Fake
Smill & Welson Spanish Counterfeit Revolver
This revolver looks like it is a Smith & Wesson DA from the early 20th century, right down to the S&W grips. However, it is actually a Spanish Eibar-made copy, and you can tell when […]
Articles by Ian McCollum
Gunsmithing
Hand-Fitted Parts Firsthand: French Modele 1874
We often hear the phrase “hand-fitted” in regards to either really finely made guns, or ones made before the the advent of truly interchangeable parts. Well, I recently had a firsthand experience with hand-fitted parts, […]
Shotgun
Techno Arms MAG-7 Shotgun: Shooting, History, & Disassembly
The MAG-7 is an unusual shotgun made in South Africa in the 1990s, and imported to the US in small numbers. The idea of the gun was to offer maximum firepower in the smallest package […]
Gunsmithing
The Sketchy AKs of the Libyan Civil War
Armament Research Services (ARES) has a database of Conflict Material (CONMAT), logging arms and munitions documented within the illicit sphere in conflict and post-conflict zones. I have been working on co-athoring a report with N.R. Jenzen-Jones covering Libyan […]
Semiauto pistol
Today’s New Tech: Red Dot Handguns
https://youtu.be/U3ogBYjTQqk I am often asked what is the coolest new thing in firearms technology…and the answer isn’t anything having to do with the actual gun design. Our guns today are mechanically the same as they […]
Bolt Action Rifles
James D. Julia: Experimental Muzzle Cover 1893 Mauser
(Note: this rifle was removed from the auction, so I have no link to provide for it) I have been unable to find any history on this particular rifle, which is an experimental mixture of […]
Handgun
James D. Julia: Confederate Cofer Revolver
T.W. Cofer was a Virginian gunsmith who made revolvers for the Confederate cause during the Civil War – although he never had a formal contract with the CSA. His pistols were sold privately to individual […]
Accessories
James D. Julia: Presentation Colt 1851 w/ Canteen Stock
One of the less common accessories for Colt percussion pistols is the original factory shoulder stock. And far less common still is the factory stock made with a canteen inside it! The stocks were made […]
Handgun
James D. Julia: An Assortment of James Reid “My Friend” Knucklers
James Reid was a Catskills gunsmith who emigrated form Ireland by way of Scotland. He made a number of different revolvers, but is best known for his line of “My Friend” knuckleduster pepperboxes (or “knucklers”, […]
Handgun
The Gun as Art: Tiffany Colts from Two Eras
The famous American jewelry company Tiffany & Co has a long history of offering decorative firearms, and today I’m looking at two of them. One is a cartridge conversion Colt from the 1870s, engraved by […]