Ian McCollum - Forgotten Weapons

Chinese Warlord Pistols: the “Horn Grip Type”

May 28, 2021 Ian McCollum 8

Interested in these guns? Check out the Kickstarter for my new book on the subject, “Pistols of the Warlords”! In the course of researching Chinese domestic pistols of the Warlord Era, I sorted through several […]

Why Guns Take Years to Get Into Production

May 27, 2021 Ian McCollum 34

Today, let’s take a few minutes to discuss why it’s hard to actually put guns into production. Making a functional prototype is one thing, but the truly hard part is often translating that one prototype […]

DS-39: The Failed Soviet Machine Gun of World War Two

May 26, 2021 Ian McCollum 40

The Soviet Union recognized the need for a modernized machine gun to replace the Maxim, and in the late 1920s Degtyarev began work on a “universal” type of gun. This would be air cooled, use […]

Tipo Alleggerito Beretta: Because Italian Gun Laws are Wacky

May 24, 2021 Ian McCollum 19

Today we are looking at two examples of prewar/wartime Beretta compact pistols. The first is a Tipo Alleggerito Model 34 in .380. This was developed because of a quirk in Italian law which prohibited the […]

British L85A1 at the Range: Will It Work?

May 22, 2021 Ian McCollum 66

I am excited to have a chance today to take a trip to the range with a proper, factory L85A1 rifle (it’s in the United States as a post-1986 dealer sample). I had a chance […]

Chinese FN 1900s: From Wauser to Browningsbrowningsbrownings

May 21, 2021 Ian McCollum 18

Check out the Kickstarter-exclusive options for my new book, “Pistols of the Warlords”! One of the most popular pistols in Warlord Era China was the FN 1900, a compact and reliable officer’s pistol in .32 […]

Q&A 50: Disagreeing With the Premise of the Question

May 20, 2021 Ian McCollum 55

The Kickstarter for my new book, “Pistol of the Warlords” is live – check it out! 00:56 – What is the status of the Chinese Warlord Pistols book? 03:01 – Are open-bolt guns mechanically less […]

Announcing My New Book: PISTOLS OF THE WARLORDS

May 19, 2021 Ian McCollum 24

Check out the Kickstarter campaign here! I am very excited to announce the launch of my new book, “PISTOLS OF THE WARLORDS: CHINESE DOMESTIC HANDGUNS 1911 – 1949”. During the Warlord Era and the Chinese […]

The Mauser Train: High Adventure in the Last Days of WWII

May 18, 2021 Ian McCollum 19

Only days ahead of the French Army in April 1945, Ott-Helmuth von Lossnitzer and about 250 Mauser engineers and technicians fled Oberndorf with the core of Mauser’s new projects. They had the drawings, components, and […]

1893 Lee-Metford Trials Carbine (One of Only 100 Made)

May 17, 2021 Ian McCollum 8

Once Lee-Metford rifle production was in place, the British began working on a carbine version of the same action for their cavalry. In 1893 a trial run of 100 carbines were made, and today we […]