Ian McCollum - Forgotten Weapons

BSA Prototype .45ACP Pistol at James D Julia

March 5, 2015 Ian McCollum 25

BSA (Birmingham Small Arms) was the largest private arms maker in the UK during World War One, and when the war ended it of course saw its huge military contracts evaporate. One of BSA’s efforts […]

20-Shot C96 “Broomhandle” Mauser at James D Julia

March 4, 2015 Ian McCollum 21

Early in the production of the C96 Mauser, the company tried a variety of different configurations of the pistol, to see what would be popular and sell well. Most of these were abandoned by about […]

M1907/12 Schwarzlose HMG at James D Julia

March 3, 2015 Ian McCollum 37

The M1907/12 heavy machine gun was the standard mounted MG of the Austro-Hungarian Empire during the First World War, and saw sporadic use clear through the end of WWII. The design is unusual among heavy […]

Mars Automatic Pistols at James D. Julia

March 2, 2015 Ian McCollum 49

The Mars pistol was designed by Sir Hugh Gabbett-Fairfax in England in 1898, and only 81 were produced by the time manufacturing ended in 1907. These pistols were chambered for several different cartridges, all of […]

Elmer Keith’s Revolver No. 5 at James D Julia

March 1, 2015 Ian McCollum 13

Elmer Keith’s No.5 Single Action Army is arguably the most famous custom revolver ever made. Keith had it built in 1928 after developing a friendship with Harold Croft, another revolver enthusiast. Croft had shown Keith […]

M1895 Lee Navy Salvaged from the USS Maine at James D Julia

February 28, 2015 Ian McCollum 21

The M1895 Lee Navy was a rifle well ahead of it’s time – a smallbore (6mm) straight-pull bolt action adopted by the US Navy at the same time that the US Army was adopting the […]

Dreyse/Kufahl Needlefire Revolver at James D Julia

February 27, 2015 Ian McCollum 11

Needlefire rifles were developed in the 1830s and represented and early effective type of breechloading rifle. As such, they were adopted by both German and French armies – but only in rifle form. Needlefire handguns […]

Walther MP-PP Prototype at James D Julia

February 26, 2015 Ian McCollum 19

During the late 1920s, it looked like the German Army was going to replace the P08 Luger with a less expensive sidearm, and several major German companies developed prototype guns to meet this anticipated need. […]

Two Prototype Webley Automatic Pistols at James D Julia

February 25, 2015 Ian McCollum 18

So, I may have gone a bit overboard and filmed more video at this upcoming Julia auction than I actually had time to publish before the auction takes place (but there were so many amazing […]

Thuer Conversion Colt 1849 at James D Julia

February 24, 2015 Ian McCollum 10

As the self-contained metallic cartridge because popular, a niche industry developed in converting percussion revolvers to use the new cartridges. One of the first of these conversions was designed by F. Alexander Thuer and marketed […]