#FNH

If you recall, Imperial Arms Co. makes their own SCAR compatible receivers. I reviewed their CypherX receiver and lowers. Well they have partnered up with Dorin Tech and will be coming out with a CypherX PDW.

In this episode of TFB Showtime, Hop checks out the new FN-15 rifles. The TAC3 has a 16″ barrel with a mid-length gas system, and the DMR3 has an 18″ barrel with a rifle-length gas system. They both have new FN furniture, cold hammer forged barrels, and wedge lock free float handguards.

The Browning Automatic Rifle is well known for its use in WWII. It was chambered in .30-06 and is full auto. Well did you know Fabrique Nationale made a revised version called the FN-D or FN Model D. Two years ago Scott Howard aka Machinegun Dad, let me use his FN Model D. It looks like a BAR but it was caliber converted to shoot 7.62×51 NATO.

The G36’s replacement is now known to be one of five guns – or at least that’s the report coming from reputable defense outlet IHS Jane’s. Competing in Germany’s System Sturmgewehr Bundeswehr (Bundeswehr Assault Rifle System) will be the Rheinmetall RS556, Heckler & Koch HK433, Haenel Defence MK556, SIG MCX, and FNH SCAR. For four contestants, no known 7.62mm variants exist; only the FN SCAR has a 7.62mm variant – the SCAR-H – that is known publicly. This means the Bundeswehr will likely not be going back to .30 caliber infantry rifles any time soon.

When it comes to 3-Gun competitions and competitive shotgun shooting most all competitors are accurate. What can make or break someone’s score is their ability and speed in reloading. A company called Stageberner has come out with a product to speed up everyone’s reload times 2 shells at a time.

The US Army’s Program Manager for Individual Weapons has issued a new Request for Information (RFI) to the industry for a new 7.62x51mm Interim Combat Service Rifle, which seeks to bring out the best battle rifles the market has to offer. The RFI, posted at FBO,gov, reads:

A number of AR15s that have been turning up in Iraq appear to be counterfeit products but are in the markets and treated as legitimate production versions of the rifle companies the producers are seeking to counterfeit. Some of them are very small differences, only being distinguished by the wrong roll mark or incorrect engraving. Others are blatantly obvious through the combination of several companies on a single lower. As an example, the largest indication that we are seeing is an AR15 with a 14.5 inch barrel, Burst selector, and with both Colt markings above the serial number and FN Herstal markings above the selector switch. Although both companies have been making M4s and M4A1s for the U.S. Military, neither of these companies have ever actually combined forces and produced a joint rifle. We’ll post the glaring examples we have seen so far down below. There are far more examples that are borderline counterfeit, but I don’t want to post them because I just don’t have the in-depth Colt roll mark knowledge to be able to discern whether or not it is genuine.

Since FN was already sending us a 3-Gun focused rifle, it seemed only natural they would send along their SLP Competition 12-Gauge shotgun. I would have liked to run the two guns together in a 3-Gun match, but weather and my schedule prohibited it. That said, we did manage a thorough test of the SLP Competition.

When you are looking for turnkey 3-Gun ready rifles, there are a ton of choices on the market. FN has put together a rather impressive rifle with the FN 15 Competition to give competitors an edge without needing to change a whole ton of parts.

France, one the world’s first adopters of the bullpup rifle, will officially be abandoning the stockless rifle concept for good, it seems. The competition to replace the venerable FAMAS bullpup rifle has moved forward, and the only competing bullpup design, HS Produkt’s VHS-2, has been eliminated, along with Swiss Arms’ SG 550 and Beretta’s ARX-160. The downselect means that the next French standard rifle, replacing the four-decade old “Bugle”, will be either the Fabrique Nationale SCAR or the Heckler & Koch HK416, two heavyweight competitors on today’s rifle market. Sputnik News reports:

57Center makes the AR57. It is an upper receiver for your AR lower to shoot 5.7x28mm ammo. The only other guns that shoot this ammo is the FNH P90 and their handgun the Five Seven pistol. I got this pistol/SBR upper with a 6″ barrel. 57Center offers their uppers with a 16″ and 12″ barrels. The upper receiver itself stays the same regardless of barrel length.

Washington County Tactical Range is located in Southwest Pennsylvania. They are just over 40 miles south west of Pittsburgh, near the West Virginia/Pennsylvania border.  I discovered them through a Facebook group: TGTC – The Shooter’s Group. TGTC (The Green Tips Connection) had a get together shoot/mini contest at the Washington County Tactical Range back in April which I attended.

Remington’s lawsuit against Colt Defense, LLC, Fabrique Nationale Herstal USA, and the federal government has been dismissed by Senior Judge Nancy B. Firestone of the US Court of Federal Claims. The sealed lawsuit, which contested the award of a mega-million dollar contract to the two defendant companies, was filed on November 24th, of 2015. Although no judgment has been published yet, you can read the Order of Dismissal here.

Got a chance to shoot some FNH classics while testing out some new steel targets coming out soon. The FN BAR Model D was caliber converted to shoot .308 using FAL mags.

This photo was posted in a SCAR Owners Group. It is short barreled MK17 caliber converted to shoot 5.56×45. The weapon is used by US Army Rangers and was seen at a Rangers Open House.