Ian McCollum - Forgotten Weapons

Shooting the AuSTEN MkI – Not Actually So Bad!

October 16, 2019 Ian McCollum 14

This is Lot 1019 in the upcoming October Morphy Extraordinary auction. I have read much about the Australian dislike for the Austen submachine gun, but until now I never had the chance to actually try […]

The Owen SMG: Looks Bad; Shoots Good

October 15, 2019 Ian McCollum 15

This is Lot 2012 in the upcoming October Morphy Extraordinary auction. The Owen Gun is one of the really good submachine guns fielded during the Second World War, but is a very scarce gun to […]

Systema OBREGON: The Mexican Rotating-Barrel 1911

October 14, 2019 Ian McCollum 48

This is Lot 1500 in the upcoming October Morphy Extraordinary auction. Patented by Alejandro Obregon in Mexico in 1934 and in the US in 1938, this pistol is an adaptation of the classic Browning 1911 […]

Turkish Conehammer “Broomhandle” C96 Mauser

October 13, 2019 Ian McCollum 17

This is Lot 2493 in the upcoming October Morphy Extraordinary auction. The “cone hammer” was the first commercial version of the Mauser C96, so named for the stepped conical sides of its hammer. The C96 […]

SMG Comparison: Bernardelli VB vs Beretta Model 4

October 12, 2019 Ian McCollum 3

These are Lots 1069 (Bernardelli) and 2034 (Beretta) in the upcoming October 2019 Morphys Extraordinary auction. Yesterday we looked at the short-lived Bernardelli VB submachine gun made a few years after World War 2, and […]

Bernardelli VB: Not Actually a Beretta 38 Copy

October 11, 2019 Ian McCollum 24

This is Lot 1069 in the upcoming October 2019 Morphys Extraordinary auction. The Bernardelli company, known mostly for sporting arms, made an effort to break into the law enforcement/military/security market in the year after World […]

Osorio Selectiva: A Nicaraguan .22 Rimfire Machine Pistol

October 10, 2019 Ian McCollum 23

This is Lot 1067 in the upcoming October 2019 Morphys Extraordinary auction. Made by Señor Osorio in Nicaragua, this is a .22 rimfire caliber machine pistol with several clever design elements. It fires from an […]

The WW2 Double-Magazine MP40/I

October 9, 2019 Ian McCollum 20

This is Lot 2051 in the upcoming October 2019 Morphys Extraordinary auction. The MP40/I was an experimental modification of the MP-40 submachine gun developed by the Erma company (we think) in late 1942. It was […]

At the Range with the Marlin UD-42 SMG

October 8, 2019 Ian McCollum 13

This is Lot 1106 in the upcoming October 2019 Morphys Extraordinary auction. The Marlin / United Defense US-42 submachine gun was not used by the American military, but it did see service in World War […]

The CIA’s New Liberator: the 9mm Deer Gun

October 6, 2019 Ian McCollum 58

This is Lot 1523 in the upcoming October 2019 Morphy’s Extraordinary auction. The Deer Gun is a covert CIA pistol inspired by the Liberator. In fact, the initial desire was to pull Liberators out of […]