October, 2026 - Forgotten Weapons

M1E4: Origins of the M14 Gas Expansion/Cutoff System

October 12, 2026 Ian McCollum 10

The E-series Garands were a series of prototypes made at Springfield Armory to test all sorts of different changes to the basic rifle design, from flash hiders to folding stocks. The M1E4 is a design […]

ZKP-541: A Competition Pistol So Complex it was Never Produced

October 9, 2026 Ian McCollum 9

https://youtu.be/uTrQiArjn_I Designed by Augustin Nečas in 1954, the ZKP-541 is a .22 rimfire target pistol, also called the Universal Super Rapid. It is designed to use .22 short, and long rifle, with different bolt assemblies […]

The First EOTech: Series 400 aka Bushnell Holosight

October 7, 2026 Ian McCollum 1

EOTech as a company was formed in 1995 as a spinoff of the University of Michigan Ann Arbor’s Environmental Research Lab, specifically to commercialize holographic weapon sights. Their first product was the Model 400, released […]

Remington Model 10: The Rarest American Trench Shotgun

October 5, 2026 Ian McCollum 9

The US military purchased a small number of Remington Model 10 shotguns during World War One to supplement its Winchester 1897s. They were made in both “riot” and “trench” configuration, with the trench guns using […]

Lercker M53 Experimental .380 Italian SMG (or PDW?)

October 2, 2026 Ian McCollum 28

Between 1952 and 1956 an Italian designer named Cesare Lercker from Bologna developed a series of pistols and submachine guns. He worked with Beretta, although it is unclear if he did the work at their […]