Select-fire Rifles - Forgotten Weapons

The Only FAL Contract Not In 7.62mm (Venezuelan 7mm Liviano)

November 6, 2026 Ian McCollum 23

Venezuela was one of the early adopters of the FAL rifle. They purchased two of the initial FN prototypes, and made the decision to purchase it in quantity in 1955, with an initial order of […]

Unique Prototype FN FAL in .30 Carbine

November 2, 2026 Ian McCollum 4

This one-off rifle was produced at FN in 1950 as a testbed for testing different locking systems and manufacturing methods for the Light Automatic Rifle which would eventually become the FAL we know today. It […]

GRAM 61: Sweden’s Prototype Domestic Competitor to the FAL and G3

October 30, 2026 Ian McCollum 3

As Sweden began testing new rifles to replace the Mauser with a self-loader, the two main contenders were the FN FAL and H&K G3. However, there was a Swedish design in the competition as well, […]

India’s Unique X95 Tavor “Zittara” (I Did Not Expect the Magazine)

September 30, 2026 Ian McCollum 25

https://youtu.be/PwOZXF5c-nw The Tavor has a history of being popular in service with high-end Indian military and security forces, and a deal was made to manufacture the X95 domestically. What makes it unusual is that it […]

Saudi Gold Plated Presentation G3: Gaudy or Elegant?

September 14, 2026 Ian McCollum 16

The Saudi Arabian government signed a contract with H&K to license domestic production of the G3 rifle at the Al Kharj factory complex in 1972. Production included standard rifles for general use, but also chrome- […]

A WW2 German Mystery: Knorr Bremse FG42 Prototype?

August 24, 2026 Ian McCollum 77

This is really a mystery rifle, or half of a mystery rifle. It is part of the collection at Springfield Armory National Historic Site, but its exact provenance from World War Two is not recorded. […]

The Very First FAL Prototype (in 8mm Kurz)

August 22, 2026 Ian McCollum 21

Dieudonne Saive at Fabrique Nationale began developing the FAL to submit for the British post-war program to adopt new small arms. He built the first example in the German 8x33mm Kurz cartridge, as this was […]

Colt’s Vietnam Prototype AK/M16 Hybrid: the Model 703

August 17, 2026 Ian McCollum 16

“From Hartford to Vietnam” is available here for preorder: Or you can find it bundled with “Tiger Stripe: The Vietnam Camouflage Story” on Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/headstamp/tiger-stripe?ref=3b3v8y The Model 703 was an experimental project at Colt which […]

Sweden’s Green Trials Galil: the FFV-890C

August 3, 2026 Ian McCollum 34

When Sweden decided to replace the AK-4 (a license-built H&K G3) with a 5.56mm rifle in the 1970s, they tested nearly every potential rifle on the market. Only two survived the stringent Swedish arctic trials; […]

Testing 9×39 SP6 AP Ammo Against Body Armor

July 17, 2026 Ian McCollum 29

Today I have a chance to test out a couple rounds of SP6 armor-piercing 9x39mm ammo, using an ex-Russian AS Val rifle. First I’ll try an MNIJ Level 3A soft vest, which is rated for […]