• Contact Ian
  • YouTube
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
Forgotten Weapons
Head Stamp Publishing Ad
  • Home
  • Special Collections
    • M1 Carbine Development
    • M1 Garand Development
    • Bergmann Automatic Pistols
    • Carbine Williams and Winchester
  • Handguns
    • Machine Pistols
    • Revolvers
    • Semi-Auto Pistols
  • Shotguns
  • Rifles
    • Anti-Tank Rifles
    • Bolt-Action Rifles
    • Lever-Action Rifles
    • Revolving Rifle
    • Select Fire Rifles
    • Semi-Auto Rifles
    • Single Shot Rifles
    • Sniper Rifles
  • Machine Guns
    • Aircraft MGs
    • GPMGs
    • HMGs
    • LMGs
    • Manual Machine Guns
    • SMGs
  • Other
    • Accessories
    • Ammunition
    • Artillery
    • Biographies
    • Book Reviews
    • Cannon
    • Flamethrowers
    • Flare Guns
    • Interviews
    • Q & A
    • Rocket Launchers
    • Tours
  • Shop
HomeAuthorsIan McCollum

Articles by Ian McCollum

How Does it Work

How Does It Work: Toggle Actions

June 3, 2021 Ian McCollum 25
Toggle actions are a relatively exotic locking system that are relatively common and well-known because the system was used in a pair of particularly successful early guns: the Luger and Maxim/Vickers. There have also been […]
Revolver

Portugal’s Model 1886 Trooper’s Model Abadie Revolver

June 2, 2021 Ian McCollum 9
Isaac Abadie’s gate-loading system was a significant improvement in revolver technology in the 19th century, and Portugal was one of the  first to adopt it. The initial Portuguese model was adopted in 1878 specifically for […]
Commentary

How William Fairbairn Created the Modern SWAT Team in Warlord Era Shanghai

June 1, 2021 Ian McCollum 12
The Kickstarter for my new book, “Pistols of the Warlords” is live here! William E. Fairbairn is best know for his work with Eric Sykes and their “”Commando” knife design during World War Two. However, […]
Prototype

Mauser 1912/14 Development in .45ACP

May 31, 2021 Ian McCollum 21
Mauser did not limit their Model 1912 and 1912/14 pistols to just being chambered in 9mm – they also developed a number of prototypes in .45ACP. Today we have a series of three such prototypes […]
Select-fire Rifles

How Russia Captured its First MKb-42(H)

May 30, 2021 Ian McCollum 99
This guest article written by Andrey Ulanov. When a new weapon model gets to the front, there is always a risk of it getting captured by the enemy. Armed forces go to great lengths to […]
Uncategorized

An Economy Model WWSD: The Civil Defense Rifle

May 29, 2021 Ian McCollum 47
The initial rollout of the WWSD2020 rifles has been slow, as a shortage in a couple key components (primarily carbon fiber hand guards) has been a bottleneck in completing rifles. However KE Arms and Brownells, […]
Crude Copies

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 […]
Commentary

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 […]
General Purpose MGs

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 […]
Semiauto pistol

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 […]

Posts pagination

« 1 … 132 133 134 … 474 »

Our Awesome Sponsors!

Forgotten Weapons Merch!

Shirts, jackets, hats, and much more!
Sites we enjoy reading
  • British Royal Armouries
  • GunLab
  • Historical Firearms (Tumblr)
  • Joel's Gulch
  • View From the Porch
Research Sites
  • American Society of Arms Collectors
  • Artillery Luger
  • C&Rsenal
  • Carbines for Collectors
  • Gothia Arms Historical Society
  • GunPictures.net
  • James Julia auction archive
  • Manowar's Hungarian Weapons & History
  • Milsurps.com
  • Modern Firearms
  • Municion.org
  • Old Colts
  • Pistols of the German Wehrmacht
  • The Paul Mauser Archive
  • The Spanish Civil War Mosin Nagant
  • Unblinking Eye
What I’m Currently Reading
Subscribe to Forgotten Weapons via Email

Enter your email address to receive notifications of new posts by email.

Contact Us

Forgotten Weapons

6281 N. Oracle #36270
Tucson, AZ 85704

© 2026 Forgotten Weapons.
Site developed by Cardinal Acres Web Development.

Loading Comments...