2019 - Forgotten Weapons

History of the SVD Dragunov with Max Popenker

June 27, 2019 Ian McCollum 22

Russian small arms researcher Max Popenker joins us again today, and this time he is discussing the history and development of the Dragunov rifle. We start from the desire to match longer-ranged NATO forces and […]

Sterling S11: Donkey in a Thoroughbred Race

June 26, 2019 Ian McCollum 43

In the 1960s, the Sterling company began to worry about the prospects of continued sales of the Sterling (Patchett) SMG, especially in light of new competitors like the H&K MP5. Its chief design engineer, Frank […]

Slow Motion Malfunctions of Exotic Firearms

June 25, 2019 Ian McCollum 15

Over many years of filming with my high speed camera, I have a decent little library of malfunctions in a wide variety of guns. These don’t normally make it into videos, and I figured it […]

AAI 2nd Gen SPIW Flechette Rifles

June 24, 2019 Ian McCollum 36

The SPIW program began in 1962 with entries from Colt, Springfield, AAI, and Winchester. The first set of trials were a complete failure, and both Colt and Winchester abandoned the project at that point. AAI […]

Book Review Double Feature: Webley Solid Frame Revolvers

June 23, 2019 Ian McCollum 4

Joel Black partnered with several coauthors (Joseph L. Davis and Roger G. Michaud for the first and Homer Ficken and Frank Michaels for the second) to produce two volumes cataloging an immense variety of Webley […]

Shooting the Negev LMG

June 22, 2019 Ian McCollum 30

After yesterday’s look at the history and mechanical details of the Israeli Negev LMG, today we are taking it out the the range. It certainly is a very pleasant experience to shoot! The recoil is […]

Negev LMG: The Israeli Take on the SAW

June 21, 2019 Ian McCollum 18

When the Israeli Defense Forces tested the FN Minimi, they found it to be lacking in a few areas, and decided that they could develop a better SAW domestically. Developed in the 1980s, the result […]

Q&A 30: ACRs, Besas, and Czechoslovakia

June 20, 2019 Ian McCollum 38

Another month, another Q&A! 00:24 – Why did the British adopted the Besa? 03:51 – Reproduction French WW1 uniforms (Doursoux) 04:54 – Could the Magpul Masada/ACR worked as a replacement AR upper? 08:02 – Why are […]

Sanna 77: A Czech SMG Turned South African Carbine

June 19, 2019 Ian McCollum 8

The Sanna 77 was a semiauto copy of the Czech Sa 25 submachine gun. It was first produced in Rhodesia by the GM Steel company for the Rhodesian military. In this form, it was the […]

How Does it Work: Stoner’s AR System

June 18, 2019 Ian McCollum 91

Eugene Stoner’s AR-10 and AR-15 use an operating mechanism that is often called “gas impingement,” but which is actually a cleverly structured gas piston located within the bolt carrier. Gas is tapped form the barrel […]