Articles – Page 29 – Silah Report

Details emerge on DShK Mounted Motorcycle

January 14, 2018 by Miles

Numerous photographs of DShK mounted motorcycle “Technicals” have emerged from Syria, most extensively being shared on The Firearm Blog through this initial post of an amateur video, in addition to this one of a more detailed look through a so-called Islamic State’s Amaq propaganda video. We get a good idea of the weapon in action, but recently a photograph has emerged that shows the system in a transport mode on the motorcycle.

Notice how the bipod legs fold onto the back rack of the motorcycle while the Chinese 12.7x108mm Type 87 is pointed to the rear to be transported easier. Now, it would appear that any driver on the motorcycle would have to push the machine gun to the left or right while he is driving it

U.S. M16A4 Reportedly Among Iranian Protests

January 8, 2018 by Miles

A Twitter account by the name of Tehran. azady/@Gloomily8 (Free Tehran) has posted two posts and accompanying photographs on their page depicting what appears to be an FN Herstal, former U.S. Government 5.56x45mm M16A4 Service Rifle. It is not known or confirmed if the image is actually from Tehran for that matter, but a cursory Google Image Search revealed this Twitter account appears to have been the first online poster of this particular photograph. It would also appear that these photographs are actually screenshots from a motion picture, due to the apparent movement of the light source.

Neither post makes much mention of the weapon and is more concentrated on what is going to be happening or will be planned to happen in the future in regards to the protests.

Notice the SKU imprint-

It would appear that this M16A4 is most likely diverted from U.S. Foreign Military Sales to Iraq. What could possibly confirm this is the design of the handguard. We know it is an M16A4 due to the M1913 Picatinny Rail a part of the upper receiver, of which an “A2” carrying handle is fastened to. What is being left out however, is the design of the handguard. If it is a Knight’s Armament “A4” handguard, it would be a very rare sight indeed. But most likely it is an “A2” style with the circular handguards and vertical vent ports. The “Hybrid” M16A4/A2 rifles were previously sold to the Iraqi Army-

And were subsequently seen/captured by the so-called Islamic State-

Source- Conflict Armament Research Report

Source- http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2749197/ISIS-arming-US-military-hardware-wage-jihad-Middle-East-seizing-weapons-Syrian-rebels-Iraqi-soldiers.html

It should be noted that M16A4s are in service in Afghanistan with the Ministry of the Interior, in addition to M4/M4A1s are in service with numerous Afghan forces as well. But the amount in service in Afghanistan doesn’t seem to be proportional to the amount of M16A4s with the Iraqi Army, or circulating on the Iraqi black market.

Source- https://www.khaama.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Afghan-special-forces.jpg

Pakistan’s locally made 7.62 x 25 Tokarev

December 31, 2017 by Nauman A

The Tokarev (colloquially known as TT in Pakistan), received a cult following since its arrival in Pakistan somewhere in the late 1970’s, that somehow has still maintained its status as a fearsome self-defense weapon. In fact, during that period, post-Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the two weapons that made it to Pakistani markets were the AK-47 and the Tokarev pistol. For gun aficionados, no collection was complete without these two weapons in one’s inventory. The TT was a much sought after weapon, it was semi-auto, had a very potent round and the thing to possess.

Later Chinese, as well as Serbian variants of the Russian TT, found their way in the country. For quite some time the TT ruled as a weapon of choice till the venerated 9x19mm hit the markets and turned the tide in its favor as a caliber of choice. Around the early 1980’s Pakistani made TTs found their way into the local markets simply because these were inexpensive, the ammo was dirt cheap and available in thousands or perhaps millions. Even today the average Pakistani is confident and wants a TT as a trusted reliable weapon, the fact that it is easily available and inexpensive, around $ 20-35 only, adds to its popularity. Later these weapons started appearing in various shapes and sizes, which somehow made them appear more fearsome and attractive for the buyers. The weapon being reviewed is a local made TT, with a double stack magazine that increases its capacity from 8 to 18!! To make it more attractive this piece works only on full-auto!! Its gold plated and looks as much good as it feels good to hold in one’s hands.

Specifications

Caliber: 7.62 x 25 (.30 bore)

Length: 7.6″

Height: 5.3″

Barrel length: 4.6″

Magazine capacity: 18 rounds, double stack

Front blade, rear notch type sights

This particular piece is Fully Automatic

Weight: 1.15 kg

The weapon being made is a copy of the Chinese TT, and bears the words “Cal 30 Mauser, Made as Chine by Norinco”. Observe the gold plated, slide release, mag release, trigger and the barrel bearing. It adds to the looks of this finely finished handgun.

The magazine base plates are also gold plated and help to spruce up the looks on this TT. Observe the polished wooden grips.

Since the handgun is full auto it has a recess for fitting in a buttstock. This piece doesn’t come with one, but it can be made to order.

The barrel bearing is gold plated and gives a good contrast against the black finish.

The pistol has a standard front sight blade and rear notch fixed sights like the standard Tokarev.

The quality of workmanship isn’t all that bad. But one area in which the local weapons lack is good quality control. If this can be handled then they can really produce weapons which give consistent results.

This particular piece comes packed in an Aluminum box. Considering its features, look and price it isn’t a bad value for money weapon. TT’s have been around for quite some time, here in Pakistan. And now since POF is making 7.62 x 25 ammo so there’s choice of ammo to choose from Chinese, Russian and Pakistani and since ammo is inexpensive so TTs are common. So, for now, the TT is here to stay.

Tabuk Sniper Rifles Turn up in Baghdad Small Arms Cache

December 28, 2017 by Miles

At a recent weapons cache that was turned up by Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Forces in Baghdad, what appears to be two Iraqi Tabuk Sniper rifles were among the rifles discovered in the buried cache. The Tabuk Sniper is uniquely identified by the cutout in the rear stock. Based on the Yugoslavian M70, the Tabuk sniper is a variant of the standard Tabuk rifle with full wooden stock, and the shorter version with a folding stock. It is unique among designated marksmen rifles in that it is chambered in 7.62x39mm, a round not known for its accuracy in the years it was adopted and used.

The two Tabuk Snipers in this photograph are distinguished by the aforementioned stocks and the three vents in the wooden handguard. On the above rifle there does seem to be some doubt as the receiver looks to be milled instead of stamped due to the magazine cut out portion. In addition, it is difficult to tell if the pistol grips are plastic or wooden, a key identification point about the Tabuk and M70 series. The stocks themselves are actually reversed, you are looking at the left side of the stock when it should have been the right side if aligned properly with the rifle.

The Twitter account “The Golden Power” shared the images.

“Made in Darra” Webley and Scott .32 S&W Long

December 20, 2017 by Miles

Nauman Afzal is a Pakistani based writer, and writes at his own very successful blog, My Random Ramblings as well. This is his first article for Silah Report.

In our part of the world, weapons have always followed a rather strange evolutionary path, if we talk about their development only. Darra Adam Khel or as I would like to call it, “Our Wild West” is the place where one can get a copy of almost any weapon made, at a price. The evolution of weapons here has always depended on the type of ammunition being used. In other words, it was the availability of a particular caliber of ammunition that dictated its development, unlike other places. That is akin to making cars on the availability of a certain kind of fuel. So in the 1960’s and 1970’s .32 ACP and .32 S&W Long were available in wide abundance throughout Pakistan. And one could either buy a foreign made weapon, which off course was expensive (as it is still today) or a Darra made revolver, which were available and still are being produced.

This particular piece is around 40 years old and is quite well made and kept. In those days many a “Khan” could be seen wearing this type of revolver across their chest with a dozen or more rounds inserted in the very belt holding it in place. Semiautomatic pistols were expensive and rare, so the de-facto choice was a Darra made wheeler, in .32 S&W Long, made to perfection. The local gunsmiths (who now have improved to the extent that they can and are in fact making copies of CQA the Chinese equivalent of AR15) perfected their skills to make excellent quality revolvers.

This little piece is an exact copy of the .32 Webley and Scott (Mark IV precisely), a top-break, seven shot revolver, single as well as double action brass hammer, a brass trigger and safety.

Caliber: .32 S&W Long

Weight: 720 grams approx

Action: SA/DA

Cylinder Capacity: 7 shots

Barrel length: 3.5”

Front and Rear Sight: Fixed

Top Break: With extractor for removing cartridges from the cylinder

Safety: Manual, Lateral Safety just behind the hammer

A dozen screws all along the body hold it in place, grips included. This revolver has its fair share of brass used in it; the hammer, trigger and the rear sight plate are made out of brass which gives it a shiny look when polished. The hammer, as well as the top-break lever, are knurled for a better grip.

Observe the Mark IV 32 marking over the left side on top of the cylinder, which is quite reminiscent of the original Webley & Scott. Other than this there are no markings or writings on the body. The hammer itself is pointed much like a nail or needle quite unlike the original Webley.

The revolver weighs 720 grams approximately, and in this size it is a good choice for a carry weapon, even nowadays. I have seen a few newer versions of this revolver selling for around Rs. 1500 that makes it around $ 15 plus or minus few today. (But off course .32 S&W Long is expensive here. ) The newer versions lack brass and hence give it a finish that appears quite dark in texture.

Frankly, I never tried disassembling one recently, but since everything is held in place by screws taking it apart is not an issue. But then there is not much point in taking apart a revolver. This particular piece has its grips changed, the original ones are made of poor quality plastic. The wooden grips were custom made for $3, both sides. Marking 32 on the inside the cylinder indicates its caliber.

These revolvers are known to stand out in reliability, a testament to the good quality workmanship in Darra. Since the advent of semi-auto pistols and the craftsmen ability to make good copies Revolvers are less in demand, still one can find them in the market. Somehow people tend to think that revolvers are inferior in performance as compared to semi-auto pistols.

This particular piece has been in my family and has passed hands from one generation to another, with no more than a hundred rounds fired through it. It now has an emotional value attached to it, and is held in much reverence amongst gun enthusiasts.

The First Exhibition Drill Soloist in the U.S. was an Arab

December 13, 2017 by Miles

The elaborate activity known as exhibition drill within the United States is quite unique in its execution. It evolved out of a want to push the envelope when it comes to Drill and Ceremony (shortened to D&C) competitions. For many decades, militaries all over the world have held D&C competitions, even down to the academy cadet level. The United States was no different, with the tradition possibly originating from Prussian General Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, who is credited with teaching D&C to American troops at Valley Forge during the Revolutionary War. However, it was only within the last century that competitions took on a more flashy or exhibition flare, with both armed and unarmed portions. The reasons for this could be many, but the author speculates that it has to do with D&C becoming less important on the battlefield and more of a measure of a unit’s discipline in the rear. For example, doing exhibition drill in the 1800s would probably be met with stern disappointment, because this was still the age where actual battles were won and lost due to a unit’s ability to maneuver in formation on a battlefield.

Today exhibition drill teams exist at every level from High School JROTC programs, Collegiate level ROTC programs, Military ceremonial units such as the Marine Corps’ Silent Drill Platoon, and even professional performance teams such as New Guard America. One of their performances is shared below.

But back to origins. The general beginnings of what we now know to be called “exhibition” drill are claimed to be a cadet unit called “Pershings Rifles” still active today at a university in Nebraska. Whether or not this cadet unit performed anything near to what would be labeled as exhibition, the research isn’t very clear. But the general consensus is that modern exhibition drill really took off in the years following the Vietnam War, growing to a huge network today.

However, before the Pershing Rifles, there was Hajji Sherif/الحاج شريف (normally colloquially as Hadji Cheriff). This name was most likely a stage name or something an American audience could easily pronounce. The first part, Hadji/Hajji is indicative of this man making the Haj pilgrimage to Mecca, and the second part Cheriff/Sherif, means “Noble” in Arabic. Although Sherif might have been apart of the man’s name, it really doesn’t give us much as to his family name, what part of the MENA region he was from, etc…

This video clip that was copyrighted by Thomas Edison in 1899 (he also had another clip of Hajji Sherif performing a dance at the inventor’s studio) specifically label Sherif as the “Arabian” Gun Twirler and recorded at what is believed to be the Midway Plaisance during during the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893, taking place in Chicago. It shows Sherif effortlessly spinning what appears to be a muzzleloading Model 1855 Springfield .58 Caliber rifle.

The only other known video (described earlier) of him is also online-

But in this short movie that would have been aired or published as a silent movie, we see exactly what goes on today on exhibition drill decks across the United States. As the drill website, The Nationals notes–

[He is performing] a basic aerial toss (two, 1-1/2 over-hand thrown from the firing hammer) and also an over the shoulder technique with a rather remarkable display of over-the-head drill (OTH), and ends right after an under the leg inverted spin.

This film’s description from the Library of Congress reads as such–

A bearded man performs a rifle twirling act on a stage with a painted backdrop of a city street corner. He wears a white turban and a dark two-piece costume of tunic and baggy pants that narrow at the knees; perhaps the costume of an Arab infantryman. The tricks he performs include throwing the spinning rifle in the air and catching it; twirling the gun in front of him, above his head, behind his back, to the side of his torso, and under his leg; and twirling the rifle as he switches hands.From Edison films catalog: An interesting exhibit by Hadji Cheriff, of the original Midway Plaisance. Twirls his rifle over shoulder, behind back, under leg, both hands and one hand. 50 feet. $7.50.

50 feet is in reference to the overall physical length of the roll if you were to purchase it for $7.50 at the time of the short’s airing at the turn of the century in 1899.

But what else do we know of Hajji Sherif, and what is he doing? We have this description of him from IMDb–

Hadj Cheriff was both an Arabian knife juggler and an acrobat. He had little to do with filmmaking of any sort, as his debut was in the 1894 Edison short film “Hadj Cheriff” which features him performing part of his act in Edison’s Black Maria studio. Cheriff later appeared in another Edison film, “Arabian Gun Twirler” from 1899. These two shorts are apparently the only films he took part in; thus, Cheriff remained a minor part in filmmaking.

We have these references in The History of Conversion to Islam in the United States Vol II, which suggest that Sherif was a circus performer, and might have been Egyptian, and even a Sufi. Some Sufi religious orders are quite known for various practices that put them in a trance-like state, most famously the Whirling Dervishes but they number very little even in Turkey. From the book-

In 1890 we also have a clipping from a circus advertisement that clearly lists him as a “Gun Juggler”–

New York Clipper, July 19, 1890, pp. 291, 294, 295, 301, 304…. Hadji Cheriff, Arabian gun juggler

The real question that I think is important to answer as researchers is where did Hajji Sherif get the idea of twirling an unloaded rifle to entertain a crowd? One body of thought is that it might have come from his Sufi roots (if he was Sufi to begin with). Another distant train of thought is that it might be related to Yowla/اليولة, which is a traditional dance routine practiced in the Gulf Countries today, but can be traced back many years. Although not often using full-size rifles (imitation ones are used), and often using swords, there could be a connection. An important here is that traditional Yowla puts much more emphasis on the dance rather than skill with the rifle. The third option is that Sherif came up with the idea on his own of course.

Traditional Yowla performance-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUvX-1g9F7M

This is an example of Yowla with muzzleloaders today, similar to what Sherif would have had-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTFcMfPT22Q

Forgotten Weapons discusses Peshmerga Anti-Material Rifles

December 5, 2017 by Miles

Ian from Forgotten Weapons has put together an interesting overview of the 12.7mm Zagros And 14.5mm Sahar Anti-Material Rifles in use by the Kurdish Peshmerga. These improvised rifles are making quite the headway in the current Syrian civil war, due to the prevelance of VBIEDs and the complexity of fighting in urban settings.

DI Optical Reflex Optics on M2 HMGs at Turkmen Parade

December 1, 2017 by Miles

Among the latest small arms displayed at the recent Independence Day Parade were DI Optical USA DCL-120 reflex sights mounted to .50 BMG M2 Heavy Machine Guns. Currently, it isn’t known what type of mount is clamped to the receiver of the machine guns. But it certainly appears to be a Picatinny rail that allows the DCL-120 to be mounted to it.

Some of the M2 machine guns didn’t have the optics mounted on them.

From the manufacturer website-

Optical Data
System	Reflex, Collimator System
Magnification	No Magnification (1X)
Eye Relief	Unlimited
Red Dot Size	3 MOA Dot / 40 MOA Circle
Field of View (FOV)	96 m @ 200m
Objective Lens	120 × 70 mm
Optical Coating	Anti Reflex Coating All Surfaces, Multi-layer Coating for Reflection of Red Light

Electronic Data
Battery	Two CR 123A 3V Lithium Battery, or External Power Source : 10~28V (Option)
Battery Life	1,000 hours
Dot Brightness Settings	1 Off & 5 Daylight Mode, 3 Twilight Mode, 3 Nightvision Mode

Mechanical Data
Housing Material	High Strength Aluminum
Surface Finish	Hard Anodized, Matte, Carbon Black
Mounting Solution	Built-in Type (For MIL STD 1913 Picatinny Rail)
Click Adjustment	1 click = 25mm at 200m
Trajectory Ranges	200, 400, 600, 800, 1,200 meters

Dimensions
Length/Width/Height	330 mm / 180 mm / 150 mm
Weight	3,000 g

Environmental Data
Temperature Range	−41 ℃ ~ +71 ℃

Beretta and Sako Presence at Turkmenistan Independence Day Parade

November 28, 2017 by Miles

At this year’s 26th anniversary of the Independence of Turkmenistan, Beretta and Beretta owned Sako came out in large numbers among the small arms on parade. Of course, the Beretta 5.56x45mm NATO ARX160 took center stage among both the line troops and special operations component, with the SF component also being armed with IWI 5.56x45mm NATO Tavor TARs.

21st Century Asian Arms Race had this to say about the current rearming of the small Central Asian state–

Turkmenistan is often lampooned for its bizarre civic culture that combines national symbols with its leader’s personality cult. But judging by the recent military parade in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan’s armed strength is for the sole purpose of territorial defense. Unlike North Korea, Turkmenistan doesn’t pose a threat to global peace. It’s also trying to crawl out of an economic mess caused by its reliance on energy exports.

Neither does Ashgabat appear to have regional ambitions. On the contrary, it faces a grave threat from its border with Afghanistan where militants tied to either the Taliban or ISIS are active. In the greater scheme of things, Turkmenistan’s imperative is balancing its aspirations with the looming strength of China, India, Iran, Russia and Turkey.

Yet even if it’s overshadowed by larger countries in its neighborhood, when it comes to mass calisthenics, very impressive rifle drills, and costumed Turkmen archers trotting on horseback, Turkmenistan makes sure it surpasses its neighbors in pageantry.

Along with the ARX160s, there were some mounted with Beretta’s accompanying 40x46mm low-velocity GLX-160 UBGL.

And a designated Marksmans variant.

It appears that Turkmenistan has also purchased the IWI Negev light machine gun as well.

But the other significant update was with the precision rifles, that of Sako TRG M10s. These are probably chambered in 7.62x51mm NATO but could be in .338 Lapua Magnum. They were shown in a tan finish.

Straight MP5 Magazine spotted in Isfahan LE Demonstration

December 15, 2017November 25, 2017 by Miles

Within the Law Enforcement demonstration recently held in Isfahan (in which we posted about a thermal optic in use ), a straight walled magazine was spotted in use by one of the officers taking part in the demonstration. Iran’s Defense Industries Organization produced licensed copies of the MP5 from the time of the Shah (along with the G3), and it is still heavily employed by Iranian forces. Most of the MP5s today appear to be equipped with the curved 30 round magazine, but that is what makes this particular one stand out, due to the original straight wall design that Heckler & Koch introduced the very first MP5 variants with.