The Firearm Blog RSS feed
-
HK’s Next-Gen Twist on the FN Minimi - The MG43
In the late 1990s, the famous German company Heckler & Koch set out to build a new 5.56x45 NATO belt-fed light machine gun for the German Army that could challenge the FN Minimi/M249, which was widely used by many NATO nations. Somehow, they used the Minimi/M249, which was designed by Ernest Vervier at FN Herstal, as the basis for the HK design and improved it. The project first appeared under the designation MG43, which is a conventional, gas-operated design that incorporates all current trends in small-arms development. HK’s design incorporated improvements to withstand heavy use and adverse conditions, and one interesting feature was the weight; the initial MG43 weighed 14.10 lbs. (6.4 kg).
-
POTD: Art You Can Fire - The €4,800 Chiappa Rhino Elite
Some firearms are built to disappear into holsters and hard used. Others are built to be looked at first, and then fired. The Chiappa Rhino Elite 60DS sits somewhere in between. Limited to just 44 pieces, this 2026 Elite variant takes the already unconventional Rhino platform and pushes it into unfamiliar territory.
-
Small Business Spotlight: Bespoke Park City
Welcome back to TFB's Small Business Spotlight ! In this series, we take a look at small firearm-related businesses. Today, we have a luxury firearms dealer out of Park City, Utah: Bespoke Park City.
-
Guns Are Selling: March NICS Numbers Show Trend Reversal
For a while there, it looked like American gun sales numbers were going to trend down, down down—but that trend has reversed, and in March of 2026, we saw sales of well over a million guns, and a year-over-year increase.
-
Keep Quiet With New Federal Subsonic Loads (Now Shipping!)
Want to shoot a suppressed rifle, but standard rifle loads are still packing too much velocity for your liking? Federal Subsonic target loads are now shipping across the U.S., helping shooters make the most of their new suppressors.
