Category Archives: weapons

CMP: M1917 Enfield and Salvaged M1 Updates

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The CMP now apparently has so many surplus M1917s, likely returned to the Army from veterans organizations that had them for decades, that they are now dropping the ask on them to $900 plus $35 S&H.

That’s lower than what decent non-bubba’d specimens usually go for on Gunbroker.

Also, more details on reclaimed M1s, which will include both receivers and barreled receivers.

With prices as low as $275, they may make interesting project guns.

Especially when you consider they will have them in both .30-06 and .308 Win.

A video on the background of these:

And from CMP itself:

CMP RECLAIMED BARRELED RECEIVERS

Mixed manufacturer barreled receivers, re-machined to original specs with new commercial barrels professionally installed and headspaced to the included bolt. Cosmetic condition is good to very good, with minor weld marks primarily below the wood line. These receivers have been “Dual Field Magnetic Particle Inspected” and all have passed ASTM 1444E magnetic particle inspection and are safe to fire. Online and mail orders are luck of the draw, sold as-is, no refunds or exchanges. Available in .30-06 and .308.

PRICE: $500 plus $20 S&H

Note: Barreled Receivers are not sorted by manufacturer and will be distributed randomly—no special requests will be accepted. All orders will be shipped via FedEx Priority Overnight and will require an adult signature upon delivery. Barreled Receivers will count toward your 2025 annual limit, and all state laws and regulations will be followed.

CMP RECLAIMED RECEIVERS

The CMP’s reclaimed rifles/receivers are not rewelds—they are fully inspected, certified, and tested to exceed typical safety protocols and come with the confidence of our engineering and armory teams. Click here to learn more.

RECEIVER A PRICE: $325 plus $15 S&H

Mixed manufacturer. Re-machined to its original specification. Cosmetic condition will be good to very good. Receivers will show signs of previous weld(s), primarily below the wood line; however, the depth of penetration will be superficial. These receivers have been “Dual Field Magnetic Particle Inspected” to ASTM 1444E standards and are safe to fire. Online and mail orders are “luck of the draw” and sold as is with no refunds or exchanges.

RECEIVER B PRICE: $275 plus $15 S&H

Mixed Manufacturer. Re-machined to its original specification. Cosmetic condition will exhibit moderate variation in finish color, pitting and/or porosity from the previous weld(s). These receivers have been “Dual Field Magnetic Particle Inspected” to ASTM 1444E standards and are safe to fire. Online and mail orders are “luck of the draw” and sold as is with no refunds or exchanges.

Note: Receivers are not sorted by manufacturer and will be distributed randomly—no special requests will be accepted. All orders will be shipped via FedEx Priority Overnight and will require an adult signature upon delivery. Receivers will count toward your 2025 annual limit, and all state laws and regulations will be followed.

Has the Glock/Aimpoint COA become the pistol you can’t buy?

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The Glock A-Cut Aimpoint COA series guns have proven popular since their release, but the company is reportedly reining in consumer sales.

The pistol maker debuted the concept in January, with G48, G43X, G19 Gen5, G45, and G47 models available.

The COA, in turn, mounts into the Glock A-Cut via a wedge system that helps eliminate movement. The two companies developed the system jointly, and the pistol maker says it meets its 40,000-round endurance standard.

Glock G48 Aimpoint COA
The A-Cut G48 with the COA installed gives a low deck that allows the standard sights to easily co-witness. Note the size of that window, showing the wide field of view while not drastically overlapping the slim pistol. (Photos: Chris Eger/Guns.com)

While supplies of these new guns have never been plentiful enough to fully sate demand, it was widely reported via social media over the weekend that “all Glock COA models have been canceled for the civilian market indefinitely to fill military orders.”

Although not discontinued outright, it would seem that the remaining consumer-facing supplies of COA-equipped guns in circulation are finite, at least for the time being.

Glock has been tight-fisted with the COA models all year.

We at Guns.com were loaned two COA-equipped Glocks, a G19 and a G48, for reviews. When we attempted to purchase them at the end of the test period, company representatives said they needed the pistols returned. This has never occurred in previous experiences reviewing new Glock models over the past decade.

To reiterate, we put a few thousand rounds through these guns without cleaning and were rough with them, racking the slides via the optic as much as possible, tossing them around, etc, then repeatedly offered to buy them at full retail afterward, and Glock said: Nope, we need them back.

On the upside, the exclusive agreement between Aimpoint and Glock on the COA lasts for 12 months and is expected to expire in early 2026. Other manufacturers such as CZ, Springfield, and S&W could then introduce competitive COA-equipped or compatible models if Aimpoint’s manufacturing capacity enables the optic to be distributed outside of the Glock package. Aimpoint currently has a U.S. Patent (No.18/876,898) on the A-Cut pending.

Operation Cochise

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3rd Marine Division AOR, Vietnam, 12 August 1967. “Army of the Republic of Vietnam Rangers dash from a Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 164 CH-46 Sea Knight [its ramp seen to the left] during Operation Cochise. The Ky Ha-based squadron transported the rangers to the operational area South of Da Nang.”

USMC photograph A 422604 by CPL Cowen. National Archives Identifier 26386815. Local Identifier 127-GVB-104-A422604

Note the hard-charging ARVN Ranger’s very handy M1 .30 Caliber Carbine in some of its final battlefield use, Nomex flight gloves, and the large battle dressing on the band of his M1 helmet, the latter complete with an ERDL camo cover. It seems he is using a 2-quart canteen carrier for spare mags, which isn’t a bad idea.

As noted of Operation Cochise by the history folder of the 1st Bn/4th Marines: 

The ARVN rangers made the first significant contact. On the morning of the 12th, three battalions of the 21st NVA Regiment attacked the rangers. Heavy fighting continued throughout the day and by 1700 the rangers reported heavy casualties. Dangerously low on ammunition, with darkness approaching, and with no sign of a letup on the part of the enemy, the rangers requested an emergency re-supply.

At 1730, a CH-46 from HMM-165, accompanied by two UH-1E gunships from VMO-6 arrived overhead with the badly needed ammunition. The gunships scouted the intended landing zone and reported that the CH-46 could not land in the contested zone. The pilot, Captain Jack H. McCracken, well aware of what would happen to the rangers without ammunition decided to try to deliver his cargo anyway. He ordered his crew chief, Corporal James E. Bauer, to stack the ammunition on the rear ramp. Captain Mc Cracken nosed over his helicopter and raced for the landing zone. McCracken then hovered 30 feet over the zone, and Corporal Bauer lowered the ramp and most of the ammunition dropped into the zone. While repeated enemy small arms hits shook the helicopter, Corporal Bauer kicked out the rest of the ammunition. As the last box dropped, enemy bullets severely damaged the helicopter, but McCracken’s re-supply permitted the rangers to continue the battle.

At 2300, the NVA units finally pulled back, leaving 197 bodies behind. The ranger losses also had been heavy, 81 killed and 153 wounded.

While the ARVN Rangers have not been around since 1975, the “Knightriders” of HMM-164 (now VMM-164) are still around as are the White Knights of the HMM-165 (now VMM-165).

As for Dr. Jack Hill McCracken, Ph.D, he earned both the Silver Star and the Distinguished Flying Cross in Vietnam and worked in both Marine and Army aviation for two decades following the conflict, “overseeing the development of a $29 billion lite helicopter project and simultaneously fighting vehemently against the proposed single-pilot helicopter program, which he successfully defeated in the interest of pilot safety and military effectiveness.” He passed at his Texas home in April 2023, aged 81.

Smith reboots the 9mm snub nose

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Out of production for more than a quarter century, the moon-clipped S&W 940 snub-nosed wheel gun has been resurrected – and modernized.

The original 940 was a 9mm companion to the classic .357 Magnum Model 640, a hard-wearing stainless five-shot double-action-only J-frame Centennial series revolver with a snag-free concealed hammer. Using a moon clip to hold the rimless 9mm rounds, it was fast and easy to reload while opening the revolver to a wide range of easy-to-find ammo.

While the 940 was only produced between 1991 and 1998, huge advances in bullet and propellant design have made 9mm more popular than ever, meaning that in many cases, the variety of self-defense loads available at local retailers in the caliber is greater than any other. With that in mind, rebooting the 940 makes sense.

Further, the new model ships with an XS Tritium night sight in front, something the old model never had. Oh, yeah, and it has VZ black cherry grips and a fluted barrel.

The new S&W 940 in 9mm is a five-shot DAO snub-nose with a concealed hammer. Note the 2.17-inch 1:10 RH twist stainless-steel fluted barrel. Height is a pocketable 4.38 inches. Weight is 23.5 ounces.

The MSRP is supposed to be $999 on these.

Alaska USCG Ops Get Some Muscle

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The Coast Guard, with 2,500 members assigned to USCG Arctic (formerly the 17th Coast Guard District), has been busy bird-dogging Chinese government research vessels in the region.

We’ve already talked about the China-flagged research ship Xue Long 2 (Snow Dragon 2), which, at 14,300 tons, is China’s first domestically built polar research vessel, poking around the Extended Continental Shelf a couple of weeks ago.

Now, four other Chinese red hulls are poking around as well.

The five Chinese Research Vessels are: Xue Long 2, China-flagged; Shen Hai Yi Hao, China-flagged; Zhong Shan Da Xue Ji Di, Liberia-flagged; Ji Di, China-flagged; and Tan Suo San Hao, China-flagged.

The Zhong Shan Da Xue Ji Di, a Liberian-flagged research vessel, owned and operated by the Chinese University Sun Yat-Sen, as detected by a Coast Guard C-130 Hercules aircraft from Air Station Kodiak. (U.S. Coast Guard courtesy photo) 250805-G-G0200-1001

A C-130J Hercules airplane crew from Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak responds to a Chinese research vessel operating in the U.S. Arctic as part of Operation Frontier Sentinel Aug. 13, 2025.

A C-130J Hercules airplane crew from Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak responds to a Chinese research vessel operating in the U.S. Arctic as part of Operation Frontier Sentinel Aug. 13, 2025.

A C-130J Hercules airplane crew from Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak responds to a Chinese research vessel operating in the U.S. Arctic as part of Operation Frontier Sentinel Aug. 13, 2025.

From USCG PAO Juneau: 

The U.S. Coast Guard detected and responded to two Chinese research vessels operating in the U.S. Arctic and is currently monitoring a total of five similar vessels in or near the U.S Arctic.

On August 5, a C-130J Hercules fixed-wing aircraft from Air Station Kodiak responded to the Chinese research vessels Ji Di and the Zhong Shan Da Xue Ji Di.  Both vessels were transiting northeast in the Bering Sea.

On August 6, the crew of U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Waesche (WMSL 751) again responded to the Zhong Shan Da Xue Ji Di as it was transiting north in the Chukchi Sea above the Arctic Circle, after passing through the Bering Strait.

The C-130 and USCGC Waesche were patrolling under Operation Frontier Sentinel, an operation that responds to adversaries operating in and around Alaskan and U.S. Arctic waters. The U.S. Coast Guard’s responses are intended to counter malign activities, defend sovereign interests, and promote maritime conduct consistent with international law and norms.

The presence of these vessels is consistent with a three-year trend of increased activity from Chinese research vessels operating in the U.S. Arctic. Last year, three Chinese research vessels conducted research operations north of the Bering Strait.

Storis commissioned in Juneau

The new (to the service) “icebreaker” USCGC Storis (WAGB-21) was commissioned in Juneau on Sunday.

U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Storis (WAGB 21) remains moored during the Storis commissioning ceremony at Juneau, Alaska, August 10, 2025. Storis is the first polar icebreaker acquired in more than 25 years by the Coast Guard, with its mission to assure access to the polar regions and protect U.S. sovereignty. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Carmen Caver)

Taking the name of the legendary 2,000-ton/230-foot WWII-era icebreaker USCGC Storis (WAGL/WAG/WAGB/WMEC-38), which had a 64-year career, much of it in Alaska waters, the new 12,800-ton 360-foot cutter is much different but at the same time, more capable in many ways.

Sadly, although she was commissioned in Alaska and is to be stationed there, Storis will be shifting back to Seattle, where she is chilling with the USCG’s other icebreakers until a berth can be finished for her in 2026-27.

Meanwhile, the Coast Guard’s $4.3 billion Polar Security Cutter (PSC) heavy polar icebreaker program has had all three of its vessels fully funded— although it will probably be half a decade before the class leader is delivered and commissioned.

Going past that class, three to five new medium polar icebreakers called Arctic Security Cutters (ASCs) are on the drawing board, giving the service eight modern icebreakers to replace its current three (the 50-year-old heavy USCGC Polar Star, the 26-year-old medium breaker USCGC Healy, and the ersatz Storis).

$3.5 billion for the first three Arctic Security Cutters has been fully funded under H.R. 1.

The Coast Guard’s future Arctic Security Cutter (ASC), as many as five of which may be built “someday”

New Sentinel clocks in

The fifth of six planned new 154-foot Sentinel (Webber) class Fast Response Cutters is slated to be commissioned at Kodiak’s fuel pier on Monday after self-deploying over 7,000nm from her builder in Louisiana.

The crew of U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Earl Cunningham (WPC 1159) arrives at their homeport in Kodiak, Alaska, May 31, 2025. This was the first time the cutter had arrived at its homeport following its construction in Lockport, Louisiana. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Shannon Kearney)

Cunningham will be homeported in Kodiak with USCGC John Witherspoon (WPC 1158), which arrived in January. Meanwhile, they have a trio of Ketchikan-based sisters: USCGC John McCormick (WPC-1121)— the first Sentinel-class stationed in Alaska in 2017– USCGC Anthony Petit, and USCGC Bailey Barco. They all replaced smaller, cramped 110-foot Island-class cutters, which dated back to the Reagan Administration.  

The Coast Guard commissioned its newest cutter, Coast Guard Cutter Earl Cunningham (WPC 1159), for official entry into its service fleet during a ceremony held in Kodiak, Alaska, Aug. 11, 2025. The ceremony was presided over by Adm. Kevin Lunday, acting commandant of the Coast Guard, and members of the Cunningham family were also in attendance, including the cutter’s sponsor, Penney Helmer, who is also the granddaughter of Earl Cunningham. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by PA3 Carmen Caver)

Armament includes a Mk 38 Mod 2 25mm gun forward and four flex mounts for M2 .50 caliber BMGs (or anything else that can be put on those pintles) along with assorted small arms. These vessels have been operating small UAVs as of late.

The sixth FRC headed to Alaska, the future USCGC Frederick Mann (WPC 1160), was delivered by Bollinger last month and should arrive in Alaskan waters in the coming weeks.
With 67 FRCs contracted by the USCG, and six now serving in the Persian Gulf, the service is negotiating with Bollinger for another 10-to-12 of these hardy vessels.

Chester Switchover

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80 years ago this week. The moment production switched from military equipment to civilian automobiles at this Ford plant in Chester, Pennsylvania, on 13 August 1945.

The tanks on the left are M26 Pershings, followed by a base-model Ford F-series truck.

The factory was built in 1925 on the 50-acre site of the former Roach’s Shipyard and began operations in August 1927, cranking out the Ford Model A. The 20 millionth Ford came off the line there in 1931 to great fanfare.

In early 1942, it was commandeered by the U.S. Army’s Ordnance Department to produce military vehicles, with the line converting hot from wood-paneled station wagons to GPWs (Jeep variants). The plant produced 18,533 GPWs and, as the location of an Ordnance Depot and Modification Center for armored vehicles being shipped overseas, processed a mix of 155,000 tanks, half-tracks, trucks, and jeeps through the facility.

The plant closed in 1961, and operations were moved to Mahwah, New Jersey.

The site is now occupied by several smaller businesses, including GWSI, M&M Industries, and Dee Paper Co.

King’s Gurkha Artillery is officially a thing

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First announced just 10 weeks ago, the King’s Gurkha Artillery is fast becoming a thing.

The first new British Army Gurkha unit in 14 years, the first to carry King Charles’s name, and the first Gurkha “cannon cockers” since their WWII/Malaysian Emergency era field artillery units were disbanded in 1950, there are a lot of eyes on the new unit.

Members have already started to get hands-on with the now-classic 105mm L118 Light Gun and will eventually be operating the shot-n-scoot-oriented Swedish-designed BAE Archer 155mm L52 SPG system.

They have also created and issued the first batch of the new unit’s cap badges. The first of 20 new volunteers has already received them.

The badge, the first created for a Gurkha regiment in 14 years, reflects a pairing of two of the Army’s most recognized symbols – the crossed kukri of the Gurkhas and the field gun of The Royal Artillery, and bears the words “Ubique” meaning “Everywhere” and “Quo Fas et Gloria Ducunt” which means “Whither Right and Glory Lead.”

Image: 20 recruits have been selected to join the newly formed King’s Gurkha Artillery. This is the new cap badge on their berets. Gurkha recruits celebrate a cap badging ceremony at the Infantry Training Centre at Catterick. 

The unit, when fully fleshed out by 2029, will contain 400 soldiers, but I wouldn’t be surprised if that period was compressed.

Approximately 10,000 to 20,000 Nepali men eagerly compete for a position in the 4,000-strong British Army’s Brigade of Gurkhas every year. Only a few hundred, typically between 200 and 320, are selected to begin training. That’s usually 30 or so very gung-ho candidates for every slot. They have an extremely low wash-out rate.

Rube Goldberg Torpedo, Balikpapan edition

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Some 80 years ago this week.

Balikpapan, Borneo, then part of the newly liberated Dutch East Indies.

Unlike the six types/classes of Japanese Kaiten manned suicide torpedoes, the below seems more akin to the Kriegsmarine’s “Neger” attack craft, which amounted to an awash delivery torpedo carrying a coxswain instead of a warhead while a live G7e was clamped below it, albeit much more ersatz in nature.

Original historic wartime caption: “The Japanese 21-inch controlled torpedo. Usual procedure of the 21″ was as follows: Torpedos were stored in shelter; placed on rails launched into sea; wooden super-structure visible on torpedo was tied on with rope; operator rode torpedo within a striking distance of target; armed torpedo utilizing a rope; dropped axe on ropes binding super-structure torpedo and was cast free. 10 August 1945. (Two torpedoes were found, but there was no evidence of them ever being used in the area.)”

Note very excited sun-helmeted khaki-clad U.S. Navy lieutenant “riding” the torp while two Australian troops look on. US Air Force Reference Number: 63295AC (National Archives Identifier: 204953594)

Vipers over Greenland

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For better or worse, with all the drama over a proposed U.S. purchase of Greenland, the Danish military has gotten aggressive over showing that it is ready to protect the massive frozen landmass.

In recent weeks– and the first such deployment to Greenland since 2014– the Royal Danish Air Force has dispatched a Bombardier CL-604 Challenger (tail C-172) and four F-16AMs (E-007, E-018, E-101, and E-605) under the control of the Arktisk Kommando.

Based at Kangerlussuaq, they were shepherded over the Atlantic, the 2,100 miles from their base at Vojens-Skrydstrup, by a French A330 MRTT tanker, which is sticking around as part of NATO.

They have been patrolling over Nuk and up and down the East Coast.

They also made a 600nm deployment across Greenland to Pituffik Space Base (formerly Thule AB) to spend a couple of hours with the U.S. personnel.

Check out this 10-minute patrol video from one of the F-16s’ cockpits.

There have also been increased visits by RDN warships and an exercise that included assets of the Specialoperationskommandoen via a C-130.

The commandos, seen in the video below, are fronted by local Territorials, who have been ramping up.

Note that the video is in English. Just saying.

The Danish Home Guard (Hjemmeværnet), which numbers some 44,000 volunteers in Denmark, has activated small groups to support operations in exercises in Greenland in recent years, but doesn’t have HJV units among Greenland’s cities and towns.

The new six-month Arktisk basisuddannelse (Arctic Basic Education) civil defense/auxiliary police style course, also based in Kangerlussuaq, Greenland, and staffed with a dozen instructors and support personnel, has been stood up.

The six-month Arktisk Basisuddannelse course, open only to Greenlanders, mimics the Danish military basic training course and blends field and classroom instruction

The program has been recruiting youth from among 13 towns and settlements across Greenland and graduated its first 19 students in November 2024.

Arktisk basisuddannelse (Arctic Basic Education) students, Greenland’s first “home guard” style class. While many may go on to join the Arktisk Kommando or Greenland police and fire agencies, it isn’t a requirement. 

The country has also just entered into an agreement to purchase four MQ-9B SkyGuardians for use in Greenland.

Coming soon: Danish MQ-9B SkyGuardians over Greenland

You have to admit, at least Copenhagen is trying.

Tigershark on the move!

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Here we see a great image of the Dutch Zwaardvisch class submarine Hr.Ms. Tijgerhaai (S 812) in West Indies waters, 1957, with the good Prof. Vening Meinesz and his team on board, conducting gravity research using special equipment during the voyage.

Audiovisuele Dienst Koninklijke Marine (AVDKM), NIMH 2009-003-012_010

Laid down at Vickers in 1943 as the future Third Group T-class submarine HMS Tarn (P326), she was instead transferred before commissioning and entered Dutch service on 28 March 1945.

After working up out of Holy Loch with several of her British sisters, Tijgerhaai left Scotland some 80 years ago this week, on 5 August 1945, bound for Fremantle, Australia under the command of LTZS1c (LCDR) Arie van Altena, RNN(R), to get into the Pacific War.

NL-HaNA_2.24.10.02_0_137-0326_1

Of course, the war would end while Tijgerhaai was en route to fight the Japanese, and she would, instead, clock in for the next five years off the coast of the Dutch East Indies to combat weapon smugglers and insurgents during the Politionele Acties in the colony that led to Indonesian independence.

She retired from Dutch service in 1964 following a nearly 20-year career and was sold for scrap.

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