Ian McCollum - Forgotten Weapons

Frommer Prototype Semiauto Rifle (Video)

November 14, 2016 Ian McCollum 37

Rudolf Frommer was a self-taught engineer and firearms designer who worked his way up through the FEG concern in Budapest to eventually hold the position of CEO. During this time he developed a series of […]

Bergmann Simplex Pocket Pistols (Video)

November 13, 2016 Ian McCollum 22

The Bergmann 1896 Number 2 pistol was a relatively successful compact pocket gun for its day, but quickly became obsolete as semiautomatic handguns developed and improved. Bergman and his chief engineer Schmeisser spent the late […]

Turner Semiauto SMLE Conversion (Video)

November 12, 2016 Ian McCollum 33

Russell Turner was a Pennsylvania gunsmith and inventor who developed this semiautomatic conversion of an SMLE bolt action rifle circa 1940. It was intended for trial and potential sale to the Canadian military, as it […]

Beautiful Breechloading Wheellock (Video)

November 11, 2016 Ian McCollum 75

Most people think that breechloading arms began with the development of paper or brass cartridges, but this is not strictly true. While not common before that period, there were gunsmiths here and there experimenting with […]

Chinese C96 “Wauser” Broomhandle

November 10, 2016 Ian McCollum 12

The C96 Mauser was a very popular handgun in China in the 1920s and 30s, which naturally led to a substantial number of domestically-produced copies of it. These ran the full range of quality, from […]

Collier Flintlock Revolvers (Video)

November 9, 2016 Ian McCollum 23

Elisha Collier is probably the best-known name in flintlock revolvers – to the extent that any flintlock revolvers are well known. Because of the great cost and required skill to manufacture a functional repeating flintlock […]

Turner Light Rifle Prototype (2nd Model)

November 8, 2016 Ian McCollum 22

Russell turner was a gunsmith and inventor in Pennsylvania who submitted a rifle design to the US Light Rifle trials (which would culminate in the adoption of Winchester’s design as the M1 Carbine). Turner’s entry […]

Movie Review: Anthropoid

November 7, 2016 Ian McCollum 41

The 2016 movie Anthropoid has gotten some negative reviews for failing to be properly cinematic and was a pretty unspectacular performer in box office receipts since its release in August – but I found it to […]

Tolkien’s Service Revolver

November 6, 2016 Ian McCollum 31

From The Guardian: The Webley Mk VI was the standard issue gun for British servicemen at the outbreak of the war. In 1996, Tolkien’s family gave the gun to the Imperial War Museum during a […]

Vintage Saturday: AR10 in Angola

November 5, 2016 Ian McCollum 55

From the look in his eyes, he knows you will burn down a village to get one of those rifles. Note the integral bipod on the AR-10 (A Portuguese m961 model).