Tag Archives: silencerco omega

Meet the New Springfield Armory Kuna

After leaving cookie crumbs around the world for months, Springfield Armory on Tuesday announced that the Kuna large format pistol platform is available in the U.S.– and we’ve been kicking one around for a few months.

Designed by popular Croatian gunmaker HS Produkt, the Springfield Armory Kuna (Croatian for “Pine Marten,” the national animal of that country) sub-gun first surfaced last October when it beat the top-shelf B&T APC40 and Steyr M40 for a contract with the PMESP, the Sao Paulo Military Police – the largest police force in Brazil. Chambered in .40 S&W, it also appeared at EnforceTac in Germany back in February with a promised 9mm variant inbound as well. The word was that the svelte little burp gun, using an advanced roller-locked system of operation, had been developed with international counter-terror teams in mind.

Now, it is available in a semi-auto pistol variant in the U.S., initially just in 9mm. It will be sold at launch in a standalone pistol variant as well as a more deluxe version sold with an installed Strike Industries side-folding stabilizing brace. The MSRP varies between $999 to $1,149, with the braced model running higher.

The overall length of the brace-equipped Springfield Armory Kuna is 24.5 inches with the brace deployed and a more compact 15.5 inches folded. The gun can be fired in either position. (All photos unless noted: Chris Eger/Guns.com)

Nobody was looking for the Kuna to roll into 2025 and instantly turn heads. Well-made 9mm large-format handguns in the SMG/PCC style have been increasingly popular in recent years, and it is clear that the folks behind the Kuna did their homework and did it well. You get a smooth-shooting and reliable platform that allows easy use with suppressors, lights, and optics for right around $1K. Taking notes from the Echelon, Hellcat, and Hellion when it comes to ergonomics and sights, Springfield is playing the hits here. It feels like a smoother and more updated version of the MP5K on the range.

The full review is over in my column at Guns.com.

Always wanted a suppressed HK53-based SBR?

The Heckler & Koch HK53 was designed in the 1970s as an ultra-compact version of their 5.56mm HK33, basically, the German answer to the Warsaw Pact AKS-74U Krinkov or Colt’s various Vietnam-era Commando models. They saw some export success, and in the U.S. the pre-Homeland Security Border Patrol adopted them for some tactical teams (hey, Customs had the Steyr-AUG at the same time, so you can see the need for competition).

Well, SilencerCo teamed up with Canton, Michigan’s Dakota Tactical Firearms to craft a limited run of just ten (10) roller-locked semi-auto HK53s SBRs in .300 BLK, equipped with matching Omega suppressors.

Termed the D300 by DTAC, these guns usually run bigfoot on a unicorn rare on the market. Each uses an 8.3-inch free-floated fluted barrel and a “sear-ready” tungsten-filled bolt group. The DTAC hand guard is freckled with M-Lok (because what isn’t these days?) while the receiver runs a 1913 Pic rail for your optic needs that go beyond the standard HK drum/post sights. A collapsible A3 stock, tools and 30-round mag complete the package.

How mucho do they run? Check out my column at Guns.com for that stocking sticker, along with some more sweet pics.

Of suppressor deregulation and upcoming ATF changes

At SHOT Show this year I had a chance to throw some knives and hawks on range day and did so like shit. They were SOGs and, while I can make the excuse I wasn’t used to them and prefer my own edged weapons which I do throw much better, I still did miserably.

sog knives and hawks

However, I also did it right behind Josh Waldron, the co-founder and CEO of SilencerCo, the company that is like the Glock of suppressors. How big are they? They ship 10,000 cans a month, which is more than most suppressor makers ship in a year.

I had a chance last week to catch back to up him without the tomahawks and talk about various states dropping prohibitions against private suppressor ownership (42 states now allow it), hunting with suppressors (39 now allow it, up from 22 in 2011), potential deregulation of suppressors from NFA requirements via the Hearing Protection Act, and the impact that ATF 41F is going to have on trusts and CLEO requirements.

SilencerCo.founder.believes.in_.creating.a.lifestyle.to_.mainstream.suppressors
“We’re trying to make guns sexy again because they always really have been in this country,” Waldron said. “It’s been part of the fabric of the culture here but we want to make sure that that continues and so we’re trying to revive that.”

You can read the interview over at Guns.com.