#History

In Part 1 of this article, I wrote about the beginning of the Kalashnikov machinegun story, Part 2 was dedicated to the bureaucratic hoops he initially had to jump through, Part 3 described the technical triаls and competition between the Kalashnikov and his rivals, Nikitin and Sokolov. Part 4 was about the troop trials. Part 5 outlined the final results of all the tests.

In   Part 1 of this article, I wrote about the beginning of the Kalashnikov machinegun story, Part 2 was dedicated to the bureaucratic hoops he initially had to jump through, Part 3 described the technical triаls and competition between the Kalashnikov and his rivals, Nikitin and Sokolov. Part 4 was about troop trials. In this chapter, I will talk about the end of the trials and their results.

While Ukraine may be embroiled in a bitter conflict with Russia, a discovery on the Polish-Ukrainian border is a reminder that the region has been fought over many times during its history.

Everyone knows AK-47. It is everywhere: movies, books, crime statistics. Interestingly enough, those who spend some time in the warzone often have stronger feelings towards another Kalashnikov creation - the PK/PKM belt-fed machine gun.

The history of the Indian INSAS rifle is quite unique and has always been marked by controversy. And even if you never heard of it before, you can figure out its reputation just by reading headlines of TFB articles published in the last 10 years:

The Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) has a new batch of 7.62 NATO Garand rifles for sale to qualified purchasers. These rifles came from US Navy stores. Let’s check these unique rifles out.

Last year I had the opportunity to visit the John M. Browning Museum in Ogden, Utah and I was thrilled to see Browning’s hammerless 1911 prototype on display. Very little has been written about the development of this particular pistol. The pistol is briefly mentioned in John Browning and Curt Gentry’s 1964 biography of John M. Browning, explaining that during the US Army’s long process to select a new service pistol John M. Browning decided to provide two versions of his .45 ACP pistol – one with an exposed hammer and the other with a shrouded hammer similar to that seen on his Colt 1903 and 1908 Pocket Hammerless commercial pistols.

With a staggering $22 million in sales, Rock Island Auction Company’s Premier May Auction showcased an impressive array of collector firearms, military artifacts, accessories, and artwork that left enthusiasts and history buffs in awe. From the revered Beaumont-Adams revolver once surrendered by Confederate President Jefferson Davis to Zane Grey’s cherished Winchester Model 1895 rifle,  the list of notable pieces that stole the spotlight during this three-day auction extravaganza is pretty extensive and Rock Island Auction is excited to share the news, so I’ll let them do that in the press release below.

If you are like me and your gun fund is currently overflowing with liquidity, the current RIA Premier Firearms Auction has an opportunity for you. Up for sale are some rare classic firearms that are beautifully customized and museum ready. The auction starts today and lasts through the weekend. Details can be found below.

Hello and welcome back to another edition of The Rimfire Report! This ongoing series is all about the rimfire firearm world and its many types of guns, ammunition types, and history! Today we will be discussing a program that has taught thousands of Americans the basics of rifle marksmanship with not only centerfire rifles but more affordable and more accessible rimfire firearms like the 10/22. What we’re talking about today is Project Appleseed. Project Appleseed is a non-profit instructional program with the aim of training the civilian population with basic marksmanship fundamentals through various clinics and events put on throughout the country. Today we’ll explain the origins of the Appleseed Project, and some of the pertinent information surrounding the rules, and practices of participating in a clinic itself.

Hello and welcome back to another edition of The Rimfire Report! This week’s special edition is going to depart from our normal subject and instead focus on another cartridge design that is only a couple of decades older – pinfire. Similar to rimfire cartridges, pinfire cartridges were invented in the earlier half of the 19th century as firearms technology was rapidly progressing. The pinfire cartridge design was one of the trailblazers of what would eventually become modern cartridges for the time and is also noteworthy for being one of the first metallic cartridge designs of the 19th century. Today in this special edition of The Rimfire Report, we’ll dive into the history, design, and firearms that existed within the pinfire world and how they eventually became obsolete after a short-lived era of widespread adoption.

Hello and welcome back to another edition of The Rimfire Report! This ongoing series is all about the rimfire firearm world and its many guns, shooting sports, ammunition types, and history! Last week we checked out the MaddMacs Precision MK4 Carbine. The MK4 Carbine was a blast to shoot but carried along with it a pretty steep learning curve due to just how light the rifle is. Since the initial review, I’ve opted to swap out my TANDEMKROSS Kraken MKIV lower in lieu of a factory Ruger MKIV lower – this is because I usually shoot two matches at a time and this allows me to participate in both Rimfire Pistol Open (RFPO) and Rimfire Rifle Open (RFRO) without having to bring extra tools to deal with the Kraken. If you haven’t checked out the MK4 Carbine yet, you should head on over to the MaddMacs Precision Tactical to check out the MK4 Carbine, as well as some of its other cool rimfire parts and components. Shooting the MK4 Carbine a lot over the last couple of weeks got me thinking about some of the other types of target shooting we’ve seen become popular in the United States over the years. If you rewind back far enough, you’ll eventually encounter something called a “Gallery Gun.” Gallery Guns are known by many names but put simply the class of firearm mostly consists of rifles and pistols chambered in .22 Short or 6mm Flobert and were initially used for indoor target shooting. Today we’ll check out the unique history of this type of rimfire firearm and observe how it evolved into a fairly familiar recreational shooting sport many of us participated in as children without even realizing it.

Hello and welcome back to another edition of The Rimfire Report! This ongoing series is all about the rimfire firearm world and its guns, shooting sports, ammunition, and history. Last week we took a look at the latest offering in the Federal Premium Punch series in 22 WMR. More rimfire ammunition testing should be underway along with more gel tests in other non-rimfire calibers thanks to the guys over at Clear Ballistics who have generously provided me with the materials needed to get consistent and clear ballistic gelatin tests done. Feel free to check out Clear Ballistics if you’re interested in trying out some gel testing of your own! This week on The Rimfire Report we’re jumping back in history to 1920 when the first Mossberg Brownie pistols were coming off the line. Never heard of it? Great! Today we’ll be going over what the Brownie was, what it was meant for, and what a potential collector can expect to pay for one in the current market.

Hello and welcome back to another Edition of The Rimfire Report! This ongoing series is all about the rimfire firearm world and its many guns, ammunition choices, and shooting sports. Last week we took a look at some  Obscure .22 Rimfire Tear Gas Cartridge Guns. This week I am at the helm and filling in for your usual host  Luke C. When Luke asked me to fill in for today, the first thing that came to mind is that I have never actually “reviewed” my Charter Arms Explorer II. I have written a ton about it as far as its history goes and how to maintain it but never actually sat down and did a full-on review. If you are curious about its broader history please check out the Curious Relics articles over on our sister site AllOutdoor.com and as far as maintenance goes, I recently covered that on Armorer’s Bench. Let’s dive right into my review on the Charter Arms Explorer II pistol!

Hello and welcome back to another Edition of The Rimfire Report! This ongoing series is all about the rimfire firearm world and its many guns, ammunition choices, and shooting sports. Last week we took a look at the CMMG Bravo 22LR conversion kit for AR-15 rifles. A lot of you had mixed feelings about the setup as many of you would just prefer to have a dedicated .22LR upper for your AR-15 which comes with its inherent benefits of being more accurate and using a dedicated receiver for its operation. However, on the other side of things, many of you also had great things to say about the CMMG Bravo. As far as my opinion on it, I quite like it and I think if you can afford one, they are quite handy to have in your inventory even if it’s just to have fun plinking with your favorite AR-15 rifle. This week we’re taking a look back in time to check out an oddity within the rimfire world – .22 rimfire tear gas cartridges. Whenever there are guns, there are almost always less-lethal options out there. So today we’ll take a look at them and give you all a brief overview of what they were, how they were used, and what their effectiveness was purported to be like!