Battle Arms Development (BAD) is an armament research and development corporation located in Henderson, Nevada. Founded in 2009; it began as an internet retail outlet. Their first product was a multi-tool for the M/14/M1A/M1 family of battle rifles. Next in line were upgraded parts for the AR-15 type rifle. These include titanium gas blocks, ambidextrous safeties, enhanced bolt catches, modular mag release buttons, Sabertube lightweight stocks, and numerous other products. Their premium product is their lightweight billet receiver set. The receiver is precision CNC milled from 7075-T6 aircraft grade aluminum, it weighs 6.84-ounces, and is made entirely in the USA. The BAD lower receiver can be ordered as a complete set with all internal components except the trigger assembly. It has a Vertical Stock System with the Ultra Compact Buffer System that extends from 4.75-inches to 8.75-inches when fully extended. Stripped upper and lower receivers are also available.

It was only a matter of time before BAD decided to build their own complete rifle utilizing all of their premium parts. Thus the BAD556-LW was born. It’s available in two versions – the 300 Spartan Rifle and the BAD556-LW Lightweight Rifle – custom Vader themed rifle. It’s this second rifle that was tested recently.

Opening the black, foam-lined case brought to light a rifle that bears a distinct resemblance to the Star Wars DLT-20A Battle Rifle. It also reflects a certain Art Deco appearance. Art Deco is a style of visual arts, architecture, and design that first appeared in France that became very popular in the 1920s and 1930s. It influenced the design of furniture, jewelry, cars, radios, and vacuum cleaners.

The underpinnings of the BAD556 start with their proprietary lightweight billet 7075 T6 aluminum upper and lower receiver set. A 16-inch Ultramatch 416R Stainless Steel Wylde 1:8 twist fluted barrel designed by Bill Wylde to chamber both .223 and 5.56 mm ammunition is installed. This barrel’s chamber is made with the external dimensions and lead angle as used with NATO 5.56x45mm ammunition; the .2240 inch free bore diameter as in the .223 Remington cartridge. This allows either caliber to be used in the rifle.

BAD uses its lightweight titanium gas block, which weighs just about as much as the mid-length stainless steel gas tube. The barrel’s BAD muzzle brake also acts as a flash hider/compensator. The bolt carrier group is MIL-SPEC M16 with a black nitride finish. The rifle is cocked using a BCM ambidextrous charging handle forged from 7075 T6 aluminum; it is designed to move the operating force to the body of the charging handle when using the support-hand-only operations. This relieves the stress on the 1/16-inch roll pin. Repeated hard support hand racking of the charging handle can lead to breaking the roll pin which would down-check the rifle.

Fortis supplies the 6061 T6 aluminum 556 Switch Rail System which is completely free-floating, attached only to the upper receiver. It can be quickly removed utilizing a locking lever that allows tool-less removal. It is configured with KeyMod slots at the 3, 6, and 9 o’clock positions, and has a continuous Picatinny top rail along its entire 14-inch length.

The lightweight billet lower receiver uses BAD’s SSL ambidextrous safety selector, detent, and spring. The pivot and takedown pins are BAD-EPS titanium. Their heads are undercut, and the bottom of the pin shafts have slight detents, easing pin retraction and removal. The trigger group is an in-house product, adjustable, but factory-set to 3.5-pound pull. The stock is the BAD Sabertube mid length lightweight combo. However, the stock is only compatible with the BADD lower receiver because the lower uses a captive rear takedown detent spring, which eliminates the end plate and castle nut. A Hilsabeck Firearms Flatline dual rate buffer spring aids in muzzle lift reduction, providing a faster return to target, the buffer is a standard M4 Carbine item.

MIL-Spec parts in the lower receiver include the magazine catch spring, bolt catch detent and spring, and the buffer catch and spring. Bad produces the pistol grip, bolt catch, and magazine release. Norgon LLC supplies their Ambi-Catch ambidextrous magazine release catch. Total empty weight without optics is 5.4-pounds. The rifle comes with a Patriot rifle case fitted for the BAD 556-LW. Along with the rifle and magazine, are a Certificate of Authenticity and a BAD T-shirt.

This particular rifle had a number of accessories added. The forward grip is a Fortis Shiftshort hard coat anodized; billet aluminum angled grip that attaches via KeyMod or M-Lok. The iron sights are Magpul MBUS Pro folding that can be stowed when optics are used. The magazine is a Magpul Gen 2 PMAG 30-round magazine, Ceracote finish with BAD helmeted logo emblazoned on the side. A Magpul Magpod 1 replaces the floorplate and turns the magazine into a compact monopod. It also functions as an extended grip when removing the magazine. In this particular case, it was used as a monopod, but its extended grip feature wasn’t needed as the magazine slid in and out, loaded, or unloaded like it was on ball bearings.

The finish on the BAD556-LW is a Vader/Star Wars inspired Ceracote paint finish. Ceracote is a ceramic-based finish that can be applied to numerous surfaces including metals, plastics, polymers, and even wood. The Ceracote ceramic coating enhances a number of physical performance properties not limited to abrasion/wear resistance, corrosion resistance, impact strength, and hardness.

A Trijicon MRO optic is mounted on top of the receiver using a BAD-MRO mount. This is a sealed miniature red dot sight intended for use on carbines, rifles, shotguns, and revolvers. Its large aperture allows rapid target acquisition and increased situational awareness. The shooter can select any brightness setting level from one to eight, including two-night vision settings. It runs on a single CR2032 lithium battery that has a constant-on life of five years when running at its middle 3 setting. The brightness knob is large enough to be easily adjusted, plus it’s silent; no loud clicks. It uses a slightly canted 25mm objective lens which keeps the total length to 2.6- inches. Weight with battery is 4.1-ounces. There has no magnification, so it works well with both eyes open. One click of adjustment equals ¼ MOA. The glass lenses are multi-coated, and the optic is parallax free.

Some of the more subtle features on the BAD556-LW are the right rear rail of the trigger guard that is slightly cut away to stop it from hitting your finger during recoil. There are lightening cuts to reduce weight on the upper and lower receiver. The pistol grip is BAD’s 3-position adjustable tactical grip. Overall fit and finish are excellent.

Time at the range was limited by weather and other constraints. The BAD556-LW came out of the case without a speck of dust and was clean inside and out. The rifle was gone over lightly with a cloth during shooting sessions. That was the limit of maintenance for a little over 300 rounds.

The simple story is that it ran flawlessly from the first round to the 300th round. Because of the limitations of the red dot sight (and my aging eyes), ranges were limited to 75-100 yards. It was fired slow-fire, and magazine-dump fashion. Five shot groups stayed right at 1 – 1.3-inches. The barrel was allowed to cool between groups. The best one-inch group came from off the bench using the Magpod as a rest, and pausing between shots.

At the end of shooting the target was set at 75-yards, and a full 30-round magazine fired as fast as the target could be acquired. The group in the photo measures 2.3-inches. The gun was certainly warm after that, but the forearm was almost cool to the touch. Ammo used in the shoot was Black Hills 5.56MM 77 Gr Match HP, and Black Hills 5.56MM 77 Gr OTM.

Opinion? The BAD556-LW sure makes for interesting range jewelry, Star Wars and all, but it definitely is a fine piece of equipment that ran flawlessly from the first shot – this when some firearms manufacturers state that their products require 200 rounds, or more, before they break in. If you’re looking for a nice present for yourself, and an AR is on your short list, you would be hard-pressed to find a better rifle.

Recently, a newcomer to the AOW field was tested – the Typhoon 12. The shotgun is manufactured in China for Hurricane Butterfly Research, a Type 7 manufacturer located in Washington State. The Typhoon is based on the Remington 870-type action. However, it is configured to take a five-round box magazine. Caliber is 12-Gauge, and the plastic magazine is limited to 2-3/4 inch shells due to space limitations in the action. With one in the chamber, the Typhoon 12 has a total six-round capacity. There is no ammunition in the former ammo tube. This AOW is manufactured by the same company that builds the Harrington and Richardson Partner Protector 12- Gauge pump shotgun.

Overall length is 20.5-inches, barrel length is 8.75-inches, not including the muzzle brake, configured similar to a door breacher, which brings the total length to 11.75-inches. Empty weight scales right at 5.8-pounds and the plastic magazine adds two-tenths of a pound.

The mag has a plastic follower, steel floorplate and spring. When the last round is fired, the follower rises up into the action and holds the bolt open. The magazine release latch is between the rear of the magazine well and the front of the trigger guard. Both full and empty magazine drop freely. A lip on the magazine stops it from seating too deeply. There are two holes in the side of the magazine that allow a shell count. The prototype gun was finished in Ceracoat. However, the standard finish will be blued with Ceracoat as an option.

During development, hundreds of rounds were cycled through the magazine with only one failure to fire. The chief engineer at the factory inspected the firearm and stated the problem was with the ammunition. A different batch was sourced, and no further problems were encountered. Some problems arose when steel shot was run through the Typhoon 12. Additional testing discovered that the wad/ shot collar was causing some small malfunctions.

The forearm doesn’t have a fixed grip. Instead, there is a MIL-STD-1913 Picatinny rail fastened to the action bar which allows a number of different grips to be used. The firearm tested has a Magpul Rail Vertical Grip (RVG) in place, but any foregrip configured for a rail can be easily added.

The Typhoon 12 is imported unassembled without a shoulder stock, so it qualifies as an AOW instead of an SBS, which requires a $200 tax stamp. It’s assembled with a synthetic pistol grip to follow BATFE requirements.

There is an attachment point on the upper rear to take a single-point sling. A double-point sling can be attached by using the hole in the tube nut on the forward end of the tube barrel.

If the potential buyer wants an SBS, any buttstock for a Remington 870 would fit. Then it would have to be registered and the $200 transfer tax stamp procured.

The Typhoon 12 should be available just about when you are reading this. There are 300 currently being shipped to the USA, as this Small Arms Review issue goes to press (December), the distributors are cataloging them for sales. Hurricane Butterfly’s CEO stated that the price will be set in the $575-$600 range, but as this is being written, no final price has been determined.

MAKE: Hurricane Butterfly Research
MODEL: Typhoon 12
CALIBER: 12GA 2/3/4” shells only
BARREL: 8-3/4”
WEIGHT: 5.8 lbs. 6.0 with empty magazine
CAPACITY: 5 + 1
RECEIVER: Steel
FOREARM/GRIP: Magpul
REAR GRIP: Synthetic Pistol Grip
ACTION: Pump
NFA STATUS: Any Other Weapon (AOW)
TRANSFER FEE: $5 (USD)
ESTIMATED PRICE: $575-$600

The Steyr anti-material rifle is a recent development of Steyr Mannlicher GmbH & CO. The public first saw it at the SHOT Show in 2004 in Las Vegas.

Steyr originally built this rifle only in .50 BMG. When ownership of .50 cal. by private citizens was prohibited in Australia and California, they produced the HS .460 (11.65mm x 90.50mm), designed by Horst Grillmayer of Austria. It’s basically a necked-down .50 BMG to .458. But, instead of using available .458 bullets, it shoots a proprietary 600-gr. spire-point bullet at 2,985 fps. It’s similar to the old CETME cartridges, and it resembles a .408 CheyTac.

The HS .50 is a single shot, bolt action rifle meant to be fired off an integral bipod. A three-stage bipod is attached at the front of the forearm. The two-stage trigger is set to 4.5 pounds but can be adjusted for a lighter pull. As in other rifles, the buttstock is fully adjustable. The heavy barrel is fluted over half its 33-inch length with the front length being round. A muzzle brake and a Picatinny 1913 rail are standard, but there are no iron sights.

As it is a single shot, it’s not a true bullpup, but the two-lug rotating bolt is above and behind the trigger pack. The bolt does not have to be removed to load the weapon like some other anti-material single shots.

The rifle is a takedown with the scope left on the barrel when it is removed. This makes return-to-zero almost guaranteed, very useful especially when there’s no chance for a first sighting shot. Overall length when broken down is 36 inches. The large muzzle brake causes a great deal of side blast, and people standing on the side or to the rear require major ear protection. Plugs and muffs in combination would be a good idea as the blast is louder than a Barrett or ArmaLite .50 BMG.

The rifle became well known when it was discovered that Steyr had sold 800 HS .50 rifles to Iran in 2005. As expected, the rifle turned up in Iraq. The Daily Telegraph reported that the first American soldier was killed with one 45 days after the shipment. Steyr, as expected, was running around trying to spread chicken feathers over the entire debacle. American forces have recovered over 100 of the rifles.

This rifle is sold in the U.S., and prices run around $4,400. Ammunition for the HS .460, made from re-sized new .50 BMG brass runs $450 per 50; $825 per 100. Single rounds are $20 each.

Manufacturer: Steyr-Mannlicher
Caliber: .50 BMG, .460 Steyr
Service date: 2004
Weight: 28.5 lb
Length: 54 inches
Barrel length: 33 inches
Action: Bolt, single-shot
Effective range: 1,800 yards
Optics: Customer, no iron sights fitted
Stock: Polymer

A 20mm anti-material rifle that fires a 1,543grain bullet traveling at 3,396 feet per second with 39,500 foot-pounds of muzzle energy ought to be enough for most any encounter…

This rifle actually exists. Anzio Ironworks owner Mike Remo builds it and its little brother, the Anzio 50. The 20mm is magazine fed out of a 3-round box magazine into a tubular receiver with a quick change barrel and an oversized muzzle brake. The bolt handle is large enough to get a firm handgrip and a titanium firing pin insures reliable ignition. The muzzle blast has to be seen to be believed. There’s a video on YouTube showing the rifle being fired. The operator’s hair lifts completely up and his head kicks back a few inches.

If you’ve got the right scope, 22 power at least, tapping a garbage can-sized steel plate at 5,000 yards should be possible. Considering the rifle weighs 59 pounds minimum – over 130 pounds with mounts and options – it’s a very stable platform. Moving it around might be a bit of a challenge and might be better suited with a pintle mount on a trailer or scout car.

Very long range sniping is becoming more important as insurgents are beginning to appear with longer range weapons in larger calibers. The need to reach out 4,900 yards won’t be common, but when faced with a .50 coming your way, a 20mm gives you quite an edge in range.

The FBI has begun to integrate the 20mm into its arsenal. They say the option to take out a hardened target at a distance isn’t an option any more. Training at Quantico, VA is well underway.

Retail is $11,900. For the model with a fully-floated barrel and bipod expect to spend $13,000. A suppressor is a $3,200 option and, as the 20mm is loud in the extreme, is an accessory that should not be overlooked. Ammo runs $8 per round for training rounds, and tracer is $15.

Standard Equipment

• Quick change – take-down barrel
• Fluted, hand lapped match barrel
• Oversized, high efficiency brake
• One detachable 3-round magazine
• Four massive locking lugs
• Heavy duty bipod
• Fully adjustable rear monopod
• 40 minute inclined scope rail
• Duracoat finish of your choice
• Blue-printed bolt & action
• Percussion primed configuration
• Massive bolt handle for easy loading & extraction
• Super smooth action

Optional Equipment

• Multi- caliber kit 14.5mm and 20mm
• Pintle mount
• Electric primed upgrade
• 50BMG “rail gun” conversion kit
• Single shot version available for $9,800
• Optional handguard, free-floated barrel and adjustable bipod model $13,000
• Suppressor available for $3200
• This same action but in 20/50 caliber $1,400 less
• 49-inch match grade fluted barrel
• Heavy duty clam-shell brake
• Detachable box magazine
• Available in 14.5mm, 20mm, and new Anzio 20-50 calibers. (20-50 is a 20mm case necked down to .50 caliber; 750-800 gr. bullet at 3,200 fps-3,600 fps)
• Titanium firing pin
• Optional weights and configurations

Manufacturer: Anzio Ironworks Corporation (anzioironworks.com)
Mike Remo
Caliber: 20mm x102mm
Service date: 2006
Weight: 59-130 lb depending on mount
Length: 6′ 8″ w/o suppressor
Barrel length: 49 inch
Action: Bolt, detachable three-round box magazine
Effective range: 5,000 yards
Optics: Customer supplied (minimum 20x)
Stock: Metal

WKW stands for Wielkokalibrowy Karabin Wyborowy. Let’s just say that it loosely translates to “Large Caliber Rifle” in English. It first saw the light of day in 2005 in Poland when designer Zaklady Mechaniczne TARNOW S.A. factory introduced it to the Polish army. Alexander Lezucha was instrumental in engineering this rifle and the 7.62mm “Alex” sniper rifle. It is designated “Tor” by the military. This is Poland’s first true anti-material sniper rifle. There were Polish sniper rifles in World war Two, but they were just accurate Soviet Mosin Nagant M91/30 refinished with a scope added.

Built on a bullpup design, the magazine and bolt are behind the trigger pack. Caliber is 12.7mm (.50 BMG), and the detachable magazine holds seven rounds. As in many other large caliber rifles, there’s a monopod fitted to the buttstock and a bipod/carrying handle on a tube below the barrel. There is no forend. The barrel stands free-floated and is attached directly to the action in a fairly simplistic design similar to the German company DSR Precision’s DSR-1 and the Barrett M95. A Barrett-type muzzle brake is fitted.

A Schmidt & Bender X3-12 P/MII scope is mounted on a raised rail situated above the action extending forward and over the barrel. Overall length of the rifle is 53.1 inches with a 34.6 inch fluted barrel. It’s not a very heavy rifle at 35.5 lb and can easily be carried and operated by one soldier, providing that the ammunition load-out isn’t too heavy. A fitted case that will take the scope is standard.

When firing the 12.7mm SLAP (Saboted Light Armor Penetrating round), the TOR can defeat up to .9 inches of armor at 1,200 meters. Present production is less than 50 units in service with selected units of the Polish army.

The 12.7mm round’s specifications are standard .50 BMG; that is 2,850 feet per second and 13,350 ft-lb of energy (the 12.7mm SLAP is rated at 4,000+ feet per second.) Normally rounds are fed from the magazine; however single shots can be accomplished by feeding in one round at a time. Other than the muzzle brake, no anti-recoil devices are fitted. Subsequently, recoil is moderate to severe and time-on-target for repeated shots is slow.

Specifications

Caliber: 12.7 x 99mm (.50 BMG)
Length: 53.1 inches (1,350 mm)
Barrel length: 34.6 inches (880 mm)
Magazine: Seven round steel
Sight: Schmidt & Bender X3-12 P/MII (No iron sights fitted)
Range: 1,500 meters
Operation: Rotary bolt
Muzzle velocity: 2,800 feet per second
Muzzle energy: 13,350 foot-pounds
In service: 2005-current
Designer: Alexander Lezucha

Usually when an infantryman fires a rifle, he wants to be able to touch off a round without doing serious damage to himself. The hope is that the end with the hole in it will do more damage than the part that fits against the shoulder.

During the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War Two, the Empire of Japan, in the guise of the Imperial Japanese Army, saw a need to develop a weapon to be used primarily against the lightly-armored equipment being fielded by the Allies in the Pacific Theater. The Type 97 20mm anti-tank rifle was the end result. It had a semiautomatic action that was fed seven rounds from a top-mounted detachable box magazine. Rate of fire was said to be 12 rounds per minute, but that was seldom, if ever, achieved.

Total weight of the Type 97, when fitted with an armored shield, pushed the scales to near 150 pounds. A bipod and rear-mounted monopod aided in recoil control, but the Type 97 was not an optimal rifle to shoot. It took four Japanese soldiers to carry the gun, ammo and related equipment. Two troops were needed just to fire the Type 97, a loader and an operator. Some versions were fitted with handlebar-type cross bars to facilitate transporting.

The procedure was to locate the butt monopod on the ground, set the bipod mounted on the front of the action into the dirt, load the seven-round top-loading magazine, cock the action, sight the armored target, then touch off a round. Any combination of armor-piercing, tracer, ball, incendiary, self-destruct or practice projectile could be loaded in any order. It sat low to the ground and had a small blast signature compared to other 20mm rounds like the Hispano-Suiza 20mm x 110mm cannon.

A said above, total weight of the rifle and optional armor shield ran close to 150 pounds. However, even at that weight, recoil was extremely violent. The 20mm x 124mm round had a muzzle velocity of 2,460 feet per second. Muzzle energy was quite impressive. Ten feet from the muzzle a foot-pound reading in excess of 32,000 was recorded.

Interestingly, the Type 97 was initially designed to be fired from the operator’s shoulder. As the average Japanese soldier of 1941 weighed less than 150 pounds, this proved to be both dangerous and impractical. The recoil force was so fierce that firing the first shot caused the soldier to take some quick steps backwards. When fired from a prone position, heavy bruising was almost always guaranteed. Also, the recoil created so much pain that, even though the weapon was semiautomatic, follow-up shots were very slow in coming. A muzzle brake was fitted, but did little to tame the ferocious recoil. The Type 97 was designed in 1937; however, by 1942 the rifle was relegated to strictly a defense weapon.

The 20mm x 124mm round was capable of piercing up to 300 mm of armor at 250 yards, down to 200 mm at 700 yards. During the Pacific Campaign of World War II, the Type 97 was used against light tanks with moderate success, but once heavier tanks, like the M4 Sherman appeared on the battlefield, the Type 97 became a second echelon weapon, used mostly against half-tracks and Duce-and-a-half trucks.

The Japanese Army didn’t have a surplus of modern weapons, so rather than retiring the Type 97, they turned it into an emplaced weapon on islands like Gavutu, Tulagi and Tanambogo, where it was used against U.S. amphibious forces during the Solomon Island Campaign, May-August 1942.

Later in the war, the Japanese Imperial Army tried to increase the rifle’s anti-tank capability by adapting the Type 97 to launch grenades. The muzzle brake was removed and a grenade launcher cup was secured to the barrel by a locking bar. Somewhat successful, the idea was subsequently dropped when it was found that a standard Arisaka rifle could launch grenades as well as the heavy, complicated Type 97.

Simultaneously with the anti-armor use, the Type 97 was modified for aircraft use as the Ho-1. It was mounted in the dorsal turret of the Nakajima Ki-49 Donryu (Storm Dragon) twin-engine bomber.

Production of the Type 97 tapered off to a great extent when the Allied Eighth Air Force and Twentieth Air Force embarked on their urban renewal project on the Japanese home islands from late 1944 to end of war August 1945.

Type 97 20 MM Anti-tank Weapon

Designed
1937
Number manufactured
c. 400
Caliber
20mm x 124mm, seven round detachable magazine
Weight (traveling)
148 lb
Muzzle velocity
2,600 fps
Muzzle energy
32,000 ft-lb
Action
Gas operated semiautomatic
Barrel length
47.2 inches
Overall length
81.1 inches
Magazine capacity
Type 97 – 7 rounds; Ho-1 – 15 or 50 round double drum (depends on type of mount)

20 mm x 124 mm Ammunition
Type of projectile
Armor-piercing, tracer, incendiary, high explosive, inert, self-destruct
Projectile weight
High explosive, incendiary – 4.5 ounce; Armor-piercing, tracer – 5.7 ounce
Range
1,000 yards
Rate of fire
Theoretical – 400 rounds per minute (rpm); actual – 2-3 rpm