In 2015, FN USA introduced a Military Collector product line - semiautomatic versions of their military contract small arms. These were the M4, M16, and - most interestingly - the M249 SAW. The SAW is a version of FN's Minimi light machine gun, developed in 1974 and adopted by the US in 1982. Th...

The CTS9 (Competition Tactical Shooting) is a 9x19mm AK variant made by Nova Modul in Romania. Specifically, in Cugir Romania - the same town that houses the massive small arms factory complex that made millions of small arms during the communist era. Nova Modul, despite being in the same city, i...

Heckler & Koch introduced the UMP submachine gun as a successor to the MP5, with a particular focus on American law enforcement agencies (hence its initial development in .45 ACP). The UMP never has come close to the popularity of the MP5; it is a very basic polymer molded simple blowback SMG, al...

CZ's Bren 2 is one of the more successful recently developed military service rifles, having been adopted by the Czech Republic and Hungary, as well as entering licensed production in Ukraine. The semiauto Bren 2 MS is a fine rifle on its own merits, but also offers an opportunity to build a near...

I decided to use a home-built Romanian AK for Lynx Brutality 2024. It began as a Romanian PM-63 AKM made at the Cugir factory complex in 1976, which was sold to the US about 20 years ago as a parts kit (with its original barrel at that time). I used a Nodak Spud receiver and reassembled it. For a...

Bloke has again given in to peer pressure and will take a Chinesium AK, aka a Chinese Type 56S in the OG dropped butt configuration, to @PolenarTactical 's Lynx Brutality 2024 #LynxBrutality2024

To keep up with Ian of @ForgottenWeapons and Ziga of Ponenar, he needs some upgrades. But what's ...

Elbonian Royal Air Service merch:
https://www.varusteleka.com/en/product/forgotten-weapons-royal-air-service-elbonia-t-shirt-cotton/78756

In the early 2000s, the Elbonian Royal Air Service was looking for an aerial interdiction rifle - something to arm snipers in dirigibles, for shooting down li...

"Rifles on the Danube" Kickstarter is live!
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Today I took my AMD-65 out to the range. I've shot regular AKMs with AMD muzzle brakes, but never had the chance to try the AMD-65 in its original proper configuration. And ...

Join our Kickstarter for "Rifles On The Danube" today and get your copy of the best book on Hungarian AKs!
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In 1978, as AMD-65 rifles in service were starting to get worn out, FÉG launched a program to refurbish the ol...

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Hungary began importing semiautomatic civilian versions of FÉG's AK-63D into the United States in the 1980s. As more restrictions were put on importati...

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The Hungarian AMD-65 (Automata Módosított Deszantfegyver - "Modified Paratrooper Automatic Rifle") was requested first in 1964 because the standard AKM-63 rifles in Hunga...

In the early 1990s, Israeli Military Industries (IMI) developed the Galil MAR (Micro Assault Rifle) and the MAGAL at the same time. Both were intended to be very compact rifles, with the MAR in 5.56mm and the MAGAL specifically for police in .30 Carbine. The MAGAL offered the same handling and er...

Today I'm taking a brand new Ohio Ordnance M1918A3 semiauto BAR to the 2-gun match, along with a Tisas M1911A1 clone. The BAR is the WW2 configuration, but I followed the footsteps of many a US GI and took off the bipod (and it didn't come with a carry handle). That reduces the weight a bit from ...

The Charlton was a conversion of a bolt action Lee rifle into a light machine gun, designed by New Zealander Phillip Charlton. Some 1500 were made in New Zealand, but a bit later it appears that there was an effort to also produce the gun in Australia. The Electrolux company (the same one that ma...

The Gilboa Snake is an Israeli rifle (from the same designer behind the Cornershot) that essentially combines two standard ARs into a single unit. In its civilian configuration it has two of every part - barrels, bolts (mirrored, so one ejects left and the other right), triggers, buffers, etc. In...

Denmark's adoption of the H&K G3 is a rather odd story. First off, the Danes adopted the m/66 H&K as its sniper/DMR rifle in 1966, while retaining the M1 Garand as its standard service rifle. Not until 1973 do they decide to update the M1s, and when they do a. major rifle test, the M16 wins. Howe...

Before the H&K 90 series of rifles - the civilian semiautomatic versions - existed, there was the 40-series; the paramilitary rifles. Originally intended for German reservist purchase, the HK41 and HK43 were G3 and HK33 rifles made in semiautomatic only configuration. In the early 1970s, these w...

The Danes adopted the M1 Garand after World War Two, and continued using it as their standard service rifle all the way until 1975 - and alongside it they used the M1D as a sniper or DMR rifle. The Danish Home Guard decided to upgrade those M1D rifles in the 1960s, however, and looked to H&K for ...

Springfield Armory is now importing a version of the the VHS-2 bullpup (commercially named the Hellion here in the US) with a 20-inch barrel. This is the barrel length used in the most common military pattern of the rifle, the VHS-2D. In addition, Springfield's semiauto configuration has the prop...

Palmetto State Armory (PSA) makes a really wide variety of different guns, but one that they came out with a little while back that appealed to me in particular is their "Spiker". This is a reproduction of the Chinese Type 56 stamped AK with a permanently attached underfolding bayonet. These rifl...

Armi Jager was an Italian arms-making company that was created in the early 1950s by Armando Piscetta. He initially made .22 rimfire sporting rifles, then transitioned into making Old West style revolvers, and in the 1970s began offering a series of military lookalikes (he was also heavily involv...

So it's become fashionable to claim that the Eugene Stoner direct impingement gas system used in the .308/7.62 AR-10 and .223/5.56 AR-15 isn't actually direct impingement due to there being an integrated piston in it. Unlike the Ljungmann AG42 and French MAS 44, 49 and 49/56, which... erm... also...

Today we are going to take a look at the three main battle rifles of World War Two - the M1 Garand, the SVT-40, and the Gewehr 43. We will also consider the SVT-38, Gewehr 41(W), and Gewehr 41(M). The United States, Soviet Union, and Germany were the three countries that fielded large numbers of ...

How does the General Purpose Rifle blur the lines between SPR and GPR?