Month: October 2009

Categories
Rifles

Heym SR21: Marine Corps Is Looking for a Few Good Rifles

heym_sr21_01aThe Marine Corps announced in August they are looking for a sniper rifle chambered in .300 Win Mag. One of the rifles the Corps may be looking at is the Heym USA’s SR21 sniper rifle.

Heym is known for high end double guns, both rifles and shotguns.  Peruse the Heym website and you will see many photos of dangerous game taken by their customers in Africa.  Interested in buying one of their guns?  MSRP is “contact us.”  I’m thinking that might be a touch out of my price range.  In fact, I would get in trouble with my wife if she knew I was even looking at their guns.

Heym’s standard SR21 can be seen on the Heym site.  The Marine Corps has the sniper version for T&E.  I’ve seen the standard SR21 in .300 Win Mag sell around $4000.

So why does the Marine Corps want a .300 Win Mag rifle?  The Corps wants to engage targets beyond 800 yards.  The problem?  Many of their snipers do not have the skills to reliably hit targets at 800 yards.

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Categories
news

Gun Dudes: A Podcast for the Masses

Howard Leight Impact Sport ear pro review
Iron Maiden or the Gun Dudes...you decide.

Do you have a group of guys that you sit around with, and talk guns, crack jokes, and quote action movies?  If so, you’ll feel right at home with the Gun Dudes podcast.

A lighthearted, actually fun approach to discussing firearms, the Gun Dudes are a group of guys that cover topics from concealed carry to IDPA shooting with a liberal helping of humor thrown in to keep the conversation interesting.

Howard Leight Impact Sport ear pro review
Iron Maiden or the Gun Dudes…you decide.

While each show will have some specific topics (also known as toe-picks), the Dudes also start each program with a bit of news that highlights citizens using firearms to defend themselves and their families.  A regular segment, the Misfire Award, discusses a criminal act that stands out from the crowd due to its over-achieving level of stupidity.

The Gun Dudes podcast is a member of the Gun Rights Radio Network (GRRN), which includes a wide range of gun and shooting related podcasts.

The Gun Dudes are Carl, (Tactical) Tom, and Stan with frequent guests dropping in to add to the conversation.  Though we have never met, listening to these guys is like sitting around with my own friends.  It is a great program, and I highly recommend it.

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Categories
Military Rifles

US Palm AK30 Magazine

US Palm is introducing the AK30 magazine, a polymer AK-47 magazine completely manufactured in the USA.  These magazines are supposed to be the toughest polymer magazines ever made for the AK-47 series of rifles.  Whether that is true is not for me to decide, but I am hearing very good things about these ammo feeders.

The 30-round AK-47 magazine uses the polymers developed by Tango Down.  The AK30 magazine also borrows heavily from the design features of the Tango Down AR-15 magazine, including the non-removable floor plate for increased strength, the anti-tilt follower, chromium-silicon spring, and the large waffle-pattern texture on the magazine for a sure grip.

US Palm states the life expectancy on the AK30 magazine is in excess of 100,000 cycles.  This is a lot of shooting, but I expect that I don’t have to tell you that.  How much Wolf can one man handle anyway?

The magazine is a single piece design and does not come apart for cleaning or replacement of parts.  Even though the magazine cannot be disassembled, it is still easy to clean due to the vented follower.  US Palm recommends immersing the magazine in soapy water to clean, then rinse and turn it upside down to drain.

MSRP is $29.95.  These magazines tend to sell at, or very close to, the suggested retail price.  This puts them as being one of the most expensive AK-47 magazines on the market.  Many people are buying metal mags for about half the cost of this one.  A TAPCO magazine goes for about 1/3 the price of the US Palm AK30 magazine.  Granted, this mag offers some features and details not available on some of the other polymer, US made magazines on the market today.

US Palm AK30 Specifications

  • Caliber: 7.62x39mm
  • Capacity: 30 rounds
  • Material: Proprietary Polymer
  • Weight: 7.0 ounces
  • Overall Length: 9″
  • Overall Width: 1 3/16″

palm_ak30_02

palm_ak30_01

Categories
Military Shooting Gear

Foreign Weapons Field Tool Kit

brownells_foreign_toolsBrownells introduced the Foreign Weapons Field Kit, a tool kit designed to service Soviet-bloc firearms in the field.  This tool kit may be of great interest to Special Forces and other allied troops who work closely with the indigenous peoples of Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as the thousands of military surplus firearms collectors here in the United States.

The kit contains tools for servicing a variety of Soviet-type foreign weapons, including the AK-47/AKM assault rifle, PK/PKM/PKMS 7.62mm machine gun, Dragunov SVD sniper rifle, DShK/DShKM 12.7mm machine gun, and RPG-7 grenade launcher.

The foreign weapons field kit lets you field-strip these weapons quickly for cleaning, maintenance, adjustment, and repair without the confusion and down time spent scrounging for the proper tools.

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