The MP9 – That Time Ruger Sold a Submachine Gun If I say Ruger, what do you think? Ruger is a fairly diverse company. Some might picture their robust revolvers in a variety of calibers. Others may picture their affordable handgun lineups. Still, others might think of the slick and absolutely wonderful No. 1 rifle…
Category: Know Your Weapons
Know Your Partisan Firearms
Came across this picture on WRSA and being a firearms history nerd, my curiosity was peaked, so I did an image search: ‘A Warsaw insurgent armed with a ZB vz. 26 light machine gun during the Warsaw Uprising.’ More on the Czech ZB vz.26: Caliber: 7.92×57 mm Mauser Weight: 8.9 kg Length: 1168 mm Length…
Guerilla Gunsmith: Guerilla Arms Factory in Colombia
Illicit SMG Factory Raided in Colombia Via: Radios Regionales “Parliamentarians from the Los Ríos region described the clandestine weapons factory found in the commune of Panguipulli as serious. The senator of Renovación Nacional, María José Gatica, assured that this discovery represents the capacity of criminal organizations to establish complex and technically advanced operations…
AK Corner: Is the PKM the Best Light Machine Gun Ever?
PKM: Is This the Best Light Machine Gun Ever? Key point: PKMs still arm many western-aligned nations as well. Mikhail Kalashnikov is known for creating the AK rifle, but his contributions to Soviet firearms design didn’t end there. In 1961 he designed the PK machine gun, which was modernized into the PKM in 1969….
Know Your WW2 History: The M8 Greyhound
The M8 Greyhound Armored cars tend to be overlooked by World War II history buffs. Nimble fighter planes, deadly bombers, hulking tanks and stealthy submarines are “sexier” than a car that can’t fight like a tank, can’t race a plane, and can’t use terrain to its advantage like infantry. Nevertheless, armored cars were a vital part…
Know Your Ammo: The Rise and Fall of the .45 GAP
The Rise and Fall of the .45 GAP Let’s go back to the year 2003. The .40 S&W cartridge introduced in 1990 skyrocketed to first place in popularity among American police service pistols. The almost decade-old .357 SIG cartridge also seemed to be ascendant. It was clear that law enforcement wanted something more powerful…
Know Your Weapon Terminology: Piston Driven vs Direct Impingement
Direct Impingement vs Piston Driven Systems There are a number of semi-auto platforms out there with a large number of them using either the Direct Impingement system or the Piston-Driven system. The one that really seems to garner the most controversy is the AR-15 system. The Direct Impingement system was the original design. The AR-15‘s gas system uses…
Know Your WW2 Weapons: Japanese Model 89 Knee Mortar
Japanese Model 89 Knee Mortar For more than a century, American troops have given a wide variety of nicknames to their own weapons, and also those of their enemies. During World War II, American troops in the Pacific Theatre created a nickname for a highly effective Japanese weapon that was a bit misleading. The…
The Ammo Files: The .450 Bushmaster
Gunmagopedia: 450 Bushmaster In the world of straight-walled cartridges, some are better known than others. Perhaps one of the most popular straight-walled options in the rifle world is the 450 Bushmaster, a cartridge that’s known for packing quite a punch whether on steel or while hunting. This cartridge has been around for some time…
Know Your Firearms History: The ‘Tiffany Guns’ of the Spanish-American War
The ‘Tiffany Guns’ of the Spanish-American War President Joe Biden has repeatedly suggested when it was first drafted there were restrictions to the Second Amendment. He pressed the point by stating that “you couldn’t own a cannon,” while more recently he’s made the argument that the Second Amendment isn’t absolute in that Americans today…