​In the hopes of triggering the birth of new products on the market, here at the AFD office we sometimes brainstorm new concepts over lunch, then rough-up some sketches on the computer afterward to illustrate what we were all talking about. We don’t actually have the venture capital to produce them so we will start throwing these “concepts” out there in the hopes that a manufacturing facility will take a cue and put the thing into production. 

Todays brainfart was an idea for a polymer drop-in bullpup SBR stock for your Glock 17 that we dubbed the GLOCKBOX (switchable internal components would allow for the various Glock models). We thought this would be a nifty gadget with a huge market among the Military, LEO and Contractor demographics as well as for civilians with their SBR tax stamp. It’d make the stock Glock instantly more accurate whilst providing a place to stash a spare loaded mag. A picatinny rail along the top would allow for the addition of optics and a sling loop/mount would provide unit retention and security. Obviously there are few conversion units on the market already but you can never have too many options considering each has it’s own shortcomings. Also, with the current interest in the bullpup format this would be a timely accessory. 

So here’s the deal - feel free to use this (or any) idea we knock out, exactly as described and without fear of copyright infringement - in exchange for 1)free finished-product samples, 2)running ads on the AFD and 3) throwing us a bone when you hit your first million. Thereby that’ll keep us brainstorming, up and running, lights on, coffee in the pot and beers on Friday! ED 

Description 
The Glockbox SBR Conversion Unit is a rock-solid bullpup carbine conversion unit for Mil, LEO and licensed civilians to convert their Glock into an SBR. The main unit is a one-size-fits-all drop-in polymer enclosure using specific inserts to allow for each buyers specific Glock model. If you own three different Glocks, you simply buy 1 main unit and 3 distinct inserts. Rails on top and bottom allow for accessory attachments. Rubber buttstock pad. Spare mag in unit grip.
Estimated specs
Length: 19"
Weight: 2.2lbs
Width: 2.3"
Colors: Black, OD Green, Digicam, Desert Tan
Caliber: N/A
Trigger: DAO
Charging handle: ambidexterous
Safety: ambidextrous/blocks proxy trigger
​Sling mount: single point
MSRP: $225

Why do I consider the “pistol-up” SBR to be the golden mean? In my opinion it's the perfect weapon platform. It's uber compact. The magazine is inherently safeguarded by the grip. It's serviceably accurate. And it's a lot of fun. Yeah, fun plays a big part in the weapons I choose.

I see numerous discussions about SBR’s and wish to relay my personal (and I stress, this is a purely personal) opinion on what I think is the optimum system, and why. Last year I purchased a Ruger MIII 22/45 threaded barrel rail gun. Upon firing it a few times it was evident it had a feeding problem - I couldn’t get through more than half a mag without issue. So it went back to Ruger and they (as per their usual impeccable customer service) covered to-and-fro shipping and returned it in 100% working order: evidently a faulty extractor was the culprit. They also polished the feeding ramp and other parts making it run like a clock. Back in hand I could see it functioned flawlessly with any ammo, so I promptly went about filing for my Class 1 and Class 4 tax stamps. Six months later I had a suppressed (Huntertown Guardian) 22/45 with a folding stock. I then fitted a vertical grip and and a $20 red dot sight from Amazon, and lo and behold I had an SBR I can bounce a tennis ball around the yard with whilst making no more noise than a BB gun. This is a formidable instrument - it's carbine accurate with it's fixed barrel and direct blowback, cheap as dirt to shoot, only weighs about 2.5lbs, it's robust with it's fully protected mag and it's under 12” folded.

So there’s my rationale. Considering the rigidity of current laws and highly punitive repercussions of assembling an SBR without appropriate stamps, I feel it’s only worth doing via a pistol-up approach. This means converting a handgun into an SBR and not cutting down (or adding a shorter barrel to) a full sized rifle (i.e. rifle-down). The few inches less of barrel on a full size rifle does negligibly little for weight, concealability or mobility whereas a pistol with a folding stock gives you a weapon potentially as short as 10” folded and less than half the weight of a shortened rifle. Add a suppressor and it’s a spectacular toy that will inspire frequent use and foster a resultant dexterity. What good is any firearm if we're not proficient with it?

If the need arose and I had to grab a single tool from the box, it’d be this. No ear drum damage, assured hits and zero recoil make it feel like airsoft, so if you’re considering the headache of going through the process for stamps 1&4, I’d advise you do it for a pistol. Ammo doesn’t come cheaper than 22LR or 9MM, it puts other weapons in the shade for shear fun factor plus it’s unchallenged at the range for fast, quiet short-range accuracy and agility. It is indeed the golden mean and the regulating bodies know it which is why they’ve curbed usage for decades, kept tabs on those who have them and dispense stern penalties for unqualified users. However, a gun is a gun is a gun whether its short, long, quiet, loud, black or pink so the only hurdle between law-abiding citizens and any firearm - whether in stock condition or SBR’d and suppressed - should be a simple NICS check. God willing the HPR (Hearing Protection Act) will pass this coming year and the SBR will be the next head on the block. Once we’ve cleared these archaic laws from the books the market will see a whole range or new and innovative firearms! ED

​I remember being in a gun shop in 1989 with my newly granted carry permit in hand, drooling over the limited choices at that time, trying to decide what I should buy with my hard earned dollars. Another guy in the shop was looking at gen 1 Glocks and said out loud, “Those are beautiful”, causing the typically sullen gunshop salesmen to laugh desparagingly. 

I think it’s safe to say that the Glock is now ubiquitous. Not only was it increasingly the default handgun of many American consumers but now it’s the choice sidearm of American special forces it has reiterated the brand's viability and gives renewed impetus to the civilian market. Nothing succeeds like success, and that success is increasingly sealing the deal for many who are dithering over brands. Having taught product design and aesthetics at university, I’m not an avid fan of the Austrian marque but I am extremely interested in Glock from a design angle. Firstly I think their strict adherence to the handgun platform, their limited color palette and their tooth and nail protectiveness over would-be copycats has maintained the purity of the brand. Secondly, ergonomically it’s the Volvo of the gun world (i.e. boxy and utilitarian) but it’s those lines (or lack thereof) that make the Glock a blank canvas for aftermarket modifications. Absolutely any personal addition is a marked improvement on its looks. From an artist’s standpoint, the Glock is a square…like a block of stone, a lump of clay or an unpainted canvas (even my computers autocorrect insists on changing the spelling to “block”) screaming to be touched by the owner’s creative bent, and in that sense alone it’s an absolutely ingenious product. 

That shopper from 1989 was right in his observation regarding the sophistication of the cube and today there are a number of companies who manufacture aftermarket parts, services and accessories to beautify the pistol. Robar, Lone Wolf Distributors, Glockstore and TMT Tactical are four sources owners can use to personalize their weapons with straightforward snap on performance enhancing additions, or for those with fatter wallets via machined slides, slick finishes, beavertail additions and grip & trigger guard reductions. The Glock in stock finish is as utilitarian as a baseball bat and equally formidable, but its yearning for personalization makes it one of the most brilliant and modular weapons of our generation. Kudos. ED

​Here at the AFD we are perpetually on the lookout for new American-designed and manufactured firearms. It feels like what we need in this country is an equivalent of the Glock - not an adopted European design but a 100% American concept actualized and embraced by Americans, and ultimately by the rest of the world. We need a new John Browning. We were hard pushed this morning to come up with a recent American handgun that was NOT a spin-off of the Austrian monolith’s key characteristics of polymer, striker-fired, zero manual safety and double-action only. Has the handgun reached it’s zenith in the Glock and it’s myriad of copies? Is Glock the end of pistol innovation? Will there be nothing new other than an endless stream of polymer offspring hoping to become alpha male in a saturated market? Glock has become the default pistol when any perspective buyer is considering a new pistol purchase: they may look at the competition but I reckon 75% of the time they ultimately open their wallets for the Glock because of it’s popularity. But I’m old enough to remember when gunshop owners scoffed at it in the late 80’s, got curious in the 90’s, accepting of it in the 2000’s and are now snobbish of anything else in the teens. The current aftermarket offerings and customization possibilities are mind-boggling so it makes the market for any new engineer+investor duo looking to set up a new manufacturing outfit, extremely challenging! Knocking the pig off his midden is an unenviable task. 

Personally I don’t think that much of the Glock. It’s blocky, awkward in the hand and feels (in comparison to the 1911 or High Power) like pointing a brick or length of 2x4. I also don’t care for it’s inventor's resistance to utilizing a manual safety. Sure, it’s reliable as getout, but so are a dozen other pistols offered by CZ, Sig, H&K, Springfield, Bersa, Walther, Steyr, Ruger, Smith & Wesson etc etc etc. However, I do think the Glock epitomizes the lazy culture of the 21st century and sadly has found it’s place in movies and thereby via popular culture at the top of everyone’s wish list. So are we done?

We at the AFD don’t think so. We believe there is unrest underfoot and that an American innovator is on the verge of releasing the latest and greatest pistol to ever see the light of day. In fact it’s that time of year: as we approach the 2017 Shot Show there is always an air of anticipation. The question around Christmas is always what will be unveiled this year? Usually it’s another iteration of the 1911, AR or polymer pistol, or a gen 2 or 3 or 4 of something already on the shelves, or something left-field enough to cause a momentary buzz of excitement, but in the last few years I can’t think of anything that’s been a solid enough game changer to create a tsunami of press lasting out it’s launch-year and bump the Glock off it’s complacent pedestal. There is one glimmer of hope for the 2017 Vegas event though, a new company called Hudson is teasing us with a partially-revealed metal pistol (thank God someone finally has had the cahones to forego plastic) that sort of resembles a 1911 in svelteness and for what appears to be a grip safety, but also has the hammerless look of Brownings earlier iteration, yet with a slight beavertail and in 9mm….with a promising counter on their website they evoke all the childhood butterflies of Santa’s arrival, so could this be the birth of our next leader? We’re hoping. ED

The American Firearm Directory is a valuable tool for us gun-owners. Very few of us like to make uninformed purchases with our hard-earned dollars: we want to be sure we’ve examined all the options before we take the plunge and hit that “buy now” button. We want to get the best product that closest fits our needs, but prior to the launch of the AFD there really wasn’t an online index of ALL the American manufacturing companies, arranged alphabetically, with descriptions of what they produce. In fact, even the guys who assembled the AFD said they were only previously aware of about 20% of the companies listed! In other words, even they, as industry professionals, only had around 350 companies on their radar. They said it was incredibly exciting to discover all the homegrown producers throughout the fifty states that are innovating and producing quality items to make our firearm ownership and enhancement increasingly complete. Never before has there been such choice - as law abiding Americans we are currently able to own pretty much any gun configuration we can dream up and the AFD gives wings to our dreams by enlightening us of the possibilities. 

A second crucial function of the AFD is as a resource for anyone looking to enter the firearms & accessories business. Personally I’d begin by perusing all the pages and discovering a window of opportunity. Just seeing how many companies are in OPTICS, or AR’s, or KNIVES I’d probably avoid entering those fields unless I possessed a revolutionary idea and a marketing strategy to match. There are several categories that seem grossly underserved and providing I could muster enthusiasm for them, that’d be a good starting point. The RESOURCE page then offers a comprehensive selection of providers from legal counsel to outsourcing manufacturing to import/export and distribution…it’s all there! In fact the AFD is a one-stop shop for everything you’d need to get going.

A third benefit of the AFD is to give existing companies a comprehensive overview of the business as a whole: to learn who’s who, who’s providing what service, who’s in their product field or US State etc, all for the purpose of improving product diversity and coverage, eradicating redundancy, reaching a broader customer base and ultimately improving their personal revenue flow. Never has there been a better time for American firearm and accessory manufacturers and having a clear overview of the industry gives each individual company the power to refine their customer base and product line. Also, each company can fine-tune their posting on the AFD at no charge by sending in their preferred text so their company/product profile is exactly the way they want it - just follow the instructions on the homepage. Any company can also billboard themselves by renting a page header for a nominal $12.50 per week: with over a thousand visitors a day that’s a lot of exposure especially in this day and age of restricted firearm advertising on Google, Facebook and other politically-correct web platforms. 

With time the American Firearm Directory will become as indespensible as coffee and donuts to consumers and businesses alike. It's birth is another crucial landmark in our favorite industry's evolution. God Bless America! HH

​I recently took possession of a very nice all black survival pistol made by an Oregon-based company called TNW. They've been around since the early nineties producing historical firearms, then in 2012 R&D'd the ASP and ASR of which got the former. This thing is tight, clockwork reliable,  accurate and well appointed with Glock-mag compatibility, flip-up sights and the modular capability to promptly change it up into a carbine and/or switch out calibers. Mine came in 45ACP but just knowing it can be switched to 9MM, 357SIG and 10MM with the additional purchase of key components makes future swap-outs an excting option. If you have the up-front funds then for $1,300 you can buy the complete kit in a backpack already: intended as a survival weapon for pilots it seeks to cover all caliber bases. Honestly, if I were a bush pilot I wouldn’t be likely to carry the full kit and boxes of each required caliber, I’d far rather have one weapon and 200 rounds of a single caliber already loaded into mags - hence my decision to go the solo route of the 45ACP ASP. This thing shoots great with a soft rolling recoil using direct blowback. With a 16” barrel and stock it'd make a fine rifle, or with a tax stamp it’d make a sweet little SBR in an always formidable caliber. 

Prior to purchasing it I’d read almost nothing about this company, and could find only a couple of reviews of their weapons, but after a pleasant email exchange with their head engineer and watching a couple of videos I was suitably impressed enough to take the plunge. I’m glad I did. I do think that magazine reliability/affordability is a critical deciding factor for any semi-auto weapon purchase these days and with the ubiquitousness and affordability of aftermarket Glock and Korean-copy mags, the ASP is an intelligent decision for PCC fans. I haven’t had any functionality issues with mine and I’m confident that if I did they would attend to them and get me back up and running pronto.  
​
In my book this is a great American product at a good price, offering billet construction, lovely fit and finish, modular changeability, reliability, good practical accuracy and the 1st choice in magazines. What’s not to like. ED

You young gunnies might not remember the likes of Wildey, Tec9 and Linda but they represented firearm cool for those of us coming of age in the 80’s. The AR wasn’t really on anyone’s radar other than as a weapon to be avoided due to it’s poor rep in Vietnam: pistol caliber weapons were the rage, rifle calibers were for hunting. Much like the Mac10, these above-mentioned weapons were brandished on TV and in movies and were the object of our firearm lust. Then some crazy laws and lawsuits stomped on the industry and there wasn’t much to excite the soul for a couple of decades, until Obama. (At least that’s the way I remember it, others may have a differing account of recent history.) In my perception, Obama’s inauguration coincided with a massive revival of all things gun, indeed he was Jesus to the gun industry Lazarus. All of a sudden engineers awoke en masse and began producing awesome stuff as well as reviving corpses from the last heyday. Nowadays it’s just too much fun having such a glut of amazing firearms and accessories with our pay-check being virtually the only hindrance to the girth of our personal armories. And so it was with a flutter of the heart that I recently read about Linda’s resurrection! Linda was the rich man’s uzi: she had nice fit and finish, apple pie American looks and a moniker synonymous with gentleman’s razors and cravat wearing scoundrels dueling it out with cutlasses. She was class, but dirty and dangerous too, not unlike that memorable girlfriend from high school who lived in the nice part of town. The guys from the new Wilkinson Arms have done a great job at keeping Linda true to original whilst adding a couple of appropriate features such as the Sten-like heat shield and an ejection port dust cover PLUS the option of an AR stock. I’m assuming they’ve remedied the minor functionality issues of the original Linda also, so all-in-all this promises to be one beautiful reunion. I’m a great fan of PCC’s, and 9mm’s from a 16” barrel deliver quite the punch. Furthermore, using the grip to safeguard the magazine is smart - many a Sten was temporarily immobilized in the heat of combat due to the mag being knocked out of alignment, I knew a British WWII vet growing up who mentioned exactly that. And they’ve replaced the original steel upper/lower with aluminum so hefting it around will be less of an issue for folks who like their weapons light. I also like weapons with names that don't evoke pulp fiction baddies or medieval warlords like so many of todays's offerings (okay, I'm old) though truly it won’t be everyone’s taste and the polymer fans will loathe it. But for us men’s men of a different generation this could be a boyhood fantasy come true. I know Linda’s on my naughty list! AS

​This morning i received the Guns America weekly blog list which provides news of the latest innovations and happenings in the gun world. I really enjoy reading them and as I mentioned in an earlier post, nothing is quite as exciting and fast-moving as the firearms field largely because of the flourishing market but also because of the strict ATF regulations that necessitate domestic manufacture, making guns one of the great American industries. I’m particularly interested in what veterans muster up: having given several years of their precious youth and risked life and limb for the freedoms the rest of us enjoy, they usually have experiential insights into new firearm configurations or what to improve in existing ones. This mornings treat was the Scavenger 6, a multi-caliber (18 in all) revolver carbine primarily intended for survival situations. It’s been designed by USAF veteran Tim Ralston and been two years in R&D. Due to launch at the 2017 Shot Show it’ll come with three rifled cylinders each with six chambers, a detachable buttstock and a nine inch barrel. Something like this is long overdue, especially considering the shortage of good American made survival weapons (we’ll discuss the questionable Italian/Chiappa offerings at another time). Personally I think the idea is brilliant and will have an ever growing appeal, but it also exemplifies American innovation and for that alone should be celebrated and supported! So when I scrolled down to the comments section and immediately saw several haters crapping on the idea, I got irritated. By all means offer an intelligent argument on why you’d have no personal use for it, but to spew dismissive remarks demonstrates ignorance, lack of imagination and a dangerous deficit of patriotism. Online hate from trolls hiding behind anonymity has no place in the American firearm world, we struggle as a community everyday to keep watch over our Second Amendment and should thusly unite in encouragement and support of EVERY effort by others to bring us new product and safeguard our hard won privileges. And if you can’t be nice, then go exercise your vitriol elsewhere, you’re not welcome in these parts!

​B&T USA recently promised me they’d shortly be taking receipt of a few units of the new USW -A1. Here’s what the B&T website has to say of the task and purpose behind this promising new weapon: "In order to react to the quickly changing threats faced by police forces all over Europe, especially those threats presented by Islamic terrorist, law enforcement needs to quickly rethink its armament. The recent terroristic attacks have proven, today’s police side arms are not able to cope with an opponent armed with military assault rifles and bomb vests. This is the main reason for the development of the Universal Service Weapon (USW). It was to designed to be a weapon which enables the first responder, thus the normal patrol officer, to intervene effectively in the event of a terrorist event. It is also a sidearm that is suitable for every kind of “normal” police work. The USW will be available in two versions. One with a DA/SA trigger, available in Spring 2017 and one with a preset striker available Winter 2017." 

​As someone who has a particular penchant for SBR’s fashioned from pistols (as opposed to simply adding a shorter barrel to a rifle), this looks like the ultimate firearm. It is at once a 9mm pistol and then a carbine at the flip of a stock. Short barrels are inherently accurate however the difficulty with a pistol is holding it and keeping it on target, under stress, for every shot - add a stock and it’s a whole different weapon. The USW is threaded for a silencer, it’ll have the (sadly) now rare SA/DA option and it has a safety/decocker. It also has a rearward-set and solid unmoving mount for your favorite reflex site - no matter how shock-proof they say modern sights are on an MOS mount, it doesn’t convince me that one day they would’t fail or shake loose right when you needed it. The USW is vaguely reminiscent of an older Polish design called the PM-63 RAK. Both are slim and built as diminutive as feasible whilst still shooting an eminently effective round; add the possibility of placing shots quickly, quietly and ON target and you have the quintessence of firearm evolution.

I suspect the USW will be fairly scarce and very expensive when it does finally reach US shores, so this is a prompt to an American manufacturer to take a cue and come up with an affordable equivalent: it’ll sell like donuts! ED