The iconic Heckler & Koch-produced 7.62 NATO caliber Gewehr 3 battle rifle officially left German military service in the 1990s, yet it continues to break cover.
The social media page for the Schleswig-Holstein State Command recently posted images of the G3 DMR, or Designated Marksman Rifle, on a military flat range in Hamburg’s Duvenstedt area. The post went on to explain that the robust G3 DMR closes the gap for medium to long distances between Sturmgewehr and Scharfschützengewehr (sniper rifle).
Looks like they are getting some work done from the 300m line. (Photos: German Army)
Oh, hallo!
The post soon garnered over 300 comments, mainly from German Boomers and Gen X members who had cut their teeth on the G3 while serving in the Bundeswehr during the country’s old conscription days of the Cold War.
West German panzergrenadier jumping off a M48 Patton during the Cold War, HK G3 in hand.
The G3, in then-West German service, replaced the briefly adopted FN FAL in 1959 and was the country’s standard infantry weapon during the Cold War. While officially replacing the HK G36 in 5.56 NATO starting in 1996, and thousands of legacy G3s were given away as military aid to Eastern European (The Baltic Republics) and overseas (Peshmerga) allies, the legendary roller-delayed blowback rifle is still apparently on hand on a just-in-case basis for “Der Tag.”
Since you’ve come this far, enjoy this circa 1970 film, which shows the G3 in production at HK, complete with a funky period soundtrack. Sure, it is in German, but it really needs no translation.
Utah-based Dead Air Silencers recently released some merch that showed off a sweet photograph of an SBR’d folding stocked Ruger Mini-14 with the company’s Lazarus-6 suppressor.
Boom:
Well, they got so much user feedback on the gun (not the can!) that they felt compelled to have the owner run a short video addressing the nuts and bolts of the build.
As a foldy Mini afficiado myself, the proud owner of a 30-year-old stainless GB (a former Maryland Dept of Corrections tower rifle), I found it interesting.
Over 3 million Mini-14/Ranch Rifles have been made since 1973.
A Gen 5 Glock 21 MOS, which is not California-compliant. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
Word swept across the gun universe on Monday that Glock may be changing everything known and loved about its catalog. Here’s what we found out.
What we know: One of the largest Glock retailers, Lenny Magill’s Glockstore, announced on social media that, “We have received news that as of November 30th all Glocks are discontinued except 43, 43X, 48X. All Glocks will be replaced with new Glock ‘V Models.’ These will have changes that prevent switch conversions. At launch, all will be non-MOS. No pricing changes.”
Why should we take that seriously? We’ve known Magill for over a decade, and he is a solid fixture in the gun industry. A sort of impossibly tanned and sagacious Glock All-father. He has probably sold more Glocks than anyone, and his views on the brand are consistently accurate.
Verification: When looking for validation on rumors in the firearms industry, especially when it comes to the notoriously tight-lipped Glock, it’s akin to “checking the hot sheets” in “Men in Black.” A bit of success came from Glock Talk, one of the largest public Glock communities in the country. A thread there includes a screenshot purportedly from gun wholesaler Lipsey’s, detailing that “On November 30, Glock will stop shipments on all Gen 3, Gen 5, Gen 5 MOS,” with the slimline G43X, G43X MOS, G48, and G48 MOS remaining active. This jibes with McGill’s harbinger of looming Glock upheaval.
The screenshot further details, “In December 2025, Glock will begin shipping V Series. Pricing will be consistent with current Gen 5 structure,” with models to include 17 (V), 19 (V), 23 (V), 23 (V) MOS, 45 (V), 19X (V), 20 (V) MOS, 21 (V) MOS, 26 (V), and 44 (V). “Changes to V series include internal slide and trigger improvements. Current Glock Performance triggers will not function in V-series guns.”
Thus:
What Glock is saying: We reached out to our contacts at Glock early Monday to clarify the reports of discontinuations and the new V models, as well as to ask for a statement. By Tuesday morning, we still hadn’t received any response.
Background: The sale of Glocks to consumers in California, which has some 13 million gun owners, is banned after July 2026, under a new law adopted by the Democrat-controlled state government. While the currently dormant law is already under legal challenge, like-minded states are sure to pursue similar laws. Glock is also fighting lawsuits from progressive-led cities like Seattle and Chicago, as well as a multi-state lawsuit led by New Jersey and Minnesota, focused on the possibility that the company’s guns can be illegally converted to fire full auto. Possession of such switches or devices, unless registered, is illegal under federal law and has been for decades.
Has Glock tried to address this already? Glock added an element to the rear of the Gen 5 series slide and frame, which makes inserting an illegal switch or chip harder, akin to how some AR-15 makers utilize “high shelf” lowers. However, California hasn’t approved any Gen 5 Glocks for consumer sale in the state, and the new law bars an anti-switch block molded into the rear of the frame or slide by the manufacturer, seemingly ruling out any possible Gen 6 gun with a more robust block.
A Gen 3 G19, left, compared to a Gen 5 G21, right. See the difference? (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
As some of the citations over the new V series guns specifically mention that “Glock Performance triggers will not function in V series guns,” it’s likely the company is pivoting away from using a so-called “cruciform trigger bar,” which is specifically mentioned in the text of the new law. No cruciform trigger bar = not subject to the new law. As Glock has no shortage of new patents secured in the past several years on novel trigger and frame lock-up systems, this move may have been a long time coming.
Our take: Looks like current “classic” Glock models may become a little scarce after November, or at least command a higher cost (remember, there are millions in circulation), with New Glock models shipping in December. Purists will scoff, but sales of the new guns will probably be brisk, as every new Glock generation has seen in the past.
Will it stop anti-gun politicians backed by gun control organizations with deep pockets from backing a new bill to ban another firearm over arbitrary features? Most assuredly not.
Ruger has done something a bit unusual by introducing a compact Trapper variant of the Marlin Model 1894, chambered in 10mm.
Marlin long marketed a modern Trapper model, a stainless carbine-length big-bore .45-70 Model 1895 that was short, quick-handling, and optimized for hunting or protection from dangerous animals, in 2018, but it went out of production when the company closed shop in 2020.
Ruger, once they rebooted the line in 2022 after acquiring the Marlin brand and putting in a massive effort to breathe new life into its iconic guns, debuted a new take on the Trapper with improvements, including a receiver-mounted Skinner Sight system and suppressor-ready barrel.
Since then, Ruger/Marlin doubled down on a short-action Model 1894 Trapper in either .357 Magnum/.38 Special or .44 Magnum/Special last year, and has come back with a 10mm variant headed into 2026.
Like other models in the Trapper Series line, it features a cold hammer-forged, 16.17-inch threaded barrel and receiver-mounted Skinner Sight system that provides rapid target acquisition. The muzzle is threaded 5/8-24TPI. (Photos: Ruger)
The Skinner Trapper series sight is crafted from solid stainless steel and is fully windage and elevation adjustable, shipping with a .125-inch Aperture installed. Four other aperture sizes are available.
Weight is a handy 6.3 pounds, while the overall length is 33.25 inches. The 1:16″RH twist barrel should help wring out a bit more velocity from the 10mm Auto round.
In addition to the standard Trapper series features, Marlin advises that this new model also has an upgraded fire control system. The sear is now e-nickel Teflon-plated, and the sear notch geometry in the hammer has been improved to create a smoother and more consistent trigger feel. Plus, in response to consumer feedback, the sear and trigger system has been redesigned to eliminate the trigger “flop.”
While revolver caliber lever guns, for instance, in .38 Special, .357 Magnum, 44. Magnum, and .45 Colt, have almost always been a thing; those chambered in rimless pistol cartridges are more rare. Further, although a couple of 9mm lever guns exist, such as the POF Tombstone and Taylor’s TC73, we can’t find any in 10mm, well, until now.
The 10mm Auto, already no slouch in a pistol, should boast an increased velocity of up to 250-300 fps in the Trapper compared to its use in a handgun, as vouched for in past experiments from the Ballistics By the Inch guys.
The MSRP on the new Ruger Marlin 1894 Trapper in 10mm is $1,599, a price generally lower at retail.
We have one of these inbound for testing, as well as some spicy 10mm, so stay tuned for a review.
FN has confirmed that the legacy vaunted SCAR line of modular rifles, as we know them, is discontinued.
Designed for a circa 2004 USSOCOM tender, the SOF Combat Assault Rifle became a real thing in its select-fire 7.62 NATO (SCAR Heavy and the Mk 20 sniper variant) and 5.56 NATO (SCAR Light) variants within just a few years. Besides limited U.S. military service with the special operations community, the SCAR was adopted by the Belgian military to replace the FN FNC, going on to serve smaller roles with commando-type units in more than 25 countries, ranging from Japan and Indonesia to Bosnia and Finland.
Offered to the commercial market starting in 2008 with the semi-auto SCAR 16S (5.56) and SCAR 17S (7.62), the rifle became a much sought-after commodity, with guns often reselling in online auctions for well over the manufacturer’s suggested retail price.
The line expanded with the SCAR 20S 7.62 Precision Rifle in 2019 and the 5.56 15P pistol in 2022, both of which later saw caliber expansions to 6.5 Creedmoor and .300 Blackout, respectively. Then came the 17S DMR in 6.5.
A generational update came in 2021 with models that had a variety of quiet upgrades as well as non-reciprocating charging handles, or NRCH (“Nerch”) variants. Besides the black and “50 shades of FDE” colorways, FN also introduced MultiCam, Desert, and Woodland camo models.
All that now seems destined to the dustbin of history, to be put on the same shelf as the FN FAL, as the company this week quietly shifted several SCAR S variants to the “discontinued products” section of its website.
On social media this week, when asked if the rumors of the entire SCAR line being discontinued are true, the company’s official X page responded, “Correct. We just completed our production run of the legacy FN SCAR series. What’s in the market now is the last. If you’ve always wanted one, now is the time,” then followed up with, “U.S. production of the legacy SCAR 16S, 17S, and 20S has been complete. No more will be made.”
FN provided Guns.com the following statement:
No more rumors. FN America has completed our final production run of the commercial legacy SCAR series in the U.S. This includes the 16S, 17S, and 20S, but not SCAR 15P. What’s currently in our market is all that remains—so if you’ve been wanting one, now’s the time to grab it before it’s gone.
None of this affects FN’s global military SCARs – these are still in demand and still in production.
Look for more info leading up to SHOT Show 2026!
If you own a commercial legacy SCAR, don’t worry about support or parts. Owners can still receive service through our support center, and spare parts will remain available through official distributors for a period of time. As for accessories, magazines for the legacy SCAR 17S and SCAR 20S will continue to be available in the future; however, the supply of accessories such as barrel assemblies will be limited over the next five years.
For the time being, the company is still listing several NRCH SCAR S variants along with the 15P pistols as “active” on its website, but who knows what 2026 will bring.
I mean, we know, but are sworn to secrecy enforced by the FN Gnome.
Official wartime caption: “On Guard. Silhouetted sailor, rifle slung on his back, stands guard at a North African port as a huge ship is unloaded of its vital cargo, 31 August 1943.”
U.S. Navy Photograph. Courtesy of the Library of Congress PR-06-CN-215-5
Note that the above blue jacket appears to be on the stern of a small escort, as a loaded depth charge rack and smoke generator are present. Also note the slung 12-gauge, which appears by its bayonet lug to be a Winchester 97. While the Marines had fielded the Winnie in the Great War, Prohibition mail duty, and the assorted Banana Wars of the 1920s, the Navy typically only used long-barreled sporting guns for recreation and hunting, with a few “riot guns” on hand at large brigs and aboard a few gunboats on the China Station.
As noted by Canfield, in January 1942, the Naval Supply Depot, Norfolk, only had 751 “riot type” and 134 “sporting guns” on inventory loaned out across the Atlantic fleet. This resulted in an immediate order for 8,000 Model 97s from the War Department as all stocks of shotguns were “exhausted.” This was in addition to the guns needed for training and to equip the Marines, who were soon issuing 100 combat shotguns per regiment.
The “scattergat” endures in Navy service both ashore with MA units and afloat in most small arms lockers. Today, the Mossberg 500/590 series, which has been acquired almost continually since 1981 in a revolving series of contracts, is most commonly encountered in Navy hands.
230214-N-NH267-1484 INDIAN OCEAN (Feb. 14, 2023) U.S. Navy Fire Controlman (Aegis) 2nd Class Cody McDonald, from Spring Creek, Nev., fires an M500 shotgun during a visit, board, search, and seizure (VBSS) gun shoot on the flight deck of the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Paul Hamilton (DDG 60). Paul Hamilton, part of the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group, is in U.S. 7th Fleet conducting routine operations. 7th Fleet is the U.S. Navy’s largest forward-deployed numbered fleet, and routinely interacts and operates with Allies and partners in preserving a free and open Indo-Pacific region. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Elliot Schaudt)
The 1980s-1990s stainless Mini-14 GB-F is an enduring work of beauty that hails from an age of VHS tapes when MTV played music. (Photo: Chris Eger)
Ruger responded to public filings and statements that an international firearms powerhouse has moved to purchase a significant amount of its stock.
On Sept. 22, Luxembourg-based Beretta Holding filed a mandatory report with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it had acquired a 7.7 percent ownership interest in Ruger without providing prior notification to the American-owned company, one of only two publicly traded firearms makers in the U.S.
The report filed with the SEC by Beretta said the company “anticipates engaging in discussions” with Ruger’s management and board of directors regarding “business, industry developments, and potential areas of operational and strategic collaborations.”
On Oct. 2, Beretta filed an amendment with the SEC clarifying that its stake amounted to 9 percent ownership in Ruger.
This week, Ruger disclosed that the company has tried to engage with Beretta since the filing of its initial SEC report “to learn more about Beretta’s plans and intentions without success,” and that Beretta has advised Ruger’s Board that “it would not, under any circumstances, sign a standstill agreement.” Such an agreement stipulates that an investor agrees to buy no more shares for a specified period.
In response, Ruger’s Board on Tuesday adopted and filed a one-year shareholder rights plan, which is triggered if any investor obtains 10 percent or more of the company’s stock. The plan, a commonly seen “poison pill” used to halt takeovers, gives shareholders – except the one exceeding 10 percent ownership that triggered the plan – the right to buy more shares at a steep discount. This would make a potential takeover attempt through stock purchase a steeper hill to climb, although not an insurmountable one. For instance, Twitter’s board adopted an ultimately futile rights plan in an attempt to fight off Elon Musk’s purchase in 2022.
“In light of the potential for Beretta to significantly increase its position in Ruger, the Board determined that adopting the Rights Plan is prudent to fulfill its fiduciary duties to all stockholders,” said John Cosentino, Jr., Chairman of the Board for Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. “Ruger looks forward to meeting with Beretta, a leader in the industry, and learning more about what operational and strategic collaborations they have in mind. We are open to any ideas for lasting value creation. Our Board and management team remain committed to providing quality and innovative firearms and delivering long-term value to our stockholders.”
Both Beretta and Ruger have a long history of acquiring other companies in the international firearms and optics space. Beretta currently owns the brands Benelli, Franchi, Uberti, Stoeger, Sako, Tikka, Steiner, Burris, and Chapuis Armes, among others. Ruger, meanwhile, has Marlin along with a host of former Marlin-owned brands, and recently acquired Anderson Manufacturing in a move to increase its AR-style production capability.
Staccato this week took the features from its well-liked HD line and packed them into a more nimble and concealable package– the new HD C3.6.
The “C” in the Staccato HD C3.6 stands for compact, and they ship with 15-round Mec-Gar G19-pattern mags, much like the P4 HD ships with 18-round G17-pattern mags. The new gun also saves a bit of weight, running an alloy (7075-T6 aluminum) rather than a steel frame.
Other than that, you have the same HD features, such as ambi controls, Staccato’s HD HOST optic mounting system with decent backup sights, a crisp 4.5-pound single-action-only trigger, and a drop-safe active firing-pin block.
With an overall length of just over 7 inches due to its 3.6-inch bull barrel, coupled with its shorter grip, which gives it a 4.8-inch height, the new HD C3.6 is billed as easier to carry and bring into more spaces for more users. (Photos: Staccato)
Weight of the standard base model Staccato HD C3.6 with its alloy frame is 24 ounces unloaded. Compare this to the 32-ounce base weight of the only slightly larger P4 HD, and you realize a half-pound weight savings while offering much the same performance.
Note the 3.6-inch bull barrel and forward-set rear sight, which practically guarantees a lower-third co-witness with optics. Staccato will be offering these in both a more basic Ameriglo blacked-out front sight variant or one with a Trijicon tritium front.
“We built the HD line to deliver the most technologically advanced and thoroughly tested version of the 2011 platform to date,” said Paul Smith, VP of Product for Staccato. “After introducing full-sized models earlier this year, we set out to create a compact option that preserves duty-grade performance while expanding carrying options and user confidence. The HD C3.6 is the result.”
Staccato plans to offer the HD C3.6 series in three different grades, starting at $2,299. Because Staccato.
Reddit this week moved to shut down several large and popular buy/sell/trade subreddits revolving around gun accessories like optics and parts.
The publicly traded forum-style social media platform, which has over 100 million users, is set to debut a new and enhanced rule concerning gun accessory listings on Oct. 9. While the direct sale of controlled items such as guns and suppressors has always been banned on the site, the prohibition will be expanded to cover just about everything else gun-related. In short, “communities will not be permitted to allow user-to-user transactions involving any firearm parts or enhancements.”
In the days leading up to the rule announcement, Reddit reached out to moderators on popular accessory subreddits to warn them that the sub would be banned moving forward.
“Thanks to everyone that participated in the sub. We’re pretty bummed about this, too,” noted the mods on the r/PrsAccessoriesForSale sub.
Others like GAFS (r/GunAccessoriesForSale), which has 47,000 weekly visitors and has been around since 2018, said they are taking their community off Reddit, moving to a new website being set up by the mods, and will keep operating on Discord for now.
Why this is bad
The reason the arbitrary Reddit change hurts the gun community is twofold.
First, free (ish) online community classified services such as Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace have long had blanket bans on “weapons and weapon parts,” including accessories such as grips, sights, scopes, magazines, lasers, and lights. Ebay allows sales of new and used optics, accessories, and some gun parts, even “low-cap” magazines, but it is often seen as difficult for the average person to sell items and holds payment in escrow until the buyer receives the item. Niche sites like Tacswap and Infinite Armory exist but don’t have anywhere near the reach and traffic that Reddit offers, or more correctly, offered.
Second, the move by Reddit to freeze out a vibrant community on the platform with no recourse follows along the narrow and winding path blazed by other mainstream social media providers when it comes to the stigmatizing person-to-person trade in what are legal and arguably constitutionally-protected firearm accessories. At some point, gun collectors and enthusiasts, marginalized and actively turned away by big-name social media, are going to be forced to move off-site and underground to continue to enjoy their passion. That, or get out of the game altogether.
Milestone’s Premier Firearms Auction in suburban Cleveland recently chalked up $1.4 million smackers across its 1,206 lots. That’s not really unusual.
What caught my eye was the highest-selling piece.
A transferable and intact U.S. M3 “Grease Gun” submachine gun made sometime between 1943 and 1945 by General Motors’ Guide Lamp Division in Anderson, Indiana, the exclusive WWII manufacturer of the M3 and M3A1.
While Guide Lamp cranked out a whopping 606,694 of the plain Jane M3 variant, they only produced 15,469 of the improved M3A1s during the war.
The gun retained 95 percent of its metal finish, had a bright bore, and, as noted, was fully operational.
It came with an impressive selection of like-new support items in their original packaging: 12 mil-spec magazines, a complete parts kit, 29 rubber magazine covers, an oiler and sling kit, a 3-cell mag pouch, a canvas weapon cover, and two technical manuals.
It surpassed its estimate of $30K in selling for $40,950.
To keep that in perspective, during the war, the M3A1 was produced for a final adjusted cost of approximately $20.94 per unit.
