June, 2013 - Forgotten Weapons

Vintage Saturday: Femme Fatale

June 29, 2013 Ian McCollum 90

Leningrad, 1942, with a DP28 light machine gun. Women served the Red Army in substantial numbers as pilots, snipers, and machine gunners. In light of the controversy over US women moving into combat roles, this […]

Turkish Manual for the Colt MG40

June 28, 2013 Ian McCollum 3

I recently found this in a private library, and I believe it’s the first Turkish-language manual I’ve come across. It’s dated 1936, and although the cover illustration shows a 1917 type water cooled gun, the […]

Book Review:Schuetzen Rifles – History and Loadings

June 27, 2013 Ian McCollum 8

In my ongoing effort to broaden my firearms horizons, I have been reading up on subjects I have little knowledge of. This week, that involved a copy of Gerald Kelver’s Schuetzen Rifles: History and Loadings. […]

Madsen 1888 and 1896 Self-Loading Rifles

June 26, 2013 Ian McCollum 10

It is often said that the 1907 Mondragon was the first self-loading rifle formally adopted by a military, but it turns out this is not quite accurate. In fact, the 1896 Madsen-Rasmussen rifle was produced […]

Rock Island’s Upcoming Auction

June 25, 2013 Ian McCollum 20

The auctions that Rock Island is really known for are its Premier Auctions, which happen a few times per year and have really phenomenal goodies. But in between those are smaller regional auctions, which are […]

Semiauto Madsen LMG Video

June 24, 2013 Ian McCollum 50

The Madsen light machine gun is note-worthy for several reasons – it was the first military-issue light machine gun developed and it was successful enough to remain in production into the 1950s (long after every […]

Landstad Patent and Another Mystery Gun

June 23, 2013 Ian McCollum 14

A couple pieces of Sunday miscellanea… First, thanks to Keith we have a copy of the Norwegian patent for the Landstad automatic revolver. He was able to coax it out of the Norwegian patent office, […]

Vintage Saturday: Lever Actions in the Trenches

June 22, 2013 Ian McCollum 50

Russian soldiers in World War One armed with Winchester 1895 lever action rifles chambered for 7.62x54R. In addition to the gas masks and long bayonets, note the fellow at the back left reloading with a […]

Fosbery’s Breechloading Rifle

June 21, 2013 Ian McCollum 16

Col George Vincent Fosbery, V.C., was a definite devotee of small arms design as well as being a bona fide war hero – a combination that isn’t as common as one might expect. He is […]

Book Review: Guns of the Old West

June 20, 2013 Ian McCollum 3

I’ve always been primarily interested in military small arms, and more specifically early/mid 20th century ones at that. I need to broaden my horizons, though, and I’ve been reading more and more about older guns. […]