Ian McCollum - Forgotten Weapons

New Ad Banner – Historic Investments

December 22, 2015 Ian McCollum 5

Just a quick note that I have added a new banner to the site sidebar: Historic Investments. They have a GunBroker account instead of a standalone web site (although I think that is coming at […]

Israeli Dror LMG: Shooting & Disassembly (Video)

December 21, 2015 Ian McCollum 38

The Dror was an Israeli copy of the Johnson LMG, which was made domestically in Israel as part of Israel’s war of independence in the late 1940s. The design was developed through a combination of […]

2nd Lieutenant L. J. Barley of the 1st Battalion, Cameronians (Scottish Rifles), watching as a rifle grenade is prepared for firing from trenches at Grande Flamengrie Farm on the Bois Grenier sector of the line during February 1915.

Vintage Saturday: Rifle Grenade

December 19, 2015 Ian McCollum 62

2nd Lieutenant L. J. Barley of the 1st Battalion, Cameronians (Scottish Rifles), watching as a rifle grenade is prepared for firing from trenches at Grande Flamengrie Farm on the Bois Grenier sector of the line […]

Mystery Japanese Semiauto

December 18, 2015 Ian McCollum 30

While in the Smithsonian gun room, I noticed a semi auto Japanese rifle of a type I have not seen reference to before. It is definitely Japanese, judging from elements like the split buttstock and […]

Knoble Automatic Pistol, Cal .30 (Video)

December 17, 2015 Ian McCollum 35

The Knoble in .45 caliber was one of the pistols in the US pistol trials of 1907. Unfortunately for Mr. Knoble, his pistol was deemed to crude for the Ordnance Board to consider even test […]

Should Guns be in Museums or Private Collections? (Video)

December 16, 2015 Ian McCollum 69

Guns in museums get condemned to a purgatory behind glass. Guns in private collections get shot and broken. What are we to do? As it happens, I have spent the last two days in museum […]

Savage Automatic Pistols: Overview (Video)

December 14, 2015 Ian McCollum 30

Today I am taking a look at Savage automatic pistols as a general group. Savage produced about a quarter million pistols in both .32 and .380 caliber, divided between the models 1907, 1915, and 1917. […]

Dakota tribal policeman with a Remington-Keene rifle

Vintage Saturday: Policeman with a Rifle

December 12, 2015 Ian McCollum 28

The Remington-Keene was one of the many repeating rifles manufactured with hopes of US military contracts, which failed to get any. In total about 5,000 were made and sold commercially. It is a tube-magazine, bolt […]

XM-248 LMG Manual

December 11, 2015 Ian McCollum 12

Rather than explain the background of the XM-248, I will put you in the very capable hands of Weaponsman.com, who has posted an excellent 3-part series on the development leading up to the XM-248, entitled […]

SIG Prototype 1924/1925 Semiauto Rifles (Video)

December 10, 2015 Ian McCollum 15

The Swiss SIG factory was one of the earliest producers of semiautomatic military rifles, having produced the M1908 Mondragon rifles for Mexico. They continued to experiment with self-loading rifle designs, and in the mid 1920s […]