Ian McCollum - Forgotten Weapons

“Presentism”, Whiskey, Clips, & Museums: A Chat With Ashley Hlebinsky

December 9, 2021 Ian McCollum 22

I recently met up with Ashley Hlebinsky, former curator of the Cody Firearms Museum, and we sat down for a rambling discussion about the intersection of firearms and museums, mostly. Among other things, we will […]

The Sure Defender: An O.G. Knuckleduster Knife Gun

December 8, 2021 Ian McCollum 12

One of the early combination self-defense guns was the “Sure Defender”, with a combination of brass knuckles, a small and finicky wavy-bladed dagger, and a single shot percussion pistol barrel. The rather complex process for […]

What Are All These 9mm Cartridges, And Why?

December 7, 2021 Ian McCollum 46

Why do we have so many different 9mm cartridges, and what are they all? Why are 9mm Steyr and 9mm Largo virtually identical and yet different, while 9×18 Ultra and 9×18 Makarov are completely different? […]

Lindner’s Improbable Tube-Fed Striker-Fired Caseless Ammo Revolver

December 6, 2021 Ian McCollum 23

Edward Lindner was a Bavarian-born gunsmith who spent much of his professional life in the United States. He was granted no less than 13 firearms patents, and was involved in some very forward-thinking designs. Among […]

Desert Brutality 2021 Day 2: Catastrophe and Redemption

December 4, 2021 Ian McCollum 10

When we left off yesterday, I had a perfect streak going with my FR-F2, but the choice of a .357 revolver for a Brutality match was looking pretty questionable. Well, we’ve got our more stages […]

Desert Brutality 2021 Day 1: Glory and Heartbreak

December 3, 2021 Ian McCollum 10

It’s time for Desert Brutality 2021! This match is a bit different from previous Brutality matches; it required three guns: pistol, rifle, and precision rifle. I chose to enter the Cold War division (all guns […]

ASAC Presentation: Development of French Military Repeating Rifles

December 2, 2021 Ian McCollum 11

At the Fall 2021 meeting of the American Society of Arms Collectors, I had the opportunity to make a presentation on the development of French military repeating rifles. The story begins with the Mle 1874 […]

The Very Rare Commercial Suomi SMG with VFG and Bipod

December 1, 2021 Ian McCollum 20

The kp/31, aka M31 “Suomi” submachine gun was adopted by the Finnish Army in 1931. It was produced by the Tikkakoski company (more commonly known today as Tikka), and in addition to Finnish military contracts […]

Ethiopian Oddities: Strange Smallbore Gewehr 71 Carbine

November 30, 2021 Ian McCollum 23

Today’s Ethiopian Oddity is a Gewehr 1871 carbine – remarkably still with its matching bolt – rechamsbered for a small bore, smokeless powder cartridge. It is a quite interesting example of an Ethiopian armorer’s work…

Unique L-35 Lahti Target Pistol with Stock & Bipod

November 29, 2021 Ian McCollum 16

The Lahti L-35 pistol was adopted by the Finnish military with the intention of it replacing the Luger, although production was never great enough to accomplish that goal. Early in its production, a couple of […]