Shotgun
Franchi SPAS-12 at the Range
Today I’m taking the SPAS-12 out to the range, to try a variety of ammunition and see what runs in it. The SPAS is a gas-operated shotgun that can be switched to manual pump operation […]
Articles by Ian McCollum
Percussion
A DAO Service Revolver in the Civil War: the Pettengill Army
The Pettengill revolver is a 6-shot, muzzleloading double-action-only system designed and patented by C.S. Pettengill in 1856, and improved by Edward Raymond and Charles Robitaille in 1858. In 1859, the Rogers & Spencer company was […]
Revolver
Colt Boa: Rarest of the Snake Revolvers
Of the seven revolvers Colt named after snakes, the rarest is the Colt Boa. Only a single production run of these were made totaling just 1,200 guns. They were made in 1985 as a custom […]
Bolt Action Rifles
Spoils of War: French Occupation-Production Mauser K98k svwMB
Allied troops occupied the Mauser factory complex in Oberndorf in April of 1945, right at the end of the war. The factory was put under French administration and by May that same year production lines […]
Artillery
Shooting a WWII German 50mm Light Mortar (L.Gr.W.36)
The standard German light mortar in World War Two was the model 1936 5cm Leichter Granatwerfer. It was a very precise (Germanic, one might say) machine, and a bubble lever for careful aiming, and it […]
Bolt Action Rifles
G33/40: Special Carbine for the Gebirgsjager
When the Germans took over control of the Czechoslovakian arms industry, they took some time to work out what out to be mass produced at the Brno factory. In the interim, they decided to restart […]
Shotgun
SPAS-12: Franchi’s Special Purpose Automatic Shotgun
Enter to win this iconic SPAS-12! https://www.fanathem.com/forgottenweapons Deadline to enter is 11/22/24 @11:59 PM PST Franchi introduced the Special Purpose Automatic Shotgun (SPAS-12) for Italian military and police agencies in 1979 and it quickly because […]
Commentary
Beretta M38A vs Suomi kp/31 (w/ John Keene)
If you had to pick one, would you take an early Beretta 38A (with bayonet), or a Finnish kp/31 Suomi? Both have semiauto selectors, although the Beretta’s its easier to use. The Suomi has a […]
Semiauto pistol
Portuguese Navy Lugers: Model m/910 from DWM and Mauser
Following Portuguese Army adoption in 1908, the Portuguese Navy adopted the Luger in 1909 as the m/910. The pattern they chose was a “new model” Luger in 9x19mm, with a 100mm / 4” barrel. A […]
Revolver
Enfield MkII: Better Than the MkI, I Guess
The Enfield MkI had only been in service for two years when the MkII was adopted in March 1882 to resolve some of its problems (and reduce its cost). At the same time, a new […]