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Franklin Armory Reformation: It’s a Smoothbore 5.56. Maybe.

Chris Heuss - comments No comments

Do to some confusion, and ongoing confusion, we removed the original post and have reposted the post post-haste. I had the chance to shoot the Franklin Armory Reformation today. I snuck a peak down the barrel and didn’t see any rifling. For less information click here. We will know for sure tomorrow.

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Chris Heuss

Chris was born and raised in Austin, Tx where he still lives with his wife and son. Chris grew up exploring and surveying caves with his father for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. He is Co-Owner of Black Collar Arms.

0 thoughts on “Franklin Armory Reformation: It’s a Smoothbore 5.56. Maybe.”

  1. Damn.. I could not figure out how they did the non NFA thingy, but didn’t see that coming. Minute of barn?

    Barrel rifling was invented in 1498. So for several hundred years, we have known that smooth bores are less accurate. Stepping back in time?

    Given that pistols will do just about everything and SBR will do without the NFA crap, why loose accuracy to a smooth bore??

    Reply
    • Is the bore oval in cross-section, though? If done well, it seems like smoothbore wouldn’t have to *necessarily* mean inaccurate. I’d like to hear more here, especially since I don’t know a lot about the capabilities of oval bores, or what testing has been done with them in the past.

      Reply
    • “why loose accuracy to a smooth bore??”

      Think about it, Rabbi – Extreme velocity in close quarters.

      You get gas blow-by anyways in the rifling grooves, trade off that with the reduction in drag from the projectile not engaging the lands. Most barrel heating is rifling friction. Convert that energy into free velocity.

      Accuracy doesn’t matter at near arm’s length range. Extreme velocity does make for ugly wounds…

      Reply
  2. Both great looking boys with an excellent positive experience. If the chance presents itself to break bad, they will have an example of the good life to draw upon. Do I do this bad thing or do I want to go hunting again?
    Many times, getting along in life is simply saying yes and no at the right times.

    Reply
  3. Did the marketing guys even attempt to come up with a half-assed attempt at a value proposition for shooting a very light, very high velocity round out of a smooth bore?

    If you guys get one for T&E, shoot it in front of a high speed camera. I’d love to see how many centimeters the bullet gets before it starts tumbling wildly. My guess is 5-10cm.

    Reply
    • I am predicting that it was designed for heavy .223, 100 gr neighborhood. I bet its way more accurate than people expect. If we can’t get a T&E I will find a way to buy one.

      Reply
  4. A source would be nice. I assumed it was because of the binary trigger. The trigger does NOT shoot one round down a rifled barrel with one pull of the trigger. It shoots one round on trigger break and one on reset so not a rifle and not an automatic.

    Reply
    • The trigger set up wouldn’t affect the NFA definition for an SBR though. A binary trigger would just make it an SBR with a binary trigger. You’d still have to pay your $200 to the NFA branch of the BATFE for the SBR “privilege”.

      Reply
    • I pulled the trigger a bunch of times yesterday. I can confirm that it does fire one round with the pull of a trigger. Now it does fire a second round when released but the Gun Control Act doesn’t forbid that. The trigger in this isn’t how they are shoving it up the ATF’s NFA branch.

      Reply
  5. Even our Lord was criticized and even crucified. Hickock 45 is providing a series of videos that have become one of the most entertaining and informative that I have seen in years, thank you Hickock45.

    Reply
  6. Im a fan of hers. She says what she believes in with no bullshit sugar coating of it.
    Like anyone else. If you don’t want to hear what she has to say. Turn her off. Just like I wont buy a newspaper. For any reason. Papers don’t contain news. Just some idiot from CNNs parroted thoughts. Or the other way around maybe??
    The Times isn’t fit to line a bird cage. The bird might get upset reading it……..

    Reply
  7. I definitely find this hard to believe unless they have designed some fancy muzzle device capable of stabilizing the bullets. Although at distances inside 20 yards i.e. inside the home, I’m sure it is plenty lethal whether it key holes or not.

    I’m still of the mind that it only fires on the release and is therefore not a rifle which “fires once per PULL”.

    Reply
  8. I guess one could come up with ammo that provides its own stabilization – some sort of base-bleed? But then your selection would be pretty limited.

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  9. In the announcement article here on TTAG someone in the comments mentioned something like a twisted smooth bore that would impart spin without the need for rifling, could it be they are using that? I doubt that any company would deliberately release a gun you couldn’t shoot accurately.

    Reply
    • A twisted smooth bore would be polygonal rifling, just like in a Glock pistol and several other guns. All of which class as rifles or pistols, but not as “firearms.”

      Reply
  10. Guys. Read some of the comments here that are not being called out at all by all you great, manly, peaceable men that are supposed to be the majority. Are these the men that speak for you? These are the men that are giving your gun rights a bad name. These are the men that start ‘cleaning’ their gun in front of a girlfriend they think is trying to leave. A subset of these men shoot women for being a ‘piece of shit’ or stepping out of her place. A smaller subset throw a hyper-violent tantrum when the world/women doesn’t treat them with the standing that they believe they are due. I want to support gun rights with a whole heart, but too many of the men in this movement think women are shit, and one of the finest uses of their firearms is to keep them in their place, and the rest aren’t standing up to them.

    Reply
  11. I have not, but I would if the opportunity presented itself, and the game were the appropriate size.

    We have a Sig MPX carbine in 9mm, and use it as our camp carbine (meaning that it’s around in the morning and evening when we’re preparing food and getting in and out of the sack). It sports a Vortex Viper 2.5-10X44 and makes a mess out of tin cans. Sometimes it goes on hikes too.

    Motive, target, and opportunity.

    Charlie

    Reply
  12. I’m definitely voting for Adam, and, perhaps a couple of others.

    It was saddening to read about Heston. I thought that he was the real deal. I guess that I was naive then.

    Reply
  13. Why is TTAG censoring comments that link to the Outdoor Hub article claiming it is a rifled barrel?

    Everyone, do a quickly google of “Franklin Armory Reformation” and look for Outdoor Hub’s article, since it’s apparently blasphemous to post the link in the comments section here.

    It is not a smooth bore. TTAG is wrong on this one

    Reply
  14. When I first started playing golf, I got a department store $200 all-in-one set of clubs and started playing. After I had gotten a feel for the game, I upgraded here and there and eventually got to the point, like Washington’s axe, where there was nothing left of the old set. But had I not liked the game, I woulda only been out $200.

    So when it came time to buy an AR, I did the same thing. I ordered a cheapo $500 Bear Creek. I did so right before the election thinking that if it went a certain way, at least I’d have AN AR, not no AR. Now that I’ve put about 1000 rounds through mine, I’ve tweaked it here and there and tried different things and had fun ffing around with it. And I’ll continue to f around with it, and plink at the range. And for my uses that’s all I really need to do. I’ve got a scoped hunting rifle for putting two rounds through the same hole, my AR is basically just Legos for me.

    Reply
  15. Unoriginal and lame. This gag has been done several times before, the most recent in memory being Michael J. Knowles book “Reasons To Vote For Democrats: A Comprehensive Guide”. Nothing but blank pages.

    https://www.amazon.com/Reasons-Vote-Democrats-Comprehensive-Guide/dp/1543024971/

    Before that it was David King’s “Why Trump Deserves Trust, Respect and Admiration”, authored by a liberal, also full of blank pages.

    https://www.amazon.com/Trump-Deserves-Trust-Respect-Admiration/dp/1540743225

    There have been others. The gag is only notable so many times, and this kind of unoriginality is not really worth rewarding with your dollars just because ‘a portion’ of the profits will go to a good cause. Just give $10 directly to the charity if you are so inclined.

    Reply
  16. *Whistles* So you’re paying another $300 for mag fed capability. Or, for the same price, you could just get a KSG. Smaller, more streamlined (no magazine to catch on things in a defensive situation), can top off the tube more easily than you can a magazine, and you get 14 rounds.

    Reply
  17. “With your third hand, lift the rear of the slide upwards ….”
    OMFG…..ROTFLMAO…. Oh God make it stop!
    I’m not old enough for this level of incontinence.
    To make it worse, my first thought was “OH! that’s what I’ve been doing wrong! – I gotta use my THIRD hand!”
    Probably only CCP owners found this really hilarious.

    Reply
  18. Well for $230 after rebate I bought one. I like its looks and ergonomics. Reminds me of my Walther PPX. Trigger is fine, palpable reset, breaks Fine. Shot 180 rounds of reloaded 115gr copper plated round Point with titegroup charge of about 4.4gr. Not a single misfire ftf fte or stovepipe. Not one. Right out of the box. I realize it isn’t 10,000 rounds but based on some of these you tube videos you get the impression it won’t go through a magazine without a dozen mishaps. What exactly is the problem?

    Reply
  19. With semi auto shotguns and lighter loads, at some point the physics of ‘not enough gas to cycle the action’ assert themselves.

    Looks like a fun little shotty!

    Reply
  20. This is second only to a new picture of my granddaughter as the best thing I’ve seen today. Congratulations, boys. And dad. Well done.

    Reply
  21. Yes, I shot a mule deer at a little under 150 yards with a scoped Ruger PC4 Firing spear 155 gr gold dot Bullets, muzzle velocity 1560 ft./s . ( they were hot reloads )
    I had planned on A closer shot but that is what presented itself. Shot placement was through the ribs and heart. The bullet exited the deer and work flawlessly with a one-shot kill. I was quite impressed with the performance

    Reply
  22. Mr. Smith also have Les Baer make a line of 1911 with his ‘Thunder Ranch’ name on them. Was a bit surprised by this article that Clint isn’t carrying one of those anymore actually. And that the author didn’t know about the Baer guns…

    Reply
  23. Shooting limbs out of a tree, I’ve done that, ………….. Part of the proceeds, it was 13℅ when I tele marketed, D Trump had money in that company, we ripped off old people and rubes. It wasn’t an honest living.

    Reply
    • Up close pics on the outdoor hub show a standard looking 3 position binary trigger switch, suggesting that it’s not getting around the NFA with a oddball binary-only or push trigger.

      Reply
  24. Chief Clements is making a prediction. Violent crime in his fair city will drop.

    Let’s check back with him in a year and see how he’s doing.

    Reply
  25. Population of Rhode Island ~= 1.06 million.
    Population of US ~= 330 million.
    Population of Rhode Island as a Percentage of US. ~=0.32%
    Number of Guns in Private hands in U.S. ~=300-400 million
    Approximate Number of Guns in Rhode Island = 0.0032*300 million to 0.0032*400 million
    = 960,000 to 1.28 million ( I know guns aren’t equally distributed nationwide but go with me here)

    Yup, I’m sure 8 is gonna make a pretty big difference.

    Reply
    • YUP. Close the jails, shudder the prisons. Crime is now a thing of the past. Use the money for FREE social programs and support of the ILLEGALS. What a dolt.

      Reply
  26. I think it has linear “rifling”.
    Linear rifling is technically and legally not rifling as it does not cause the bullet to spin in any way.
    Just some straight lines in the barrel. They were fist used in muskets to make cleaning of the barrel easier (think octagonal barrel and stuff). But then people discovered the rifle was more accurate as well, an accidental benefit.
    So linear rifling is not spin-rifling that would classify it as a rifle under 18 usc 921, but not a shotgun either.
    Just a fancy 21st century firearm with a shoulder thing that goes up, scary high capacity clippazines and a short assault barrel.
    They already ruined my binary only or shoot-on-release-trigger theory, so i hope i’m right this time.

    Reply
    • Another idea:
      Maybe it doesn’t have rifling at all but a rifled choke at the end. If you put a choke, so a shotgun thingy, in a rifle thingy, it could be neither one nor the other. Maybe.
      Whatever it actually is, we should collect all the ideas we had here and atf-approve each and every one of them just to have a collection of 10 legal nfa-workarounds. So everybody can pick whatever they like.

      Reply
  27. I’ve flown on three different airlines with my firearms since I got my Kentucky CCDW in Oct. 2017.

    Best flying experience: Southwest Airlines (Louisville to Boise and back twice) everyone at the respective check in desks were cool my bags came out on the baggage belt like everyone else’s.

    Worst flying experience: Delta (Louisville to Ft. Benning) Delta puts an extra baggage sticker on your checked bag with a code on it telling the baggage handlers that the bag must be picked up at the baggage service office and on top of that…before they hand it over to you they wrap it in two giant zip ties. Oh and once you’ve checked in at your departure location and you’ve declared you’re travelling with a firearm…Delta disables your ability to check in for your return flight 24 hours prior to departure via their app or their website.

    Second worst flying experience: American (Louisville to San Antonio). Only difference between them and Delta is they don’t zip tie your bag before turning it over to you…and on top of the extra baggage claim sticker they put a big red “deliver to BSO” tag on your checked bag as well. They also disable your early check in ability.

    I do have to say that the ticket agents at the departure locations for all three airlines have been wonderful…no one freaking out or looking at me weird because I’m flying with a gun…again Southwest was the best of the three.

    Reply
  28. Recoil confirms it’s ‘straight rifling’. This is old tech, so can’t be patent protected. Where do I get straight rifled barrels to build my own?

    Reply
  29. Love triangle? Bad drug deal/gang interaction? Bullied student getting even?

    I spent a part of my youth in the KY school system. The student parking lot at my high school was full of pick ups. At least half those had shotguns in the rear windows.

    Reply
  30. Keep the Sig P X38 with great PD ammo loaded with one in the chamber, condition one, and at least one extra magazine.

    Your cell phone doubles as a watch. Put a hard protective case on your phone and use its corner as a striking weapon.

    Flashlight is useful, but not that necessary for my lifestyle. Knife takes lots of practice to draw and use if it isn’t a switchblade, so just carry a smaller but sturdy knife if your state outlaws switchblades or fast deployment blades.

    That’s how I roll without suspenders.

    🙂

    Reply
  31. So here’s the skinny- confirmed by their rep-
    It’s only good to 50 yards. That’s where it starts keyholing. And, it costs $2000. LMAO.
    Just buy a pistol with a beace for a third of the price.

    Here’s the cringe worthy reveal. These guys made themselves into the biggest laughingstocks in the industry.
    https://youtu.be/RfTt33S8RK8

    Reply
  32. Wonder how it will compare to CMMG’s MK47 Mutant? Only problem I see with the Mutant is the price. At $500, using AK mags, I might buy 2.

    Reply

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