Great Gun Stuff Blog

During a firefight in Afghanistan in 2007, British soldier Pte Cole's SA80 rifle was hit three times by 7.62x39mm bullets! It continued to function and he continued to return fire, despite the fact that the scope, bodywork and pistol grip was ripped off the gun. Express and Star report ...

The first 7.62 mm Kalashnikov round hit the weapon head on, narrowly missing the barrel and tearing apart the bodywork, while the second blew the sight off and the third smashed into the side, ripping through the inside of the gun and blasting out of the pistol grip.

Miraculously none struck Pte Cole, already wounded twice in the battle, and last night he saw the remains of the weapon for the first time since it saved his life in the Taliban ambush two years ago.

The remains of the rifle is now proudly display at the 4th Battalion HQ.

[ Many thanks to Daniel E. Watters for sending me the link. ]

CombatDriver writes at HighRoad.us ...

I discovered this light machine gun last month at a SF team house here in Afghanistan. Its an old post WWI French Mdle 1922 light machine gun in 7.92mm Mauser. There were two models one that fed from a box magazine on top and this one that used stripper fed clips (15,24 &30 rd cap). The French made them is several calibers, including 6.5mm Mannlicher-Schoenauer (Greek), 7x57 Mauser (Spain), 7.7x56R (.303, UK) and 7.92x57 Mauser (Czechosolvakia). This one is missing the charging hande, bipod and muzzle brake.

Cleaning rod has been jammed into the bolt carrier and used as improvised charging handle.

South Korea looks to be the first country to deploy a next-gen airburst grenade / assault rifle weapon in combat. Korea Times reports ...

South Korean troops to be deployed in Afghanistan will be armed with the latest K-11 airburst assault rifles for self-defense, according to the Ministry of National Defense.

The ministry unveiled the timeline as well as the troop numbers and equipment to be sent to the Central Asian nation, last week.

About 350 soldiers will be dispatched to Afghanistan with the main mission of protecting 120 South Korean civilian reconstruction workers, Defense Minister Kim Tae-young said in a National Assembly session. Two dozen civilian reconstruction workers have already been sent to the war-torn country.

Daewoo K11. From Wikipedia.

Built in the style of the now defunct XM29 OICW, the Daewoo K11 features a 5.56mm assult rifle mated to a airburst grenade launcher and ballistics computer. Where is differs from the XM29 is that the grenades are 20mm, not 25mm, and the grenade launcher is bolt action, not semi-automatic.

Like the XM29, a ballistic computer programs each grenade before firing, instructing it how long after firing before detonation. This video of a prototype K11 demonstartes the functionality.

It will be very interesting to see how well this concept works in real combat. The US Army tests found that a 20mm grenade was not big enough to be effective in a airburst configuration. Unless I am mistaken, the shrapnel from an airburst grenade will go in all directions, and therefor at least 50% is going up instead of down towards the intended target.

Many thanks to Snafu Solomon for sending me the link.

Last year I reported that Izhmash would launch a new line of AK-style rifles this year. While this new line has not yet materialized, a prototype has been unveiled. It modernizes the AK-74M / AK-100 series by adding rails for optics and other accessories, as well as a few other minor improvements.

Head of Izhmash (I think) holding the new rifle. Note the nifty fore-grip / bipod.

President Dmitry Medvedev.

The following photos show one of the new prototype AK rifles.

Chambers 7.62x39mm. This means Izhmash also plan on updating their export rifles (the AK-100 series).

In the above photo you can see the new thumb safety. It simply prevents the trigger from being pulled back when it is engaged, very much resembling the SKS safety. One of the problems with the AK rifles is that it is slow to disengage the safety. This safety allows the operator to disengage the standard safety and put the rifle on semi or full auto mode, but reduces the chance of an accidental discharge.

The pistol grip has been updated and made more ergonomic.

The dust cover now features a rail for optics. To prevent a loss of zero when opened, the dust cover features a lever to lock it in place. The cover does detach from the gun but instead it hinges just in front of the rear sight.

The butt stock now stores the cleaning rod. It appears to have a slot cut in it for a sling, as well as the standard sling swivel. UPDATE: The slot exists so that a recoil pad can be attached. (Thanks Johnny for the correction).

The rear sight is now adjusted differently. The dust cover hinge can be clearly seen.

The forward rail sits above the gas tube.

I can't decide if that is a side rail or not.

Bottom rail and a side rail.

While many of these modification are not pretty, they all seem like good ideas. In Iraq and Afghanistan all the allied forces are issuing optics (expect, of course, the cash-poor indigenous troops). I am sure the Russian Army does not want to fall behind everyone else and Izhmash does not want to lose sales to because their current stable of rifles lacks a decent rail system for optics and accessories.

Many thanks to Max Popenker for his help and insight.

The British troops are also calling for a switch to something better than the 5.56x45mm NATO. The Telegraph reports ...

A survey of more than 50 servicemen who have fought in Iraq and Afghanistan concluded that the 5.56mm calibre rounds used by British soldiers 'tailed off' after 300 metres yet half of all Helmand firefights are fought between 300 and 900 metres.

...

The study, co-written by Nicholas Drummond, a strategy consultant and ex-Welsh Guards officer, described British soldiers' rifles as "not much more useful than a peashooter".

...

The Ministry of Defence told the newspaper the 5.56mm calibre rounds used by United States and other Nato allies are "proven to be both accurate and powerful."

Typical government response.

Many thanks to RootMan for the link.

The Washington Times reports that there have been cuts a defense spending bill ...

Senators diverted $2.6 billion in funds in a defense spending bill to pet projects largely at the expense of accounts that pay for fuel, ammunition and training for U.S. troops, including those fighting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to an analysis.

Lance, I think correctly, pointed out to me that this attitude of cutting defense spending to the max, probably guarantees that the M4 and M16 are not going anywhere anytime soon.

Many thanks to Daniel Watters for the link.

Defense Aerospace reports that many of the Walther P1 pistols, which Germany donated to the Afghan police force, have found their way onto the black market. Defense Aerospace reports:

German military pistols are being sold on the black market in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The weapons were sent in 2006 and were intended for local police and army personnel.

Arms dealers in the region told German public radio that hundreds of German weapons were for sale carrying a price tag of over 680 euros a piece ($1,000).

In 2006, the German Defense Ministry shipped 10,000 old Walther-P1 pistols to the Afghan Interior Ministry to equip Afghan police and army. However, both the German government and the responsible US-led security team in Afghanistan reportedly failed to properly monitor the guns' whereabouts.

The US unit said that it only had detailed records of 4,563 pistols out of a total 10,000.

Current and former Afghan soldiers and police officers are said to be among those illegally selling and trafficking the pistols, some of which have ended up in Pakistan's north-west border provinces and neighboring tribal areas.

...

The team of NDR radio reporters who discovered the black market guns said it's not clear exactly how they ended up there.

"Apparently, most of these pistols haven't been stolen, but were simply taken home and sold by former police officers and soldiers after they'd left the service," said Christoph Heinzle, who headed the NDR team. "But corruption and theft cannot be ruled out because neither the Afghan authorities nor the US and German armed forces carry out effective controls to prevent [theft]."

The United States has also come under criticism in the past for losing track of weapons donated to local forces. Short of retina scanning, which is being used to keep track of Iraqi M16 rifles, there is very little that can be done to prevent the end-users stealing the weapons they are issued.

Walther P38 (designated the P1 by the Bundeswehr)

Many thanks to Daniel for the link.

AK-47

I have a Kvar set with the standard length that I am getting ready to install. It appears to be good quality, but the standard/short stock is really short. It was designed for smaller people who may be wearing heavy coats and AK-47 (think Chicom style chest rigs).

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Make Marijuana Legal

Ethan Nadelmann at CBS News - the founder and executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance gives a bunch of good reasons for legalizing cannabis hemp. He says the reason it was made illegal can’t be found. I guess he hasn’t followed the money. He’s right of course, marijuana should be available in bulk in the health food store for a few dollars an ounce. Obviously.

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The Afghanistan Security Solution (Long-Term): AFPAK Border Security Fence Needed, Not More U.S. Troops
By Mike Sparks April 29, 2009 “Geographically speaking, Afghanistan is ungovernable. It’s a recipe for a failed state” – Defeatist statement from Peter Zeihan of STRATFOR The April 2009 Armed Forces Journal (AFJ) on page 18 reports we are going to spend more than last year’s $36.5 BILLION occupying Afghanistan with 34,000 U.S. troops in 2008, yet Taliban violence […]

Go Ahead and Jump

Thomas L. Knapp at The Center for a Stateless Society - Mr. Knapp implores the frogs to jump out of the pot, before it boils us alive. With a Prodhoun quote that I’ll post separately.