Rifles - Forgotten Weapons

Italy Modernizes: the Carcano Needlefire Rifle Conversion

April 15, 2019 Ian McCollum 27

This rifle is lot #1415 in the upcoming April 2019 Morphy auction. When Prussia and its Dreyse needle fire rifles defeated Austria and its muzzleloaders at Shadow in 1866, much of the world took note. […]

Israeli SP66: A Modern Mauser Sniper

April 14, 2019 Ian McCollum 16

This rifle is lot #2172 at Morphy’s April 2019 auction. Around 1980, Israeli purchased a batch of modern Mauser SP66 precision rifles to supplement or replace their stocks of M14 and Mauser K98k sniper rifles. […]

Boys Anti-Tank Rifle: Mk I and Mk I* Improvements

April 11, 2019 Ian McCollum 19

These rifles are lots #1087 and #1088 at Morphy’s April 2019 auction: The Boys Anti-Tank Rifle was adopted by the British military in 1937, and remained in production until 1943 when it was replaced by […]

Silent Destroyer: Reimagining the DeLisle Commando Carbine

April 10, 2019 Ian McCollum 16

This suppressed carbine is lot #1079 in the upcoming April 2019 Morphy’s auction. Tom Denall’s “Silent Destroyer” (originally built on surplus Sanish “Destroyer” carbines) is a Ruger 77/44 bolt action rifle with a large integral […]

Heym SR30: Straight Pull Ball-Bearing Lock?

April 8, 2019 Ian McCollum 39

This rifle is lot #2168 at Morphy’s April 2019 auction. The Heym SR30 is a modern hunting rifle produced in Thuringia, Germany using a rather clever and interesting locking system. It is a straight-pull rifle […]

The Soviet Jackhammer: Shooting an AVS-36

April 6, 2019 Ian McCollum 33

This rifle is lot #1019 at Morphy’s April 2019 auction. Yesterday we looked at the history and mechanics of the Soviet AVS-36 battle rifle, and today we are taking it out to the range. As […]

AVS-36: The First Soviet Infantry Battle Rifle

April 5, 2019 Ian McCollum 23

This rifle is lot #1019 at Morphy’s April 2019 auction. The AVS-36 was the first self-loading rifle adopted by the Soviet Union to be a standard infantry rifle, and it was not just semiautomatic, but […]

Armstrong & Taylor Carbine – Too Little Too Late

April 2, 2019 Ian McCollum 9

This carbine is lot #1416 at Morphy’s April 2019 auction. The Armstrong & Taylor carbine is a neat single shot breechloading carbine patented in 1862. It operates by way of a button on the top […]

The Last Dreyse Needlefire: 1874 Border Guard

March 31, 2019 Ian McCollum 8

This rifle is lot #1414 at Morphy’s April 2019 auction. The Dreyse needle fire rifle was invented by Niclaus von Dreyse in 1836, adopted by Prussia in 1841, and would serve as their standard military […]

Arctic Warfare Magnum: Accuracy International L115A3

March 29, 2019 Ian McCollum 9

In 2007, the British Army placed an order for 582 AI Arctic Warfare Super Magnum rifles chambered for the .338 Laua Magnum cartridge, formally adopting the model as the L115A3 sniper rifle. This followed special […]