ForgottenWeapons

Žiga from Polenar Tactical Reviews my Lynx Brutality AK (Ad-free)

I decided to use a home-built Romanian AK for Lynx Brutality 2024. It began as a Romanian PM-63 AKM made at the Cugir factory complex in 1976, which was sold to the US about 20 years ago as a parts kit (with its original barrel at that time). I used a Nodak Spud receiver and reassembled it. For an optic, I used an AK Master Mount to get a side rail, and they used a Belorussian PK-A red dot for the match. I ended up doing remarkably well with it, taking 12th place overall at Lynx Brutality! So...

Shields, Ropes, and Cutting Wire: Lynx Brutality 2024 Day 2 (Ad-free)

Polenar Tactical has done it again, setting the bar for Brutality matches with this year's Lynx Brutality. Held at the Lynx Pro Training Center outside Kočevje Slovenia, this year's match was 10 stages over two days. I used a Romanian PM63 AKM that I assembled myself with a PK-A com bloc red dot and an Arex Delta pistol with a Holosun. The stages were a great blend of physical challenges, shooting challenges, and agility challenges.

A Perfect Father's Day Gift: History of Weapons & War

Use code "fathersday" to get 50% off your first month at:

http://WeaponsAndWar.tv 

Not a subscriber? The full Lynx Brutality 2024 livestream is available for 99c here (and free for subscribers):

https://forgottenweapons.vhx.tv/checkout/lynx-brutality-2024

My AK vs Cars, Kettlebells, & Fast Ropes: Lynx Brutality 2024 Day 1 (Ad-free)

Polenar Tactical has done it again, setting the bar for Brutality matches with this year's Lynx Brutality. Held at the Lynx Pro Training Center outside Kočevje Slovenia, this year's match was 10 stages over two days. I used a Romanian PM63 AKM that I assembled myself with a PK-A com bloc red dot and an Arex Delta pistol with a Holosun. The stages were a great blend of physical challenges, shooting challenges, and agility challenges.

M1911A1: America's Definitive World War Two Pistol (Ad-Free)

Get Entered to WIN this legendary WW2 Remington Rand M1911A1!

https://go.getenteredtowin.com/forgottenweapons

DEADLINE to ENTER is 06/28/24 @ 11:59pm (PST).

The United States adopted the M1911 pistol just in time for the First World War, and between Colt and Springfield Arsenal some 643,000 of these pistols were made by the end of 1918. During that production and the gun's field service ...

Kord: Russia's New .50 Cal Heavy Machine Gun (Ad-Free)

The Kord was developed to replace the Soviet NSV heavy machine gun. The NSV was developed in 1969 to replace the DShK, and it was a pretty good gun - but it was manufactured in only one factory and that factory was located in Kazakhstan. When the Soviet Union crumbled, that left the new Russian Federation without and heavy MG production. So, in 1994 a design team at the Kovrov plant developed an improved model of the NSV both to improve it and to provide domestic Russian production. The first...

So You Want to Design Guns? You Need This Book. (Ad-free)

"Firearm Anatomy Book III: The Remington Double Derringer" by David S. Findlay

Available through Amazon:

https://amzn.to/4daGdYy

David S. Findlay is a firearms designer with extensive experience - a decades-long career in the field working for Remington, Marlin, S&W, and Kimber and two dozen patents to his name. In this, the third book of his "Firearms Anatomy" series, he takes on the Remington Double...

Shooting Shaved Webley Revolvers (w/ Steinel Ammo) (Ad-free)

Steinel Ammunition has started making a rather niche new product, but one that I think is quite convenient: .45 ACP downloaded to .455 Webley pressure. This is for use in Webley revolvers that were shaved to use moon clips and .45 ACP when they were imported. This is a common modification done by importers back when proper .455 Webley ammunition was very hard to find; by converting the guns to .45 ACP they became much easier to sell (a similar thing was done with .380 ACP barrels in Husqvarna...

Sten MkIII: A Children's Toy Company Makes SMGs (Ad-free)

Lines Brothers was a company in the UK that made sheet metal childrens' toys prior to the war. When production of the Sten guns began, Lines Bros was a parts subcontractor. Their engineers analyzed the design alongside the machinery the company had available and redesigned a version of the Sten that they could make very quickly and cheaply in-house, by replacing the tube receiver with a rolled and spot-welded piece of sheet steel. Their first order came in January 1942, to a whopping 500,000 ...

S&W M1917: A US Army revolver in .45 ACP (Ad-free)

When the United States entered World War One, it had a significant shortfall in military handguns. The M1911 pistol production was expanded as much as possible, but more guns were needed. Both Colt and Smith & Wesson adapted revolver designs to Army standard .45 ACP ammunition, and both were accepted into service as the M1917, despite being different guns with no interchangeable parts.

The most interesting mechanical element of the M1917 is the development of half-moon clips to allo...

PTR Vent Suppressor: 3D Printed Titanium Foam (Ad-free)

PTR's new "Vent" line of suppressors are a really cool use of new technology to better execute an old design concept. The idea is that forcing muzzle gasses through a porous material will work well to slow and cool them, providing good sound suppression. Back in the 1940s (through the 60s or 70s), this was done with wire mesh rolled into a tube. Today, PTR is following the same principle to a much finer degree by using additive manufacturing to produce titanium with "purposely induced porosit...

Romania's AK-Based SMG: the LP7 (Full Cut; Ad-Free)

In the mid 1990s, UMC Cugir began looking at ways to adapt its AKM production tooling to make a 9mm submachine gun. What would become the LP7 was first prototyped in 1998, and went into limited production in 2003, with an order of 200 made for the Romanian Interior Ministry. Romanian Gendarmes deployed with LP7s to a peacekeeping mission in Kosovo.

Mechanically, the gun is based on a standard AKM receiver and fire control system, with a short barrel, no gas system, and a heavy simple b...

Glock 46: A Revolutionary Design Change (Ad-free)

Except for the .22 rimfire Glock 44, all the pistols from the Austrian powerhouse Glock have shared the same fundamental mechanical system. They use the Browning tilting-barrel action, which has been long proven by many companies. With the Glock 46, however, they completely changed, and opted for a short recoil, rotating barrel design. The 46 also includes a couple other unique features for Glock, specifically intended to suit its intended role as a German police sidearm.

In Germany, ea...

Sten MkII: Just When You Thought It Couldn't Get Simpler (Ad-free)

The Sten MkI had barely been approved for production when the Sten MkII was born. Initially requested to produce a version of the gun suitable for paratroopers, in March 1941 Harold Turpin redesigned the front end of the Sten to have a quickly detachable barrel and a rotating magazine well (for compact storage). This new model was tests in late June and early July, approved for use, and contracts for it were issued in August 1941.

Named the MkII, this model of the Sten would quickly bec...

Lynx Brutality 2024 Overview w/ Jari of Varusteleka (Ad-free)

Lynx Brutality 2024 is a wrap! Full match videos are coming in a couple days, but for now Jari and I will give you a brief overview of how the match went and what kit we used...

Arsenal Strike One: Russian Police Pistol Comes to the West (Ad-free)

The Strike One pistol originated around 2011 as a collaboration between Nicola Bandini and Dimitry Streshinskiy as a pistol to replace the Makarov in Russian police use. By 2014 is was progressing very successfully through testing and trials, and had gained some international interest, and that's when (allegedly) bribery negotiations went badly and the gun disappeared from Russian official consideration. The company behind it (Arsenal Firearms, out of Italy) pivoted to international commercia...

Polenar Tactical Podcast & Meetup

I'll be recording a podcast with Polenar Tactical, Print Shoot Repeat, and Firepower United (Calvin Truong) tomorrow - what would you like to have us discuss? Any specific questions you would like me to ask any of them? We will naturally be discussing Lynx Brutality, but all other topics are fair game as well...

Also, we have a meetup tomorrow evening at 6pm at the Polenar Tactical shop in Ljubljana, Slovenia. If you are there, come meet us and say hello!

New Reproduction Colt 4x AR-15 Scope by Brownells (Ad-free)

In the 1970s and 80s, Colt offered a 4x20 fixed power scope for its commercial AR (the SP-1). These replaced the earlier 3x scopes, and were designed to fit directly to the rifle's carry handle. They are a simple design, with a duplex reticle, BDC calibrated out to 500 yards in 100 yard increments, and good optics. Well, Brownells found the factory that originally made these scopes for Colt, and they still have the original plans. So Brownells arranged a license to use Colt's name and logo, a...

BUG Match Pickelhaube Edition: German 1883 Reichsrevolver (Ad-free)

Today I took a Model 1883 Reichsrevolver out to the monthly BackUp Gun Match. This is an 1894-manufactured gun (made at the Erfurt Arsenal). It is a single action only, six-shot revolver chambered for the 10.6mm German Ordnance cartridge. The first type of Reichsrevolver was adopted by the young German Empire in 1879, with the significantly shortened model here adopted in 1883. Both models do also have manual safety levers - unusual for revolvers - but that wasn't relevant to the match today....

Cartridge History: The .451 Detonics Magnum is a Supercharged .45 ACP (Ad-free)

Detonics was founded as a company in the 1970s, making high-end 1911 pistols. Their first product that really put them on the map was their 3" micro-compact 1911; something that just wasn't available on a production basis at the time. After the .45 Winchester Magnum cartridge was introduced in 1979, Detonics jumped at the chance to now make a higher-power .45 cartridge that would fit the 1911 magazine. Since the .45 WinMag brass was much thicker at the base than .45 ACP, Detonics was able to ...

Sten MkI & MkI*: The Original Plumber's Nightmare (Ad-free)

The Sten gun was designed by RSAF Senior Draftsman (sorry, Draughtsman) Harold Turpin in December, 1940. He sketched out a simple trigger mechanism on December 2, showed it to Major Reginald Shepherd the next day, and then finished out the rest of the submachine gun design that week. The first prototype gun was completed on January 8, 1941 and it was tested by the Small Arms School that same month. The design was approved for production (alongside the Lanchester) March 7th, 1941 and the first...

McCann Industries MAS 49/56 in the Elbonian Royal Air Service (Ad-free)

Elbonian Royal Air Service merch: https://www.varusteleka.com/en/product/forgotten-weapons-royal-air-service-elbonia-t-shirt-cotton/78756 

In the early 2000s, the Elbonian Royal Air Service was looking for an aerial interdiction rifle - something to arm snipers in dirigibles, for shooting down light aircraft and drones. In this, they were r...

The Truth Behind the One Chinese Red Dot Factory (Ad-Free)

At SHOT Show this year Ian took some time to speak with Mike Branson of Gideon Optics (formerly of Primary Arms and Swampfox). Mike's a friend and a true optics nerd, and I figured he could help give folks an understanding of some of the fundamentals of modern firearms optics. Today the topic of conversation is that one mythical Chinese factory responsible for making all the red dots in the country. You know, the one that will just put your company name on their dot for a few extra bucks and ...

Last Day: Rifles of the Danube Discount & Special KS Edition! (Ad-free)

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/headstamp/rifles-on-the-danube?ref=64v2l6 

Today is your last chance to join the preorder for Rifles on the Danube! Until the end of today, you can still join the Kickstarter for "Rifles on the Danube: Hungarian Kalashnikov Firearms 1959-2002".

This is the last chance to get the discounted pre-order price, and to get the ...

Enjoying Black Powder Episode 1: The Trapdoor Springfield (Ad-free)

For the full episode with the hand loading instructional section, click here:

https://forgottenweapons.vhx.tv/videos/trapdoor-app-cut

Black powder military rifles of the 1860s-1880s are a really enjoyable group of guns. A lot of them are relatively reasonably priced, and they are actually pretty easy to reload for. The unavailability of factory ammunition (for most, although not so much...

Full Auto Glock 18 at the Range: Can I Hit...Anything? (Ad-free)

I've fired a number of different machine pistols, but until today never a Glock 18. So, we're going to give it a try! This is an original factory example, not a conversion.

MACS M2: Croatian Anti-Materiel .50 Cal

Among the many firearms designed and built in Croatia under the duress of the Homeland War was the MACS M2, a single-shot anti-materiel rifle chambered for .50 BMG. Designed by an engineer named Jankovic, these were in the field with Croatian units starting in 1994, and were used effectively in Operation Storm in 1995. Mechanically, they are very simple, just turnbolt actions in cast aluminum chassis. The bolts are the most interesting element, with 9 locking lugs in three rows. They were fit...

SA-85S: FEG Adapts the Hungarian AK for American Import (Ad-free)

Get your copy of "Rifles On The Danube" today - only 2 days left!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/headstamp/rifles-on-the-danube?ref=7w4b5x

Hungary began importing semiautomatic civilian versions of FÉG's AK-63D into the United States in the 1980s. As more restrictions were put on importation, the models had to change several times to remain legal. The patte...

Finland's Prototype Belt-Fed GPMG: L41 Sampo (Ad-free)

During the 1930s, there was interest in Finland in replacing the Maxim heavy machine gun with something handier and more mobile. There were experiments with large drum magazines for the LS-26 light machine gun, but these were not satisfactory. Aimo Lahti began to work on a gas-operated GPMG, but lack of funding and competing priorities led to it having slow progress until the eve of the Winter War. By the time the gun was completed and the first preproduction batch ready for troop trials, the...

Blk Lbl Bipod for the Fix

Ever since I first saw Blk Lbl at SHOT Show many years ago I've really liked their handguard-integrated bipods. They are completely slick and unobtrusive when folded up, but offer a good range of motion, stability, and adjustability when deployed, while being lighter than all but the lightest polymer detachable bipods when combined with a handguard. In addition to making these units for the AR15, AR10, Tavor 7, Tavor X95, Tikka, and MDR platforms, they also offer them for the Q Fix (and also ...