As we have covered before, the current firearms works known and loved by collectors, hipsters, and savvy users alike dates to 1936 when its new factory was established to produce machine guns for the Czech Air Force. However, it became iconic in the West for its CZ 75 double-stack 9mm pistol.
We were fortunate enough to hold CZ 75 Serial Number 00001 when we visited the CZ factory in 2024, the gun that made the company a household name on this side of the pond.
Now, the new Legend repeats the same slab-sided Iron Curtain aesthetic while keeping the pistol’s internals and features modern, including a 16+1 round magazine, making it essentially a “post-B” gun in a “pre-B” body.
The new CZ Legend. Note the slab-sided frame and slide as well as the pebble-style grips. (Photos: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
The new Legend compared to SN 00001, which we saw in 2024 in the Czech Republic.
MSRP on the new CZ 75 Legend will be $1,399.
Bundeswehr Pistole 13
One of the big stories from late last year was that the German military (Bundeswehr) had selected the CZ P-10 pistol after it beat out a number of contenders to become the country’s new P13 sidearm.
Among the finalists bested were the Arex Delta and Glock G17 Gen5 for what could be an order of as many as 180,000 units. It will replace the HK-made P8A1, a version of the USP
CZ had the new P13 on hand at their booth last week.
In another shift from previous German service handguns, the new striker-fired P13 will arrive wearing an FDE finish instead of the traditional black.
CZ will work directly with its authorized German partner, POL-TEC GmbH & Co., to fulfill the order and provide the Bundeswehr with support for the new platform.
CZ 457 Target
CZ 457 rifles are known for their superb accuracy, but the new 457 Target, a fully adjustable, ISSF 3-Position competition-ready aluminum chassis co-developed with four-time American Olympic shooter Matt Emmons, raises that bar.
It includes a three-axis-adjustable pistol grip available in three different sizes, a side-tiltable buttstock with a five-axis-adjustable buttpad, along with a three-axis-adjustable, two-sided cheekpiece; and a forehand riser can be adjusted in three different axes. A 26-inch 12-groove .22 cold hammer-forged match barrel equipped with a diffuser is standard as is an adjustable 2-stage Flyweight trigger.
The MSRP for the CZ 457 Target rifle is expected to be around $3,600, which is still less than many European-made alternatives in the same class from folks like Anschutz and Walther.
I really dig AKs in 5.56, and they are seeing a lot more love these days, especially as 5.45 is growing harder and harder to get in quantity for cheap. I’ve been chasing this dream for well over a decade, going back to my original Century-imported Zastava-made, Krinkov-style M85NP pistol picked up in 2014 (serial number 81!), and even longer if you consider the Galil an AK.
My circa 2014 M85NP that accepts AR mags. It was long ago SBR’d– back when there was a tax for that. (Photos unless noted: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
While Century and Zastava long ago broke up, and the latter is running their own operations stateside now (albeit with on-again/off-again export issues) since 2019, the M85 is still around but without the option to run AR mags– which is what I love about my old M85 NP.
So why not run the new ZPAP M85– which has been extensively updated– for a bit and show how it stacks up.
My old M85NP SBR rifle from 2014 (top) with a more current ZPAP M85 pistol (bottom), the latter outfitted with a Midwest Industries M1913 brace and Vortex Crossfire dot.
Both are nice builds, as they have the same DNA, but I think I’m feeling the newer gun more.
For those interested in just running an M85 16-inch carbine in 5.56, Zastava makes those as well. (Photos: Zastava)
For full disclosure, Zastava provided this ZPAP M85 pistol for review purposes. All testing was done on this one gun, which has been under evaluation since December.
The Specs
Overall length (no brace): 19.3 inches Barrel length: 10.5-inch cold radial hammer forged, chrome lined threaded (26×1.5mm LH) Width: 2 inches across the forearm at the thickest, 1.5 across the receiver at the trunnion Height without magazine: 7.5 inches (no optics) Height with magazine inserted: 10.56 inches (no optics) Magazine capacity: 30 rounds 5.56 NATO; ships with one plastic Z-Mag Sights: Twin dual-aperture metal sights, 3.9-inch M1913 Picatinny top rail installed Sight radius: 13.5 inches Trigger pull: 6 pounds (10-pull average). Weight: 6.6 pounds, unloaded, sans optics Weight outfitted: 10.1 pounds with 30 rounds of 62-grain FMJ in loaded magazine, Vortex Crossfire red dot on a tall 1/3rd mount, Midwest Industries folding M1913 stabilizing brace, and Crimson Trace CMR-301 Rail Master Pro light/green laser.
Features
The basic ZPAP M85 we had in for testing is SKU ZP85556FDE (UPC: 685757098892), which is still a 5.56x45mm/.223 caliber semi-automatic pistol with a 10.5-inch cold hammer forged chrome-lined barrel.
As you may note, it is FDE Cerakote with a black quad forearm, safety lever, 1913 sections, angled foregrip, and muzzle device. The pistol grip is black plastic.
The dimpled receiver is 1.5mm stamped steel with a bulged RPK-style trunnion. Overbuilt, it’s as thick as an old shovel, and just as hard. tion here
Both M85s, old and new, use a hinged top cover, which is a snap for maintenance. The bolt carrier is hard nickel-moly (molybdenum) steel.
Our review model sports Zastava’s M85/92 M1913 Quad Rail in T6 6061 aluminum, which is anodized and has a matte black finish. It is 6 inches long, includes a removable UTG angled foregrip at the 6 o’clock position, and is great for cheese grating. Zastava sells these separatelyfor folks looking to upgrade their Yugo AK pistols.
The 3-inch-long removable Night Brake muzzle device weighs five ounces by itself and has a large, slanted port at the rear and a 3-prong design to help break up the flash as seen by the user. In practice, everyone else sees a ton of flash off this gun, no matter the time of day.
My other M85 has the more commonly seen Krinkov-style booster. The Night Brake is much more aggressive, in all senses of that word.
That oddball 26×1.5mm LH pitch is a bummer when it comes to utilizing suppressors if you don’t want to run a Zastava Vuk or Dead Air Wolverine, as it leaves you searching for something like a JMAC muzzle device (which are $100 ish) or some sort of funky thread converter that adds length and a bunch of tolerance stacking. It’s not impossible to run a can, just a bit of a pain.
The safety lever has a bolt hold-open notch. Speaking of holding that bolt, the Z-Mag sent with the M85 also holds open after the last round, something we did not experience on other mags.
It uses a Krinkov-style rear sight with two different apertures.
The front post sight is adjustable and also includes a flip-up aperture.
The 3-inch Pic rail atop the receiver cover is solid, and we mounted a Vortex Crossfire 2 MOA dot in FDE. Good for 50,000 hours on a single CR2032, it is only 2.5 inches long while offering 11 brightness settings (two night, nine day). Gas purged and O-ring sealed for fog-proof and waterproof performance in all conditions, the Crossfire is a tough little dot. We ran the higher mount, which enabled us to also use the irons in a pinch and see the dot via Nods.
Useable right out of the box (just add lube and bullets), the base M85 makes a good “ride along” that is very stowable for use around camp or in the field.
We decided to stretch the platform a bit with an FDE Midwest Industries M1913 side-folding stabilizing brace. Made from hard-coat anodized 6061 aluminum, it adds 9 inches to the length of the M85 when deployed (making the pistol some 31 inches long) and only 0.75 inches when folded. Weight is 14 ounces, so it adds some heft for sure, but makes the 5.56 pistol a lot easier to shoot at distance, and adds 5 QD sling attachments to the rear of the gun.
The ZPAP M85 with folded Midwest brace (not a stock) compared to the MP85NP SBR with a U.S. Machine Gun side-folding Galil style stock.
Even with the brace installed, the pistol easily fits inside a milsurp ($20) M60 spare barrel bag. Our old M85 (top) fits in a Russian paratrooper drop bag, but with the optic on our new one, we couldn’t make it work.
We also added an aluminum-bodied Crimson Trace CMR-301 Rail Master Pro light/green laser and switch to the rail, trying to fill the space.
The chunky CMR-301 just seemed to match the ZPAP’s concrete brutalist aesthetic.
Plus, with the option to run a 500 or 1,000-lumen light or green laser, or both, it provides hours of enjoyment for your cat.
Perhaps the strongest thing you can say is that the gun has a total Slav energy about it. At least if you die with a ZPAP M85, you went out looking cool.
Trigger
The double-hook Yugo-style trigger generally breaks at about 6.5 pounds, which isn’t terrible for an AK factory trigger.
Reliability
We ran the M85 on a ton of 5.56 rounds that we had around, pulling from over a dozen different loads. This leaned more toward bulk pack surplus ammo, primarily German 55-grain MEN loads. We only suffered two issues over the course of 1,000 rounds, one a misfire with a dimpled primer on some LC-stamped Winchester green tip, the other a FTE while running a box of old Tula green case.
Very short 10-inch 5.56 PDWs lose a lot of ballistic umpf, but with the right ammo choices, that can be mitigated. Rounds that are SBR-optimized and designed to tumble and expand at lower speeds, such as Barnes’ 70-grain TSX copper solids, Hornady’s Black-series 75-grain Interlock HD SBR, 77-grain Black Hills Mk262, et al., are widely available, though a bit expensive. Greentip ball is cheap and plentiful and is going to shoot through it, but if using the M85 in a “people with guns” gone wrong situation, it’s probably going to be good to have a few mags of really nice SBR-friendly self-defense rounds on tap.
The polymer ZPAP 30 magazine runs $25 and has a BHO (bolt hold open) and follower that are steel reinforced and run $25ish, while the ZPAP 5.56 steel mag, which gives strong Galil vibes, runs about $40.
On aftermarket rock-and-lock non-Zastava mags, we had an AC Unity 45 rounder that would not seat, but an AK19 style Gen 3 AC Unity 30 would and ran just fine. We also tried two $12 Bulgarian AK74-style fakelites and one worked while the other one didn’t, so that’s a 50/50 option in our experience.
The biggest problem we had was the fact that the gun was super stiff, with the magazine release in particular needing lots of actuation to smooth out.
Zastava-imported DRNCH lubricant was our friend during the T&E period. Direct from Belgrade.
Accuracy
The M85 is not a tack driver. I mean, you have a choice of a short sight radius and kinda funky irons when using fixed sights, or a dot mounted on a hinged top receiver cover. Add to this a 10.5 barrel, and you do not have a recipe for sub-MOA shooting. Still, the gun was very usable and able to achieve and maintain a 2–3-inch group at 50 yards while shooting off a barricade and utilizing the Midwest brace, roughly doubling that group at 100. When shooting offhand, standing, 25-yard A-zone groups are still overly simple, especially when using a dot. That is fun all day on a short range, with an obvious dual application in harvesting medium-sized game or controlling nuisance critters in brush, or in a close-in self-defense scenario.
Adding an LPVO and running it off a benchrest with match ammo could shrink that group, but why? Doing so misses the point of this one, Brate.
Pros & Cons
Pros
Overbuilt
Reliable
Chrome-lined barrel
Quad rail
Accurate for practical use
Lots of factory options
Magazines are available
Cons
Suppressor mounting is complicated due to the thread pattern
Furniture options are limited
Heavy at 6.3 pounds unloaded and over 10 outfitted.
Conclusion
I love my original M85 NP that I’ve had for over a decade, and the newest batch of M85 pistols continues that love affair. It’s a solid (and I do mean solid, at 6.3 pounds right out of the box) entry into the 5.56 AK pistol market. The old NP allowed use with an AR mag, but the newer models, sans magwell adapter, run the more traditional rock-and-lock setup, and AK556 mags are becoming better and more available than they were 10 years ago.
Whether you Form 1 it into an SBR or just roll with a brace and keep it in the pistol zone, the M85 has lots of options and provides joy.
Compared to Romanian-made Dracos, M85s have a lot of “ups,” including a barrel that is more likely to be concentric (important for use with cans and muzzle devices), a better fit and finish, and a lot of potential factory add-ons such as a quad rail, rear M1913 rail, and the giant Night Brake as shown. The other AK556 pistol on the market is the Polish WBP Rogow Mini Jack, which often doesn’t have a brace attachment on the rear but does allow users to add an under-folder AKSU-style stock to their SBR build and, like the Dracos, accepts AK furniture.
You are a bit more limited on furniture options on the M85, as pretty much just Zastava’s M92 pattern stuff interchanges. Even with their other guns, M70 (7.62×39), M77 (.308), and M90 (5.56) handguards and stocks interchange among themselves, but none will fit the M85. Nonetheless, there are some aftermarket options out there for the gun, and it can even accept an ALG AKT trigger (although with the use of an AK body, pin mods, and roll pin safety). Plus, Midwest Industries is marketing M-LOK drop-in handguards for the M85, so there is hope.
In the end, the Zastava ZPAP M85 line just seems to keep getting better. It’s an all-around “NATO AK” package that is getting lots of attention for all the right reasons.
Springfield Armory and Croatian firearms maker HS Produkt have been working together in the polymer-framed striker-fired handgun space for a quarter century, first on the divisive XD series, then the well-liked Hellcat, and, since 2023, the modular Echelon. We’ve reviewed the full-sized 4.5F, the 4.0C Compact, and the 4.0C Comp since then and have found few issues to complain about.
They run.
Going beyond that, Springfield has had some notable success with the Echelon on the LE market, as witnessed by the December 2024 adoption by the St. Louis County Police Department—with nearly 1,000 officers—as the agency’s duty pistol in a $2.1 million contract, adding some fire to the company’s smoke about the new pistol’s reliability and performance. There have been other significant LE contract awards as well.
Now, the newest addition to Springfield’s Echelon catalog is the 4.0FC. It is the same length and general specs as the Echelon 4.0C, save for the fact that the grip is more full-sized, which bumps the height up just 0.385 inches while providing better ergos and a higher magazine capacity (17+1 rounds flush fit and 20+ extended fit vs 15+1 and 18+1). It is also an ounce heavier.
The new Springfield Armory Echelon 4.0FC. Note the Compact length slide assembly with a Full-sized grip frame that uses a shorter dust cover to match the slide without an odd underbite. (All photos: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
The pistol uses a 4-inch barrel, which gives it an overall length of 7.25 inches. Its longer grip allows it to use a 17+1 round flush fit or a 20+1 round extended magazine.
Note how it stacks up to the G19X, which is fundamentally just a peanut butter G45. The specs are remarkably close to each other. Of note, the G19X and G45 have won numerous LE/mil contracts over the past several years.
Also see how the new Echelon 4.0FC compares to a 15+1 shot Hellcat Pro micro 9, a cousin to the pistol. The Echelon, slightly larger, has a better optics mounting system and superior ergonomics, not to mention a higher magazine capacity. Note the pistols share the same style of the U-Notch rear sight system and grip texture.
Then came the company’s Next Generation of 1911s, which have all the features that modern Colt 45 lovers want, but for a price that doesn’t break a potential new buyer out in cold sweats.
Now this week, they debuted the DS 1911 Warrior line with options in 9mm, 10mm, .45ACP, and .38 Super, including a long slide variant, with prices starting at $1,099.
For an American made (no offshoring) double stack 1911. That’s even giving the Turkish guns a run for their money, much less Springfield.
After sunsetting the legacy SCAR last year, FN has the new generation of its venerable modular rifle for 2026 – and they are softer recoiling, accept suppressors, and don’t eat scopes anymore.
First fielded in 2008 as sporter (semi-auto) variants of the USSOCOM SOF Combat Assault Rifle, the 16S, 17S, and 20S were a top-shelf option on the commercial market until FN closed that line late last year. Let’s be honest, the original SCAR series was cool but had some issues, and a few needed a significant redesign to fix.
That brings us to the new SCAR line.
The old SCAR, top, compared to a new SCAR, bottom. (All photos: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
Among the new features is that the rifles are optimized for suppressors with a U.S.-standard muzzle profile and barrel shoulder. The platform’s short-stroke gas piston system uses a two-position adjustable gas regulator for improved reliability with cans and different ammo types. The adjustment is accessible via an access port in the heat shield. It works and is an upgrade from the old exposed gas block. Doubling down on the platform being suppressor-friendly as a selling point, FN even designed some new cans just for the SCAR, which we will get to in a separate article.
Another issue with the now-classic SCAR was the tendency to blow out scope crosshairs due to the, well, let’s just call it aggressive recoil. The new SCAR has a new (and lighter) hydraulically buffered modular two-piece bolt carrier that softens recoil. In testing last summer on the range between the old SCAR and the new ones, we could feel the chop decrease and the recoil impulse smooth out significantly.
We found the new SCARs to be much less choppy on the range in testing.
The new bolt carrier system helps with those tight repeatable groups on the 20S as well, which runs a heavy contour 20-inch barrel that now features 5R precision rifling with hammer-forged/chrome-lined durability. We were able to nail confirmed hits on target at 1,385 yards on a new gen SCAR 20 (6.5CM) in front of a crowd (no pressure) after just a few minutes of instruction.
FN realized that the handguard needed to be updated, so now the upper is a good bit longer with less exposed barrel and uses an integrated rail system, replacing the short M1913 rails with a ton of M-LOK accessory slots at the 3, 6, and 9 o’clock position – even on the SCAR 20S precision rifle. Plus, the 16S and 17S rifles now ship with a colorway-matching vertical foregrip.
When it comes to the new SCAR 20S, it runs a rubber over-molded Ergo pistol with a generous palmswell and a fully-adjustable stock.
Triggers have been upgraded with the 20S using an improved FN-designed two-stage precision trigger for better control and feel, providing a 3.5 to 4.5-pound trigger pull. The 17S and 16S have a single-stage trigger that has likewise been updated.
For ergonomics, the pistol grip is now compatible with AR grips and, while the 16S and 17S still ship with the traditional “Ugg Boot” side folding adjustable stock, an AR stock and tube system can be installed.
Yessss.
The new SCARs will accept different stock options.
This is a thing now for the SCAR…
There is even the possibility of using the SCAR SC stock.
You also have more QD cups in more places, and all the guns are “Nerch” (Non-Reciprocating Charging Handle or NRCH) variants.
Whereas the old SCAR was kind of limited in the functionality for southpaws, the new ones are fully ambi when it comes to the bolt catch/release, mag release buttons, and safety levers. Even the selector switches are modular now.
When it comes to durability and serviceability, the old SCAR used Hex screws that could strip, whereas the new ones run Torx, among other changes. We were advised that the testing protocol on these guns was no joke, and the new generation SCAR is designed and built with feedback from nearly two decades of end users, many of whom are “tip of the spear” types.
The new SCARs will be available in 15 different variants across the 16S (5.56 in either FDE, Gray, and Black), 17S (6.5CM or 7.62 NATO in FDE, Gray, and Black), and 20S (6.5CM or 7.62 NATO in FDE, Gray, and Black) models.
You gotta love those Gray models. Cue Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg with “my favorite.”
As for those still hungering for the pistol variant, the SCAR 15P, it survived the great SCAR cull of 2025 but didn’t get any of the new updates and is available in 5.56 and .300BLK, with the latter just screaming for a now zero-dollar Form 1 SBR conversion.
Here comes the rough stuff.
While the new and old SCARs look very much the same – and that was done on purpose for continuity – very little is backward compatible between the discontinued traditional models and the new ones. About the only things that are shared/swappable between the two are the NRCH charging sled (if you had an NRCH model), barrels, magazines, the 9310 bolt and firing pin, and some small springs and pins.
If you have an older SCAR and love it, FN wants you to love it still, and they are supporting those guns for at least the foreseeable future. Remember, they are still making and supporting military/LE contract classic SCARs around the world.
MSRP on the new SCARs is comparable to that of the old guns, but they are still a more top-shelf price than, say, your average AR. The new FN SCAR 17S variants run $3,999, while the 16S is slightly cheaper at $3,799, and the long boy, the 20S, is $4,499. Of course, that is the MSRP, and you can bet that the reseller crowd is going to move into high gear with these, so watch out for the gouging. But if your heart is pure and you wish hard enough and look long enough, you could find one that fits the Ugg-sized hole in your gun safe.
Just in time for SHOT Show, FN has debuted its newest double-stack 9mm pistol: the feature-packed and more affordable FN 309 MRD.
The 309 takes cues from the company’s well-received Reflex series of micro 9s, using a DAO internal hammer operation and direct-mount Shield RMSc/Holosun K/Leupold DPP footprint with adapter plates available for other dots.
The unloaded weight is 18.4 ounces with an empty mag. We found the Reflex in its most svelte form, with 12 rounds of Federal’s Punch JHP 124-grain self-defense loads and no optic, to hit the scales at 23.4 ounces. Shown with a DeSantis Inside Heat, which, although made for the single-stack FN 503, fits it like a glove.
In fact, the FN 309 is basically a Reflex XL, but it is a little bigger, holds more bullets, is $150 cheaper, and uses easy-to-load and more affordable ($20 rather than $50) magazines. Plus, it is easier to rack and very slim, all good things for first-time pistol buyers: the demographic FN is pitching to for this one.
The FN 309 is new for 2026. (Photos: FN)
It has styling similar to the company’s other pistols, but make no mistake, the 309 is its own ecosystem, using proprietary (but inexpensive) 16 and 20-round polymer-bodied magazines. Plus – and this is a win for first-time gun owners and those with reduced hand strength – it requires lower racking force without a gimmick.
The pistol is carry-sized and leans more compact than sub-compact, with a 3.8-inch alloy steel, machine-gun grade, barrel with a recessed target crown. This gives it an overall length of 7.4 inches and a weight, due to its polymer frame, of 22 ounces. The guns ship standard with FN 509 pattern drift-adjustable sights, using an over-molded green fiber-optic front and rounded U-notch rear. Other features include an accessory rail, a reversible magazine release, and multiple safeties, including a firing pin block and trigger safety. Manual safety models will also be available.
The MSRP on the FN 309 is $549, which is likely to be closer to $450 at retailers once supply starts flowing.
We were able to travel to South Carolina last summer to check out the 309 “in progress,” shooting a table full of early production pistols along with a group of other gun media. (Photos unless noted: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
Note the polymer magazines in 16 and 20-round variants, which FN advises will be inexpensive (think $25) at retail. Compare that to FN 509 mags, which run $50-$90 depending on the model.
The FN 309 is a simple design and field strips without pulling the trigger – a big deal for a lot of users.
Note the internal hammer-fired operation of the FN 309.
The gun shot well in initial testing, with the Guns.com crew putting about 500 rounds through a couple of pistols over the course of a couple of hours. A relay team ran 1,160 rounds on a very hot torture test gun without a serious issue, so there is definitely a potential for the 309 to be something FN is proud to have in its catalog.
The gun is pitched as a more entry-level pistol than the company’s duty-grade 509s, which start at $750 for basic vanilla models and run to $1,600 in the more bespoke Edge package guns. Even the 15+1 round FN Reflex XL MRD has a suggested ask of $719.
“Many gun buyers don’t see FN as an option, and we wanted to change that perception by making the brand accessible to people looking to spend $500 on a 9mm pistol,” said Chris Johnson, Senior Product Manager for Pistols for FN America, LLC. “With the FN 309 MRD, we now have a trustworthy, easy-to-use pistol perfect for new gun buyers and those looking to purchase their first FN. For us, it’s not just a new product, it’s FN’s commitment to offering the everyday user peace of mind and FN performance.”
The FN 309 ships with a 16+1-round flush-fit and 20+1-round extended magazine, with options for 10-rounders in restricted states.
We have a review model inbound, so expect to see more on the 309 in the coming weeks.
Plus, if you like this, you are going to love what is announced later this morning.
The crew of Coast Guard Cutter Northland conducts a live firing of the MK 75 76mm weapons system while underway, on September 20, 2020, in the Atlantic Ocean. (Photo: USCG)
As we have discussed, the MK 75 OTO Melera 76/62C Compact gun has been sunset by the U.S. Navy and USCG after a 50-year-run, with the Ordnance Shop at the Coast Guard Yard taking ownership of the remnants of the program, tapped to support the guns on FFG-7 frigates and 378-foot cutters transferred overseas.
The CG Yard Ordnance Repair Facility recently completed a five-month overhaul of an MK75 gun mount for an international partner.
“This effort is part of a larger Foreign Military Sale Program, which prioritizes robust national security partnerships and U.S. global leadership.
The Yard is the only certified MK75 overhaul facility in the U.S. The Ordnance shop manufacturers and repairs critical components from decommissioned Navy donor guns, since these parts are no longer manufactured. After the overhaul, the weapon is boxed and shipped for transit to the international partner.”
Before:
After:
And packed up for return shipment.
Death in a box!
As to why it takes five months to refirb one of these mounts:
It takes that long because the shop has to remove/ship it, pre test, completely tear down, sand blasted all parts, send part for plating, source or get parts made that are no longer in the stock system, repair all corrosion, overhaul all hydraulic components with new gaskets/hardware, paint / repair everything, start assembling have QI come in for major sub component test, finish assembly, start the ISMAT / ISMEP testing, round 100 rounds, package the system, ship it, install it on new cutter/ship then Test it again on the ship and this is completed with up to a 3-4 man team while training new workers. It’s a big team effort, but rewarding the workers in that shop are really top-notch.
We’ve been running into YHM cans for over 20 years, making them one of the oldest in the relatively young suppressor business, but the company actually goes back much further
The family behind Massachusetts-based Yankee Hill Machine, which has become a leader in the U.S. firearms-suppressor category, will be celebrating the company’s Diamond Jubilee throughout 2026.
I’ve known the Graham family for years and have stopped in at their booths at SHOT, NRA, CanCon, etc for well over a decade.
The company was founded in an old garage by U.S. Army veteran James H. Graham and Wallace Judd during the Korean War in early 1951. Based in a part of Northampton known locally as “Yankee Hill,” the shop’s name was an obvious one.
For its first decade they were focused on turning out nuts and bolts and custom machining projects, then during Vietnam moved into military procurement, making cleaning rods and related products for the Army’s new M-16 rifles in 1967. By that time, YHM was based in an old 19th century brock mill.
After 1984, when James J. Graham, the founder’s son, took over, things really started to change.
1985 – First Computerized Numerical Control (CNC) machines arrive at YHM
1990 – First YHM-designed firearm accessories made and sold to industry partners (sights, muzzle devices, barrels, etc.)
First YHM products are offered for retail sale under the YHM name.
2002 – First YHM website goes live
2002 – YHM attends first SHOT Show
2005 – First YHM-made suppressors are offered on the national market
2007-06 – YHM suppressor line rapidly expands; first national distribution partners join
2008 – First YHM-branded firearm is offered
2006 – YHM team attends first NRA Show
2012 – YHM expands suppressor manufacturing
2013 – Christopher and Kevin Graham become co-owners of YHM
2017 – YHM moves into steel building complex in Easthampton, MA
2018 – YHM is completely CNC-focused for all machining operations
2022 – The YHM Turbo 3 becomes the first company suppressor to be officially rated Gold as part of the National Tactical Officers Association “Member Tested and Recommended” program.
2024 – Chris Graham becomes sole president/owner of YHM 2025
YHM introduces the VICTRA-12, the company’s first shotgun suppressor
We’ll be hanging out with YHM off and on through the upcoming year to help celebrate their 75th.
Recently up at auction with Morphys, a very rare and desirable Japanese Type 5 Garand semi-automatic rifle, one of approximately 125 of its type assembled in early 1944.
This outstanding experimental example in standard Japanese 7.7mm chambering, numbered ‘13’ on the underside of the barrel. Action nearly identical to that of a standard American Garand, although the 8-round en bloc clip was replaced with a fixed internal 10-round magazine that extended past the wood line.
Accompanied by an original March 14, 1946-dated capture certificate listing “ONE JAPANESE RIFLE” as the property of Colonel Walter D. Buie, a 1920 West Point graduate who earned two Legions of Merit, first on the staff of the XXIII Corps stateside in 1943-44 and then as commander of the 272d Infantry Regiment, 69th Infantry Division in NW Europe in 1944-45. Post VE-Day, Buie left his post with the 272 and joined the 25th Division as Chief of Staff in the Pacific. Also included was a period shipping crate addressed to Major Walter Buie at Fort Leavenworth and also his wife in N.C.
Someone got a deal, as it sold for $48,000 against an estimated range of $60,000-$75,000.
It belongs in a museum.
Below, a Type 5 (SN 53) compared to a production M-1 Garand in November 1945 at Springfield Armory:
The light assembly is under the barrel, while the battery and pressure switch are in the replacement grip. The device featured precise craftsmanship, including spring-and-rubber cushioning for the bulb.
They are joined by a fine wire that rests in a shallow milled passage through the frame that looks to have been done by perhaps a jeweler or a watchmaker.
Its inventor, Mr. George A. Seely of San Francisco, seemed an interesting chap and, besides his short-lived “night sight for firearms,” also patented a curious curtain pole, a threshold, a table leveler, a conveyor device, and a stamp affixing machine, among others.
Some lightbox images:
This seems right out of a Clive Cussler Isaac Bell novel. You know, the circa 1914-1950 investigator for the Van Dorn Detective Agency with titles like The Chase, The Wrecker, and The Bootlegger? I mean, it should. The only other example I’ve ever seen of one of these was from the Cussler Collection (formerly of noted collector/dealer Randall Bessler of Carson City) and sold at auction in 2021 for $3,750.
We have it for auction at GDC starting at an incredibly low $2,199 with like a day left, and somebody better get it because if they don’t, well, I may be forced to grab this bad boy for myself and just feel somewhat of a Van Dorn.
