’s linked.” I said. “These guns need loose ammo and delinking it will take a lot of our time.” Chumwell said somebody had forgotten to replenish their ammunition supply, but not to worry, because a couple of technicians who normally clean guns would be sent out to delink ammunition for us. “We’ll have to wait for them because we don’t delink ammo.” Chumwell announced. “It’s not in our job description.”

Finally Beener arrived with the fans and it was only then I learned that the fans were not for the guns, they were brought out so my two test technicians didn’t get hot while shooting. Poor dears! Beener switched on the three fans, acoustically transforming our quiet test site to the likes of an active airport runway. I watched as papers, cups, and other small items flew everywhere, and decided to keep my hearing protection on for the duration of the test.

I called Chumwell and Beener over for a meeting so I could outline the tests I wanted to have performed. When I got to the part where I talked about re-lubing the guns, Beener informed me that they didn’t have gun lube at the test site. They never bring it out because, in their opinion, the guns seem to have plenty lube when they come out of the gun cleaning department. Beener was noticeably unhappy when I informed him he would be making a trip back to the factory for lubricant, just as soon as our meeting was over.

It was close to noon by the time Beener arrived with gun lube and the gun cleaners had finished delinking our ammo. Over Chumwell’s objection that it was too close to their lunch hour, I insisted that we begin testing. Not long into the test cycle we encountered our first malfunction. I examined both the gun and the damaged fired case. The ejection port was supposed to be lengthened on this gun. I wondered if that operation could have been missed by the prototype shop. It was easy enough to check. I reached in my pocket for a scale and moved it in the direction of the ejection port. I was surprised to find Chumwell’s hand suddenly blocking mine. “If you want something measured, we’ll do it. We’re the engineering technicians,” he said. When I voiced my disapproval, Chumwell got testier. “If you decide to measure it on your own, I’ll file a union grievance.” Oddly, I found myself thinking about my grandmother. “You can tell if it’s going to be a good day by the way it starts,” she always said. If true, this was going to be a very long day and I was beginning to have my doubts about Ajaxx.

As the testing continued and the number of malfunctions mounted, I was curious as to how many stoppages we’d encountered. I asked Chumwell to hand me the test firing log so I could count them. Chumwell informed me there was no log. Yelling over the din of the three fans, he said: “See these marks here on the table?” He pointed to a series of vertical lines grouped in a series of four with a crossed line indicating the fifth. There were two like this and a single as well. The marks indicated we’d had eleven malfunctions. “We keep track with them this way. We also know how many rounds we bought out and how many we turn back in. That gives us our round count,” he announced proudly. “Hey, what more do you need to know?” I thought about mentioning that some of the malfunctions were failures to extract while others were short recoil failures. Their system didn’t account for the difference, but at this stage I decided it was pointless.

In the next round of tests, a part failed. I asked them to replace it so we could continue. “There are no spares out here,” came the reply from one of them. “It’s too much trouble to bring them out.” During the long wait for the replacement part to arrive from the plant, I noticed a screw had loosened on one of the guns. I pointed it out to Beener and asked him to tighten it. Moving faster than he had all day, he reached into a leather pouch on his belt and proudly drew out a multi-purpose tool. I stopped him. “Don’t we have any screwdrivers?” “Oh, we can do whatever we need with these,” Beener responded, smiling as he proudly pointed out the many features of the tool. I’d had enough. I walked over to each fan, turned it off and motioned to the two technicians in for a discussion. “The next time you guys run a test for me, I want to see a toolbox filled with real tools and a bottle of gun lube. I’m also going to draw up a sample range test log, and I want you two to keep a record of every round fired and every malfunction.” Beener and Chumwell were not happy, but I didn’t care. I found myself rethinking the wisdom of my decision to sign up with the Ajaxx Gun Works.

Now it’s time for a confession. I never worked for Ajaxx Gun Works and as far as I know, a company with that name has never existed. I have never worked with technicians named Beener or Chumwell either. The events related, however, are based on actual events that either happened to me or they were told to me by other engineers in our industry.

I told this tale to illustrate an important point. A good engineering technician is essential to the development and production of every firearm. In every place I’ve worked, I have been fortunate to have worked with outstanding technicians. There were, however, a very few who made the job more demanding.

I measure the performance of every firearms technician against the one who stood out above the rest. Bill Frigon received his training at the U.S. Government’s Springfield Armory and went to work for the General Electric Company, Armament Systems Division after the Armory closed in 1968. He was an amazing engineering technician.

Bill was assigned to work with me in the development of a 7.62mm General Purpose Armor Machine Gun (called GPAM and later designated AMG). The Army had funded GE, Hughes, Maremont and others, to develop a coaxial machine gun for the M1 Tank. The Army realized they had made a huge mistake by introducing the Springfield Armory designed M73—which they later called the M219.

Before we took the AMG to the firing range for the first time, Bill asked if he could spend some time in the drafting/design office. I was curious as to the reason for this unusual request and was quite pleased to learn that Bill wanted to go through the weapon cycle with the designers. He wanted to look at the individual piece part drawings to see how they were dimensioned and to see what materials and surface treatments were used. A few days later, I was less happy when Bill informed me he was not yet ready to go to the range. I reminded him he had already spent quite a lot of time up in the drafting department and down in the engineering lab. Now what was he doing?

Bill invited me to visit him in his work area so he could better explain. There he proudly showed me a large pile of compartmentalized plastic boxes filled with parts. He had labeled each compartment with the name and part number of each of the spare parts we’d built to support our testing. Bill also showed me a chart he’d constructed. With the drafting room’s help, he had developed a table of events for the gun cycle. Where did the feed stroke begin? Where did it end? What was the location of the barrel extension when the bolt began its acceleration to the rear? Significant events such as these were all indicated on Bill’s chart. Still somewhat a novice in the gun business myself, I didn’t fully appreciate why Bill was taking these great pains for a table of events. None of the other GE technicians ever did this. Bill told me he needed one more day to organize his tools and spares and he’d be ready to test.

We were joined at the firing range by Larry Brainard, a talented instrumentation technician. For our tests, Larry was testing out a new data collection system that used large reels of magnetic recording tape to store data. Larry had set up the system to record inputs from two transducers that were mounted to the gun bolt. One transducer would tell us the position of the bolt and the other would tell us bolt velocity during the time the bolt was cycling. Also new, was an ink pen plotter that printed out the data for us right at the test site.

After a few days of testing, I realized how valuable Bill was to our program. Each day before the testing started, Bill would review our results from the day before, present data and show trends that helped us decide what tests we would run that day. There was never a want at the test site. Spares, tools, lubrication, and cleaning equipment were always on hand, thanks to Bill. Bill requested that he be the only one to maintain the firing records. On these, he kept a meticulous accounting of the rounds loaded, rounds fired, and malfunctions that occurred. When there was a malfunction, Bill made careful note of where in the cycle it had occurred. He marked the fired case or the round damaged by the malfunction with the round number for later examination.

Sometimes a part needed a minor modification—a small chamfer or a surface polished, for example. It was something we could do right at the range without returning to the factory. Whatever modification was done, Bill gave a complete explanation right in firing log. He often added a sketch to explain the change so that if it was determined to be helpful, it could be added to the drawing in order that future parts could be properly modified using the machine tools at the factory.

Bill, Larry, and I had a lot of fun with the new instrumentation. It was great to have the data presented immediately following the firing, so the effects of changes could be seen right away. The only drawback was the time it took us to figure out the velocity of the bolt at any given point in the cycle. This required determining at what time the event occurred using the time-displacement plot and then finding the bolt velocity at that same point in time using the time-velocity plot. There had to be a better way.

The three of us put our heads together and came up with a new approach. Since we had all the velocity and displacement data recorded, could we plot out the velocity with displacement and eliminate time altogether? We tried it and it worked! With Bill’s table of events in the gun cycle, we could tell exactly how fast the bolt was moving at every point in the cycle. The first time we saw it we were excited, but was this method really giving us accurate information? We noticed a curious dip in bolt velocity that occurred at the same point on every plot as the bolt was going forward. What was that? A quick look at Bill’s table of events chart and we knew the answer. The velocity dip corresponded exactly with the point where the bolt picked up a new round from the feed tray. At this point, a tab on the link firmly engaged the extractor groove on every round. In order to feed the round, the bolt had to overcome the grip of the tab on the extractor groove—hence the drop in velocity. During automatic fire we could watch the plotter pen go through the cycles and could see how consistent the velocity remained throughout the burst. Plotted data indicated we had an excessive amount of bolt bounce which would have to be addressed before we went into production. We ended up using these plots of velocity and displacement (we dubbed them VD curves) for every single barrel gun developed at GE thereafter.

I’ve worked with a lot of engineering technicians through the years. Most were very good, some were excellent, a few were Beeners and Chumwells, but in all of my years, there has only been one Bill Frigon.

Marine squad takes a break during a company raid for a photo while others provide security in the background. All Marine patrols became less common after the local security forces took on more responsibility for their areas. Two on the far right and the middle Marine sitting all have M27s. The right most M27 gunner is using a one point while the two left M27 gunners have three points and one of them the ECM device. Two Marines on the far left have M4s with M203s because they are squad leaders. Third man from left is a civilian Law Enforcement Program adviser. These men were American civilians with police backgrounds sent over to help with training and structuring the Afghan Police. Their weapons and issue equipment is not through the Marine Corps, thus they have different weapons and gear. This adviser has a Bushmaster M4 with Aimpoint scope.

By Miles Vining

In a previous issue of Small Arms Review, the author discussed the Low Rate Production (LRP) M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle (IAR) that had been trialed in various units throughout the Fleet Marine Force. Having covered training experience and initial issue of the weapon, this article will cover how the LRP M27 fared in its true testing environment, Afghanistan. From late May to December 2011, 1st Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment out of Camp Lejeune, North Carolina was deployed to Helmand Province, Afghanistan. There the battalion conducted counter insurgency operations and assisted in providing security and stability throughout the region. 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment out of Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii was deployed in the Area of Operations south of 1/9 and was similarly equipped with the M27 IAR. Profiled in the June issue of Marine Corps Times, they were the first Marine infantry battalion to deploy with the M27. Readers must note that this covers the Low Rate Production M27s, of which there were only 458 produced for down range evaluation. Although these M27s are still in service with the Marine Corps, there were a number of design changes that have been made and this article does not reflect those design changes. It is very specifically about the LRP rifles and shall not be confused with the rifles currently in service throughout the Marine Corps. There are many differences between the LRP version and the current version, all of the issues addressed in this article have been changed in the current service version.

In May of 2011, Commandant of the Marine Corps officially confirmed the replacement of the M249 SAW with the announcement of a purchase of 4,476 M27 IARs. The M27s will replace current SAWs on a one to one basis, with infantry companies retaining some SAWs for supplementary purposes. The M249 served the U.S Marine Corps well since its adoption in 1984. In recent years, issues of reliability and portability had taken their toll on the weapon in its use within the War on Terror in Iraq and Afghanistan. After holding the Infantry Automatic Rifle competition, the Marine Corps selected the modified Heckler & Koch (H&K) 416 from the Colt and FN Herstal contenders. Several units were tasked with overseeing how the M27 fared downrange, 1/3 and 1/9 being two of the five.

The June heat of southern Afghanistan is warm enough to make the glue on envelopes melt and dehydrate anyone within hours of prolonged exposure. In Helmand province, the heat dries up fields and canals, creating ankle-rolling terrain and crops, drenching men in sweat from passing through. Winter nights become cold and the wind unforgiving. This is where the rural Afghan population and Taliban coexist and where 1/9 with the M27 went to work. Mobile convoys routinely crisscross the AO and foot patrols exceed 10 or more kilometers with a full combat load of ammunition, water, armor and Kevlar helmets; along with Counter Improvised Explosive Device (CIED) Electronic Countermeasure (ECM) packs averaging 20 pounds. Here the M27 proved its worth, both in and out of kinetic engagements.

Of the engagements involving 1/9 Marines, the M27 proved to be worthy and reliable. Most took place beyond 100 or more meters and against small numbers of insurgents. The need to establish superior firepower was often not necessary. But this did not mean the M27 gunners brought any less ammunition on patrols. While the combat load for Marine riflemen with M16A4s is a standard 6 magazines in pouches and 1 in the rifle, M27 gunners loaded twice or more of that amount with 21 issued brown follower magazines. Many simply added more magazine pouches to their scalable plate carriers, with each pouch holding 2 magazines. Marines who wore patrol belts would put additional pouches on those as well. Pouches intended for 100 round SAW sacks were instead used to fit 6 thirty round magazines. Some Marines also used magazine couplers on M27s for a quicker reload but because Marines carry their weapons around everywhere and not just on patrol, this become bulky and cumbersome.

Being in-country certainly proved the M27s versatility and standardized fit. For Marines working with equipment (vehicles, weapon racks) already fitted for the M16A4, the M27 fit just as well with the butt stock fully extended. Drivers and turret gunners had no issues stowing their M27s nearby, fitting it in crevices that could not accommodate the SAW. Considering the Marines were in southern Afghanistan to advise the ANA (Afghan National Army) and AUP (Afghan Uniformed Police) forces, most foot patrols were partnered. Thus, instead of having a standard Marine squad outside the wire (although this also occurred), partnered patrols would consist of several Marines and a larger number of local security forces. Instead of a Marine carrying the squad’s firepower as a separate entity in the patrol’s composition, he could now carry more weight such as the ECM device, metal detector, and other mission essential gear regardless of his primary weapon. Designations of a separate patrol leader, point man, or assistant patrol leader disappeared as the M27 allowed Marines to take on additional duties. Instead of making sure the point men or the first in a stack didn’t have an open bolt weapon, leaders could have more freedom with their M27 gunners. Let it be of note that some smaller units that weren’t issued M27s, carried SAWs in their place.

Many M27 gunners used the issued 3 point sling. Most attached it to the rifle just like an M16A4, to the stock and the upper part of the hand guards. Some did away with the Velcro stock fitting and threaded the sling through the plastic sling swivels on the collapsible stock. Another method was to move the issued M27 sling swivel closer to the upper receiver on the RIS and attach the sling there for more movement with the M27. A disadvantage to the three point sling and one points mounted to the stock is that the butt stock is removable by simply depressing the position lever. If the stock comes off accidentally with the sling still attached, the user risks the rifle and a possible chance of losing it as well. Traditional two point slings have been used but are very rare, some gunners opting for the old padded SAW two points.

Slings bring up the issue of interchangeability between the M27 and M16A4/M4. All one point mounts designed for the M4 carbine will fit the M27, due to the fact that the buffer tubes have similar parameters. They might not work as well due to the additional weight of the M27, SDO and AN/PEQ 16. All rail attachments as well as the buttstock itself are interchangeable with an M4, but an issue M4 butt stock or Vltor butt stock with the Milkor Mk.32 Grenade Launcher cannot fit an M27 buffer tube. Most magazines on the market are interchangeable including H&K steel magazines, EMags, and PMags (if modified, but this is highly discouraged). Not to argue that the issue brown follower magazines are of a lesser quality or reliability. These magazines certainly proved their worth over the old green follower magazines and were more reliable. On higher capacity, Surefire was contacted in April 2011 by the author and a representative said that the 100 and 60 round magazines would not function but they were working on a new design. Since then, these magazines have been proven to work in the M27 but none have been issued in country. At least one Marine has used a 150 round Armatac drum successfully. More important than magazines, parts that should not be interchanged at all are the buffer springs and buffers themselves.

When 1/9 returned from predeployment exercises in Twenty Nine Palms, California, the chief complaints about the M27 were the lack of a sturdy bipod. ironically, 1/9 actually had an entire store of the issued Harris bipods, but due to logistical chains, had not issued them out to the line units. The author personally saw this store on return from Afghanistan. Some of the bipods privately purchased by gunners include, Harris, Versa Pod, CAA, imitation SAW bipods, with Harris being the most popular. Versa Pod bipods are extremely versatile because they can be taken off easily around a patrol base or on a mobile mission but can be attached when going on patrols. CAA bipods were rugged and solid but lack height. Imitation SAW bipods barely worked and ended up being detached.

Regarding cleaning practices, Marine riflemen are known to operate in extremely harsh and remote environments, keeping their weapons and equipment impeccably clean and functioning. Afghanistan was no exception for the Marines of 1/9. Although all M27 gunners have had prior experience with maintaining the M16 series of weapons and the M27 is very similarly. Of lesser note are the SDO and RMR. Unlike an ACOG on M16A4s and M4s, the SDO honeycomb and lens cap must be screwed off for disassembly. Unless the gunner has already lost his honeycomb, dust can collect on the objective lens without being readily noticed due to the honeycomb’s concealing nature. Also, the reticule on the RMR can become clogged and dim if the projector is not wiped down.

For its second combat deployment (1/3 arrived in Afghanistan 2 months before 1/9), the M27 fulfilled the expectations of an H&K weapon, measuring up to high standards and expectations. The few issues it did have are covered above and in detail. The following are some recommendations for improvement. Not to repeat an issue, but the magazine capacity and bipods need to change. 1”-13” Harris bipods with Larue RIS adaptors are going to be issued en masse but there is no current intent to increase the magazine capacity. Although Harris Bipods are an industry standard and a proven bipod system, something more suited for machine gun purposes and rough use should be considered. Harris Bipods have external springs, snub nosed feet and are made for sturdy, long range rifles. Something along the lines of the Versa Pod with sled feet or even modified SAW bipods might be more fitting.

Replacing a belt fed, quick-change barrel, light machine gun with a magazine fed, fixed barrel automatic rifle reflects the changing nature of the American military. This has already been experienced by many countries such as the UK with the L96 LSW, Russia with the RPK and China with the QBZ series. Similar to the reduction of caliber from the 7.62 M14 to the 5.56 M16A1 or the replacement of the M1911A1 by the Beretta M9, this transition is still in its infant stages of development and use. Some years of full procurement and understanding how to fully apply it tactically are currently in the making. This change has many, especially within the Marine Infantry community, bemoaning the loss of the venerable SAW to a fundamentally different weapon. As did many over the M9 and M16A1. Through out its first deployments with 1/9 and 1/3, it has served its users well. Only time will tell if it will continue to do so in future service and conflicts.

Special thanks to Liza Ponomarenko, and the Marines and Corpsmen of 1st Platoon, Charlie Company at Patrol Base Loy Kolay,

The Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex’s Expo†Hall†provided generous space for the show’s nearly 1000 tables and more than 200 vendors, as well as†remarkable “walk up museum” displays of exotic vintage†armaments. Closest to the camera, filling some 18 black-draped tables and†supplemented by a lineup of tripod and†wheel mounted†weaponry, Robert Starer’s Historic Arms Corp. provided visitors with an up close and personal look at his extraordinary collection, brought all the way from Virginia Beach, Virginia. HistoricArms@Verizon.net

By Robert Bruce

SAR’s formula for its sponsored shows – combining regular weapons with machine guns and much more – has long been an enormous success for dealers and attendees of the SAR West mega-shows. This concept has traveled quite well to the East Coast as seen in Robert Bruce’s look at some highlights from our Harrisburg, Pennsylvania event.

“The Harrisburg location is ideal and well known to the Class III and ‘Black Rifle’ community, so we think that this will give both sponsors of the show a chance to grow, just like we did with SAR West in Phoenix.” Dan Shea- Editor-in-Chief, Small Arms Review

Ideal indeed, not only for enthusiasts of exotic weaponry, but most everyone with an interest in firearms, the newly-activated SAR East show both promised and delivered the goods.

For three days beginning on the afternoon of June 19th, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania’s most strategically-located city, was ground zero for a multi-state tribal gathering of aficionados of vintage and modern weaponry including machine guns, mortars, silencers, black rifles, and plenty more.

The enormous Expo Hall of the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex became both a “walk right up museum” and a 950 table shopping bazaar for more than 4,000 customers buying everything from A(mmo) to Z(ombie targets) offered by 225 vendors.

Noting how it was patterned on the enormously successful fifteen year run of the annual SAR West shows in Phoenix, Arizona, Debbie Shea, General Manager of Chipotle Publishing LLC, said that all the essential elements for a successful launch came together.

“We get so many requests for an SAR East show,” she said, “and we have really wanted to do it, but we needed the right partner to ensure that the show would be a success from the start. Steve and Annette Elliott (C&E Gun Shows/Showmasters) finally had an opening in a venue we all thought could allow for the growth.”

Echoing the optimism of both Sheas, show partner Steve Elliott offered his insight into how both personal and professional relationships can drive good business decisions.

“I’ve been long time friends with Dan and Debbie as well as Bob Templeton at Crossroads of the West who runs the SAR West event,” Elliott said. “They’ve had a great success with that so I approached them about doing a show on the East coast.”

Chipotle Publishing, the parent company of Small Arms Review as well as Small Arms Defense Journal, handled the Class III and ‘Black Rifle’ section, while East coast partner C&E Gun Shows/Showmasters brought in vendors from near and far selling “regular firearms,” parts, accessories, ammo, gun books, militaria, and more.

(Author’s Note to Gun Haters reading this feature article for hysteria-mongering purposes: Everything offered for viewing and for sale at the show is fully legal. All dealers/displayers/vendors have the necessary papers and permits and all buyers have to comply with all local, state and federal legal requirements. Not only is this strictly enforced by the show’s promoters, but BATFE was there with an informational booth and – of course – discreet walk arounds).

Slide Show

Take a virtual tour of highlights from the 2015 SAR East show by viewing the slide show linked on the SAR website www.smallarmsreview.com: Click “https://www.smallarmsreview.com/archive/reference.10-2015.cfm#10202015” for 167 images of many of the specific products mentioned below, along with notes including contact info for their purveyors, as well as some amusing odds and ends.

Guns, of course

Projectile pumpers large and small were offered aplenty, ranging from wickedly powerful and whisper-quiet airguns to grenade type launchers, machine guns, and even mortars and cannon.

Black rifles? All the well-known ones were there for sale at very favorable prices, along with interesting entries from HM Defense and Rev Arms. Shy? Get a no-paperwork 80% finished AR receiver for a measly $79.99. Oh, and for that ultimate AR to star in your collection, don’t miss Dennis Todd’s battle-scarred “contractor bring-back” suppressed SR-25/Mk11 Mod 0.

Pistols? Pick ‘em up and get a feel for most everything from derringers to hand cannons. And if you want to win your bar bet every time, pull out proof that there really is a double barrel M1911 .45. Merely $6000 from Neil Smith.

Entertainment

YouTube novelty gun video sensation “FPS Russia” was a human star at the show, on hand all three days schmoozing his many fans, posing for pictures and signing autographs. And if your boudoir needs a bit of help on the romantic side, one of his comely young assistants was selling plenty of “napalm and bacon” scented candles.

While certainly entertaining, the UTM show team’s innovative Civilian Target Ammunition and Portable Training Facility was definitely on the more serious side, providing free, hands-on, highly realistic marksmanship training to attendees.

Museum quality

Extensive displays by collectors and dealers of historical machine guns, artillery pieces and other exotica were also a big draw, giving show attendees two important benefits in contrast to traditional museum settings. First, no rope barriers and no annoying glass cases. Then, the opportunity to have questions expertly answered by owners or their RKI staffers.

Most folks are appreciative, but don’t give much of a thought to the expense and logistical hassles of bringing in a temporary ordnance museum populated by vintage classic guns with iconic names like Gatling, Hotchkiss, Lewis, Vickers, Maxim, Browning, and many more.

But the reality is that Curt Wolf of US Armament, Robert Starer of Historic Arms and others needed a small fleet of trucks and plenty of help to bring it all in and then take it all back home. On their own dime.

Prominent among too many treasures on display to note here was a crown jewel in Robert Starer’s already astonishing collection. His one of a kind “Midas Thompson” is a Model 1921A that’s beautifully engraved and inlaid with 24 karat gold, and has been a famous NFA collector’s piece for half a century.

Ammo

Without ammo, your firearm’s not much better than a dead pitbull, and this was the place to get the feed you need to keep it alive. Elusive .22 LR was readily available, and most everything else you want that’s ready-made or roll-your-own through .50 BMG caliber, 37mm and bigger. How much bigger? How about a 120mm tank projo from Bob Omsted….

If you are with us in counting fireworks as ammo then you’re in the right place. In addition to Doctor Tom’s Leather selling traditional 4th of July celebratory items, there were lots of spectacular pyrotechnic loads for 12 gauge shotguns and 37mm flare/grenade launchers, as well as Tannerite targets and quick-light tracers.

More, more, more

SAR’s shows offer a full-immersion experience in the gun culture, featuring all kinds of directly related things like a bounteous array of holsters, day and night sights, lasers and lights, targets, spare parts and accessories including nifty items like bump-fire stocks.

Ancillary offerings include rare militaria, knives and knife sharpening devices, tactical clothing, gear and body armor, eye and ear pro, reference books, and survival essentials.

Also, just as important to the happiness and well-being of attendees including wives and kids, there are some interesting and amusing things ranging from practical to whimsical and even weird. Like jewelry, “Kalashnikitty” tee shirts, make-fun-of-liberals posters, and music CDs with all the WW2 German marching songs you ever wanted.

Hungry? In addition to the venue’s fast-food concession, individual vendors offered the obligatory jerky, and also nuts, deli meats, cheeses, and even an astonishing variety of pickles! Bon apetit!

2016

Next year’s SAR East show promises to be even bigger and better. Once again in the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex, it will kick off a bit earlier; March 18 – 20. So visitors; mark your calendars and vendors; make your space reservations now.

For several months, representatives from the Office of Enforcement Programs and Services (EPS) and Field Operations (FO) at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) have visited firearms and explosives manufacturing facilities across the country as part of a long-range plan to reinforce relationships with these industry partners. In their travels from Massachusetts to California, and Florida to Arizona, EPS Assistant Director (AD) Marvin Richardson has emphasized the value of ATF-industry collaboration. “ATF can work smarter when we learn more about the firearms and explosives industries, and when the industries learn more about ATF,” he said.

AD Richardson launched the new initiative in December 2014, shortly after taking the reins of ATF’s EPS directorate, which develops and delivers policy guidance and technical support regarding the firearms and explosives industries. As the former EPS Deputy Assistant Director (DAD), AD Richardson already understood the importance of both industries as he stressed the need “…to visit with them, to learn more about their respective industries, to build relationships, and to establish trust.”

To date, AD Richardson, EPS DAD Curtis Gilbert, and other ATF representatives have visited industries such as firearms manufacturers Smith & Wesson, Colt Manufacturing, Heckler & Koch, Glock, BPI Outdoors, Taurus Manufacturing, Tracking Point Precision Rifles, Mega Arms, American Sporting Suppliers, and Rio Ammunition. Wholesaler visits have included RSR Group, and Hill Country Wholesalers. Retailer visits have included BIG 5, Gander Mountain, Bass Pro, and Vance Outdoors. Explosives industry visits have included Austin Powder, Orica, Detotec North America, United Launch Alliance, Entertainment Fireworks Inc. The Cape Canaveral Explosives, and Orica. Pawnbroker Visits have included EZ Corp and Cash America. At the same time, ATF continues to participate in industry events such as the Orchid Advisors Firearms Industry Compliance Conference in May, The FireArms Import/Export Roundtable (FAIR) in August, and the Institute of Makers of Explosives’ spring meeting in Arizona, among others.

Early results suggest a positive response from explosives and firearms industry representatives who have hosted and shared information with ATF visitors. In addition, ATF representatives have appreciated the face-to-face meetings that have allowed them to strengthen relationships with firearms and explosives industries.

And while the goal was to establish regular ATF visits and interaction, industry members have visited ATF to discuss regulatory issues and other matters.

On a recent trip, ATF Headquarters directorates EPS and Field Operations, and ATF Boston Field Division representatives met with officials from O.F. Mossberg, Taurus International Manufacturing Inc., and other manufacturers. Participants included EPS AD Richardson; Daniel Kumor, Special Agent in Charge, Boston Field Division; Ken Houchens, Director of Industry Operations (DIO), Boston Field Division; Nealy Earl, Area Supervisor, Hartford Area Office; Michael Fronczak, DIO, Baltimore-Washington Field Divisions; Alphonso Hughes, Firearms and Explosives Services Division Division Chief; Max Kingery, Firearms Technology Branch Chief; John Badowski, Firearms Industry Technical Advisor; Eric Epstein, Senior Policy Counsel (firearms and explosives); Andrew Lange, Office of Regulatory Affairs Division Chief; and Ed Courtney, Firearms Industry Programs Branch Chief.

Future visits with other industry members are in the works.