February, 2026 - Forgotten Weapons

Colombia’s Cowboy Revolvers: Cassidy, Marshall, and Scorpio

February 20, 2026 Ian McCollum 14

Indumil in Colombia was originally founded as a state workshop to repair military small arms. Its first complete production gun was the Cassidy, a licensed copy of Llama’s copy of the Smith & Wesson Model […]

ZKP-524: A Prototype Czech 7.62x25mm 1911 Copy

February 18, 2026 Ian McCollum 67

The Czechoslovak military knew when they adopted it that the vz.52 pistol was not very good, and they initiated a replacement program as the same time as its adoption. Two pistols were developed to be […]

Bannerman, the Father of Gun Collecting: Tales from the Golden Age of Surplus

February 11, 2026 Ian McCollum 15

Francis Bannerman is really the father of the modern military surplus industry, and in many ways a father of gun collecting as we know it today. Before Bannerman, “gun collecting” was generally something for the […]

Which Customer Are You? (w/ Mike Branson of Gideon Optics)

February 9, 2026 Ian McCollum 10

Suit from Grayman & Co: https://grayman.co Today I’m speaking with Mike Branson from Gideon Optics at SHOT Show 2026 about what he sees in the industry. Specifically, the three categories that customers fall into…

The Real Deal: My New Mexico Public-Land Elk Hunt

February 7, 2026 Ian McCollum 11

Interested in learning how to source your own meat, from field to table? Outdoor Solutions has a bunch of classes running: https://www.fromfieldtotable.com This past December I met up with my friends Greg Ray and Chef […]

Reproduction GX-607 and XM-177 Moderators: Do They Work?

February 6, 2026 Ian McCollum 2

When the first carbine variants of the AR-15 were developed by Colt (the Model 607 initially, and later the XM-177E1 and XM-177E2), one of the complaints was that they were painfully loud. This should not […]

Coenders’ Bolt-Less Last Ditch Bolt Action Rifle

February 4, 2026 Ian McCollum 111

When the German Army tested last-ditch Volkssturm rifles late in World War Two, one of the particularly obscure submissions was August Coenders’ Coenders-Rochling Volkssturmkarabiner. This was a bowl action rifle chambered for 8mm Mauser with […]

Cordova Estandar: Colombia’s Domestic Service Pistol

February 2, 2026 Ian McCollum 18

Javier Traba Pistolas: https://www.youtube.com/@TrabaPistolas/videos When the Colombian government wanted a locally produced service pistol for its military and security services, it turned to Indumil – the government-owned small arms factory. Indumil already had a license […]