2017 - Forgotten Weapons

Prototype Winchester WW1 .50 Cal Antitank Rifle

July 5, 2017 Ian McCollum 16

With the advent of the tank in World War One, antitank rifles became a priority for many countries, to provide infantry with some weapon to counter the new armored threat. The best known example of […]

French Winchester 94: A Backup Arm for Fliers and Drivers

July 4, 2017 Ian McCollum 38

The French military during World War One used a number of American-made small arms, including both the Winchester Self-Loader and the Winchester Model 1894. A total of 15,100 Model 94s were purchased by France in […]

Why Does the Military Use .22 Rimfire Rifles for Training?

July 3, 2017 Ian McCollum 35

In a couple videos last month about American .22 LR rimfire training rifles, I got a surprising number of comments from viewers who did not understand why a military would train with a .22 caliber […]

Book Review: Paul Mauser – His Life, Company, and Handgun Development 1838 – 1914

July 2, 2017 Ian McCollum 9

The new book on Paul Mauser from Mauro Baudino and Gerben van Vlimmeren is an excellent exploration through the labyrinthine corners of the Mauser Archives. Written with an assumption that the audience will already have […]

PSM Shooting: 5.45x18mm vs 7.62x25mm on Soft Armor

July 1, 2017 Ian McCollum 32

Following up on yesterday’s history and disassembly of the PSM, today we are taking it out to the range for some shooting. In addition, wehave some generic Level IIIA soft body armor to test. We […]

Soviet PSM Pistol History: Really a KGB Assassination Gun?

June 30, 2017 Ian McCollum 37

The PSM is a Soviet pistol from the late 1970s which has gotten itself quite the fanciful reputation here in the US, thanks to extreme rarity and some imaginative magazine articles. Common lore would have […]

A Patreon Thank-You and Pattern Room Teaser

June 29, 2017 Ian McCollum 8

The quantity of amazing guns in the NFC (it’s officially the “National Firearms Centre” and includes the original Pattern Room collection – whose name sounds much cooler) is just really overwhelming. I spend a week […]

Lewis Short Recoil .45ACP Prototype Pistol

June 28, 2017 Ian McCollum 15

Isaac Newton Lewis is best known for the Lewis light machine gun, but that was not his only foray into firearms design. He also patented two different types of handguns – one gas operated and […]

Shorty EM2 with regular EM2 and early FAL

Q&A #11: Rockin’ Like It’s 1950!

June 27, 2017 Ian McCollum 54

Today’s questions: 0:00:35 – Least pleasant gun I have ever shot 0:02:51 – Favorite gun to have showcased on the channel 0:03:46 – Why did large militaries have .30 cal at the turn of the […]

The Korsac EM1 – a British/Polish Bullpup FG-42

June 26, 2017 Ian McCollum 22

Armament Research Services (ARES) is a specialist technical intelligence consultancy, offering expertise and analysis to a range of government and non-government entities in the arms and munitions field. For detailed photos of the guns in […]