Not being a bit AR fan - though I do like what H&K have been doing with their 416 & 417 models - 'new' variations of the Armalite format tend to just leave me cold. But this morning a weird version did actually put a smile on my face...

This is the FRS-15 California “Featureless” AR-15 - basically it is a very strange stock arrangement that is designed to appease the strict Californian gun laws regarding what constitutes a 'assault rifle' as opposed to a (legal) hunting rifle.

Believe it or not the change in the angle of the pistol grip and the absence of an AR style adjustable stock makes this format of AR legal under that state's strange gun laws. As you might have guessed the sweeping angle of the pistol grip conforms to the more traditional arrangement you might see on a wood stocked hunting rifle...In theory!

I know, crazy eh?

BUT - I kinda like it! Though I would have prefered to see it carved out of some nice piece of wood.

Some times there is no rational explaination as to why we like somethings.

Read more over at The Firearms Blog

We all know teh legendery AK47 is built to take whatever you can throw at it - and I have seen it buried in sand, mud and snow to prove this, but this is taking things to extremes...

Neatorama reports: "Yes, the shoulder stock of this AK-47 is from a shovel. That's not the impressive part. The receiver--the housing for the action--is also from a shovel. Yes, really! Boris melted, reforged, reshaped, cut and welded the blade of a shovel into a completely functional receiver. The result is a beautiful piece of post-apocalyptic engineering."

While I don't know everything about historic guns - far from it - it's rare that a completely new gun comes along that I couldn't have even imagined existed. This example is like something froma Steampunk movie, but it's real - it's a chain fed revolver!

The author of the blog I found this on does not have much information about this other than a translation of it's Russian description: “7.62mm Pistol prototype. Power tape. Capacity of the tape 36 shots.” No manufacturer, designer or other explanation listed.

However, Neatorama - the blog that reposted this item - did note that this gun is similar in concept to a 1886 20-shot chain revolver by Henry S. Josselyn.

Militarily, there are obvious impracticalties to such designs and it's not surprising that they didn't catch on - I mean, for a start, how would you carry such a gun?

I suppose this is one of those science myth-busters because I was always unsure whether a gun could work underwater or not. Well, now I know - although I still don't think it's recommended!

While the whole bullpup fad seems to be waning as far as assault rifles are concerned they seem to have found thier niche in sniper rifles. Russian company TsKIB have brought out a '.50 cal' rifle (not really, Yanks just don't seem to understand what 12.7mm is!) and it's quite interesting.

Above: ASh-12 can be seen on the right - with a suppressor and a grenade launcher attached - though your eye might also be caught by the guy on the left who is casting an admiring eye on the tacticool hand canon he is holding! Anyone else get the feeling he is wondering who he knows he could use the gun on? LOL

Definately an idea for the next big military FPS.

(Big thank you to the Firearm Blog for highlighting this wierd weapon.)

Now the witching season approaches we should turn our mind to defence from the Black Arts. No candles, bells and bibles for me - I prefer something a little more macho than Professor Snape would approve of!

I featured the lovely Taurus Judge and S&W Governor shotgun revolvers in an earlier posts, but leave it to those Ruskies to go one better (or worse, depending on your point of view). The OTs-62 is a 12 guage 5 shot revolver shotgun which has recently had a make-over to make it into a “Service Revolver Shotgun”.

Apparently this sawn-off shotgun was made for Russian Special forces and I can see a certain practicality for close combat situations, but I wouldn't like to try and fire this beast one handed!

Thanks to the excellent FireArm Blog for this heads up.

Last month I highlighted what I believe to be the ultimate zombie self-defence handgun - the Taurus Judge. Well, in continuing research into just what I would prefer to arm myself with for the pending zombie apocalypse I was interested to see this S&W alterative to the Judge - The Governor.

Just to recap as to why I think these type of hybrid shotgun/bullet revolvers are preferable for the close range disposal of the undead, the Governor picture above illustrates that it can use three different sorts of ammunition. Not only can this hand cannon use the mighty Colt .45 round (and .45 APC) but it can also fire the devastating .410 shotgun shells (for more information see my previous post on the Taurus).

I have to say I slightly prefer the understated dark and moody looks of the Smith and Wesson offering, but either revolver would offer peace of mind if facing a group of shambling horrors. Additionally, and perhaps importantly, the Governor provides one additional chamber than the Taurus, giving you six shots rather than just five.

What I hope to do, eventually, is compile these separate posts into one large 'undead armoury' post - so next I will be looking into what I think would be the ideal primary zombie killing weapon.

The online mecca for gun nuts - TheFirearmBlog.com - has featured a rather nifty weapons modification that is of interest to both RS and airsoft fans alike. The multi-caliber 'lower' is what it says, a means of getting the SCAR rifle to accept a variety of different calibres simply by replacing the lower half of the weapon.

This novel means of switching calibres has been something of a holy grail in military terms extending, as it does, the fashionable idea of the 'modular weapon' (as - probably - imagined by Eugene Stoner in the 1960s). The FN SCAR series of rifles does go so far in offering a modular weapon, albeit in an off-the-shelf format (in that you can have any shape or size of assault rifle format you can imagine based on a basic sub-set of related components) but the gun does only come in the two NATO calibres - 5.56mmm and 7.62mm.

The need for a gun capable of handling various calibres - but most notably those of the 'enemy' - came to prominence during the early Afghan campaign where US Special Forces complained that while they were running short of 5.56mm rounds during fire fights they were awash with discarded Russian 7.62mmx39mm magazines. Thus the hybrid Knights Armament SR-47 and X47 projects were born, giving SF soldiers what basically amounts to a Kalashnikov but with all the modern Western conveniences of rails and upgraded parts.

Above: The Knights Armament SR-47 - a hybrid of the Colt AR-15 'upper' and a receiver capable of taking a Kalashnikov type 7.62x39mm magazine.

The new multi-calibre lower prototype for the SCAR is in this vein, allowing Special Forces (in theory) to quickly change their default SCAR into a weapon which uses a type of round that is most easily found in the theatre where they are deployed. The other good reason for doing this is so they have 'deniablity' - leaving only spent enemy rounds behind after an operation.

Interestingly - from an airsoft point of view - the German developer of this prototype was restricted from using a real steel (RS) SCAR upper receiver in his work due to German gun laws and so had to use that of a ACM airsoft replica!

A 7.62x39 Armalite variant? Why, that's against the laws of nature - yet sort of neat!

I feel dirty!