2017 - Forgotten Weapons

SA80 History: L22A2 and Experimental L85 Carbines

May 24, 2017 Ian McCollum 24

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 […]

MGD PM9 Rotary-Action Submachine Gun

May 23, 2017 Ian McCollum 39

The PM9 was an interesting an unique submachine gun designed by Louis Debuit for the French firm Merlin and Gerin (hence the MGD name – Merlin, Gerin, Debuit) in the late 1940s and early 50s. […]

Laumann 1891 and Schonberger-Laumann 1894 Semiauto Pistols

May 22, 2017 Ian McCollum 18

Josef Laumann was an Austrian designer of early ring-trigger manually repeating pistols, and was one of the first to develop that type of handgun into a semiautomatic. He took an 1891 pattern ring trigger gun […]

Book Review – The Lee Enfield, by Ian Skennerton

May 21, 2017 Ian McCollum 4

Ian Skennerton is a leading authority on British rifles, having written extensively on Sniders, Martinis, Enfields, and more. This specific book, “The Lee Enfield” is the most recent iteration of his compendium of Lee-Enfield information, […]

SA80 History: L85 A1 vs A2 (and the coming A3)

May 20, 2017 Ian McCollum 105

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 […]

SIG KE7 Light Machine Gun

May 19, 2017 Ian McCollum 33

The KE-7 was the product of two Swiss designers, Pal Kiraly and Gotthard End, and was introduced in 1929 by the Swiss manufacturer SIG. It was a recoil operated design and fired from an open […]

Final Prices: RIA April 2017 Premier

May 18, 2017 Ian McCollum 6

Apparently, a lot of people really preferred the expended discussion of auction prices that I did with the recent James Julia auction, so I did the same for the recent Rock Island auction. This one […]

SA80 Series: The Pre-Production XL85 and XL86

May 17, 2017 Ian McCollum 12

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 […]

Q&A #10: Collectible Surplus Guns, Dumb US Decisions, and Lots of French Stuff

May 16, 2017 Ian McCollum 31

We have some great questions this time around! Specifically: 0:25 – Gain twist rifling, description and application 5:40 – The 6.5mm Arisaka compared to modern 6.5mm cartridges 7:44 – US abandonment of the M1917 Enfield […]

1891 Salvatore-Dormus: The First Automatic Pistol

May 15, 2017 Ian McCollum 16

The Salvatore-Dormus has the distinction of being the world’s first semiauto pistol, being patented in 1891. It is chambered for the 8mm Dormus cartridge, and holds 5 rounds in a Mannlicher type clip. Only about […]