Heavy MGs
Extra-Light Maxim (1895)
One of the relatively few successful competitors to the Maxim in the early days of the heavy machine gun was the Col Model 1895 (aka, the Potato Digger). When it was adopted by the US […]
Articles by Ian McCollum
Prototype
Grant Hammond .45ACP Trials Pistol
The Grant Hammond .45 pistol is a gun which was too late to take part in the major 1907 US military pistol trials, and which was instead presented proactively to the military in hopes of […]
Aircraft MGs
Video Q&A #3: What-Ifs and How-Comes
I initially figured these Q&A video would be a fun little side note, and I have been a bit taken aback by how popular they became…and so they keep getting longer. This one clocks in […]
Single Shot Rifles
How to Get More Rifles Fast: France, WWI
One of the universal misconceptions about World War One on the parts of its combatants was how long it was expected to last. When war broke out, the prevailing assumption on all sides was that […]
Semiauto Rifles
Scotti Model X – Shooting, History, & Disassembly (Video)
The Scotti Model X (the X standing for the 10th year of the Italian Fascist era, or 1932) was one of several semiauto rifles tested by the Italian military during the late 1920s and early […]
Select-fire Rifles
Vintage Saturday: Shipboard Operations
Note the optic (can’t tell what type), the 1907 pattern shooting sling, and the hand-made vertical front grip.
Heavy MGs
“Transitional” Maxim
When we last left Hiram Maxim, he had perfected his very first machine gun – the world’s first practical machine gun, really. However, while his gun worked well, it was not yet a design which […]
Semiauto Rifles
Mondragon 1908 Semiauto Rifles – 4 Different Examples (Video)
Best known as the first semiautomatic service rifle adopted by a mainstream military force, the 1908 Mondragon was designed by Mexican native Manuel Mondragon, manufactured by SIG in Switzerland, and adopted by the Mexican Army […]
Prototype
Schlegelmilch Automatic Pistol
Aside from being one of the more unfortunately-named early repeating pistols, the Schlegelmilch is also one of the earliest and more unusual mechanically. It also the only example I am familiar with of a pistol […]
Bolt Action Rifles
Perspectives on French Rifle Sight Design
Holy moley, is that the most dense and snooty post title ever? I think it might be. However, I think it’s a much more interesting subject than most folks might anticipate, and it’s something that […]