November, 2019 - Forgotten Weapons

Springfield’s SAR-4800 FAL…in 5.56mm

November 20, 2019 Ian McCollum 11

In the early 1990s, the Brazilian Imbel factory made a small run of FAL rifles converted to 5.56mm using AR magazines. They used standard FAL receivers and bolt carriers, with a boltface cut for 5.56x45mm […]

Experimental Bullpup Over/Under Shotgun with a Secret

November 19, 2019 Ian McCollum 36

This is a prototype or one-off over/under sporting shotgun, made in a bullpup configuration. It is basically two long slabs of wood clamshell around a pair of barrels, with the action at the very end […]

The Best SMLE: The No1 MkV Trials Rifle

November 18, 2019 Ian McCollum 11

After World War One, the British looked at how to apply the lessons of the war to development of a new infantry rifle. Even before the war, a decision had been made to move to […]

Kommer Models 3 and 4: German Browning Copies

November 17, 2019 Ian McCollum 12

Theodore Emil Kommer was born in 1866, son of a German gunsmith. He took the same profession, and at the age of 23 in 1889 opened his own business making guns. He initially focused on […]

Estonian Home Guard Browning High Power

November 16, 2019 Ian McCollum 6

Estonia purchased several batches of early FN High Power pistols in the 1930s. First in 1936 120 were ordered for the police, and then much larger orders followed in 1937. The military bought 5,338 and […]

Beautiful Webley WS Target in 22 Rimfire

November 15, 2019 Ian McCollum 7

Webley introduced the WS model revolver in 1902, combining the square grip of the earlier WG model with the mechanical system of the Mark IV government revolver. The new WS pattern was available in both […]

The Mandalorian Carries an 1894 Bergmann No.1

November 14, 2019 Ian McCollum 32

The new Star Wars TV series “The Mandalorian” does, in fact, feature a sidearm based on the Bergmann No1 / 1894 semiauto pistol. These are extremely rare today (probably only 5 or 6 still exist), […]

Holloway HAC-7L: A Specifically Left-Handed Battle Rifle

November 14, 2019 Ian McCollum 6

Bob Holloway designed the HAC-7 rifle to be the ultimate combat infantry rifle in 1984, drawing on his experiences in Vietnam and Rhodesia. It is a very interesting hybrid of AK, FAL, and other design […]

AR-18 and AR-180: Can Lightning Strike Twice for Armalite?

November 13, 2019 Ian McCollum 45

The AR-18 has its genesis in the AR-10. I n an effort to develop a less expensive version of that rifle, Armalite created the AR-12, an experimental rifle which used a stamped or bent sheet […]

Dardick Model 1500: The Very Unusual Magazine-fed Revolver

November 12, 2019 Ian McCollum 34

The Dardick 1500 was a magazine-fed revolver designed by David Dardick in the 1950s. His patent was granted in 1958, and somewhere between 40 and 100 of the guns were made in 1959, before the […]