An archive of Kevin O’Brien’s posts from the original WeaponsMan website he created in 2011.
Please excuse any typos and issues resulting from scraping the old site. Posts might be out of chronological order.
Revolvers have been declining in market share for three decades, a decline which really only got going 30 years after the last major military revolver user (the UK), crawled into the 20th Century. (Actually the last major military revolver user was probably the US, which issued revolvers to aviators, and to military police men and …
While the humble box cutter will ever be associated with the wholesale murders of 11 September 2001, it turns out that it has a presence in retail murder as well. And, of course, it’s one more illustration of the price of hybristophilia — chicks dig jerks. That is, right up until the moment they don’t, …
How Many Rifles, and Where Are They? Nick Jenzen-Jones has a new and interesting working paper at the Small Arms Survey in Geneva (Here’s the Abstract and the PDF). The title of the paper is dry but promising: Global Development and Production of Self-loading Service Rifles 1896 to the Present. As always with the Small Arms …
It was a tempting deal for European nations: an airlifter with the capability of the C-17 for the operating cost of the old standby, the 1950s-vintage C-130 Hercules. Plus, it would be all-European and not subject to the winds and williwaws of American politics and foreign policy, which tend to strike Europeans as puzzling at …
..there will be no Wednesday Weapons Website of the Week this week. The feature will return next weekend (after an imagination overhaul, presumably). WeaponsMan.com will return to usual programming at 0600 tomorrow. This entry was posted in Administrivia on February 1, 2017 by Hognose. About Hognose Former Special Forces 11B2S, later 18B, weapons man. (Also …
And can you have too many guns? Brownells says yes, you can. Well, they can, being a dealer… and they’ve got a clearance running on firearms. (Sorry, overseas readers. Your bad fortune today). Follow this link to go there: Brownells Firearms Overstock Sale. All the guns in question are new overstock. The pipeline is jammed with ARs …
Rock Island Auctions is holding their largest-ever auction this weekend (although the action starts Thursday). Over 10,000 firearms are included in many thousands of lots (some lots include up to six arms) in this Regional auction, and there’s something there for everyone. Unlike a Premier auction, which has predominantly high and very-high-end collectibles, this auction has …
Funny that this should come up right the same day we run a thing on flying with one’s hardware: a clearance on two models, rifle and pistol, Plano cases at Midway. Plano Military Spec Field Locker Double Rifle Case with Wheels 56-1/4″ x 18″ x 7-1/4″ Polymer Black Plano Military Spec Field Locker Large …
One of the benefits of the Iranian nuclear deal — for Iran, like the rest of the benefits — was the opportunity to recapitalize its military small arms, and not just its main priorities, worldwide Islamic terrorism abroad, and nuclear weapons at home. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, an independent armed service modeled on the …
A couple of weeks ago, we discussed aerial mining in war, and mentioned the Germans sinking a Russian warship in 1917 and a paper by John Chilstrom, Mines Away!, that examined mining in WWII. British and German aircraft laid copious minefields (as did ships), but the real action was in Japanese waters. Here’s a Navy training film …