O.k, here’s the second installment highlighting the excellent "AK Mania" issue of SAR(Small Arms Review), Nov., 2002. By the way, this is a really great AK issue for all those Kalashnikov lovers out there. In this DefRev installment, we’re going to discuss ASD Firearms LLC’s authentic-looking AK variants, both full-auto and semi-auto only. The SAR story we’ll be discussing this …

By David Crane defrev (at) gmail (dot) com October 5, 2002 I don’t know about the rest of you, but there’s just something about a 7.62x39mm caliber Mini-AK the size of a subgun that just makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Who cares that it’s semi-auto only? Who cares that it doesn’t have a shoulder stock? It’s small, …

by David Crane defrev@gmail.com September 03, 2002 Well, the folks at Leitner-Wise Rifle Co., of Alexandria, VA, have certainly been keeping busy over there. They’ve just come out with two new weapon systems speciifically geared for military Spec-Ops and LE tactical use. We’ll start with the Leitner Wise LW15.499 Mini-.50(or .499), a.k.a. Multi-Level Threat Response System (MLTRS). As this is …

The QBZ-95 bullpup infantry rifle from China, a.ka. Type 95 rifle, fires the proprietary 5.8x42mm round. Many small arms experts consider the ideal infantry/light machine gun caliber to be between 6mm and 6.5mm in diameter, and between 39mm and 45mm in length, making the new Chinese caliber very close to the ideal dual-purpose infantry round. Click here for pics and …

The Online Firearms encyclopaedia is once again updated, this time with some submachine guns, that include: FMK-3 (Argentina) AEK-919K (Russia) MAT-49 (France) Star Z-62 and Z-70b (Spain) Star Z-84 (Spain) Direct links to new articles are available here: http://world.guns.ru/main-e.htm  

by David Crane david@defensereview.com A lot of gun people I know down here in Florida wear cargo pants. This is because cargo pants are lightweight and comfortable, and have big pockets into which you can put lots of stuff. As it happens, my personal philosophy is "the more pockets the better." When you combine this outlook with my "the more …

DefRev has found some good info on the Russian Yarygin pistol and MP-446 Viking at GlobalArms.net. Both were developed for the Russian Army in order to satisfy specific Russian military requirements. Click here to visit the Yarygin pistol page. To go directly to the MP-446 Viking pistol page, click on this link.  

by David Crane david@defensereview.com Force-on-force tactical CQB training and Real Action Gaming(R.A.G.) just got bumped-up in the realism department. Asia Paintball Supply(APS) out of Hong Kong is now marketing their Real Action Marker(R.A.M. or RAM) here in the U.S. The mastermind behind the U.S. marketing campaign is Harry Wong, an ex-British Army soldier who’s now an APS executive based in …

It’s official. The Kimber Custom II single-stack .45 1911(5" Government Model) has apparently defeated all comers, and is thus slated to rest on the thighs of all LAPD SWAT operators in the very near future. For an LE SWAT/SRT contract, it’s a big one–160 guns(2 per operator). The significance of the Kimber Custom II’s adoption is magnified by the fact …

by David Crane There’s certainly no dirth of kydex holster makers right now. However, there’s one company out there that looks like it might just be the most innovative of the bunch, and that’s Edge-Works Manufacturing, the makers of G-Code holsters. For about the last 7 months, I’ve been using a G-Code paddle holster to carry around my third generation …

The U.S. Army has been busy spending millions on a new video game that simulates a U.S. Army infantry soldier’s experience, including combat–all in the hopes of increasing… the number of quality recruits. It’s supposed to have a very high degree of realism, albeit without the blood, sweat, hunger… well, you get the picture. Will it work? Hey, we just …

Modern Firearms web-site – a large online Firearms encyclopaedia out of Russia was recently updated with some new articles that cover numerous guns, including: – widely promoted Russian GSh-18 – a modern featherweight Glock-alike with great Armour-Piercing capabilities, or a poor-mans’ Five-seveN. – Browning BDM, the only… true Double Mode pistol – Namby type 14. The WW2 relic from Imperial …

Looks like the U.S. Army and Marine Corps will soon be using magnetic fields to protect our troops in combat. It’s about time. We could have really used this technology back in Somalia in ’93(and right now in Afghanistan). It could have saved a lot of lives. RPG’s(Rocket-Propelled Grenades) continue to be an ongoing problem for us in small-scale conflicts, …

Well, if you’ve ever wanted to learn how to handle and shoot a subgun properly, and have never had the chance, you might want to give Dave Sanders and the boys at Tactical Firearms Academy a call, particularly if you live in Florida. I’m seriously considering calling these guys and signing up myself. Just from the description, it looks like …

Man-portable guided missile systems for anti-tank use and bunker busting just keep getting better and better. Click here to read an informative story on some new stuff coming out of the UK, all under the auspices of the NLAW, which stands for "Next-Generation Light Anti-Armour Weapon". The future’s lookin’ bright.