Ian McCollum - Forgotten Weapons

The Best BAR: Luxembourg .30-06 FN-D at the Range

November 17, 2020 Ian McCollum 9

I normally want to have something specific to demonstrate what I take a gun to the range, but today I don’t. What I have today is and FN-D, the very best iteration of the Browning […]

Krupp 50mm Mountain Guns for Siam (Thailand)

November 16, 2020 Ian McCollum 23

In 1906, Siam (now Thailand) purchased a batch of 50mm mountain guns form Krupp of Germany. These were simple fixed barrel guns with steel-belted wooden wheels. Designed to be carried by elephant, mule, or even […]

MP5SD at the Range: Subsonic vs Supersonic

November 14, 2020 Ian McCollum 23

While the MP5SD is made with a barrel ported right at the chamber to reduce bullet velocity, I am curious to see if it will actually work. Can I tell the difference between 115gr supersonic […]

H&K MP5SD: The Cadillac of Suppressed Submachine Guns

November 13, 2020 Ian McCollum 20

Shortly after introducing the MP5 submachine gun, Heckler & Koch added an integrally suppressed model to its line at the request of special operations forces. It was called the MP5SD, for “shalldampfer”, or suppressed. In […]

WW1 Prideaux Speedloader for the .455 Webley Revolvers

November 12, 2020 Ian McCollum 12

The Prideaux speed loader was one of several early such devices patented and manufactured as early as 1893, but neither it nor any competitor saw much demand until the outbreak of World War One. At […]

.38 ACP Webley-Fosbery Automatic Revolver

November 11, 2020 Ian McCollum 35

The rarest variation of the Webley-Fosbery automatic revolver is the .38 ACP model. Only 341 of these were made by Webley, in an attempt to compete with the new semiautomatic pistols appearing on the market […]

Russian World War 1 Contract Colt 1911

November 10, 2020 Ian McCollum 22

During World War One, the Russian Government purchased some 51,000 Colt 1911 pistols. These were standard commercial production guns, chambered for .45 ACP, and were shipped in 1916 and 1917, with JP Morgan acting as […]

Marlin 7MG aka Model 1917 Aircraft Machine Gun

November 9, 2020 Ian McCollum 24

John Browning’s original Model 1895 gas-lever machine gun was still in production by Colt when World War One broke out. It was not the most modern gun around by then, but it was available – […]

Ruger AC-556 at the Range: How Does it Compare to the M16?

November 7, 2020 Ian McCollum 25

Yesterday we took a look at the internals of Ruger’s select-fire AC-556, and today we have it out at the range. The main question for me was, how does it compare to the M16/AR-15? And […]

Ruger’s M16 Alternative: the Select-Fire AC-556

November 6, 2020 Ian McCollum 41

Ruger introduced their semiauto Mini-14 rifle in 1973, and followed it in 1979 with the AC-556, a select-fire version intended for military and police sales. Offered with either an 18.5 inch barrel and solid wood […]