February, 2021 - Forgotten Weapons

Prototype Jungle Carbine: A No1 MkV Becomes a No5 MkI

February 17, 2021 Ian McCollum 15

When the British began developing a shortened version of the No4 Lee Enfield in 1943 (which would become the No5 MkI “Jungle Carbine”), the development process included work with some rather older rifles. What we […]

Max Popenker on Russian Pistols and Ammunition: 7N21, 9x21mm, 9x18mm, and more

February 16, 2021 Ian McCollum 32

Today I am again joined by Max Popenker, Russian small arms historian and researcher. Max is explaining the basic history of Russian handguns and ammunition, starting with the adoption of the 7.62x25mm Tokarev cartridge to […]

Britain’s Experimental Viper No.3 SMG/PDW

February 15, 2021 Ian McCollum 27

A series of very compact submachine guns – possibly better described as personal defense weapons – was made in Britain at the end of World War Two under the name Viper (as an interesting aside, […]

2-Gun with SMG’s 1st Pattern Semiauto FG-42

February 13, 2021 Ian McCollum 62

Today I am taking the SMG first pattern semiauto FG-42 out to a 2-gun match to give it a try on the clock. This particular match has two rifle-only stage and one pistol-only stage, so […]

Fallschirmjäger Style: SMG’s Semiauto 1st Pattern FG-42

February 12, 2021 Ian McCollum 51

The early pattern (Type E, specifically) FG-42 is one of the most eye-catching military rifles ever made. Designed to be a universal paratrooper’s rifle capable of acting as sniper’s rifle, light machine gun, hand-to-hand weapon, […]

Interested in Gun Law Issues? Check out FuddBusters

February 11, 2021 Ian McCollum 0

I don’t cover politics here, but I know many of you folks are interested or invested in gun law current events. I recently found the FuddBusters channel, and it was a real breath of fresh […]

Wait, Go Back! The SMLE MkIII* Wartime Simplification

February 10, 2021 Ian McCollum 20

The British entered World War One with a technically excellent rifle, with lots of bells and whistles. By 1916, the war was taking a previously unimaginable toll on the industrial capacity of the Empire and […]

ZF-41: Germany’s Worst WW2 Sniper Scope

February 9, 2021 Ian McCollum 8

One of the pieces of feedback the German military got form he invasion of Poland in 1939 was a desire for a squad-level designated marksman in each unit. This would be a man with the […]

Afghan Schlegelmilch Carbine from the Kabul Arsenal

February 8, 2021 Ian McCollum 15

This is a rifle I have not been able to find any specific documentation about or even reference to – but we can tell what it it, and that’s a very interesting story. The rifle […]

Finnish Brutality 2-Gun Practice: M39 Mosin & TT33 (Again!)

February 6, 2021 Ian McCollum 18

I’m getting in some more practice for Finnish Brutality this week, once again running a match with the M39 Mosin and TT33 Tokarev that I am planning to take with me to Finland. This time, […]