Ian McCollum - Forgotten Weapons

Biography: Léon and Émile Nagant

July 15, 2015 Ian McCollum 22

Note: Today’s post was written by our friend and occasional contributor Robert White. Thanks, Robert! One of the oldest pistols still in service is the Russian M1895 Nagant, designed by Léon and Émile Nagant. Léon […]

HMG’s US-Made Sturmgewehr

July 14, 2015 Ian McCollum 43

In all the time I have been able to look at MP-43/MP-44/StG-44 rifles, one of the comments that comes up over and over is the desire for someone to make a semiauto reproduction of the gun […]

Walther MPL (Video)

July 13, 2015 Ian McCollum 38

The Walther MP was an all-stamped submachine gun developed in the late 1950s, and available in long (MPL) and short (MPK) versions. It is an open-bolt, blowback design, but uses a somewhat innovative bolt in […]

Papasan Chair as Antiaircraft Mount

July 11, 2015 Ian McCollum 18

German MG08 Maxim in antiaircraft mounting, at some point during WWI. Note the spider sights mounted halfway down the jacket, and the belt reel. Those reels allowed the guns to reliably feed at all manner […]

Product Review: CETME-L Flat by Prexis

July 10, 2015 Ian McCollum 67

Disclaimers: Apex Gun Parts is a longtime sponsor of this site. Prexis is not; in fact this was my first (and last) business transaction with Prexis. HMG is not a site sponsor, but has provided […]

Slow Motion: Mauser Schnellfeuer (Video)

July 9, 2015 Ian McCollum 29

Today’s slow motion video is a Mauser Schnellfeuer; the full-auto version of the C96 pistol made in the 1930s. Just over 100,000 of these were made, with the great majority being sold in China. It […]

MAS 62 Testing Results

July 8, 2015 Ian McCollum 28

Thanks to reader Thibaud, we have a translation of some of the testing results from the French military trial of the FN FAL and MAS Model 62. Thanks, Thibaud! The documents tell us that the […]

BSW Prototype Gas-Operated Pistol (Video)

July 6, 2015 Ian McCollum 116

In 1936 or 1937, the BSW company (Berlin-Suhler Waffenwerk) produced a small number of prototype pistols for German Army trials. These trials were eventually won by the Walther P38, and for good reason in this […]

Polish soldier on the line near Gazala, Libya - February 1942

Vintage Saturday: The Mustache is Mightier than the Machine Gun

July 4, 2015 Ian McCollum 39

Polish soldier on the line near Gazala, Libya – February 1942. Armed with a Browning M1919A4 and a Boys AT rifle in the truck as well.

Canada’s WWII Self-Loading Rifle Experiments

July 3, 2015 Ian McCollum 20

(The material for this post came primarily from a post made by Roger V. Lucy at the MilArt blog, which also has information on a couple other WWII Canadian experimental projects) When we see rifles, […]