2018 - Forgotten Weapons

Rhodesian Cobra SMG/Carbine

August 3, 2018 Ian McCollum 28

The Cobra was one of a variety of semiautomatic compact carbines designed and manufactured in Rhodesia in the latter half of the 1970s for sale as civilian self-defense weapons (primarily for rural farming families). Unlike […]

Overview of French Gun Laws

August 2, 2018 Ian McCollum 32

Today I am joined by my friend Edouard for a discussion of French gun laws, as part of our continuing series on how firearms laws vary across the world. The French system is, shall we […]

SIG’s Pump Action 550 Rifle: the 550 VRB

August 1, 2018 Ian McCollum 10

In many countries, manually operated rifles are substantially easier for civilians to own than semiautomatic ones – and this was not lost on firearms manufacturers. In an effort to potentially open a new market, SIG […]

Forgotten History: Vercors – the Climactic Battle of the French Resistance

July 31, 2018 Ian McCollum 11

The imposing heights of the Vercors Massif form a very impressive natural defensive position in the southeastern corner of France. It was here that the French Resistance had its largest set piece battle against German […]

Sunngård Automatic Pistol: 50 Rounds in 1909

July 30, 2018 Ian McCollum 21

Harald Sunngård was Norwegian inventor in the early years of the 20th century who noticed a common perceived weakness of automatic pistols: reloads under stress were often bungled by shooters, leaving them vulnerable to return […]

Book Review: Japanese Military Cartridge Handguns 1893-1945

July 29, 2018 Ian McCollum 2

What began as Harry Derby’s “Hand Cannons of Imperial Japan” in 1981 was revised, expanded, and reprinted in collaboration with James Brown in 2003 as “Japanese Military Cartridge Handguns 1893-1945”. That new edition is both […]

Mythbusting with the .30-06 American Chauchat: Reliability Test

July 28, 2018 Ian McCollum 46

Everyone knows, of course, that the Chauchat is the worst gun ever, and can’t normally get through an entire magazine without malfunctioning. Well, let’s try that out…and with an ever worse culprit; an M1918 Chauchat […]

Hafdasa’s Ballester Campeon Competition .22LR Pistol

July 27, 2018 Ian McCollum 21

Made after World War Two until 1957, the Ballester Campeon was a .22 rimfire competition pistol built on the frame of the Argentine Ballester-Molina .45 ACP service pistol. Two versions were made, a standard 5 […]

Q&A 20 – With Special Guest Bob Bigando

July 26, 2018 Ian McCollum 10

Time for another Q&A – today towards the end we have a special guest to answer a question about artillery, Bob Bigando from Hamilon Firearms. Thanks, Bob! 0:50 – Berthier type iron sights on military […]

South African Galils: The R4, R5, R6, and LM Series

July 25, 2018 Ian McCollum 17

When South Africa decided to replace the R1 rifle (a metric FAL), they chose to adopt the Israeli Galil. Both nations had similar environmental issues with blowing sand (in northwestern South Africa particularly), and Israel […]