June, 2020 - Forgotten Weapons

How Does It Work: Push Feed vs Controlled Feed

June 30, 2020 Ian McCollum 30

In a controlled feed rifle design, a cartridge slips under the extractor as soon as it is released from the magazine. This means than if the bolt is retracted before being locked into battery, it […]

NKVD Officer’s Model Nagant Revolver

June 29, 2020 Ian McCollum 27

When the Tula Arsenal restarted production of M1895 Nagant revolvers in 1924 after the Russian civil war, they made both full sized standard guns and also compact “Commanding Officer” models. These had a shorter grip […]

1911 vs M1 Carbine in a Practical Match

June 27, 2020 Ian McCollum 61

The M1 Carbine was developed to be a personal defense weapon to replace the 1911 pistol for groups of soldiers like drivers, artillery crews, and others who did not need a full-size M1 Garand but […]

Arcelin Mousqueton: An 1850s Breechloader with a Ludicrous Bayonet

June 26, 2020 Ian McCollum 39

The Arcelin system was a capping breechloader provisionally adopted by the French military in 1854. It was a bolt action system with a folding bolt handle, firing a paper cartridge. It impressed Emperor Louis Napoleon […]

Q&A 42: Books, Machine Guns, Cannons, and Forgotten Weapons by Mail

June 25, 2020 Ian McCollum 33

Q&A time again! This time we have: 00:17 – Favorite military uniform or camo pattern 01:12 – Stockpile of odd ammo? 02:15 – Bolts closing automatically when a new magazine is inserted 04:18 – Filming […]

A Walther copied by Hungary for Egypt: the WALAM 48

June 24, 2020 Ian McCollum 16

The WALAM 48 was a copy of the Walther Model PP made by Fegyver- és Gépgyártó Részvénytársaság (aka FÉG) in Hungary in the years after World War Two. It was originally produced as the 48M […]

Wartime Evolution of the No4 Lee Enfield Rear Sight

June 23, 2020 Ian McCollum 12

Most of the significant wartime simplifications we see on rifles from World War Two are from Germany and Japan, but the rear sight of the No4 Lee Enfield is a good example of a similar […]

WW1 Night Sights: Gewehr 98 and SMLE

June 22, 2020 Ian McCollum 19

Germany, Britain, and France all introduced luminous night sights for their service rifles in 1916. Today we are looking at a Gewehr 98 and an SMLE that have detachable WW1 night sights fitted (and the […]

PCC Showdown: H&K SP5 vs Kalashnikov USA KP9 vs CMMG Banshee

June 20, 2020 Ian McCollum 10

Since SHOT Show this year, I have gotten three different 9mm carbines that are all interesting in their own ways. The Kalashnikov USA KP-9 is a virtual copy of the Russian Vityaz submachine gun, much […]

Samopal vz.58: The Czechoslovakian Answer to the AK

June 19, 2020 Ian McCollum 114

Among the nations of the Warsaw Pact, only Czechoslovakia designed and produced its own infantry assault rifle – everyone else used the Kalashnikov. The Czech vz.58 is often mistaken for an AK because it has […]