Ian McCollum - Forgotten Weapons

Schultz & Larsen RPLT-42: Danish Occupation Rifle

February 11, 2017 Ian McCollum 12

When the Danish Coastal Police was formed under German occupation to patrol the Danish shores, they needed rifles. Rather than use valuable military arms, the government turned to the noted sporting and target rifle manufacturer […]

Guns in the Movies (Video)

February 10, 2017 Ian McCollum 25

Today we have not so much an examination of a specific firearms, but rather a look at how Clint Eastwood’s film portrayal of Dirty Harry Callahan drove a huge wave of popularity of the Smith […]

Sharps & Hankins Navy Model Carbine

February 9, 2017 Ian McCollum 10

Designed by Christian Sharps (or Sharps rifle fame), the Sharps & Hankins carbine was a light and handy rimfire carbine intended for military use. It was a single-shot weapon with an unusual action to lever […]

Gahendra: the Nepalese Martini (or not)

February 8, 2017 Ian McCollum 14

Long a mysterious unknown member of the Martini family, the Nepalese Gahendra rifles finally became available in the US and Europe after IMA purchased Nepal’s cache of historic arms. The Gahendra is a uniquely Nepalese […]

Yeah, the AR15 is Now Becoming C&R Eligible

February 7, 2017 Ian McCollum 15

Given the status of the AR15 as the preeminent military rifle still today, it comes as a surprise to many people to learn just how old the gun really is. Civilian production of the SP-1 […]

Ishapore SMLE MkI** India Pattern (Video)

February 6, 2017 Ian McCollum 9

While many people are familiar with the Ishapore 2A1 rifles chambered in 7.62mm NATO (largely thanks to their importation and sale in the US in large numbers), production of Indian Enfield rifles actually dates back […]

Swift Model B: For Training and Pranks (Video)

February 5, 2017 Ian McCollum 17

As World War 2 exploded in Europe, rifle training suddenly because a very important topic in Great Britain. Typical solutions are small bore rimfire training variants of service rifles, but the British also wanted an […]

Custom Cut-Down Walch 10-Shot Pepperbox Revolver (Video)

February 4, 2017 Ian McCollum 13

The Walch revolver was a Civil War era design with the unique feature of having superimposed loads – each chamber in the cylinder held not one shot, but two, stacked one on top of the […]

Peruvian Mausers: 1891 and 1909 (Video)

February 3, 2017 Ian McCollum 7

Peru’s first standardized repeating rifle was the Model 1891 Mauser, as purchased in 1901 through Argentina. About 30,000 of these rifles were obtained when Argentina was unable to pay for them – although this may […]

SMLE Rifle Grenade Launcher (Video)

February 2, 2017 Ian McCollum 16

While rifle-launched grenades date back hundreds of years, they first came into widespread use during World War One, on all sides of the conflict. The first years of the war saw the use of rod […]