Milsurp

Keystone Sporting Arms is kicking off a new series of mini rifle replicas of World War I and II rifles starting with a Mosin-Nagant chambered for .22 LR.

The Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) gave us a brief update this week on the status of those highly-coveted surplus 1911s.  Looks like there won’t be as many available for purchase this year as we may have hoped.   “While the National Defense Authorization Act granted transfer of a maximum of 10,000 1911s per year to the [...]

In one particular area, the Italians really outdid themselves during World War II. Their Model 38 submachinegun was the finest pistol-caliber automatic weapon of the war.

On the night of June 5th, 1944, a force of 181 men commanded by Major John Howard lifted off from RAF Tarant Rushton aboard six Horsa gliders. Their force consisted of a reinforced company from the Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry along with twenty sappers drawn from the Royal Engineers. Their objective was to seize the bridge over the Caen Canal and subsequently secure the eastern flank of the Allied landings at Sword beach. Theirs was arguably the most critical piece in the entire D-Day invasion.

The Germans produced vast quantities of indigenous handguns, but they had to reach out to their occupied territories to meet the ever-growing demand. Early in the war most all of the pistols used by Germany were well built and effective. By the end around-the-clock strategic bombing had taken its toll. Even domestically produced versions became crude and rough. Those guns made by slave labor in the occupied territories were at times unsafe. Here is a brief roundup of the many-splendored handguns used by the Wehrmacht, Waffen SS, Luftwaffe, and Kriegsmarine during World War 2.

Captain Barton fell breathlessly against the roots of a gnarled tree that seemed older than time itself. The flickering flames of what had only moments before been a $35 million AH64E gunship lit the surrounding jungle in desperate, hungry tones. He looked back at the wreckage now fully involved and choked at the thought of his co-pilot.

The wares at our local gun emporia are beginning to look a bit repetitive, my friends. There are AR15 variants for every taste, proclivity, and budget. The counters are awash to their gunwales in plastic pistols. There’s the obligatory smattering of scatterguns, precision rifles, and wheelguns, but that really is about it.

The Nazi’s inability to conquer Europe wasn’t their only failure of the Second World War. They also failed to invade Russia, exercise basic humanity, march-like normal people, and a host of other blunders. Suffice it to say that in 1,000 years they won’t be remembered as successful, virtuous, or honorable.

The only difference between men and boys is the price of their toys. What a timeless truism. Back in my day the Internet was called books. I spent many a rabid hour poring over the JC Penney Christmas catalog in the days leading up to the Big Event.  I could only imagine the sparkly swag that Santa might shove down the chimney to celebrate the birth of the Savior of the World. The enthusiasm with which my brothers and I ravished that tome bordered upon unseemly.