By Dan Shea

NRA Convention- a quick glimpse…

The 129th Annual NRA Convention was held in Charlotte, NC on May 19th through 22nd of the year 2000. SAR went South to cover it, and to see if we could bring you some highlights.

NRA President Charlton Heston hoisted a rifle into the air, and made a “From My Cold Dead Hands” challenge to US Vice President Al Gore. Thank you, Mr. Heston. The more that we stand tall, the more that everyone is liable to stand together with us in the November Presidential Election, so that we can turn around the extremist political agenda of “Clinton-Gore”. I only wish it had been an AR-15 in Heston’s hands. While the press would paint that as “Extremist”, the grass roots- the people who do the footwork to get out the vote, would have been even more energized. I believe it was enough for him to do what he did, and I think his personal character was suited to how he accomplished it. President Heston announced that he felt called to stick around to fight Al Gore and his cronies, and Heston was re-elected to do that job. God Bless, President Heston- let’s stand tall for freedom!

If the liberal media can call US Attorney General Janet Reno “General Reno”, then we can certainly refer to NRA President Charlton Heston as “President Heston”. It’s been too long since there was anyone I felt like calling “Mr. President”, anyway.

There was some political infighting at the Convention- but that was internal politics, I am here to say that it is staying internal as far as this writer is concerned. I am an advocacy journalist for a return to a safer, saner America, and that agenda will NOT be accomplished if the dirty laundry is all we talk about- that is how the anti-Second Amendment crowd tries to divide us so we lose sight of the big picture. Let’s talk about defeating our common enemies, and returning this country to greatness.

The promised protesters never really materialized- police had been prepared for problems, but none really appeared. Several times I was sent outside by booth-bound exhibitors to bring back some anti Second Amendment protesters, but each time I failed to find them. Jesse at the J&T Distributing booth had a standing order for “Two protesters with mustard”, but he had to settle for convention rations.

Scuttlebutt from many importers and other licensees was of Federal government agencies starting to be more “User friendly”, as in doing their jobs instead of marching to the distant drum of the Clintonista’s anti Constitutional agenda. Conjecture was made that there might be some people sniffing a sea change in the air- that 2001 might bring a release from being under the activist thumb of the anti-Second Amendment fellow travelers in Clinton’s State Department. Your faithful correspondent hopes this is true- I would very much like to see the loyal civil servants in the nation’s capitol unrestrained by the perverse political agenda of the Clinton-Gore cabal, and able once again to do their jobs as the elected Congress of the United States has directed.

Some highlights of the NRA convention- these are just items of note to those with an interest in military small arms- that is, SAR’s readers:

Soldier of Fortune had an awards ceremony on Friday morning, with Robert K. Brown presenting such notables as Val Forgette and Jeff Cooper with achievement awards, and numerous awards recognizing people for their courage against the anti-Second Amendment forces. The SOF Mystery Award went to Smith & Wesson for selling out the ideals of their founders and leading the Clinton Administration in their gun control efforts. The award was covered with a garbage bag, and consisted of a mounted, stuffed Boar’s Butt. The murmurs of approval in the crowd indicated that this award was well deserved. For a complete list of the awards go to www.sofmag.com

Armalite had the new AR-50 out but confided in us that they were coming out with a new AR-30 in .308. .300 Win Mag, .338 Lapua, and possibly 30.06. The AR10-T should be available in 6.5-284 and 6.5/08 as well www.armalite.com 309-944-6939

Barrett Firearms reports that orders are rolling along, and the Army has adopted the Model 95 as the XM107, with an order to exceed 2000 pieces. The USMC designation 82-A3 is the Barrett adopted into the “Norwegian” configuration; flat rail, quick release bipod, set screw muzzle brake and rear monopod. www.barrettrifles.com 615-896-2938

Buffer Technologies had their new UMP/UMC carbine “Mag-Cinch” clamp- very light weight, inexpensive, and sturdy. It holds two mags together every bit as well as the heavier more expensive clamps I have seen, and even HK had one on the rifle at their booth! www.buffertech.com or 573-634-8529

Bushmaster was crowing (Expectedly so) about the new DCM program of subsidized DCM rifles they are involved with. Outstanding coup for Bushmaster, and well deserved in my view- for more info on this program, go to www.odcmp.com or www.bushmaster.com 1-800-998-SWAT. They also had a new 10 rd mag that was looking reliable and sturdy.

C-More Sights– after some discussion with owner Ira Kay, the “Stuff under the table” came out. He has an AR15 Carbine free floating rail system called the “Quadrail” which is outstanding- Picatinny on four sides, with a solid vibration resistant mount to the upper. Nice stuff. Every bit as interesting, and pertinent to the “M4 equation”, was C-More’s new Tactical Elite 1+5×24 30mm scope. At first I thought Ira was talking about an old Chicago song, but after viewing it I got the message- this scope replaces an ACOG, the mini-Reflex, and the Aimpoint from the M4 system, in one lightweight unit. Watch for a LOT more on this subject. www.cmore.com 703-361-2663

Cole Distributing USGI M14 mags- new for $41.95, used for $31.95, and he had collector mags- in the wrap! Pretty exciting, and he has a new line by Indep that includes 7.65 Arg, 7.5 Mas, 7.5 Swiss, and next year 7.7 Jap Arisaka and 6.5 Jap. www.cole-distributing.com 270-622-3569

Compasseco has a great airgun line, but they also have the new Air Force Talon in 22 cal air with 1000 fps. This was featured in the old Machine Gun News once, and the owner is now working on an integrally suppressed version! www.compasseco.com 1-800-726-1696

Dillon Precision was breaking out a new Super 1050 that will utilize up to 30.06 brass. This should be a real winner for Dillon- a good press to begin with, the 1050 having the capability of doing 308 will come in real handy for the shooters out there. www.dillonprecision.com 800-762-3845

Glock – yes, the Glock 36 was there. Yes, I took it apart. Yes, I am ordering one. 6+1 45 acp, slimmed down, real nice. Glock did some internal re-design, but I couldn’t nail all the changes down. Rest assured when it hits here, SAR will run it through the paces. My opinion- this model will make a difference.

GunGames is back! Looking pretty good, too. For those who missed it, or want more info, email Jocelyn@thebackup.com or call 800-771-3020

HK indicated that the new 4.6x30mm PDW will be available in about 18 months, and that their Fiftieth Anniversary Coin is now available on the HK Collectables website- and only there, until the end of this year. It’s about ten bucks, and looks impressive. www.hecklerkoch-usa.com

InterOrdnance of America LP was set up with some real interesting parts sets- HK21, MG42, MG3 Drums, Uzi, and Mpi69 were a few of the features. Real nice stuff. www.inter-ordnance.com 704-225-8843

J&T Distributing is one of the largest distributors of Knight’s Armament Co RAS systems, and had one for the HK G36 and SL8 rifles, as well as the new ATM sights they are selling. Nice product line at the show, very popular booth. www.jtdistributing.com or 1-888-736-7725 orders

Kahr Arms acquired the Auto-Ordnance name, and now has the 1927A1 semi automatic Thompson in full production, as well as an M1 version, and a “Commando” that is a 1927A1 with a black finish on the stock and forend. They have 10 rd politically correct drum mags as well. www.kahr.com 508-791-6375

Olympic Arms broke out their new titanium AR15 receivers- lots of interest there, watch SAR for a test run on this. They also had the new Durachrome finish for bolts and bores, as well as the Maxhard process finish on receivers and barrels. Very impressive. www.olyarms.com 360-459-7940

Second Amendment Foundation noted that their annual Gun Rights Policy Conference is in Washington DC on September 29,30 and Oct 1 of this year. Good timing. The theme is “Target Victory”. I like it already, and, it’s free, with a free lunch supplied. Go there. www.saf.org 1-800-426-4302

Shotgun News gave away an IMA mfg 1910 Russian Maxim non firing replica gun, to the thrill of the crowd. Nice piece, too. I did hear many members of the crowd call it a “Gatling Gun” but they have to be forgiven, not having SAR as a guide in their lives. I gave some SAR’s out to the “Gat” guys, and they were most appreciative- and will probably now speak with some authority on the wonderful “1910 Russian Maxim on Sokolov mount” they saw at the convention. Smiles all around!

Wilson Combat presented a new AR15 front sling/ flashlight mount that was user friendly- clamps on the front sight post. I liked this every bit as much as their other products- and it seemed to be a hit with all that looked it over. 1-800-955-4856

By Robert Hausman

ATF Releases First Comprehensive Report On Gun Industry

The first comprehensive study of the firearms industry and its regulation, “Commerce in Firearms in the United States,” has been released by the industry’s regulator, the Treasury Department’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms (ATF). The report is the first in an annual series that will present and analyze data collected by ATF and other federal agencies relating to the firearms industry and its regulation.

The report traces historical manufacturer sales and production data, size of the firearms industry, export and import information, changes in the regulatory enforcement of federal firearms laws, and efforts to keep firearms out of the hands of criminals, and other information.

Trends

Presently about 4-1/2 million new firearms (excluding machine guns), of which about 2 million are handguns, are sold annually in the US. An estimated 2 million secondhand firearms are sold each year as well.

Domestic firearms production, as well as imports, have been on the upswing over the last fifty-some years, despite an increasing amount of government regulation. In 1947, just over 2 million firearms of all types (excluding machine guns) were produced by U.S. manufacturers. This total climbed steadily in ensuing years, reaching a peak in about 1975 of nearly 6 million guns, dipping down under 5 million in 1980 and climbing again to nearly 6 million in 1982. Indicators show a steep rise to over 5 million in 1993 and 1994 before leveling off at over 4 million in 1998.

Imports during the years of 1947 to 1998, steadily climbed from a tiny amount in 1947 to a peak of nearly 3 million in 1994 before leveling off at under 1 million in 1998. Handguns accounted for about half the imports. Exports have shown much less dramatic results, with the figure staying well under one-half million guns through the years under study. ATF’s National Tracing Center data shows that for fiscal years 1998 and 1999, about 12.9% of traced crime guns were of foreign manufacture.

U.S. annual sales of new firearms surged upward in the early 1990’s, to a peak in 1993 of nearly 8 million firearms, of which 4 million were handguns. A significant part of the increase in overall firearms sales in the period from 1990 to 1993 can be attributed to an increase in handgun sales. The surge in sales was attributed to efforts to purchase handguns before enactment of the Brady Act and the public’s perception of higher crime. Both the violent crime rate and the firearm homicide rate peaked in the early 1990’s.

Handgun Sales

Handgun sales have been steadily on the rise for years. In 1947, only a few hundred thousand new handguns were sold in the US, the report indicates. However, handgun sales have risen steadily through later years, peaking in 1993 and 1994 at over 3 million annually.

Firearm sales per adult are higher today than in the 1950’s and early 1960’s. In fact, sales of handguns per adult are now roughly twice the level of forty years ago. The relative mix of sales between long guns and handguns has changed significantly over time, with handguns accounting for a growing share of total sales.

The handgun share trended up steadily from the late 1940’s, when handguns accounted for about 1 out of every 10 small arms sold, to the early 1990’s, when handguns accounted for roughly half of the sales of small arms. The handgun share has slipped back slightly in recent years, to about 40% of domestic small arms sales.

Industry Size

The Census of Manufacturers for 1997 from the Bureau of the Census shows there were 191 small arms manufacturing companies with combined total product shipments valued at about $1.2 billion. Employment in small arms manufacturing was 9,907 employees with a total payroll of roughly $320 million. By type of product, handguns accounted for about $289 million in shipments; rifles, $373 million; and single-barreled shotguns, $155 million in shipments. The small arms ammunition industry had product shipments valued at $859 million and employment of 6,863.

The selling price of small arms overall increased faster than the price of finished consumer goods for the period of 1948 to 1998. Prices leveled off in the late 1990’s, increasing at about the same rate as prices for other finished consumer goods. For handguns, after a temporary surge in the late-1960’s, producer prices increased relative to other finished consumer goods from the mid-1970’s to the mid-1980’s. During the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, however, prices for handguns rose slightly less than those for other consumer goods, before flattening out in recent years.

FFL-Holder Decline

Major regulation of the firearms industry began over 32 years ago with enactment of the Gun Control of 1968. Congress declared that the law’s purpose was to keep firearms out of the hands of those not legally entitled to possess them, and to assist law enforcement in their efforts to reduce crime and violence. Congress sought to achieve this without placing any unnecessary burden on law-abiding citizens acquiring, possessing or using firearms for lawful activity. The statute was designed to limit the discretion of ATF in denying licenses.

ATF says that while many licensees had a license they didn’t need or use, “others used this relatively anonymous process to obtain a license that was used to purchase large quantities of firearms that were then sold without any records and the licensee would disappear. “

Editor’s note: While it may be a popular misconception that there were a lot of “Kitchen Table Dealers” who were “Getting around the law with an FFL”, the fact is that the ATF did NOT have a set guideline for how many sales in a year made one a “Dealer”. This meant that American citizens who sold a firearm were frequently told by ATF that if they sold one firearm for a profit, they had to have a dealer’s FFL, yet they couldn’t get that FFL to further a collection. It is this editor’s opinion that the massive increase in FFL holders who were not “Active” was due every bit as much to the ATF agents wandering around gun shows handing out the Form 7’s and threatening people who sold a few guns with prosecution for dealing without a license, as it was people trying to expand collections. Now that the Firearms industry has been sufficiently vilified for the “Kitchen Table Dealers” in the press, we should work hard to keep the facts of that era in the forefront. As an aside, what other business is there that a young entrepreneur, or retiree planning a “Golden years” small business, would be vilified and painted as a criminal if they went and got the appropriate business licenses, and started small to build their business. The idea that a young man or woman working a day job and wanting to start in the firearms business to build for the future, and doing so on a budget, is continually assaulted with “Code words” to represent some type of “Off-color” activity- annoys the heck out of me. I know of very few of the large businesses in the firearms world that did not start out as a dream for someone, working nights and weekends to build towards that dream. The ATF is to be commended for their work in stopping the flow of firearms to criminals- there certainly have been instances of unscrupulous people getting a Federal Firearms License and spreading firearms to the criminal element- although most criminals do not get their firearms from a dealer. Flip side of the coin- those in the firearms business tend to be one of the most law abiding groups in the United States, and perhaps using a finer brush when painting a picture would keep from smearing the reputations of the majority of those in the firearms community who are legitimate citizens exercising their Constitutionally guaranteed Right to possess firearms. – Dan

From 1975 to 1992, the Federal Firearms Licensee population grew from 161,927 to 284,117. According to ATF, the growing licensee population, many of whom were not actively engaged in a firearms business, strained the agency’s enforcement resources as it did not have enough personnel to monitor the activities of licensees.

In 1993 and 1994, after prodding by the Clinton Administration, Congress enacted several measures, including increased fees and certification requirements. Following ATF’s implementation of those provisions, the number of Federal Firearms Licensees dropped from 284,117 in 1992 to 103,942 in 1999. This most recent total of license holders is the lowest since 1969. Of this most current total, 80,570 are retail dealers or pawnbrokers. The report notes, despite the decline in license holders, 31% of retail licensees in 1998 had not sold a gun in the previous year.

The 1993 and 1994 licensing reforms resulted in a substantial decrease in the FFL population. The total number of licensees dropped from 284,117 in 1992 to 107,554 in 1997, when the three year cycle of re-licensing under the new laws was completed. The licensee population began to decline after ATF instituted more rigorous scrutiny of applicants and the licensee fee was increased from $30 to $200 for a three year license in 1993. A number of licensees appear to have dropped out due to non-compliance with state and local ordinances. This is consistent with ATF’s 1993 finding that while 35% of dealers were required to have a state or local firearms license, only about 60% of these were complying with the requirement.

In 1998, ATF conducted an inspection program, “Snapshot,” which involved inspecting a random sample of retail dealers and pawnbrokers. This initiative disclosed that 44% of dealers operated out of commercial premises and 56% out of residential premises (down from 74% in 1992). Twenty-five percent of the 44% in commercial premises were gunshops or other shops whose primary business was sporting goods, hardware and the like. The remainder were located in businesses such as funeral homes and auto parts stores, and other businesses not normally associated with a gun business.

About 68% of the residential dealers were located in rural areas in 1998. At that time, about 36% of pawnbrokers and about 15% of other retail dealers were located in urban areas. Finally, about 5% of the total dealer population were gunsmiths. Presently there is one licensed firearms dealer for every 2,487 adults in the US.

The states with the largest number of FFL holders as of December 1, 1999, include Texas with 6,457 license holders, or 32 FFL’s per 100,000 population; California with 4,261 FFL’s, or 13 per 100,000 population; and Pennsylvania with 3,623 FFL’s, or 30 FFL’s per 100,000 population. The states with the least dealers include Rhode Island with 130 FFL’s, or 13 license holders per 100,000 population; Delaware with 138 FFL’s, or 18 such license holders per 100,000 population; and, Hawaii with 150 FFL’s, or 13 license holders per 100,000 population.

Compliance Inspections Drop

ATF ensures dealer compliance with regulations through its 440 field inspectors. These inspectors also perform regulatory compliance work for the other industries regulated by ATF, alcohol, tobacco and explosives. The percentage of full-time staff hours allocated to the firearms industry gradually increased from 30% in 1991 to a high of 58% in 1996. In 1997 and 1998, the allocation of hours dropped to 46% as inspectors were redirected to ATF’s explosives program following the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. For fiscal year 1998, about 200 full-time inspectors were dedicated to firearms field inspections. The size of the inspection workforce has not changed significantly since ATF was established as a bureau of the Department of the Treasury in 1972.

Based on inspections conducted in fiscal year 1998, and assuming a licensee population of 100,000, it would take 2,600 full-time inspectors to inspect all licensed retail dealers annually. A two-year cycle would require a staff of 1,300; a three-year cycle would require 650 inspectors. While in the past the average inspection took approximately 10 to 20 hours to complete, under the agency’s new focused inspection policy, the average inspection of a firearms dealer selected by firearms trafficking indicators takes about 60 to 100 hours to complete.

ATF’s rate of compliance inspections of licensees has declined over the years. In 1969, the first year the then new Federal Firearms Licenses were issued under the 1968 Gun Control Act, there were 86,598 licensees, of which, 47,454 were inspected, or just over 54%. In 1970, with 138,928 licensees, just 21,295 or 15.3% were inspected. By 1975, with 161,927 in the licensee universe, only 10,944, or 6.7% were inspected. Inspections hit their lowest point in 1983 with just 2,662, or 1.1% of the 230,613 federal licensees being inspected for compliance with federal regulations.

Despite all the anti-gun rhetoric from the Clinton Administration, ATF’s rate of compliance inspections of dealers has not risen significantly during the Clinton years, the report shows. In 1995, with 250,833 license-holders, just 20,067, or 8% were inspected. This pattern has not changed more recently although the number of FFL-holders has significantly declined. For example, in 1997, with 107,554 licensees, only 5,925, or 5.5% were inspected. In 1998, with 105,536 licensees, a total of 5,043, or 4.8% underwent ATF compliance inspections.

NICS Data

The report notes law enforcement and the firearms industry have been brought “into a new era” in reducing illegal access to guns through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). From the establishment of NICS in November 1998 to December 31, 1999, over 10 million firearms purchase transactions have been processed. Of these, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) handled approximately five million, and denied 89,636 reportedly unlawful firearms transfers. The states conducting background checks through the NICS processed the other five million and, the Department of Justice estimates, denied at least as many transfers.

Firearm Tracing

An increasing number of cities are tracing all recovered crime guns in an effort to stem illegal firearms trafficking. As a result, ATF has identified a series of trafficking indicators that signal whether a dealer or retail purchaser should be investigated for trafficking. These indicators include: multiple crime gun traces, sometimes associated with multiple purchases; short time-to-crime traces where the gun is used in a crime within three years after its retail sale; incomplete trace results due to an unresponsive dealer, and reports of lost and stolen guns. The agency cautions that crime gun traces to a dealer do not necessarily indicate illegal activity by the dealer.

At present, the National Tracing Center takes 11.4 days to complete a trace of a firearm to its first retail purchaser. It takes another one to three days for the trace information to be delivered by mail to the state or local agency requesting the trace. Urgent traces are handled in an expedited manner. To speed up this process, ATF has developed the Access 2000 computer program for accessing manufacturer, wholesaler and importer information about firearms that are the subject of trace requests.

The software allows ATF to trace firearms at any time since the manufacturer, wholesaler or importer downloads sales records into a computer on its premises that ATF can immediately access. Currently, five firearms licensees have adopted this voluntary system (RSR Wholesale, H&R 1871, Smith & Wesson, Davidson’s Wholesale and Taurus International Firearms), which shortens the trace time by an average of five days.

It should be noted, not all traces are conducted on crime guns. ATF says more than half of all traces were of guns recovered by law enforcement. Trace requests on the other firearms were conducted for a variety of reasons, presumably including dealer compliance with federal recordkeeping requirements.

By Nick Steadman

SADW is a monthly electronic publication from Nick Steadman Features. Nick, intrepid world traveling reporter for much of the arms industry, files this 40,000 to 50,000 word report once a month to his loyal subscribers. Those lucky ones pay a mere $50 (US) £32.50 (UK) per year for the privilege of getting the hot tips and insights from one of the industry’s insiders. Nick’s unique perspective is globally based, as is his wit. Each issue is full of insight and information for those with an interest in Small Arms, as well as his observations on world travel.

RUSSIAN ROCKET LAUNCHER FOUND IN ULSTER: a Mar 2000 report in the Daily Telegraph said that a Russian RGB disposable anti-armour rocket launcher was discovered hidden in a hedge near a British army barracks in Dungannon (Ulster). It was the first time this type of weapon had been recovered by security forces in Northern Ireland.

COBB COUNTY GUNNING FOR G36: possibly confirming our irreverent theories on ‘sex & fashion’ in police equipping, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported in mid-Mar 2000 that Cobb County Police Dept in Georgia planned to obtain 35 Heckler & Koch 5.56mm G36 rifles for its SWAT team, free of charge, by trading in 27 other semi-auto and selective-fire weapons from its existing armoury.

1972 – TROOPS IN ULSTER MAY HAVE USED .22 RIFLES: one particularly interesting fact has emerged from the current British enquiry into the 1972 Bloody Sunday killings in Ulster, where 14 Catholics on a civil rights march were shot dead by members of the Parachute Regiment. According to reports in the Guardian & elsewhere, the Major General in command of British troops in Londonderry had written in a secret memorandum that it might be necessary, after appropriate warnings, to shoot the ringleaders of riots, since baton rounds and CS gas did not deter them. However, he was apparently concerned about the likely effects of troops firing their 7.62mm NATO SLRs (British-made FN FALs) at civilians, in particular the possibility of bullets over-penetrating and killing uninvolved bystanders. So he is said to have authorised the conversion of a number of SLRs to fire .22 rimfire ammunition, which was considered a ‘less lethal’ option.

The General’s memo is said to have noted, however: “If this course is implemented, as I believe it may have to be, we would have to accept the possibility that .22 rounds may be lethal. In other words, we would be reverting to the methods of internal security found successful on many occasions overseas, but would merely be trying to minimise the lethal effects by using the .22 round. I am convinced that our duty to restore law and order requires us to consider this step.”

Reportedly 30 of these rimfire rifles were sent to Londonderry for riot training, and lawyers for the Bloody Sunday victims believe it’s possible one of the dead, a 17-year-old named Kevin McElhinney, was actually killed by a .22 bullet. The fatal entry wound in McElhenny’s case was apparently only 3mm in diameter, as opposed to 6-8mm for all the others, which were assumed to be caused by 7.62mm projectiles. The Guardian said the bullet ‘entered his left buttock and sliced through his bladder, colon and severed an artery’, killing him almost at once. Not exactly ‘less lethal’.

However, the destruction of all but three of the original 29 rifles alleged to have been carried on the day (see previous issues), of which only 21 were reportedly fired, makes it hard to reach any firm conclusions about who actually fired what, or at whom. As the Guardian noted, the three remaining SLRs might not even have been amongst those which were used. Some relatives of victims believe the recent destruction of two of the rifles which are, it’s claimed, known to have fired fatal shots, despite orders that they were to be kept, is evidence of a deliberate attempt by the authorities to suppress relevant evidence.

We can’t put an exact date to it, but we recall that, sometime after 1984, we saw a rather insensitive flyer in the UK for suppressed .22 sniper rifles suggesting that these weapons could be used to quietly ‘take out’ selected individuals, for example (as we remember it) at football matches! One theory as to how the army gunfire was sparked off has it that a British artilleryman (they should really stick to big guns) accidentally shot himself in the foot, and the ejected cartridge hit a sergeant who thought he’d been shot, so fire was ‘returned’. Stranger military misunderstandings have occurred throughout history, some with even greater consequences. The first fatal shots of the American War of Independence were fired because militiamen mistakenly believed British troops were burning Concord. In so doing, the USA was effectively born. Tada!

AUSSIE .50 TRIALS TO RESUME: a JDW report in late Apr 2000 said that the Australian army trials of .50 anti-materiel rifles were to resume, focussed on a new shortlist of three weapons – the Robar RC50F, Accuracy International AW-50 and Barrett M82A1. Seventy-three rifles are required by early next year. It is the second round of .50 selections and trials for this Australian requirement; the first were inconclusive. Now we note the local contender no longer appears to be in the running. However, the fact that two bolt guns and a semi-auto are to be evaluated this time suggest the army has still not yet entirely figured out what it really needs.

Separately, JDW added that, within the same timescale, the Australian army had also ordered Qty 3,047 M203 Product Improved 40mm underbarrel grenade launchers from RM Equipment Inc in the USA for use with its locally-made Steyr AUGs. The M203 PI that’s been selected differs from the original AAI/Colt design in being a quick-detach system adaptable to a large number of 5.56mm and 7.62mm weapons. It will also chamber a wider range of special-purpose ammunition. As a result it has become a very popular option around the world.

MYSTERY MAGAZINE ON ABU SAYYAF M16: one of the Islamic separatist types from the Abu Sayyaf group in the Philippines, which is currently holding for ransom a group of tourists & others it abducted from a resort in Malaysian Borneo, was recently shown, in a photo run by The Times, with a most unusual magazine on his M203-equipped M16 rifle. The magazine is a true ‘banana clip’ resembling that from a Kalashnikov, but even more highly curved. It appears to have a camo pattern on it and looks as if it is made from plastic. Any ideas? It’s just the thing to set off the owner’s Playboy bunny T-shirt, by the way. However, fun-lovers Abu Sayyaf definitely ain’t – a little while back they were threatening to behead their hostages unless they got the Philippines negotiators they were insisting on, which is just a tad over the top.

GLOCK POLICE DEATH IN SYDNEY: police chiefs in Sydney (Australia) have re-emphasised safety rules for handling Glock pistols after one of their officers fatally shot a colleague in Jan 2000 with one of these weapons, apparently while unloading it inside a city police station. The Sydney Sunday Telegraph said that Glocks now have to be unloaded in specially-designated rooms in the stations, with the muzzle inserted in a control device backed by two phone books. Officers must not be accompanied when clearing their weapons.

SCHMIDT & BENDER US MARKET: we were told at the 2000 SHOT Show that Schmidt & Bender’s American marketing operation sells around 1,000 S&B scopes a year in the USA, though the firm’s German headquarters would apparently like this to be nearer 1,200. And, perhaps not surprisingly, US buyers really don’t like the simple post reticles preferred in Germany and elsewhere in Europe (& by us!); more familiar alternatives like Duplex have to be provided for S&B scopes sold in America. Daft really, when one considers what a clean sight picture the post reticle delivers, particularly in poor light; it’s also a better bet for older eyes, which can have real trouble with Duplex and crosshair reticles.

By Finn Nielsen

When World War II broke out in September 1939 for The British Commonwealth, most of the member countries were totally unprepared for the conflict.

Equipment was still of World War I vintage, especially small arms. One country, Australia, had few up to date weapons. One woeful shortcoming was the absence of sub machineguns. Most of the coming fighting would be in terrain which would be ideally suited to this type of weapons’ short range firepower.

The idea of purchases from abroad was dropped immediately. Nothing was available, with the exception of a limited number of Thompson Guns used in the North African campaigns. Australians had to rely on their own resources.

The first submachine gun was the Mark I Austen. This design relied on the features of two proven designs, the MP 40 and the Sten Gun. Both excellent designs in their own right, with the exception of their egregious single row feed magazine designs.

Although the Australians had encountered the Beretta Modelo 38 in the desert, there were no efforts made to copy this fine sub machineguns’ magazine design.

The Austen used the receiver and magazine housing of the Sten and the internal parts were pure MP 40, notably the telescoping return spring whose dirt proof design increased the reliability immensely. The folding stock was also MP-40. Those of you who have handled the Austen will note that the stock is longer than an MP- 40 which makes it a little nicer to handle on deliberate semi-auto fire from the shoulder if you are six one and overweight like myself. It’s probably too long for shorter shooters. The reason for the length was to enable it to fold under the forward pistol grip. The purely Australian feature is the two pistol grips. Well slanted back, they are ergonomically pleasing and do resemble MP-40 pistol grips, in fact the panels may interchange! Available literature indicates that only about 20,000 were made during the period 1942 – 1945.

The system of operation is of course blow back and it fires from an open bolt. Rate of fire was normal for the type, about 500 – 550 rounds per minute. Easily controllable for single shots, as well as bursts, by the experienced user, it did have a Sten type push through selector though.

The next Australian development is one which is much better known than the Austen (The name is an acronym formed by AUS and STEN, Australian Sten) and this one was named after its designer Lt. E.E. Owen. This design did not exhibit any plagiarism of existing designs, other than firing from an open bolt. The rest of the features were Lt. Owen’s own brainchild. The most readily noticeable feature was the top mounted magazine (just as on the Villar-Perosa) It held 33 cartridges, 9mm Parabellum of course just as the Austen, and was of the lovely easy-to-load double row feed type. The most interesting feature of the magazine is that each magazine has the ejector as an integral part of its box. At the rear of the magazine a small square stub protrudes downward. The base of the cartridge case strikes this protrusion when it is pulled out of the chamber by the extractor and is hurled downward through the ejection port. The Owen is probably the only sub machinegun with this interesting design feature.

The bolt system of the Owen is completely enclosed and prevents the ingress of unwanted dirt. It is this feature which caused its almost legendary reliability during savage fighting in some of the most inhospitable jungle territory on earth.

Because the magazine is mounted directly in the line of sight the peep rear sight is off set, as is the front sight, a la the Bren Gun. As with the Bren this is not a problem. Another advantage of the top mounted magazine is that at close range while firing instinctively it can be used as a rough sight. Some jokes have been made to the effect that because Australia is down under the force of gravity will aid the cartridge advance!

The selector is mounted on the left directly above your thumb (if you are a right handed shooter) all the way back is SAFE, center position is SEMI and all the way forward is FULL AUTO. The rate of fire is a little higher than the Austen at about 600 rpm.

The weight of the weapon, its good balance and the two pistol grips make it eminently controllable and a lot of fun to shoot. The magazine release is paddle-like directly behind the mag so there is no fumbling if you are changing them in the dark while terrified! (well, not much)

I obtained an Owen Gun from The Australian Government some years ago when such a thing was not unthinkable, and is probably impossible to-day. It came with seven magazines, a magazine brush, square to fit the mags and a knife bayonet. Post war the Owens were modified in this manner, the finish was a dark Parkerizing and the buttstock was wood. The barrel also had compensatory slots at the muzzle in addition to the bayonet lug..

I believe that bayonet would probably also fit the Australian version of the FAL, but never did try it. Many of the Owen Guns used in WW 2 were painted with gaudy colour schemes to fit them into the environment they were used in. Another feature of this fine gun was the quick release barrel. Probably not intended for quickchange replacement with a cool one, it did make transport in my brief case practicable, as the buttstock also removed with a pressure on its retaining lever.

I never had a stoppage with my Owen, it wasn’t pretty, but it always worked.

They were in use for many years following the Second War, notably in the vicious Malayan conflict against the communists. This campaign was one of the few successful repressions of these agrarian reformers, and the Owen was the weapon of choice, if it could be gotten. They were also present in Viet-Nam with the Australian contingent who were no doubt bemused to be using the sub machinegun their fathers had talked of. Certainly it performed then as it always did, just great!

The passage of time dictated that superior designs were in the offing, and the Owen faded away into long term ‘emergency storage’, the fate of many fine weapons.

The next sub machinegun on the scene was the F1. Still in 9mm Parabellum and blow back operated it retained the top mounted magazine feature of the Owen. This time that magazine was the lovely Sterling design and that magazine will of course interchange with all the other Sterling magazines, even the Canadian simplified design without the rollers.34 round capacity, it is a proven design still in use to-day. The F1 itself looks

Like a marriage between a Sterling sub machinegun and an L1A1 rifle. It has the barrel jacket of the Sterling wedded to the pistol grip assembly of the L1A1.

This simplifies training somewhat. During my military adventure the training with the FAL (or C1A1 or SLR) emphasized that all movements such as cocking and loading the rifle, applying the safety and mounting or removing the magazines must be done with the left hand. Thus control is maintained of the weapon. So the next time you change the safety on your FAL with the right thumb there is some Guards Regiment Corporal/Instructor ready to give you some new names and he may speak harshly of your beloved parents. Been there, done it, no T-shirt. Use the left hand, there was a good reason for it.

The one feature I did not like was the folding sheet metal rear sight, When not in use it folds down on both sides of the receiver, but when raised is vulnerable and prone to damage. In addition, there is no fire selector, a light pressure on the trigger (after it has been moved down from the safe position with the left thumb) causes single shots, heavier pressure, bursts. No problem.

While not as charismatic or historical as its predecessors, the F1 is a fine design as well. They have probably mostly been relegated to the same resting places as the earlier guns and have now been replaced by the AustAug, which fills all the functions of sub machinegun and rifle for the current Australian Forces.

We are but custodians, and I am glad I had the opportunity to own and shoot them.

By Barry Sturk

If by the time July rolls around you’re already tired of the same old monotonous back yard barbecues, and household chores that you seem to never run out of, maybe a quaint little Maine town by the name of Dover-Foxcroft has just what you are in need of. For the past five years, on the third weekend of July this normally quiet little town of Dover-Foxcroft undoubtedly becomes one of the noisiest when it hosts one of this county’s most spectacular events, the Hiram Maxim Historical Society Northeast Military Firearms Shoot & Expo.

The Hiram Maxim Historical Society is a non-profit organization that got its start over twelve years ago when a small group of machine-gunners that had been “banished” from about every gun organization around, because of the type of firearms they had, decided to start a club that did not discriminate against any firearms. The core belief of the group is that the gun culture was its own worst enemy, and it was time for an organization that allowed and protected all firearm owners’ rights, not just a hunter’s rights or a bench shooter’s rights, but every firearm owner’s rights. They have made it their goal to promote the safe and responsible use of firearms and to educate people on the rich origins and history of firearms in this country. They have one of the biggest machine gun shoots in the United States, second only to the Knob Creek shoot. What better place to have a machine gun shoot then the birth state of Sir Hiram Maxim? We couldn’t think of a better place, and named our Historical Society in the memory of that great man.

The first Northeast Military Shoot & Expo was held in 1996 and had a modest shooter’s line of around 35-40 positions and perhaps 40 dealers at the gun show. The entire event was put on with a shoestring budget and very little advertisement. It seemed that the biggest thing the first year was the name. But that was then and this, well, now it’s a lot different. Since the first Maxim shoot, it has developed into a huge event that costs the organization thousands of dollars just to put on. They advertise in various magazines, on radio stations, and have a direct mailing in the thousands. By 1999,the Northeast Military Shoot & Expo had grown to the point that the shooter’s line had more than 60 positions. There were over 100 dealers and an attendance of around 6000 people through the gate. There was everything from American 180’s, flame-throwers and a Stuart tank on the line, to surplus jeep tires in the dealer tents. You could even get a copy of the Devil’s Paintbrush or the Grand Old Lady of No Man’s Land signed by the author of the books, Dolf Goldsmith.

The Hiram Maxim Historical Society’s Northeast Military Shoot and Expo has grown to be what many people call one of the biggest and best firearms shows in the country. Every July machine gunners, firearm dealers, enthusiasts, and the people that are just curious converge on Dover-Foxcroft, Maine, from all over the world for this event. After all, it’s the only place that you can go and shoot an M-16 before you even buy it! Not to mention the fact that there are numerous machine-gun rentals available like from the Manchester Firing Line and Range, New Hampshire’s biggest class III dealer, that has everything from Krinkovs and M-60’s to RPD’s for you to try out. And where else can you go to see a Stuart tank punch a 9 inch hole in a car or get a chance to shoot at some dynamite taped to a ca

The Northeast Military Firearms Shoot and Expo currently has a four to five year waiting list on their line positions but don’t let that discourage you. What differs between the Maxim shoot and the Knob Creek shoot is that there is only one firing line, and you can purchase a Shooter’s badge for $25.00 a day and shoot from a rotating line position at the same targets everyone else is shooting at. The admission for someone who just wants to watch or browse through the dealer tents is $6.00 per day, or if you wish to pre-reregister it is $15 for the weekend. As mentioned before, if you wish to try out a firearm, you can purchase a shooters badge for $25.00 per day or $40 for the weekend. Also, word has it that there may be some dealer space becoming available for the 2000 shoot at $45.00 per table. The Maxim Shoot also has limited overnight camping available for $25 for the weekend on a first come, first served basis. No explosives, drugs or rowdiness is tolerated. The Hiram Maxim people stress that all the camping rules are strictly enforced and anyone not following them will be removed and possibly face arrest for any violations. Safety is the most important aspect of this event and security is very tight. The Maxim Club says it runs the safest shoot possible and has Police security 24 hours a day with a fully manned ambulance and a Doctor on site at all times.

The Maxim Club kicks off the weekend events on Friday at 10:00 am. After the range officer goes over the safety rules and gives the command to “commence fire,” then all at once over 100 machine guns unleash an incredible torrent of flames, lead and smoke down range at the various cars and motorcycles with dynamite strapped to them. For someone that has never been to a machine gun shoot before, it is the most incredible feeling that you could ever experience. Every sensorineural part of you body is almost overwhelmed by trying to process everything at once. All the machine gun fire, percussion from the exploding dynamite, cars blowing up, the intense heat from the flames mushrooming down range, brass going everywhere, and machine gunners frantically feeding the ammo into their guns, as if an imaginary enemy was quickly approaching, is surely one of the most incredible things you could ever witness.

When the line shuts down every hour or so you can take a few minutes to grab a quick lunch at one of the various food vendors, then browse through the large gun show. There you will find everything you could possibly think of that is gun or military surplus related. They have everything from BDU’s (camo pants) to registered BMG’s (Browning machine guns) for sale. There is table after table of ammo, collectible militara, knives and even cannons and flame-throwers that can all be had for the right price

The Northeast Military Firearms Shoot & Expo is a three-day event. The firing line and gun show goes until 5pm on Friday and 9:30pm on Saturday. Saturday they have a spectacular nighttime tracer shoot that is a must see. The whole weekend event wraps up on Sunday and the hours are from 9am to 2 pm. If you are interested in more information on the event or you would like information on how to join HMHS you can contact HMHS inc. at P.O. Box 1491 Waterville, Maine 04903. Phone (207) 465-2336 or check out their web site at www.hirammaxim.com.

Barry Sturk is currently the President of the Hiram Maxim Historical Society, and understandably one of the clubs main boosters. The experiences of many of the RKI’s in the Class 3 world indicate that the HMHS Northeast Military Firearms Shoot and Expo is a good place to be, so SAR says “See you there!”

By Charles Q. Cutshaw

Singapore has for many years equipped its military forces with M16A1 rifles manufactured under license by Chartered Industries of Singapore, now reorganized and renamed Singapore Technologies Kinetics (STKinetics) in keeping with the new directions undertaken by the company. The M16A1 was a satisfactory infantry rifle for many years, but licensing prohibitions limited Singapore’s ability to market the rifle overseas and also restricted the types of rifles that could be produced. These restraints led to the introduction and production of indigenous designs such as the SAR-80 and SR-88. The SAR-80 and the SR-88 saw only limited service with Singapore’s military, as both were intended primarily for export. In the 1990’s the Singapore military was faced with a dilemma. The M16A1 rifles that formed the backbone of Singapore’s military would reach the end of their effective service life at about the turn of the century. The choice was to either upgrade the M16A1 or produce a new rifle. Singapore opted for the latter choice, but rather than produce a foreign design under license or use a foreign weapon designer as was done with weapons such as the SAR-80 and Ultimax 100 light machine gun, STKinetics’ management decided to develop a new rifle that would be an indigenous project from start to finish. This new rifle was intended to fully meet Singapore’s 21st Century military requirements and at the same time be viable in the highly competitive international small arms export market. The result of STKinetics’ efforts is the SAR-21 assault rifle, now replacing Singapore’s M16A1 rifles in the island-state’s military forces.

Although the SAR-21 bears superficial resemblance to other bullpup assault rifles, such as the Steyr AUG and IMI Tavor, it is a unique design that is similar to its cousins only in the fact that is of bullpup configuration. There has been a plethora of bullpup rifle designs in recent years, beginning with the Steyr AUG and continuing with weapons such as the British L80, the French FAMAS, the Chinese Type 95/97, the Israeli Tavor and the South African CR-21, not to mention the USA’s questionable Objective Individual Combat Weapon (OICW). The latter is actually a bullpup semiautomatic grenade launcher with a rifle as secondary weapon. Bullpup rifles have the advantage of minimizing a rifle’s overall length by moving the receiver to the rear and integrating it and the buttstock into a single unit. This allows the use of a full-length barrel in a rifle with the overall external dimensions of a short-barreled carbine. The bullpup configuration is especially advantageous in close combat situations or when soldiers are mounted in vehicles where the design allows for convenient ingress/egress from vehicles and more effective tactical operations in close spaces. The disadvantages of the bullpup design include the fact that the receiver is next to the shooter’s face, which causes discomfort to some that are concerned about their well being in the event of a ruptured cartridge or magazine explosion. Also, since the trigger is perforce well forward of the firing mechanism, any bullpup design must incorporate a long and sometimes cumbersome linkage between the trigger and the rear-mounted fire control unit. The bullpup configuration places more demands on small arms design engineers than conventional rifles and it logically follows that some bullpup designs are better than others. Moreover, the untraditional appearance of bullpup rifles gives many shooters an almost “knee-jerk” adversity to them. Regardless, military rifle designers have introduced far more bullpup designs in recent years than conventional types, indicating a trend towards bullpup configuration. The sole exceptions to the bullpup rule are the conventionally configured Russian AN-94 and German G36.

Overall, we consider the SAR-21 to be an excellent basic design. The rifle is manufactured using the most modern materials and in state of the art manufacturing facilities. During our visit to STKinetics in preparation for this article, the author noted that the SAR-21 production machinery was almost fully computer numerically controlled, which enhances overall quality. The receiver halves are electronically vibration welded together resulting in an exceptionally strong and virtually seamless surface. Although the SAR-21 receiver halves are polymer, they are reinforced with steel at critical stress points. SAR-21 barrels are cold hammer forged. Magazines are polymer, translucent and are indexed so the shooter can readily observe how many rounds he has remaining. Controls of the SAR-21 are fully ambidextrous, although no provision is made for left-hand ejection of spent cases. In testing prior to adoption by Singapore’s military, the rifles were repeatedly dropped onto concrete surfaces from one-meter heights without effect. The optical sight and laser aimer retained their zeros and the rifle functioned flawlessly. As mentioned, many shooters are wary of bullpup rifles because the receiver and chamber are placed close to the cheekbone, but the SAR-21 has a patented safety system to prevent injuries in the unlikely event of a burst barrel or chamber explosion. The first component of the safety system is a molded-in composite plate directly beneath the cheek rest that protects the shooter’s face. The second element of the SAR-21 safety system is a vent in the barrel extension to direct any high-pressure gases that might escape in the event of a ruptured primer or cartridge case away from the shooter’s face. This system should eliminate any concerns regarding the SAR-21s safety. The trigger mechanism of the SAR-21 is excellent with relatively light and crisp release that we estimate to be approximately five pounds. There is little creep or backlash. This is accomplished via a stiff sliding plate that links the trigger and fire control unit, rather than a flexible rod or similar mechanism used in some other bullpup designs that results in a heavy and sluggish trigger pull.

The SAR-21 uses what might best be described as a modified Kalashnikov/Stoner operating system, with a long Kalashnikov-style operating rod in a gas tube over the barrel and a Stoner-style unitary bolt carrier with firing pin – retained cam pin and bolt. This melding of two proven operating systems should be extremely reliable and robust. The gas port settings are adjustable without tools to compensate for heavy use. Adjustment is accomplished by simply lifting the gas regulator and rotating the adjustment knob to one of its three settings. The bolt itself is of the conventional rotating type, its two massive lugs locking into recesses in the barrel extension. The polymer receiver thus receives little stress. The rifle is select fire, with the selector positioned in the detachable fire control unit near the shooter’s shoulder. We will comment further on this feature below. The safety is a simple push-push device just forward of the trigger where it can easily be operated by the shooter’s trigger finger. The SAR-21 charging handle is fully ambidextrous and easily reached with either hand.

Field stripping the SAR-21 is intuitive and can easily be accomplished without the use of any tools. The upper and lower receivers separate by pressing two retaining pins, which are prevented from dropping away by spring loaded ball and socket mechanisms. Once the upper and lower receivers are separated, the operating rod and bolt group can be withdrawn from the upper receiver. A small lever at the rear of the bolt carrier retains the firing pin, which upon withdrawal releases the bolt cam pin. Once the cam pin is removed, the bolt can be withdrawn from the carrier. For routine maintenance, no further disassembly is required. If the soldier desires to remove the fire control unit, this can be accomplished by removing a third retaining pin just forward of the buttplate. The fire control unit can then be withdrawn by pulling it downward. With no practice whatsoever, the author was able to fully disassemble the SAR-21 in approximately 20 seconds. Singapore soldiers who are thoroughly familiar with the rifle can disassemble and reassemble it in less than the time that we took to disassemble it
Although the data for the rifle state that it is equipped with a 1.5x optical sight with open sight backup, the statistics do not do justice to the outstanding optical sights of the SAR-21. Most notably, the rifle does not require zeroing! While this may be heresy to “old soldiers” such as the author, we were given a rifle straight from production line, handed several magazines of ammunition and offered the opportunity to engage a series of standard silhouettes of varying sizes at 300 meters. We loaded the rifle, placed the sight reticle on the first target and to our astonishment dropped the target with the first round! We then proceeded to rapidly engage the entire series of silhouettes of varying sizes at the 300-meter line as quickly as we could fire, switch targets and fire again. We achieved over 90 per cent hits scored using extremely rapid semiautomatic fire – without zeroing the rifle! As a former infantry officer who has engaged in training soldiers to zero and effectively use their rifles, the author is impressed with the fact that the SAR-21 dispense with the lengthy zeroing process. This feature will save untold training hours because the soldier can take his rifle directly to the range to learn how to effectively use it. Since Singapore has universal national service of 2 1/2 years for all males beginning at 18 years of age, with up to 40 days’ mandatory military training annually throughout their adult lives, the benefit of each soldier being issued a rifle that requires no zeroing is obvious. The reticle of the SAR-21 sight is such that it also leads the shooter’s eye naturally to the target, another advantage which will certainly inspire soldier confidence in the rifle because it enables him to quickly acquire and hit targets to the limits the rifle’s effective range. We were impressed not only with the simplicity of the sighting system, but with our ability to achieve a high percentage of rapid-fire hits at 300 meters without any zeroing whatsoever. After beginning the day’s firing at the 300 meter line, we moved up to 200 and then to 100 meters, where we were able to engage targets with even greater speed and accuracy. The SAR-21 is also equipped with an integral laser-aiming device for use in low light conditions. The laser operates not only in the visible spectrum, but can be changed to operate in the infrared (IR) range, as well. The activating switch for the laser is on the rifle’s forearm just beneath the shooter’s thumb. Like the optical sight, the laser is pre-zeroed before the rifle leaves the factory. The laser-aiming device is powered by a single “AA” battery, commonly available worldwide.

Throughout the morning’s shooting, the functioning of the SAR-21 was flawless. There was not one stoppage of any sort, regardless of whether we fired semi or fully automatic. The rifle is extremely controllable under rapid-fire semiautomatic or when firing in full automatic. This is attributable to its “straight line” design which keep recoil forces in direct line with the shooter’s shoulder. The rifle also has a natural balance that places the center of gravity just over the shooter’s hand so that the rifle can easily be pointed and even fired one-handed if desired. Felt recoil is extremely light. The SAR-21 is among the best handling and easiest rifles to use that the author has ever experienced.

Several variants of the SAR-21 will be offered for export:

* SAR-21 Light Machine Gun. The SAR-21 LMG differs from the basic rifle in that it fires from the open bolt and is equipped with a heavy barrel and integral folding bipod.

* SAR-21/40mm Grenade Launcher. The basic SAR-21 equipped with a short barreled 40x46mm grenade launcher. The laser-aiming device is mounted on the launcher mounting quadrant to facilitate quick and accurate target acquisition.

* SAR-21 P-Rail. This variant of the SAR-21 is fitted with a MIL-STD-1913 rail array in place of the forearm and integrated optical sight.

* SAR-21 Sharp Shooter. This is a variant of the SAR-21 intended for designated marksmen who require increased accuracy and the ability to engage point targets more reliably. The 1.5x integrated optical sight is replaced with a 3x sight in this variant.

It should be noted that given the standard variants of the SAR-21 listed above, others come to mind for use by military organizations with specialized requirements. For example, a heavy barreled rifle could be manufactured using the barrel and bipod of the LMG version and the 3x sight from the Sharp Shooter variant. Rifles could easily be made with different barrel lengths for specialized users. By purchasing different sub-assemblies, using units could easily reconfigure their SAR-21s into any one of several variants. The flexibility of the SAR-21 in this regard is one of its strong points.

Based upon our brief testing, we found the SAR-21 to give every indication of having the potential to be one of the world’s best combat rifles. Although STKinetics makes a point of noting that the rifle and its controls are sized for Asian men whose bodies are typically smaller than their Western counterparts, we found the rifle to be extremely comfortable to shoot and the author is definitely NOT a small man (6’2” tall, 190lb)! The sole feature of the SAR-21 that we found to be objectionable was the positioning of the selector switch between the magazine and buttplate, although STKinetics engineers stated that Singapore’s military had no problem with its positioning. Despite this, in order to change from one fire mode to another, the SAR-21 shooter must completely remove one hand from the rifle and grope for the selector button, which is pressed from one side of the buttstock to the other to select full or semiautomatic fire. We believe the ability to select between full and semiautomatic fire in combat situations must be virtually instantaneous without repositioning either hand and that STKinetics should move the selector switch forward to a location near the trigger guard for export versions of the SAR-21. Otherwise, the ergonomics of the SAR-21 are superb. The competition in world small arms markets is presently intense and the SAR-21 joins the ranks of several new weapons competing for essentially limited markets. With the exception of the Heckler & Koch G36 and Izhmash’s AN-94, all recently introduced combat rifle designs have been bullpups. We have not had the opportunity to examine all of the SAR-21’s bullpup rivals, but we believe that the SAR-21 will be highly competitive in the world small arms market.

By Frank Iannamico

After having success selling the Reising submachine gun to many law enforcement agencies, H&R Inc. introduced a semi-automatic-only version of the Model 50 submachine gun. The new semi-auto Reising was designated the Model 60. The .45 ACP caliber Model 60 carbine went into production in the summer of 1942. It has never been determined exactly why a semi-auto was produced. One can only speculate that H&R Inc. had requests from many police departments for a weapon similar to the Model 50 submachine gun, but in a semi-auto-only configuration. Perhaps many police chiefs felt that a submachine gun was “too intimidating” or “politically incorrect” for their department. The Auto-Ordnance Company had also offered a semi-automatic only version of the famous Thompson Sub Machine Gun. The semi-auto-only 1927 Model Thompson SMG was actually a Model of 1921 that was modified to fire semi-automatic only. Because of its machine gun receiver and short barrel it was controlled by the National Firearms Act after 1934.

The United States was embroiled in WWII when the Model 60 was introduced. The entire country was on edge fearing enemy acts of sabotage and spying. Many Model 60 Reisings were sold for arming factory guards. Many railroad bridges were protected from sabotage by placing an armed guard at each end. Many of these guards were armed with Model 60s that were purchased by the various U.S. railroads. During World War II the federal government controlled virtually all firearms sales within the United States. Firearms were only available to police or government agencies that were assigned priority codes for purchasing weapons. The priority codes were issued and controlled by the War Production Board (WPB). Few if any, new firearms or even ammunition was sold for civilian hunting or sport shooting during WWII. Most firearms were procured through a government-operated entity known as the Defense Supplies Corporation. On 6 February, 1942, the War Production Board authorized the Defense Supplies Corporation to order 500 Reising Model 50 submachine guns at a cost of $75.00 each, and 1700 Reising Model 60 semi-automatic rifles at a cost of $60.00 per weapon. These arms were purchased directly from the Harrington & Richardson Arms factory. The weapons were stored in DSC warehouses until they were resold to authorized stateside organizations.

The Model 60 was known to be issued by many law enforcement and government agencies, the US Navy, the Coast Guard and several large US prisons. The U.S. Marines issued them as training weapons, and several WWII veterans have reported that the Model 60 was issued to Marine officers in the Pacific Theater of operations.

The Model 60 is very similar to the Model 50 submachine gun and shares virtually all the same parts except for the barrel. The Model 60 barrel is much longer at 18.25 inches, and with a few exemptions has no radial cooling fins. The front sight is adjustable for windage via a small hex-head screw. No compensators were fitted to the Model 60. The auto connector lever is absent from the M60 and the stud that supports it is partially cut away so that the lever cannot be fitted.

The early Model 60 shared many features of both the “military” and “commercial” Model 50 Reisings. This was in part to the M60 being introduced during the transitional period when the “commercial” version of the submachine gun was being transformed into the “military” model. A few early Model 60s were blue, and some have been observed with 28 fin barrels. All other features were the same as the military Model 50: military stock with lateral tie screws, large knurled take-down screw, sling swivels mounted on the bottom of the stock and a three screw trigger guard. Many Model 60s have been noted with the finger grooves in the foregrip of the stock. All models 60s are equipped with the 2nd design receivers discussed in an earlier article. The 2nd design receivers have the logo stamped so that it is readable from the weapon’s left side. Early blue guns are often fitted with a milled three screw trigger guard, and the push style magazine release lever. At approximately serial number 900 the Model 60s began to be factory Parkerized rather than blued and took on all the features of the military version Model 50 including the stamped trigger guard and the common pull type magazine release lever. The 18.25-inch barrels were smooth with no cooling fins. Because of its longer barrel, Harrington & Richardson advertised the M60s effective range as 400 yards as opposed to 300-yard range of the short barreled (11-inch) Model 50. Target style sights were an option in later production. The optional sights consisted of a fully adjustable ramp type front sight, and an aperture style rear sight adjustable from 50 to 200 yards. The standard sight arrangement was the same as the submachine guns. The sight radius of the M60 is 26 inches.

The Model 60 first used the twenty round double stack/single feed magazine, and later the twelve round single/stack, single feed version when it was introduced. Some late manufacture Model 60 guns were equipped with the ribbed magazine housings that only would accept the single/stack twelve round magazine. The fire selector switch is mounted in the same position as the submachine gun version, but has only two positions: “SAFE” and “S.A.” (Semi-automatic). The top of the receiver is marked H&R Model 60. The Model 60 was advertised in Harrington & Richardson’s 1943 and 1944 catalogs for “Military and guard purposes and also as an excellent sporting rifle” The Model 60 came from the factory furnished with one magazine, a sling, cleaning rod and brush. The 1944 catalog only offered the 12 round magazine.

According to the surviving H&R records, the Model 60 Reising serial numbers ranged from 1 to 3248 and were manufactured from 1942 until 1949. Some Model 60s have been documented with letter prefixes in their serial numbers. There is evidence of a special run of Model 60s thought to have been manufactured in the 1960s for a foreign contract. These guns have an R prefix in their serial numbers. Factory documents show the serial number range as R41 to R1935. The R prefix Model 60 is seldom encountered in the United States today.

The Model 60 semi-automatic carbines are sometimes available on the collector market today. But because they were manufactured is such small numbers, (according to the BATF 5,142 Model 60s were produced), they often command a higher price than their submachine gun counterpart, the Model 50. Most Model 60s examined have been in very good condition and in most cases had seen very little use.

The contents of this article were excerpted from the new book “The Reising Submachine Gun Story” available from Moose Lake Publishing 207-683-2959.

By Charles Q. Cutshaw

Soviet and Russian pistols have traditionally been somewhat different in character than their western counterparts. The Model 1895 Nagant revolver, for example, can best be described as unusual. This complex revolver required the use of a unique cartridge because at the moment of firing, the cylinder was pressed forward, forming a seal with the forcing cone of the barrel that prevented the escape of gases, theoretically increasing velocity. The efficacy of this complicated system was questionable, even at the time of its introduction, but the revolver was reliable and popular, continuing in production until 1942. The TT-30/TT-33 Tokarev was a more conventional pistol design, but was chambered for the 7.62x25mm cartridge, virtually identical to and interchangeable with the 7.62mm Mauser round. Although there is no direct evidence to support the notion, the adoption of the 7.62x25mm cartridge was probably a result of the popularity of the M1896 Mauser pistol in that caliber among the Bolshevik forces during the 1917 revolution. The current Russian service pistol, the Pistolet Makarovka, or PM, was adopted in 1954. While the PM is similar to Walther designs, it is far from identical and is chambered for the 9x18mm cartridge, similar to the 9mm Ultra of the 1930s. Until recently the PM and its cartridge were rarely seen in the west, but the downfall of the USSR and the concomitant export of many PM pistols not only by Russia, but by many other former Soviet client states, has made the pistol and cartridge quite common.

The 9x18mm cartridge has slightly better ballistics than the 9x17mm (.380 ACP) cartridge and is the most powerful cartridge fired from a blowback-operated pistol, but it has always been considered a marginal military handgun cartridge by western small arms experts. The Soviets also realized the marginal terminal ballistics of the PM in the late 1970s and began to search for a solution. The answer came in the form of the PMM (Pistolet Makarovka Moderniziny), which fires a higher pressure version of the 9x18mm cartridge whose ballistics are squarely in the 9mm NATO (9x19mm) class. The PMM operates on the delayed blowback principle, but the new cartridge could also be fired in standard PM pistols that would not withstand the higher chamber pressures. Obviously, the PMM was an interim solution and recent pistol developments in Russia have demonstrated that the Russian military and police have taken a new direction in their handgun thinking. One of the new pistols described in this article will probably be the next Russian military sidearm, but as of the time of this writing, exactly which one is not clear. One Russian press article has stated that two of the pistols described below will be the replacement for the PM, but SAR’s usually reliable sources in the Russian small arms industry state that the press article is in error. Only time will reveal the truth, but we will describe all new pistol developments herein, indicating those which have been set forth as possible replacements for the PM and PMM. The reader will note that for the first time, Russian firearm designers have chosen to chamber their new pistols in 9x19mm NATO standard, with one notable exception.
According to SAR’s sources, the Izhmash MR-443 Grach is the pistol most likely to replace the PM and PMM in Russian military service. It was developed specifically for the Russian military and is the most conventional of the new Russian handguns. Unlike the PM, the MR-443 is a “full-size” pistol with a steel frame and slide, ambidextrous safety and contoured wraparound non-slip rubber grips. Locking is via a modified Browning system similar to that used in Glock and Heckler & Koch handguns where a barrel lug locks into the edges of the ejection port. The stainless steel magazine is of the double column type and has indicator holes on the side to show at a glance the number of rounds remaining. The MR-443 can be fired double action for the first shot and single action thereafter, but Russian sources emphasize that it can also be carried with the hammer cocked and the safety on (“cocked and locked”) as can all other new Russian pistols. Emphasis on this feature is somewhat unusual in recent military firearms, but recognizes the fact that a pistol carried “cocked and locked” can be gotten into action more quickly and with greater accuracy than any other method of carry. This indicates that the new Russian pistols will be used not only by the regular military, but by special operations units and police special units, who generally prefer “cocked and locked” pistol carry. American special operations forces, for example, demand that their handguns be capable of carry in this mode, which was made common practice by the Colt M1911/A1 and FN Browning M1935 pistols.

The MR-444 “Baghira” is one of two pistols that have been reported as replacements for the PM. Regardless of its status, however, the MR-444 is an innovative and modern handgun design. The MR-444 is reported to be available not only in 9x19mm, but in 9x17mm (.380ACP) and 9x18mm as well. A locked breech pistol is unusual in the latter two calibers, but it is possible that the MR-444 chambered for those cartridges will be blowback operated. The MR-444 frame is reinforced polymer like many recently developed pistols such as Glock, Heckler & Koch, SIG and others. Unlike the western designs however, the Izhmekh (Izhevsk Mechanical Plant) pistol has its steel guide rails retained by mechanical means, rather than being integrally molded into the frame. The slide stop pin retains the front guide rails, while the rear rails are held in place by a screw. This simplifies production, but could degrade accuracy. There are molded grooves forward of the trigger guard for attachment of laser aiming modules, white lights or other accessories. Operation of the MR-444 is the tried and true modified Browning system similar to that used in all other new Russian pistols, save the 6P35 described below. The barrel is unlocked by the interaction of two inclines, one on the bottom of the barrel and the other incorporated into the recoil/buffer mechanism. Locking is via a large barrel lug that locks the barrel into the ejection port. The MR-444 is equipped with a buffer system to reduce felt recoil, enhance control and reduce wear.
Although the MR-444 appears to be hammer fired, it is in fact striker fired with an external cocking lever at the rear of the slide that appears to be a hammer. This allows the shooter to manually cock the striker for a light trigger let-off. If the striker is not cocked, the first shot requires a long, relatively heavy trigger pull, followed by a lighter, shorter pull with succeeding shots as the striker is automatically cocked each time the pistol fires. Because the striker can be manually cocked, the MR-444 can also be carried “cocked and locked,” a unique feature in a striker fired pistol. As with the other new Russian pistols, the 15 round capacity magazine is of the double column type. The ejector serves as a loaded chamber indicator. When a round is chambered, its front edge is slightly elevated, thus providing a visible and tactile indication of a loaded chamber.

While the Izhmekh MR-444 and MR-445/MR-445S pistols have appeared together in the Russian press, they are in fact entirely different pistols. The MR-445 is a full size pistol, while the MR-445S is of compact size for concealed carrying. Other than size, the pistols are identical. What is remarkable is the MR-445’s .40 Smith and Wesson caliber. The .40S&W has improved ballistic performance in comparison to the 9x19mm cartridge, but it is not a standard military cartridge. The MR-445 is not offered in 9x19mm, indicating that this pistol is clearly intended for export, not Russian military service. Although a Russian press article has claimed that the MR-445 is one of the pistols selected to replace the Makarov, the notion of the Russian military adopting a pistol in .40 S&W stretches credulity. According to SAR’s sources in Russia, the MR-445 is actually intended for export to countries that make use of pistols in .40 S&W caliber, not for use by the Russian military.
The MR-445 is a polymer-framed pistol of conventional design. Unlike the MR-444, the MR-445 incorporates a hammer firing mechanism which can be fired either double action for the first shot with single action shots thereafter or carried “cocked and locked” with the hammer to the rear and the safety locked. When the ambidextrous safety is engaged, it locks not only the hammer, but the slide, trigger and sear. The magazine release is also ambidextrous and is of the lever type that functions by pressing downward. Like the MR-444, the extractor serves as a visible and tactile loaded chamber indicator.

The MR-446 “Viking” is very similar to the MR-443 in design and execution, although the former pistol has a reinforced polymer frame, rather than being of made of steel. The MR-446’s guide rails are molded into the frame. The trigger mechanism is similar to that of the MR-444 Baghira, although the MR-446’s firing mechanism is of the hammer type. The MR-446 is also designed to be carried “cocked and locked.” As with the other pistols in the MR-series, the MR-446 uses the proven modified Browning short recoil system.
The final candidate to replace the PM is the TSNIITochmash 6P35, which is clearly derived from the virtually identical 9x21mm Russian caliber Gurza. Advertising literature for the 6P35 states that the pistol is designed to defeat soft body armor at ranges up to 50 meters, although the ability of standard 9x19mm bullets to defeat such armor is limited. Like the Gurza, the 6P35 locks via a dropping block system similar to that of the Beretta 92. The frame of the 6P35 is also remarkably similar to the Gurza’s, being separated into two portions, the upper being of steel and the lower of polymer. The 6P35 has trigger and grip safeties and fires double action for the first shot and single action thereafter. There are no conventional manual safeties. The hammer can be cocked and placed in single action mode for the first shot and the manufacturer states that the pistol’s automatic safeties are sufficient for it to be carried “cocked and locked.” The lack of a manual safety will make this option a questionable endeavor for many, however.

Which of these pistols will be the Makarov replacement? Without actually testing the pistols and comparing their relative merits for military use, it is difficult to make a definitive statement. However, based on the evidence at hand, we estimate that the MR-443 is the most likely candidate. Although SAR’s Russian sources state that the MR-443 is the most likely candidate, we also believe that the MR-443’s high magazine capacity, ambidextrous controls and generally conventional design make it more desirable from a military standpoint. We do not accept claims that the MR-444 and MR-445 will replace the PM. The reasons for this are numerous, but the primary ones relate to military logistics and training. Adopting two dissimilar pistols of different caliber creates problems in both of these areas because it requires two completely different sets of spare parts and adding not merely one, but two new cartridges to an ammunition supply system that already has a number of small arms cartridges. Training is another issue that makes claims of Russia’s adopting two new pistols to replace one less than credible. The issue of training is not only one of operational training by users, but the need to train armorers to repair two different handguns. So we do not believe that Russia will adopt two pistols to replace one. (While it is true that there are two versions of the Makarov, the PM and PMM, the manual of arms is identical for both and most parts interchange.) In the final analysis, only time will tell which pistol is adopted by the Russian military. What is significant is that whichever candidate is selected, it will be in 9x19mm, not a traditional Russian pistol caliber such as 7.62x25mm or 9x18mm.

I would like to thank Valery Shilin for providing information for this article.- Charles

Much has been written about the sad state of affairs concerning the history of early machine gun development and acceptance by the military in the United States in the early part of the 20th century. While there was great experimentation going on due to the advent of the industrial revolution, many of the great American firearm inventors of the time such as Hiram Maxim, Isaac Lewis and Laurence Benét sought acceptance of their ideas overseas and it was the Europeans who embraced them. The United States, always slow on the uptake, did conduct tests and trials but could hardly ever make up their minds due to politics, lack of appropriated money and no real perceived threat or need. The U.S. Navy used the Colt Automatic Gun Model of 1895 designed by John Browning with some degree of success. The U.S. Army adopted the Automatic Machine Rifle Model of 1909 (Benét-Mercie) with 670 guns being produced by both Springfield Armory and Colt. The army later adopted the heavy Maxim gun which was designated as the Model of 1904 with a total of 287 guns being produced. The first 90 being made by Vickers, Sons & Maxim in England and the remaining 197 guns made by Colt. The U.S. also had 353 Savage Lewis guns chambered in the .303 British round for use along the Mexican Border in our action against Pancho Villa. All in all, not a very impressive national machine gun arsenal for the U.S. military in the early 1900s.

By 1913 the U.S. began to realize how vastly under-armed in automatic weapons it was and started a new series of tests. The new improved version of the Maxim gun, now called the Vickers, was the clear winner. The Vickers was based on the same operating principle as the old Maxim, except the toggle joint action was reversed, spent cartridge cases were ejected through the bottom rather than through an ejection port in the front and the overall weight of the gun was reduced.

In January of 1919, Captain John S. Butler of the Office of the Chief of Ordnance, Engineering Division, wrote a comprehensive report on the adoption, procurement, field tests and parts failures entitled “The Vickers Machine Gun Model of 1915, Caliber .30, Water-Cooled”. In his seventy-plus page report, Butler writes: “The Board of Ordnance & Fortifications held a meeting on March 15, 1913 to consider the adoption of a new type of machine gun…” He continues with: “The Board convened for the competitive test of automatic machine guns at Springfield Armory on September 15, 1913. Seven makes of automatic machine guns were considered and tried out. The Board consisted of two officers of the Infantry, one of the Cavalry, one of the Field Artillery and one of the Ordnance Department. This report will summarize the performance of only the three most important guns submitted to the test. The Lewis gun during the endurance test had 206 jams and malfunctions, 35 broken parts, 15 parts not broken but requiring replacement as against respectively 23, 0, 0, for the Vickers gun and 59, 7, 0 for the Automatic Machine Rifle .30, Model of 1909, the Benét-Mercie.”
The Board concluded, after careful consideration of the data collected, together with the knowledge of the suitability of the various designs of machine guns gained by observation during the test, that the Vickers Machine Gun and the Benét-Mercie machine rifle were the only two types sufficiently serviceable to warrant their entry into a field test. The following is quoted from the recommendations of the Board. “The Board is of the opinion that, with the exception of the Vickers gun, none of the other guns submitted showed sufficiently marked superiority for the military service, in comparison with the service Automatic Machine Rifle to warrant further consideration of them in the field test.”…. “The Board is of the unanimous opinion that the Vickers rifle caliber gun, light model, stood the most satisfactory test. As to the merits of the Vickers gun there is no question – it stood in a class by itself. Not a single part was broken nor replaced. Nor was there a jam worthy of the name during the entire series of tests. A better performance could not be desired.”

As a result of these initial tests in 1913 and the subsequent field tests conducted in 1914, the Board unanimously approved the type for the Army. In 1915 funds were secured for an initial order of 125 guns to be made by Colt’s Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company and the gun was designated as the Model of 1915. In 1916 more money was made available and an additional order for 4,000 Vickers manufactured by Colt was placed along with 960 pack outfits and accompanying spare parts and accessories even though the first order of 125 guns had not yet been made.

Colt, however, was not prepared to immediately tool up production on the Vickers for the U.S. Army. They had an order to produce Vickers for the Russians that they were behind on and were busy making other weapons as well, including the M1911 .45 pistol. There were also minor modifications and changes in design that needed to be worked out and approved. The Vickers was a relatively complicated gun to make. When the United States entered World War I in April 1917, not a single Colt Vickers M1915 had been delivered, though work was in progress.

Hot on the heels of all this was the push to accept and produce the American designed Browning water-cooled machine gun, which would become known as the Model of 1917, that Colt was also tooling up production for. The Browning M1917 would replace the Vickers as the Army wanted an American-designed gun as its main heavy machine gun and the Browning design had fewer and less complicated parts making it more efficient to produce.

Colt finally started producing Vickers guns in late 1917 in the .30 caliber model and in 1918 expanded production to include the .30 caliber aircraft and then the 11mm aircraft models. By mid 1918 Colt Vickers guns started to be shipped overseas. The first twelve divisions arriving in France were issued the French Hotchkiss Model of 1914 machine gun though they had been trained back in the States using the Colt Automatic Gun 1895, Maxim Model of 1904 and the few U.S. Vickers that were available. It wasn’t until the next ten divisions sailed for France in May and June of 1918 that they were equipped with Colt Vickers. The next twelve divisions were supposed to be equipped with the new Browning M1917 but spare parts shortages prevented that. By August 1918, thirteen divisions were using the Colt Vickers.

In all, 12,125 Colt Vickers M1915 ground guns were produced. Of that total 2,888 were converted to aircraft guns leaving 9,237 infantry ground guns. 7,653 were issued to the American Expeditionary Forces either in France or on their way to France. With normal loss due to war damage there remained after the war about 8,000 Colt Vickers M1915 ground guns in the U.S. inventory. These guns were held in reserve until World War II when 500 guns were sent to the Dutch East Indies and several hundred more were sent to the Philippines. These guns were ultimately lost or captured by the Japanese. The U.S. also sent about 7,000 Colt Vickers, plus ammunition, to Great Britain under Lend-Lease. In the dark early days of the Second World War, the British Vickers production was busy turning out guns to equip their regular army, especially after the huge losses of equipment at Dunkirk. The U.S. made Colt Vickers were relegated to the British Home Guard for national defense should that very real invasion emergency arise. The U.S. Vickers were painted with a two inch wide red stripe to differentiate the U.S. caliber .30-06 guns from the British Vickers .303 caliber guns. The red stripe was painted on the feedblock cover, around the mouth of the feedblock and on the lock (bolt). This pretty much depleted all Colt Vickers on hand in the United States inventory at the outbreak of World War II.

By the end of World War II, Great Britain had not been invaded and war production of British Vickers was at an all time high. British Vickers production guns that had been retired from active service replaced the Colt Vickers in use by the Home Guard. After the war, the U.S. Colt Vickers in Great Britain were unceremoniously destroyed and dumped into the North Sea.

In 1916, the Colt factory accepted an order through the British Government for the manufacture of a Russian Maxim Machine Gun, otherwise known as the Russian Vickers. The Colt company made up quite a number of the guns in the 7.62 Russian caliber and found them to function perfectly. In the meantime, before delivery could be made, the revolution in Russia terminated further work on these guns, which then lay in storage in the U.S. Early in 1918 a demand came from the Ordnance experts in France for an 11mm gun, especially designed for balloon work. The Colt factory found that the Russian Vickers, then on hand, could be altered to take the larger caliber cartridge. So it was that these Vickers were altered into 11mm caliber to augment the production of Model 1918 aircraft guns.

The 11mm cartridge was known as the French Desvignes cartridge, a development of the French Ordnance Department. The heavy 11mm bullet could carry a much larger charge of incendiary material than the smaller caliber rifle bullet used by the warring nations and so was more effective against the envelope of a gas balloon or dirigible. In the smaller bullet the burning core did not last long enough after leaving the gun to set fire to the hydrogen gas of the balloon bag. Instead, the result was simply a small round hole instead of a burning balloon. About 1,200 of these Model of 1918 11mm Vickers were delivered before the Armistice.

Since most of the U.S. stock of Colt Vickers Model 1915 were sent to Great Britain, who ultimately destroyed them, it makes unmodified or unaltered original Colt Vickers Model of 1915 machine guns extremely rare today with maybe two dozen or so examples in private collections. I say unmodified or unaltered because after World War I the Colt Vickers Model of 1918 aircraft guns the government had left were disposed of on the open market and could be bought for as little as $7.75 each! Since these guns were of the same basic construction and design as the ground infantry gun, and spare parts were available, a number of dealers modified these M1918 aircraft guns into the M1915 ground infantry configuration.

Some of the conversions are obvious and others will need a well-trained eye to detect. Things to look for include seeing if the air-cooling louvers on the jacket of the aircraft gun have been closed up and welded. (You may need a flashlight and a mirror to check from the inside.) If the entire end cap and jacket have been replaced with an infantry end cap and water jacket, then check the serial number located at the bottom of the end cap and see if it matches the serial number located on the inside of each side plate and on the bottom of the trunnion block. (The number on the top of the end cap is not the gun serial number but an army control number.) Other things to look for include having the correct top cover with the same sight as is found on the Browning M1917, and the spade grips should be made of plastic, not wood. And, among the finer points, look to see if the gun had ever been deactivated by having the side plates deformed or cut and welded back together. Also, look at the rivet heads on the side plates to see if they have been removed, replaced or reseated.

The U.S. Colt Vickers is essentially a licensed copy of the British Vickers Mk. I. Obvious differences are, of course, the barrel, lock and feedblock to accommodate the U.S. cartridge. The muzzle booster does not have the armored cone attachment that became standard on the British model. As mentioned above, the rear sight and spade grips are different. The condensing hose is also the same as is used on the M1917 Browning water-cooled which is different than the British version. But the main “first glance” visual clue as to whether U.S. or British made is the “Browning” type of rear sight. The tripod is a copy of the British Mk IV tripod except the U.S. rear leg has a flattened “shovel” foot.

The Vickers design, an improvement of the Maxim design, has endured active military usage in the British armed forces for over 60 years and can still be found in use today in some third world countries. That the United States actually made a good decision in 1915 to use this type of weapon as a stop gap measure until the Browning was able to be fielded showed that while always late, it was better than never.

Historical note: Stembridge Gun Rentals Inc, of Glendale California, registered 10 of the 1915 Colt Vickers Ground guns in 1934, and 5 of the “Air” version in 1934 as well. These were all sold out in the SGR inventory disposition by LMO.- Dan Shea

By Walter Hern

Those of us in the shooting world are very familiar with the “What-if” sessions, or “What’s better” discussions that surround our favorite small arms. Walter Hern sent us this interesting article on the outcome of just such a discussion, and we thought we would bring the outcome to SAR’s readers. It is a very interesting comparison, done from the ergonomic view- Dan 

I had an interesting conversation with my friend John recently. We were spending a quiet Sunday afternoon at my loading bench, producing mass quantities of ammo, and listening to Tom Gresham’s radio show. The subject of assault rifles came up, and we began discussing which was the better rifle, the German Sturmgewehr 44 or the Kalashnikov. Curiously, we both initially picked the same weapon for similar reasons. Hmm, this subject deserved a little more research. Since John owns each, our discussion led a few weeks later to a greater analysis and a shootoff between the two designs. We also thought it would be useful to bring in some folks with little or no exposure to the two rifles and get their impressions- sort of a fresh perspective.

The Sturmgewehr and Kalashnikov are both products of World War II. The Sturmgewehr was developed first and saw action during the war. The Kalashnikov was developed in the immediate post war period and first adopted by the Soviet Union as the AK47. Robert Cortese did an extensive article on their development entitled “Birth of an Assault Rifle” that appeared in Small Arms Review Vol. 1 No. 12, September 1998, also an article by Charles Cutshaw and Lyn Haywood,” The Worlds First Assault Rifles”, Vol. 3 No. 5. I will only touch upon the development history of these rifles, for those who did not see Mr. Cortese’s article.

Work began in the mid 1930s within the German armament community on an intermediate-power rifle cartridge. This new round would be less powerful than the standard 7.92 X 57 mm rifle cartridge, but more powerful than the 9mm Parabellum pistol round. First World War experience had shown that the rifleman did not need a cartridge capable of shooting out to 2000 meters. One that would be good out to around 500 meters would be fine. A new self-loading rifle capable of fully automatic fire would replace both the bolt-action rifles and submachine guns in the German Army. About a year later in the Soviet Union, designers there decided that small arms development was greatly hampered by use of the rimmed 7.62 X 54 mm M1891 cartridge. They too decided that a rimless design of intermediate power was the way to go. The start of the European war in September 1939 put all of these projects on the back burner for a while.

When development proceeded in Germany, Hugo Schmeisser of Haenel developed a gas operated Carbine to shoot the new cartridge, developed by the Polte Werke. The Walther company also developed a competing design. Test lots of these Machine Carbines, (Maschinen Karabiner) MKb42(H) and MKb42(W) were produced. The Haenel design fired from an open bolt, and the Walther from a closed bolt. Testing showed that that closed bolt operation was superior, and Schmeisser was directed to redesign to that form of operation. Hitler stuck his nose into things by ordering all work on new rifle designs stopped, so another change was in terminology. The new weapon came out as the Maschinen Pistole 43, or MP43. A series of small changes led to the MP44. When Hitler finally heard of this new rifle from Eastern Front commanders, and saw how good it was, he decreed the name be changed to Sturmgewehr, so the stamp at the factories changed to StG44. About 426,000 were produced by the end of the war.

The Russians standardized their 7.62 X 39 mm round in 1943 as the M43. The first weapon developed to fire this round was designed by Sergei Gavrilovich Simonov. His Samozaryadnya karabin Siminova obrazets 1945 (SKS 45) was a self loading carbine fed by a fixed 10 round magazine. Some of these rifles were used during the battle for Berlin in the closing days of World War II. They would remain in first line use for only a few years. In 1947 the Soviets adopted a rifle capable of firing the new cartridge full auto. It was designed by former tank driver Mikhail Timofeyevich Kalashnikov. No one knows for sure how many of his Automat Kalashnikova obrazets 1947 (AK 47) in its several variations have been produced, but some estimates put Russian and foreign production at around 75 MILLION.

The Sturmgwehrs we evaluated are German wartime made weapons. One is marked StG 44 and the other MP 44. The Kalashnikov tested was a Chinese made Norinco AKM-47S stamped receiver gun, converted to selective fire by Jonathan Arthur Ciener.
To get an independent, “outside” so-to-speak, set of evaluators in on this, John and I asked our friend Ray and his two sons to help us. Ray Sr. is a career law enforcement officer who regularly qualifies with the MP-5. His sons, Ray Jr., 19, and Joe 15 have both proven to be pretty handy with a submachine gun too. My friend John served in the Army, and Army National Guard as a tank driver and scout. He also shot on the Louisiana National Guard rifle team. I retired from the Air Force a few years ago as a munitions officer, where I spent much of my time working with weapons that had their energy levels measured in megatons rather than foot pounds. Why did we include the two youngsters in this? Combat soldiers tend to be a lot closer in age, size, and weight to them, than to us older folks. Size and weight of the shooter do play a part in shooting a rifle, especially one capable of hand held fully automatic fire.

The purpose of a rifle is to shoot bullets and hit a target. For our evaluation we looked at two broad areas. We looked at how various design features aided or hindered the shooter in operating the weapon and hitting targets. We also, naturally, shot the rifles in both the full and semi-automatic modes to judge the shootability of the designs.

The two designs are surprisingly similar in a number of ways. Both are gas operated, using a gas piston over the barrel fixed to a bolt carrier that moves the bolt. Both feature significant usage of stampings in their production. Some versions of the Kalashnikov were produced with milled receivers and others with stamped. Both feature selective fire capability. The barrels of both are a little over 16 inches in length. The barrel ends of both are threaded to accept a blank adapter. The StG in service features a thread protector, while the AK 47 series is fitted with a simple “sugar scoop” compensator. Both feature open sights with the rear sight mounted forward on the receiver. The cartridges for both are similar, firing bullets of around 124 grains weight. The German Pistole Patronen 43 round is a little shorter and fatter in both case and projectile than the Russian MP43 cartridge. The German round is also slightly slower. Thirty round magazines are standard for both. Both are compact, the StG44 being 37” overall in length and the AK a bit shorter at 34.25”. The StG is somewhat heavier. It weighs in at 11.5 lbs. The AK weighs either 10.58 lbs. or 8.87 lbs. Those versions produced with milled receiver being heavier. In full auto fire both fire at from 500-600 rounds per minute, with the StG having a somewhat slower rate of fire.

There are some significant differences in the two designs from the operator’s point of view. The StG has its charging handle and safety both on the left side of the rifle. Those of the Kalashnikov are on the right side. The magazine release of the StG is a push button on the left side. The AK uses a paddle type release on the front of the trigger guard. The StG features a separate push button for choosing semi-automatic and full-automatic modes of fire. The AK uses three positions on the single safety lever for this function. The handguard of the StG is of sheet steel while that of the AK is of wood, or plastic, depending on where and when it was made. The AK features a bayonet mount, while the StG does not.

Let’s look a little more in depth at the controls on each rifle and what the members of our group thought of them. As noted, the charging handle on the StG is on the left hand side, while that of the AK is on the right. For operation while holding the rifle in the right hand, the left side mounted one on the StG was preferred by everyone. It was easier to grasp and operate, when compared to reaching over the top of the receiver to get to the AK’s. The safety of the StG is operated by a lever convenient to the thumb on the left hand side, while that of the AK is a long lever on the right side of the receiver. To switch from Safe to Fire on the StG, one merely presses down on the safety lever with the thumb of the right hand while holding the pistol grip. For the AK you have to reach over the receiver with the left hand to press the lever down, or release the pistol grip from the right hand to reach forward and press it down. The AK’s safety lever is also relatively noisy in operation. The Semi/Auto selector for the StG is a separate button located above the safety lever. It is pushed from side to side through the receiver. For the AK, selecting Full or Semi Automatic operation is made through the safety lever. All the way up is Safe, one click down is Full Auto, and all the way to the bottom is Semi Auto. Once again, everyone preferred the arrangement of safety and selector as found on the StG.

The ideal trigger pull is often compared with the crisp snapping of a glass rod. That is a description that will never be used in describing the triggers on these weapons. I have used electric drills with better triggers. The trigger pulls on both the StG and AK are long, mushy, and have a lot of overtravel. The StG has a two-stage military-type trigger pull. After a long initial 3 lb. pull, one reaches the second stage that mushily breaks at 4 lbs. with a lot of overtravel. The trigger pull of the AK depends on whether it is in full, or semi auto modes. The semi auto trigger breaks somewhere in a long single 3 lb. pull, with a lot of overtravel. With full auto selected, the pull jumps to 5 lbs. As bad as these trigger pulls were, no one found them too much of an obstacle in hitting the targets. Combat firemarms frequently have heavier trigger pulls to counteract the adrenaline “Rush” experienced in combat.
Both designs feature open sights. No apertures or ghost rings. The rear sight of the StG is graduated from 100-800 meters and has a “V” notch. The front is a sloping blade with a protected hood over it. The AK rear sight is graduated from 100-800 meters as well. It may also be set in a “battle sight” setting. It features a “U” notch. The front is a post, adjustable up and down for elevation zeroing. The carrier may also be pushed from side to side, to allow windage zeroing. The model tested had a hood over the front sight. This hood had a hole in its top to allow a tool to reach the post for adjustment. In both designs the rear sight notch is around 19 inches from the face of the butt. The StG rear sight is mounted about 3/8” higher above the bore line than that of the AK. No one had any real preference for the sight picture of one rifle over the other. Several folks mentioned both could be improved if the front sights featured protective wings, as on say a Garand, rather than the hoods.

The stocks on both designs place the top of the butt just above the boreline, to better control muzzle rise during shooting. The length of pull, or distance between the trigger face and the butt plate, is different. The StG has a 14 1/2 inch pull, while that of the AK is only 13 1/4 inches. The longer pull, and higher sights of the StG allow for a better cheek weld and more natural head position when shooting. The head must be forced into position to acquire the sights of the AK. Everyone commented that the StG felt much better to hold in shooting position, and that it was easier and quicker to acquire the sights. One “furniture” area where the AK showed a definite advantage was with the handguard. The StG handguard is a sheet steel pressing. The AK we shot uses wood. After only a short amount of shooting, the StG handguard gets very hot. While this may have not been too disconcerting on the Russian Front in January, it definitely was an annoyance in Louisiana in the summer. A cotton work glove from my shooting bag, normally used for brass pickup, was soon being worn by all on the left hand while shooting the StGs.

The magazine release on the StG is a button on the left side. The AK uses a paddle on the front of the trigger guard. Neither rifle lets the magazine drop free, they must be withdrawn with the hand. The StG magazines are merely inserted into the magazine well, while those of the AK must be hooked at the front and then rocked into position. Opinions were pretty evenly divided on which system was preferable, both being deemed acceptable.

The shooting portion of our evaluation was done at the Bossier Machinegun Club range. Located in northern Bossier Parish, Louisiana, it has berms at 25, 100, and 200 yards. These rifles are combat weapons, not bench rest guns. The StG 44s tested were over 50 years old; therefore, we did not shoot them for groups from the bench. From previous experience all are capable of 2” to 3” groups at 100 yards. For targets we used cardboard silhouettes, and the ever popular 2 liter plastic soda bottle. The shooting impressions we were interested in were, felt recoil, controllability, and target pickup on multiple targets in both semi and full auto.
During our semi auto firing, everyone said that the StG had a softer recoil than the AK. The AK’s recoil was not objectionable, even for the lightest shooters, but it did feel sharper. The StG was also viewed as more controllable. The sights stayed on target much better. Again, the AK was not viewed badly in this area, just not as good as the StG. This also played a role in judging the rifles on their ability to engage multiple targets. The StG could rapidly shift from target to target, while more time was required to bring the sights of the AK on the new target.

The full auto firing was done in short bursts of 2-3 rounds. In “rock and roll,” everyone preferred the Sturmgewehr by a wide margin. Recoil and muzzle rise were significantly greater with the AK. The StG was much easier to control. Target acquisition and hitting with multiple shots were far easier with the StG. It was also markedly easier to engage multiple targets with the StG. Though we had initially intended to shoot only on full auto out to 100 yards, experience showed that the StG was capable of hitting a silhouette with automatic fire at 200 yards. With the AK at that range, the first round would be on target and the second lucky to hit the berm.
Why was the StG easier to shoot? Three main factors seemed to contribute to this. The StG is heavier by about 2 lbs. than the AK. This weight helps cut down the effects of recoil and muzzle rise. It is also firing a slightly slower round. This again contributes to lessened recoil and muzzle rise. This plays a role in controllability when firing in semi auto, but is far more noticeable in full auto. Primarily, the StG “fits” better. The higher sights, and longer length of pull, enable the rifle to held more naturally and properly. This greatly aids in sight acquisition and controllability, and makes the rifle much more shootable.

When John and I had our first discussion of these rifles, we both picked the Sturmgewehr as the better of the two. Bringing in outside friends to help with a more in depth examination only confirmed our initial opinions. In order to prevent bias, neither of us had mentioned which we preferred. When asked, all three said, that given the choice, they too would prefer to take the StG into battle. Ray Sr. told me something that makes a pretty good conclusion for this article, “Good thing the Germans didn’t have it in 1939.”