2012 - Forgotten Weapons

Russian APS Underwater Assault Rifle

March 9, 2012 Ian McCollum 5

Today we have a manual for the Russian APS underwater assault rifle, thanks to our friend Hrachya. The APS (Avtomat Podvodnyj Spetsialnyj) was developed in the early 1970s as a way to provide greater firepower […]

Book Review: Glock – The Rise of America’s Gun by Paul Barrett

March 8, 2012 Ian McCollum 3

The Glock isn’t a forgotten weapon by any stretch, but Paul Barrett has written a very interesting book on how the company got into gun manufacturing and how it grew so quickly. Among other things, […]

Italian Vitali 1910 pistol

March 7, 2012 Ian McCollum 7

We have been able to find very little information on the Vitali 1910 automatic pistol, but we did have the opportunity to take a look at one recently. It is very clearly marked Vitali […]

Australian Weapons Identification

March 6, 2012 Ian McCollum 0

Thanks to reader and gunsmith Robert, we have today a copy of a 1945-dated Australian weapons identification list. If you have an Australian Lithgow Enfield, this is a great parts reference, as it shows very […]

Navy .308 Garand Conversion

March 5, 2012 Ian McCollum 6

Back in the 1960s, the US Navy decided to rechamber a bunch of its M1 Garand rifles to 7.62 NATO. The proper way to do this would have been to simply put new 7.62 barrels […]

Vintage Saturday: Downing Panes with a Potato Digger

March 3, 2012 Ian McCollum 9

Well, it’s more effective than trying to hit ’em with a Hotchkiss Portative…but I bet they wish they had a proper anti-aircraft mount!

Tomorrow’s Collectors

March 2, 2012 Ian McCollum 4

I attended the memorial service for Uncle Bob Faris on Wednesday, and it really highlighted to me why I (and my collaborators) devote so much of our time to building this web site, and made […]

Video Book Review: Swiss Magazine Loading Rifles

March 1, 2012 Ian McCollum 1

Swiss rifles offer a great place for a new collector to put together a set of rifles with mechanical and historical interest, that are in great condition and still available for reasonable prices. The Swiss […]

Chinese “Jingal” Wall Gun

February 29, 2012 Ian McCollum 7

“Jingal” was the name the British gave to both Indian and Chinese rampart guns used from the 1700s up until World War II. The guns were originally muzzle loaders, used in fixed defensive emplacements. They […]

Japanese Infantry Weapons (World War II)

February 28, 2012 Ian McCollum 6

We usually stick to documents relating to a single specific weapon, but today we have an interesting report on a whole bunch of guns. Our friend Hrachya sent us a copy of a 1943 US […]