Firearms of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen

Part I: The Extraordinary Winchester.

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen hit the theatres in 2003 and was hardly a success. It did well enough at the box office, but received terrible reviews from critics. It was based on a comic book of the same name, written by Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill. The movie starred Sean Connery as Allan Quatermain and Naseeruddin Shah as Captain Nemo.

In the movie, Allan Quatermain is an old man who is retired and mourning the death of his son. He is recruited by a shadowy government organization, along with Captain Nemo, Mina Harker from Dracula, Tom Sawyer, the Invisible Man, and Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde, in order to hunt down a man called the Fantom. This is sort of an Avengers tale, only with 19th century popular book characters instead of the comic book super heroes of today.

In the film, Tom Sawyer, played by Shane West, carries a Winchester Model 1873. The gun is beautifully engraved, with a silver dollar on the right side of the buttstock. Under the receiver is a plate with the words, “Engraved by Shaun A. Banks for the film The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen,” carved on it.

The Winchester Model 1873 is often called the “Gun that Won the West.” It was one of the most successful of all the Winchester rifles and was produced from 1873 to 1919. It had a 15-round tube magazine that loaded the cartridges into the barrel when one cycled the lever action. It was made in several calibers- .44-40, .38-40, and .32-20 cartridges. These were also the cartridges used by handguns of the day, which allowed most of the customers who bought the guns to use only one type of ammo. The rifle was so successful in the West, Winchester created a special One-of-One Thousand Grade. They were the rifles that had barrels with the best groupings and were fitted a special finish. They cost a total of 100 dollars, which was a lot of money back then.

Over 720,000 model 1873 rifles were produced. In 2013, an ammunition company started to produce the rifle again, faithful to the original design, with the exception of a new safety and a better ejection system for the spent casings.

There were other Winchester model rifles produced. The model 1866 was used in the Franco-Prussian war and in the 1877 Russo-Turkish war. The model 1876 was used by both the North-West Mounted Police, (A precursor to the Mounties) and the Texas Rangers, and was used by Theodore Roosevelt himself. John Moses Browning designed quite a few rifles for Winchester, including the model 1894, which became one of the greatest hunting rifles of all time, selling over 7 million units and staying in production till 2006.

As for The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, it is not considered to be a great movie. Most of the actors do a decent job, but the story doesn’t work well and most of the effects aren’t quite “special.” It is a poor man’s Avengers, though it did well at the box office, coming in second to the first of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies which it opened against. Simply put, it is a onetime movie to enjoy.

In a special note, the Winchester 1873 one-of-one thousand rifles were even given their own movie, 1950’s Winchester 73. In the film James Stewart’s character hunts down an outlaw who steals his rifle. It’s a good classic Western and worth the watch.

About 4% of the worldwide population is visually impaired, so it is natural to adapt eyeglasses to aid marksmanship. Bullseye pistol shooters use a wireframe with a near focus lens tuned to the front sight for the dominant eye and occlusion of the other eye. However, they are not ideal for action matches (e.g. IPSC) or field use. This vignette explores how to adapt regular eyeglasses for “run-n-gun” purposes, namely the importance of optical center placement and options such as coating and materials.

Optical Center

The lens optical center is where light passes through without changing direction and causing distortions. When ordering glasses, opticians align the optical center with the everyday pupil position for best clarity during daily use. The problem arises from the fact that the everyday pupil position could be mismatched with the standing, sitting, and prone shooting positions. This misalignment causes distortions, blurred image, and color fringing that degrades accuracy and consistency of the sight picture.

Differing shooting positions utilize different parts of the eyeglass lens. Offhand and sitting rifle positions, as well as isosceles pistol stance, all share a similar pupil position, whilst the prone rifle position can place the pupil higher. Although keeping one’s head upright is good practice, that can prove challenging with the prone position especially on rifles with nonadjustable buttstocks. As a compromise, the author chose to average the pupil position of his sitting and prone rifle positions to achieve acceptable clarity across various situations.

Different rifles can also give different pupil position as the distance between the stock comb and the sight plane, aka Drop at Comb (DAC), can alter the head position. Open-sighted rifles such as Mauser 98s can have low DAC, leading users with longer faces to tilt their heads forward in order to align with the sight plane. This can position the pupil higher up on the lens. Modern rifles such as AR-15s, especially with a tall sight plane such as a lower-1/3 co-witnessed red dot sight, can have tall DAC. The resulting head-up stature can help limit pupil position shift between shooting positions. Because the sample of individuals the author surveyed all have different pupil position shifts, it is imperative for each to experiment and adjust the optical center to fit.

Frame

A wrap-around frame with large lenses provides good protection but it can complicate the lens construction. Lenses with more curvature will have thicker edges in order to achieve the prescription. In addition, the curvature makes the lens more susceptible to being dismounted from the frame, especially in a very flexible frame. Lastly, the author learned from an HK G3 that tight gripping temple tips are necessary to prevent the glasses from shifting under recoil.

Lens

Polycarbonate is safer than glass as lens material. For coatings and options, the readers should consider UV protection, polarizing, anti-glare, tinting, and scratch-resistant coating. Since most shooting sports are likely outdoor events, UV protection is necessary to reduce the chances of developing cataracts or suffering retina damage. Polarized lenses can help to discern difficult-to-see targets by reducing glare and increasing image contrast. Note that while polarization does not imply UV protection, most polarizing coatings do include UV protection. Anti-glare coating helps image quality by reducing the amount of light reflecting off the front of the lens which reduces image brightness. Lastly, a scratch resistant coating protects against abrasion from blowing sand or poor cleaning practices.

Tinting both protects the eyes and improves image quality by reducing the amount of high intensity light with 70-80% reduction being common for outdoors. However, reduction appropriate for a midday sun may prove a hindrance at dawn or dusk. Transition lenses remove this dilemma by making the reduction proportional to the incident light. Note that it is inadvisable to use tinted lenses without UV protection as the dilated pupil admits more radiation.

The choice of tint color aids target distinction by lightening analogous colours and darkening complementary colours. Neutral grey tint only reduces light intensity. Yellow tint is popular with clay shooters as it darkens the blue sky and lightens the orange clay pigeons. However, it is difficult to dramatically reduce light intensity with yellow tint without color distortion. Meanwhile, brown is a versatile tint color that improves depth perception via chromostereopsis by enhancing the contrast between red and blue. Personal preferences and intended application drive the tint color choice.

Conclusion

The difference in pupil position between everyday use and various shooting positions can be overcome by a tailored pair of prescription glasses appropriate for action matches or field use. The optical center of the lens should match the pupil position behind a firearm, and lens area big enough for good protection. The temple tips should form a tight grip. One should consider polarizing, anti-glare, and scratch-resistant coatings while the inclusion of UV protection should be a foregone conclusion. The lens should be made of polycarbonate for safety and tinted to enhance the sight picture. A properly tailored pair of glasses can reduce eye strain if not improve score.

Very few are lucky enough to step out of the confines of our houses, into the back yard and immediately be able to execute our range day game plan with in steps of our living room (safely). For the rest of us, we have to pack up our range bags and schlep our stuff to a local range.

I may be showing my age, but “back in the day” the options for where to shoot and what type of range were pretty limited. One choice was to take a long drive beyond city limits to a plot of land owned by a buddy or someplace where someone would charge a few bucks to shoot into a wall of stacked hay bales. Some were lucky enough to find an indoor range, usually an older stone or concrete building close to the airport or an abandoned industrial section of town.

Fast forward more than a few years. Now we enjoy the more “mainstream” popularity of shooting sports, innovative safety technologies and well thought out business/marketing plans; the choices for shooting locales are ever increasing. Ranges are no longer fringe businesses that are few and far between but rather genuine clubs with amenities that rival and often exceed those found at their more worldly cousins, the driving range. With a concentrated effort for your patronage and membership dues, both indoor and outdoor ranges are getting more creative in the benefits and amenities with which they entice you to open your wallet and throw rocks down range in their place of business.

Do an internet search for ranges in your area and chance are you’ll be faced with a screen filled with choices. To weed your way through your options you need to do a little introspection. What are your shooting goals? What do you want to learn? What firearms are you shooting?

The answers to those questions will help you develop a checklist of needs and wants that will help you navigate the sea of range options you have.

Regardless of whatever country club amenities that some ranges and shooting clubs offer, your choices will fall in one of two categories: an Indoor range or an outdoor range. If you’re not so lucky (or have the budget) as to be able to join a club that affords you access to both types of ranges, you’ll need to choose one over the other. That list of your needs and wants will help you determine how much weight each of the range types distinct pros and cons has for you.

Shooting at targets in wide open spaces is as old as gunpowder. It’s only fitting that we start our discussion with the upside and downside of shooting in the great wide open. Outdoor ranges can be as simple as a one bay clearing with a berm or as elaborate an entire shooting complex with multiple ranges, target presentations and target distances.

Outdoor ranges afford the shooter more space. With more space comes more flexibility. Most outdoor ranges have enough room to provide facilities for pistol, rifle and shotgun. This diversity provides opportunities for you to broaden your shooting experience and hone your skills on many different platforms. You can pack up your car with your cadre of firearms, arrive at the range and start your day in the pistol pit dinging steel with your 9mm. When that becomes mundane you can move on to dusting clays at the 5-stand. To finish out the day you can start slicing through the X at 600 yards with your .308.

The fresh air and open environment also attracts a wider variety of instructors. With space being less confined instructors can create a wider array of exercises to sharpen your skill set. Being outside, instructors can be more immersed in the exercises with their students. Outdoor ranges allow you to practice real world movement drills within an open space with your instructor moving with you and engaging you during the drill. It’s because of this flexibility and freedom that almost every major practical shooting event, from USPSA to 3gn, takes place outside.

Only at an outdoor range can you (if you desire) practice to shoot in adverse conditions. With practice and concentration most people will learn to put a bullet on target at 300-400 yards consistently on a windless sunny day. But it takes a little more skill to break paper in a tight group when it’s cold, windy and rainy. Shooting under less than ideal conditions hones your shooting skill to a finer point.

The plus points of an outdoor range for one shooter can sometimes be a minus point for another. Shooting in the elements is not for everyone. Shooting during the summer in Mississippi can be brutal when it’s 95 degrees with 98% humidity. Likewise it may put a damper on your fun shooting in Montana in January. Additionally, most outdoor ranges are not known for their amenities. A rental program at an outdoor range is an anomaly. I have only been to one outdoor range that has a “pro shop,” but to be fair it was a sporting clays club so the selection in the range shop was rather specific.

On the other end of the scale are the indoor ranges. The greatest change in shooting environments can be found in the world of indoor ranges. It used to be that finding a safe, well lit indoor range in a desirable location took Magellan-like exploration skills. With advancements in range technology, lead mitigation and an increase in demand, new indoor ranges are opening up in a variety of locations and neighborhood types. Shooters no longer have to resign themselves to shooting at “the only game in town”.

It’s estimated that by 2020 the indoor range business will be a Billion dollar industry segment (source: marketsandmarkets.com), that’ Billion with a capital B. The competition for your shooting dollar and a piece of that market share pie is fierce. Indoor ranges are offering increasingly posh amenities. It’s not uncommon in some of the more well appointed shooting galleries to find people coming to the range to socialize and hang out as much as they are coming to shoot.

Ranges such as Point Blank Range in Matthews, NC offer club members amenities like a members only lounge, big screen TV’s gaming stations for the kids, and a business center, as well private showers and lockers. In addition, club ranges like this offer special discounts on firearms, ammo, training and other purchases. Most indoor ranges now have a pro shop and on-site gunsmithing. A lot of the club ranges also offer shooting leagues and regular events. Here in America, we love competition.

I know you’re thinking, all that stuff is great, icing on the cake, but we want to make things go bang! What does the typical indoor range have over the typical outdoor range besides a lounge and showers? There’s plenty more mundane plusses of going to an indoor range. Let’s tackle the Benefits of an indoor range one at a time.

Indoor ranges almost always have a gun shop on site. If you need more ammo, it’s there. Tired of your current heater, take it to the manager and start negotiating a trade. The convenience of having a gun shop on site while you are shooting is immeasurable. At outdoor ranges running out of ammo, forgetting a critical part of your kit or or having your gun go down means the end of your day and a long trip to a gun shop (probably at the indoor range).

Getting out of the elements means you’re able to go shooting come rain or shine, hot or cold. You don’t have to stand in the wind and rain, trying to stop shivering long enough to send a rock down range. For new shooters a climate controlled, no wind environment helps them focus on the fundamentals instead of being distracted by the weather.

Other advantages include a diverse offering of rental guns. Being able to rent a wide variety of firearms helps buyers give guns they are considering a “test drive”. Head to head comparisons and trigger time on potential purchase leads to happier first time buyers who will have a positive introduction to the sport. A large rental cabinet also helps more experienced shooting refine their skills on various platforms and break the monotony of shooting the same platform day after day. Then there is the added attraction of ranges that offer machine gun rentals; here is a chance to see if you really, really like a certain type of MG before plunking down the big bucks and going through transfer time.

For all the benefits and upsides of shooting at an indoor range, there are some some negatives to contend with. Probably the biggest disadvantage to shooting at an indoor range is that for the most part you’re limited to pistol shooting. Some lanes maybe designated to rifle use, some even can handle a .50 BMG but the fact remains you’re distance is very limited and shooting a rifle at anything less than a football field away gets old, fast.

Since space is limited, ceilings are low and people shooting in lanes mere feet away from you, there are tight restrictions on how you use your pistol. Among other things many places don’t let you practice drawing and shooting, headshots on target are not permitted. Practicing anything but straight stationary shooting will earn you more than just the ire of the RO’s. Some indoor ranges restrict ammunition type, so your cheap surplus might not be permitted.

Whether you’re going to an indoor range or heading to the great outdoors; there is no real bad choice. The most important thing is that you’re shooting. Decide which type of range meets your needs, what you’re shooting and what your goals are then pack up your bag and get to the range.

At the January 2015 SHOT Show, CZ-USA introduced two new firearms to the US market. The first was their civilian, pistol version of the CZ Scorpion submachine gun called the Scorpion EVO 3 S1 pistol. This pistol, chambered in 9mm, looked just like the submachine gun version but of course had no stock and was not capable of full-auto fire. The new pistol was the talk of the Show with an advertised retail price of $849.00. This author covered that firearm in depth in an earlier issue of Small Arms Review (see SAR V19 No 6 ). The second firearm introduced was their Bren 805 S1 Pistol in 5.56/.223. This gun is also being brought into the US as a pistol. It is basically a pistol version of their Bren 805 A2 select-fire carbine. It too lacks the folding collapsible stock and select-fire components of its brother carbine. SAR recently received one of these pistols for testing and it may just be one of the best .223 pistols on the market today.

The Bren 805 pistol is a short stroke pistol driven gun that features a monolithic upper receiver/forearm with a top Picatinny rail running its full length. It has a detachable bottom rail and places on each side of the forearm for side mounted rails. The side mounted rails don’t come on the gun but are available as an option. The screws that hold the side rails on can also be used to remove the barrel. Yes, the gun has a relatively quick-change removable barrel but more on that later. The upper receiver also has a side-mounted charging handle that can be moved to either side as the shooter prefers, making it ambidextrous. The upper receiver’s top rail has a set of all metal ruggedly built sights. The front sight contains a standard AR style post, adjustable for elevation. The rear sight has a rotating drum that offers 4 different diopters for use at varying ranges. It is also adjustable for windage. Both sights are affixed to the top rail by Allen head clamping screws and have serrated rear surfaces that eliminate any glare.

The pistol uses a polymer lower/pistol grip that houses all of the fire control parts in an internal metal housing. This lower has ambidextrous controls for both the safety and magazine release. The entire polymer lower can be removed from the gun by simply removing one quick detach pushpin. The lower also houses a button that can be used to lock the bolt open. The bolt remains locked open when the last round is fired from the magazine. Unfortunately the bolt hold open button does not release the bolt, you have to pull back on the charging handle for the bolt to release on a loaded magazine.

The new pistol is chambered for 5.56/.223 and is fed from any STANAG type AR-15/M-16 magazine. The guns come with two 30-round metal magazines. The magazines lock into the gun through a beveled magazine well. The metal magazines supplied had a slight wobble to them when locked into the gun. They worked fine but the wobble was just annoying. Several other magazines were tried such as the MagPul P-mag and the Lancer L5 Warfighter magazines and they locked up solidly with no movement. The backstrap of the lowers pistol grip is removable and different size backstraps can be ordered to fit any shooters hand. The lower is actually two pieces that are pinned together. The front part is the magazine well and contains the magazine release and the bolt hold open button. The rear part contains the fire control parts and the grip. With the gun designed this way, magazine wells for different calibers as well as different magazines can be interchanged. For instance in the Czech Republic the Bren 805 is also produced in 7.62 X 39 and takes AK magazines.

The pistol has an 11-inch barrel that is threaded 14 x 1 left hand and has a very effective 2-port muzzle brake/flash hider. The guns’ gas piston/gas block is permanently pinned directly to the barrel and is removed along with the barrel when it is removed. It also features a machined-in bayonet lug but with the 11-inch barrel of the pistol a bayonet won’t lock on correctly. The gas block has a user adjustable 2- position gas system. The only tool needed is the tip of a bullet. The first gas position is for standard conditions and the second position is for use in adverse conditions.

The Bren 805 series of firearms are all modular. By removing two takedown pins the pistol can be disassembled into its basic modules. These include the barreled upper receiver, the lower receiver/pistol grip, the captive recoil spring assembly, the bolt assembly and the receiver rear end cap. The rear end cap is quickly removable and contains an ambidextrous sling mounting point. This rear end cap also can also be replaced with an optional adapter that will accept either an arm brace or an AR style buffer tube. If the user should decide to register the gun as an SBR (short barreled rifle) a shoulder stock can be added to the gun very easily. In fact, CZ-USA will be offering the original side-folding, collapsible stock such as is used on their select-fire carbine, as soon as the 922r compliant parts are available.

As stated earlier the gun has a removable barrel and gas piston. By removing 6 Torx #25 screws from the 805’s forearm the complete barrel and gas system can me removed from the front of the monolithic upper receiver much the same as the FN SCAR rifle. This makes changing barrel lengths very easy and by changing the barrel and gas system, the magazine well assembly and the bolt head the gun can be changed to any number of calibers. This author would like to see a 300 Blackout conversion. To reinstall the barrel, it is merely inserted into the front of the upper receiver and the 6 Torx screws replaced. They then need to be torqued to 8 N/m (Newton meters) or 70.8 inch-pounds. The operator’s manual that was received with the gun did not have the torque or the proper sequence pattern for tightening the screws but there is an online manual on CZ-USA’s website for the select-fire Bren 805 which lists the torque specifications. It can be downloaded for free.

The testing of the Bren 805 pistol was done at various yardages to see what kind of accuracy the gun was capable of. With the pistol supported in a two hand hold, accuracy was about what you would expect from an almost 7 pound handgun held at arm’s length. It wasn’t anything to brag about. Not that the pistol is not capable of great accuracy, it is. It’s just not when held like a regular pistol. By adding a sling or an arm brace to the Bren, things changed dramatically.

Adding either one gives the shooter a 3-point purchase on the gun that makes it viable for hitting targets at extended ranges. This was also proven when the pistol was fired from an MTM Predator Shooting rest which is made for rifles as well as pistols. With the pistol equipped with an arm brace and a quality optic it would easily shoot ½ inch groups at 50 yards. This kind of accuracy continued through all of the different types and brands of ammunition used in the testing. The pistols trigger pull is excellent with the test gun’s trigger pull measured at exactly 4.1 pounds. It is a two-stage trigger with a short take-up and a very crisp break. It also has a very short reset which allows the gun to be used in rapid fire scenarios. In other words this pistol would make a perfect self-defense weapon. Its small size makes it perfect for carrying in a vehicle or even a backpack. The gun ejects its empty brass into a small pile about 10 feet straight out, 90 degrees from the ejection port. Empties came out of the gun looking clean enough to reload without polishing.

The gun was taken apart after the first 150 rounds and as expected was very clean inside the upper receiver and around the chamber area. This is common with most piston driven guns. As this is written, the gun has fired over 500 rounds of ammunition without cleaning it. The gun is still very clean inside. There has not been a single issue with the pistol. It fed, fired and ejected every round of ammunition perfectly and with authority. This is a gun that truly goes bang every time you pull the trigger. Recoil from the 11-inch is hardly noticeable even for recoil sensitive shooters. The guns muzzle brake is very effective and kills all the flash expected from the short barrel.

The only complaint this author has about the Bren 805 pistol is that, as this is written, the original collapsible, folding stock is not available yet as I want to SBR this one as soon as possible. Retail price for the Bren pistol is just shy of $2000.00. This may seem high but remember, this is for a gun that is modular and can be changed to several different calibers as well as being able to use different barrel lengths and even different style magazines. When the Bren’s price is compared to other guns of its kind such as the FN SCAR or the Bushmaster ACR it is not out of line. This author can see a multitude of accessories being available for this gun from CZ-USA as well as third party manufacturers.

CZ-USA
P.O. Box 17103
Kansas City, KS 66117-0073
Toll-free 1-800-955-4486
Phone: 1-913-321-1811
Fax: 1-913-321-2251
www.cz-usa.com

Early Browning

John Moses Browning was the greatest firearms designer in the history of the world. A man with a unique design philosophy whose products were sleek, effective, and reliable. He had a storied career, but faced many of the same challenges we do in the small arms industry today. Examining his history offers us an effective insight to the path forward.

Born in 1855, John—or Jack as he preferred to be called, was a member of a large Mormon family. His father was a gun designer, gunsmith, and blacksmith who built and repaired firearms on the Utah frontier. Little Jack loved playing in his father‘s scrap pile. The parts and pieces he found were used to build toys—mostly guns. Jack had a keen eye for detail. Through examination of failed gun parts found in the scrap pile, Jack received an early education on the weaknesses in gun design. These were important lessons which became useful to him in his later years.

One day, when Jack was a teenager, he found himself in a barn with his family and friends. They had harvested apples that day and the group’s chore was to peel them. It was tedious and boring. By noon, Jack had enough. He slipped a few apples in his bag and headed for home, or to be more accurate, his father’s blacksmith shop next door. Just after lunch, Jack showed back up at the barn carrying an odd looking contraption. He sat it on a table, loaded an apple onto it and proceeded to turn a hand crank. The device peeled the apple then removed the core when it was done. This was the mark of John M. Browning. He could visualize, design, build, test, and deliver faster than anybody.

John and his father both made attempts to design a repeating rifle. The task was complicated by the fact that both rifles were muzzle loaders. John’s father admitted that his son’s design was better than his, but both agreed neither one was all that great. There was no easy way to rapidly create all the motions required for muzzle loading. Unfortunately, it did not lend itself to repeater fire. During and immediately after the Civil War, the brass cartridge case began making a huge headway out on the frontier. With the brass cartridge, the floodgates opened for John Browning designs. Years later, John commented on how the brass-cased cartridge created the opportunity for new designs saying, “It was the right time and the right place for a gun maker and I just happened along.”

Winchester and the FN Connection

John’s first cartridge gun was a single shot rifle. He tried to mass produce it in his now-departed father’s gun shop using his many brothers as laborers. The group didn’t have the right tools or production manufacturing knowledge, so it wasn’t long before they faced late delivery problems. Just then, Winchester happened along. They had heard about his rifle and came looking for it. Full design rights were sold for a mere $8,000. Even though his later designs were sold for to Winchester and others for far more, John always regarded it as his best sale ever. This first design began the Winchester relationship, paying him cash for everything he designed. During his 17-year association with Winchester, he would go on to design 44 models for them. Design, test, negotiate, deliver became a game. He would travel out to Winchester to present his latest creation—completely designed, built and fully tested. He and Winchester would settle on a price and then discuss John’s next design project. At the beginning of their relationship, John would promise a design time of around six months to deliver his next prototype. As he got more adept at design, he would promise Winchester shorter and shorter development times. He never failed to deliver on schedule. Once, he delivered his next tested prototype in a mere two months.

In Browning’s 47-year career, he was awarded 128 patents, more than all other firearms designers during that time period. After learning about Fabrique Nationale (FN), a factory in Belgium making Mauser rifles under contract to the Belgium Government, Browning established a relationship with them to build the Hi-Power pistol, and other designs.

Browning’s Military Weapons

One day, while doing some prone shooting, John notice the grass out in front of the gun was moving with each shot. Could gun gas be harnessed as an energy source for a fully automatic rifle? John told his brothers his ideas for making a machine gun. They were excited at first, but the excitement died rapidly when John said it would be a 10 year undertaking. That was in 1889. One year later, youngest brother Matthew Browning—the best writer in the group—penned a letter to Colt. “We have just completed our new automatic machine gun & thought we would write to you to see if you are interested in that kind of gun.”

Browning turned the profitable sporting goods and outfitter business over to his brothers in order to concentrate on guns for the U.S. military. The military heralded him as a great patriot for accepting a lump—sum $1.5 million dollar payment for his designs in lieu of royalty fees worth many millions. The Military weapons he developed included the M1895 Colt Machine Gun (The “Potato Digger”), M1919 .30 cal. Machine gun, Browning Automatic Rifle, 37 mm aircraft cannon, M2922 pistol, and the M2 .50 caliber machine gun. The latter two are still in use today.

Lessons in Lethality

It’s important to note neither John Browning nor his many brothers were ever in combat. Their experience was totally in hunting firearms and they were plenty savvy on that topic. Ammunition was scarce out on the frontier, and it was important to make one shot for one kill on the deer, bear other large game. Varmints were common targets as well, since they could wreak havoc on domestic farm animals and crops.

For large game, in particular deer, one of Browning’s guns became the gold standard. The Model 94 Winchester chambered for the .30-.30 cartridge was lightweight yet extremely effective. Firing a huge bullet at high velocity developed more than sufficient energy to drop a deer in its tracks even if it wasn’t a particularly clean shot. After millions were sold over more than half a century, Winchester’s 1972 advertisements claimed the Model 94 chambered in .30-.30 Winchester was responsible for killing more deer than any other rifle in the history of the world.

5.56mm as a Combat Round

While today there are powerful alternatives, the .30-30 cartridge is still widely used as an effective caliber for deer—a crafty mammal weighing on average 150 lbs. Varmint shooters continue to use the .22 caliber rimfire on the smaller crows and rats, while other calibers like the .223 Remington (5.56mm) are more effective on larger varmints, like the wily coyote. The average weight of the coyote is 46 pounds.

With these calibers and targets in mind, we now consider the current threat- the Middle Eastern Terrorist. On average, he weighs in at 170 pounds. Knowing what we’ve learned through the years about one-shot-one kill on 150 pound animals, how can we justify using a puny 5.56mm cartridge on a 170 pound adversary? On large mammals, like the deer, the 5.56mm is recognized as a wounding round, not a killing round and is outlawed in many states as a consequence. What is the smallest, most effective caliber for deer hunting? Knowledgeable deer hunters and sports writers will tell you with a certainty backed by years of experience. The smallest, effective, deer calibers are the .243 Winchester and other 6 mm to 6.5mm cartridges.

In March 2016, LTC Troy Denomy, briefed the Small Arms Community at the annual meeting of the National Armaments Consortium. A decorated hero, LTC Denomy led combined infantry and motorized troops into an 88-day battle in Sadr City, Iraq. “What was the effectiveness of our ammunition”, we asked him? “Well”, he replied “when you hit a guy with one round of 7.62mm NATO he went down. If you were shooting 5.56mm it always took at least two hits to drop him.” This observation is commonly heard from experienced US Forces.

A Browning Critique on Today’s Combat Rifles

If Mr. Browning were here with us today, he might have a few thoughts for us in relation to our gun designs. For example, the automobile and the modern cartridge rifle are approximately the same age. Through the years, when automobile makers would observe car owners adding accessories, like radios, air conditioners, power receptacles, it was not long before these were incorporated into the vehicle design. Not so with the rifle.

Yes, we have mounting rails for optics, lasers, and flashlights, but nothing is ever incorporated into the weapon itself. It is certainly not beyond our technical capability to add some needed devices. Take a firearm “odometer” for example. A simple, on board, round counter would give armorers an ability to evaluate their weapons, removing or repairing those with excessive round counts.

Something else to catch Browning’s critical eye would be our excessive use of threaded fasteners. Even in Browning’s day, gun designers knew threaded fasteners have limitations. They should be used sparingly—if at all. A threaded joint might seem tight after being made secure, but during firing a high speed shock wave travels through the weapon, causing the threads to rock against each other. This often results in loosening and sometimes affects accuracy. Unless threaded fasteners are mechanically secured with locking wire or other means, many of them will vibrate loose and fall out.

Some designers can’t be bothered with mechanical retainers. Instead they call upon thread locking compounds. To be effective this sticky goop must be applied to clean, degreased threads and care must be taken to avoid overflow into other areas on the weapon where it might gum up the works. Once applied, it’s near impossible for a Quality Inspector to verify all threads have been pre-treated properly and compound applied. These compounds have a shelf life, complicating their use in remote locations. Did a few threads miss being treated after the assembler took a break? Chances are the warfighter will find out at just the wrong time.

Is it too much of a challenge for firearms designers to design their way around threaded fasteners? It wasn’t for the three brothers at the Mauser factory. In the late 1800’s they designed what is now designated the M1896 Mauser Pistol—often called the “Broomhandle” from the shape of its grips. This highly accurate pistol has interlocking components and can be disassembled with no tools. A single screw secures the wooden grips to the frame. The grip screw was the only one they couldn’t design their way around!

When Browning sailed for Belgium on one of his many trips to work with FN, he left the “inch” world and entered the “metric” world. It is very likely Browning found the metric system much more logical and simpler, as do many of us who have worked in both systems. Practically every country in the world has converted to the metric system, yet we staunchly stand by our archaic system of measurement. Stocks of inch system fasteners and tools—like torque wrenches, are not easily found abroad, causing American made guns to be less desirable on foreign markets. American firearm manufactures have been slow to realize this.

U.S. Combat Weapon Programs

Since World War II, we have tried very hard to come up with new combat rifle systems. In 1951 we had the SALVO system where we experimented with multiple projectiles to increase hit probability. This failed and we went on to the Special Purpose Individual Weapon (SPIW) program where high speed flechettes were fired with the intent to use speed to increase impact energy. The flechettes were very inaccurate so the SPIW program failed too. On the Advanced Combat Rifle (ACR) program we tried caseless rounds, case telescoped ammunition, conventional ammunition and again flechettes in combination with efforts to combat soldier stress during combat. You would think, after that didn’t work, we would stop and wonder what we’d been doing wrong for the last 40 years, but that didn’t happen either.

John Browning credited his success in firearms development with having a fully developed cartridge to work with. All along, we’ve been trying to develop ammunition and projectile launcher together and we have always gotten ourselves into trouble. Suppose we had spent the early years of these projects concentrating solely on the development of a new round of ammunition? We could have started with Mann barrels to prove out the accuracy and to provide us with internal ballistic characteristics. After we were happy with results, we could have followed with more and more complex test fixtures designed to test out automatic firing, barrel wear, hot environments, cold environments, sand, dust and other adverse conditions found in combat. When we were sure we had a reliable ammunition capable of withstanding the rigors of combat, we could then have given it out to the small arms industry, challenging them to develop a lightweight rifle with all the characteristics we need. Sounds simple, but that’s what worked for Browning and it probably would have worked for us too. Even if no new gun emerged, it would have saved us a lot of time and money in the long run.

The Elusive Grenade Launcher

In 1990 we again got ourselves in trouble with ammunition, but this time in a different way. The design objective for the XM25 grenade launcher was to fire a grenade programmed to detonate at the enemy’s location. The XM8 was the onboard backup rifle for use if the grenade supply ran out. The combination XM25 married to the XM8 rifle was designated XM29. Unfortunately, it was already a difficult challenge to make a grenade detonate at a prescribed distance from the launcher. It was even more of a challenge to come up with a grenade cartridge large enough to have significant lethality, yet small enough to be light and portable. Again, a series of test fixtures would have speeded the development time.

Adding the 5.56mm XM8 was a non-starter from the outset. Why? Several of the competitors planned the addition of a tiny yet lethal short range anti-personnel cartridge, were faced with a new roadblock. One of the services demanded the XM8 fire the much-larger 5.56mm NATO round and threatened to withdraw their money and support if their demands were not met. Now it was certain. The already large XM25 launcher would be married to the “also large for the purpose” XM8 to become the XM29. A marriage made in heaven. Hog heaven that is, thanks to the bulk and weight of the pair.

Will the XM29 ever be fielded? In March 2016, the Army announced the grenade portion, XM25, might be fielded the following year. If it happens, it will mark 27 years since program inception. No one talks much about the eventual marriage of the XM8 to complete the XM29 design.

“No man gets an idea at first that amounts to much, and that it is only by the most persistent efforts that an invention is perfected.” -John M. Browning

Enhanced Carbine and the M855A1

In 2008 we began the Enhanced Carbine program and sure enough we let ammunition get the better of us again. This time the ammunition was an Army development. Interior ballistic characteristics were known for the M855A1 and a supply of ammunition was built. The Army refused to let the gun making industry have test ammunition or even let them know the ballistic characteristics in order for them to properly design a gun. Instead, they offered them an opportunity to test the ammunition at the H.P. White Laboratory. Each interested gun maker was required to bring guns and all test equipment to this location at their own expense. The new ammunition cracked bolts and wore out barrels, frustrating the competitors to the point some dropped out, envying the smarter ones who didn’t participate at all. Like all the others, the Enhanced Carbine program came to a grinding halt. With no program, all the competitors lost money, one manufacturer reporting he had spent a quarter of a million dollars on the effort.

What’s in our future?

The military is already making rumbling noises about dropping the 5.56mm round in favor of something more lethal. If we are to move away from the legacy of 5.56mm ammunition and the huge stockpiles of both guns and ammunition, we’re going to need an entirely new round. Will it be a brass cased 6.5mm cartridge? Highly unlikely, simply because making a larger conventional cartridge gets us the lethality we need but at the expense of added weight. Added weight is a direct opposite to our agreed direction for the future. What could be of interest is a lightweight cartridge around 6.5mm weighing less than the current 5.56mm round. The LSAT machine gun is being developed to use 6.5 mm case telescoped ammunition. Is this the answer? It certainly will yield greater lethality with less weight! Browning attributed his success to an entirely new round. Would it work for us too?

Give us the Ray Gun

New technologies were a boon to Browning. In his time, muzzle loading ammunition gave way to brass cased cartridges, black powder to smokeless powder, and cast iron yielded to much more performant steel alloys. Browning saw technology move fast and so have we. With that in mind, how do you imagine the gun of the future? Likely it will not fire bullets, or at least the kind we are familiar with. It could fire a laser or some other means of directed energy. It will still have to be man portable and will need to offer a level of hit probability and lethality much higher than our present systems.

In 1995, the Army invited small arms manufacturers to a meeting to discuss the next Personal Defense Weapon, or PDW. They warned us ahead of time that it didn’t have to launch bullets and it didn’t even have to be lethal. There were new technologies around and they wanted to explore them with us. Many of the Government Labs like Oak Ridge and Lawrence Livermore were there to discuss this next killing or disabling mechanism. Speaker after speaker explained their PDW concept, yet no one could say their technology was anywhere near ready for development into a man-portable weapon. The meeting ended and no new technology was identified to replace the rifle or pistol, neither lethal nor non-lethal. However, there was an interesting conclusion offered at the end of the meeting. The Government labs were in agreement. By the year 2010 they would be able to identify a new PDW technology. We are long past that deadline and at this point there could be even newer technologies ready to exploit. If we are going to stay ahead of the competition, it’s time we have that meeting again.

The trend of external piston operated AR-type rifles seems to be in a descending period. They do not appear to have the flair they did 10 years ago. The AR-type rifle was not designed for this operating system. It was designed as an in-line construction, direct gas impingement rifle. The main difference is how the gas is introduced. The AR-family was designed to have the gas directed into the bolt carrier where the piston chamber is made up between the back of the bolt and back of the carrier giving it a perfectly centered drive rearward. When utilizing an external piston the bottom of the rear location of the carrier is tilted downward when it enters the receiver extension due to the off center strike of the operating rod on the top of the bolt carrier, creating the common “carrier tilt” issues. Other issues include the receiver damage of the cam locking cut inside the upper receiver where the cam pin cuts into the receiver. The end result is adapting a weapon, which is not designed for that operating system, and the designer must develop solutions to overcome these new problems. If you want an external piston gun, why not design it that way?? The first true reconciliation of this problem was Robert Faxon with his ARAK-21. A complete redesign of the upper receiver that will fit on an AR lower receiver that eliminates all the problems of converting an AR upper to the wrong operating system! The receiver is a long stroke piston which has a bolt carrier that rides in rails in the upper receiver keeping it properly aligned so there are no carrier tilt issues, utilizing an internal action spring while maintaining the strong multi-locking lug bolt.

In 2012, Sig Sauer was approached by an undisclosed special operations unit with a requirement for a 300 Blackout rifle that would function with both sub and supersonic ammunition as well as when suppressed. According to Chris Sirois, then Design/Engineering lead on the program for Sig “The goals of the MCX program were set by the customer. There were several design review meetings with the customer to agree on design performance.” Yes, you heard all this correctly, the MCX was designed from the ground up to be chambered in 300 Blackout and then later adapted to 5.56x45mm. All design, research and development was done at the USA subsidiary in Exeter, New Hampshire. The first prototypes of the MCX were tested in late 2012.

The lower receiver of the rifle is very similar to that of an M4 carbine with several changes. The lower receiver is manufactured from a 7075 T6 aircraft grade aluminum forging. The magazine utilized for both 300 Blackout as well as 5.56x45mm it the standard GI M16/M4 aluminum magazine. According to Chris Sirois, they tested numerous magazines for reliability. They settled on the standard US GI magazine with second preference for the Lancer AWM magazines. The lower receiver is equipped with an ambidextrous magazine release. There is a magazine release button located right beneath the bolt catch on the left side of the receiver. The magazine release button on the right side is at least twice the size of a standard AR, making it much easier to actuate. The bolt catch is modified as well and easier to actuate. The lower portion is extended upward and .790 inches to the left making it easier to actuate with and without gloves. The safely/selector is ambidextrous and very high profile. This is one of the finest this author has seen, it is easily actuated with and without gloves. The right arm is held in place by a spring pin. The trigger group is standard AR-type mil-spec trigger group. This can be semi-auto only or select fire. The test and evaluation rifle is semi-automatic only. The trigger on this particular rifle was on the high end at 8 1/2 pounds. The trigger guard is oversized and part of the receiver. The pistol grip is an ergonomic Sig design used on many of their different rifles. There is a door on the base of the grip permitting storage. The rear of the receiver has quick detachable sling mount sockets on both the right and left sides. The magazine well is flared and beveled.

Due to the use of a recoil mechanism inside the upper receiver, there is no need for a receiver extension. The rear of the receiver is solid. On the back is a Mil-Std-1913 rail segment to which one of five stock options will attach. The standard stock is a side folding fixed stock (folds to left side). The second is a telescopic stock similar to that of the H&K MP5. This is a 3-position telescopic stock which is slightly shorter than the standard side folding stock. The rear of the stock has both right and left side quick-detachable sling mount sockets. There is also a sling swivel located on the face of the stock’s mount to the receiver. Sig also offers a proprietary side-folding telescopic stock as well as a telescopic Mil-Spec tube which will permit any standard stock to be installed. The last is a pistol stock which can be had with and without the Sig Brace.

The charging handle is proprietary to the MXC design. It is ambidextrous and easy to grab on either side. It is also made from 7075 T6 aircraft grade aluminum.

The upper receiver is quite interesting. The receiver is one piece and manufactured from an extrusion of 7075 T6 aircraft aluminum. There are several unique features. The receiver does have a forward assist and a fired cartridge case deflector as well as an ejection port dust cover. Inside of the receiver are two rails that the bolt carrier group rides on which keep it centered when the bolt moves rearward, similar to that of an AK. This is normal in any external piston operated rifle such as the AK, FAL, H&K G36 and AR18 to just name a few. Added to the receiver is a steel reinforced cam path guard which keeps the cam pin from damaging the receiver. The top rail is continuous. There are both long and short aluminum handguards that slide along a rail in the top rail on the receiver. The handguard is locked in place by a tab that slides into a slot on the upper receiver and is held in place by the front pivot pin.

Most importantly, the upper receiver has a quick change barrel option. By loosening two T27 Torx screws, the two barrel clamps (screws are captive), the barrel assembly is pulled from the receiver. The barrels all have an adjustable gas valve which permits normal and suppressed settings. There is an open slot in the end of the rail on the upper receiver permitting easy access to this tilting valve.

The barrel is easily changed out at the user level with only the need for a torque wrench (60 in lbs). As of this writing the 300 Blackout is offered in 9- and 16-inches in length (1/6 twist, RH). The 5.56x45mm is available in 11.5- and 16-inches (1/6 twist, RH) and the 7.62x39mm is available in 11.5- and 16-inches (1/9.5 twist, RH). For caliber conversion, the same bolt and same magazine are used for the 5.56x45mm and 300 Blackout calibers. The 7.62x39mm requires a new bolt and different magazine. All barrels are topped off with Sig’s proprietary three-prong flash suppressor that will fit any of Sig’s new sound suppressors. The barrel assembly consists of the barrel, barrel extension, gas block, piston, gas valve and flash suppressor. Unlike most current external piston designs, the MCX does not use any gas rings on the piston to seal up the expansion chamber. According to Chris Sirois “Because of the short barrel lengths and having to tap gas earlier on the barrel, the gasses are much hotter and pressures higher and gas rings could not withstand much firing. We had to develop a ringless system which in the end created a much more durable gas system.”

The bolt carrier group consists of the bolt carrier, bolt assembly, operating rod, two spring rods, spring guide, spring plate, cam pin, firing pin and firing pin retainer pin. Looking at the bolt you would think it was proprietary but it is not, it is a standard AR15 bolt. The one provided has the rear turned down due to it not needing gas rings. If you need a quick replacement, you can put any mil spec bolt in and it will work properly. The two recoil springs are good for all three calibers the rifle is chambered for. The bolt carrier group is disassembled without any special tools. The spring guides pop out from the spring plate, they are lifted out of the slot in the plate. Then the recoil springs are slid out. The rods are then pulled out through the spring guide. Then the bolt disassembles like a standard AR15. Slide out the firing pin retainer pin, drop the firing pin out from the back of the carrier and then rotate the cam pin 1/4 turn and lift out of the bolt carrier. The bolt is then pulled out the front of the carrier. With the firing pin retainer pin, push the extractor pin inward to remove and then lift the extractor out of the bolt.

According to Chris Sirois, the MXC has approximately 40% parts commonality with the M4, which is important for customers who already may use the M4. It is far less of a logistical burden for parts. During the development Sig encountered two major issues. According to Chris Sirois “The two most challenging problems that we faced were finding the correct barrel twist rates to meet all accuracy requirements in all required bullet type and overcoming the bolt carrier bounce without the standard AR/M4 type buffer system”. The bolt carrier bounce is the real secret to the success of the MCX rifle. Few rifles out there chambered in the 300 Blackout cartridge will reliably cycle a subsonic round without a sound suppressor. The Sig MCX will. This is in why the gas port on the barrel is much closer than the standard carbine length gas system. The cyclic rate of the 5.56mm is around 800-950 rounds per minute with proper gas valve setting in both non suppressed and suppressed modes. The 300 Blackout cyclic rate ranged from 780 to 1100 rounds per minute. According to Chris Sirois “The requirement was to be able to run anything from subsonic unsuppressed to supersonic suppressed in either valve setting”.

The test and evaluation rifle was the Sig MCX Patrol rifle with a 5.56mm barrel. It came with a manual, 1 aluminum 30 round magazine, folding backup sights and magazine well block for safe storage. Ordered along with the rifle was the 300 Blackout conversion barrel. The barrel is all that is needed. The same magazine and bolt carrier group are used. A 7.62x39mm barrel was requested but was unavailable as of this writing. The fit and finish was superb which is what you would come to expect from Sig. It had the “AR” feel to it but it clearly was not.

Just about the time the rifle arrived, so did some of the new Sig Elite Performance Ammunition in 300 Blackout. These are a match grade ammunition. The first load is a supersonic load. It is a 125gr open tip match projectile with a muzzle velocity of 2200 feet per second and 1343 foot pounds of energy. The second load fired a 220gr open tip match projectile at 1000 feet per second muzzle velocity with 488 foot pounds of energy. There were three boxes of each fired. Along with that was Black Hills Ammunition 300 Blackout 125gr open tip match projectile with a muzzle velocity of 2200 feet per second and a muzzle energy of 1343 foot pounds. For the 5.56mm ammunition, 300 rounds of Black Hills Ammunition .223 Rem 55gr full metal jacket and 100 rounds of ZQI (Merkel) 5.56x45mm 62gr SS109 full metal jacket with steel penetrator core.

When firing the 300 Blackout, the EOTech Model 300™ Blackout was used. This is a non-magnified holographic sight specifically designated for the super and subsonic Blackout loads. The XPS2 offers a two dot ballistic drop reticle that allows the shooter to zero either subsonic or supersonic rounds in the same reticle pattern. There are two 1 MOA aiming dots. The top aiming dot, with a 16-inch barrel and 110gr supersonic round should be zeroed at 100 yards and the second dot will be point of aim at 300 yards. With a 16-inch barrel and 220gr subsonic round, the top dot should be zeroed at 50 yards and the second dot will be the point of aim at 150 yards. The sight is powered by a CR123 battery that has a 600 continuous hour life at nominal setting 12 at room temperature. The sight has an MSRP of $549. Also mounted to the rifle is an EOTech G33™ 3x magnifier mounted on a tilting mount. This has an MSRP of $589. For testing the 5.56mm barrel, an Elcan Specter DR 1x/4x was used. There is a lever with two positions, forward is 1x and rearward is 4x. This is a crystal clear mid range optic which is mounted with an ARMS throw lever mount.

First up was the 5.56x45mm variation. A total of 400 rounds were fired with no malfunctions of any sort. The range was limited to 50 yards due to some Texas flooding! At this limited range all groups were sub 1-inch. Both the Black Hills and ZQI ammunition were military grade ball rounds. The rifle was tested with various magazines for compatibility. These magazines included PMag, Lancer AWM, CProducts Defense steel, Hera, Hexmag, HK steel/plastic, ETS and D&H Tactical to name a few. There were no issues at all, the rifle functioned perfectly with all that was tested.

The barrel was swapped out to the 300 Blackout. A total of 380 rounds were fired with no malfunctions of any sort. GI aluminum, PMags and Lancer AWM, and a D&H Tactical 300 Blackout magazines were used. No feeding issues with any. There were 40 rounds of Sig Supersonic and 40 rounds of Sig Subsonic fired. The Supersonic was fired at 100 yards with an average group of 1 1/2 inches at 100 yards. The subsonic was fired at 50 yards and averaged just about an inch. Additionally there were 300 rounds of Black Hills Ammunition 300 Whisper 125gr OTM. This ammunition shot just over an inch at 50 yards. The rifle was placed in a Hyscore Black Gun ® Machine Rest. This took the human error out of it! I am sure this rest had a lot to do with the excellent performance of the rifle.

Also offered is an upgrade kit that may turn a standard AR15 lower receiver into a host for the MCX upper. The MCX upper receiver will just drop on any standard Mil-Spec lower receiver. You may even use your current stock assembly on the lower. However if you want to go to the side folding stock options designed for the MCK you may procure a adapter that fits onto the rear of the lower receiver which provides the Mil-Std-1913 rail needed to attach the MCX stock options.

The MCX has been adopted by U.K. Counter-Terrorism Police not to mention numerous other agencies and Special Forces units. The rifle is still rather new compared to its competition. It would be safe to say that the MCX is in a league all of its own. The stock modularity and barrel modularity make this perhaps one of the most mission adaptable assault rifles in the world. It has been heavily tested by Sig and is over-the-beach capable. The quality is second to none, what one would expect from Sig. Not to mention it is 100% American designed, tested and made right in Exeter, New Hampshire. The design team was made up of some of the finest engineers in the industry who have many years designing advanced military rifles. Sig has gone from primarily being known for handgun development to becoming an industry leader in advanced assault rifle and submachine development. Their MPX 9mm SMG is the most significant SMG since the MP5 but that is another story. The last few years have shown Sig diversifying their product line and will without a doubt be offering new and innovative updates to the MCX system and who knows what else!

The AR being the most popular rifle in the country, the market is without a doubt a multi-billion dollar industry. Any number of companies have come out of the woodwork producing new/advanced components, rifles and their quality and concepts go from outstanding to absolute garbage. With having so many companies in the game you are bound to come up with some real innovation. Most of this started in the late 1990’s to the early 2000’s. Before the 1994 Assault Weapon Ban the semi-auto market was rather low and unpopular. Primarily Colt was the manufacturer of the AR-platform of rifles. With the ban “sunset” in 2004 the weapon system took off. The lead dog, or should I say horse, Colt was set on military contracts and their commercial rifles went by the wayside, enabling a whole new market for those interested and the rest is history.

In 1994, a former staff writer from Gun World magazine and also a former Knight’s Armament employee by the name of Eric Kincel co-founded Micro-tech knives and lead a small arms division called Unitech Research, Inc. Due to litigations with Knight’s Armament the company was dissolved. Then in 2001 a new company was formed by the name of VLTOR. The company was later bought out by aerospace contractor Abrams Airborne Mfg, Inc (in 2004).

The first true VLTOR product commenced in 2001 and continues as of 2015 to be their most coveted product line, the Modstock. After seeing pictures of the Colt Advanced Combat Rifle, Kincel looked at the triangular shaped stock design. He felt this was a very comfortable stock, much more so than the traditional, thinner Mil-Spec stock. The design of the VLTOR Modstock commenced. The Modstock was widely used for quite a few years until additional improvements were to be made. Now named VLTOR IMOD it has two side panels which each have a waterproof tube which can be used to store batteries (3 CR123 or 2 AA batteries per tube) or anything else that would fit. The butt of the stock has a rubber anti-slip buttpad with a rolled/ angled buttpad with wide traction area. Like the traditional stock there are mounting apparatus for a standard cloth sling and additionally there are ambi quick disconnect swivel sockets. The stock is made from a very strong proprietary polymer which is impervious to the elements. This stock will fit on any mil-spec receiver extension and is also offered in commercial configuration. This stock has been put on many OEM firearms. The Colt SCAR rifles as well as the production LE901 series come standard with this stock. Another variation of the IMOD stock is of a Clubfoot design. The foot of the stock is squared off and not as angular as the standard version. The design of the stock is so you can grab the face of it with the non-shooting hand for more control with use of scoped weapons. VLTOR also produces another stock called the EMOD. This is slightly longer (1.5-inches) and has a larger battery storage compartment that has a door that closes and locks in place. The design of the stock is so you can grab the face of it with the non shooting hand for more control with use of scoped weapons. VLTOR offers both stock assemblies and a VLTOR manufactured receiver extension which has the stock positions numbered on the top. Due to a witness hole in the top of the IMOD/EMOD stock, the user will be able to see what position the stock is in. Either of the buttstocks can be purchased separately or in a “kit” version that will include the stock, receiver extension, spring/buffer kit, lock plate and lock nut.

In the 2010 time frame, VLTOR embarked on a new program to deal with an issue every rifleman armed with a fixed stock (M16A2, M16A4, MK12 MOD 0/1) dealt with. The fixed stock rifles were designed on the original M16/M16A1 rifle in the days prior to the use of body armor. The modern soldier has extremely bulky body armor. Also, most soldiers are equipped with optics. This additional bulk on the soldiers shoulder plus the modern optics cause an issue with hindering the soldiers ability to achieve proper eye relief resulting in the soldiers having to put the stock on top of the shooter shoulder. This is a very unstable interface between the shooter’s eye and the optic. Another way around this, the soldier will move the stock off the shoulder/body armor all together and place it on the bicep, along with a body rotation of the weak side forward. This causes additional issues including weapon reliability due to the movement in the body absorb recoil energy the weapon needs to cycle. On carbines, the use of adjustable telescopic stocks cures these issues. The M4 carbine for instance has 4 positions to choose from. The rifles, not so much. To deal with this issue there have been attempts to put standard carbine receiver extensions on rifles with little success. Due to the operating dynamics of the rifle length gas system issues have come up with cyclic rate and bolt carrier bounce.

VLTOR set off to find a solution to this problem and that resulted in the A5 stock system (with EMOD Stock) that was designed as a complete integrated system to offer length of pull adjustability, an enhanced interface with modern body armor and optics without decreasing the reliability of the M16 weapon system by retaining the spring rate and cycle timing of the fixed buttstock. The A5 system optimizes the cycle timing of the 14.5” barreled variants of the carbine family by returning to the spring rate of the fixed stock. The M16A2/M16A4 with the A5 System has a length with stock collapsed of 37 3/8” and fully extended 41 1/8”. The EMOD stock is slightly wider and longer than the standard M4 stock with a noticeable negative pitch of -5 degrees at the top with a decrease to -15 at the toe of the stock. The rubber butt plate is removable resulting in making the stock ½-inch shorter. The stock features two removable battery storage components which hold 4 CR123 or 3 AA batteries. There is a side compartment as well in the clubfoot area that holds two additional CR123 batteries. The Clubfoot and Butterfly Latch design allows the shooter to use the weak hand to steady and hold the stock into the shoulder when using the bipod, improvised rest, or brace without inadvertently releasing the stock latch. The A5 receiver extension has 7 positions rather than the conventional M4 which has 4 positions. The buffer is a midlength buffer with a standard rifle action spring. The internal weights of the A5 buffer, spring rate and cycle timing are balanced to equal or exceed the reliability of the M16 family of rifles with the fixed stock. Third party testing has shown carrier bounce is virtually eliminated with the A5 stock system.

During the research for this article, the author assembled a complete rifle using as much VLTOR equipment as possible. From stock to muzzle is a very good example of the enhanced VLTOR products. Starting at the rear of the rifle, the rifle is equipped with the A5 stock system. However the IMOD stock was selected due to its smaller profile and the author’s preference of the stock latch.

VLTOR got into the lower receiver business in 2009. The lower receiver used on the demo rifle is completely VLTOR and is offered for sale as product number VRA-RA5. The lower receiver is manufactured by VLTOR from a forging of 7075 T6 aircraft grade aluminum. There are a couple enhancements over the standard Mil-Spec receiver. First is the oversized magazine release button. Well over twice the size as the standard magazine release button with slip resistant checkering on the face of the button. This lower receiver is not compatible with the standard magazine release button. On the front of the magazine well are grip enhancing cuts. The receiver is hard coat anodized as per military specifications. On the rear of the receiver is the A5 receiver extension assembly. The receiver extension end plate has been replaced with the VLTOR side Saddle sling plate (Proprietary to the VLTOR lower receiver) which puts a quick detach socket on the left, right and rear of the receiver. The lower receiver assembly came with a standard A2 pistol grip. It was replaced with a Magpul MIAD pistol grip. The safety was a conventional safety but was replaced with a Battle Arms Development ambidextrous safety. The trigger which came with the VLTOR lower receiver assembly was the standard Mil-Spec trigger group. At the same time as this lower arrived, so did the Geissele 2 Stage (G2S). The total weight of the trigger pull is 4.5 pounds. The first stage is 2.5 pounds and the second broke at 2 pounds.

The upper receiver is the 9-inch VLTOR VIS (Versatile Interface Structure)-KM Polylithic upper receiver with slimline profile. The KeyMod variations went into production in 2012. This 21.4 ounce upper receiver assembly appears to be monolithic but in fact is three pieces. In 2007 the original VIS was introduced. The upper receiver is similar to the MIR (forward assist, ejection port cover and fired cartridge case deflector) manufactured by VLTOR. The handguard is manufactured from an extrusion. The handguard and receiver are bonded together by a “Molten Salt Dip Brazing”. The handguard has quad Mil-Std-1913 rails. Ones at 12:00, 3:00 and 9:00 and a removable lower handguard which provides a 6:00 rail. It is held into the receiver by two locking levers, not a slip ring or a screw. All VIS system have M4-type extended feed ramps and any Mil-Spec barrel may be installed with an extended barrel extension. The KM stands for Key mod and the 9 is for 9-inches in length. The rifle build used a midlength gas system. The inside diameter is 1.03 inches. With the proper barrel, with the lower handguard removed the upper is M203 compatible. The VIS will use any standard Mil-Spec barrel but the barrel nut must be the one provided. The barrel nut wrench is provided and is meant for a single use. The KeyMod rail segments are offered in 2-, 4- and 6-inches in length as well as KeyMod Slimline grip panels. The VIS Polylithic upper with quad rails is available with and without the forward assist.

The barrel chosen is a Centurion Arms 16-inch mid-length gas system chrome hammer forged barrel. This is an incredibly accurate barrel. Debate continues between hammer forged versus button cut barrels. Both are excellent. This author’s experience is that hammer forged barrels have a longer service life but button cut barrels prove to have better precision accuracy. The precision accuracy really does not pertain to a combat rifle, the shooter would never see it unless he had a proper scope, ammo and a bench rest. But this is a personal choice, you cannot go wrong with either. The mid-length gas system provides more dwell time for the cartridge case, making extraction easier. The front sight base is the VLTOR VST front sight tower. There are two models. The first and most common are the clamp on and the other requires drilling and pinning. The one chosen was the one requiring drilling and pinning. The front sight folds and is engaged by lifting it into potions. The front sight post is square but is not adjusted via spring loaded plunger and rotated. This post is more like an AK in that you rotate it by a press-fit screw. When folded, there is a Mil-Std-1913 rail. There are two additional options. With and without quick detachment sockets. The one used has the ambi quick detach sockets for installing a sling swivel. The muzzle device chosen is the VLTOR VC Flash Hider. There are two offered, an A1 and a closed bottom A2 version. This rifle is equipped with the A1 version. The rear sight is the VLTOR folding rear sight, This has dual long and short range apertures and is adjustable for windage only.

The charging handle chosen was the VLTOR BCM-GFH ambidextrous Gunfighter. These charging handle debuted in late 2009. VLTOR partnered with Bravo Company on this product. It is designed, manufactured and patented with VLTOR but they have a licensing agreement with Bravo Company to sell them. This is an extremely smooth and comfortable charging handle whether you are left or right handed. The right and left latches are easy to get to and easy to hold onto. VLTOR does offer a standard charging handle (right handed shooter) and one with an extended latch.

The bolt carrier group chosen is the POF-USA Enhanced direct gas bolt carrier group. The NP3 plated carrier group has three major design improvements. First the bolt carrier is one piece. The steel gas key screws into the face of the “tombstone” of the carrier and is pinned in place. There are basically two places you get gas loss in a direct gas rifle. One is the front sight base and the second is the carrier key. If the carrier keys were to break, the carbon seal is broken between the carrier key and the bolt carrier; gas leaks and the rifle will short stroke. The POF carrier design completely eliminates the possibility of gas loss through the bolt carrier. The second major improvement is the use of the POF NP3 coated Roller Cam. The standard cam is square in shape. Some have the edges rounded, others do not. This scrapes along the inside of the upper receiver which will cause wear on the aluminum receiver. This happens anytime two pieces of metal scrape and one is harder than the other. The roller cam eliminates the steel edges scraping the inside of the receiver, drastically reducing internal wear. This is even more prevalent in piston operated rifles. You will see a cut in the inside of the upper receiver just behind the cam notch. This is prevented for the most part with Roller Cam. The third major improvement is the material the bolt is manufactured from 9310 steel which is a 7% improvement over Carpenter 158 steel (Mil-Spec). The extractor has enhanced geometry for better support of the extractor.

This rifle was tested with 500 rounds of Black Hills Ammunition- .223 Rem 55gr Full Metal Jacket ammunition. There were no malfunctions of any sort. The lower receiver was tested for magazine compatibility as well. More than 15 different types of magazines were tested including Magpul, Lancer, USGI, Hexmag, Hera Arms, Ultimag, CProducts Defense, HK poly & steel, Mission First Tactical, Tangodown, Surefire and Troy to name a few. No malfunctions of any sort.

Another very popular product is the MUR (Modular Upper Receiver). In fact this product is used on several high tier OEM rifles such as Noveske. This upper is manufactured from a 7075 T6 aircraft grade forging. It is stress relieved, heat treated, aged twice and cryogenic treated. The receiver is precision machined and then finished off by hand. As per mil-spec the bore is coated with dry film lubricant over the anodizing. Two models are offered, the MUR-1A which has the forward assist assembly and the MUR-1S which excludes the forward assist.

The CAS-V was originally developed for the Navy EOD for MK18 Mod0 and M4 carbines. This is a drop-in rail system that can go on any Mil-Spec rifle with a flattop upper receiver and a delta ring assembly. The rail is free floating and M203 grenade launcher compatible. The lower shield is removable permitting installation of the grenade launcher. It adds less than 1 pound to the overall weight of the rifle. Made from aircraft grade aluminum the rear of the CAS-V piggy-backs on the upper receiver and is held in by two screws. The top rail is a ridged, continuous rail section along the top rail. There are two quick detach mounting sockets on both right and left sides. The CAS-V is offered in models which are removable rail segments as well as KeyMod.

Through the years another product this author has used regularly is their receiver extension end plates/lock plates. The SASE end plates are offered in two configurations. The first it the SASE HK-style hook. There is a hoop on one side. The lock pin can be placed on either side so the hoop can be on the left of right side. There is also a even larger hoop model of this. The third model is one for a cloth sling. These fit any Mil-Spec receiver.

In 2008, VLTOR began offering complete rifles. They started off with a 14.5-inch barrel with a MUR-1A upper and CAS-V handguard. In their current catalog they offer ten different variations. Standard carbine, short barrel as well as pistol variations. They also offer customizable rifles to military and law enforcement customers.

VLTOR has always been on the leading edge of high tier product development. They have several military contracts for various components. The products in this article are just the ones they make on the AR-platform alone. They also make components for the FN SCAR rifles, M14/M1A and AK. They even produce a sound suppressor for an AK74. Every year VLTOR delivers new innovative products to the industry and enjoy contracts from all parts of the industry. This author has used their stock assemblies on many builds that have been featured for several years in SAR. We cannot wait to see what 2016 brings.

For your average shooter loading up 5 or 6 magazines is no big deal. If you have arthritis, well that is a whole other problem. What about the guy in the armory for a Police Department or military who is loading hundreds of magazines? Then this rather simple task
can be daunting.

Maglula is located in Tel Aviv, Israel. Maglula (MAGazine Loaders and ULoader Accessories) was started in 2000 by Ran Tal and his son Guy. Sergeant Major Ran Tal is a former small arms instructor of the Israeli Defense Force and reserves. A traumatic event with a malfunctioning UZI magazine on the battlefield in 1956 Sinai Campaign was the driving force to get Ran interested in the reliability of magazines. During his time on the battlefield, Ran kept his 12 UZI magazines in socks to protect them from the sand, there were no plastic bags available to him back at that time. Ran was facing an enemy soldier when his UZI jammed; a fellow IDF soldier pushed Ran to the ground and eliminated the enemy soldier. Lessons learned from that incident by Ran involved purchasing a .22 caliber Beretta pistol as a back-up weapon if his primary weapon was ever to jam again and he decided to seriously maintain cleaner magazines from then on. Later, Ran’s own son Nadav serving in the IDF experienced similar magazine failures with M16 magazines. Ran vowed to himself that if no one cares or takes care of the hardship of cleaning magazines, then he would volunteer to do it himself for the IDF soldiers. He did just that.

The first invention of Ran Tal was the LuLa. This deviced snapped over the top of the UZI magazine. There is a pivoting lever on top of the LuLa attached to a cam. When the lever is pulled downward the cam pushes down on the top cartridge allowing another to be dropped in place. The lever is reversed it pushes the new cartridge down allowing a cartridge to be dropped in the opposite side. This action continues until the magazine is full. Now if you want to unload the magazine you just reverse the direction of the lever and each time you actuate it a round will drop out of the magazine until it is empty. This tool was then modified for the M16 magazines used by the IDF. The IDF has purchased these for their soldiers. This is a portable hand-held tool that can be dropped in a range bag or the pocket of a soldier. Many will say “I can load the magazine faster without the tool.” This is true. But after 10 magazines, not only is the tool faster but the user’s hands are not fatigued. The MSRP is $26.95.

It seems like forever that the US military has used stripper clips. The 5.56mm ammunition is issued in a ten-round stripper clip. The stripper guide slides on the back of the magazine, the stripper is dropped in the slot and the shooter’s thumb presses down on the top round and all ten go in the magazine. Anyone who has done this, knows it is not a comfortable or easy task, especially if you are loading numerous magazines. This method remains SOP until this day. This has a solution though, the Strip LuLa by Maglula out of Israel. This gives a comfortable and efficient tool. The stripper clip slides into the device and a lever is flipped over the top. This turns into the lever that pushes the rounds into the magazine. It is a large lever that is comfortable to push down on compared to the narrow round cartridge case. After the rounds are loaded in the magazine, the stripper clip slides out of the Strip LuLa. On the bottom of the Strip Lula is a tool to depress the bottom round of the magazine, this allows the top one to fall out of the magazine to unload the magazine. The unfortunate thing is Uncle Sam does not issue these! The soldier would have to purchase it himself. It is a wise investment for someone who shoots a lot. The MSRP is $33.95.

The BenchLoader

For the Armory, Maglula came out with a tool they call the Bench Loader. The first model was designed for standard NATO M16 magazines which are primary weapons of the IDF. The BenchLoader is both portable or could be bolted to a work bench. The BenchLoader is CNC machined out of tough polymer and consists of only three pieces. The magazine is placed into a receptacle which aligns the feeding track with the center of the feed lips. So when the magazine is loaded the cartridges never come into contact with the feed lips of the magazine. The feeding track consists of two alignment grooves, one for the tip of the bullet and one for the cartridge case base. Every 5 rounds are marked off letting the loader know how many rounds are being loaded (5, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30). Once fully loaded and the magazine in place, the slider is pushed inward loading the magazine with one swift stroke. No strain on the loader’s hands or fingers. This whole process for loading a 30-round magazine is 25 seconds! The original model would load both 20- and 30-round GI magazines. The first model was specifically for the aluminum US GI magazine which was the primary magazine of the IDF. As time has gone on there have been many new magazines introduced for the M16/M4 series rifle. Many of them have different external shapes than the original one. The second generation BenchLoader had the receptacle modified so it would accept both the US GI, PMag and the German High Reliability steel magazine/SA80 magazine. But there were still multiple magazines in both commercial and military use that would not fit this loading tool. The MSRP is $427.50 for the BenchLoader. This is not for the amateur shooter but designed for long term armory use.

The Range BenchLoader

While at SHOT Show 2015, Maglula showed up with a new product. This was a clear descendent of their popular BenchLoader but improved. With all of the new magazines introduced it was not possible to make a BenchLoader that could accept all of them as the design stood. Not only do you have different shape magazines but thicknesses as well. The new Surefire 60 and 100 round mags and Beta C-Mag for example. The Range BenchLoader took the loading technology of the BenchLoader and eliminated the loading receptacle. The shape of the loading receptacle was the problem with making the BenchLoader compatible with all of these different magazines. In its place is a magazine well with a magazine catch that would engage ANY NATO STANAG magazine. To release the magazine you pull outward on the magazine catch. The loading of the magazine is the same, the rounds are placed in the loading track and the lever pushes the rounds into the magazine. This author has tested 33 different magazines of different manufacturers and variations in the Range BenchLoader and has yet to find a magazine that will not load from it reliably. The Range BenchLoader comes with a handy green carrying case. The MSRP is $149.99 for the Range BenchLoader.

The Caldwell Magazine Charger

Another popular loading device is the Caldwell Mag Charger. This is a translucent polymer device that you load from a 50-round ammo box. The rounds are loaded with the projectile pointing upwards. This loader is compatible with all known magazines including the Surefire 60 and 100 round magazines as well as the Beta C-Mag. The loader is provided with an ammo tray used to invert ammunition into the ammo boxes for loading into the magazine charger. The loader is placed on top of the ammo box and then flipped over where the rounds drop into the loading tool. You must be careful not to tip or the rounds will fall out the side. Once the ammo box is removed the loading tray is pushed into the device and the loading lever closed. A magazine is placed in the opposite side. Every time the loading lever is pushed in, 5 rounds are loaded into the magazine. When the lever is pulled out the loader indexes to the next row of ammunition. The lever is actuated 6 times to load 30 rounds. Then you replace the magazine and load the remaining 20 rounds. The Magazine charger is the most difficult of the lot tested to use and the most time consuming. Loading all 50 rounds into the box and then loading the device and then loading the magazines takes longer. If you have several ammo boxes loaded, you can load magazines fairly quickly. According to Caldwell this loader will work for 5.56mm and .204 Ruger but not for 300 Blackout. This magazine charger is more for the recreational shooter than for military use. It does not have the durability required for long term use as found in daily use. But for the average shooter who will be loading a small number of magazines it is just fine. The MSRP is $64.95.

The Mitusa Mag Pump

This device was released at the 2015 SHOT Show. This author just happened to stumble upon it when the representative was demonstrating it. I was quite taken with it for many reasons. First it was not plastic but manufactured from steel. It had a large hopper on top where you could place over 100 rounds. The magazine is placed in a mag well under the hopper. When the actuation lever is pulled a round falls from the hopper down the loading gate. The weight of the projectile indexes the round facing down into place for loading the round into the magazine. As the lever is pulled to the rear, the round is pushed into the magazine. With one pull all these things happen. When first using it, it was difficult getting the rhythm and speed to pull the lever. If you pull the lever too fast the round will jam up in the hopper or the loading gate. Once I got use to it, I was able to load magazine after magazine quickly and without a hiccup. As for magazine compatibility, I have tried more than 20 different magazines with only one magazine giving me trouble and that was the Elite Tactical Systems polymer magazine. One magazine kept popping out of the mag well but two other Elite Tactical Systems magazines worked just fine. So I will chalk that up as a fluke. The loader is actuated by one hand. The loader will load both 5.56mm as well as 300 Blackout rounds. This device is patent pending and falls under ITAR restrictions for export. This author received the T&E Mag-Pump around March of 2015 and has been meticulously testing it over the past 7 months. More than 200 magazines have been loaded. After I figured out the speed to pull the lever, I never had a single failure to load a round.

The device is broken down into three components for storage. Remove the top two pins and the hopper is removed. Unscrew the bottom two large bolts and the main body slides off of the stand. You can store it in a 50 cal ammo can with no difficulty. This unit could be mounted to a bench for heavy volume loading. With all major components being made from steel the Mag-Pump is durable and reliable. Most ammunition is received in boxes rather than stripper clip. The rounds are dropped in the hopper and it does not matter whether the bullet is pointed toward the front or back of the hopper. When the hopper releases the round into the sorting gate it automatically aligns the round projectile down. This is one of the more expensive loading devices at $389 but it is well worth it to someone loading a lot of magazines

Does everyone need one of the expensive speed magazine loading tools? Heavens no. However if you work in an armory or training facility and you are in charge of loading numerous magazines these tools will make your life much easier. The Maglula LuLa can fit in any range bag. With its low cost it can be used by anyone. The BenchLoader and Range BenchLoader are much more expensive and are not for the weekend plinker. The current Range BenchLoader is less than half the price and gives you the ability to load absolutely any magazine that you may have with 100% reliability. The price is a bit steep but for shooters who shoot a lot or have hand conditions such as arthritis will really benefit from this tool. The Caldwell Magazine Charger is a lower cost alternative to high speed magazine loading. This price puts it in reach of the average to more frequent shooter. However the Mitusa manufactured Magazine Pump has a stout price tag but is a very durable an effective loading tool designed for heavy use. For the armorer or trainer the Maglula Range BenchLoader and the Mitusa Magazine Pump would serve well.

“I’ve been in the defense industry for over thirty-six years and I know of no other conference offering attendees the opportunity to learn about a new technology on one day of the conference and test fire it one or two days later.” – Brian Berger, Chairman of the NDIA Small Arms Committee

This annual event is akin to a three ring circus, offering an information-packed agenda with presentations directly supporting the Armaments Division’s three committees: Small Arms; Guns, Ammunition, Rockets & Missiles; and Unconventional Emerging Technology Armament Systems.

Brian Berger, President of Wilcox Industries Corp, and bringing long experience at the helm of the Small Arms Committee, gave us his perspective on the annual gathering.

“The NDIA Armaments Division Forum provides a unique opportunity for Industry and Government personnel to meet once a year, over a three-day period,” he explained, “to learn from technical papers, attend tutorials, view short ‘poster presentations,’ and network with influential figures to exchange information on armament systems.”

Distance learning option

With nearly 120 agenda items including scholarly technical papers, historical perspectives, sobering assessments of harsh battlefield realities now and in the near future, panel discussions and more, doing justice to this firepower feast requires much more space than is available here.

Fortunately for all interested parties, NDIA has a generous policy of free access online to unclassified presentations. Actual briefing slides shown in unclassified presentations are posted online by DTIC (Defense Technical Information Center) for public access at www.dtic.mil/ndia/2016armament/2016armament.html

Or, go to NDIA’s main page www.ndia.org, click the RESOURCES tab, then Online Proceedings from the left menu.

While you’re there, take time to note the wealth of information on a myriad of other NDIA events available by date and title, an invaluable resource for the widest variety of interested parties – friend and foe alike…

Briefings big and small

Here are a few highlights to whet your appetite for online study or a resolution to be there in person at the 2017 Forum.

While the main event kicked off on Tuesday, April 26th, Monday’s early registrants were rewarded with a trio of tutorials including “Roadblocks to Success,” a cautionary tale from ARDEC’s Science and Technology office.

Ten “Poster Presentations” from subject matter experts were offered; intimate show-n-tell of subjects ranging from salty air corrosion on .50 cal ammo, to the “future of vibration testing.”

For the next three days, committee-specific sessions ran concurrently in three separate meeting rooms. While a challenge for those with a variety of interests, this arrangement gives attendees the option to move about as desired to sit in on selected topics.

The Guns, Ammunition, Rockets, and Missiles (GARM) committee offered some 40 presentations unified by the theme “New and Evolving Armaments and Subsystems for Future Conflicts.”

Among these could be found NSWC Dahlgren’s Moving Target Artillery Round and ARDEC’s remarkable work on 60 and 81mm Non-Lethal munitions. Yes, kinder, gentler mortar rounds.

On the decidedly cutting edge side under the banner of “Future Weapons: Armament Solutions in a Time of Small Wars and Limited Conflicts” came 30 presentations offered by the Unconventional and Emerging Technology Armament (UEA) Systems committee.

From the provocatively-titled Anti-Class One Drone & Multi-Purpose 66mm Launch System for the M-4 Carbine (Hint: search “Can Cannon” for one idea), to a dramatically closed-to-foreign-nationals examination of the question; Is Now the Time for a High-Energy Laser Weapon program of Record? Not surprisingly, many folks say YES !

Small Arms Systems

Of course, most of our time was well spent in the company of industry and military proponents of traditional man-portable projectile pushers. We were richly rewarded by a veritable feast of presentations for ways of “Enhancing Small Arms Weapons, Equipment and Training in Support of the Warfighter.” In a brief sampling of subjects one finds Wounds Ballistic Testing Panel, Role of MCOTEA in Testing of Small Arms, Active Stabilization of Firearms by Optical Target Tracking, Future Advanced Squad Technologies, Fatigue Life Extension of the M4A1 Carbine Bolt, MK 48 MOD 1 Machine Gun Sustained Fire Upgrade, Light Weight .338 Medium Machine Gun System Development, How to Ruin A Perfectly Good Weapon, One-Way Luminescence, and no less than five detailed papers on the Science of Firearms Suppression.

Many of the PowerPoints in this target rich environment of more than 120 panel discussions and focused papers are online at DTIC, but let’s single out a handful that we found particularly provocative.

Retired Army Major General David Grange, former 75th Ranger Regiment commander and deputy commander in US Army Special Operations Command, is now top man at Osprey Global Solutions. He pulled no punches in two related presentations.

In Tuesday’s keynote address, Soldier/Squad Overmatch, he warned that our likely enemies are well along in arming individual soldiers with new rifles firing ammunition extending the maximum effective range to 600 meters; well beyond that of America’s M16/M4 family with currently standard issue 5.56mm ammo.

Later, in America’s Foot Soldiers’ New Round, Grange presented test data indicating clear superiority of Osprey’s 6.5mm Super Z cartridge as an M4 compatible, cost and combat effective interim solution to the problem.

Expanding on this same theme in Next Generation Small Unit Weapon Systems – A Path to Overmatch, Jim Schatz, 2015 NDIA Chinn Award recipient and internationally recognized small arms subject matter expert, forcefully challenged the small arms status quo with another of his characteristically fact-packed presentations.

A perennial thorn in the side of hidebound bureaucracies as a tireless advocate for America’s grunts, he contends that continuing to leave America’s front line warfighters outgunned by adversaries while delaying at least partial replacement for M4s and 5.56mm cartridges is utterly unacceptable.

“Paradigm-changing key materials including LICC (Lightweight Intermediate Caliber Cartridge) ammo, Disturbed Reticle Carbine Sights, Blind-to-Barrier Bullets, LW Modular Weapons, and Advanced Training are available today,” Schatz said, “to counter this current threat and emerging threats.”

In a series of info-rich visuals, he presented solid evidence supporting his thesis based on recent testing of just such an innovative interim individual weapon/sight/cartridge system by a purposely unnamed official entity.

“That rifle shown at the top left of this slide is a DPMS GII modified by US Army Marksmanship Unit to fire the .264 USA (6.5x48mm) and .277 USA (7x48mm) rounds to include the polymer version made by MAC LLC” Schatz explained, providing ample test data to make the case.

“Its ‘disturbed reticle’ sight, Schatz noted, “is the Steiner Optik Intelligent Combat Sight (ICS). At the push of a button, an eye-safe laser instantly provides distance to the target, and calculates an illuminated, trajectory-compensated aiming point based on ammunition ballistics, measured distance, and angle to your target out to 800 meters.”

And never one to shy away from advocating direct action, he drove home the point that, “overmatch Individual Weapon capabilities can be ours but we must ask for it!”

“The DoD or ACOS GEN. Milley/US Army or US Marine Corps or USSOCOM should brief Congress,” he said, asking for $100 million to develop and field the next gen IW and LICC cartridge for “our most deployed/at risk weapon system; our Frontliners.”

[EDITOR’S NOTE: Schatz’ treasure map of a dissertation in the Forum’s online proceedings is strongly recommended, along with his authoritative essay, The Future of the Assault Rifle, in SADJ, Vol 7 Num 1 (http://www.sadefensejournal.com/wp/?p=2941)]

Military and Government Perspectives

The enormous official armaments establishments that have grown up over the decades deserve both scrutiny and praise. The Forum provided ample time for both with numerous grouped presentations as well as targeted papers. On the Small Arms side we found much to contemplate in panels featuring top figures in PM Soldier Weapons, PM Maneuver Ammunition, Joint Services Small Arms Program, and the NATO Weapons and Sensors Working Group.

Providing the Navy perspective on the Joint Service Small Arms Synchronization Team panel, the inimitable Chuck Zeller unveiled a proposed “way ahead” to more efficiently manage the current catalog of more than 30 types of small arms from pistols to grenade launchers in current use by sailors on land, sea and air.

In an initiative sure to ignite howls of protest from old salts with their personal favorites, arms lockers will eventually hold only eight kinds: M2A1 fifties, M240 mgs, M4A1 carbines, Mossberg 500 shotguns, M203A1 grenade launchers, Mk19 Mod 3 GPMGs, and whatever might emerge from the XM17 pistol competition and the Army’s caliber study. Good luck with all that.

Oh, and what will become of the Navy’s “legacy” leftovers being metaphorically pushed overboard? Many will go to allied military forces but long gone are the days of surplus guns being sold back to the American taxpayers who bought ‘em in the first place. We’re told that inquiries have been received from firms seeking to handle the demil process. Chop-chop.

And as what many see as the most warrior-focused of America’s beleaguered Armed Forces, the USMC’s PM Infantry Weapons Panel commanded close attention. As the Leatherneck leadership struggles to keep a sharp warfighting edge despite meager funding, small arms initiatives are necessarily small.

There is a need for a concealed carry pistol for non-uniformed criminal investigators, an improved sniper rifle system, phasing in quick change barrel M2A1s, and a quick way to reduce the height of vehicle weapon mount stations to better fit inside aircraft and shipboard. Details on these and more business opportunities are linked on Marine Corps Systems Command’s website.

The Army’s Program Manager Soldier Weapons is the big dog in development and fielding of improved Small Arms for all the US military. Work continues on the decade-old XM25 airburst grenade system, upgrades to the M4A1 carbine, and an opto-electronic sight for hand held 40mm launchers.

Near future goals include lightening the M2 .50 cal. to under 70 pounds (XM806?) and the Marines are partners in Army efforts to develop tough new barrels for the M240 and 249 machine guns to minimize or eliminate the need for overloaded ground pounders to carry a spare.

Questions about progress of the XM17 Modular Handgun System competition were met with the equivalent of a no-comment: “The program is in the selection process now. And there is a lot of misinformation out there.” No wonder since just about nobody – including most manufacturers – is officially identifying the submitted pistols. Perhaps we’ll know the finalists by the time this feature appears in print.

A quick side note: Of course we asked exhibit staffers from HK, Glock, and GD about participation in the handgun trials. HK said they had no entry, Glock would not comment, GD showed their S&W but no photos allowed.

Giving hope to those of us who have watched the ups and downs of the LSAT (Lightweight Small Arms Technologies) program, ARDEC’s Kori Phillips reports in Cased Telescoped Systems: 6.5mm Carbine and 7.62mm Machine Gun, that this highly promising endeavour is alive and well; recently re-branded as CT (Cased Telescoped). Now joining the well-proven 5.56mm CT-firing SAW is a medium machine gun version in CT 7.62mm NATO, and nearing completion is an assault carbine optimized for 6.5mm, 125 grain CT ammo that “has significantly better performance than 7.62mm CT cartridge.”

In a likely nod to Jim Schatz and other authorities in the “better cartridge” chorus, Phillips gave assurances that the system’s compact ”lipstick tube” polymer cases are easily tailorable in caliber and configuration and that architecture of the new carbine can be made to accommodate advanced fire control and other enhancements.

Meanwhile, results of the official SAAC (Small Arms Ammunition Configuration Study), promised for later this year, are anxiously awaited by military and industry with a mixture of hope and fear. Oh, and we’re told that Osprey’s 6.5mm Super Z came too late to be part of the study.

WWJBD? (What Would John Browning Do?)

Carrying forward the occasional event tradition of a special look at some historical weaponry from a modern perspective, well-known firearms engineering guru George Kontis of Gun IQ International channeled a certain Utah born gunsmith/inventor from way more than a century past. In A John Browning View of the U.S. Small Arms Industry, Kontis’ alter ego barbecued a whole herd of sacred cows.

Following brief biographical highlights of this giant of firearms history, the inventor of the .30 caliber lever action rifle, the .45 caliber M1911 pistol and .50 cal. M2 machine gun cast disapproval upon today’s varmint caliber military cartridges as exactly what they are – unsuitable for big game like deer, bear and terrorists.

Then, Mr. Browning turned a critical eye on a list of subjects including seventy years of Army service rifle and ammo “improvement” programs, brass cased cartridges, combat rifles festooned with loads of ungainly add-ons, failure to adopt the metric system, continued use of wiggle-loose threaded fasteners, absurd government over-regulation, and an irrational anti-gun socio/political climate.

To the point, Kontis/Browning proposed a more efficient relationship between military and industry for a “System that Works.” This starts with military and government arsenals writing specifications, then arsenals handling solicitations, industry providing competition and production, government handling acceptance, and back to arsenals for “configuration management.”

In his conclusion, the NRA, NDIA and the National Armaments Consortium got a tip of the hat for public-private partnership in support of the essential small arms industrial base.

Exhibits and Networking Breaks

Participation by government and industry entities in the Forum’s exhibits is strong as evidenced by seventeen booths, dominated by defense giant General Dynamics.

In addition to the gunmakers Barrett, FN America, Glock, HKD, and S&W, exhibitors enticed examination of explosive energetics, projectiles , ballistic instrumentation, mechanized cannon bore maintenance, super gunsights, custom grunt gear, a robot pistol shooter, and the Chipotle Publishing team handing out hundreds of free copies of SAR and SADJ.

Well situated in the main area where regular coffee breaks, daily luncheons and happy hour networking socials were enjoyed, exhibit staffers were kept busy all day doing show ‘n tell for a steady flow of knowledgeable and engaged visitors.

Range Time

Year after year at these events, Sal Fanelli, a senior engineer in the USMC’s PM Infantry Weapons office, has bravely volunteered to shoulder the often-thorny burden of coordinating what used to be known as the Firepower Demonstrations. But this time, emphasizing inclusion of items that optimize effective projectile pushing, he’s now “Chairman, Technology Demonstration Session.”

“This portion is a unique opportunity that allows vendors to showcase their latest designs and gives attendees hands-on experience with the latest developments,” Fanelli noted. “It’s the only venue of its type and the main draw for each year’s event. The paper presentations along with private talks with each of the vendors culminate each year at the end of the conference where the weapons, sights and ammo do the talking.”

In what many see as saving the best for last, more than a hundred attendees boarded chartered buses on Thursday for a short ride from Fredericksburg to nearby Fort A.P. Hill’s Multi-Purpose Range 33 and a few hours of nitrocellulose-perfumed pleasure with spirits undampened by scattered showers and persistent drizzle. “Any day on the range beats a day in the office,” goes the old military saying.

Graciously hosted by Captain Joseph Fyfe of the Army’s elite Asymetric Warfare Group, and sternly overseen by NDIA volunteer Range Safety Officer Jim Schatz and crew, demonstrators included Barrett, FN America, Glock, Heckler & Koch, LaRue, U.S. Optics with Wilcox Industries, and a big team from US Army’s PM Soldier Weapons, down from ARDEC’s home base at Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey.

Attendees lined up behind their weapons of choice, getting bragging rights and selfies from trigger time with free ammo (much of it generously donated by Orbital ATK), behind a remarkable selection of the latest in pistols and PDWs, assault rifles, sniper weapons, and machine guns.

SADJ’s Perspective

Dan Shea, General Director of Phoenix Defence, woke up Wednesday morning’s Small Arms session with a catalog of observations on some of the latest developments worldwide in arms and ammunition.

Adding to criticism of America’s warfighters being demonstrably outgunned, Shea, Editor-in-Chief of SMALL ARMS DEFENSE JOURNAL and SMALL ARMS REVIEW, noted increasing use by adversaries of more powerful cartridges including the hard-hitting and long-ranging classic 7.62 x 54R cartridges in legacy and developmental firearms, now including North Korea’s fascinating new Minigun with necessarily unusual push-thru links that eliminate the need for a de-linker.

Also, Shea has run both lab and field tests on Russia’s remarkable silica-embedded armor piercing projectile for the integrally-suppressed 9 x 39mm VSS Vintorez, a Spetsnaz favorite. “Subsonic – less than a thousand fps – it cuts thru a Level III plate like butter,” he said, “and destroys the integrity of Level IV.”

Another notable Russian development is a new, soldier-friendly quadrant iron sight for the RPG-7D3 launcher, much simpler than the standard optical sight, requiring far less training for effective use.

In his role as a long-time member of NDIA’s Small Arms Steering Committee, Shea also provided his perspective on recent iterations of the event and what might be likely in the near future:

“The NDIA Small Arms Group is one of the most important and influential meetings every year, and with its sister Symposia at Shrivenham in the UK, provides platforms for the small arms community that are irreplaceable and we feel strongly must be maintained and grown.

After the drawdown in Iraq and Afghanistan, budget cuts in the military, lack of support from some of the civilian leadership in the US, and some unwelcome attention to government ‘Conventions’ by a high profile and out-of-control budget on a GSA convention in Las Vegas, attendance at many military shows has been cut drastically.

Event organizers of these essential events have had to resort to many cost-cutting and location changing tools to keep operating. NDIA has been no exception, and the Small Arms Group has seen some attendance drop from the highs of 800-1000 to a low of several hundred.

This year’s event marked a major uptick- 400 plus attendees and exhibitors appear to be related to the excellent location choice of Fredericksburg, VA. It’s near to the DC/Northern Virginia heartbeat of the military, close to Quantico so the USMC can attend in force, and close enough to Picatinny so that attendees can drive down. The 2016 event was a major step forward and the positive energy was evident.

Many of the board members and attendees suggested using this venue and its nearby firing range for the next several events while we built momentum back up for the group, then move out to various other areas as leadership sees fit. While future locations remain to be seen, SADJ is off the “Come back to Las Vegas where it’s cheap and gets heavy attendance” soapbox, and putting our vote in for more Fredericksburg.

Wherever NDIA Small Arms Group and any associated groups choose to go, we’ll be supportive and attending of course- but we were won over by this year’s location and hope to see several future shows there.”

NDIA’s Armaments Division

The Division’s activity is directed through three very active committees: the Small Arms Committee; the Guns, Ammunition, Rockets & Missiles Committee, and Unconventional Emerging Technology Armament Systems.

Our mission is to provide focus on integrated armament systems including those used by individual soldiers, utilized on crew served systems, and integrated into land, sea, and air platforms. The purpose is to provide the forum for industry, military, and government personnel to address issues which are necessary to ensure a superior armament system capability today and
in the future.

The Division addresses many issues, such as: Armament Operational Needs and Requirements; Approaches and Concepts, System Integration, Weapons, Munitions, Fire Control, and other ancillary equipment, and logistic support. Attention is given to total systems and to technology application and state-of-the-art technology advancements. Through these topics, sections within the division provide assessment of current armaments and a vision of emerging military equipment and operational capability applying advanced technology in total armament systems.

The division’s goal is to ensure a forum for all types of armaments systems within the existing committees or through expanded activity of additional committees of the Armament Division.

Connect for success

NDIA is your source for networking, knowledge exchange, and business development opportunities with government and the defense industry. NDIA can connect you for success through association events, policy, and local chapters. Select your membership category and join online www.ndia.org

2017 Armaments Forum

As this issue goes to press the dates and location for NDIA’s 2017 Armaments Forum have not been finalized but will be announced at ndia.org.

Photo Gallery

[EDITOR’S NOTE: What accompanies the in-print version of this feature is a necessarily short photo essay zeroing in on some notable highlights from the Forum and its live fire range component. For a close look and lots of information on these weapons, and sights, as well as Forum activities and exhibits, check out Robert Bruce’s online slide show with 181 photos from this event, posted on www.smallarmsreview.com/archive/reference.07-2016.cfm#07192016.

Part One of The NAC Thompson Guns provided an historical overview of how George Numrich and Numrich Arms Company of Mamaroneck, New York, (now located in West Hurley, New York) originally acquired all rights and interest in the world famous Thompson submachine gun. Included in this purchase were complete Thompson guns and many crates of parts that allowed the future manufacture of what are now known as the NAC or crate Thompsons. Part One ended describing the Colt NAC’s. Part Two begins with:

THE SAVAGE NAC’s

After the initial lot of late Colt receivers were serial numbered for registration purposes, it appears there was a switch to late production Savage Arms receivers. Known Savage Arms receivers with NAC markings include:

NAC 17: The US military nomenclature, “U.S. Model Of 1928 A1” and “S –,” is marked on this Savage Arms receiver. The serial number NAC 17 was hand stamped beside the “S -” roll marking. FOIA information begins with a June 5, 1953 transfer to a “Virginia State Agency.” Most likely, NAC 17 was sold to the Department of State Police in Richmond, Virginia with many of the NAC Thompsons with Colt receivers listed above. This NAC Thompson was one of many Thompsons featured in The Thompson Collectors Association 2004 display at the National Rifle Association William B. Ruger Gallery in the National Firearms Museum.

NAC 33: Only pictures of this NAC Thompson have been reviewed. It was built on a late variation Savage receiver with Model of 1928 and S – markings. The serial number, NAC 33, is hand stamped after the “S -” marking. It is very similar to NAC 34, below.

NAC 34: The serial number of this “Model of 1928” NAC Thompson is also hand stamped beside the “S -” roll marking on the receiver. FOIA information reveals it was registered with the IRS on June 10, 1960. Of note, another Form 2 was filed on June 21, 1960 with the serial number listed as SNAC34. Serial number confusion is common with NAC guns and occurred again during a future transfer. The current owner was told by a former owner this gun may have been previously owned by the famous Hollywood company, Stembridge Gun Rentals. The name, “Stembridge Gun Rentals,” is handwritten on the top of the June 21, 1960 IRS Form 2. NAC 34 has been professionally refinished. (Dan Shea verified that there was a Thompson Serial Number NAC34 in the Stembridge collection he sold in 1998. It was N838 in the LMO appraisal).

Just when the numbering is starting to make sense another series of serial numbers with the letters NAC used as a serial number suffix surfaced. J. Curtis Earl described this variation in his now famous catalogs as being “produced” by Numrich Arms with “composites of new and surplus parts” and “readily determined by the “NAC” after the serial number.” Earl labelled these NAC Thompsons as “Commercial 28s” with “poor quality in workmanship.”

S38NAC: This NAC Thompson clearly indicates not all the Thompson receivers were located by Numrich employees when the Thompson assets were transferred to West Hurley, New York. S38NAC is built on a late model Savage Arms receiver marked Model of 1928 and uses the roll marked “S -” marking applied by Savage Arms as part of the registered serial number. FOIA information indicates it was “born” on the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record (NFRTR), commonly referred to as the NFA Registry, on November 28, 1960. Of note, it was sold by Numrich Arms as a registered dewat on a Form 5 with the following notation: “Gun made unserviceable. Witnessed by ATTD agent.”

S214NAC: This NAC Thompson is very similar to S38NAC, above, but has the U.S. Model of 1928 A1 nomenclature markings. Another difference is the mating of the 1928 Savage Arms receiver to an M1 Thompson frame. Again, Numrich Arms used whatever parts available. Of note, this NAC Thompson was born on the NFA Registry on September 22, 1972. This may indicate not all the receivers found by Numrich employees were 100% finished. Some receivers may have required additional machining operations to complete the product. Of note, this Thompson was registered 3 years before Auto-Ordnance Corporation, West Hurley, New York was formed. Most likely, the inventory of receivers and frames found in the crates was nearing the end.

S-15043: Two questions immediately come to mind when seeing this serial number: Is this a NAC Thompson? And is this the third Thompson gun manufactured by Savage Arms in 1940? It is definitely one of the crate guns found by Numrich employees in 1951. S-15043 was registered on an IRS Form 2 stating it was “manufactured, imported, or received” on December 1, 1951. However, unlike NAC 3 and NAC 5, above, the IRS was notified about the registration of S-15043 by Numrich Arms on or about January 14, 1952. The receiver stamped with serial number S-15043 was mostly likely in the first lot of guns and receivers found by Numrich employees. It is not the third Thompson manufactured by Savage Arms as that receiver would have been marked with a New York address. The S-15043 serial number is crudely hand stamped on this late Bridgeport, Connecticut Savage receiver but the receiver is mated to the original S-15043 frame – which obviously was found in the crates. The letters NAC were not part of the registered serial number but appear to have been hand stamped on the receiver before this Thompson was originally sold to the Village of Liberty Police Department, New York, on August 15, 1952 by the Numrich Arms Company. A previous owner removed most of the NAC markings from the receiver when S-15043 was refinished.

The early IRS Form 2’s used to register the crate Thompsons and other machine guns initially found contain enough space to list 12 guns on each form. Not every Form 2 filed by Numrich Arms showing the guns “manufactured, imported, or received” on December 1, 1951, has been reviewed. However, enough documentation has been obtained and studied to show the original filings for the crate guns occurred at different times in 1952 and subsequent years.

The AUTO-ORDNANCE BRIDGEPORT NAC’s

No Model of 1928 NAC or crate Thompson guns have been identified to date that have been assembled with an original World War II manufactured receiver from the Auto-Ordnance Bridgeport plant. These receivers were roll marked with the serial number prefix “A.O.” (Whereas Savage Arms serial number prefix was “S -”) While examples of this receiver with a NAC serial number may surface in the future, it is possible the Auto-Ordnance Division of Maguire Industries under George Goll assembled and commercially sold all the left over Auto-Ordnance Bridgeport 1928 receivers when marketing the AC variation Thompson.

THE M1 NAC’s

There have only been two M1 NAC or crate Thompson guns observed. The reason for the low number most likely deals with what happened at the end of the Thompson production. The last month of full production for the M1A1 Thompson was December 1943. 31,052 guns were manufactured. No guns were delivered to the US government in January 1944; 4091 guns were delivered in February 1944, the last month of production and delivery. This indicates the government allowed a clean-up period at the end of the production run, December 1943, to allow the vendor, Auto-Ordnance Corporation, to complete ever how much of the product, the Thompson submachine gun, remained on the production line. Of course, the guns delivered had to pass inspection or they would not be accepted (and paid for). This was a common practice at the end of every government weapon production contract and the fact no M1 Thompsons have been observed that were sold by the Auto-Ordnance Division during the marketing of the AC variation at the end of the war indicate very few M1 type receivers were left over.

The following two M1 Thompsons with NAC markings have been observed:

NAC18-0011: This M1A1 Thompson was originally sold to the Hammond, Indiana Police Department by Numrich Arms. The date of sale is unknown but it can be verified the Hammond, IN police department was involved in trading this M1A1 NAC Thompson in July 1971. The receiver of NAC18-0011 is devoid of all markings except the serial number and a very small marking or emblem of unknown origin. It has been commercially blued, equipped with a Lyman adjustable rear sight and compensator (on a smooth barrel). The numbers making up the serial number are in two different positions on the receiver. The trigger guard is marked, “AC 18” on bottom.

N.A.C. – 45: As the pictures reveal, N.A.C. – 45 is something special to behold. One look would make anyone think twice about saying anything negative about the crate Thompsons. Aside from the beautiful engraving, a close look at the receiver indicates it is from a special part of Thompson history. And leaves little doubt this receiver was found in the crates. Note the oversize hole at the end of the cocking slot on the right side of the receiver. This hole is for the removal of the bolt handle during disassembly. On production M1 and M1A1 Thompson guns the hole, actually one-half of a hole or cut out, is positioned at the center of the cocking slot. N.A.C. – 45 is built on a leftover Savage Arms M1 prototype receiver! The date this receiver was found and registered with the IRS is unknown. N.A.C. – 45 was sold by Numrich Arms in July 1963 to an individual buyer. The earliest Form 4 indicates “Numrich Arms Company, Williams Lane, West Hurley New York” is both the transferor and manufacturer. The original purchaser recorded that he had ordered a Model of 1928 Thompson with compensator from Numrich Arms for $200 or $225. Numrich was unable to supply a Model of 1928 in a timely manner and offered him N.A.C. – 45 instead for $300. The only change to this NAC Thompson from when it was originally purchased is the replacement of a GI blue bolt with a jeweled nickel bolt. The original production serial number on the frame has not been removed and obviously does not match the receiver. It is equipped with a Lyman adjustable rear sight, finned barrel and compensator.

WORLD WAR II PRODUCTION GUNS WITH THE LETTERS “NAC” AFTER THE SERIAL NUMBER

While the focus of this story is predominantly about the crate Thompsons, there is another group of NAC marked Thompsons that also cause a lot of confusion in the marketplace. This other group of NAC Thompsons found their way on the NFA Registry because the importation of live machine guns into the USA for civilian ownership was legal in the 1950’s and 60’s. Numrich Arms, active in all things Thompson, acquired and sold a good number of these early imported Thompsons. For reasons unknown, Numrich Arms stamped the initials “NAC” on many, perhaps all, of the Thompson guns they acquired and sold prior to the creation of the new Auto-Ordnance Corporation, West Hurley, New York. The NAC letters usually appear as a serial number suffix and may or may not be part of the registered serial number that appears on the NFA Registry. The rule of thumb used to tell a production GI Thompson from one of the crate Thompsons is the serial number and overall condition of the gun. If the serial number is a normal production serial number, especially with a matching numbered frame, and the gun does not appear to be a parts guns (but may be arsenal or depot rebuilt) then it is most likely a World War II production gun that Numrich Arms acquired and sold at some point in the past. Savage Arms NO. S – 234572 NAC, pictured in this story, is a perfect example of an original production Thompson guns with the added NAC markings.

The number of World War II production Thompson guns with the letters NAC as a serial number suffix in the marketplace appears to greatly outnumber the crate Thompsons. However, many enthusiasts and dealers continually confuse these two variations. To be sure, any Thompson with the letters NAC must be examined carefully to insure a correct pedigree. Past IRS or ATF documents, coupled with Freedom of Information Act records can be helpful in providing a clear answer. No genuine World War II production Thompson has been examined with the letters NAC as a serial number prefix – to date.

TAKING WHAT IS KNOWN A STEP FURTHER

Why have only Colt and Savage Arms 1928 receivers been identified as Model of 1928 NAC or crate Thompsons? The complete answer may never be known as the people involved in the production of the WWII Thompson guns have long since passed. However, part of the question has been addressed in the M1 section, above. It is very possible the change over in production from the Model of 1928 to the M1 Thompson did not have a clean-up period. Thompson guns were in dire need by all allied forces in 1942. Why would a for-profit company go to the time consuming task of completing the manufacture of unsold 1928 Thompson guns when it could instantly embark on the production of the new replacement Thompson gun – the M1 model. The number of “AC” variation Thompsons found in the marketplace today and documented as sold by George Goll’s Auto-Ordnance Division indicate many Model of 1928 receivers were simply set aside. While fodder for another story, those that study the “AC” variation can identify at least three specific Auto-Ordnance Bridgeport serial number blocks for the “AC” variation. For whatever reason, the employees that assembled and marketed the “AC” variation did not use the excess or left over Savage Arms and Colt era receivers packed away in the Thompson assets by Savage Arms when the contract ended. These receivers were uncovered by Numrich Arms employees in 1951/1952 – and probably for years afterwards.

The late variation Colt receivers used in the manufacture of the earliest NAC Thompsons have often been described as “overruns.” This would indicate Colt’s had unused fully completed receivers on hand when the production ended and gave these receivers to Auto-Ordnance. The most likely scenario is these late variation receivers were manufactured as spare parts and sold to Auto-Ordnance as were other spare parts. Normally, there is not much giving away of product between a contractor and subcontractor. Defective, unused or unsold steel parts at gun factories are routinely routed back to the foundry to be melted down for other uses.

During a production run of any weapon, many of the parts manufactured are turned into tools or jigs for use by the employees. A receiver was just another part, especially in production performed years ago. This may explain the odd numbers and markings found on some of the NAC Thompson receivers listed above. These numbers or markings were stamped on the receivers for a specific purpose or identification. Unfortunately, their meanings will most likely remain lost to time. The explanation could be as simple as a training aide for new employees. This would explain why these receivers or “tools” were packed away with the gages, tools, blueprints and other items used in production – awaiting a new assembly line in the future.

EPILOGUE

To recap, there are numerous World War II Thompson guns in circulation with the letters “NAC” applied as a suffix to an original production serial number. The vast majority of these Thompsons are true World War II guns acquired and sold by Numrich Arms. Colt manufactured receivers with the letters NAC as any part of the serial number should not be confused with original Colt production Thompson submachine guns. These are NOT original Colt Thompsons. They are a unique Thompson variation that has their separate place in the history of the Thompson gun. The same holds true for NAC Thompsons manufactured at Numrich Arms with unused Savage Arms receivers. These NAC Thompsons are NOT World War II production GI Tommy Guns. The NAC or crate Thompsons are a distinctive Thompson submachine gun in their own right – manufactured by one of the product owners during the long succession of General Thompson’s trench broom.