Ian McCollum - Forgotten Weapons

Q&A February 2026: Drones, AI, 6.5mm Cartridges, and More

February 27, 2026 Ian McCollum 10

Today’s Q&A is sponsored by Kyrö – get 10% off all their spirits with code FORGOTTENWHISKY10 at: https://www.kyrodistillery.com 01:05 – Guns from Peru JoLoAr video: https://youtu.be/c9JfodMKlBY 03:23 – Why not blow-forward bullpups? AK-53 video: https://youtu.be/-ykmqUFJWAw […]

Mauser M90 DA: Not Mauser and Not a High Power

February 25, 2026 Ian McCollum 10

Our book on Hungarian AKs, “Rifles on the Danube”, is available here: https://www.headstamppublishing.com/danube-book In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Mauser firm was not in good shape. It had no new products, and its […]

Aimpoint’s First Tube Optics: 2000, 3000, & 5000

February 23, 2026 Ian McCollum 2

https://youtu.be/I786pgkby_I Aimpoint introduced its first tubular red dot sight in 1985, the Aimpoint 2000. They were still making direct rail-mounted optics like the Aimpoint Electronic, but recognized the customer demand for a sight that could […]

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

February 20, 2026 Ian McCollum 17

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 82

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 19

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 112

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 […]