Ideas Welcome

Hello followers of the blog...

I'm back after a long hiatus. If you have any ideas for posts you would like to see, feel free to email  me at amrsofthe80s@gmail.com

I would like to hear from you and give you some inside info on up coming posts.

Thanks

Advertisement of the Day: The Sporting Arms Division of Styer Puch of America Corporation FN FAL Ad Circa 1982

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.

PGW Arms...Before the DMAX Industries

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:

                        

Video of the Day: The Stoner Machinegun: A Navy Seal Remembers

                              


                                 The Stoner Machinegun: A Navy Seal Remembers

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

Video of the Day: Peter G. Kokalis' Firestorm How To Handle & Fire Fully Automatic Weapons

                                                                Video of the Day:

                              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.

The video also can be viewed here in a larger format: Firestorm: How to Handle & Fire Fully Automatic Weapons

Advertisment of the Day: Commando Arms MARK III, Circa 1974

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

                               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.