2017 - Forgotten Weapons

Suomi M31: Finland’s Famous Submachine Gun

September 12, 2017 Ian McCollum 39

Designed by Finland’s most notable arms inventor, Aimo Lahti, the m/31 Suomi submachine gun is an iconic weapon of the Winter War and the Continuation War. It is a first-generation submachine gun with a […]

Q&A #13: Cameras, Surplus SMGs, Modern Rocket Balls, and More!

September 11, 2017 Ian McCollum 36

Today’s question topics:: 0:00:24 – Belt-fed ARs 0:02:13 – US Army and the .276 vs 7.62 NATO 0:06:20 – Finnish cartridge choices 0:08:11 – Guns with built-in recoil absorbing mechanisms 0:10:45 – Deep dive on […]

Book Review: Training Rifles of Third Reich Germany

September 10, 2017 Ian McCollum 13

Robert Simpson’s massive project of studying and documenting German training rifles has resulted in this much-anticipated reference tome. At 700 pages and full color, it a tremendous resource for understanding the chronology and features of […]

Shooting the Norinco QBZ/Type 97 NSR

September 9, 2017 Ian McCollum 27

Today it’s time to take the Norinco QBZ-97 – aka Type 97 NSR – out to the range for some shooting! This is the Canadian semiautomatic-only legal version of China’s new military rifle, and it […]

Mechanics and Disassembly of the Norinco QBZ-97 / Type 97 NSR

September 8, 2017 Ian McCollum 22

The Chinese military introduced a new 5.8x42mm cartridge in 1987, and then developed a new bullpup rifle to use it. The rifle was the QBZ Type 95, and it was a bullpup rifle with a […]

Stendebach Model 1936: Rotary Mag Toggle Delayed Experiment

September 7, 2017 Ian McCollum 12

There is very little documentation existing to explain the history of this rifle – all we really know is that per the receiver markings it is a Model 1936 Stendebach, and that it was brought […]

Gebrüder Rempt Four-Barrel Enormous Flare Pistol

September 6, 2017 Ian McCollum 26

In 1917, the German military issued a contract for the construction of 2500 of these unique and impressive 4-barreled flare launchers. They were manufactured by 7 different companies (this example being from Gebrüder Rempt), and […]

Lanchester MkI: Britain’s First (But Not Last) Emergency SMG

September 5, 2017 Ian McCollum 26

The Lanchester MkI was the first British effort to produce a domestic submachine gun during World War II. The British military had rejected these types of arms as “gangster guns” prior to the war, and […]

Arsenal AF2011: A Double Barreled 1911 Monster Pistol

September 4, 2017 Ian McCollum 15

The Arsenal AF2011 began as a manufacturing proof of concept, to showcase the technical ability of the company making it (their prior experience was largely in exquisite miniature firearms). It was introduced to the public […]

Reising Model 60 – A Wartime Semiauto Carbine

September 3, 2017 Ian McCollum 23

The Reising Model 60 was the semiautomatic-only variant of the Reising Model 50 submachine gun. Offered side by side with the submachine guns, the Model 60 was also chambered for .45ACP and used the same […]