Category Archives: gun culture

Another volley in the 380 space…

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Featuring a removable chassis system for easy grip frame upgrades and a 14-shot capacity, Ruger has a new LCP Max on the block, powered by Magpul.

The two companies in 2024 brought the innovative RXM 9mm pistol to the market, which uses a serialized Fire Control Insert that is independent of its Enhanced Handgun Grip, or EHG, allowing the flexibility to be easily swapped into different grips. And by different we both size (full, compact, subcompact) and color, all inside the Glock Gen 3 9mm double stack ecosystem.

You can see much of the same potential modularity on the newest Ruger LCP Max. Debuted this week, it uses Magpul’s new EHG .380 grip frame with a Fire Control Insert chassis. It carries a new style slide that mimics the RXM’s aesthetic, and includes a S&W Bodyguard pattern Tritium front sight with a drift-adjustable rear.

And it weighs 11.2 ounces, unloaded, which is about half as much as the Walther PPK, which offers a 7-shot capacity.

the new Ruger LCP Max with the Magpul EHG RG380 grip
The new Ruger LCP Max. Note the Magpul EHG RG380 grip frame with 3/4-scale TSP texture. (Photos: Ruger/Magpul)
the new Ruger LCP Max with the Magpul EHG RG380 grip
Overall length is 5.35 inches with a 2.8-inch barrel. With the extended 13+1 round magazine – new to the platform – height is 4.78 inches. The pistol has a slim, 0.75-inch-wide slide assembly. 
the new Ruger LCP Max with the Magpul EHG RG380 grip
Compared to the standard 10+1 shot LCP Max, seen right, the new Max stands just 0.66 inches higher and is 0.18 inches longer. The weight is less than half an ounce different. 
the new Ruger LCP Max with the Magpul EHG RG380 grip
The newest LCP Max is the first that uses a serialized Fire Control Insert chassis, which can be removed by the user with basic tools. 
the new Ruger LCP Max with the Magpul EHG RG380 grip
At launch, Magpul plans at least three extra colors (black, FDE, olive drab) for the EHG380 grip in addition to Ruger’s standard Stealth Gray. Replacements, sold via Magpul, will be $39. You can bet that other aftermarket grips will also soon be in the works. 

Other standard features include a tabbed trigger safety and a manual safety. It ships with both a flush 10 rounder as well as the extended 13-shot magazine as shown above.

“This launch is just the beginning of what Ruger and Magpul have planned for the LCP Max, underscoring Ruger’s commitment to innovation and consumer choice,” says the company.

The MSRP on the new Ruger LCP Max with the Magpul EHG RG380 grip is $449, which is a $50 bump from the standard LCP Max. I would imagine the price at your local shop to be closer to $375.

We have one inbound for a review, so stay tuned for more on that subject.

Of Golf Premised Gun Competitions…

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I love the concept of gun competitions based on golf. Full stop.

I had the honor of attending and competing in SilencerCo’s “Chubbs Peterson Memorial Rifle Golf Tournament” back in 2023 as part of the rollout for the new Scythe series cans.

Noveske recently hosted the Gun Masters as part of the PGL (Pistol Golf League), and it looked like a blast. Just tons of fun.

It also includes this amazing Garage STEN gun in a wooden P90-esque stock:

For reference, the above construction runs like a sewing machine and was crafted by Rat City Arms of Grants Pass and takes Glock double-stack 9mm mags, so yeah, I need it.

Really fighting the urge to build one. Of course, I’d have to do it closed bolt, which loses magic, but still…

Lanchester in the Littoral

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A Royal Navy patrol from the Battle-class fleet destroyer HMS Barrosa (D68), aboard a perau, on a coastal patrol in Brunei during the defense of that country from neighboring Indonesia.

Official caption: “Navy patrols hunt arms smugglers in Borneo. April 1964, off the coast of Sarawak, Brunei and Sabah. To assist the Royal Navy’s constant search for arms and ammunition smuggling, the sultan of Brunei provided specially built peraus, small craft that are particularly maneuverable in the narrow channels between mango swamps.”

IWM (A 34819)

The rating in the foreground is armed with a Lanchester “machine carbine,” that curious unlicenced British knockoff of the German C.G. Haenel MP28/II submachine gun. That design, attributed to the famous Hugo Schmeisser, was itself an improvement of the Great War-era Bergmann Maschinenpistole 18, a 9mm blowback-action open bolt burp gun that weighed a hefty 11 pounds, sans ammo.

Lanchester Machine Carbine 9mm MK 1 via Royal Armouries, is basically an unlicensed MP28 with some tweaks

In British service, the Lanchester– so named after the supervisor at the Sterling Armaments Company where it was initially produced during WWII– was a bit lighter (“only” 9.5 pounds) and could use either a purpose-made (though almost impossible to fully load) 50-round stick mag or the common 32-round Sten magazine.

Oh yeah, and it also accepted the outlandishly long 22-inch P07 bayonet. 

The Brit’s Lanchester submachine gun used the 1907 Enfield bayonet and and “They don’t like it up ’em!”

Boatswain of the Royal Australian Navy with a Lanchester during WWII

1943 Devonport Dockyard, Nov 25, 1943, U-536 survivors brought in by crews of HMCS Snowberry, HMS Tweed, and HMCS Calgary. Note the Lanchester SMG

With a whopping 95,469 Lanchesters cranked out by Sterling, Greener (the famous shotgun folks), and Boss (another famous scattergun maker), most went to the Royal Navy and Commonwealth sister services, who kept them in service into the 1970s, when they were phased out in favor of the…Sterling.

Federal is now making 150-grain 30.06 for Garands (and it works)

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As any fan of LSOZI knows, we are always on the lookout for increasingly scarce Garand feed.

With that being said, we were very tickled by the fact that Federal is making, in the U.S. (they are now Czech owned, so just saying), a 150-grain FMJ bullet with a fatter (than Power-Shok’s .313 ballistic coefficient 150-grain JSP) .410 ballistic coefficient. It is also cataloged at 2,740 fps, dialed lower than the 2,900+ often seen on commercial hunting ammo in the same caliber/bullet weight.

Federal 150 Grain 30-06 Garand Ammo
The box lists the new .30-06 Federal American Eagle 150-grain FMJ for the Garand as having a flat trajectory at 100 yards, with a 4-inch drop at 200 and 14.5 at 300 yards. 
Federal 150 Grain 30-06 Garand Ammo
The front of the box calls out Federal’s 250th anniversary series of loads commemorating the events of 1776. 
Federal 150 Grain 30-06 Garand Ammo
Of course, the Garand was the Army’s standard infantry rifle from 1937 through 1957, a period covering World War II and the Korean War. The rifle remained in use with Reserve and National Guard units through the 1970s. 
Federal 150 Grain 30-06 Garand Ammo
The ammo is bright and consistent. At the range, we found the rounds to hold within 25 fps of the advertised muzzle velocity across 10 rounds measured through a Caldwell umbrella-style chronograph. 

It has long been standard for Garand owners and enjoyers to stoke their vintage rifles with .30-06 150-grain loads with a little gentler power curve than what is seen in modern commercial hunting ammo. The CMP, probably the foremost expert on the Garand, specifically warns against using bullets more than 172 to 174-grain in weight, saying, “These rifles are at least 70 years old and were not designed for max loads and super heavy bullets.”

When it comes to cost, Federal lists this load with an MSRP of $41.99 per 20-cartridge box, but, as of the publication of this article, we have seen them listed for $31.99.

Compared to what else is out there, CMP offers a custom 150-grain ’06 Creedmoor Berger OTM round with Lapua Brass at $175 per 100 rounds (which works out to $35 per 20). Meanwhile, comparably priced Czech-made Sellier & Bellot’s 150-grain M2 ball repro (at 2,700 fps) and Serbian-made Prvi Partizan’s 150-grain (2,745 fps) Garand-specific loads are often tough to find in stock.

So, with that, barring a good deal on some Cold War Lake City loads that have been in arsenal storage for the past half-century, Federal’s Garand load is a decent buy for the price.

Plus, while many loadings on the surplus market are corrosive (Norwegian, Korean, etc) or attract a magnet (such as Greek HXP and Ethiopian), which can bar it from some ranges, the Federal load does not.

About the best deal I know of right now is 370 rounds of spam-canned (and corrosive) Korean ball for $329 with free shipping from SGA. That’s about 90 cents per round.

There is still some milsurp 150-grain M2 .30 cal ball out there, like this corrosive stuff being sold by SGA right now for about 90 cents per round.

With that being said, the new load from Federal stands ready to keep your Garands fed.

Thus:

Leon, is that you?

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Beretta continues to release innovative variants of its .380 ACP Cheetah series, with the newest model sporting a factory-mounted compensator, extended magazine capacity, and other goodies.

Boom:

The company had long marketed the 80-series Cheetah platform, going back to the 1970s, and debuted the modernized 80X in 2023 to bring the model into the 21st century with more contemporary features than were available during the Disco era.

The newest 80X Cheetah Tactical variant is a special-edition model that retains the pistol’s double-action/single-action trigger system, two-slot Picatinny accessory rail, svelte profile via a Vertec-style alloy frame, and fully ambidextrous controls –including a frame-mounted safety with decocker and a reversible magazine release.

Specific upgrades to this model include extended 15+1-round magazines (ships with three), a red dot mount hidden under a removable optic cover, a built-in compensator on an extended threaded (1/2×28 TPI) muzzle, aggressive G10 grip panels, and a bronze-anodized frame.

The new Beretta 80X Cheetah Tactical Special Edition
The new Beretta 80X Cheetah Tactical Special Edition sports a two-tone blacked-out slide and a compensator that would give the AL/GI/MEC-equipped Model 92s seen in “The Professional” a run for their money. (Photos: Beretta) 
The new Beretta 80X Cheetah Tactical Special Edition
Note the extended beavertail, skeletonized hammer, and combat-style trigger guard as well as the black G10 grip panels and slim Vertec frame. 
The new Beretta 80X Cheetah Tactical Special Edition
The slide includes a red fiber-optic front sight, a blacked-out rear sight, and an optics cover plate. It runs a lightweight recoil spring, making it easy to rack. 

Launched first in Europe with an MSRP of €1,099, which works out to ~$1,300, the model wasn’t supposed to start shipping in the States until June, but we are already seeing availability for it for like $999. 

How about that sizzle reel?

Those wacky Ethiopian Type 68 AKs are here

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RTI, which has been bringing in the massive larder that has been Ethiopia’s accumulated military surplus going back to the 1940s, is now landing Ethiopian GAEC Gafat-1 pattern AK parts kits.

Ethiopian GAFAT-1 rifle from ConflictID (https://conflictid.c4ads.org/weapons)

My friend Vladimir Onokoy, probably the world’s foremost AK expert, wrote about these in TFB late last month, noting field experience with GAFAT guns in Somalia.

Ethiopian AKs are certainly not the best Kalashnikov rifles out there. But they do have a unique and fascinating history, and I am sure the gunsmiths in the US will do a better job putting them together than Ethiopian factory workers. So I am kinda excited that parts that I never expected to see outside of Africa will be available at the US civilian market.

According to RTI, “Ethiopian-produced ET-97 AK Parts Kits available now! These rifles were produced by the Gafat Armament Engineering Complex based upon the North Korean Type 68 rifle and further updated with some features similar to an AK-103.”

They are 7.62×39 and accept common AK-pattern mags, but have an AK-74 muzzle device, AM-72 style stocks, and two bayonet lugs.

These guns are riveted differently from just about anything else, and have seriously odd trunnions and sights.

More from RTI, below:

How about an NFA compliant 18 inch PDW with a Honey Badger Brace?

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Featuring a 5.5-inch barrel, Colt-pattern 32-round magazines, and an SB Tactical HB brace on a three-position receiver extension, the new Saint Victor PDW from Springfield Armory is maneuverable and uncompromising.

Springfield introduced its first 9mm blowback-action Saint Victor model AR in late 2022, featuring a Melonite-coated 16-inch CMV barrel with a 1:10-inch twist, ambidextrous safety, nickel-boron-coated flat trigger, and a standard GI-style charging handle. In a departure from the widespread use of Glock double-stack mags for 9mm PCCs, the Victor carbine accepted 32-round Colt SMG stick mags, which are widely available. We’ve evaluated these carbines in the past and found them to deliver on the range.

Since then, the stick-magged 9mm PCC proved popular, with Springfield responding to customer feedback by delivering more compact models, including an 8.5-inch and a 5.5-inch pistol outfitted with an SB Tactical SB-A3 stabilizing brace. The 5.5 incher, in particular, taped out between 20 and 22.5 inches due to the adjustable receiver extension.

Going even more compact, the new Saint Victor 9mm PDW sticks with the 5.5-inch barrel, while its SB Tactical HBPDW brace, paired with a short buffer system, shrinks the overall length to 18.5 inches and feels much more solid.

And that brings us to this:

The new Saint Victor 9mm PDW uses forged 7075 T6 aluminum, Type III hardcoat anodized receivers finished in a low-glare Tungsten Gray Cerakote. 
With its HBPDW brace collapsing into its shortest format, the pistol is 18.5 inches long while still offering a 23.5-inch extended length. Like the rest of its family, it runs Colt-pattern 32-round stick mags.

Sporting probably the best brace I’ve felt and using a common ($30) double-stack steel mag that gives it a very SMG vibe, this new AR-9 from Springfield knocks it out of the park and fits in just about any bag big enough to hold a laptop.

We found the Victor PDW to fit easily in a 5.11 LVC12 Backpack. The bag is small enough (19″ H x 11″ W x 7.5″ D) to be discreet with a clean, urban profile, and still has lots of extra storage available besides the pistol and extra mags.

If you want a solid and utterly dependable 9mm PDW platform that can live in just about any bag that stands 19 inches high, this is it. The tolerances are tight. It is well thought out. It has a vibe.

About the worst you can say is that it is hefty by comparison, about a half pound heavier than a Kuna, which has a softer recoil and is a little cheaper. Plus, when you first load those Colt pattern sticks, take your pre-workout because you have to work on it to get to 32. After a while, they break in, but you have to climb that hill first.

Still, if you are looking for an AR-9 platform that can fit in almost any bag, here you go.

the new Springfield Saint Victor PDW
The MSRP on the new Springfield Saint Victor PDW is $1,399

Glock Generational Differences

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My bud (and podcast partner) Alexander went through the GDC Vault at work, pulled all seven generations (G1-6, plus V, minus the 4.5s), and compared them in a great piece on the site. I just couldn’t pass up the chance to repeat the profile pictures here for those of you guys who may be interested.

As you can tell, the Glock over the past 40 years has basically retained the same profile and manual of arms while showcasing a variety of minor internal tweaks and lots of gentle ergonomic improvements, the latter evolutionarily sculpting away at the pistol’s inherent blockiness.

Each in turn:

Glock Gen 1

Glock Gen 2

Glock Gen 3

Glock Gen 4

Glock Gen 5

Glock Gen V

Glock Gen 6

The article here.

Kuna Competition? Meet the Taurus RPC 9mm PDW

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Taurus on Tuesday announced its first entry into the dedicated PDW space, the fully ambidextrous 9mm RPC.

Billed as being built to NATO standards– keep in mind that the company competes for and wins military and police contracts all over the world– the new RPC is lightweight via alloy construction and runs from curved 32-round magazines.

And did we mention that it has a roller delayed operating system, which offers a flatter recoil impulse?

Taurus RPC 9mm PDW PCC
Note the case in the air and the muzzle still on target. (Photos: Taurus)
Taurus RPC 9mm PDW PCC
Controls are fully ambidextrous, with the bolt release/lock and magazine release easily reached from both sides, and a reversible, non-reciprocating charging handle. Note the rear vert Pic rail for braces. 
Taurus RPC 9mm PDW PCC
Using a 4.5-inch threaded barrel, the RPC features a single-stage flat-faced trigger, an AR-15 compatible soft rubber over-molded grip, and three integrated quick-detach sling attachment points in addition to fully ambi controls and a Picatinny top rail. 

A short M-LOK handguard is standard.

The RPC will be offered in two variants at launch, both with a rear vertical Picatinny rail, either with (MSRP $1098.99) or without ($939.99) a Strike Industries FSA folding brace. That puts it a couple of hundred bucks less than the roller-locked Springfield Armory Kuna and will likely come in under the cost of the Stribog SP9A3 as well.

Expect more on this interesting little guy from NRAAM this week, and know that we are eagerly trying to get one of these in for review.

American Elephant Snipers

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If you are a fan of U.S. military arms, especially of the 20th Century, you are well aware of Mr. Bruce Canfield.

The March American Rifleman has an article penned by Bruce on the Short Life of America’s Anti-Tank Rifles. Of note, he includes the early Browning .50-caliber AT variant, the Winchester Model 1918 .50-caliber High Power Bolt Action Swivel Gun, and the T1E1, a .60-caliber experimental design tested at Aberdeen Proving Ground in October 1942.

More here.

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