Ian McCollum | Forgotten Weapons

Books, Merch, and More: Black Friday at Forgotten Weapons

November 23, 2023 Ian McCollum 1

Books from Headstamp Publishing: https://www.headstamppublishing.com/purchase History of Weapons & War App (including 1-week free trial): https://weaponsandwar.tv Merchandise from Varusteleka: https://www.varusteleka.com/en/category/forgotten-weapons-merchandise/2852 US World War Two books for Europeans: https://www.headstampbook.com Chinese Warlord Pistols books for Europeans: https://www.varusteleka.com/en/product/ian-mccollum-pistols-of-the-warlords-chinese-domestic-handguns-1911-1949/72940

FN Model 30: The First Belgian BAR

November 22, 2023 Ian McCollum 4

https://youtu.be/Ee5vpMosJys FN played a role in the production of Polish wz.28 BARs, and in the process obtained a copy of the technical package for the weapon, and converted it to metric measurements. Under the supervision […]

The Gun Science Says Can’t Work: Madsen LMG Mechanics

November 21, 2023 Ian McCollum 12

The Madsen LMG is generally considered an extremely complex and confusing system – but is it really? Today we are taking one apart to see just how it actually works. Because in fact, it’s a […]

Colt’s .41 Derringers: Buyout and Innovation

November 20, 2023 Ian McCollum 7

When Colt decided that it wanted a piece of the Derringer market, it used a tactic we are used to seeing today: it found an existing manufacturer and just bought them outright. This was the […]

Hangfires & Ballistics Gel: Czech vz.52 at the Range

November 18, 2023 Ian McCollum 13

Yesterday we took a look at the vz.52/57 rifle in 7.62x39mm, and today I have one of it’s 7.62x45mm predecessors out at the range. Not so much to do some shooting, as it turns out, […]

Czech vz. 52/57: The SKS We Have At Home

November 17, 2023 Ian McCollum 7

https://youtu.be/T2NfQU7RUbM We don’t need the SKS, we have gun designers at home! In the early days of the Cold War, the Czechoslovak communist party was on very good terms with Josef Stalin, and were able […]

Beltfed Madsen LMG: When the Weird Gets Weirder

November 15, 2023 Ian McCollum 14

First produced in 1902, the Madsen was one of the first practical light machine guns, and it remained in production for nearly 5 decades. The Madsen system is a rather unusual recoil-operated mechanism with a […]

Colt 1903 in US Military Service (and for the OSS)

November 13, 2023 Ian McCollum 10

https://youtu.be/aPK0vgElBzQ The Colt Model 1903, aka Pocket Hammerless, aka Model M, was a massively successful design for Colt on the commercial market. It was chambered for the .32ACP cartridge, with a .380 model introduced in […]

Breda 37: Italy’s Forgotten Heavy Machine Gun

November 11, 2023 Ian McCollum 40

https://youtu.be/LjU2qJJhaE4 The Breda Model 37 was Italy’s standard heavy machine gun (which meant a rifle-caliber gun fired only from a tripod) during World War Two. It was chambered for the 8x59mm cartridge, as Italy used […]

Madsens in the Favelas: The LMG Still Going Strong With Rio’s Military Police

November 8, 2023 Ian McCollum 2

The Madsen LMG was first introduced in 1902, and it is still in use with police forces in Brazil today. The Madsen was not very popular with major European armies, but it sold extensively in […]