1990 G Advertisement for 86 Dealer Sample Steyr MPi 81
The year was 1990 and many cold-war era sub-guns struggled to military/ LEO buyers as interest began to fall more in favor of shorter barreled assault rifles and the MP5 series of firearms. Rock bottom prices could be had on many sub guns manufactured from the 1960s-80s for machine gun dealers in the US. For $269, the MPi 81 was a true bargain. Guns like the MPi 81 began turning up in MG rentals at shoots here in the US in the 1990s. It was a wonderful opportunity to fire a cold-war era subgun that was seldom seen in the civilian market.
The January 1986 edition of Firepower was packed with a number of articles that ranged from the introduction of the Calico M1-II gatling style conversion kit for M1 Carbine. At that time, surplus M1 carbines were still fairly reasonable in price and cheap .30 Caliber M1 ammo was plentiful. These kits were produced in fewer numbers than it's little brother, the Calico Two Twenty Two and must have been a blast to fire. One article details the use of a 1911 full auto conversion that is in the US patten office and the introduction to the Springfield SAR 48. This was one of the last few Firepower Magazines published before the Firearms Owner Protection Act of 1986 that included the prohibition of the manufacturing of transferable machineguns after it's passage.
This is an advertisement from the Styer Daimler division of America circa 1982 for the FN FAL series of rifles. It was taken from Guns Annual 1982 Vol 25. The FN FAL is a treasure when it comes to cold war battle rifles and still has a strong following to this day.
The D Max Industries Pistols and Carbine in 9mm, .45, and 10mm have an intersting place in semi-subgun history as their construction were quite well thought out. They are an interesting blend of 1911 parts, mixed with an AK and M1 Garand firing system. Bud Lang interviewed Darrel Holland of Practical Gun Works (PGW) prior to their releas under the DMAX brand. Ill be covering more about the DMAX Industries series of guns in future posts. Enjoy:
While not a product of the 80's, this documentary produced during the 1990's is an interview with Retired LT. CME. Michael J. Walsh about Stoner 63 weapons system used with by the Navy Seals in Vietnam. The video shows an impressive firepower demo of the Stoner 63 in a few of it's different configurations. While there is a wide range of information about the Stoner 63 available, this video chronicles the development of the weapons system throughout part of the Vietnam war through the eyes of LT. Walsh. The video covers the developments made by Cadillac Gauge for the weapon, the development of the "dead man's pin" and various ammunition feeding systems. To see a larger format video please visit: https://youtu.be/uwjx7NA1HQs
Firestorm: How To Handle & Fire Fully Automatic Weapons
The well known former Soldier of Fortune Magazine editor in chief, Peter G. Kokalis passed away in January of this year. He was a prolific writer for a variety of magazines and journals over his very long and well documented career. In addition to articles published in SOF, Small Arms Review, and Firearms News (formerly Shotgun News), my personal favorite of the magazines he worked on in the early 1990s was Fighting Firearms.
After his death, I recalled I had a VHS copy of a video produced in the late 1980s called Firestorm: How To Handle & Fire Fully Automatic Weapons. The video showcases a variety of firearms and firing techniques for subguns, assault rifles, and belt-fed machine guns. Part informational instruction video and part entertainment, the video gave viewers to see a few unusual firearms at the time, such as the VZ 58 and the Mauser Schnellfeuer. The source of the video is from a older VHS tape. DVD transfers exist and are available. Regardless of what you thought of him, Kokalis was a library of knowledge about weapons and wrote some exceptionally technical articles.
While produced in the late 1960's into the mid 1970's, the Volunteer EnteprisesCommando Arms MARK III were commonly found used in many gun shops during the 80's. Always considered the poor man's Thompson, but there is quite a cult following around these guns.
In fact, this is a site dedicated to the Commando Arms Guns. It has a treasure trove of information and excellent pics of old adds: http://volunteercommando.webs.com/
Video of the Day: Calico Light Weapons Systems Video
The Calico series of carbines and pistols embody the zietgiest of the 80's. The company's tagline was A Revolution in Firepower! This futuristic weapon system that fed from a helical 50 or 100 round magazine was seen in a variety of 80's era action films. Calico was established in 1982 and released its first production weapon in 1985 that was distributed by American Industries. At the heart of the system was an H&K roller lock style locking mechanism.While the Calico series never had much success with military entities and had limited interest from law enforcement agencies. Owners enjoy a facinating firearm that packs a lot of firepower in a compact package.
Today we take for granted the availability of realistic Airsoft replicas that often take the place of guns many of us probably cant afford or will never own. In the early 1980's spring powered Airsoft guns began to emerge in the market for the first time in the US. I personally had the MP5K listed above and it was quite fun. They used a plastic cartridge about the size of a standard 9mm round and the 6mm BB was placed in the front of the cartridge. The fore-grip served as a handle for the pump action and the shell ejected after firing. Some of the Plug Firing Cap (PFC) guns, such as the M11 pictured above, had been in the country for some time and enjoyed use by collectors. I'll be hosting a few pictures from some of the main distributors of PFC guns at the era, including the Collectors Armory.
The fourth issue of Firepower Magazine really kicked off a series of issues that provided detailed Class 2 conversion methods for many popular semi-auto firearms of the era. In this issue conversion methods for the HK 91 and M1 carbine were provided with schematics and detailed drawings of conversion parts. The issue also helped thrust the 10/22 into the consciousness of the Class III world and the Sterling Pistol review by Bud Lang was also a great read. But at the heart of the issue, the photo shoot for Firepower models took center stage.
During the 1980's and early 1990's Johnathan Arthur Ciener published his catalog featuring his suppressors and Class II conversion services. In a time before the internet, the Class III community awaited the publication to see what new and innovative products Ciener produced. I his 1988 catalog, he advertised his belt fed AR conversions for either the semi auto AR-15 or full auto M-16. The conversion required significant alterations to weapons and the numbers of actual conversions was quite low (reports range between 12 and 20 units) as some owners of transferable M-16's were not willing to alter their firearms and expense of the service. With the addition The Ares Defense Sytems' Shrike and Valkyrie Armament Belt-Fed Upper recievers, the Ciener units enjoy collectors status now, but certainly represent innovative gunsmithing from a by gone era.
Published by Harris Publishing in 1989, The Complete Book of Assault Rifles is an excellent compendium of reviews of a wide range of rifles available on the market by 1989. It features an article on the very rare (reportedly less than 100 were imported) semi auto version of the FAMAS imported by Century Arms in 1988. It also featured a very indepth article on the Davis ARM gun the production of the Bushmaster Pistol. This magazine was printed at the zenith of collecting during the 1980's. Many exotic imports were banned later that year by George H.W. Bush. This is a great adition to any collection.
This advertisement for the Hellstorm 2000 was produced by Lenny Magaill, the creator of the Rock and Roll series of videos. The Hellstorm 2000 was considered an improved version of the Hellfire trigger . These devices were essentially was device comprised of a spring and paddle that assisted in the what is called "bump firing. " These were some of the first devices of their kind to come to market in the late 80's for people not wanting to deal with the paperwork for Class III weapons. California classified these types of devices as "multiburst trigger activator" and banned them under CA [PC 16930]. The Hellstorm 2000 device I used worked very well on a Cobray M11 and was very fun....until it couldn't be fixed as the spring lost it's strength. The manual I received had the manufacturer name and address redacted in black marker. These were frequently sold at gun shows for about $30. These are still found on a number of websites selling novelties like this, but have been primarily replaced by easier to use bumpfire stocks.
Gun World, September 1974: Featuring the Morgan Submachine Gun
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While not published in the 1980's, This issue of Gun World from September of 1974 features the very unusual Morgan Arms 9mm Auto dubbed the "Super Gun". The issue features an interview Jack Lewis conducted with James Morgan about his 9mm Submachine Gun that he hoped to market to the US Military and Police Departments. The article discusses the use of the strange red Rocket Propelled Grenade called the TAR (Tactical Assault Rocket) designed for the SMG. Jack Lewis provided mixed reviews on the gun. Lewis likened it to a Buck Rogers style weapon that the US military was not inclined to consider. It also featured an usual stock design that was called a "Recoil Free" stock, which honestly looks as if it was simply turned upside down from it's original configuration. Lewis did like the lack of recoil in the test gun though.
It appears their is a close design relationship to the Wilkinson Terry Carbine and Linda Pistols offered by Wilkinson Arms from 1970 until the late 1990's. However, it unclear on how the companies are related. I'll be looking into this in future posts about the Wilkinson Arms firearms company.
Magnum Research Galil Sales Advertisment, Circa 1983
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This ad was taken from the Premier Issue of Combat Arms in 1983. Magnum Research of Minneapolis was the first importer of the Galil 331, 332, and 372. It was imported at a time that AK style rifles were still few and far between and were offered in calibers common to US shooters. Some of Magnum Research's early Galil imports were said to have full auto selector support and a riveted ejector that were not found on later models imported to the US. These still remain some of the crown jewels of the imported arms of the 80's.
The September 1984 edition of Firepower is when the magazine truely hit it's stride in becoming an important resource for Class II manufacturers and Class III enthusiasts. The gun featured a detailed article on Gary Hill's construction of the Minuteman Submachine Gun. The Minuteman was based on blue prints that had been circulating around Paladin Press type publications on zip guns and other improvised firearms. The article features a full set of blue prints for the manufacture of the gun. It also details popular full auto conversions for the semi-auto Uzi, including the details of the "Kicker" and "Two-Step" Selectors.
Eagle Magazine was a magazine that attempted to capitalize on the audience of Soldier of Fortune in the early to mid-1980's. It had several issues covering firearms reviews and current military operations of the early 80's. This cover I've always found interesting as it captures the essence of cold war fears with the banner of "Getting Ready For When The Nukes Fall."
The LARC BB Submachine Gun Advertisements Circa 1984
Now I don't thing there was an adolescent during the late 1970's and 1980's who didn't dream of having a full auto BB gun. The LARC 19 series of guns were freon powered BB machinegun created by Eugene Russett Cliford of Corral Gables Florida in 1978. The guns were powered by freon canisters that recharged air conditioner units for cars. They achieved a reputation for a short service life as most of the parts were plastic. The smaller version called the M19-AMP was indroduced in the early 1980's. The cyclic rate was well over 1000 rounds per minute.
