Before we begin, yes everyone makes facepalm style mistakes. And while this one is over seven years old, the video simulation of an improved magazine design by the Armament Research, Design Engineering Research Center (ARDEC) at Picatinny Arsenal had me rolling. Here we have some of the best and the brightest minds working together to design an improved AR15 magazine, and the computer model shows the entire cartridge launching down the barrel.

Good afternoon everyone and thanks for coming back to TFB’s Silencer Saturday, where we consider hearing protection to be one of the core rules of firearm safety. Last week we discussed the performance of the Allen Engineering AEM5 suppressors on both .223 Remington and .224 Valkyrie hosts. Next month we are going to test some additional AE models on different barrel lengths and profiles. This week we are going to use the Sig Sauer MCX Rattler paired with the the SRD762TI-QD silencer to test MILSTD muzzle and at-the-ear decibel readings of different subsonic 300BLK ammunition. A small 300BLK subsonic shootout if you will.

Guns of SOCOM, Ep. 2: In this episode, James introduces viewers to the Mk12 Special Purpose Rifle. The Mk12’s primary purpose was to provide a light, precise rifle that could be used in close-to-medium-long range combat. In other words, it needed to be more effective and more accurate than the M4 while being almost as maneuverable, but with an optic that could be dialed down to engage at closer ranges, or zoomed in to reach out to longer distances. Although the Mk12 was originally designed by the Navy at NSW Crane, it made its way into the hands of all special operations units and became a favorite of U.S. Marines in Middle East combat zones.

The twelfth Installment of Build of the Week was contributed by Woodrow.  I have personally not had any experience with Aero Precision components, but I have generally heard good things. The Faxon barrel is a solid choice–can’t really go wrong there. That suppressor looks heavy as hell, but probably has decent enough volume to reduce the pew by a bunch (I’ll leave suppressor technical stuff to Pete). While I wasn’t a huge fan of the original EOTechs we had downrange many years ago, I do really like the XPS-2 line (and honestly all of their new stuff). Honestly this is the type of build I would likely do myself–keeping it fairly brand loyal with some decent quality components.  This rifle is also a contender for being featured on the @fiftyshadesoffde IG account. I would like to see some more pics, though…

The legal definition of a rifle per the BATFE is a “weapon designed or redesigned, made or remade, and intended to be fired from the shoulder and designed or redesigned and made or remade to use the energy of the explosive in a fixed metallic cartridge to fire only a single projectile through a rifled bore for each single pull of the trigger.“ We’ve already seen companies like Franklin Armory tackle the “rifled bore” characteristic and SB Tactical with the forearm brace rather than a stock. But now an entrepreneurial inventor has received approval for a device designed to supported on the shooters bicep.

Sometimes a firearm comes along and you just have to put it in your hands. The CMMG MkGs Banshee 9mm AR Pistol falls smack dab into that category for me. I came across one recently and with no time to shoot it or extra kidneys to buy it, I had to at least fondle it. So in this TFB Review, we give you a short snapshot, or a lightning review, of the CMMG MkGs Banshee 9mm AR Pistol. We will try to highlight our first impressions, concerns, and areas in which we were impressed.

Hello fellow shooters and welcome back to TFB’s Silencer Saturday, where we broadcast our quiet goodness around the world, even to California and New York. Today we finally take a look at a classic suppressor that is one of my personal favorites: the Allen Engineering AEM5 “MK12” model. As a special treat, we get to compare the classic 5.56 AEM5 alongside a newer version designed for the .224 Valkyrie cartridge. The goal here was to see if the extra length/volume as well as a slight baffle change would suppress the Valkyrie better than a standard AEM5. Without scrolling ahead, how do you think our initial comparison will play out?

Just so we are clear, I have not actually seen Mile 22, but I am a sucker for a flashy preview that features guns, explosions, dramatic pauses a lots of ballistic nylon. Story aside, the prop armorers behind the movie seem to have their sh*t together, displaying a wide variety of popular, historic and capable firearms for viewers. Let’s take a look.

To me, the H&K G3 20 round straight magazine is one of the sexiest ammunition feeding devices on the planet. I mean, peel back that brown anti-corrosion wrapping paper, wipe it down with a fine terry cloth sprayed with a hint of Hoppe’s, dress it up with some surplus battle rifle ammo and you’ve found your own little slice of heaven. What? Don’t tell me that certain stamped magazines don’t move you the same way. In an unlikely combination, Monarch Arms is offering a unique AR10 receiver set that accepts these hot G3 magazines.

For those with a taste for true classics, this Gunbroker auction might be worth a look. Up for sale is a factory original Colt 601 machine gun in excellent condition. In its fully transferable form, this rifle is a pristine example of some of the AR-15s that left the Colt factory in 1962. Of course, a unique specimen like an original Colt 601 carries a price tag that reflects its rarity. With a starting bid of $90K and a buy-it-now price of $100K, this machine gun is reserved for those with plenty of disposable income.

The tenth Installment of Build of the Week was contributed by Hoplopfheil.  So long as you are not clearing a room with a teammate, loud and massive muzzle flashes are fun. I am definitely becoming more and more a fan of AR/AK “pistols” as time goes on, especially if I can suppress them. Extra points to Hoplopfheil for naming his weapons; all true weapons should be named…

I own several of my own and have specified a few competition rifles for friends over the past years, so it’s one of my favorite subjects.

The ninth Installment of Build of the Week was contributed by William C.  Organized desk award (with sadly empty decanter) goes too…. I know Cerakote is a “thing”, but I still have a special place in my heart for rattle can paint jobs. This rifle looks pretty clean overall and my favorite component is the sling.

Night vision for civilians used to be exorbitantly expensive, if not prohibited in some places. However, as technology has improved, the devices have gotten to a point where civilians can now afford very decent night vision devices at a price that you don’t have to take a second mortgage out on. In this episode, we break down some myths and talk about some of the practical lessons that are important to take into account when looking at night vision devices. But more importantly, we look at the ability to actually engage a target through while donning night vision and how to best go about it.

TriggrCon, similar to SHOT Show, is a shooter’s paradise of rifles, handguns and gunpowder galore. Rise Armament was one of those manufacturers in attendance at TriggrCon recently and they had a rifle hidden up their sleeves for all of us. They announced their newest rifle by unveiling the 300LE chambered in .223 Wylde.

Rise Armament has a new Limited-Edition “Legacy Rifle” that is emblazoned with an American Flag cerakote. This new rifle also features the Folds of Honor logo because the sales from this rifle will benefit that foundation. If you are unfamiliar with the non-profit organization their mission is to provide educational scholarships to spouses and children of America’s fallen and disabled service-members. So with this new rifle, Rise Armament will be donating a portion of each Legacy Rifle sale to the foundation.

This is Part 3 and the last series of pictures from Europe’s Best Sniper Team Competition 2018.

Last week we enjoyed looking at a number of pictures from Europe’s Best Sniper Team Competition.

TFB recently wrote about the new SAG handguard – check the story here – and now we have the first pictures from users out in the wild.

In this episode of TFBTV, James is at Triggrcon 2018 in Bellevue, WA, where he meets with the engineers at Master of Arms to talk about the world’s lightest AR-15: The 3.65 pound ENYO. Moreover, the MoA guys have a 3D printed, titanium monocore silencer to show off – the extraterrestrial-like “Duckpuppy”. See the video for more information, and see the specs below:

Another Police Department has selected a SIG Sauer pistol, but not the one you are thinking off. The Franklin County Sheriff’s Department, of Columbus, Ohio has adopted SIG’s venerable P226, not the P320 which is being increasingly favoured by law enforcement agencies.

The 10:th Special Forces Workshop 2018 in Güstrow (Germany) was organized by the Baltic Shooters, and contained three action-packed days.

The Department of Defense has selected four companies to manufacture NATO spec ‘commercial off the shelf carbines’ for sale to the US’ international allies. Colt, Daniel Defense, FN and Remington have all been selected to produce the M4 spec carbines. Each of the companies will compete to win batch contract awards within the larger $28,482,840 contact.

In April, the US Marine Corps announced an ambitious procurement programme to purchase 15,000 M27 Individual Automatic Rifles from Heckler & Koch. The contract, worth $30 million, was to begin to be fulfilled with funds from fiscal year 2019.

When it comes to the highly modular platform that is the modern day AR-15 it is pretty easy to get tooo tactical or tacti-cool. I know, I said it, but it is true. Sometimes it is best to hit the range with just the bare essentials. No crazy over-engineering or fancy tactics that require calculus and a kestrel. That is where Falkor Defense is coming from with their NEW “The Standard AR-15” chambered in .223 Wylde.

Recent news from the Department of Defense has shown that the 2nd Marine Law Enforcement Battalion, based out of Camp Lejeune, North Carolina has been working with Marine Corps Systems Command in testing a new target system that the Marine Corps could possibly purchase and integrate into marksmanship qualifications. Although the DOD imagery was very discrete about where the targets were from, not mentioning the company name or showing them up-close, the Australian-based company Marathon Robotics Corporation made it clear that 2nd LEB was indeed testing their moving target systems through a post on their Facebook page.

One of my favorite perks of working here at The Firearm Blog is not the guns or ammunition – it’s the access to industry leaders who are intelligent, dedicated and passionate about making quality gear. So, when I’m given the chance to talk to people who have literally changed the course of the firearms industry, you bet I’ll take it. A couple of weeks ago Kevin Brittingham and Ethan Lessard of Q were nice enough to take a few hours out of their schedule to talk about the history of 300 Blackout on The Podcast By Q.

Mossberg has certainly been spicing it up lately. From magazine-fed 12 gauge shotguns to drop in match grade AR triggers, the iconic North Haven, CT manufacturer is getting some attention from shooters. While the JM Pro trigger is standard equipment on some of Mossberg’s AR15 and AR10 rifles, it is now available for sale as a drop in replacement to any standard AR.

If you have not jumped on the .224 Valkyrie bandwagon yet there is no need to worry. The bandwagon circles around regularly about every 15 minutes. There seems to be a new flavor of ammunition, new tricked out firearm, or as is the case with Black Rain Ordnance (BRO), a new complete upper assembly for your AR-15 platform coming out constantly. They just announced their NEW BRO Spec15 .224 Valkyrie Complete Uppers being sold in addition to the complete firearms they offer as well.

A recent flood of images from the excellent Turkish defense armaments based Twitter account Aybars have revealed that Turkish infantrymen are receiving the latest variant of the 7.62x51mm NATO MPT76 as a Designated Marksman’s Rifle. To be clear, this isn’t the first time that the new Turkish service rifle has been configured and issued in the DM role to frontline units, but it is certainly the most advanced attempt by incorporating a new scope, dedicated bipod, Turkish made 3E EOS LIRIL 300 laser designator, and possibly match ammunition. One of the scopes that have been in use for some time was a variable power Schmidt & Bender, however, in these new photographs, it appears that a Bushnell LRS 4.5-30x 50mm has been mounted in place of the previous optics in use. Gone is the Grippod that is still prevalent on numerous MPT76s in service today.