Ian McCollum - Forgotten Weapons

Khyber Pass Martini Pistol at RIA (Video)

February 6, 2015 Ian McCollum 13

The Khyber Pass is a well known center of arms production, with gunmaking there going back at least 100 years. The quality of craftsmanship varies greatly, from excellent and safe weapons to thoroughly unsafe guns […]

Starr DA & SA Revolvers at RIA (Video)

February 5, 2015 Ian McCollum 4

Starr revolvers are one of the less recognized designs used in the US Civil War, although tens of thousands of them were made and issued. Indeed, in many ways they were superior to the much […]

Cobray Terminator Shotgun at RIA (Video)

February 4, 2015 Ian McCollum 56

The Cobray Terminator is an unusual – and unusually impractical – single-shot 12 gauge shotgun. It uses a sort of open bolt system in which the barrel is under spring pressure, and slams backwards into […]

Apache Knuckleduster Revolver at RIA (Video)

February 3, 2015 Ian McCollum 16

The “Apache” was a combination knife, brass knuckles, and revolver made by several companies in Belgium and France, which became associated with a group of street thugs in Paris around the turn of the century. […]

Lots of New Things!

February 2, 2015 Ian McCollum 11

I have a number of things from the last week or so to share with folks who are interested… First up, while I was at SHOT in Vegas, Karl and I had the chance to […]

Vintage Saturday: Not the Best Choice

January 31, 2015 Ian McCollum 16

A postcard photo from May 1918 (sent to me by Shane M. – thanks, Shane!). Featuring Arthur L. Potts, 103rd MG Co. 26th Division. The Standard Arms Model G rifle he’s holding was a direct […]

Colombo Ricci Automatic Revolver

January 30, 2015 Ian McCollum 21

The Colombo-Ricci is (was) an automatic revolver reportedly designed in Italy around 1910, and chambered for the standard 10.4mm Italian revolver cartridge. Very little information is available on the gun, but it seems reasonable to […]

Slow Motion: Steyr-Mannlicher M1905

January 29, 2015 Ian McCollum 32

The 1905 Steyr-Mannlicher was developed by Ferdinand Mannlicher, one of Europe’s most prolific gun designers. It uses the 7.65mm Mannlicher cartridge, which is roughly equivalent to .32 ACP, with a 10-round fixed internal magazine. The […]

Mexican Pieper Revolving Carbine

January 28, 2015 Ian McCollum 28

I often find myself answering the question, why didn’t anybody adopt a revolving rifle based on the M1895 gas-seal Nagant revolver? It does seem like a natural solution to the gas-related problems inherent to a […]

SHOT Show Followup: Forgotten Weapons Edition

January 27, 2015 Ian McCollum 56

I took most of last week to head to Vegas for the annual SHOT Show, and while it is mostly a giant sea of AR15s, there were a few things there that might be of […]