The 9x39mm cartridge was introduced in the final days of the Soviet Union as a subsonic round intended specifically for suppressed weapons. The first weapons developed for it were the AS Val and VSS Vintorez. These were followed in the early 1990s by the OTs-14 "Groza", developed by Valery Tells ...

Today we are taking a look at the backstory of the famously recognizable Krummlauf device, the curved barrel attachment for the StG-44. It is really a perfect example of how German late-war desperation weapons took shape. It went from an idea nobody actually wanted to an impossible development pr...

We previously looked at the mechanics of FN's semiauto version of the US SAW, the M249S. Today we are taking it out to the range for some shooting...

In 2015, FN USA introduced a Military Collector product line - semiautomatic versions of their military contract small arms. These were the M4, M16, and - most interestingly - the M249 SAW. The SAW is a version of FN's Minimi light machine gun, developed in 1974 and adopted by the US in 1982. Th...

The CTS9 (Competition Tactical Shooting) is a 9x19mm AK variant made by Nova Modul in Romania. Specifically, in Cugir Romania - the same town that houses the massive small arms factory complex that made millions of small arms during the communist era. Nova Modul, despite being in the same city, i...

At the IWA trade show earlier this year, a representative from the Polish KGM Consortium gave me a sample of a new AK optics rail to try out. This idea here was to create a universal optics mount for basically any AK/AKM/AK74 rifle that would be light, not require permanent modification, and not ...

Was the 1911 an emotional support totem or a viable combat weapon? Or both? American soldiers had a bit different take on handguns than soldiers of many other armies, and I think it stems from the American identity with the frontier - the Wild West was well within memory for many people when Worl...

"Carbine Williams", aka David Marshall Williams, has a reputation as the designer of the M1 Carbine, and a very colorful history. He was a moonshiner who pled guilty to second degree murder of a sheriff's deputy and served time in prison. He gained a reputation as a gunsmith in prison, fixing the...

CZ's Bren 2 is one of the more successful recently developed military service rifles, having been adopted by the Czech Republic and Hungary, as well as entering licensed production in Ukraine. The semiauto Bren 2 MS is a fine rifle on its own merits, but also offers an opportunity to build a near...

(Sorry for the messed-up framing at the beginning of the video!)

While I was in Iceland, I had an opportunity to visit the National Museum of Iceland and take a look at a couple of settlement-era swords found on the island. Since these are really outside my area of expertise, two experts generou...

I recently had a chance to visit Sport Systeme Dittrich, a firm in Germany that manufactures high quality reproductions of German World War Two small arms. They were the manufacturers of the PTR-44 Sturmgewehr copies about 10 years ago, and they are now working with a US partner (DK Production Gr...

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 for the Trapdoor) makes them seem like a ...

Following its experience in the Russo-Turkish War, the Romanian Army was quite impressed by the Martini-Henry rifle in Turkish service. Unlike so many Western observers who were taken by the Winchester repeating rifles that actually didn't make much battlefield impact, the Romanians recognized th...

East Germany purchased a license for production of the AK-74 in 1981, but that license was for domestic use only. There was an apparent market for export production AKs in the western 5.56mm cartridge, and so the East Germans developed their own new rifle to fill that demand and bring in some muc...

With the fall of communism in Romania, the Cugir Arsenal complex lost its government financial support. Looking for commercial products to sell to keeps its workers employed, the factory turned to producing hunting rifles for the domestic Romanian market. This was possible because the factory had...

The Landstad Model 1900 is a magazine-fed, semiautomatic revolver designed by Norwegian Halvard Folkestad Landstad, who lived in Kristiana (now called Oslo). He designed the gun on his own dime, and presented it to military trials in 1901, which it failed miserably. The gun has a six-round detach...

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 a...

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 ...

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 ...

In 2008, Ukrainian manufacturing conglomerate RPC Fort received a license from IMI to produce a variety of Israeli small arms, including the Tavor TAR and Tavor X95. In Fort's catalog, these were designated the Fort-221 (TAR) and Fort-224 (X95). A small number were allegedly produced for special ...

Today we are checking out a bespoke gunsmith's project; a DeLisle-inspired .45ACP Mauser built by Lars Rannstad Slang of Oslo. Using a commercial small-ring Mauser action, he fabricated a new bolt head, trigger guard, follower, and large aluminum mono-core suppressor to built a rifle that functio...

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...

LMT's new line of suppressors is designed for multi-purpose use in mind. The .30 caliber Ion 30 and Ion LT are rated for anything from .17 HMR to .300 Winchester Magnum, including automatic use. Both .30 and .22 caliber endocarps are available, and the mounting system is the standard Hub type. Th...

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)...