The following is a Sturm, Ruger & Co. press release: Southport, CT: August 26, 2010 — Sturm, Ruger & Co., Inc. (NYSE:RGR) is pleased to announce the new Ruger SR-556/6.8 rifle/carbine, a new chambering in the popular SR-556 two-stage, piston-driven, AR-Style rifle. The new SR-556/6.8 brings the power and downrange authority of the 6.8 SPC cartridge in a two-stage piston …

By David Crane defrev (at) gmail (dot) com August 26, 2010 Chiappa Firearms and MKS Supply, Inc. have teamed up to manufacture and market the new “revolutionary” patented Rhino .357 magnum revolver, which is unique in that it fires from the bottom chamber, rather than the top chamber. This significantly lowers the bore axis, bringing the recoil forces closer to …

The following is a FN Herstal USA (FNH USA) press release: McLean, VA (August 16, 2010). The U.S. Special Operations Command notified FN that the Special Operations Forces Combat Assault Rifle (SCAR) family of weapons—the MK 16 (5.56mm) and MK 17 (7.62mm) combat assault rifles and MK 13 grenade launcher—was approved for full-rate production. The Full-Rate Production Decision Review by …

By David Crane defrev (at) gmail (dot) com August 16, 2010 Updated on 8/21/10 DefenseReview (DR) has been publishing information on Spike’s Tactical products for a little while, now. Spike’s is a small company out of Apopka, Florida that puts together some nice select-fire and semi-auto-only tactical AR (AR15) carbine and SBR (Short Barreled Rifle) packages in various calibers. One …

By David Crane defrev (at) gmail (dot) com July 29, 2010 Updated on 8/04/10. God, I love laser weapons. I really do. They represent the future, they represent high-technology (high-tech), and, let’s face it, they represent fun. I mean, what could be more fun than blasting an enemy combatant (military scenario) out of his socks with a military-grade tactical/combat laser/ray …

By Chen Lee a.k.a. “SMGLee” (Edited by David Crane) defrev (at) gmail (dot) com July 16, 2010 Some have said the SCAR is dead (at least the MK16 SCAR-L variant), but from the start of the SCAR program (PDF format document link), its goal has been a receiver that can handle both the 5.56mm NATO (5.56x45mm) and 7.62 NATO (7.62x51mm) …

By David Crane defrev (at) gmail (dot) com July 9, 2010 For quite some time, now, DefenseReview (DR) has been publishing information on just how reliable the direct-gas-impingement (DGI) select-fire Colt M4/M4A1 Carbine/SBR (Short Barreled Rifle) and semi-auto AR-15 carbine/SBR can be if they’re properly set up/sprung and lubricated (and even if they’re not properly lubricated). We have retired U.S. …

The following is an FNH USA press release: FNH USA stands behind the SCAR program ​(McLean, Va.) July 1, 2010. FNH USA is cautious in releasing any information due to the nature of the pledge to our customers. ​We can, however, reiterate that the MK-16 (5.56mm variant), MK-17 (7.62mm variant) and the MK-13 Enhanced Grenade Launcher Module (40mm), which make …

By David Crane defrev (at) gmail (dot) com June 30, 2010 DefenseReview (DR) got to see the latest Smith & Wesson (S&W) M&P tactical AR (AR-15) rifles/carbine/sBRs developed for Special Operations Forces (SOF) at SOFIC 2010 (Special Operations Forces Industry Conference 2010. The new guns incorporate ambidextrous controls and advanced coatings. It’s possible that the weapons we saw could be …

By David Crane defrev (at) gmail (dot) com June 8, 2010 And, speaking of enhanced-capacity 5.56x45mm NATO (5.56mm NATO)/.223 Rem. 4179 STANAG AR (AR-15) magazines, MagPul Industries has just filed a patent application (#: 20100126053) for a quad stack 4×2 AR mag. Here’s how The Firearm Blog describes the magazine’s operation: The design is quite straight forward. A central partition …