Welcome everyone to the 190th 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 has a 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.

Stuff and Things Inc. (S&Tinc) is a designer and manufacturer of firearm upgrades. They are the ones behind the bullpup AK kit. Well, they have come out with something we saw over a decade ago, a paintball-styled double trigger for an AR-15 platform. S&Tinc calls it the Shocker.

Last year Diemaco/Colt Canada C7A1 rifles began to appear in Ukraine. Initially, these were thought to have originated from Canada. However, after speaking with numerous sources the rifles have been confirmed to have come from the Netherlands. I’ve spoken with Dutch colleagues and members of the Netherlands Armed Forces about the rifles and have been able to interview a source familiar with the Dutch operation to supply the rifles.

Welcome everyone to the 189th 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 has a 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.

Introduced at SHOT Show 2023, the Reap Weaponries Scy bullpup conversion kit for AR-15 pattern rifles is now available. The Scy is a drop-in kit that is attached to the lower receiver and handguard of the rifle providing a front pistol grip mount and linking the trigger forward. Let’s take a closer look.

Let’s face it, magazines are a hot-button issue for a number of reasons, and not all of them have to do with the legality or even their capacity. A lot of times magazines can become infamous or famous simply because of their availability, or lack thereof. One notable example is the current availability of FN FAL magazines. 12-15 years ago you could find them on nearly every firearm, gear, or gun classified ad for pretty cheap, probably along with a bunch of ammunition the guy bought with the gun. These days FAL magazines are quite expensive for surplus models and a lot of them are probably banged up and close to the end of their life if not past it. This is why I’m happy to see another competitor in the magazine retailer market – The Mag Shack. The Mag Shack stocks and sells thousands of OEM factory and aftermarket magazines for virtually every type of gun currently being produced, as well as firearms that are no longer produced or are very niche in nature.

TriggerTech has expanded its range of AR triggers to include new Duty models. These cassette-style triggers feature drop-in installation. Both single-stage and two-stage options are available in the Duty range.

Imagine an M-16A4-style rifle but with an 18-inch barrel. The Anderson Manufacturing A4 Short Rifle is just that. This unique setup is a blend of old and new. Let’s see how it performs.

In addition to being a source of inspiration and entertainment, TFB’s  Photo Of The Day feature can also be educational. Just look how the photographer played with the art of photography on this clean Noveske Gen4 SBR – you should try it yourself sometime!

ZEV Technologies has just announced its latest offering to the semi-automatic rifle market – the new Core Combat Rifle series. This new series of full-size and intermediate-chambered AR rifles are built to be rugged, accurate, and built to outlast other rifles. Available in 5.56, 308, and 6.5 Creedmoor, the new rifles will also feature from-the-factory Cerakote finishes and forged upper and lower receivers.

Photo Of The Day with some fresh and interesting images from the exercise Flintlock 2023 in Volta, Ghana. An AK and an AR captured in the same picture, with soldiers in the water. I don’t know the air temperature, but I have a sense that a swim could offer some refreshment.

With the current level of violence and uncertainty that seems to be neverending, more and more people are unlocking the First-Time Gunowner achievement. I see this happening personally, as friends who were previously only interested in concealed carry are asking me for advice on buying AR-15s. One of the biggest barriers to most is cost, especially if you want a quality rifle. Known for quality ARs, FN has expanded its FN 15 line to include the slick-side Guardian, a rifle sitting right at $1,000.

For those of you who don’t know, a lot of the staff here at The Firearm Blog are serious gun nerds. Most of us grew up watching action movies in the 80s and 90s. There is one movie that we all collectively appreciate and that is Clear And Present Danger. In that movie, there was one star that rose among the rest and that was the Olympic Arms OA-93. I managed to get one a while back so we can take a close look at this gem from the 90s.

The Brownells BRN family of upper receivers continues to grow with the addition of the BRN-9. This 9mm upper joins the 5.56, .300 BLK, and 7.62×39 options which are already available. Let’s take a closer look at what the BRN-9 brings to the table.

Luke C is at the 2023 NRA Annual Meetings and Expo checking out Shield Arms’ new folding stock 9mm pistol caliber carbine – the Shield Arms SA-9. The SA-9 takes the proprietary Shield Arms lower and combines it with some of the industries leading rifle component manufacturers to give their customers an improved folding AR experience.

Hop is back at the FN booth for NRAAM 2023 show to talk about the new FN15 Guardian rifle. The Guardian is meant to be FN’s latest rifle offering that omits some of the more expensive components that are normally on their rifles, to give their customers a more budget-friendly option that still maintains the high quality you’ve come to expect from the FN name.

In the last 30 years, we witnessed how easy it is for a country to lose its firearms manufacturing capability: the UK, France, Portugal, and Spain are prime examples. And building such a capability from scratch is extremely difficult, and UAE and “Caracal” seems to be one of the few successful examples. Founded in 2007, “Caracal” develops and manufactures handguns, sniper rifles, and perhaps their most well-known product – CAR 816, a select-fire short-stroke gas piston AR15 variant chambered in 5.56×45.

Sako Ltd has signed a collaboration agreement with The National Defence Training Association of Finland (MPK), at the Sako factory in Riihimäki, Finland. Sako will supply semi-automatic firearms to the MPK for training purposes during 2024. The rifles will be chambered in  .223 Wylde so that both 5.56×45 and .223 Remington ammunition can be used. The total value of the procurement is 1.6 million Euros which also includes accessories and spare components.

Good evening everyone and welcome back to TFB’s Silencer Saturday brought to you by Yankee Hill Machine, manufacturers of the new YHM Turbo T3 5.56 rifle suppressor. Last week we installed a flash hider using the Precision Armament Accu-Washer system. Today we get a look at a short silencer on a long barrel – the SureFire SOCOM556-MINI2 – and compare it to a longer silencer on a shorter barrel. Which combination would you choose? Let’s get behind the two setups.

The Finnish and Swedish Defense Forces will purchase a range of various rifles from Sako Ltd. TFB reported about this almost two years ago, but it’s now official what the framework and the firearms will look like.

The hungriest beast of them all on this blog is our Photo Of The Day. It consumes hundreds of images every month, and it has been doing so for over 8 years. Today we’re taking a closer look at the “20th Anniversary Edition Rifle & the History of the CTR-02”.

The Civilian Marksmanship Program continues to offer new events and competitions. Hot on the heels of their action pistol program comes a new mid-range rifle match at the National Matches. This match is scheduled for July 31st, 2023.

Adjustable gas blocks have been called everything from one of the most essential parts of an AR to being called gimmicks by some. No matter where you stand on the issue, most of you will have no doubt heard about the relatively new RIFLESPEED Tool-Free Military Grade Modular Gas Control system. We’ve even checked it out before right here on TFB. Today’s guest, Mr. Kyle Lynch is the inventor and owner of RIFLESPEED and today he’s here to explain how this system works, how he came about developing it, and some of the advantages his system offers to the end user.

Photo Of The Day – A Marine assigned to the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) fires an M4A1 carbine during in a live-fire small arms exercise in the hangar bay of the forward-deployed amphibious assault carrier USS America (LHA 6), in the Philippine Sea. USS America is a multi-purpose amphibious assault ship of the United States Navy. The ship was commissioned in 2014 and is the fourth ship to bear the name. The USS America is the lead ship of her class, which is designed to be more versatile and flexible than previous amphibious assault ships.

Rock River Arms begins the year by releasing the Operator DMR series (Designated Marksman Rifle), with no less than four models chambered for .308/7.62×51 and two models chambered in .223/5.56 NATO. The .308 version comes in two barrel lengths, 16″ or 20″, with an optional SilencerCo Chimera 300 suppressor. The .223 DMRs also come in 16″ or 20″ configurations.

In this episode of TFBTV, James Reeves is at IWA 2023 visiting the Brownells booth to see the newest addition to its BRN-180 lineup, the BRN-180SH. According to Brownells Press Release:

A BRD Gun Works LLC upper in 450 Bushmaster was sent to me for review. My best friend urged (hounded) me to make it happen. It, finally, did actually happen and I want to tell you upfront this is one of the best products I have received for review in my four and a half years of reviewing. BRD Gun Works’ attention to detail is impressive. The deeper I went into the upper the more satisfied I was.  Read my story and know that I would carry one of their products in any circumstances.

If you want to shoot some suppressed 300 AAC Blackout rounds downrange and have $999 laying around, there’s a new upper receiver waiting for you at Brownells. The BRN-180SH is a 10″ upper receiver, optimized to be used with suppressors, and will fit any standard AR-15 or BRN-180 lower.

In this episode of TFBTV Show Time, James Reeves is at EnforceTac in Germany to speak with Steyr about the new Steyr DMR. The Steyr DMR is, obviously, a designated marksman rifle with incredible statistics: It weighs less than 7 pounds, can be chambered in .308, 6.5 Creedmoor, or .277 FURY/6.8x51mm AND it will shoot sub MOA, according to Steyr. This rifle has not been produced yet but it was just unveiled – check today’s video for details and SUBSCRIBE to Show Time for more updates from Enforce Tac and IWA.

Welcome to TFB Weekly Web Deals 40! We’re nearing the end of the first quarter of this year and I’ve got about 5 different unfinished project guns I’m working on right now. I suppose you could say that my new year’s resolution is to finish at least one of them before I start another one – we’ll see how that pans out. This week we’ll be featuring some of the deals I’ve come across on parts, tools, complete and stripped uppers, lowers, and other parts that you might want to throw on a build for yourself, a friend, or a loved one just getting into firearms.