Tag: Gun Industry Information

Israeli Weapon Industries Launch a United States Subsidiary

Earlier this year I mentioned some interest in the new Israeli Tavor. Two things have stood between myself and getting trigger time with that rifle. The first was cost. A manufacturer suggested retail price of “under $2,000” didn’t fill my heart with hope that the rifle would be cost effective. The second problem was the fact no American firearm manufacturer had expressed interest in importing the Tavor. That second problem is no longer an issue as the manufacturer, Israeli Weapon Industries (IWI), has launched a subsidiary in the United States:

Israel Weapon Industries (IWI) has announced their new US subsidiary IWI USA Inc. The new company has leased a 21,000 sq. ft. facility in Harrisburg, PA. They plan on selling the TAVOR SAR rifle in a number of different configurations as well as the UZI Pro pistol.

If anybody can manufacture a bullpup rifle that is affordable and addresses the most common issues with that style of firearm it’s a company that manufactures weapons for a government that can’t get along with its neighbors for more than two minutes.

Make the SCAR 17 More Affordable

The SCAR 17 is a rifle that I’ve had a lot of interest in. It’s chambered in my favorite rifle caliber, 7.62x51mm, and has several evolutionary improvements over the venerable AR platform. What I don’t like about the rifle is the cost. Everything about the SCAR 17 is expensive. The rifle is expensive, the ammunition is expensive, and the magazines are expensive. Instead of setting up the SCAR 17 to use widely available cheap SR-25 magazines Fabrique Nationale (FN) decided to use a proprietary magazines so supplies are extremely limited and when you can find magazines they’re in the $50.00 range. Fortunately Handl Defense has developed a solution for the magazines by developing a SCAR 17 lower receiver that accepts standard SR-25 magazines:

Handl Defense has developed an aftermarket aluminium lower receiver for the FN SCAR 17 to replace the factory polymer lower. Their SCAR25 lower (urgh, FN is not going to like their trademark being used in this way) allows the use of SR-25 and M-110 compatible magazines made by Magpul, XS , DPMS and POF. They have also made some modifications that compatibility with a greater range of AR-15 grips.

While the solution isn’t ideal it’s certainly a worthy improvement. Recovering the costs of the lower ($300.00) would be accomplished quickly considering PMAG LR20s can be found for under $20.00. On top of that you can actually get PMAG LR20s so you would no longer be relegated to having a fancy rifle with only one magazine.

Double the Gun

Apparently adding another barrel to existing firearms is the new rage today. First Arsenal Firearms introduced a double barrel 1911 and now an Israeli firm is introducing a double barrel AR-15:

Israeli firm Silver Shadow are said to be debuting a double barreled AR-15 next month in Paris at the Eurosatory expo.

Interesting. I wonder when the double barrel M82 will be released. Or better yet a double barrel GAU-8.

I’m Sure They Were Just Using it Wrong

The Firearm Blog has a report about allegations that the H und K G36 doesn’t perform well once the barrel heats up. For those who don’t know the H und K G36 is Germany’s standard issue infantry rifle. Apparently the rifle is unable to accurately hit targets past 200 yards when the barrel gets toasty, a rather worrisome problem. Well, it’s a worrisome problem until you realize the weapon is made by none other than Heckler and Koch, who are the peddlers of high prices weaponry that is desired by mall ninjas the world over because H und K doesn’t like civilians.

Knowing H und K they will probably send out a press release regarding this issue that merely states “You’re using the rifle incorrectly.” I also expect H und K fanboys to make numerous excuses about why this isn’t actually a problem. If there is one group of firearm fanboys more zealous than the 1911 crowd it’s the H und K crowd. It is an understandable zeal, after all H und K firearms appear in every Rainbow Six game.

The Problem with Bullpups

I’m not going to lie, I have a love hate feeling towards bullpup rifles. On one hand they’re usually slower to reload, not friendly to left-handed shooters (as somebody who practices shooting with both hands this is annoying), and the triggers usually suck. On the other hand bullpups allow you to bring a full power rifle cartridge to bear without having to lug around an extremely long firearm. Needless to say I’m interested in the IWI TAVOR:

It looks like the perfect combination of ugly as sin and not really being all that ugly. Unfortunately this rifle is looking to have the same problem other bullpup rifles have:

The projected MSRP (for models without optics) will hopefully stay under $2k.

As The Firearm Blog stated this likely means the MSRP will be right around $1999.99. I wish a reputable manufacturer would release an affordable bullpup rifle because the price is always what gets me. It’s hard to justify spending $2,000 or more on a Steyr Aug when I can get an AR-15 for less than half the cost. The PS90 costs between $1,500 and $2,000 and it’s chambered in an expensive and almost impossible to reload anemic caliber.

I imagine some money could be made by a manufacturer who brings an affordable (let’s say under $1,000) and reliable bullpup rifle to the table.

Remington Threatening to Leave New York

Speaking of New York, Remington is now threatened to leave the state if the microstamping bill makes it’s way into law:

Top Remington Arms officials are threatening to pull out of New York if the state Legislature passes a bill mandating that guns carry tiny identifying stamps.

“Mandating firearms microstamping will restrict the ability of Remington to expand business in the Empire State,” wrote Stephen Jackson, Remington chief strategy and acquisition integration officer, to top state officials. “Worse yet, Remington could be forced to reconsider its commitment to the New York market altogether.”

Such a move could decimate Ilion, where Remington’s flagship plant employs more than 1,000 people.

Infringing on individuals’ rights should hurt, and mandating all guns include so-called microstamping technologies infringes on the rights of gun manufacturers to make a product of their choosing. Loosing 1,000 jobs would certainly cause some pain to the state of New York and make its barons look less desirable to the denizens.

Microstamping technology is a sham and a study performed at the University of California [PDF] demonstrates the absolutely insane amount of difficulty (and therefore expense) involved in implementing such technology. Remington would stand to inherit a great deal of expense and possible litigation if they were to stay in New York after the microstamping law passed. What litigation would they be subjected to you ask? I’m sure the boys in New York could find several conditions in which to sue firearm manufacturers for failures in microstamping technology including the construction of a firing pin that a purchasing can file the microstamping number off of, constructing a firearm that can has a replaceable firing pin, and constructing a firing pin that wears overtime making the imprinted microstamping harder to read.

Anti-gunners love the idea of microstamping technology not because it could assist law enforcement, but because it would make the cost of firearms skyrocket. If the price of an average handgun goes from $500.00 to $2,000.00 because the cost of developing and including microstamping technology has to be recouped the number of people able to afford firearms will drop significantly. Anti-gunners, like New York City, are waging a war against the poor.

Self Guided Bullets

Are you looking for an expensive, although wickedly cool, means of correcting your poor aim? Worry not for Sandia National Laboratories has you covered:

Sandia National Laboratories have invented a small caliber self guided bullet. The bullet contains an optical sensor, CPU, battery and electromagnetic actuated fins. It is able to track laser designated targets out to 2,000 meters.

Sometimes I feel as though I live in a science fiction universe. Sure we don’t have spaceships, flying cars, or man portable laser cannons but we do have extremely powerful computers that are so small the fit in your pocket, an effective worldwide communication network, and now we have self guided bullets.

When I stop to think about what this bullet entails I’m amazed at the human capacity for engineering awesome stuff. We’ve actually shrunk central processing units, batteries, and optical sensors down to the point that they can all be fitted into a single bullet. How cool is that?

As this technology is new it’s not ready for prime time but if there’s one thing I’ve learned it’s that technology only improves over time so I’m sure we’ll have extremely cheap self guided bullets in our future.

Somebody Thought This was a Good Idea

Remember that somebody, somewhere thought this was a good idea:

Less Lethal Africa, a South African company, had their less lethal .50 BMG rounds on display at SHOT.

So instead of having a mere 110 percent chance of killing you these rounds will only have a 100 precent chance of killing you? These seem to be the most pointless rounds developed in recent history. What’s next? Less lethal nuclear weaponry?

Situations in Shades of Gray

I talk about a lot of bad police decisions but most of those situations are black and white. That is to say a police officer obviously abused his or her power or otherwise initiated violence. Sadly not every situation is black and white, many shades of gray exist. Take for instance the story about a police officer who show a 15 year-old kid brandishing a realistic pellet gun:

The parents of an eighth grader who was fatally shot by police inside his South Texas school are demanding to know why officers took lethal action, but police said the boy was brandishing — and refused to drop — what appeared to be a handgun and that the officers acted correctly.

The weapon turned out to be a pellet gun that closely resembled the real thing, police said late Wednesday, several hours after 15-year-old Jaime Gonzalez was repeatedly shot in a hallway at Cummings Middle School in Brownsville. No one else was injured.

A picture of the gun can be found at the link and from a distance I can see how an officer would mistake it for a real handgun. Some may say this is a valid case of using violence while others will claim it wasn’t. Others have also questioned the amount of force used by the officer, which I will address in a bit.

So far the story is mostly he-said-she-said. The officer is claiming the kid was pointing the gun at him. Without any way of knowing the weapon was fake that certainly qualifies as immediate threat to life. When I read about these kinds of situations I try to put myself in the shoes of the shooter. What did the cop see? Did the kid point the pellet gun at the officer? Was anything said during the altercation? In this case I have no answers and desire more data. Unfortunately more data isn’t always available and we may find ourselves in these kinds of situations. This reality must be acknowledge by anybody who carries a gun and should be given, at least, a cursory consideration. Most of self-defense is mental preparation and state of mind.

Now let us return to the amount of force that was used:

“Why was so much excess force used on a minor?” the boy’s father, Jaime Gonzalez Sr., asked The Associated Press outside the family’s home Wednesday night. “Three shots. Why not one that would bring him down?”

Let’s consider the use of a firearm. A firearm is a lethal weapon designed to kill, we shouldn’t kid ourselves otherwise. Employing a firearm should only be done when you have decided the situation requires the use of lethal force. Therefore it is safe to say when a firearm is drawn the amount of force necessary to end the situation becomes whatever is necessary.

Any self-defense class and, I’m assuming, police training class will teach you to shoot until the threat has stopped. If the threat stops at the presentation of the firearm you shouldn’t shoot, if it stops after a non-lethal wound you stop, if it stops only after the assailant is dead then that is what you must do. We must also realize that handgun cartridges are anemic and overall poor man stoppers. To overcome this limitation standard procedure is to fire two shots immediately at center mass. If the threat has not ceased after two shots you must take more, possibly even attempting to shoot the attacker in the head. Needless to say the round count is likely to start at two and escalate from there so three shots in this situation shouldn’t be surprising.

In the end the kid may have simply committed suicide by cop. While I’m not willing to pass final judgement in this case I am leaning towards this conclusion unless further data becomes available. Beyond the situation there is something else to take into consideration:

About 20 minutes elapsed between police receiving a call about an armed student and shots being fired, according to police and student accounts. Authorities declined to share what the boy said before he was shot.

Had the kid been in possession of a real weapon and malicious intent he would have had 20 minutes to do whatever he please. Schools, being gun-free zones, don’t allow for lawful self-defense. Teachers and faculty with valid carry permits are not allowed to carry in a elementary or high school so the only solution that really exists for stopping a violence individual is to wait for the police. A lot can happen in 20 minutes and the state prohibits use mere serfs from defending ourselves inside of these gun-free zones. This situation could have been far worse because of government decree.

ATF Have Similar Approval System to Apple’s App Store

I’m sure most of you have read the horror stories about developers submitting their application to the Apple App Store only to have it rejected based on unpublished requirements that seem arbitrary. Wouldn’t you know it, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) have a very similar system for determining whether or not a manufactured firearm is legal for production:

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is in charge of determining whether a gun model is legal, but the agency won’t say much about its criteria.

Despite overseeing an industry that includes machine guns and other deadly weapons, ATF regulations for the manufacture of weapons are often unclear, leading to reliance on a secretive system by which firearms manufacturers can submit proposed weapons for testing and find out one at a time whether they comply with the law, critics say.

Much like the Apple App Store the ATF is also inconsistent with their rulings:

The ATF recommends that manufacturers voluntarily submit weapons for case-by-case determination. But those judgments are private and, it turns out, sometimes contradictory. Critics say nearly identical prototypes can be approved for one manufacturer but denied for another.

One major difference exists between rulings of Apple App Store reviews and ATF reviewers, if the ATF declares something verboten it is illegal and grants men with guns the power to enforce the decision. Anybody with the capacity to think can also see the huge opportunity for abuse arbitrary regulations grant. A manufacturer not only has to submit to the ATF’s rulings but must remain on their good side for pissing off an agent may lead to every submitted prototype being rejected, which eventually would force the manufacturer into bankruptcy.