I didn’t report on this story when it first surfaced because I thought it was stupid, and would go away quickly. But It didn’t.
TACOMA, Wash. – U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers seized a shipment of 30 machine guns that arrived in an ocean container at the Tacoma Seaport last October.
Officials say the shipment of M-4 automatic rifles, manifested only as “Toys and Parts,” was valued at nearly $10,000 and was shipped from a manufacturer in Taiwan.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms found that the rifles were tooled to shoot plastic balls, but replacement of internal components with original machine gun components would render the rifles capable of firing live ammunition.
“These rifles could have had far-reaching and potentially devastating ramifications if they had gotten into the hands of individuals who wanted to do harm in the American population,” said Customs and Border Protection Area Port Director, Rolando Suliveras, Jr. “This was a good interception by our officers.”
Special agent Kelven Crenshaw has a bit of trouble with the magazine at 1:18 I guess they only teach the operation of the m4 platform in “extra” special agent school.
Interesting info from the company who got their guns seized, AirsoftOutletNW:
Now we at Airsoft Outlet Northwest, being the rational individuals we are, went out and had a gunsmith check the true compatibility of these replicas and found the following information:
The WE TTI M4’s lack any sort of functional gas tube which is integral to an AR15’s operation
The upper receiver of an AR15 fits onto the lower of the WE TTI M4
The stock trigger pack in the WE TTI cannot strike the firing pin of a AR15 bolt
The body of the WE TTI lower is several mils thinner than an AR15 lower, and shims would be needed for any AR trigger pack to work
The trigger pack of an AR15 appears to be able to fit onto the lower receiver of a WE TTI M4, one of the AR15 trigger pack retaining pins is impossible to insert without major modification, and the hammer isn’t operable with the WE TTI lower.
The full article, Airsoft: An Industry Without Standard, is actually a really good read if you have the time, regardless of whether or not you are into airsoft.
The only real issue I would say may exist, is if you could put a REAL upper on an airsoft lowers and have it fire, either fully automatic or semi automatic. The lower receiver of a M4/M-16/AR-15 is not subjected to any extreme pressures when a round is fired, so as long as the material the airsoft replica was made out of is semi rigid, it would likely hold up for a while at least. That said, I highly doubt that any of the airsoft lowers would be able to accept a REAL upper, and fire without any modification. Although the whole airsoft industry thrives on authenticity, it is not in their best interest to get attention like this, which is why I doubt the parts are exactly 1:1 interchangeable.
Basically, if the ATF claims these airsoft guns can be easily converted into real guns, they should just demonstrate the conversion, and put a couple of magazines through it. There needs to be some accountability and burden of proof placed on these government organizations.
The book was published in 1909, so maybe chicken winging was embraced back then?
This police officer from Marble Falls, TX must have studied a copy of the book as part of her training.
Since the detachable box magazine was not widely used back in 1909, I’m sure the tip on putting your magazine in backwards was picked up by the officer from another source.
The media would definitely dub this an evil “Assault Nagant”
This conversion was done on a Finnish m27 in order to increase the rifle’s capacity from 5 to 20 rounds. There is no information provided on whether the magazine is detachable.
Recently the Florida Highway Patrol conducted testing for a new duty pistol in Tallahassee, Fla. One of the pistols they tested was the Gen 4 Glock. The problem is Glock is only offering the Gen 4 in 9mm and .40 S&W, and FHP wanted a .45. To secure the contract of “about 3000 pistols,” Glock agreed to manufacture a special run of Gen 4 pistols chambered in .45 GAP.
I know the “purpose” of the .45 GAP is to have the ballistics of a .45 ACP, but in a smaller volume cartridge. What’s wrong with .45 ACP though? or even .40 for that matter?
The standard magazine capacity of the fullsize .45 GAP Glock model 37 is 10 rounds. The Glock 21 (.45 ACP) standard magazine capacity is 13 rounds. One clear disadvantage of the G37, especially in a law enforcement environment.
The grip frame dimensions are where the two guns differ, and the smaller size of the model 37 does indeed offer improved ergonomics for those who prefer the feel of the medium frame Glocks. A comparison of the critical dimensions are as follows:
Glock 21 .45 ACP
Glock 37 .45 GAP
Magazine Thickness
1.15 inch
0.904 inch
Grip Circumference
7.75 inches
7.375 inches
Grip Thickness
1.292 inches
1.182 inches
Grip Front to Back
2.155 inches
2.08 inches
Trigger Reach
2.938 inches
2.793 inches
Barrel Length
4.605 inches
4.59 inches
Why exactly does Florida need/want the .45 GAP though? Have they had failures in stopping bad guys with .40 or .45? Are there a bunch of new officers with small hands?
Coming from the Beretta 96, one would think that Florida Highway Patrol would be used to a large grip circumference, and that a Glock 22 or Glock 21 wouldn’t be hard to get used to.
Maybe is it an Elitism thing, where they want to brag to everyone that Glock custom made them a new model?
I would hate to see the bill for the cost of 3000 custom Glocks. I’m sure Florida tax payers would also cringe, especially knowing there are at least 2 other perfectly great off the self models that their highway patrol could be carrying.
Maybe someday this .45 GAP cardridge will catch on. Glock sure pushes it in every issue of Glock Annual.
I definitely have not noticed .45 GAP ammo at any of the gun stores I frequent, though maybe that’s due to the large amount of dust that likely collected on the box, making it unreadable.
Full story on Florida’s Gen4 .45 GAP glock purchase over at BlueSheepDog – HERE
It started with some inspiration from the video game “Army Of Two”.
The main characters use weapons equipped with shields.
I thought these gun-shields were an innovative, if not entirely practical, idea.
The functional components: A railed AR, Havoc 37mm Flare Launcher, Beta C-Mag
Extra components: Molded plastic grip with horizontal & vertical gripping points.
This computer simulation depicts the operation of the Army’s Improved Magaine.
The Army has begun fielding the new 5.56mm 30 round Improved Magazine that delivers a significant increase in reliability for the battle-tested M16 and M4 weapons systems. Bolstering the already high reliability ratings of the M16/M4 systems, the Improved Magazine effectively reduces the risk of magazine-related stoppages by more than 50 percent compared to the older magazine variants. Identified by a tan-colored follower, over 500,000 of the improved magazines have been fielded to units in Iraq, Afghanistan and in the U.S.
Pretty big oversight when the Army forgets the extraction of the casing in their video. Even if they got the extraction right, the entire video would still be 100% useless.
I called a few different NATO numbers a while back and inquired about that document. All the people I talked to told me that it was not just “available” to anyone that simply wanted it. I found that answer odd though considering every other NATO document under the sun, is readily available on the internet.
My question is: if there is no STANAG 4179, where does a person get the standardized magazine measurements from? The few dozen companies that make magazines can’t have just busted out their calipers and measured an old COLT magazine they had lying around, and called it day.
Or could they have?
The original Magpul P-Mags never fit properly in “some” AR-15 lowers. To me, this means that they didn’t use the standardized model of an AR-15 magazine to create their polymer one.
Steve @ TheFirearmBlog has a post right now called STANAG 4179 does not exist! detailing how he received an email from “Roberto” a NATO employee who claims the document was never ratified which resulted it in being discarded.
If anyone has the STANAG 4179 document (if it exists ) please contact me, I’d love to see it. Otherwise I’d like to see any document that has the AR-15 magazine measurements in it, so please send it over!
There are a couple of very unique mags on there, I wonder if I can find actual pictures of them in use?
So after scraping the internet I came up with the following pictures of the two most unique mags out of the bunch. Can you imagine how much either one of these would weigh fully loaded?
The ETF was responding to calls of a man in an office with a gun — tipped off by a nosy neighbour whose apartment overlooks Bell’s office. The neighbour thought he saw a real pistol.
Toronto police said the response wasn’t an over-reaction.
God forbid someone besides a police officer would have a gun at work.
I was actually over at Brickgun the other day checking out their different LEGO guns, so when I got wind of this story I knew exactly where he got his LEGO gun when I saw the picture in the article.
From Video: “They cuffed me and threw me against the wall”
Was that really necessary?
I’d hate to think how they would respond to a bunch of kids playing airsoft in the park, there would probably be casualties.
To purchase one of these menacing looking guns head over to Brickgun – HERE
The Glock type model from the story is called a “Semi-Auto with Mag”… it consists of 277 LEGO pieces and is $69.99 + Shipping
There are also Desert Eagles, Mac-11’s, Beretta 92, and H&K MP5 type LEGO kits availble for purchase.
1) It takes him around a minute to figure out how to get the magazine out of the Ruger Mini-14
2) His scope is upside down (54 seconds.. notice the knob)
3) Racks the bolt (43 seconds) … pulls on the magazine… pushes down on the magazine.. still wont come out… drops the bolt (1 minute 4 seconds).. fumbles around some more and finally gets the mag out, but chambers a round and sets the gun down in the process.
Remember… Iver Johnson Revolvers ARE NOT TOYS: THEY SHOOT STRAIGHT AND KILL … but Papa says it wont hurt us, it’s absolutely safe, and an accidental discharge is impossible.
FACT: U.S. President William McKinley and Presidential Candidate Robert F. Kennedy were killed by assassins using Iver Johnson Revolvers ( Source – Wiki )
Letting your daughter take a break from playing with boring dolls to play with the revolver instead definitely deserves a father of the year award.
If the first amendment was treated like the second amendment…
Any speech using 10 or more foreign words would be a felony. (Firearm law 922(r) restricting 10 or more foreign gun parts from the 1989 import ban)
Anyone convicted of a felony or convicted of misdemeanor domestic abuse or assault is not allowed freedom of speech or religion and must rely on the government to provide speech and religion for them. (1968 gun control act)
Any speech or religions that are done in a scary tone or feel are banned. Any assembly that looks scary is banned. (1994 Federal Assault Weapon Ban that went after mostly cosmetic features)
Before engaging in new free speech you must pass an instant background check by a government authorized free speech dealer. Sorry, if your name is like someone else prohibited from speech and religion, it is up to you to prove you’re not that person. (NICS instant background check and Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act of 1993)
Any speech or work with more than 10 sentences per page is forbidden, any peaceable assembly with more than 10 people is also banned. (Hi-Capacity Magazine bans in the Assault Weapon Ban and in many states to this day)
‘Freedom of Speech’ was only meant to be applicable to movable type presses. The founding fathers didn’t foresee television, radio, photographs, telephones, film, or the internet. (The idea that the 2nd amendment only applies to muskets)
You cannot exercise free speech or religion on federal property or at a school. (Section 930. Title 18, United States Code and the Gun Free School Zone Act of 1990)
Any religions, peaceable assemblies, camera, computer, telephone or free speech enabling device made before 1986 is available to use by the general public. Any made after 1986 is only available to law enforcement. (Closing of the NFA machine gun registry in 1986 by Regan with the Firearms Owner’s Protection Act)
A legal Polaroid camera from 1972 is now worth over $10,000 because you can’t get any new ones after 1986. Sure you can get an illegal one, but you risk a 10-20 year felony conviction if caught. (Market effects of the 1986 registry closure)
You can follow any religion, read any book, talk about whatever you like AFTER you pay a $200 tax to the government and pass a background check. If you decide to buy more books, try another religion, or talk about something else, you must pay another $200 and go through another lengthy background check. (National Firearm Act of 1934)
You CANNOT have free speech no matter what in Washington DC, it has been this way since 1977. (Washington DC handgun ban)
Concealing free speech/religion is only permissible in some states and only after you have spent $100 and attended a state mandated course on how to speak/worship properly. Though in some states you can’t conceal or display your speech or religion at all outside of your home. (Conceal Carry Legislation and open carry laws)
You cannot have free speech if you are under 18 and you can’t worship anything until you are 21. (Age restrictions on buying long guns and handguns)
If you wish to exchange free speech with a citizen in another state you must involve a government sanctioned free speech dealer to ensure they are allowed that type of free speech in their state. (1968 Gun Control Act which mandates a FFL be needed for interstate gun purchases and transfers)
Alliance Armament’s website is actually down now, but I was able to peek at in in google cache and it looks like the Accelerator is a conversion for the Saiga 12, and was selling for $2642.97 and the drum magazine was selling for $379. No telling if that is the current price as well, but hopefully the price will be lower when their site is fixed and goes live.
AR15.22 Drum fits Atchisson/Ciener style drop in conversion kits and dedicated uppers. Also fits Kel-Tec, Sig 552, Tactical Solutions uppers, Model 1 Sales, and Spikes kits and uppers.
I can’t wait to give one of those a try on my .22 LR AR-15 conversion! I have one of the 26 round single stack magazines from Black Dog, and it works great. Hopefully the reliability is just as good on this drum mag.
They also released a 50 round drum mag to fit the Puma PPS line of rifles (The rifles are Italian made and imported by Legacy Sports)
This is actually the first time I’ve seen or heard of the Puma PPS.. it looks really cool! I wonder how its reliability compares to a Ruger 10/22?
Both of the mags are available on the Black Dog Machine website for $80 – HERE
I’d have to say you would definitely need cops, unless you plan on taking all the bullets out of your “full clips” and putting them into magazines which your gun will accept.
I guess they only teach the operation of the m4 platform in “extra” special agent school.
) please contact me, I’d love to see it. Otherwise I’d like to see any document that has the AR-15 magazine measurements in it, so please send it over!
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