Chuck Madurski A surprising—albeit subtle—variety of fixed polymer buttstocks were used on early AR-15/M16-series rifles. There are five basic types, although it does not appear that these ever received unique manufacturer’s designations. Collectors today know them as the Type A through Type E. These stocks were fitted to the Colt Models 601 through 604, and
Armament Research Services (ARES) is pleased to announce the release of Research Report No. 11, Cartridges of Caracas: The illicit trade in small-calibre ammunition in Venezuela’s capital. Research Report 11 adds an analysis of ammunition to the information presented in Research Report 10, which looked a the online trade of small arms and light weapons
Armament Research Services (ARES) is delighted to announce the release of Research Report No. 10, Black & Grey: The Illicit Online Trade of Small Arms in Venezuela. The culmination of a long-running investigation, Research Report 10 examines a new and thriving segment within Venezuela’s black-market arms trade, which has proliferated primarily through social media and
Headstamp Publishing, publishers of the wildly successful Chassepot to FAMAS: French Military Rifles, 1866–2016, have today launched a Kickstarter pre-order campaign for their second book. This book, titled Thorneycroft to SA80: British Bullpup Firearms, 1901–2020, was written by ARES Technical Specialist Jonathan Ferguson and charts the British love affair with the ‘flipped’ bullpup rifle and
Ivan T. In April 2020, the Toronto Police Service seized what appears to be a Glock-type self-loading pistol. To the non-specialist, this may appear to be a modified factory-made Glock handgun, but it is in fact a craft-produced firearm constructed using a 3D-printed frame. It is most likely to be what is known as a
Jonathan Ferguson Amongst a handful of small arms seized on 6 September by police in Johannesburg, South Africa was an unusual Chinese sub-machine gun or pistol-calibre carbine. Superficially similar to the German Heckler & Koch MP5 and UMP—two better-known 9 × 19 mm sub-machine guns—this original design is available in both military/law enforcement and sporting
Pedro Pérez The ‘Caribe’ sub-machine gun is a prototype design under development by the Compañia Anonima Venezolana de Industrias Militares (CAVIM) in Venezuela. Very little is known about the design, with government sources claiming it has been in development since 2006. Initially known as the F-Caribe, the current working design appears to be known as
Kristóf Nagy The automatic, belt-fed UAG-40 grenade launcher is one of the many domestic arms developments to come out of Ukraine in recent years. It was developed and is currently manufactured by Kusnja na Rybalskomu, a shipyard and major arms manufacturer in Kiev, located on the banks of the Dnieper River. Kusnja na Rybalskomu, known
We are pleased to announce that selected short video reports derived from our ‘Quicklook’ series will now be made publicly available. These video reports, typically a few minutes in length, examine events relevant to ARES clients and provide brief contextual and observational information. Deeper analysis of any of these events is available to selected clients;
Arms and ammunition are evidence. Many weapons carry marks that, combined with their physical characteristics, reveal important information about them, including their manufacturer, age, and origin. This information, in turn, provides vital clues about the sources and flows of weapons in the area in which they were found. ARES personnel have worked with the Small
