M1 Semi-Auto Rifle Auctions begin in Korea, 84,417 Firearms inventory at stake

The Ministry of National Defense has started an online auction for 84,417 M1 Garand rifles used in the 1950-1953 Korean War, ministry officials said Tuesday. The ministry is trying to find a pair of Korean and American brokers for the deal that will market the old rifles, bought by the ministry at the end of the war, to U.S. veterans. Each rifle can fetch around $500, pushing the total price to more than $40 million. The ministry plans to have the proceeds directly go to Daewoo Precision to pay for K-2 rifles, each of which is priced at $727.   “All of them are expected to be shipped to the United States for sale,” ...“Though the United States has agreed to allow the importation of the M1 Garand rifles from Seoul, there is a slight possibility that it may reverse its earlier decision if there is a change in gun-control laws or a changed political situation,” an official said... The Korea Times reported on Jan. 19 about the Barack Obama administration’s reversal of its 2010 decision to block the import of the wartime rifles... the M1 rifle has tremendous historical value in the United States as it not only represents American ingenuity in that it outclassed many of its adversaries when it first entered service...The M1 was used by U.S. troops in World War II, the Korean War and in the early days of the Vietnamese conflict...
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Full story is at Korea Times
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Gun hater in Chief and his bully-boy minions held hands with Gun-Hater Hilary on this issue of blocking these historical money-makers as a "danger" simply because they are "semi-automatic". The next fight on this issue will be with the remaining stocks of surplus M1 Carbines and M1911A1 Govt. Model .45 Pistols the Koreans still have stored. Expect the US Gun haters to try and block these using the old & tired scare tactics they always drag our in these cases...(S9)

AR-15's, Shotguns, added by St.Louis P.D., Patrol carbines dropped

While the city Police Department considers reducing its force, it is arranging greater firepower for those who remain — adding shotguns to patrol cars and higher-powered rifles for supervisors...The department abandoned shotguns years ago in favor of short-barreled rifles that use the same 9 mm pistol ammunition as its semi-automatic handguns. "After testing and training, we found the 9 mm configuration to be inadequate...New .223-caliber rifles will be issued to supervisors to provide greater long-distance shooting capability that also can penetrate body armor, officials said...the department has been re-evaluating weapons since the 2010 ABB Inc. shooting, in which tense officers methodically searched a factory for a heavily armed disgruntled employee who fired more than 100 shots in killing three co-workers and himself...The county force has about 400 shotguns in use. About 100 sergeants and 158 officers have department-issued AR-15 rifles, and 29 officers carry their own rifles... The new rifles' .223 -caliber ammunition is designed to disintegrate upon impact and not exit the target, making it less likely to wound bystanders, said Officer Scott Valentine, the city police armorer...
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Full story is at St. Louis Today
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Adding more guns  will not compensate for cutting back the number of Cops on the street.(Unless you make them "Street Judges" as in the original fictional "Judge Dredd" and we know that is not going to happen in real life). This stupidity has been plaguing law-enforcement nationwide, and it is not the cops, but evil bumbling fool politicians, making these anti-public safety decisions, invariably the same clowns who seek to prevent lawful gun owners from self-defense and want to disarm them also...(S9)

Assault Rifles Stolen from VIP protection unit (Africa)

The air force has launched a commission of inquiry after four R5 assault rifles were stolen from a safe at the Waterkloof Air Force Base. The rifles belonged to the VIP protection unit tasked with protecting President Jacob Zuma's official plane at the base... The theft was discovered on March 9 when the guards apparently opened the safe to remove the weapons in order to secure Zuma's incoming flight... the investigation has revealed that security cameras in the office had “coincidentally” not worked for some time, and that the problem had been reported but nothing had been done about it...

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Full story at IOL News

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This weapon is the South African version of the IMI Galil, a vastly improved version of the AK platform, and are highly prized, which indicates either brilliance or a high order of stupidity, for someone to steal these weapons from a high security area (which speaks volumes about how these countries mistrust firearms in the hands of the people, they don't even trust their own military with guns). Just proves again that bad guys will obtain weapons as long as other bad men will provide them. This is why good guys need firearms for self-defense. The only thing that stops a bad guy with a weapon is a good guy with a weapon...(S9)

AK-47 Maker Goes Bankrupt

Over 100 million AK's are out there

Izhmash, the manufacturer of assault rifle AK-47, or Kalashnikov, officially went bankrupt over unpaid debts, according to the Russian Ria Rovosti news agency. More than 100 million AK-type rifles are estimated to have been built since they were first introduced by inventor Mihail Kalashnikov in 1947. Izhmash is a unit of the Russian Technologies Corporation, a state holding company with mining, arms and automotive assets. A court has given the green light to Izmash factory being wound up, following a lawsuit issued by a creditor owed 814,000 rubles ($275,000). The Kalashnikov maker is now in receivership, and an administrator has been appointed by the court...A major blow for Izmash came when the Russian Defence Ministry announced that it would not purchase the newly-created rifle the AK-12, which was unveiled in February.
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Full Report HERE
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This parallels a report I posted here earlier about the Russians being overstocked with AK pattern rifles. All the licensing during the communist era for political reasons was the downfall of the Russian version, as aficionados realize the copies made in different countries range from abysmal basic firearms to those vastly superior to the Russian original...(S9)  

Bond Girl Works AR-15 (Video)

British actress Naomie Harris trains stunt-work with CAR-15/M-4 and Walther PPK for upcoming James Bond 007 Film

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Of course, this is all movie magic, making actors look like they know what they are doing when handling firearms. Experts will notice the lack of recoil with blank-adapted firearms, as seen here. The editors bench cuts out all the flinching, and 99% of these people have never fired real ammunition in their lives. It is always amusing these female actresses repeatedly claiming to be "equals" with 007. How many of these actresses could pass an SAS/SBS/RMC "Q" course in real life?. As the old joke from the Napoleonic era went: "Pretty to look at, but can they fight?"... (P.S.: Daniel Craig is no James Bond, just a substitute we have to tolerate) - (S9)

Illinois Tyranny: Semi-Auto Ban Fight continues

The county ordinance specifically outlaws the sale or possession of “any assault weapon or large capacity magazine.” It describes several traits of prohibited weapons — such as a protruding grip or a shroud attached to the barrel — and specifies several types of guns that are in violation of the ordinance.

“It bans the most popular hunting rifles … that there are in the country,” Richard Pearson, executive director of the Illinois State Rifle Association, told the Chicago Sun-Times Wednesday.

The ban extends to the AR-15, a weapon Pearson called the most popular hunting rifle in the United States, as well as guns used for duck hunting and shooting clay pigeons. “And there’s no reason to do it. There’s no justification for it at all,” he said.

Additionally, the plaintiffs in the case argued that the scope of the ban is too large, and could cause issues if new technology makes previously legal firearms capable of accepting large capacity magazines.

A group of state lawmakers, including suburban representatives Kent Gaffney (R-Lake Barrington) and Linda Chapa LaVia (D-Aurora), also filed a brief with the court, claiming that a ban on entire categories of firearms is unconstitutional... 

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Full biased report at  Chicago Sun Times

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The not-so great state of Illinois, once a free state, now merely a last bastion of unreasonable tyranny against citizens self-defense and firearms ownership - with an incredible and embarrassingly high body count of innocent victims of criminal misuse of firearms - argue stupid lawyer tricks while the Cops are prevented from protecting the people and the people prevented from defending themselves, let the cadavers pile up while nitpicking such irrelevant items as the type of grips on a firearm. It is an appalling shame, that future generations will look back on and say "WTF were these fools thinking?". Human life is always more important than "legislation", unless you are in states like this who care nothing for public safety but only oppression and selfish political advantage while blood runs in the streets...(S9)

Captured AK-47 Semi-Auto linked to "Fast & Furious"(Video)

According to the police report, the driver, Angel Hernandez-Diaz, also had an AK-47 semi-automatic assault rifle in his possession during the vehicle chase.
The AK-47, according to the ATF, is linked to the Fast and Furious case...
“I pulled up, exited my vehicle, (and) yelled, ‘Police! Stop!” he said, explaining how he followed Hernandez-Diaz around a corner...

“With his gun in the right hand…and he was pointing it right at me,” Ruiz said. “I fired one round off…and I figured he had me.”
Ruiz’s bullet did not strike Hernandez-Diaz, but the suspect was taken into custody and convicted of possessing two guns that were found inside the stolen truck, stealing the truck, and running from officers. The gun Hernandez-Diaz was accused of pointing at Ruiz was never found. However police found two weapons inside the stolen truck: the AK-47 and a Beretta pistol.

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Full Story at ABC 15 Arizona
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This is a half-assed report leaning more toward dramatics than facts (for example, the "AK-47" described appears to my eye as a Chinese Type 56 underfolder variant, with a modified pistol grip.), but the information is still relevant - (S9)