Ian McCollum - Forgotten Weapons

Winchester’s Prototype Model 1911 Was Actually a Browning Auto-5

June 28, 2021 Ian McCollum 14

When John Browning developed the self-loading shotgun that would become the Auto-5, he decided to depart from his existing standard business relationship with the Winchester company. Browning had historically sold his patents to Winchester for […]

Ian Finally Takes a Full Auto FAMAS F1 to the Range

June 26, 2021 Ian McCollum 46

Huzzah! I finally have a chance to take a proper full-auto FAMAS F1 out to the range. My conclusions? It’s very nice, just like the semiauto civilian model. It has a limited 3-round-burst option for […]

Vickers for Interwar Tanks: The Class C/T Machine Gun

June 25, 2021 Ian McCollum 19

The Vickers company developed several versions of the Vickers machine gun for aircraft use during the 1920s and 1930s, but they also worked on armored vehicle versions of the gun in the 1930s. Between 1930 […]

Book Review: The Guns of John Moses Browning, by Nathan Gorenstein

June 24, 2021 Ian McCollum 24

John Moses Browning is, without argument, the greatest firearms designer in history. While we have had many brilliant designers who had their names forever connected to guns (Maxim, Luger, Kalashnikov…), Browning invented whole *categories* of […]

Colt Prototype Double Action 1911

June 23, 2021 Ian McCollum 16

Thanks to Legacy Collectibles, today we have a unique Colt prototype pistol to look at today – a double-action variation of the 1911. Judging by the grips and markings, this was made in the late […]

The KP-15: Now in OD Green for you Forest-Dwellers

June 22, 2021 Ian McCollum 6

KE Arms has finally pretty much caught up with the demand for black KP-15 monolithic polymer lowers, and now has the time to put out a limited run of them in OD Green (virtually identical […]

Captain Carl Pelo’s Model 1954 Prototype Semiauto Rifle

June 21, 2021 Ian McCollum 37

Carl Pelo was a an engineer with Sako in the 1930s, and developed a series of self-loading rifles. He used a short recoil mechanism with a pair of locking flaps on the bolt, much like […]

Roth Steyr 1907 3D Printed Stripper Clips

June 19, 2021 Ian McCollum 34

Thanks to Thomas for sending me a couple of these clips to try out, and sharing his STL files for them! Here are the files for anyone who wants to make themselves a few: Clip […]

Livestream with Ian and his Dad Tonight!

June 18, 2021 Ian McCollum 13

Last chance today to get the purple cover edition! To celebrate the last two hours of the Pistols of the Warlords launch, I have Shanghai’d my father into coming down to join me in a […]

Chinese Warlord Pistols: The Huge Shanxi .45 ACP Broomhandle

June 17, 2021 Ian McCollum 13

The “Pistols of the Warlords Kickstarter ends Friday night; don’t miss out! The best known and most highly valued of the Warlord Era Chinese pistols is undoubtedly the .45 ACP copy of the C96 Mauser. […]