This guy is pretty interesting, and has definitely done some amazing things in the field of weapons delivery. But like most who walk the line between legal and illegal weapons delivery, you always face the potential of getting caught one day.  Viktor made things happen out there, but at what price to self and others?  But on the other hand, everyone has done business with the guy, because he could get things done in really crappy places.  The movie Lord of War staring Nicolas Cage was about his exploits, and there are plenty of stories, books, and articles about him.  And after he got caught in Thailand, the Economist wrote this recent article.  -Matt

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International man of mystery

Flying anything to anybody

Dec 18th 2008

From The Economist print edition

The rise and fall of Viktor Bout, arms-dealer extraordinaire, shows a darker side of globalisation

VIKTOR BOUT knew, long before his plane lifted off from Moscow, that they meant to snatch him. For years he had hunkered down in the Russian capital, making only rare forays abroad. Western spies, the United Nations and do-gooder activists were after him. They said that he had smashed arms embargoes and struck deals with a remarkable axis of ne’er-do-wells: supplying weapons and air-transport to the Taliban, abetting despots and revolutionaries in Africa and South America, aiding Hizbullah in Lebanon and Islamists in Somalia. He also found time to supply American forces in Iraq, perhaps al-Qaeda too, and maybe even Chechen rebels.

He denied all wrongdoing and, no doubt, thought his accusers irritating and hypocritical. But until the fuss died away he knew that he was safe only in Russia, from where extradition was impossible.

Yet Mr Bout, a puzzling, amoral and intelligent man, made a poor choice in March, leaving behind his wife and daughter and flying to Bangkok. As a consequence he may end up in New York as the star of a trial that would provoke echoes of cold-war spy games, further chilling relations between the West and Russia.

A shy and plump man, for years his only public image was a grainy, Soviet-era passport photo. That shows a dumpy, youngish face, with drooping eyes peering above a thick, triangular, moustache—the sort one might buy in a joke shop. He was probably born in what is now Tajikistan but, as with the picture, details of his life are fuzzy. American prosecutors say that he uses at least half a dozen passports and more aliases, including “Butt”, “Budd”, “Boris”, “Bulakin” and “Aminov”. A gifted linguist, he slips easily between as many languages as he has names.

   This website is great.  It even covers the tunnel situation that I talked about yesterday.  I think what struck me with this site, is the increase of rocket and mortar attacks over the years and the increasing range of these weapons.  They talk about every incident, and the quality and type of weapon.  

   The other thing that was interesting to me, was the smuggling techniques used by Hamas and others.  When we hear of breaches along the Egyptian border in Gaza, you usually see crowds protesting and overwhelming these checkpoints.  These periods of disruption at the border are prime opportunities to smuggle weapons, and the cover of this chaos is used to great effect.  So this latest border chaos after the Israeli strikes, could have produced some more opportunities like this. -Matt

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An objective analysis of Palestinian terrorism is essential for those seeking a comprehensive understanding of the Arab-Israeli conflict. WeaponSurvey offers readers a detailed presentation of Palestinian military capabilities by meticulously cataloging, analyzing and archiving relevant data, including:

     Hey guys and gals, I made some updates and added some cool stuff to the site to test out.  The Feral Jundi Youtube page is just a collection of youtube videos, and you can click on the Youtube icon to the right to check it out.  The Lloyd’s List Security and Piracy widget is a cool deal, and self explanatory. And finally, the Jundi Gear page and site is a great place to find some of the books that I have reviewed.  Also check out some of the other goodies I found for sale on Amazon.  -Head Jundi

     Check this out.  Tactical Life is an incredibly comprehensive website dedicated to  weapons.  In other words, this is some serious ‘Gun Porn’.  LOL The one section I really liked was the calender of events.  They post the various training dates for training classes of most of the tactical schools out there.  Although I don’t think the classes list is entirely comprehensive, it is a good start if you are researching available schools to attend. You can also sign up for their newsletter.  -Head Jundi

Website Here

    This optic set up sounds like a pretty cool deal.  I like it because it is low profile and lightweight.  And it is a LaRue Tactical product, which everything they make is outstanding and built like a tank.  I own their Aimpoint mount they make, and the thing is solid.  

    I also like the cowitnessing of the sight’s Iron sights and the red dot.  That way, if the red dot becomes damaged or doesn’t light up, then you can just use the iron sights.  This would be a good set up to bring with you on contract, incase you get issued an AK-47.  -Head Jundi

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LaRue Tactical AK-IronDot

Simply remove your AK’s rear sight and drop this robust, yet lightweight, mini red-dot in its place. Built around the excellent Burris FastFire Mini Red Dot (included), the AK-IronDot has an integral rear-sight blade for cowitnessing irons. An armored shroud protects the optic, and has access cutouts for the power switch and windage control. The entire unit pivots up and out of the way for easy removal of the receiver cover when cleaning your weapon. Replaces the stock rear sight in seconds.

    This sight is brand new, and there really isn’t much input about it.  It looks promising though and I just wanted to get this up on FJ so guys know that it exists. 

     I do like the fact that this rear sight has a notch, just like a pistol.  I also like the horizontal serrations carved into it, and this falls in line with the sight that Larry Vickers likes called the Slantpro Straight 8 by Heinie.  I have that sight on my Glock, and it is an outstanding rear sight aperture for pistols.

    But like I said, I do not own this rear sight and I haven’t heard any feedback about this sight, except for one comment at the XS store website where you can buy this sight.  On the CSAT website, they give a better description of how to use this new rear sight, so be sure to check that out as well.

    Also, I wanted to give a heads up that CSAT is coming out with a new rifle based on the AR 15 platform and that this rear sight will probably be a standard feature of this rifle.  It will be great to see the final product in the near future.  -Head Jundi 

CSAT Rear Sight for AR-15\M-16

By XS Sight Systems 

AR-15 rear sight aperture from Paul Howe

Use the notch for 7 yard zero.

Use the small aperture for 100 yard zero.

AR-0005-7 for the CSAT rear sight aperture with the 24/7 tritium front sight $95.

22-2300-A-0009 replacement rear aperture CSAT $35.

Buy it here

   In this post, I wanted to present two types of rounds being thrown around out there as possible replacements for the 5.56 mm round currently in use by today’s warfighters.  Wikipedia is the source for both of these reviews, and is certainly a good foundation for us to start from.  And like Col. John Boyd would ask, is this the bullet that we want, and is this the rifle that we want to shoot it with?

     Are we on the right track, by trying to fit a new round into an old rifle system like the M-4?  Should we be designing a weapon around the bullet, or the bullet around the weapon?  I like the ergonomics of the M-4, but is this a good idea to limit ourselves on the bullet, just because we want to save money on weapon design?  Or perhaps we should just start from scratch, and go with the best rifle that is designed around the best bullet for the job.  My personal opinion is to throw out doctrine and build that ’snowmobile’, to get that round and rifle that we want.

    And if you talk with others out there about what guys want, they want a hard hitting and accurate round.  They want something that is going to put that bad guy down with one shot or rip a limb off when it hits them.  They want something that will be hard hitting beyond the 300 meter point, as well as accurate at all the pertinent ranges.  They also want a rifle that is ergonomic, lightweight, requires little maintenance, is easy to clean and fix, is tough, and will last awhile.  They want a rifle that can operate in all conditions and will work when they need it most.  A tall order, but not impossible to come up with.

    But if I had to choose between the rounds being evaluated right now, my personal opinion is that I like the 6.5 Grendel.  I want an accurate round that can hit hard at all ranges, and not just up to the 300 meter ranges.  Where as both rounds are sufficient, the 6.5 sounds like a better designed bullet for this.

    The other thing to remember is that both rounds were ham-stringed by the fact that they both had to be the same length as the 5.56mm.  The reason is cost.  Both of these rounds could be fed into an M-4 type platform with moderate modification to the original weapon.  But like I said, what would Boyd say?  Are we putting a ‘pretty bow’ on a shitty round, or are you getting the bullet that we want?  And are we getting the rifle that we want, that can shoot this round?  Things to ponder, as the war continues.  -Head Jundi

6.8 mm Remington SPC (Left) as compared to the 5.56×45mm NATO cartridge (Right)

6.8 mm Remington SPC

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Type Rifle

Place of origin Flag of the United States United States

Production history

Designer Remington, SOCOM

Designed 2002-2004

Specifications

Parent case .30 Remington

Case type Rimless, bottlenecked

Bullet diameter 0.277 in (7.0 mm)

Neck diameter 0.298 in (7.6 mm)

Shoulder diameter 0.402 in (10.2 mm)

Base diameter 0.421 in (10.7 mm)

Rim diameter 0.422 in (10.7 mm)

Rim thickness 0.049 in (1.2 mm)

Case length 1.676 in (42.6 mm)

Overall length 2.315 in (58.8 mm)

Ballistic performance

Bullet weight/type Velocity Energy

115 gr (7.5 g) (7.45g) 2,625 ft/s (800 m/s) 1,759 ft·lbf (2,385 J)

Test barrel length: 24 in (609.6 mm)

   This little guy has been around for awhile, but I figured I would give it some attention on FJ.  I own one, and they are awesome.  If you shoot a lot, this little device will save your fingers and make loading and unloading magazines way easier and faster.  

    It is great for contracting too.  Especially if you have to unload all of your truck magazines before a mission, so you can inspect and clean them, and then reload them fast so you can focus on other stuff.  A little gadget like this, can make those big tasks way easier and certainly faster.  

   Butler Creek also makes a pistol LULA, and that works pretty good too.  It takes a little more getting used to though, but will still save your fingers and cut down on loading time, if you have to load a ton of magazines.  Good piece of gear.  -Head Jundi   

Butler Creek Website 

Magazine loader & unloader (US Patent 6,810,616)

The LULA™ loader & unloader is a military quality personal magazine loader and unloader. It facilitates both loading of loose rounds into a magazine and unloading them out of the magazine. It does so fast, safely, comfortably and painlessly. Usable for tens-of-thousands rounds.

AR-15 / M-16  LULA™ loader is made to fit plastic and metal 5.56mm (.223rem) AR-15 / M-16 type magazines, as:

• USGI mags. (NATO STANAG 4179) 

• Thermold

• Orlite

• CMAG (both loads and unloads !)

And this is a great little review of the Nightforce optic by Doug. If you are looking for an alternative to a Schmidt and Bender, this would be a good choice. Good stuff all around. -Head Jundi

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The bottom scope is the 2.5-10x NXS, the top scope is the 1-4x NXS.

Nightforce 2.5-10x with NP-R2 Reticle

By Doug

This optic fits perfectly with any RECCE / SPR type rifle. It is not a dedicated sniper scope. A sniper scope has exposed elevation & windage knobs for quick adjustment.

The Nightforce adjustment knobs are under protective covers. They do a great job of keeping the scope on target while it is getting banged around on your gear. The click adjustments are positive. Even with gloves on, it is easy to feel the clicks while adjusting windage.The numbers on the knobs are large and printed white on black background. They are easy to see.

The NP-R2 reticle is designed for hold over/ hold under shooting. It took a little getting used to but I’ve learned to really love it. Basically you have your main cross hair with various hash marks on the vertical and horizontal bars. If you sight in the scope at 300 yards there are enough hash marks to take you from 0 yards - 800 yards.

The added benefit is that its easy to use multiple ammo types with this scope. I would advise making a small 3×5 notebook with your rifle data in it, and take it with you to the range or where ever. You can list on each page the correct hold over / hold under for 55 gr, 62 gr and 77 gr rounds, so it’s a breeze to switch ammo. Just open up the correct page and look at your notes.

     I know some of you might be grumbling about posting Bushmaster stuff, but the reality of the matter is that a ton of companies out there issue the Bushmaster AR to their folks.  You might get lucky, and get a Colt issued, but for the most part, it is Bushmasters for everyone(cost is attractive to the companies out there). 

     If you are really lucky, you might actually work for a company that will hook you up with a LWRC, Lewis Machine and Tool, or HK.  I personally own a Bushmaster, and it does the job I need it for at home(training and plinking).  It is not my dream weapon, but cost is an issue for me.  Well, back to the topic.

     This is a cool little upgrade for your Bushmaster.  It is a new product, and the concept is interesting and this is the trend of today’s AR evolution.  So if you cannot afford a POF, LWRC, or an HK piston upper for your system, you could buy this thing.  

     As for benefits, this thing runs cooler and will require less maintenance.  And I believe you could operate it, after it was dunked in water, which is the benefit of a piston type system like this.  But like I said, this product is too new, to really give it a thumbs up or down.  I will look forward to the second and third generations of this thing, and for the price to go down in the future.  I believe these kits will flood the market, and the technology will certainly be refined over time.