Rifles

If you head southeast toward Arlington from the heart of Fort Worth, Texas, you will soon come to a small industrial park just off of Highway 287. Nestled in with several other businesses including a manufacturing company and machine shop, a laser etching/engraving operation, and a metal and Cerakote finishing service, you will find a premium firearms manufacturer: Lone Star Armory. Founded in 2006, LSA’s Texas-proud DNA is comprised of critical lessons learned from warfighting and law enforcement, a heritage of competition shooting and auto racing, and an obsessive passion for the pursuit of absolute excellence in every aspect of the mission, right down to the minutiae of every individual component or process.

Our friends at B&T USA have just announced the release of the SPR86 – an integrally suppressed bolt action rifle chambered in 8.6 Blackout. The SPR86 is the older/bigger sibling to the B&T USA SPR300 Pro chambered in 300BLK (one of my remaining grail guns). Upsizing the 300BLK platform, the 8.6BLK SPR86 launches heavier bullets farther with the same level of extreme accuracy. Pricing, details, and additional information can be found in the press release below.

Welcome everyone to the 239th edition of ‘Hot Gat or Fudd Crap?’, one of our many series here on TFB. If you’re new to the series, this is where we look at the most obscure firearms that are actually for sale and ask the question – is this Gat a sweet deal or only have Fudd appeal?  Each week the TFB staff weighs in with their thoughts, but readers get the final say in the poll at the bottom of each article.

Rosco Manufacturing has collaborated with Barrel & Hatchet to introduce Rosco’s newest K9 16’’ Barrel for all of the Do-It-Yourself AR-15 builders. This new offering utilizes an intermediate length gas system, is chambered in the common and popular 5.56mm NATO, and punches in at a reasonable $225 MSRP.

Building on the legacy of the renowned SAKO TRG 22 and TRG 42 sniper rifles, the Sako TRG 62 A1 is poised to set a new standard for Extreme Long Range Shooting in the weapons industry. Sako’s latest addition to the TRG family comes with enhanced impact, effectiveness, and precision, thanks to its powerful 9.5×77 caliber ( .375 CheyTac).

Join James Reeves as he pushes the iconic Bren 2 to its limits in the ultimate torture test! Last summer, we were granted exclusive access to CZ’s factory, where we got our hands on one of the military variants of the Bren 2 set for retirement. But instead of a farewell, we subjected it to trials that would shake even the toughest firearms. We pushed the Bren 2 beyond its limits with sand, mud, water submersion, and impact testing. But we weren’t done yet. We loaded up this 5.56mm gun with .300 Blackout. How did it fare? Watch the video to find out.

In the first part of the interview, I spoke with Jim Fuller about his experience with Chinese AKs. In this chapter, he will talk about the early 2000s, when US companies just started to build the first American-made AKs.

Colt Canada have unveiled their C8A4 at the CANSEC 2024 trade fair in Ottawa. The new rifle is seeking to fulfill the Canadian Army’s ‘Canadian Modular Assault Rifle’ requirement which has been shaping up over the last couple of years. The ‘Canadian Modular Assault Rifle’ project is the latest element of the Canadian armed forces’ small arms modernization program which has seen the adoption of the SIG Sauer P320 as the C22 to replace the long-service Browning Hi-Power and the adoption of the C20 designated marksman rifle.

Last year, I published a series of articles about the history of Chinese AK rifles, Part 1 was about the construction of the factories and the Russian assistance, Part 2 was about the proliferation of Type56, Part 3 was dedicated to post-Cold War changes in Chinese firearms manufacturing and in Part 4 I wrote абоут modern variants of Chinese AKs. However, I ignored one important part of China AK history – importation to the USA. And who knows it better than Jim Fuller, one of the most well-known veterans of the industry who contributed to the popularity of the AK platform in the US.

Welcome everyone to the 238th edition of ‘Hot Gat or Fudd Crap?’, one of our many series here on TFB. If you’re new to the series, this is where we look at the most obscure firearms that are actually for sale and ask the question – is this Gat a sweet deal or only have Fudd appeal?  Each week the TFB staff weighs in with their thoughts, but readers get the final say in the poll at the bottom of each article.

The world continues to seemingly become infatuated with the modern lever action rifle. Some may call them tactical lever actions. Perhaps the actual difference is the number of holes and M-LOK slots one has over the other. Regardless as Rossi continues to expand its lineup of excellent products they have answered the call for a modern lever action 30-30 with the R95 Triple Black 30-30. Does its performance live up to the modern upgrades it touts? Let’s dive into the Rossi R95 Triple Black review!

Michigan-based Next Level Armament have announced the introduction of their 6ARC Phoenix Rifle. The new rifle has Helix 6 Precision Carbon Fiber barrels and is available in 16”, 18”, and 20” barrel lengths, all with a 1-7 twist rate.  The 6ARC chambering joins their range which also includes .308, .450 Bushmaster, 5.56×45, 450 Legend, and 9mm. MSRP on the new rifle starts at $3,039.

In  Part 1 of this article, I talked about the first prototypes of Yugoslav AKs, in  Part 2 we dived into the history of M70 rifles with milled receivers, Part 3 was dedicated to the most common Zastava M70, Part 4 went over rifles that Zastava developed during the collapse of Yugoslavia. In this final chapter, I will talk about modern Serbian AKs that I’ve seen over the years.

Dark Mountain Arms is a new firearms manufacturing company (founded in 2023) located in Asheville, North Carolina. The company’s first products are a takedown rifle and pistol called STOWAWAY that have a rather unusual action and chambering combination – these are single-shot bolt action firearms chambered in 5.7×28. Let’s take a quick look at the specs and features of Dark Mountain Arms STOWAWAY rifle and pistol.

Weatherby have released another iteration of their newest Model 307 bolt action rifle called Alpine CT. The new Weatherby Model 307 Alpine CT is built with extensive use of carbon fiber components. Particularly, the rifle features a Peak 44 Bastion carbon fiber stock and a carbon fiber sleeved barrel from BSF Barrels. Let’s take a closer look.

Please join me in appreciating today’s Photo Of The Day. I’m sure you’ll appreciate the photo more than these German snipers appreciated the situation, with a broken back and wet, ice-cold feet.

In  Part 1 of this article, I talked about the first prototypes of Yugoslav AKs, in  Part 2 we dived into the history of M70 rifles with milled receivers, Part 3 was dedicated to the most common Zastava M70s and this chapter will go over Zastava AKs developed during the collapse of Yugoslavia.

NEMO Arms has released a new line of AR-15 pattern rifles called the  FX Series. The NEMO Arms FX family of rifles currently consists of two members which are mostly identical except for the chambers: 5.56×45 NATO vs .223 Wylde. With an MSRP of $1,495, these are the most affordable .223/5.56 offerings in the NEMO Arms catalog (rifles with comparable specs from their Battle-Light line start at $2,450).

Photo Of The Day – To the horizon and beyond. Just the other day, I had the pleasure of unboxing a new rifle. The wait has been a long one, and the journey to pick it up as well, and my excitement was hard to hide. However, it must be close to nothing compared to what these soldiers are experiencing as they’re unpacking the Next Generation Squad Weapons (NGSW) system, in all its glory including optics and suppressors. 

Announced at SHOT Show 2024, Primary Weapons Systems’s User Xchange Rifle or UXR is now shipping to dealers. The rifle will be available in .308, .300BLK and .223 Wylde chamberings. PWS explain that the UXR’s key feature is “The upper receiver of the UXR is the only serialized part of the setup, enabling the shooter to easily transition from configuration to configuration, caliber to caliber.”  MSRP for the new rifles will be $2,650.

Welcome everyone to the  TFB Armorer’s Bench! As mentioned in the little blurb below, this series will focus on a lot of home armorer and gunsmith activities. In this article, I figured with Memorial Day around the corner it may be a good opportunity to talk about M1 Garand maintenance or even a touch of general firearm maintenance and conservation. The last time we did something like this was with a Glock and a Glock Armorer’s Book. Perhaps you have Pappy’s M1 and want to clean it according to the military manuals or you just want to be on top of preservation. Let’s dive right in!

In Part 1 of this article, I talked about the first prototypes of Yugo AKs, in Part 2 we dived into the history of M70 rifles with milled receivers. In this article, we’ll take a look at the stamped receiver M70B1 rifles.

Photo Of The Day – we’re looking at Norwegian soldiers belonging to the eFP Battlegroup Lithuania, as they’re using their Heckler & Koch 416N. Norway was among the first countries to start using the HK416, already in 2008.

In the world of rifle accessories, the amount of products available today is nearly endless. With multiple versions of every product out there, it’s important to know what you want and what some quality options are in each category. Regarding Back Up Iron Sights (BUIS) there are typically a few variations of folding or fixed sights. Some will say offset should be in a variant but typically those fold as well. For people just getting into shooting, they oftentimes don’t know what to look for or what they want when it comes to iron sights. Let’s take a closer look at the breakdown on back up iron sights.

There’s a good vibe to our Photo Of The Day today, with the featured image just above. These images are from when Soldiers and Airmen competed in the annual TAG match, in Florence, AZ on March 2024. You see the M110A1 Squad Designated Marksman Rifle at work, with a close-up just below.

For today’s Photo Of The Day, we have pictures of a very cool project by a company called Cotton Branch Custom Firearms. It’s a Lee-Enfield rifle converted to a De Lisle carbine configuration except instead of .45 ACP it is chambered in 375 Raptor. The latter is a .375-caliber short-action cartridge based on the .308 Winchester case.

Hello and welcome back to another edition of The Rimfire Report! This ongoing series is all about the rimfire firearm world and its many different types of firearms, ammunition, and bits of history. Last week we talked about the fondly remembered Winchester 250 lever action 22LR rifle. A lot of you seemed to indeed have fond memories of the rifle and a few of you even commented that you still owned and shot yours which is something we always love to see (safe queens are boring). I was going over some recent show footage from SHOT 2024 and I came across the Rock River Arms 17HMR Gas Operated Blowback 17HMR Rifle. If you can’t watch the video, the rifle basically uses a hybrid of a bearing-locked breech, with a direct impingement system in order to give the 17HMR cartridge to properly build pressure before cycling. A lot of commenters on that video asked the question “Why can’t you do a gas-operated 22LR gun?” Today we’re going to try and at least partially answer this question. I’m not a firearms engineer, but I’ve learned a few things over the years about this tiny little cartridge that I think you’ll agree make it a poor choice to build a true gas-operated firearm around, which is why you don’t see them often.

In this episode of TFBTV Show Time, Hop visits the Smith & Wesson booth at NRAAM 2024 to check out the new short barreled .300 Blackout version of the S&W/Gemtech GVAC upper. The GVAC system is a bore evacuator that significantly reduces gas blowback to the shooter’s face, which works well in conjunction with Gemtech’s new reduced back pressure suppressor series.

After a long hiatus, Barrett has reintroduced the REC7 DI! In this episode of TFBTV Show Time, Hop stops by the Barrett booth to check out the new version of the REC7 and how Barrett has updated it. Can the REC7 hang with the new crop of ARs? Time will tell.

For day 2 of the NRA 2024 Annual Meetings and Expo, Luke C is back on the showroom floor with Mountain Billy Gun Labs (formerly Wee 1 Tactical) to talk about their ultra tiny and ultra-light 80% scale AR-15 the GOAT-15. Intended for plinkers and smaller individuals, the GOAT-15 features the same familiar controls of the AR-15, with enhanced safety features that make it great for younger shooters.