Tag Archives: new rifle

New S&W Axe AR line includes as many SBRs as carbines

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Featuring “Ambi X Enhancement,” Tennessee-based Smith & Wesson debuted a new line of 5.56 NATO M&P15 rifles this week.

Besides full ambidextrous controls on the receiver, the new AXE line utilizes Gemtech GVAC technology in the uppers to minimize gas blowback when shooting suppressed. They also have a Gemtech ETM flash hider system; an improved BCG with a Carpenter 158 steel bolt, 8620 steel carrier, and a chromed firing pin; an Armornite-finished 4150 steel barrel with 5R 1:8 rifling; and an M&P grip with interchangeable palm swells.

Other standard features include a Radian Raptor charging handle, Williams folding sights, M-LOK slots on a Midwest Industries free-floating handguard, and Magpul stocks.

The Smith AXE series is introduced in four models, including factory SBRs with 11.5 and 14.5-inch barrels, a standard carbine with a 16.1-inch barrel, and a more upscale Performance Center rifle. The first three are all black with a Magpul CTR adjustable carbine stock, while the Performance Center model sports a Gray Cerakote and a Magpul DT stock. (Photos: S&W)

More in my column at Guns.com.

Lightweight and Wastelander Tommy guns

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While covering the NRA Annual Meetings in Atlanta recently, I made sure to stop by the Auto-Ordnance booth, as they always have something interesting.

One of these was a neat limited edition Wastelander Thompson, which carries a custom Cerakote finish that looks fresh from some post-apocalyptic badlands.

limited edition Wastelander Thompson
The Wastelander Thompson carries a custom finish that goes far deeper than just some exotic Cerakote and ships complete with a sling crafted from a salvaged motorcycle chain. (All photos: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
limited edition Wastelander Thompson
“Forged for over 80 hours with grit and ingenuity by the survivors at Koted Arms, every detail of the Wastelander Thompson, from the graphic designs to the rusted-out Cerakote finish, reflects the harsh realities of a post-apocalyptic world,” notes Auto-Ordnance. 
limited edition Wastelander Thompson
Note the intricate, deep laser-engraved markings that feel like it has seen the abuse of some far-off end-of-times battlefield. 
limited edition Wastelander Thompson
The walnut furniture has been given a plasma-cut treatment that gives it a distinctive lightning bolt pattern. 
limited edition Wastelander Thompson
The Wastelander Thompson is chambered in .45 ACP and features a 16.5-inch finned barrel that extends to 18.5 inches with its compensator.
limited edition Wastelander Thompson
It has an overall length of 41 inches and a solid weight of 13 pounds due to its steel construction.

They also have the new T5P, a polymer-stocked Thompson. Black on black, it is a standard 1927A1 but with wood grain polymer furniture, which drops almost five pounds from the hefty .45 ACP carbine. Seems like they could have shaved a few more ounces dropping it down to a 16.1-inch barrel rather than the 18 it ships with, but hey. MSRP is expected to be $1,558.

Spec sheet below:

The new models come as the old-school “Chicago Typewriter” has been getting a lot of time on the silver screen in recent weeks. The iconic drum-magged Tommy gun is seen in both the trailers and extensively, in the end scene of the smash new horror movie “Sinners.”

21st Century Survival Gun

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A simple new platform that will be headed to shelves this summer is from North Carolina’s Veteran-owned Dark Mountain Arms.

The Stowaway system is a single-shot bolt-action, take-down firearm that is initially being offered in 5.7 NATO but, as it is multi-caliber via an easy swap out of a bolt face and barrel, future options on the table include 9mm, 4.6×30, .22 LR, .22 WMR, .17 Mach2, and .17 HMR.

A packable design with a weight of less than 3 pounds (2.8 pounds for the 16-inch threaded barreled rifle and 2 pounds flat for the 5-inch barreled pistol), the gun can be stowed in two primary pieces and then easily reassembled.

More in my column a Guns.com.

Springfield Armory Enters the Retro Carry Handle Space

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Back in 1986, the Colt AR-15A2 HBAR was where its at…

Back 20-25 years ago, fixed carry handle A2 style ARs with a 20-inch barrel were about the only thing you could find on the black rifle market, and even those were typically neutered by the Federal AWB (which ran 1994-2004) so that they didn’t have such evil features as a bayonet lug and shipped with 10-round mags. Still, they were good enough for DCM/CMP matches.

These days, with the M4 being the standard post-9/11, rifle-length fixed carry handle ARs are hard to find and only a few niche sources exist to get one– Bushmaster, Fulton, and H&R (the latter sold through PSA)– with prices starting at $1,299, and they are frequently sold out.

Talk about not being in Kansas anymore…

So, interestingly enough, Springfield Armory just introduced a very nicely done homage to the M16A2 in the form of the SA-16A2, which includes all the correct throwback features (forged 7075 T6 aluminum receivers, a 20-inch 1:7 twist government profile chrome lined barrel, round handguards with heat shields, a full-length fixed stock with rear compartment, a fixed A2 carry handle with adjustable/dual aperture sight, A2 F-height front sight post/gas block, rifle length gas system, a full-auto profile BCG with a phosphate exterior with a hard chrome-lined interior, mil-spec trigger, and a hollow GI grip) you expect.

The SA-16A2. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)

The SA-16A2 has some upgrades to enhance performance that the 1980s M16A2 never did, including an Accu-Tite tensioning system to cut down on the slop between the upper and lower receivers and M4 feed ramps.

The lower receiver features “Government Property” rollmarks as well as a non-functional “Burst” selector marking in an ode to the M16A2. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)

A full look in my column at Guns.com.

Beretta out-MCXs the SIG MCX?

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In London this week, Beretta took the curtain off its newest rifle design, which may look familiar.

Dubbed the NARP for “New Assault Rifle Platform” – keep in mind that “assault rifles” are real and “assault weapons” are made up here, guys – the latest Beretta debuted at the 2023 Defence & Security Equipment International show on Tuesday. Offered in three different barrel length configurations (11.5. 14.5, and 16-inch) at introduction, the 5.56 NATO platform has a layout similar to a number of popular modular short-stroke gas-piston platforms on the market, such as the CZ BREN M2, FN SCAR, HK 416, IWI Carmel, and SIG Sauer MCX and sports AR-style controls.

The new Beretta NARP has fully ambidextrous controls and can use a range of telescopic, foldable, and collapsible stocks as it is an adjustable piston gun and doesn’t have a standard AR-style recoil buffer and DI gas system. (Photos: Beretta)

Other standard features are common MIL-STD-1913, STANAG 4640, and M-LOK interfaces, meaning optics will mount, AR/M4 mags will work (it is shown with Lancer L5 AWM mags), and all those groovy accessories will fit. (Photos: Beretta)

Among the variants shown off, clad in assorted optics from Beretta-owned Steiner, are an 11.5-inch CQB-style carbine and a more standard model with a 14.5-inch barrel. Importantly, Beretta stresses that the NARP is meant to run suppressed full-time if needed and the company has also introduced the new Beretta-made B-Silent sound suppressor to use with it. (Photos: Beretta)

Beretta stresses the developmental process behind the NARP is rigorous, with the platform vetted under extreme conditions. (Photos: Beretta)

As for what this means for the company’s futuristic ARX short-stroke piston rifles and carbines, which were introduced in 2008 and later offered as semi-auto sporter variants to the commercial market, it is unclear. With so many countries opting for assorted M4-looking platforms and the ARX more or less stalled with adoption by only a handful of Mil/LE users outside of Italy, it could be that Beretta is opting to go a little more contemporary and see who bites.

Will the NARP ever appear in the U.S. as a commercial sporter variant? Our bet is probably, but probably not with that name.

If so, will fans of House Beretta buy one to go with their 92F, PX4, and 1301? That’s a sure thing.

Growing Hell..ion

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Springfield Armory has been importing its American take on the Croatian-made VHS2 5.56 NATO chambered bullpup carbine for a minute, and now they have expanded the lineup to include both 18- and 20-inch variants, really growing the family.

The HS Produkt VHS is a legit combat rifle, already seeing some real-life service around the globe in some very armpit-quality places even though it is only about 15 years old. The improved second-gen VHS2, which was introduced back in 2013, first came into the U.S. in early 2022 as a semi-auto version with enough Section 922 tweaks (BCM Gunfighter grip, Magpul mag, etc.) to make it compliant.

The standard 16 inch model, which I reviewed in 2022

Debuted over here as the Springfield Armory Hellion with a 16-inch barrel, it has gained a reputation as a reliable, easy shooting, accurate, and feature-rich (user-adjustable gas system, fully ambidextrous, 5-position collapsible stock, swappable ejection port, excellent flip up iron sights on a full Pic rail, etc.) bullpup, outclassing a lot of the competition such as the Tavor, AUG, and FS 2000.

I have put upwards of 2K rounds through one on a T&E and loved it enough to buy it.

Well now, Springfield has introduced two new variants that share every feature and only change with the barrel length and type.

The new models include an 18-inch and a 20-inch, the latter with a ribbed forward section for enhanced cooling as well as an integrated bayonet lug (with the company promising compatible bayonets on the way). Springfield points out that the 20-inch model sports a similar configuration to that of the Croatian Army’s VHS-D2, a super accurate designated marksman version of the VHS-2.

16, 18, and 20…

Hellion 18-inch model

Hellion 20-inch model. Note the ribbed barrel and bayonet lug. Springfield says this model is a ringer for the VHS-designated marksman rifle

 

Hellion 16

Hellion 18

Hellion 20

Barrel Length:

16 inches

18 inches

20 inches (includes bayonet lug)

Overall Length:

28.25 – 29.75 inches

30.25 — 31.75 inches

32.25 — 33.75 inches

Weight:

8 pounds

8 pounds, 3 oz

8 pounds, 6 oz

MSRP:          

$1,999

$2,016

$2,031

 

The neat thing is that the price point is practically the same, and, while some other Springfield platforms (looking at you, Prodigy) have gotten some downright mixed to bad reviews, it seems like everyone kind of likes the Hellion.

Time will tell.

A look at the new .264 Round from FN and the Rifle that Uses it

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FN America brought some of the best new tech to SHOT Show last month, including a new weapon system developed for the “Irregular Warfare Technology Support Directorate.”

Built around a new 6.5x43mm Lightweight Intermediate Caliber Cartridge, or LICC (lick?), that the company says delivers 7.62 NATO performance in a 5.56-sized package, FN’s new Individual Weapon System was developed for the IWTSD, a government office that supports the U.S. special operations community. Originally formed in 1999 as the Combating Terrorism Technical Support Office, for those curious, the “IWTSD Identifies and develops capabilities for DOD and Interagency customers to conduct Irregular Warfare against all adversaries, including Great Power competitors and non-state actors.”

The 6.5x43mm was developed by the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit in partnership with IWTSD and was originally dubbed the .264 USA back in 2014 while the LICC designation was in use by 2016. Awarded a contract in 2019 to further develop the concept and a weapon platform to use it, FN delivered prototyped 6.5x43mm Individual Weapon Systems to the government for testing last summer.

FN optimized the round for practical use and had examples on hand at SHOT Show, seen here with 103-grain bullets loaded. Would be interesting to do the math on that ballistic coefficient. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)

The IWS is a fully-ambi piston gun rather than using direct gas impingement like the M4 series. (Photo: FN)

More in my column at Guns.com.

Pocket 308 with a Can

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I’ve been wringing out the SFAR for several weeks and, with the first 500 rounds in the rearview, decided to go for some quiet time.

Ruger’s new Small-Frame Autoloading Rifle is aptly named, as it is a 308 Winchester-chambered AR that, rather than dog pile atop the familiar AR-10/SR-25 competition, hit the market in a very AR-15 size. We are taking 6.8 pounds in weight and just 34 inches long when fresh out of the box in its shorter carbine variant that sports a 16-inch barrel.

Ruger’s SFAR, in its 16-inch carbine format. They also make it in a 20-inch model, which is probably a waste of time.

The handy little rifle is almost perfectly set up to mount a suppressor via its adjustable gas port and standard 5/8-24 TPI muzzle threads.

With the Boomer brake removed and Omega 36M mounted in its long configuration, we found the overall length of the SFAR to still just hit 39 inches with the stock collapsed. Weight, with the can, EoTech XPS, and sling installed, was 8.5 pounds. You could shave a few ounces and inches from even these figures by running the Omega in its shorter configuration.

More in my column at Guns.com.

308, Now in Small Frame

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Ruger announced its new Small-Frame Autoloading Rifle, or SFAR earlier this year, and I’ve spent the past few months kicking the proverbial tires on this .308 Winchester-chambered AR.

Not an AR10 and, of course, not really an AR15, the SFAR is something different. But it’s a good sort of different.

At 6.8 pounds out of the box and just 9.45 pounds shown well-equipped with an Eotech EXPS3 red dot on a QD mount for a primary optic, Magpul MBUS3 backup sights, and a BFG Vickers sling on Magpul QD swivels with 20 rounds of Federal 185-grain Berger open-tip match loaded in a steel Duramag, this hard-hitting little 308 still delivers and only runs 34 inches overall with the stock collapsed.

Plus, it delivers on target due to the fact that Ruger, while they gave the SFAR a skimpy handguard and lots of lightening cuts, they didn’t skimp on the heavy profile cold hammer-forged 4140 chrome-moly barrel with 1:10 RH 5R rifling.

Plus folks really, and I mean really, like this rifle. I got this poem as feedback on the SFAR, which is one of the top-selling in its class:

The meme image (“THIS, I love!”) was added by me, but the poem is art.

More on the SFAR review over in my column at Guns.com.

Ruger goes back to the AR-10, but lightly

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Ruger this week took a pause to fill the gap left in its lineup since the SR-762 was discontinued and introduced the sub-7-pound SFAR.

The new Ruger Small-Frame Autoloading Rifle is more appropriately described as a .308 Winchester-chambered AR-15 rather than a true AR10 as its barrel and bolt are roughly the same size overall as the company’s AR-556 series and accepts standard AR-15 trigger groups, receiver end plates, charging handles, pistol grips, and adjustable stocks. Ruger has hit the ground running with the new rifle available in both a 16-inch (6.8 pounds) and 20-inch (7.3 pounds) format.

By comparison, Ruger’s last .308 semi-auto, the SR-762 carbine was a two-stage piston-driven gun with a 16.1-inch barrel that hit the scales, unloaded and sans optics, at a beefy 8.6 pounds. It was discontinued in 2018.

The new SFAR comes in both 16 and 20-inch models, both in the 7-ish pound range. You know I got one coming for a review…

They share much of the same features, including CNC-machined 7075-T6 receivers, cold-hammer-forged barrels with 5R rifling and 5/8-24 TPI muzzle threads, a four-position regulated gas block, a two-port Boomer muzzle brake (you know that’s gonna be loud), and a free-floated handguard with M-LOK slots. They also come standard with Ruger’s Elite 452 trigger billed as having a smooth, crisp 4.5-pound two-stage trigger pull.

Both accept SR-25 pattern mags and ship with a 20-round Magpul PMAG while a Magpul MOE SL stock and MOE grip are installed.

More in my column at Guns.com.

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