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 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.
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 MSRP on the new Springfield Saint Victor PDW is $1,399
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.
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?
Note the case in the air and the muzzle still on target. (Photos: Taurus)
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.
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.
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.
The 13+1-shot Browning Hi-Power, introduced in 1935, was the first “wonder nine” and a worldwide classic for generations until the company finally put it to bed in 2017.
Then came a few companies to fill the void, with EAA offering a Turkish-made clone by Girsan and Springfield Armory, in 2021, debuting the SA-35. We evaluated the latter and found it a very faithful salute to the classic 1960s/70s C/T-series BHP in terms of aesthetics, but with the bonus of several subtle improvements to boost performance.
Now, Springfield has whittled down the gun by about an inch in length while keeping everything else, akin to the old Argentine FM Hi-Powers seen on the consumer market in the early 1990s
You know, these guys:
Both the standard and “Detective” FMs were readily available once upon a time, as noted by this circa 1992 SOG ad in The Shotgun News.
However, Springfield didn’t just redo the Detective concept, but did it better done with several notable changes and flush-fit 15+1 round magazines.
I just posted a review on the new gun today as the embargo lifted.
The new Springfield Armory SA-35 4-inch runs a steel frame, slide, and barrel, hitting the scales at 29.8 ounces unloaded. (All photos: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
Overall length is 7.1 inches, while the height is 4.8 inches.
The SA-35 4-inch, left, compared to its 7.8-inch full-sized brother.
The difference in length is just under an inch, while the weight savings are about two ounces.
When compared to a 4.25-inch Commander-length 1911, in this case, Springfield Armory’s Operator AOS Commander, the SA-35 4-inch comes in both noticeably shorter and thinner.
We found the SA-35 4-inch to fit common Commander-sized holsters we had on hand, such as this Falco Langdon Timeless Open-Top IWB.
Spotted among recent turn-ins by the public to the Czech police, all surely hiding out since the 1940s– through the entire Warsaw Pact era:
A CZ vz. 27 with an extended barrel and an Arado suppressor, along with a 2.7mm Kolibri (hummingbird) pistol
A Czech RG F-1 and RG Cv5 grenade
ZB 26
Who doesn’t love a Luger?
“Uncle Petya’s old PPShk”
The guns are part of a public amnesty that has seen 680 guns, 65,000 rounds of ammunition, 3.5kg of explosive, and a “Soviet self-propelled gun” turned in.
Mossberg is known for their shotguns, but actually started off in 1919 making pistols, the .22LR Brownie pistol.
A four-shot break-action pocket gun with a rotating firing pin, some 32,000 of the little Brownies were cranked out before 1932, when Mossberg closed out the classic popgun and moved on to bigger and better things.
Fast forward to 2019 and, in celebrating the company’s 100th anniversary, Mossberg reintroduced a handgun, the 9mm MC1sc subcompact.
Front and rear slide serrations, an optional manual safety, 7+1 9mm capacity. The MC1sc had a lot going on
Offered in four models with an ask of between $425 and $526, it was slow going for the MC1sc, which was not surprising.
The company revamped the design with the double-stacked MC2c the next year, with a price between $490 to $595, depending on the model.
While it reviewed well, Mossberg never put in the effort to really advertise it, and it remained a sleeper option with a tough uphill climb against arguably better (or at least more recognizable) pistols that had a cheaper acquisition point.
So, it should surprise no one that the MC line disappeared from Mossberg’s site altogether around January, leaving only a few parts and magazines available for purchase.
The problem is, with so much market share already invested deep in the Ruger LC9/EC9, S&W Sheild, HK VP9SK, and the G43, I feel like this pistol will get about as much love as the Taurus AR15 or Remington R51.
Maybe an MC3c is inbound? Probably not. The polymer-framed handgun market is swamped.
Either way, it looks like you can widely pick up a new-in-box MC2c for around $325, and used models for less, which probably aren’t that bad of a buy– just be advised you will likely be on your own for support.
The nation’s 911 force is now officially authorizing pistol quals with a red dot optic, provided it is one very specific system.
On March 13, Marine Administrative Message (MARADMINS) 104/26 updated that the service’s Marksmanship Program will include the paragraph, “Marines are authorized to use unit funded Using Unit Responsibility Item, M17 Romeo red dot optic, National Stock Number 1240-01-713-9795 for Combat Pistol Program (CPP) qualifications.”
In short, so long as the SIG M17 Romeo sight is used– which was designed specifically for the P320-based M17 and M18 9mm Modular Handgun System– and it is bought with unit funds, the country’s premier amphibious warfare force can run red dots in qualifications.
The Romeo M17 sight (NSN: 1240-01-713-9795), seen attached to an M17 MHS handgun, is a mil-spec, fully enclosed and gas-purged red dot reflex sight with a distortion-free glass aspheric lens. It is submersible to depths up to 35 meters. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
The optic incorporates a high-efficiency point source red LED emitter, with 2 MOA dot/32 MOA circle reticle, independent brightness adjustment buttons, 15 brightness settings including night vision settings, and a side-mounted CR2032 battery compartment with a threaded battery cap so the optic does not need to be removed from the pistol for battery changes. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
Completely U.S. made and constructed of forged 7075 aluminum with a beryllium copper flexure arm (more on that in a minute) the Romeo M17 has an extremely low deck height so that armorers can reuse standard iron sights, has 15 illumination settings (including three for use with Gen 3+ night vision), beats drop and submersion tests, and, importantly, has an integral loaded chamber gas deflector shield that keeps the MHS from gassing up the lens after 10-15 rounds.
The Romeo M17 is a hoss. This installed example we saw dropped from 10 feet onto concrete at SIG’s plant in Oregon earlier this year with nothing but cosmetic damage to the housing. SIG explained to Guns.com that the Romeo M17 has surpassed 100,000 rounds in testing without loss of zero or parts breakage. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)That magical Romeo M17 flexure arm. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)Installed near the base of the Romeo M17, the arm provides a backbone – so to speak – for the sight, cutting down on the number of parts that can fail. That, combined with the unique mounting process used on the sight that gives it six points of contact with the pistol host, makes it so tough. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
Marines deployed with the Fleet have already been seen with red dot-equipped M17 Romeo-equipped M18s and Surefire X300 white lights.
A U.S. Marine with Maritime Special Purpose Force, 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable), fires an M18 pistol during a qualification range aboard San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock USS Fort Lauderdale (LPD 28), while underway in the Caribbean Sea, Feb. 22, 2026. (U.S. Marine Corps photo)
An inset of the above image, clearly showing the M17 Romeo on an M18 MHS pistol. (U.S. Marine Corps photo)
The Marines adopted the M18 in 2019, ordering 35,000 of the SIGs to not only replace legacy Beretta M9s but also the Colt M45A1 CQB .45ACP railgun and the M007 Glock.
Army Maj. Gen. Fox Conner ordered an armed military guard for the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on 24 March 1926, and it has been maintained with honor ever since.
The Tomb, located at Arlington National Cemetery, was dedicated on Armistice Day (now Veterans Day) in 1921, but was at first unguarded. Responding to concerns that the site was not receiving the proper respect from tourists, Conner, then the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Army, ordered a guard drawn from the 3rd Cavalry Regiment at nearby Fort Myer (now Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall). The original day guard was extended to a round-the-clock watch in 1937.
Today, a single M14-armed volunteer Sentinel stands guard over the Tomb at any given moment, with two reliefs rotating on a 24-hour shift. The Sentinels are changed every hour (on the hour) in winter months (October through March), and every half hour during the warmer months from April through September.
U.S. Soldiers with the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard) perform the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington, Virginia, March 18, 2026. (Photo: Laura Buchta/U.S. Army)
In an ode to the 21-gun salute to the Unknowns, as described by Arlington National Cemetery, “The Tomb Guard marches exactly 21 steps down the black mat behind the Tomb, turns, faces east for 21 seconds, turns and faces north for 21 seconds, then takes 21 steps down the mat and repeats the process.”
The two relief Sentinels, along with two (E-5) Assistant Relief Commanders and a sidearm-carrying (E-6) Relief Commander, are on duty in their quarters under the Memorial Room of the Tomb’s Amphitheater. The pistol is loaded with a 21-round magazine.
Since 2018, the Relief Commanders have carried specially made ceremonial SIG Sauer P320 M17 9mm pistols that carry a high-polish DLC coating and are filled with details honoring their task– while still being functional. They replaced a set of Beretta-made M9s, which were used by the guard since 1988, walking on over 11,000 consecutive days.
Each of the current four pistols bears a name — Silence, Respect, Dignity, or Perseverance— which is featured on the dust cover. The wood grip panels come from the decking of the old cruiser USS Olympia, which brought the Great War Unknown from France in 1921. The removable optics plate is engraved with a copy of the Greek Figures featured on the east panel of the Tomb, representing Peace, Victory, and Valor, repeated on the magazine floor plates. The front sight contains a vial of marble dust collected from the Tomb of the Vietnam Unknown in 1998 when he was disinterred for identification. The cocking serrations on the slide are engraved “XXI” in an ode to the 21-gun salute. Further, they all use a serial number which includes “02JUL37”, the date the guard went 24-hours.
The four serial numbers are: LS02JUL37A21 (Silence), LS02JUL37B21 (Respect), LS02JUL37C21 (Dignity), and LS02JUL37D21 (Perseverance).
Silence. (Graphic by Staff Sgt. Oscar Toscano/U.S. Army.)
Dignity. (Graphic by Staff Sgt. Oscar Toscano/U.S. Army.)
Perseverance. (Graphic by Staff Sgt. Oscar Toscano/U.S. Army.)
Respect also contains a discreet internal engraving honoring MSG Jared Van Aalst, a Delta Force operator killed in action in 2009, and subsequently laid to rest at Arlington. (Graphic by Staff Sgt. Oscar Toscano/U.S. Army.)
The slides of the four Ceremonial M17s use a rear “XXI” cocking serration. (Photo: Staff Sgt. Oscar Toscano/U.S. Army.)
The optics plate is engraved with three Greek figures. As noted by the Army, “Peace holding a dove, Victory holding a palm branch, and Valor holding a sword. Victory stands between peace and valor to reward the devotion and sacrifice that went with courage to make the cause of righteousness triumphant.” (Photos: Staff Sgt. Oscar Toscano/U.S. Army.)
The grips feature the crest of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier Identification Badge on one side and the 4th Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment crest on the other. Note the engraved magazine base pads. (Photos: Staff Sgt. Oscar Toscano/U.S. Army.)
SIG has a fifth mock-up Tomb pistol in its museum in New Hampshire. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
