15th May : The Ross Rifle

Name     :   Ross Rifle


AKA       :   The Canadian Straight Pull

Caliber     :     .303 British


Capacity   :     5 Rounds


Weight     :     9.87lbs or 4.48kg


Length     :     50.6in or 1285mm


Action      :     Straight Pull, Manually Operated Repeater


Origin      :     Canada


Sir Charles Ross was a wealthy Scottish landowner, not content with simply maintaining the wealth he had inherited from his family, he set out to make his own fortunes he studied engineering and agriculture and had a keen interest in having his own businesses.  Ross had a passion for firearms and had taken out patents on an automatic pistol and even an automatic rifle in 1896.  While at Cambridge he took out a patent for a straight pull bolt action rifle but it was an overly complex rifle and thus it was the stepping stone to the rifle for which he would become famous or perhaps infamous.  through 1896 and 1897 Ross produced in London and improved on his new straight pull bolt action design also Ross traveled to Canada that same year to develop and improve the design again which would then become the model 1900 sporter.  


Ross was then called up for military duty to fight in the Second Boer War.  Upon his return he pushed the British Army to consider adopting his rifle as a replacement for the Lee Metford / Lee Enfield Rifles, though it was rejected. It was found to be unreliable, though accuracy was exceptional, it was deemed unsuitable for the hard knocks and conditions that other contemporary service rifles could handle.  During an unfortunate political clash between Britain and Canada, the designs and licencing for the Lee-Enfield rifle to arm Canada were denied.  Ross who was a small arms adviser to the Canadian Government put forward his rifle.  Cautiously the Canadians decided to evaluate the rifle in the hands of the Royal Northwest Mounted Police, who found in excess of one hundred faults with the rifle.  Instruction was then given to Ross to improve the rifle and in 1907 the Ross Rifle MKII, after it was adopted for official military issue in 1905.  Improvements continued and the Ross model 1910 become widely accepted as reasonable weapon and was the primary weapon of the Canadian forces in France during the First World War.


Then the storm hit, in France Canadian troops found that the rifles straight pull action became clogged easily and jammed to the point it was common for troops to discard their Ross Rifle and try to acquire a Lee Enfield from the battlefield.  Another major issue was the bolt, incidents were reported that it was possible to reassemble the bolt after cleaning with parts inserted the wrong way and still fire the rifle, causing the bolt to come flying backward at the user.  Douglas Haig submitted orders in 1916 to have the rifle offically removed from service, though some were retained for sniping, as accuracy was  one of the few great features of the rifle.  It would go on to be a popular target rifle after the war, this perhaps is the realm where the Ross truly belonged.


INTERESTING FACT :  At one point the British refused to allow Canada to make the Lee Enfield to arm their troops, but in the early stages of World War Two it was the British who were desperate to acquire anything to equip the home guard and many Ross Rifles were sent by the Canadian Government.


PRO's :   Collectable, Accurate, Many variants, Good hunting rifle


CON's :   Awful military rifle, hard to maintain in combat, no real advantage to straight pull.

3rd of May : SKS Rifle

Name     :     Samozaryadnyi Karabin Simonova Obrazets 1945g


AKA       :     The SKS, Poor-Mans Deer Rifle, 

Caliber     :     7.62x39mm M43 Cartridge


Capacity   :     10 Round non removable magazine


Weight     :     8.49lbs or 3.85kg


Length     :     40.2in or 1021mm


Action      :     Tipping Bolt Locking, Semi Automatic Rifle 


Origin      :     Russia (U.S.S.R.)


Designed during World War Two the SKS Rifle came too late to be used during that conflict but would go on to arm a large number of soldiers, gorilla fighters and civilian shooters and as of 2012 the interest from the later has not waned.


Designed by Sergei Simonov a well respected Russian arms designer, the rifle was far from innovative but very solid and reliable, making use of existing  principals and concepts of the time.  The rifle was developed around the 7.62x39mm M43 cartridge developed for the RPD machinegun, a project that Simonov was a part of. The value of the 7.62x39mm is that unlike the cartridge it replaced, it was only effective to the maximum range the average soldier could hit anything at, it was lighter meaning the soldier could carry more ammunition and lastly the significantly lighter recoil meant that in a fully automatic weapon, during firing the weapon was far more controllable.  Sergei Simonov's SKS is the pinnacle of the lineage of Simonov's designs, it clearly finds it's origins in the AVS-36 a pre-war tipping bolt semi automatic rifle firing the 7.62x54mmR and the PTRS-41 anti-armor rifle, also with a tipping bolt.


The roll out in significant numbers for SKS took place in 1949, now the official standard rifle of Russia, but it was to be short lived, at least in front line service.  The AK-47 was in 1947 a large scale experiment, with the SKS waiting in the wings as a back-up weapon in the event the AK-47 proved to be too troublesome; unfortunately for Simonov's design the AK proved itself an excellent weapon leaving the SKS remain in front line service only until the AK could be delivered, when it would put into the hands of second line units.  The SKS was widely distributed to nations associated and part of the Soviet Union and was built in almost as many countries as it served with.  It remains a parade weapon even to this day, furnished with chrome and a light wooden stock.


In civilian hands the SKS has become a major phenomenon as a surplus curiosity, survival and hunting rifle, with large number of manufacturers producing aftermarket components, in some cases turning the SKS into the battle rifle it perhaps should have been, but hindsight is 20/20.  Copy-Cat manufacturer Norinco has flooded the civilian shooter's marketplace with an never ending variety of SKS copies known as the Type 56, these rifles are very affordable and are solid and reliable.  The SKS always compared favourably with the AK-47 in the respect that the same cartridge has a higher muzzle velocity and inherent accuracy due to the longer barrel.  Popular use SKS is for plinking and hunting, being especially well suited for hunting of wild boar and goats with the inexpensive soft nose ammunition available in large numbers seemingly everywhere.


The loading of the SKS is very straight forward, firstly the user pulls the bolt carrier handle to the rear, the follower pushes up on the bolt lock holding it in place, the user may then either load individual rounds down directly into the internal magazine or by inserting a stripper clip into guides on the bold head and pushing them down into the magazine.  After charging the rifle the user pulls the bolt carrier handle to the rear about 5mm and releases it, and it will now move forward stripping a new round out of the magazine and chamber it.

SKS Stripper Clips loaded with hunting ammunition

INTERESTING FACT : More than 15 Million SKS's have been made, with a few known as the SKK being able to accept the 30 round magazine of the AK-47 series of rifles.


PRO's   :   Surprisingly Accurate, Easy to maintain, low recoil, overall simplicity
CON's   :   Some Norinco rifles are sensitive to some hunting ammunition 


COOL FACTOR : 6/10

April 19th : Beretta 3032 Tomcat

Name     :     Beretta Model 3032


AKA       :     Tomcat, The Flip Top

Caliber     :   .32ACP (7.65x17mm Browning)


Capacity   :   7 Rounds


Weight     :   14.5oz or 410g


Length     :    4.9in or 125mm


Action      :    Blowback operated, Double Action, Semi Automatic


Origin      :    Italy 


The Beretta 3032 finds it origins in the Model 950 "Jetfire" first created in 1952, a single action pistol that originally had no safety lever.  The success of the little Jetfire which was available in .22LR and .25ACP (6.35mm) spanned until 2003 when production ceased.  With the need for a more powerful chambering and/or incorporation of improvements the 3032 "Tomcat" was born.  The main changes from the model 950 lay in the caliber of .32ACP and the implementation of a double action mechanism.


The little Tomcat features a tilting barrel, not fixed like most blowback pistols,  the barrel is released by pressing forward on a lever located above the rear of the trigger guard on the left hand side of the frame.  This allows the user to inspect that the pistol has no round chambered.  Though some people "top off" the pistol in this fashion by inserting a full magazine of seven rounds, releasing the barrel to tip up and manually loading a round into the barrel to give the pistol one extra round.  The Tomcat has a rather long double action pull, then every subsequent shot is double action. The double action mechanism in this pistol can be seen as an advantage over double action only (DAO) pistols when it comes to getting some reach, with the lighter single action pull available for those longer range shots can improve accuracy.  The lack of a decocker is unusual however, implying that the double action feature of this pistol could be just a double strike capability if the round fails to fire after the first pull of the trigger.  Releasing the magazine is an interesting process for those who have never handled a Tomcat or jetfire, the release button is found on the left hand grip just above the bottom grip screw, though it does need a positive push to release the magazine, preventing an unwanted magazine departure.

A Model 3032 with the barrel tilted

.32ACP is at the low end in terms of a self defense caliber, though interestingly that is what it was designed for, European police and even some military's around the world used this caliber for some time up until the 1980's.  Invented in 1899 the round has been around for a long time and in full metal jacket form is unsuitable for someone wanting to carry this pistol for personal protection, but with good jacketed hollowpoint rounds such as Winchester Silvertips it can have potential with good shot placement (shot placement is important with any caliber).  The Tomcat is capable of consuming large amounts of ammunition due to it's quality construction though it must be noted that it is not rated or recommended for +P rounds.


Available in stainless type finish Beretta calls INOX and a two tone finish, the Beretta Tomcat is a fun little shooter, and when it comes to self protection : A tomcat in hand is better than a .45 left at home.


INTERESTING FACT : NO EXTRACTOR, this pistol has no extractor to remove rounds, racking the slide will not remove chambered rounds, so use that tilt lever.


PRO's : Compact, Reliable, fun, quality, surprisingly accurate, windage on sights 


CON's : No extractor, unusual magazine release, no decocker, 


COOL FACTOR : 7 / 10
  

8th of April : Makarov PM

Name    :   Makarov PM


AKA      :   Pistolet Makarova, 9mm Maka, 

Caliber    :   9x18mm Makarov


Weight    :   26oz or 730g


Length    :    6.34in or 161mm


Action     :    Blowback Double / Single Action Semi-Automatic


Capacity  :    8 Rounds (though 12 and 13 round version are available)


Origin     :    U.S.S.R. 


The Makarov PM was introduced in 1951 as the standard sidearm for the Russian Armed forces. This 9mm pistol's lineage can be traced back to the German Walther PP, the double action mechanism and disassembly are closely copied. At the end of World War Two after the German defeat, Russia stockpiled large quantities of captured weapons (much like every other nation at the time) for both study and for possible use should the need ever arise. Also whole German factories were taken apart and transported by train back to Russia, as both compensation and to gain knowledge amongst these was what was left of the destroyed Walther Factory, paperwork and drawings of the Walther pistols. Nikolay Fyodorovich Makarov a weapons designer at the Tula state arsenal was given the opportunity to compete in a competition to replace the Tokarev TT-33 in military service with a new pistol, Nikolay's design eventually won.


Disassembly of the makarov is easy an easy proceedure, the same as the Walther PP, after safety checking the pistol, the magazine is removed by pushing rearward the magazine release located the base of the pistol grip. The Trigger guard is pulled downward, and pushed to slightly to either side so that it may rest against the outter part of the frame. Then the slide is pulled to the back and the rear of the slide is lifted upward allowing the slide to move along the barrel and pop off. The barrel is fixed to the frame allowing easy maintenance for the operating mechanism and barrel cleaning.



The double action pull of the Makarov's trigger is generally very heavy. The differences between the single and double action pull makes it very difficult to hit with the second shot when starting in double action mode, more so than western double action semi automatics. When using the standard ball rounds the Makarov has been known to produce some respectable combat acceptable groups. When pistols chambered for 9mm Makarov first started to be introduced into the United States ammunition for these pistols wasn't in good supply and many people turned to the 9x18mm Short (.380 ACP) this cartridge could be fired somewhat reliably but unfortuneatly the 9mm Short is slightly smaller in diameter to that of the Russian round therefore accuracy was significantly decreased and Makarov pistols got a bad reception.


More than 60 years after it's introduction the Makarov pistol is still in production and is in wipespread military use around the world. Like the AK-47 the Makarov pistol has a tendency to be discovered in all the worlds hot spots. Enjoyed by many around the world as a curiosity or relic of a different time, or as a recreation piece. Today the Makarov has ventured into a new market, Baikal a quality Russian firearms manufacturer has introduced the MP-654k a gas powered air pistol into the market known affectionately as the "AIR MAK". This 4.5mm (.177) air pistol is made of high quality steel construction.



INTERESTING FACT : Makarovs have been offically replaced by the MP-443 9mm Parabellum pistol in Russian service in 1991 though in 2012 examples are still seeing service.


PRO's : Quality Construction, Somewhat Compact, Simple to maintain


CON's : Low powered round, bad magazine catch location, minimal sights



COOL FACTOR : 6/10

6th of April : Nambu Type 94

Name     :   Nambu Type 94


AKA       :   The most unsafe mass produced pistol

8x22mm Round

Caliber   :  8x22mm 


Weight   :  25.4oz or 720g


Length   :   7.1in or 181mm


Action    :  Locked Breech, Semi-Automatic


Capacity :  6 Rounds


Origin     :  Japan




First put into production in 1934 the Type 94 was intended to be a personal defence arm for those whom the standard Rifle or carbine was too cumbersome and it did indeed full fill that role, though serious design flaws and poor choice of cartridge may hindered the user more often than it saved him.  The original plan for the pistol was to be simple to manufacture and supplement the mediocre Nambu 8mm Type 14 pistol.  As with most Imperial Japanese pistols of the time it has been designed originally by Kijiro Nambu a man who had many previous successful firearms under his belt but in the process of turning out the design was hindered and constantly interrupted by the Japanese Army who wished the pistol to be as cost effective as possible.  Japanese officers were required to purchase their own personal sidearms, many in fact chose European pistols (Lugers and Webleys were popular), but now the Army wanted to issue future officers a standard nationally produced pistol. 


Certainly an eye catching pistol (at least in not in a good way) the Type 94 was generally furnished with plastic grips instead of wood like earlier pistols.  The front sight is very minimal as it the rear sight.  The milled 'ears' at the rear of the pistol are for gripping the slide to initially cock the pistol.  The safety resides on the left side of the frame at the rear.  To remove the 6 round magazine the release can be found on the left side of the frame behind the trigger guard.  


The 8x22mm cartridge used in the majority of Nambu's pistols just scrapes through as a self protection round.  The small rimless, bottleneck cartridge is of 8.18mm (.322 in) with a 102 grain projectile is on par with an equivalent projectile in .380 ACP (9x18mm Short) for power.  The original design of this round coming from studies around the .30 Luger.  


The pistols exposed sear being it's largest flaw making the pistol very dangerous to carry with a round chambered.  Most officers were advised to carry the pistol with no round in the chamber until they intended to shoot.  Carrying the pistol with a round chambered it was possible to discharge the pistol from simple tasks such as placing the pistol in a holster or knocking the left side of the frame.  Some officers discharged the weapon whilst trying to engage the safety.


INTERESTING FACT :  It was possible to fire the Type 94 out of battery. Meaning a round could go off even though it wasn't completely chambered.


PRO's  :  Great paperweight provided ammo is at least 1km away at all times


CON's  : Poor construction and  design, dangerous, 


COOL FACTOR : 2/10 (it gets 2 points for collect-ability) 

28th March : M1 Garand

Name     -   Rifle, Caliber .30, M1 


AKA       -   The Garand, The greatest Battle implement ever devised

Loaded EN Block Clip

Caliber   -   .30-06 or 7.62x63mm


Capacity -   8 rounds via EN Block Clip


Weight   -   9.5lbs or 4.31kg (models did vary)


Length    -  43 inches or 1.1m



Origin     -  U.S.A.




The M1 Garand, a staple of power and innovation at a time when bolt actions ruled the military world. In the Pacific and in Europe the Garand was present, enduring the elements, fighting on to eventually gain a venerable title as the best general issue rifle available in large numbers.  Numbers vary on the total production number but it is generally accepted to be around 6 million, production coming mainly from Springfield Armory who at the time was a state owned arsenal, but also from Harrington and Richardson, international Harvester, Winchester and others.  


The rifle is a semi automatic, firing from a closed bolt, air cooled, and fed from an 8 round EN block clip which was inserted into an internal magazine.  Once inserted the operator would quickly release pressure on the clip and bolt would slam closed loading the first round into the chamber.  If the operator was too slow with removing his thumb, it could become caught between the bolt and breach face causing the infamous garand thumb 'ouch'.  Once loaded the operator was encouraged to expend all 8 rounds before reloading as topping up the weapon was a time consuming process, though many would simply release the partially used clip through a release switch at the base of the rifle and eject the chambered round and insert a new clip.  The barrels on the garand are generally between 22 and 24 inches long.


One of the most recognizable things of the M1 Garand is the sound of the EN block clip ejecting making a loud "PING" after the last round has been fired. This was sometimes seen as a drawback as often enemy combatants would hear that the firers rifle was empty and would then attack.  As always in war there are clever cookies out there that take note of enemy behavior, in particular U.S. marines fighting the japanese would sometimes throw or bang empty clips on the ground to replicate the noise of an empty rifle and wait for the enemy to pop their heads up only to find that 'empty' garand isn't so empty after all.


The rifle was designed by Canadian born gun designer John Garand and served as the standard U.S. Military rifle replacing the Springfield M1903 from 1936 (though they werent in widespread use until 1937/38) until offically 1957. Though use of the rifle continued through various conflicts including Vietnam, and is in use today as a parade rifle by some U.S. units.


Today the Garand enjoys high popularity as target shooting rifle and collectors piece sold to the American public through the Civilian Marksmanship Program as well as through normal surplus channels.  


INTERESTING FACT : 
During WW2 the German Army in times of poor weapon supply would issue captured U.S. M1's as the 7.62mm Selbstladegewehr 251 (a).


PROS : Reliable, Accurate, Semi Automatic firepower, 
CONS : Heavy, Time consuming maintenance, 


COOL FACTOR : 9 / 10