2013 - Forgotten Weapons

Vintage Saturday: Inventor Afield

August 24, 2013 Ian McCollum 4

John Moses Browning (center) elk hunting near Jackson Hole, Wyoming around 1910. His rifle is a Remington Model 8 in .35 Remington, and he is flanked by his brother Matthew on the right. His skinning […]

Union Repeating Gun

August 23, 2013 Ian McCollum 20

The Gatling is commonly seen as the first manual machine gun used by the US military, but it was preceded by several other designs, including the Union Repeating Gun. Also known as the Ager Gun […]

Book Review: Fighting Iron

August 22, 2013 Ian McCollum 10

What is the difference between a Damascus knife and a Damascus shotgun? Why did barrel composition contribute to the short lifespan of the 6mm Lee Navy concept? Why did high-grade flintlocks use platinum touchhole sleeves? […]

US Army Tokarev Rifle Manual

August 21, 2013 Ian McCollum 19

One problem I have consistently found with Russian weapons manuals is that they are all written in Russian, which I can’t read. The illustrations are still interesting and useful, but it does make some of […]

Looking a Gift Horse in the Mouth

August 20, 2013 Ian McCollum 27

So, I was browsing through the catalog for Rock Island Auction’s upcoming Premier Auction (I’ll have more next week on the various neat things available), and found one item in particular that jumped out at […]

2-Gun Action Match: England Versus Germany

August 19, 2013 Ian McCollum 50

Once again, we have video today from the monthly 2-gun Action Challenge Match. This time, I thought it would be interesting to do a bit of a historical matchup, and look at the oft-discussed question […]

Still Talking When There’s Science to Do

August 18, 2013 Ian McCollum 15

The monthly 2-gun match was yesterday, and I used the opportunity to do some research into a classic question: To what extent can the faster action and increased magazine capacity of an Enfield rifle compensate […]

Vintage Saturday: Fire on Ice

August 17, 2013 Ian McCollum 36

US troops manning a Browning 1919A4 in Alaska.

The Husqvarna M 40 Pistol

August 16, 2013 Ian McCollum 160

Today we have a guest post by Peter Rasmussen on some of the history of the Husqvarna M40 pistol, also commonly called the Lahti. We will cover the mechanical aspects of the pistol in a […]

Book Review: A Genius in the Family

August 15, 2013 Ian McCollum 15

Hiram Stevens Maxim is one of America’s less recognized polymath inventors, and quite a character in addition to all his quantifiable accomplishments. Starting live on a rural Maine farm, Maxim had only a few years […]