Category: All About Guns
Some firearms have interesting backstories; this is especially true with military firearms — many of which are designed to address a need, fill a gap, or overcome a perceived inferiority. It may be difficult to believe but the best bolt-action battle rifle of the 20th century, the No1 Mk III or SMLE (Short Magazine Lee Enfield), and its descendants were almost consigned to the scrap heap before World War I.
The British Army had an extremely difficult time subduing the Boers in South Africa. The Boers used terrain extremely effectively and were excellent at bushcraft. Additionally, most of them were accomplished marksmen and careful hunters. This combination of traits, combined with overconfidence and gross underestimation of enemy capability, led to a number of embarrassing British defeats. Like most organizations that experience difficulties that should have been “beneath them,” the British Army sought a scapegoat and found it in the Enfield rifle and the .303 cartridge. As the somewhat apocryphal story goes, it wasn’t the Boers’ excellent skill as irregular soldiers that stymied the British, but their damn powerful and accurate 7mm Mausers; it was a more comfortable thought.
In the aftermath of the Boer Wars, Britain set out to design a new infantry rifle that emulated the traits of the Boers’ Mausers. It would have a stronger action and a more powerful cartridge, and it would “close the gap” so the army wouldn’t suffer any more embarrassing defeats … or something like that.
The resulting rifle was the “forgotten” Enfield, the Pattern 14. Originally designed to chamber the new .276 Enfield cartridge, the bulk of all P14s made were chambered in .303 British. The simple reason was that WWI began well before mass production of the rifle could get underway. Since the new action was stronger, there was absolutely no problem chambering the P14 Enfield rifle in .303 British. In fact, the basic core of the P14 went on to create the P17 chambered in .30-06, and the P17 arguably armed more of the Americans in the trenches in 1917 and 1918 than the M1903 Springfield. What’s more, the action was so strong, it’d be readily modified to accept more powerful cartridges than the .30-06, and many were sporterized as such for hunting by companies after both World Wars.
The differences between the P14 Enfield Rifle and the SMLE are striking. The P14 has a five-round internal magazine instead of a detachable 10-round box magazine. The P14 has graduated peep sights instead of conventional notch and post rifle sights. The P14 bolt is clearly a Mauser derivative, and the receiver is significantly different.
However, unlike most Mausers, the British retained the cock-on-opening feature of the earlier SMLE. This feature was extremely important to the British Army. It made rapid fire easier to achieve. Soldiers were paid small bonuses for higher musketry (marksmanship) scores, and [largely] free access to ammunition and range time was common. Further, the P14 Enfield Rifle maintained the volley sights of the earlier SMLE.
While the diminished magazine capacity was a detriment, the improved action resulted in increased accuracy. In fact, the P14 was so accurate that it was modified for use as a sniper rifle, a role in which it served in both World Wars. The P14 Enfield Rifle gives the .303 more “legs” than either the SMLE or No. 4, stretching the effective range out to 800 yards, maybe a little more.
Other than in the sniping role, the P14 saw little active combat service. During WWII, it was relegated to rear area soldiers, excepting again, the sniper role. Most of the production run was made in the United States, as again it was too late for mass production in Britain once WWI began. Although over 1.2 million were made, the P14 isn’t a common rifle on the U.S. collectors’ market. They’re scarce, but they don’t break the bank when encountered. The tricky part is finding one with a nice bore, as many of these were sent to the far reaches of the world following WWII, and in some places, maintenance was clearly a matter of convenience. A nice P14 Enfield Rifle with a good or better bore will command $700. If it has the complete volley sight assembly (frequently removed), $950 to $1,000 isn’t unreasonable.
P14 ENFIELD RIFLE
Caliber: .303 British; very few in .276 Enfield
OAL: 46¼ inches
Barrel: 26 inches
Weight: 9 pounds, 6 ounces
Practical ROF: 15 to 20 rpm for most shooters
Muzzle Velocity: 2,380 fps
Effective Range: 800 yards +/-
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Shooting the S&W Model 15
One of the best target wheel guns that I have ever shot and usually you can pick one up for a fairly reasonable price too! Grumpy
Aug 3, 2012 – Uploaded by 22plinkster
This is my take on the classic 1890 Winchester. I enjoy the old Winchester rifles. I apologize for the sound …
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Luger automatic pistol
Ok, so the Luger isn’t exactly a Forgotten Weapon. In fact, it’s one of the most recognizable handguns ever made. But it traces its lineage directly so some much more obscure models (namely the Borchardt C93), and is an important part of firearms development.
We have added some documents on the Luger to a new Luger automatic pistol page in the Vault. We have a Swiss military manual (the Swiss were the first nation to formally adopt the Luger), some photos of a prototype Japanese Luger, and a copy of the original US patent on the gun. More to come as we dig it up!
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Mosin Nagant M91/30
When President Joe Biden announces the new executive-level Office of Gun Violence Prevention on Friday, he will name Vice President Kamala Harris as the one to oversee the office, according to Politico.
On September 19, 2023, Breitbart News noted that Biden would be announcing the creation of the new office on Friday.
Information from the Washington Post indicated the office will operate as a coordinated effort between the “White House, the Community Justice Action Fund and Everytown for Gun Safety.”
Shannon Watts, a Mike Bloomberg affiliate who founded Moms Demand Action, praised the creation of the Office of Gun Violence Prevention, saying, “If this announcement is, in fact, the creation of a single point of leadership on gun violence in the administration, it’s a very big deal for the movement.”
She added, “A governmental focal point dedicated to creating a framework for overseeing national policy, research and resources would be more than symbolic — it would be a significant turning point for the movement.”
Politico pointed out that Harris will lead the office, and they printed excerpts of a statement from her, which said, “Our promise to the American people is this: we will not stop working to end the epidemic of gun violence in every community, because we do not have a moment, nor a life to spare.”
Harris also noted, “The new Office of Gun Violence Prevention will play a critical role in implementing President Biden’s and my efforts to reduce violence to the fullest extent under the law, while also engaging and encouraging Congressional leaders, state and local leaders, and advocates to come together to build upon the meaningful progress that we have made to save lives.”
AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio and a Turning Point USA Ambassador. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal in 2010, a speaker at the 2023 Western Conservative Summit, and he holds a Ph.D. in Military History, with a focus on the Vietnam War (brown water navy), U.S. Navy since Inception, the Civil War, and Early Modern Europe. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins.
A sheriff in Michigan is sounding the alarm over a rise in gangs of illegal aliens getting into the United States for the sole purpose of burglarizing Americans.
Oakland County, Michigan Sheriff Michael Bouchard, as well as other law enforcement agencies across the U.S., is warning that illegal aliens from the southern border are burglarizing members of their communities at an increasing rate.
“These are transnational gangs that are involved in this that come from South America, looking to do burglaries and violate our communities, not just in Oakland County but across America,” Bouchard said.
The Brits have been experiencing this for well over a decade, as well-organized criminal gangs (especially from Eastern Europe) have not only been expanding drug- and prostitute-related activities, but creating gangs of smash-and-grab thieves and burglary rings. Of course, this was facilitated by the EU policy of open borders and the reluctance of Brit politicians to do anything meaningful about it — which has been mirrored most recently in the U.S.A. by feckless politicians like Biden and his lickspittle accomplices in Homeland Security, INS and even our alleged “law enforcement” officials like prosecutors and the Fibbies.
Of course, the thieving activities of organized gangs has also been facilitated by crime groups such as Black Lives Matter — a local criminal organization given free rein by both state- and local governments — so it’s not just furriners.
This has been especially true in urban areas where a gang of say twenty thugs can crash a retail establishment and loot the place utterly without too much fear of arrest, let alone incarceration. So far, the response has just been that the affected retailer groups have shut their inner-city stores, which is fine for chains like Target or Wal-Mart, but not so fine for single-store owners who have three options: change the format from self-service to counter-service operation; close the store and lose their livelihood, or (in some memorable cases) employ armed guards to ensure that such raids will be met with force.
Of course, where the last of those three courses has been adopted, theft has dropped precipitously or disappeared altogether. Which brings me back to burglary.
Most lower-middle or working-class houses offer poor pickings to any organized crime gangs simply because there’s not much to steal and the game isn’t worth the candle. Likewise, ultra-wealthy households are often protected by good alarm systems or even armed guards because those homeowners can afford such measures.
What’s left is the vulnerable middle- and upper-middle classes who may have some stuff that justifies an armed invasion, and not the means to protect it adequately.
Expect therefore that this kind of larcenous activity is going to grow in more affluent suburbs (like, maybe, Plano TX).
And you all know what I’m going to say about that:
…and:
…etc.
If enough of these assholes are killed trying to break into suburban homes, it may make them a little less keen to try it.
Just a thought.
However, if you live in an area where wasting a couple choirboys is going to get you arrested rather than congratulated by the local cops, you may need to reconsider your living arrangements.