#308

Previously, courtesy of The Wound Channel we got our first looks at the stellar ballistics of the 7.62mm M80A1 EPR round, which proved to combine excellent fragmentation with good armor penetration and barrier blind characteristics, while being extremely consistent. Now, TFB has received ten M80A1 cartridges, so I decided to dissect one of them to take measurements of the new round and its 130gr EPR projectile.

While today the Italian company Franchi is not a heavy-hitting military small arms manufacturer, in the mid-1950s the company did produce some very interesting rifles, carbines, and submachine guns for the military market. The most recognizable of these is the LF-57 submachine gun, a simple blowback submachine gun very similar in design and appearance to the contemporary Walther MPL. Like that weapon, the LF-57 used a heavy, overhanging bolt to control cyclic rate of fire down to about 500 rounds per minute. The LF-57 ultimately wasn’t a huge success for Franchi, and only a few nations (including Italy) bought it.

At the 2016 National Rifle Association Annual Meeting, Blackhawk! was present showing off their new products, including the new suppressor line we reported on earlier this week. Blackhawk! was also showing off their new improved GI triggers, which we’ll cover later in the article.

Arizona based K&M Arms was present at the 2016 National Rifle Association Annual Meeting, and they brought with them their M17S series of bullpup, triangular-bolt rifles. New for the show was the finished .308/7.62x51mm variant of the M17S, prototypes of which had been shown previously at Bullpup Shoot 2015.

A trend towards ever more powerful and longer-ranged ammunition was cut short by the realities of the First World War: Technologies not previously invented or accounted for, such as the man-reaping machine gun and the portable infantry mortar, made the existing infantry tactics of long-range volley fire not just obsolete, but quaint. Further, new essential small arms projectile designs like tracers, armor piercing bullets, and exploding observation rounds demanded more space in the projectile envelope, putting the previously cutting-edge small-caliber 6.5mm rounds at a disadvantage. The advantages of these small-caliber rounds were virtually negated, too, by the advent in 1905 of the German S-Patrone, a flat-based, pointed projectile that was vastly more efficient in supersonic flight than previous round-nosed designs. Although French engineers preceded this design with the superior (and top secret) Balle D round, it was the German bullet that became the pattern for military rifle projectiles worldwide.

Earlier this week, we reported about the Pakistani Army seeking a new rifle to replace its aging license-produced Heckler & Koch G3 and Chinese Type 56 rifles, and now new details – and most excitingly, new images – have come to light.

Earlier this year, Daniel Defense announced their new entry into the thirty-caliber AR-15 market: The DD5V1, a lightweight, direct impingement 7.62x51mm/.308 Winchester rifle using a shortened rear receiver with a dedicated bolt and bolt carrier for the .308 cartridge family. Daniel Defense was present at the SHOT Show Industry Day At The Range 2016, along with their DD5V1, and TFB got behind the trigger.

I will be the first to admit that before I started this article, I wasn’t too well versed in aftermarket chassis systems and the benefit of them. I spent a bunch of time reading and learning about the different options out there, what features mattered to me and which ones didn’t. Once the AB Arms Mod*X Modular Rifle System showed up at my door, I felt a bit more prepared to put it through it’s paces.

Brownells has come out with their own .308/ 7.62x51mm twenty round magazines for the AR platform. They have the brown anti tilt followers as well. They are retailing for $19.99 from the standard website and $16.97 if you have a dealer/discount account on their website. Other .308 AR magazines also available on Brownells retail for $22.99 ( Pro Mag) and $28.99 ( DPMS). Either way, a pretty good price for .308 AR magazines and from a reputable maker. From the description on the website-