DSA Inc., makers of the excellent SA58 Tactical Series FAL .308/7.62x51mm battle rifles, carbines, and subcarbines, has just come out with their DS-AR "Professional Grade" AR-15/M16 Style 5.56 (5.56x45mm) Carbines and Rifles. These include the DS-AR CV1 Carbine (16” 1:9 twist D4 barrel with press-on mock flashider), DS-AR S1 Rifle (.223 Match chamber, 1:8 twist stainless steel bull barrel), and …

by David Crane david@defensereview.com I’ll just come right out and say it: if the the NewMatics PM16 Government Model PCP (Pre-Charged Pneumatic) Rifle/Carbine performs as advertised–and based on DefRev’s conversations so far with its designer/developer, Mark Schavone, we have every reason to believe that it does–it is a major advance in combat simulation tools, and can drastically improve the marksmanship …

by David Crane david@defensereview.com Anybody who’s been keeping abreast of small arms and ammo develpments in the USSOCOM arena should already be aware fo the 6.8x43mm SPC a.k.a. "6.8mm Remington SPC (Special Purpose Cartridge)" cartridge concept. The 6.8x43mm Special Purpose Cartridge (SPC) was conceived and designed with the help of members of the U.S. Army 5th Special Forces Group as …

The VEPR K carbine by Robinson Armament is available in 7.62x39mm and 5.56x45mm calibers. Barrel is 16". The VEPR K carbine is by all accounts very well made and of high quality. Anyone looking for a handy carbine length AK (Kalashnikov) would be well served to take a look at one. The VEPR K is available with an… AK-74-style muzzle …

by David Crane david@defensereview.com This company has just come across DefRev’s radar. Troy Industries, Inc. appears to be a specialized small arms manufacturer with a specific focus on Special Operations applications and the CQB (Close Quarters Battle) role. According to the company, the Rock SOPMOD (Special Operations Peculiar Modification) M14 Commando Carbine has been designed under contract for the Naval …

Back in September, I wrote a quick blurb on the Chinese QBZ-95(Type 95) infantry rifle, chambered for the proprietary 5.8x42mm cartridge. Now, while it’s true that I’m not a particularly big fan of the Chinese army, it must be noted that the Chinese are not stupid, and they decided on this caliber after conducting a rather extensive amount of ballistic …

U.S. Ordnance, out of Reno Nevada, is now manufacturing and distributing(under license from Saco Defense) an updated compact version of the now classic M60 GPMG (General Purpose Machine Gun). Called the M60E4/M43 Mod. 0, the new compact 7.62x51mm machine gun, according to the company, "represents… significant reliability and user-friendly improvements over the M60, M60D, M60E3 machine guns." Combat training and …

Several months ago, in a phone conversation, Alex Robinson, owner of Robinson Armament, told me he was working on a new rifle project for the military. He couldn’t disclose very much at the time, but it certainly sounded very interesting. Well, it now appears that he was talking about the brand new Robinson Armament RAV02 MC (pronounced "RAVE") select-fire rifle/carbine. …

By David Crane October 5, 2002 Over the last few years, I’ve been fortunate to own a number of top notch semi-auto pre-ban AK’s (AKM and AK-47 rifles) by some of the best makers. I’ve owned several Hungarian pre-ban underfolders and fixed-stock models made by FEG, a couple of Yugoslavian under-folders and fixed-stock models made by Zastava, and a couple …

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 …