Notes: This weapon is described by Alexander Arms, the manufacturer, as a "large caliber carbine." It is a highly-modified AR-15 firing a proprietary round called the .50 Beowulf; this round was made to fit in existing AR-15/M-16 series magazines with only slight modifications. The rifle was designed based on recommendations from US special operations soldiers after experience in Afghanistan, and combat tested in small numbers by them in Afghanistan and Iraq. The rifle is basically an AR-15 lower receiver built to stronger standards, along with a new upper receiver and collapsible stock. The upper receiver uses a Picatinny Rail instead of the normal carrying handle. The muzzle has a massive pepperpot-type muzzle brake.

Twilight 2000 Notes: This weapon does not exist in the Twilight 2000 timeline.

Notes: This is another development of the AR-15 series by Alexander Arms. Again, the modifications to existing AR-15s basically consist of replacing the upper receiver and barrel unit with a new one of Alexander Arms manufacture. It was designed to address shortcomings in the 5.56mm NATO round, by replacing the round with a new one which has superior ballistics and stopping power. As with the Beowulf, the Grendels the US military is rumored to be testing have a collapsible stock, MIL-STD-1913 rail instead of a carrying handle, and a muzzle brake to reduce felt recoil. Civilian versions do not have the MIL-STD-1913 rail or the muzzle brake, nor do they normally have a bipod.

Twilight 2000 Notes: The Grendel does not exist in the Twilight 2000 timeline.

Notes: The AR-10 is the direct ancestor of the AR-15/M-16 series of rifles, built to compete for the standard US service rifle with the likes of the M-14 and AR-10, and losing out to the M-14 primarily due to politics rather than any real shortcoming of the weapon (of which there were many). The AR-10 itself had a rather inglorious career as a military rifle; it was almost a year too late for the weapons trials that eventually produced the M-14, was rejected by even the special operations troops of most countries, suffered in its early forms from burst barrels, and was bought in semi-large numbers only by Sudan, and Sudan’s troops largely rejected it and they mostly went into storage for decades. Starting in the early 1990s, there was a revival of sorts for the AR-10, this time in civilian semiautomatic form; these versions have had far more success than the original version. The original AR-10 has a 20-inch barrel tipped with a flash suppressor.

There are number of modern AR-10 clones that have been popping up as of late. These versions are mostly made by Eagle Arms, a division of Armalite. The AR-10B was the first of these clones, introduced in 1996; it was introduced in 7.62mm NATO caliber, with a .243 Winchester version was introduced in 1998, and in 2004, a version firing .300 Remington Short Action Magnum was put on the market.

The AR-10B is closely-based on the original AR-10B, but the parts are made of more modern materials and manufacturing methods. Emphasis has been given to functionality, reliability, and parts commonality with the AR-15/M-16 series as well as the M-15 series (Armalite’s improved version of the AR-15/M-16 series). They use forged aircraft aluminum upper and lower receivers, a firing pin spring to prevent firing if dropped or bumped, and modifications to allow the AR-10B to use the more powerful loads available today. The AR-10B can use original AR-10 magazines, modified M-14 magazines, and magazines built by Armalite for AR-10B use. The AR-10B, like the original AR-10, has no forward assist. AR-10Bs are equipped with compact muzzle brakes instead of flash suppressors, both for control and to comply with the Assault Weapons Ban, which was still in effect at the time of their introduction. Civilian and police models do not have bayonet mounts. The AR-10A2 was designed specifically for civilians, is locked on semiautomatic and cannot be fired on automatic, and does not come in a .300 RSAUM version. A carbine version of the AR-10A2 is new as of 2006; it is essentially the same as a standard AR-10A2, but uses a 16-inch barrel, a sliding M-4-type stock, and can be had in an optional flattop version with a MIL-STD-1913 rail. The AR-10A4 is basically identical to the AR-10A2, but the carrying handle is deleted from the upper receiver as is the front sight, and the gas block shape is modified. This allows for the mounting of a full-length MIL-STD-1913 rail. The AR-10A4 LE (Law Enforcement) carbine is designed for SRT-type teams; it uses a flash suppressor instead of a muzzle brake, and the handguards have four-position MIL-STD-1913 rails. The AR-10A4 LE uses a collapsible stock, and it may be had in semiautomatic or full-automatic versions. In all these cases, the standard barrel length is 20 inches, though carbine versions with 18-inch barrels are also made; in the case of the AR-10A4 LE, a version with a 16-inch barrel is also made.

The AR-10(T) version of the AR-10 has a heavy match barrel, no flash suppressor, rounded, fluted, free-floating handguards, and a MIL-STD-1913 rail for use with any sort of sight or optic. (There are no iron sights sold with the AR-10(T), though they can be mounted on the MIL-STD-1913 rail.) The lower receiver is basically a larger version of the AR-15 lower receiver. The AR-10(T) uses a 24-inch heavy match barrel with a target-crowned muzzle instead of a flash suppressor or muzzle brake. It uses round aluminum handguards instead of AR-15-type handguards. The AR-10(T) is equipped with a lightweight folding bipod adjustable for height and cant.

When the US Army began looking for a SASS (Semiautomatic Sniper System), Armalite responded by developing the AR-10 SASS. This version was to be used as a tactical sniper weapon by the spotter member of a sniper team. The SASS is quite similar to the AR-10A4, but also has three other MIL-STD-1913 rails at the 3, 6, and 9-o’clock positions on the handguards, a free-floating heavy SST 24-inch barrel, a Harris bipod adjustable for cant and height, flip-up/removable front and rear iron sights as well as a Leupold scope, a Magpul stock with an adjustable cheekpiece and buttplate, and a screw-off flash suppressor which can also take a silencer or suppressor. The AR-10 SASS was not selected by the US Army, but Armalite decided to sell them on the civilian and international markets starting in the 3^rd quarter of 2006, calling it the AR-10 SuperSASS. Though perhaps more appropriate in the Sniper Rifles section, it is included here for completeness.

The AR-10T (not to be confused with the AR-10(T)), introduced in 2008, is chambered for the new .338 Federal cartridge. It is based on the AR-10A4, and as such has a full-length MIL-STD-1913 rail above the upper receiver and handguards. The barrel is 22 inches, made of stainless steel, and has no flash suppressor or muzzle brake (though is does have a target crown). The barrel is free-floating and match-quality. The stainless steel gas block is massive, and doubles as a front sight base for the flip-up Midwest Industries front sight. A flip-up rear sight made by the same company is also included.

Twilight 2000 Notes: The AR-10A4, AR-10 SuperSASS, and AR-10T do not exist in the Twilight 2000 timeline. The AR-10A2 is very rare, but the AR-10A2 Carbine does not exist as such in manufactured form, though some such modifications have been done after the fact. The AR-10A4 LE Carbine also does not exist, except in forms modified from actual AR-10A4s, and the AR-10 SuperSASS is also absent from the Twilight 2000 timeline. The original AR-10 is a rather rare commodity in the Twilight 2000 timeline, merely because few serviceable copies exist by 2000.

Notes: The Bushmaster .308 moniker encompasses a number of related rifles that are based on the AR-15/M-16 series of rifles. These rifles can be had in 16-inch or 20-inch barrel lengths, in flattop configuration with a MIL-STD-1913 rail or with a carrying handle, and with either an AK-74-style muzzle brake or the more effective "Izzy" muzzle brake. They can have skeletonized stocks or standard AR-15-style stocks. All of them come with 10 or 20-round magazines (depending upon whether they are sold to civilians or police/military), but all can feed from any FAL-type magazine. Flattop versions are generally referred to as Bushmaster A3’s, while those with carrying handles are called A2’s. "Izzy" style brakes are, for the time being, paired with skeletonized stocks, while AK-74-style brakes are paired with standard stocks.

Twilight 2000 Notes: This weapon does not exist.

Notes: The Bushmaster .450 began with US military forces in Iraq needing a more powerful weapon for CQB, but allowing for the "muscle memory" of troops used to the M-16/M-4 series. Bushmaster and Tim LeGendre of LeMag Firearms worked together to produce an AR-15 derivative that fired a modified version of LeGendre’s .45 Professional round, called the .450 Bushmaster round. The idea was to produce a round that had good short-range penetration and damage while still providing decent damaging effects at short range. Another part of the design was to produce a weapon that could deal with car bombers by disabling their vehicles with powerful small arms fire. For civilian use, the .450 Bushmaster is quite capable of one-shot stops versus any North American or European big game.

The Bushmaster .450 is essentially built on a highly-modified Bushmaster AR-type base. The Bushmaster .450 uses a 16 or 20-inch free-floating barrel that is noticeably wider, tipped by a slotted muzzle brake. The upper receiver is a flattop, with a full-length MIL-STD-1913 rail; the handguards also have three more rails. DPMS Mangonel folding iron sights are included as backups. The Bushmaster .450 can be had with a variety of stocks and pistol grips, but a folding or collapsible stock is not presently among the selections. Current magazines are based on 20-round AR-15/M-16 magazines, but larger ones are being devised.

Twilight 2000 Notes: The Bushmaster .450 does not exist in the Twilight 2000 timeline.

Notes: In the 1930’s, the FBI was finding out that the Thompson submachineguns issued to FBI agents as heavy weapons were incapable, in many cases, of penetrating the heavy bodies of the cars of the period, especially from the front angles. They were interested in acquiring the Browning BAR, but the BAR was just too large and heavy for most FBI purposes. Therefore, the FBI has Colt redesign the BAR into a lighter weapon for them, and built about 90 of them for their agents, they saw little use, but one famous use was the team that took down Bonnie and Clyde; the Monitor was in the hands of a Texas Ranger named Frank Hamer. The Monitors were farmed out to various police agencies after that, though many were destroyed later on.

The basic receiver of the Monitor is virtually identical to that of the standard BAR, but stock is shortened, a pistol grip is fitted, the sights are designed for the shorter barrel of the Monitor, and the gas tube and operating rod is also redesigned. The muzzle brake, designed by Cutts, was specifically designed for the Monitor, and is huge. (Despite the compensator, the muzzle blast is massive, though it cuts recoil quite a bit.)

Notes: These rifles are basically 5.56mm DPMS Panthers that are "sized up" to fire 7.62mm NATO (.308 Winchester) ammunition. There are a number of versions, in some cases corresponding to their smaller-caliber counterparts.

The Panther Long Range 308 (LR-308) is greatly re-engineered to produce better accuracy. The company refers to it as a "precision rifle." The receiver is milled, rather than cast or stamped, and the entire rifle is much more robust than the normal AR-15-type rifle. The LR-308 is equipped with a MIL-STD-1913 rail that allows the mounting of virtually any sight or optics. The rail on the LR-308 is raised slightly to optimize it for telescopic sights. The barrel is a very heavy bull barrel that is 24 inches long. The LR-308 has no dust cover, no brass deflector, and no forward assist. The magazines that are sold with the LR-308 are see-through plastic. The LR-308 B 18 is similar, but uses an 18" barrel. The Panther LR-308 T 16 H-BAR is also similar, but uses a heavy free-floating barrel instead of a bull barrel, and it is a 16" barrel. The Panther LR-308C is similar in many ways to the LR-308 T 16 H-BAR, in that it is basically a long-range carbine variant of the .308 Panther, but it is a more militarized weapon able to use standard Panther 10-round magazines as well as 20-round magazines which are compatible with the FAL or AR-10, uses a flash suppressor, a heavy barrel, a flattop upper receiver with a MIL-STD-1913 rail, a dust cover and brass deflector a more snag-free design, a more snag-free design, and a 6-position composite folding stock. The rumor mill says the LR-308C is available in automatic form to qualified buyers, but I cannot confirm this. Nonetheless, I have included automatic stats below.

The Panther LR-300 is a different sort of beast, as it is much heavier than even the LR-308, and it fires .300 RSAUM ammunition instead of 7.62mm NATO. It uses a 20-inch fluted bull barrel, and a skeletonized stock to reduce the weight of the weapon somewhat. It is otherwise similar to the LR-308.

In mid-2006, DPMS introduced the Panther LR-260 rifle with a 24-inch barrel, and later followed it with the Panther LR-260H rifle with a 20-inch barrel. Both of these weapons fire the .260 Remington (6.5-08 A-Square) cartridge, and are based on the Panther LR-308. The LR-260 uses a bull barrel which is button-rifled, has a chromed bore, and made of stainless steel. Finish is primarily in various shades of matte black, and the LR-260 has sling swivels as standard; the forward sling swivel can used as a bipod mount. The top of the receiver has a MIL-STD-1913 rail, and the gas block also have very short rails of this sort suitable for use with tactical lights, laser aiming modules, bayonet mounts, and suchlike. There are no iron sights. The LR-260H is virtually identical except for its somewhat lighter 20-inch barrel which is tipped with a DPMS-designed flash suppressor. Both feed from proprietary magazines which are made of steel.

Twilight 2000 Notes: The LR-308C is not available in the Twilight 2000 timeline, nor are the two LR-260 rifles.

Notes: This is basically an American-made FAL, modified for civilian use. They range from almost-exact copies of real FN-made FALs (except for a semiautomatic sear) to versions with folding stocks, short barrels, or modified for some of more extreme antigun laws (such as California). The standard SA-58 looks just like a standard FAL, but is modified for semiautomatic fire only. The upper receiver is of blackened steel (though stainless steel is an option, and looks sharp), and the lower receiver is of blackened aircraft aluminum. The barrel is equipped with an FN-style flash suppressor, and the barrel has an attachment point for a bipod. (There is, of course, no attachment point for a bayonet.) The stock, handguard, and pistol grip are of reinforced fiberglass. Like most military rifles, the rear sight is adjustable for windage and the front post for elevation. Options for the SA-58 Standard include a handguard, pistol grip, and stock of walnut, a scope mount, a rubber recoil pad, a bipod, and a match-grade set trigger. The SA-58 Carbine is similar, but the barrel is either 16.25 or 18 inches, as opposed to the standard SA-58’s 21 inches. Also similar is the SA-58 Medium Contour, but the barrel is somewhat heavier (and called a medium contour barrel, hence the name). The SA-58 Bull Barrel has a heavy bull barrel for more accuracy and resistance to heat deformation, and the barrel is match-grade and free-floating. The pistol grip is the same style as that of the Minimi SAW instead of the standard FAL-type pistol grip. A MIL-STD-1913 rail is standard with the SA-58 Bull Barrel.

The SA-58 Predator is a civilian hunting variant of the SA-58, with no flash suppressor, a 16 or 19-inch medium contour barrel, green synthetic furniture, a MIL-STD-1913 rail for scope mounting, with backup iron sights, smaller magazines, and three choices of caliber. The SA-58 Graywolf is a modification of the Predator, finished in gray and black, with round ventilated handguards, a 21-inch match-grade bull barrel, a Minimi-style pistol grip, a Harris bipod, and a skeletonized stock.

The SA-58 Collector’s Series are rifles designed to look and function as much as possible the more unusual military FALs of the past. The SA-58 Congo is finished in black, with standard FAL-type furniture, and a standard 18-inch barrel. The barrel is equipped to accept a bipod. Being actually a civilian rifle, it is not able to take a bayonet. The SA-58 Para Congo is the same weapon, but is equipped with a folding stock. The G-1 FAL is a copy of the original German post-war battle rifle (the G-1, a German-made copy of the FAL), and has a 21-inch barrel, a wooden stock, a long flash suppressor (as opposed to the short Belgian-style flash suppressor), a black finish for all surfaces except the stock, a folding bipod, and even markings in German instead of English. In addition, the lower receiver is of steel instead of aluminum, as per the original G-1 version of the FAL. The SA-58 T-48 is an unusual version with a fixed magazines which is fed by stripper clips from the top, a walnut stock, pistol grip, and handguards, a 21-inch barrel, a long flash suppressor, and a black finish for the metalwork.

The Tactical Series is a line of SA-58s designed for police, military, and government agency use. They may be had in selective fire or semiautomatic versions, and typically have features not meant or legally available to the general public. The SA-58 Tactical Carbine (also known as the SA-58TAC) has a 16.25-inch fluted medium-contour barrel with an M-16-type flash suppressor, a MIL-STD-1913 rail above the upper receiver, a shortened gas system for increased reliability, a standard or skeletonized stock, and synthetic furniture, with the entire carbine having a black finish. The Limited Edition Tactical Carbine is similar, but is meant more for collectors who are legally allowed to possess such weapons; the receivers and the barrel are of stainless steel, with a medium-gray finish to the metalwork and furniture. This version uses a short muzzle brake instead of a flash suppressor. The SA-58 OSW uses a very short 11 or 13-inch barrel with an M-16-type flash suppressor, a MIL-STD-1913 rail atop the weapon, four-position MIL-STD-1913 rails on the handguard, a standard or folding stock, and a Minimi-type pistol grip.

The SA-58 SPR is a member of the Tactical Series was originally designed in response to the US Army’s SASS competition; though it lost that competition, it is still offered for sale by DSA. The SPR has a fully-adjustable gas system to allow the SPR to get the most out of the rifle regardless of what ammunition is used or the dirt conditions. The 19-inch heavy 19-inch barrel is match-quality and fluted to reduce weight and increase cooling, and tipped by a flash suppressor. The Speed Trigger is designed for easy adjustment (by an armorer), quick follow-up shots, and smooth action. The SPR has four-point MIL-STD-1913 rails, with the upper rail being continuous with the MIL-STD-1913 rail atop the receiver. The SPR has flip-up iron sights front and rear. The stock not only folds to the right, but is adjustable for length of pull and has an adjustable cheekpiece. The buttplate is also adjustable for angle and has a recoil pad. The pistol grip of the SPR is the same as used on the M-249 SAW rather than a standard SA-58 or FAL pistol grip. The SPR is a sniper rifle, but is included here for completeness.

There are also "California" models of almost all these weapons (except the Tactical Series and the G-1 FAL); these have no flash suppressor of any kind, no bipod lugs, no carrying handles, and are limited to special 10-round magazines; they are otherwise identical to their parent models.

Twilight 2000 Notes: Most of these rifles are available in the Twilight 2000 timeline; however, the "California" models are not.

Notes: This is basically an Enfield No 2 (Pattern ’14) Rifle rebarreled for .30-06 Springfield ammunition. This was done to address an urgent World War 1 need for rifles and the resulting shortfall of M-1903s. Almost 2 million were used by US troops during World War 1, and they went into storage after that war. Nearly 120,000 were sent to England during World War 2 to equip their Home Guard, where they were painted with a red band around the stock to distinguish them from No 2 Rifles. After 1946, most of these rifles were sold to US target shooters and hunters. This is the weapon that Sergeant Alvin York used to such great effect in World War I when winning his Medal of Honor; it was, in fact, more commonly issued to US combat arms troops in World War 1 than the M-1903.

Notes: This weapon, normally known as the EBR (Enhanced Battle Rifle) is a heavily modified M-14 designed primarily for special operations use, and particularly, US Navy SEALs. The wooden stock and fore-end are removed; the stock is replaced with Sage’s Enhanced Battle Rifle Stock, a lightweight aluminum alloy adjustable stock designed to reduce weight, yet provide a stable platform. This stock includes an adjustable cheekpiece and an adjustable-length butt. It is also a straight-in-line stock, which helps tame barrel climb. The action also sits lower in the new stock, further reducing barrel climb. The EBR is equipped with a handguard, and this handguard is of the wrap-around variety, synthetic, and equipped with four MIL-STD-1913 rails for the mounting of various equipment. The side and bottom rails are half the length of the handguard, while the top rail is full length for better mounting of optics; in addition, this rail joins to a rail on top of the receiver. The barrel is free-floating to enhance accuracy. There are backup iron sights, but the EBR is really meant to be used with various optics and telescopic sights. The parts are basically redone; and fitted to very tight tolerances. The barrel is tipped by a Vortex muzzle brake/flash suppressor. The weapon is equipped with an effective and lightweight bipod designed by Keng’s Firearms Specialty. The traditional charging handle has been replaced with one similar to that of the M-16/AR-15/M-4 series, and also has a bolt hold-open device similar to those rifles. The trigger is two stage and match quality. As with the M-4 SOPMOD, the EBR may be equipped with a staggering amount of accessories; in game terms, the player may choose up to $300 of accessories when he takes this rifle, and they are included in the cost of the weapon. The result of all this is that the EBR bears almost no outward resemblance to the parent M-14. The EBR is rumored to have been battle-tested satisfactorily in Iraq and Afghanistan, though this has not been confirmed.

Notes: The PTR-91 series are clones of the Heckler & Koch HK-91 (a civilian variant of the G-3). When the Brady Gun Bill provisions ended, there was considerable demand for H&K to resume sales to the US of the HK-91; unfortunately, during the time the Brady Gun Bill was in effect, H&K had sold the tooling and technical data to a Portuguese company who basically did nothing with them. That, combined with the currently poor exchange rate between the US dollar and the Euro means that H&K has no plans to resume production of the HK-91. JLD bought a copy of the technical diagrams and the tooling from the Portuguese company, and with the help from a long-time employee of H&K (and, it is rumored, Heckler & Koch itself), they reproduced the HK-91 to an astounding degree, differing only in minor details (which some say are actually improvements). In fact, HK-91 parts will fit the PTR-91 series, and vice versa. H&K and CETME magazines will fit into a PTR-91, though JLD also makes its own magazines.

JLD currently makes three variants of the PTR-91: the standard PTR-91, equal to the standard HK-91; the PTR-91A1, a heavy-barreled match rifle with a longer barrel, better sights, an interface for a scope mount, and a target-crown for its barrel instead of a flash suppressor; and the PTR-91KP, which is basically a standard PTR-91 with a sliding stock. The rifles are usually finished in black or green and are coated with Lauer DuraCoat, an extremely tough finish which is virtually weather and corrosion proof. Several camouflage patterns are also available as finishes.

Twilight 2000 Notes: These rifles are unavailable in the Twilight 2000 timeline.

Notes: The roots of the M-1941 actually go back to 1934, before World War 2. Near the end of the development of the M-1 Garand, a young US Marine lieutenant observing the testing process did recommend that the Marines adopt the M-1, but with the caveat that he believed that the clang of the clip when the last round was fired would become a liability, that the inability of the M-1’s clip to be topped off was another liability, and that he did not believe that the M-1 Garand could be quickly and efficiently mass-produced. (In the first two respects, it did turn out that he was right.) This young Marine, 1^st Lieutenant Maynard Johnson, in the finest spirit of American inventiveness, decided to design a rifle to alleviate what he felt were the Garand’s flaws.

The M-1941 used recoil operation instead of the more complicated gas operation of the Garand. This allowed for a rifle with fewer parts and simpler construction and field stripping. The M-1941 proved to be adequate for accuracy, the operating system allowed for lower tolerances and proved more reliable in dirty conditions, was a considerably lighter weapon, had a greater magazine capacity, and the magazine, though internal, could be topped off at any time, either with chargers or by hand.

Unfortunately, the problems with the M-1941 began before World War 2, on the political side. Springfield, who designed the M-1 Garand, has a tremendous amount of pull with the Ordinance Board or the War Department, and didn’t want any sort of "interlopers" interfering with the adoption of the M-1 Garand or even supplementing it. Complaints by the Ordinance Board were many, ranging from cost to the fact that the M-1941 could not use the standard US Army bayonet to everything in between. This was happening even though shooters ranging from averages soldiers to match marksmen stated that the M-1 and M-1941 were at the least equal to each other.

However, with the US entry into World War 2, it was in fact quickly discovered that indeed M-1 Garand production could not be ramped up quickly enough to fill the demand. In addition, the US also needed to provide modern weapons for groups ranging from partisans in France and elsewhere to Allied forces whose troops had ended up here and there after their countries had been taken over by the Nazis or Japanese. The M-1941 was therefore put into limited service with USMC special operations units, particularly their parachutists. It was also used throughout World War 2 by the OSS and the partisans they were supplying, and by Dutch forces operating in the East Indies. The Australians used a small number of them, as did some resistance fighters here and there in the Pacific theater. There are also rumors that some small amounts of M-1941s were used by free French forces.

But all was not rosy with the M-1941. One of the problems with the M-1941 was its need for a non-standard bayonet, but this was considered a minor problem. A worse problem with the bayonet was that it essentially unbalanced the M-1941, degrading accuracy for most shooters. The M-1941 had a rather long part of its barrel which was exposed, not being inside the stock or a shroud, not otherwise being reinforced. This part of the barrel could and did get bent, especially during drops by ParaMarines. Though the ability to top off a magazine was appreciated, charging using the standard 5-round stripper clip of the time was quite difficult; the end of the clip did not quite fit into the M-1941. The Marines replaced them with M-1 Garands and even M-1 Carbines as they became available; the major users of the M-1941 actually turned out to be the Dutch. Total M-1941 production was about 70,000. The Johnson enjoyed brief popularity on the civilian market after World War 2, but is now a collectors' item. (Just trying to get spare parts for the M-1941 is a big problem.)

Notes: The RFB (Rifle Forward-ejection Bullpup) is one of Kel-Tec’s newest designs – and it’s attracted the attention of military, government, police, and civilians alike. Mass production is currently expected to begin in late 2007 or early 2008. The RFB’s primary designer is George Kellgren, who has been working on bullpup rifles since the early 1970s, when he designed the Interdynamics MKR (see the Best Assault Rifles that Never Were pages).

Though the RFB uses short-stroke gas piston operation, it also uses a floating linkage bar to avoid the typically creepy trigger pull that characterizes many bullpup weapons. The RFB also includes a manual gas regulator, to allow the shooter to compensate for dirt, fouling, and climate. Controls are fully ambidextrous. The barrel is sort of "semi-free-floating" – a little over a half of the barrel is used as a framework around which much of the rifle is constructed, with the remaining barrel being truly free-floating. Case ejection uses two extractors; one gets the case out of the chamber, and the other pushes it into the ejection chute. Cases are not actually ejected from the chute itself until another case enters the ejection chute, the rifle is manually-cycled, or the weapon is pointed downwards. (Personal note: This just sounds screwy and malfunction-prone to me…) Construction is of steel, light alloy, and polymer, and the receiver is topped with a decent length of MIL-STD-1913 rail for the mounting of sights and/or optics. (The RFB itself has no integral iron sights.)

Three versions of the RFB are made, with barrel lengths of 18, 24, and 32 inches. Originally, these versions were to be called the Battle, Hunter, and Sniper versions respectively, but to avoid possible knee-jerk reactions from the US Congress and the anti-gun lobby, Kel-Tec changed the names of the versions to Carbine, Sporter, and Target. (In addition to the very long barrel, the Target model has no flash suppressor, has a heavier barrel, uses an adjustable trigger which can be adjusted for weight of pull between 2-6 pounds [in 5 increments], and is equipped with a lightweight Harris-type folding bipod). Currently, the RFB is chambered for 7.62mm NATO, and feed is from FN FAL magazines.

Kel-Tec indicates that the RFB may, in the future, be produced in different calibers; 7.62mm Kalashnikov, 6.8mm SPC, 6.5mm Grendel, and 5.56mm NATO have been mentioned, and just for the heck of it, I have put stats below for these chamberings. In addition, the rumored non-civilian interest in the RFB means that automatic versions of the RFB may be made, and I have included stats to that effect as well. Please note that the stats for anything but a semiautomatic, 7.62mm NATO RFB is at this point both a guess and fictional.

Twilight 2000 Notes: The RFB does not exist in the Twilight 2000 timeline.

Notes: The US Military was watching virtually every country in Europe switch to bolt-action magazine-fed rifles, and realized that their single-shot rifles (both bolt-action and breechloading) were now obsolete, and that their lever-action rifles were difficult to cycle when the shooter was in the prone position. In 1890, the War Department began inviting a number of small arms manufacturers, both domestic and foreign, to offer designs to replace their single-shot rifles. One of those manufacturers was Krag-Jorgensen who offered five variations of the Gevaer m/89 with differing levels of customization to suit US military preferences. These customizations ranged from simple rechambering of the Gevaer m/89 to the .30-40 cartridge (and Krag-Jorgensen also tried to get the US Military interested in a new .30 caliber cartridge they had developed) to versions that were not only rechambered for .30-40, but also had a number of improvements of their own design and some borrowed from Mauser rifles. In the end, the War Department approved the Krag #5 entry, which became the M-1892.

Though the M-1892 was in fact approved (and committed to) in 1892, issue of these rifles did not begin until 1894. This was done while the War Department conducted extensive mock testing of rifles made by American small arms manufacturers, more to humor them than anything else. (This just shows that extensive waste of money by the US government is nothing new.) Limited production began on 1 January 1894, but full-scale production was not approved until 6 October of the same year, with the Springfield Armory manufacturing the M-1892 under a license from Krag-Jorgensen.

The M-1892 used a straight-grip walnut stock with gripping grooves in the fore-end just ahead of the receiver, and the handguard extended to a point about 3 inches before the muzzle at the front barrel band. The nose cap was steel-jacketed, with a ring to facilitate stacking arms. Beneath the nose cap was a lug for a Swiss-designed sword-type bayonet, also manufactured in the US under license and called the M-1892 bayonet. The butt was originally flat, but this was changed to a rounded butt in 1895. 1896 introduced 40 minor (and mostly inconsequential) changes to the M-1892; however, most of the earlier M-1892s never got all of the "improvements" since production of a new version of the M-1892 also began at the end of 1896 which incorporated all these changes and a few more. The M-1892 used a 30-inch barrel with the then-new 4-groove concentric rifling, and the rifle was aimed using a tangent-leaf sight (which had no provision for windage adjustments) and a high front blade sight. The magazine of the M-1892 opened downward, but not far enough that the rounds put into it could fall out before the pan could be closed. One of changes made in 1896 moved the cleaning rod compartment from the handguard to a butt compartment, which in turn required the introduction of a sectional cleaning rod and also gave more room for cleaning supplies. The aforementioned M-1896 version had all of those minor modifications, plus the butt trap for a cleaning kit and a slightly-modified rear sight (which still had no windage adjustment); however, except for the weight, the M-1896 is identical to the M-1892 for game purposes. Another variant of the M-1892 design was the M-1896 Cadet Rifle; this version (of which only 400 were built) changed back to a full-length cleaning rod and moved it back to a space inside the handguard. Sling swivels were not added until 1900, and in 1902 the rear sight was replaced with a "Buffington" tangent-leaf sight designed for use with cartridges loaded with more modern propellants and spitzer-type bullets. This sight could be folded down to allow the use of a close-range peep sight, and the sight was somewhat capable of windage adjustments by loosening the sight’s retaining screw and sliding the whole sight to the left or right. This rifle also shoots the same as the M-1892 for game purposes.

The only really major revision of the M-1892 series was approved for issue in 1898 (and called, of course, the M-1898 Rifle). The construction of the bolt mechanism, receiver, and the loading pan were all greatly simplified, and the bolt was turned downward. When the bolt handle was forward, it fit into a groove in the receiver to help ensure positive locking. At first, the M-1898 used a Dickinson-pattern rear tangent-leaf sight that was drift-adjustable and had a screw on the slider of the elevation bar to lock down the bar once it was set correctly. At about the same time, a new .30-40 cartridge using modern (for the time) propellants and a spitzer bullet were introduced for use on the M-1898, and the extended range was also accounted-for on the Dickenson sight. Early production versions also used a bolt handle with a hooked end instead a knob, but this was replaced with a more conventional bolt handle in 1900 due to troop complaints. Also in 1900, a magazine cut-off (an early form of magazine safety) was added. Unfortunately, use of the new version of the .30-40 cartridge revealed a serious design flaw – the rather lightweight bolt, designed for the older, lower-power version of the .30-40, tended rather quickly to end up with broken-off locking lugs. For whatever reason, the War Department decided that it was better for the US Military to switch back to the older version of the .30-40 than strengthen the bolt to allow use of more modern cartridges. This decision in turn required a new sight (the Burlington sight mentioned above) to be retrofitted to already-existing M-1898s until Dickenson could perfect a sight for the older ammunition – after which the existing M-1898s again had to have their sights replaced. (In game terms, if a shooter fires newer .30-40 ammunition from an unmodified M-1898, give the shooter a 1% cumulative chance per magazine fired for the bolt lugs to break, making the rifle inoperable until the bolt can be fixed or replaced. On the other hand, increase range by 10%.) Long after the M-1898 left US Military service, a lot of gunsmiths replaced the original bolts with stronger ones in order to use modern versions of the .30-40, but that’s another story…Other than all that, the M-1898 shoots the same as the M-1892 for game purposes.

An odd and rare variant of the M-1898 was fitted with a modified magazine and was loaded from the top using stripper clips. This version of the M-1898 was developed as an experiment by the War Department, and only 100 such modifications were made. None of them were ever issued to any regular Army troops. Other than the quicker reloading, this version of the M-1898 is identical to the standard M-1898 for game purposes.

Experiments with carbine and short rifle versions of the M-1892 started almost immediately, with Springfield producing a limited number of carbines in 1893 for trials. These carbines, having no official designation (I simply call them "M-1892 Carbine" in this entry), used 22-inch barrels, used a sectional cleaning rod and kit carried in a butt trap, added a saddle ring on the left side of the wrist, and deleted the bayonet lug. This led to the first official carbine version, the M-1896 Carbine. The M-1896 carbine had a stock with a somewhat thinner wrist than the standard stocks of the M-1892 series, with the butt trap for a cleaning rod and supplies. The saddle ring was moved to a position above trigger guard, the handguard was shortened to a little less than half-length (which also left a rather long length of exposed barrel, and no bayonet lug was fitted. The barrel was 22 inches long; the rear sight was virtually identical to that of its rifle counterpart (though for some reason, it actually calibrated for slightly longer ranges than that of the rifle). In 1899, the stocks were replaced with the same type of stock used on the M-1899 carbine (below). The M-1896 was actually used as official military weapons longer than any other of the M-1892 series; they were issued to US Militia troops (a forerunner of today’s National Guard) in 1901 and used by the Militia until almost World War 1, and some 9000 M-1896 Carbines were sold to the Cuban Guardia Rurales in 1912, and some may even be still in use today (though probably by civilians). The M-1898 Carbine was supposed to be an M-1896 for use with newer .30-40 cartridges, and had the same action and receiver as the M-1898 rifle – along with the same defects that made use of the new version of the .30-40 impractical. In 1900, they also began to be retrofitted with the M-1899 Carbine-style stock as well as new sights properly calibrated for use with the short barrel. About 100 were also experimentally fitted with the same Parkhurst & Warren clip-loading system as used on the M-1898 Rifle experiments; though these experiments with the clip-loading system were successful, the Springfield M-1903 rifle was already in development at this time and the War Department felt no need to continue the experiments.

The M-1898 quickly morphed into the M-1899 Carbine; this version was close in design to the M-1898, except for a number of modifications and improvements. The stock was nearly the same as that of the M-1898, but the handguard was 3 inches longer. The original rear sight for the M-1899 was identical to that of the M-1896 Carbine, but that sight was replaced by the Buffington-style rear sight used on the M-1896 in 1902. Other modifications in 1902 included a reshaped handguard to give the shooter a better grip and a movable fairing to protect the rear sight when put into a saddle scabbard. (For game purposes the M-1896 and M-1898 Carbines shoot the same as the M-1892 Carbine; the M-1899 Carbine is heavier and has a little less recoil.)

A few special versions of the M-1892 Rifle series were also built. In 1902, the War Department ordered a test of a modified version, which was given the long-winded name of Board of Ordnance and Fortification Rifle, 1902 (though it is sometimes referred to – incorrectly – as the M-1902 Short Rifle). This was an experiment to produce a short rifle for infantrymen, and had a 26-inch barrel and a special tangent-leaf rear sight capable of finer adjustments than any of the other sights used on the M-1892 Rifle series. The use of a lug for the M-1892 sword bayonet was retained. Though the infantrymen doing the field testing were very enthusiastic about this short rifle, the tests were terminated only a few months later, since Springfield had the M-1903 almost perfected. All of these short rifles were converted from standard M-1892 Rifles, with only 100 such modifications being made.

In M-1906, almost 10,000 older M-1892 Rifles were modified into what was eventually called the M-1899 Philippine Constabulary Rifle, though the first 350 actually went to cadets at Girard College in Philadelphia. The Philippine Constabulary Rifle was primarily issued to Filipino Militia units, and were shortened in length to fit the smaller stature of the average Filipino male at the time. Though the first batch were converted in the US, the vast majority of the modifications were done at the Manila Ordnance Depot. The barrel was cut to 22 inches, the rear sight was replaced with the same as used on the M-1896 Carbine, and Philippine Constabulary Rifle retained the bayonet lug for the M-1892 sword bayonet.

Altogether, the M-1892 series was standard US Military issue only for a little over a decade, replaced by the Springfield M-1903. The discarded members of the M-1892 series were offered to the NRA (with poor sales until after World War 1). Later, they were sold to civilians, who often over the years made a number of interesting variants of the M-1892 series. Many of these rifles are still in use today by civilian owners.

(Note: The statistics below assume the use of the lower-power, round-nosed M-1892 round, as it was discovered very quickly that the M-1892 series wasn’t strong enough to use more modern ammunition. Also, for game purposes, the experimental clip-fed versions are identical for game purposes to the standard rifles and carbines, except for their clip feeds.)

Notes: The LW-15 was originally designed for the US Coast Guard after the September 11 attacks; the Coast Guard suddenly found themselves in the anti-terrorist business, and knew their small arms were inadequate even for the counter-drug-smuggling role they were already fulfilling. The standard M-16A1 didn’t have the penetration to deal with the likes of speedboats and aircraft, and they could not use the newer M-855 Ball ammunition used by the rest of the armed forces.

At the same time, US Air Force security police were clamoring for a new rifle. They were often still using the likes of old M-16A1 and even old M-16s (model 01’s!), and didn’t really have anything that could penetrate vehicle engine blocks or stop aircraft from taking off if necessary. They were also traditionally the last members of the armed forces to receive new rifles.

After September 11, they were finally given the money necessary to update their equipment. The Coast Guard will receive the LW-15 first (they already have some of them), and the Air Force plans to start receiving them in late 2005.

The LW-15 is based on the M-16A2; the lower receiver is almost identical to that of the M-16A2, and in fact, Leitner-Wise makes an upper-receiver add-on (with a few other parts) to convert an M-16 to an LW-15. The magazines cannot be used with the new ammunition, and new, straight magazines were designed, along with a high-capacity drum. To allow the LW-15 to be used in different roles, three types of ammunition and three different types of LW-15 are to be eventually fielded. The three types of ammunition offer low, medium, and high-penetration, and the three types of LW-15 are the standard LW-15 rifle, the LW-15 DMR (Designated Marksman Rifle), with a long barrel, and the LW-15 CQB (Close-Quarters Battle), with an abbreviated barrel. All have a MIL-STD-1913 rail on top for optics or accessories.

Twilight 2000 Notes: This weapon does not exist.