Type 85: China's Special Forces SMG (Regular and Silenced Versions)

Gearhead Guns is producing a Type 100 Nambu PCC recreation, with the first batch shipping around March. It's available in 9mm Parabellum with 9-inch or 16-inch barrel configurations for SBR compliance. Customization options include various metal and wood finishes, with optional bayonet lugs.

This review compares the iconic WWII submachine guns, the German MP-40 and Soviet PPSh-41. While the MP-40 offers better ergonomics and a slower, more controllable rate of fire favored by beginners, the PPSh-41 excels in raw firepower with higher velocity and capacity. Both have distinct design philosophies, with the MP-40 prioritizing portability for troops and the PPSh-41 focusing on mass production and effectiveness.

This comparison between the MP-40 and PPSh-41 highlights differing design philosophies. John Keene favors the MP-40 for its ergonomics and adaptations for higher magazine capacity, while Ian McCollum prefers the PPSh-41 for its high rate of fire and semi-auto selector. Both speakers acknowledge the controllability of their preferred weapon despite its characteristics.

The CZ 247 is an experimental Czechoslovakian SMG from the late 1940s, featuring a unique rotating magazine well for versatile shooting positions and an integrated stripper clip guide for rapid reloading. It utilizes a progressive trigger for both semi-automatic and full-automatic fire without a selector switch. Despite its innovative design, it saw limited commercial success and export.

This review showcases the Heckler & Koch MP5A2 submachine gun, demonstrating its operation with PMC Bronze 9mm Luger ammunition. The video highlights the manual loading process, chambering a round, and switching the safety selector to semi-automatic. A shooting demonstration follows, featuring various angles and slow-motion footage of the action cycling, emphasizing the firearm's reliable performance.

The MP5SD is an integrally suppressed submachine gun that uses a ported barrel to slow 9mm rounds below the speed of sound, achieving exceptional quietness. While accurate and smooth due to its roller-delayed blowback system, it requires frequent maintenance due to carbon buildup. Its stealth capabilities are remarkable, with downrange reports being nearly imperceptible.

This video details the unique 'French Finger Trap' issue with the MAS-36 rifle's bayonet, where two rifles can become unintentionally locked together. A 1951 French arsenal memorandum identified this problem, proposing a simple modification to the bayonet handle. Drilling a small hole allows a tool, like a firing pin, to depress the internal spring, enabling the separation of locked rifles.

The M134 Minigun is a scaled-down 7.62 NATO rotary cannon, requiring 24V DC power and consuming 1.5 kW. Its high rate of fire (3,000+ RPM) is essential for aircraft engagement windows. The complex delinker mechanism is critical for feeding ammunition, and practical hand-held use is impossible due to weight and recoil. Live fire demonstrates rapid ammunition consumption and the need for indirect aiming.

The H&K G11 is a revolutionary prototype assault rifle designed in the late 20th century, notable for its caseless ammunition and unique rotating drum bolt mechanism. Despite advanced features like a 2000 RPM burst fire rate and integrated optics, its development was ultimately halted by geopolitical shifts and cost concerns.

This video demonstrates the assembly and live-fire of the German 1936 pattern light mortar (L.Gr.W.36). It highlights the mortar's leveling mechanism for accuracy and the difficulty in visually tracking its 50mm projectiles after firing. The content showcases historical military hardware and its operational use.