News Brief – 10/18

California-based Witherell’s auction house doesn’t normally offer a lot of guns but the ones they did send to the block this month had a lot of connections. As in Prohibition-era mob connections. Part of Witherell’s package of items that formerly belonged to Alphonse “Scarface” Capone and his son, Albert Francis Capone, aka Sonny Capone, included a Colt Hammerless valued at $30,000 but sold for $242,000; and  “Sweetheart” an engraved Colt Government that was valued at $100K but ended up going for $1,040,600.

Maybe next time, leave the cannoli, and take the guns instead.

Some 20 years ago, Magnum Research, Inc., made a deal with a guy named Jim Tertin in Baxter, Minnesota (pop: 7,500) to make and market a huge single-action revolver, known today as the BFR— originally for “Baxter’s First Revolver.” Now, as the Biggest Finest Revolver, it is made in MRI’s Pillager, Minn. factory alongside Desert Eagles but is still offered in large-bore rifle chamberings like .45-70.

To celebrate two decades in making almost comically large wheelguns, MRI has released a limited edition (20 guns) run of 20th Anniversary BFRs, all in .45-70 with a full Octagon barrel and engravings. Because carpal tunnel.

HK debuted their Universal Self-loading Pistol in 1998 with 1911-esque controls on a polymer-framed hammer-fired semi-auto with double-stack mags. Best known as being the gun used on the cover of the first Rainbow Six game, it is kind of dated today now that HK has guns like the VP9 in their catalog.

With all that out in the open, nobody says the USP is unreliable, as the company recently gave some attention to a 9mm model that ate its way successfully through over 200,000 rounds, without any failure, without even changing the springs.

The word is that John T. Meyer, Jr. HK USA’s VP at the time, posed for the Rainbow Six photo in 1998 with a new HK USP.

SAAMI, the guys who recognize and set standards for ammo specs in the U.S., last week released new docs to help “clarify the interchangeability of certain ammunition in a specified firearm chamber and identify the names of equivalent and historical cartridges.”This includes:Generally Accepted Firearms and Ammunition Interchangeability – This document lists generally accepted alternate firearm/ammunition combinations which will generally allow for the safe firing of an alternate cartridge in a specified firearm chamber. There is also information on shotshell interchangeability and commercial vs. military standards.

Generally Accepted Cartridge and Chamber Names – This document lists equivalent/historical names for cartridges that are in common use.

Enjoy!

SilencerCo just released a modular can they say will work on everything from 17 Hornet to .460 Weatherby Magnum, specifically naming over 150 mainstream calibers that fall in between those two bookends.

The new Hybrid 46M is constructed of Titanium, Inconel, and 17-4 heat-treated stainless steel it can run a short (12-ounce, 5.78-inch) and long (15-ounce, 7.72-inch) configuration allowing use on pistols, carbines (think .300BLK), and full-sized rifles by swapping out mounts and front caps. Cost? $1100, plus stamp.They also released a very ASMR video of it at play.

Get the News Brief sent to you weekly.

We’re not big on filler, so our News Briefs get right to the point. Subscribe to have the latest industry news & reviews sent directly to you.