Ruger‘s most famous firearm in their storied line-up is without a doubt the 10/22. They offer an extensive line of nearly every stock, barrel contour and finish imaginable. The Ruger 10/22 is so popular that multiple high-end, custom shops have sprung up that tailor specifically to this rifle. Now, in a somewhat surprising move Ruger is offering a near custom shop quality rimfire rifle of their own. The new 10/22 Target Lite has the appearance straight out of a rimfire shooter’s dream.

After a brief hiatus, the infamous Mahama Tactical training team is back in the spotlight again. The group’s former leader, Uzbek national Abu Rofiq was killed a while back and since then the team appears to have lost some key leadership. Since then, a Twitter account under the handle of Salman Belarus started posting older media of the group on April 19th and has continued to grow to include much newer material, in addition to posting about the group coming back into the picture.

Early prototype of AM-17, first public demonstration. August 2016

While completing some research at Springfield Armory National Historic Site in Massachusets, myself and the curators discovered an interesting phenomena when it came to previous curators at Springfield Armory recording their rifles coming into inventory. When we looked up the old records concerning the Turkish, Egyptian, and Iranian rifles we found out that the recorders hadn’t done their due diligence when it came to accurately recording the serial numbers of the rifles in question. Most of them were basic mistakes when interpreting the numerals, but some were downright humorous. Such as the featured image above, which has the record entry superimposed over the receiver of a Peabody-Martini that was made on contract for the Ottoman Empire in the 1870s. The serial number is a very straightforward numerical marking, consisting of the Arabic numbers “344219”. But in the record book, it is officially listed as “TEETIP”! What appears to have happened is that the Springfield Armory recorder looked at the digits, either didn’t realize that these were numbers or didn’t want to bother to look them up, and simply wrote down what the digits most resembled in the English alphabet. Comical at face value indeed, but this could easily lead to some serious cataloging and inventorying issues if something as important as the serial number is recorded incorrectly. As a testament to doing things right, the current curator realized the issue and we got the correct serial numbers recorded in thier database.

At this year’s 100th Anniversary of the Azeri Army Parade in Baku, Azerbaijan we were able to get a glimpse of some of the recent developments within the Azeri Armed Forces while on parade. In terms of small arms the most significant observation is the recent introduction of what appears to be a Belarussian manufactured AR15 derivative in 7.62x39mm that we reported on earlier this month. It still isn’t clear where the weapon is made, or if Azerbaijan simply purchased it from BSVT. The country does have a significant manufacturing and industrial base that does support small arms manufacture and development so there could be local production occurring. But without any further details, we can only speculate at this point. A user on MilitaryPhotos.Net who appears to have more information claimed that the nomenclature is “AZTEX” (possibly AZTEC?) but again, we just don’t know enough at this stage.

Since Jim Fuller founded Rifle Dynamics more than a decade ago, the company has risen to an extremely high standard of craftsmanship within the AK industry in the United States. Jim talks about the story of the company, starting with his very first introduction to the weapon system as an electrician on a job site to making mistakes with Chinese import guns, and ending with what Rifle Dynamics will be coming out within the next year of production when it comes to the Kalashnikov derivatives that it has become famous for manufacturing.

Kydex holster and stealth makers ANR Design has come up with a new mount for the Trijicon RMR when on long guns. Branded the ANVL, the picatinny rail attachment incorporates both front and rear back up iron sights that cowitness in the lower third of the RMR. The mount is designed to be run forward on the rail, similar to the distance from the shooters eye when using pistol sights. The front sight post is adjustable for elevation.

Metravib, the defense wing of the European based ACOEM Group was recently in the news for displaying a Picatinny rail mounted variant of their acoustic gunshot detector and locator. The company must be revamping their publicity efforts because the device was displayed publicly in a similar configuration as early as 2012 in this video titled in Japanese, and then again in 2014 with this promotional published by TAL Secure Systems (which actually originates in 2012 with this promotion published by Army Recognition).

Dan Haga Designs is specialized in making accessories for firearms that don’t have much aftermarket support such as the FN PS90 carbine ( the civilian version of FN P90). The company has recently made two announcements on their social media pages. First, they have launched a website (www.danhagadesigns.com) where the customers now can directly order from. And second, the aluminum version of their PS90 M-LOK handguard is now available for purchase.

In this video, Joel compares three different match grade ammunition offerings, firing them through the Daniel Defense DD5V2.  He tests the average velocity, standard deviation, extreme spread, and the group size of each ammo at 100 yards.  Check out the Precision Rifle Ammo Test – 3 Best Choices video at the link provided.

Lynndon Schooler is an avid Kalashnikov enthusiast and works in the industry himself. He has visited numerous Kalashnikov collecting venues in Russia over several years, running a Facebook page called 907 KALASH that helps chronicle his finds. This is his first guest post for TFB.

Spike’s Tactical who is known for making edgy yet hilarious lower receivers has produced another gem for the firearms industry. They recently introduced their Pineapple Grenade stripped lower receiver that is modeled after the T-Shirt they already produce. The key features on this standard AR-15 lower that will make you the envy of all of your buddies at the range are the iconic Pineapple Grenade logo and the Selector Markings on the opposite side. The Selector Markings read: Safe, Fire and Aloha Snackbar.

An article was released yesterday where I had the opportunity to shoot a Hi-Point Carbine chambered in 9mm and .45 ACP outfitted with the High Tower Armory MBS-95 Conversion stock. In that review, I pretty extensively discussed the features and benefits of the new conversion stock as well as some pros and cons. One thought I purposefully did not go into greater detail to more appropriately address it here are the spring recoil pads. Where did they go? Does the spring recoil pad on factory Hi-Point Carbines even serve a purpose? What is going on here?!

21st Century Asian Arms Race spotted an image shared on the website of the Office of the Azeri President that is showing a rifle of Belarusian origins in a unit armory locker of the Azeri Armed Forces. The rifle in question was previously reported on by TFB in February of this year. Appearing in a display put on by the state-owned Military-Industrial Committee of Belarus was an AR15 chambered in 7.62x39mm, configured to take AKM-patterned magazines (as opposed to STANAG configured ones, also popular for 7.62x39mm AR15 derivatives). Where the rifle is made or imported from is difficult to discern. Originally the design is actually a U.S. one, introduced at SHOT 2017 by a startup called Arsenal Firearms, with the nomenclature as the “Switch”, also offered in 5.45x45mm. The website appears to be down and it doesn’t look like it saw much success in the United States. However at the display of the rifle in Belarus, there was a BSVT flag and placard right next to it. BSVT is an abbreviation for BELSPETSVNESHTECHNIKA, a subsidiary of the aforementioned Military-Industrial Committee of Belarus. The company produces defense items from small arms to missiles.

It was some time late in 2016 that High Tower Armory, a small company out of Minnesota, announced that they would be making a bullpup stock for Hi-Point Carbine rifles. After a long time of refining and polishing this project they have their end product to unveil to the public. The MBS-95 (Modular Bullpup System) Conversion Stock is now complete!

After more than five years of promises, presentations and demonstrations, the first balanced recoil sporting rifles (SR-1) recently hit the shelves in Russian gun stores.

At this year’s KADEX 2018 held in Astana, Kazakhstan, the Kazakh state-owned GIS Center had a virtual reality headset that is designed to work with a Kalashnikov-patterned service rifle. The headset portion integrates (and likely licenses) software from a Russian entity called VR Concept, which produces VR solutions for a wide variety of applications.

At the second SCAR Owner’s Group Shoot down in North Carolina, Jarod of Parker Mountain Machine was there showing off many of his products. In the SCAR Owner’s Group he is well known for his barrel re-threading services as well as his SCAR upgrade accessories. His upgraded Ruger PCC caught my attention as it was sporting the PMM MLOK handguard prototype.

A coordinated attack against the Afghan Ministry of Interior headquarters in Northern Kabul on May has shown a fair degree of sophistication when it comes to the small arms and tactics of the insurgents involved. Reportedly the planning was carried out by the Haqanni Network of terrorists, but overall responsibility has been claimed by the so-called Islamic State-Khorasan Province (ISIS-KP). The attack was meant to strike a symbolic hit against a recent Loya Jirga, or gathering of religious scholars in Kabul that were proclaiming an end to the current violence in the country. Casualties were all the attackers (less than a dozen) with Government casualties at 14 killed and 17 wounded. Those last numbers are questioned by many in Kabul as being too low for many of the attacks in the city.

As a lifelong student of firearms, my belief is that you can never get too much training. Anyone that says otherwise is foolish. That said, the QUALITY of training is very important, as is, to a degree, the legitimate pedigree of the instructional staff (a friend posted an honest rant about this on his blog). I was fortunate enough to be in town when a Precision Long Rifle class was being put on by another buddy (and former team leader of mine in a previous life; I can vouch for his pedigree)…

Ready to show some new-found PDA to your German PDW? JMac Customs has your back. The West Virginia based Kalash builder has just introduced the RSA-MP5K stock attachment for the MP5K and suitable clones that allows owners to drop in a Sig Sauer MPX/MCX folding stock and show their rollerlocks the affection they deserve. Stocks can be adjusted vertically for a better check weld or to match the shooter’s style.

Good morning everyone. Thanks for joining us again for  TFB’s Silencer Saturday (well, Suppressor Sunday this week). In today’s installment we will touch on five Bucket List suppressors that are must-haves for any serious NFA shooter. While I have picked out silencer/host combinations that have always intrigued me, your secret lusts may be completely different. So feel free to shout out your Grail Gun setups in the comments section below.

Before we take a look at this week’s edition of KABOOM REPORTS, I just want to make you all aware that I am not placing blame or fault on either the firearm nor the ammunition seen here in this user-submitted event. Without getting too technical- sh*t happens – and without being a first-hand observer or a materials engineer, no one can determine the cause of any malfunction.

Brownells has announced that they are now making Ruger 10/22 receivers called BRN-22. The company offers both stripped receivers and barreled ones. Both the receivers and barrels also come in several different configurations.

At the last Big 3 Eas t we met the great folks at Stern Defense. They have only been in the industry for a few months and showed off their Glock magazine adapter for use in Mil-Spec AR-15s. We got one of their MAG-AD9 and 9mm upper in for review.

Battle Arms Development (BAD) came to NRA 2018 with a handful of new items designed for form, versatility, and function as well as being aesthetically pleasing. George Huang, owner and CEO of BAD spent some time with TFB going over the assortment of AR and Glock accessories his company displayed at the show.

Recent photographs have revealed that the Armed Forces of Senegal have acquired large amounts of 5.56x45mm NATO Tavor X95 rifles. Specifically, it appears that two distinct Senegalese forces are using the rifle at present. The first being a special operations component of the armed forces. This was first shown about a year or two ago while troops were on parade in the capital of Dakar. At TFB we’ve taken a number of screenshots from the parade (separate from previous Youtube link, viewed here). The Tavors seen on parade are actually older Tavor CTAR Flattop rifles with 380mm barrels that are in either black or tan finishes with mounted MEPRO MOR reflex sights.

A short video clip has recently emerged depicting an Indian soldier in contact with a distant enemy. It appears the soldier is suppressing the enemy positions more than his own bunker is receiving any fire throughout the video. The video was initially posted on an Indian Facebook page but was sent to TFB by an eagle-eyed reader. Apart from the combat, what is particularly interesting about the encounter is that the soldier’s INSAS-LMG starts to fail about a quarter of the way through the video. Which isn’t unexpected given the plaguing reliability problems that the Indian Armed Services have faced with the weapon system ever since its inception, or any program designed to replace it.

Recent images have shown that the Regional Operational Support Unit teams of the Kosovo LE service are currently fielding .50 BMG M107A1 Barrett anti-materiel rifles and Brügger & Thomet 7.62x51mm NATO APRs in their precision rifle inventories. The rifles were unveiled during the Kosovo Independence Day Celebrations held in February of this year while the unit was marching on parade. The rifles were pictured in being carried by officers dressed in digital woodland camouflage uniforms. But this appears to be part of the attire for the parade, apparently illustrating an urban black uniform and then a winter uniform.

Heckler & Koch made a civilian version of their UMP sub gun called the USC Carbine back in 2000. Designed following the Assault Weapons Ban of 1994. It has a thumb hole fixed stock, 16″ non-threaded barrel, 10 round magazines, and a semiautomatic only trigger group. The USC was canceled in 2013, but the rumors are true: H&K will be bringing back the USC in limited numbers.