Weighing 150 pounds and resembling a cannon more than a firearm, a huge, brass-barreled, portable field piece has been recovered from the sea, where a pirate lost it, and added to a collection of ancient guns in Pasadena, Calif. The gun was one of those used by the pirate, Hippolyte de Bouchard, when he and 400 followers sacked Monterey in 1818. In returning to their ship, the men lost this gun when a small boat overturned. In later years it was recovered by fishermen who saw it on the ocean floor at low tide. Another firearm almost as remarkable is a gun with a very long barrel used by Spanish settlers in hunting. They believed that the longer the barrel, the further the ball would carry, and so used long-barreled guns to kill game at long range. The long gun has an over-all length of about ten feet.

That pirate gun is almost certainty a Punt Gun. While nifty, they are not uncommon.

What is more interesting, at least to me, is the very long Spanish "sniper" rifle. That barrel would probably have decreased velocity, not helped it, but the long length and weight would have it easier to hit a moving target, much like how shotgunners use longer barrels today.

[ Many thanks to Sven (Defense and Freedom) for emailing me the the info. ]

Dan Lamothe, who broke the news, updated his The Marine Times article and added that it now appears that the H&K IAR has not officially won but is the frontrunner ...

With several months of testing ahead, the decision isn’t considered final, but it makes the H&K model the clear front-runner in the competition.

...

The Corps will now put H&K IAR through five months of testing beginning in January and taking place in locations ranging from Panama to the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center and Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center in California, Eby said. The Corps has ordered 24 H&K IARs for testing, said Capt. Geraldine Care

Rob Curtis who blogs at GearScout (also part of the Military Times) wrote that the DoD appear to done a downselect, rather than awarding H&K an outright win ...

From what we understand, this is actually a downselect to just one system as opposed to a contract win

Dan send me an email regarding my previous comments on the supposed weight of the H&K IAR, which is almost identical to the standard HK416 carbine. He sent me the spec document which H&K provided him with. It does indeed list the weight as just 7.9 lbs!

Daniel E. Watters wrote that he suspects that the Marine command may have been framing the IAR as a partial M249 replacement but in reality they may have just wanted a piston operated full-auto carbine. By procuring what is sold as a new class of weapon they could sidestep the inter-service politics and bureaucracy ...

The weird thing is that the HK416 IAR is roughly the same weight as the M16A4, if not lighter when the latter is fitted with the M5 ARS. I'm certain that someone in Congress will ultimately ask what the HK416 can do that their issue M16A4 retrofitted with full-auto trigger groups can't.

Like others have mentioned, I can't help but wonder if the USMC didn't game the IAR requirements so that a basic carbine could win instead of a HBAR. The idea would be to gradually increase the number of IAR issued so that they could later justify standardizing on it to replace not just the infantry squad's M249, but their M16A4 and M4 as well. By framing it as a service-specific supplement to their M249, they skirted the need to argue with the other service branches over a set of joint requirements.

As for winning the contract, everyone needs to remember that Colt, FN, and HK were already awarded Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity contracts for their IAR last year. An IDIQ contract guarantees the awardee that they will have a specific minimum of items ordered, with the possibility of additional orders up to a specific maximum. There is no guarantee that more than the stated minimum will ever be ordered. I've long suspected that contracting officers have been purposefully making multiple awards of IDIQ contracts prior to a final downselect in order to head off potential award protests by the disgruntled losers. It is my understanding that by accepting their IDIQ award, the contractor only has grounds to protest if the guaranteed minimum has not ordered before the end of the contract. They cannot protest that they did not receive additional orders in excess of the guaranteed minimum.

Make of all this information as you will. All I know is that DoD procurement was never designed to be understood by a mere mortal such as myself!

I purchased to application to try it out. It is quite straightforward. It gives each state a rating on how friendly they are towards concealed carry, lists where CCW is prohibited in each state and any other pertinent information relating to the state laws on CCW.

My only major criticism is that the Firearm Laws section only lists CCW law, not all state gun laws. It does not, for example, tell me what types of rifles are prohibited in California. Either the Firearm Law tab should be renamed "CCW Law" or they should add general firearm info. Preferably the latter.

I do not regret buying it and I have found it an interesting read.

[ iTunes App Store Link. ]

Hat Tip: Dustin's Gun Blog

Ruger SR-22

Jeff Quinn holds a tricked out SR-22

You are probably thinking that the action in the above rifle does not look much like a Ruger 10/22. This is because a standard Ruger 10/22 action and trigger group sits inside a Nordic Components designed conversion chassis / enclosure.

Nordic Components Stock Kit - very similar to the SR-22 rifle.

The chassis allows a standard AR-15 stock and pistol grip to be used on the rifle. It also allows a standard Ruger 10/22 barrel, which attaches to a v-Block, to be used with a the AR-15 style handguard. This breakdown photo illustrates how it all fits together:

The mid length handguard is drilled and tapped to allow picatinny rails to be installed on the 3,6,9 and 12 o' clock positions, if desired. These rails allow all standard AR-15 accessories to be used with the rifle.

Ruger 3" SR-22 TR 3 Picatinny Rail ($14.95)

SR-22 Full Length Picatinny Rail ($39.95)

Another benefit of the SR-22 over a standard 10/22 is that the barrel is factory threaded and a Ruger SR-556 / Mini-14 flash suppressor is installed.

The Ruger press release:

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE-RGR) announces the introduction of the Ruger® SR-22™ Rifle, an autoloading, rimfire rifle that combines the legendary reliability of the Ruger® 10/22® with the ergonomics and configurability of the new AR-style Ruger SR-556™. The new SR-22 Rifle allows shooters to use economical .22 LR ammunition, while still enjoying the look and feel of an "AR" and experiencing the reliability they have come to appreciate from Ruger.

Because it utilizes the unique rotary magazine supplied with the Ruger 10/22, the SR-22 Rifle offers the same gold standard for reliability in autoloading rimfire rifles. Like the 10/22, the AR-style SR-22 Rifle also has an extensive array of accessories available, allowing shooters to select a custom configuration that best suits their tastes and needs.

The SR-22 Rifle uses a standard 10/22 action inside a top-quality, all-aluminum chassis that faithfully replicates the AR-platform dimensions between the sighting plane, buttstock height, and grip. The SR-22 Rifle provides a Picatinny rail optic mount, and includes a six-position, telescoping M4-style buttstock (on a Mil-Spec diameter tube), plus a Hogue® Monogrip® pistol grip. Buttstocks and grips may be swapped out for any AR-style compatible option.

The SR-22 Rifle also features a round, mid-length handguard mounted on a standard-thread AR-style barrel nut. Picatinny rails, specifically designed for this handguard, are available from Ruger, allowing the handguard to be configured to accept any number of rail-mounted sights or accessories. A barrel support block is installed in the handguard, ensuring accuracy and allowing the standard 10/22 V-block barrel attachment system to be used.

The SR-22 Rifle is equipped with a precision-rifled, cold hammer-forged alloy steel barrel. The 16-1/8" barrel is capped with an SR-556/Mini-14 flash suppressor mounted with a 1/2"-28 thread.

More photos:

Ruger advertisement for SR-22:

Michael Bane has also created a video review over at the Down Range TV Blog. Michael hinted at the rifle earlier this week, but I must admit I did not imagine a tactical Ruger 10/22 was what Ruger had in store for us!

Pennsylvania: City of Philadelphia Attempts to Force NRA Affiliated Range Out of Business
For 77 years, the Holmesburg Fish and Game Protective Association has served sportsmen and gun enthusiasts. However, several months ago the City of Philadelphia sent notice to the Holmesburg Fish and Game Association that its long existing property lease would not be renewed, effective January 1, 2008. Tonight, City Councilman Frank Rizzo will be in attendance at the Association’s General Meeting to discuss the possible closure of the range facility and/or possible solutions for a contract renewal. Please plan on attending this important meeting.

California: Microstamping Bill Heads Back to Assembly for Final Vote!
On Thursday, September 6, the California Senate passed Assembly Bill 1471 by a 21-17 margin. This legislation requires require that after a certain date, the make, model, and serial number of the firearm be microstamped onto the interior surface or internal working parts of all handguns in such a manner that those identifiers are imprinted onto the cartridge case upon firing. Under AB1471, the manufacture, sale, and transfer of handguns that do not include their identifying information would be a crime. Please contact your Assemblymember today and respectfully ask him or her to oppose AB1471 when it comes before them for a final vote. Contact information for your Assemblymember can be found by visiting http://www.assembly.ca.gov/acs/acsframeset7text.htm.

Emergency Powers Bill Passes California Senate, Heads to Governor!
On Wednesday, September 5, the California Senate passed Assembly Bill 1645 by a vote of 21-16. The bill now heads to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) for his consideration. AB1645, sponsored by Assemblyman Doug La Malfa (R-2), will protect law-abiding gun owners during a declared state of emergency from the seizure or confiscation of any lawfully carried or possessed firearm or ammunition.

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Proposed Omaha, Nebraska City Council Ordinance Calls For Destruction of Firearms
Your attendance is needed at the Tuesday, August 28, Omaha City Council meeting to help stop the destruction of firearms. The meeting will be held at 2:00 P.M. on Tuesday, August 28 at 1819 Farnam Street, Suite LC-1, Omaha, 68183. If you are unable to attend, please call the members of the City Council and respectfully urge them to support Councilman Sigerson’s amendment to protect firearms stolen from law-abiding citizens from being destroyed. The general phone number for the City Council is (402) 444-5557. For further contact information for the City Council please click here.

Bill Seeks to Make Animal Abuse Equal to Domestic Abuse in Wisconsin
Introduced by State Senators Fred Risser (D-26), Tim Carpenter (D-3), and Julie Lassa (D-24), Senate Bill 162 seeks to make “harm or threat of harm” to an animal a form of domestic abuse, potentially meaning the loss of one’s Second Amendment rights. SB 162 is outlandish because it not only equates animals to humans, but it does not include a definition of what “harm or threat of harm” is. Animal “rights” extremists could consider the training of hunting dogs or everyday treatment of dairy cattle to be “abuse.” Please contact the members of the Senate Committee of Judiciary and Corrections and respectfully urge them to vote against SB 162 when the time comes.

Nebraska: Omaha City Council Passes Ordinance Protecting Our Second Amendment Rights!
On Tuesday, August 28, the Omaha City Council unanimously passed an ordinance introduced by Councilman Chuck Sigerson, Jr. allowing a legally-owned firearm that has been stolen and used in a crime to be returned to the rightful owner, as long as it was reported stolen to police. Please contact City Councilman Sigerson and thank him for protecting our Second Amendment rights.

Maryland Celebrates National Hunting & Fishing Day!
On Saturday, September 22 from 10 am to 5 pm, the Maryland Department of Natural Resource Wildlife and Heritage Service will observe National Hunting & Fishing Day at Schrader’s Bridgetown Manor in Henderson, MD. This free of charge event is a great way to introduce youth and new comers to our outdoor heritage. For more information please contact Patricia Allen at pallen@dnr.state.md.us or call 410-221-8838 ext.107 or on the web at www.dnr.state.md.us/wildlife/NHFD/index.asp.