Ian McCollum - Forgotten Weapons

A Tantalean Ordeal

March 29, 2013 Ian McCollum 28

or How the Poles Got to Have their Small-Caliber Kalashnikov Made “My Way” We don’t often talk about modern weapons here, but the Polish wz.88 “Tantal” is moving quickly towards obscurity.Rendered obsolete by logistics nearly […]

Book Review: Springfield Armory – Pointless Sacrifice

March 28, 2013 Ian McCollum 13

This When I came across this copy of Christopher L. Dvarecka’s Springfield Armory – Pointless Sacrifice, I was hoping for an interesting behind-the-scenes view of the operations of Springfield. Unfortunately, I quickly became dubious […]

Additional Photos: Orita

March 27, 2013 Ian McCollum 7

I had a different post planned for today, but Michael Heidler sent me some additional photos of the recently-discussed Orita submachine guns that ought to be shared. They are both of the second model, but […]

Do You Shoot Competitions?

March 26, 2013 Ian McCollum 26

It’s not about winning; it’s about pushing yourself to do your best. When we shoot competitively, we have the pressure of performing in front of our peers, against the clock, and against a standard that […]

The Australian Owen SMG

March 25, 2013 Ian McCollum 43

We shot this video a while back, and it’s not as complete as I would like – but it’s still a good intro to a post on the Australian Owen SMG… (and yes, I misspoke […]

236 Year of US Army Accoutrements

March 24, 2013 Ian McCollum 13

Today’s guest post comes from Nightgear, a UK retailer of tactical gear: Accoutrement is the term used to describe items carried on a soldiers person. In modern military jargon it would be referred to as […]

Vintage Saturday: Desolation

March 23, 2013 Ian McCollum 20

US soldiers of the 23rd Infantry with a 37mm M1916 Infantry Gun in France, circa 1918.

The TZ-45: Italy’s Late-War SMG with a Special Safety

March 22, 2013 Ian McCollum 17

Today’s article is another guest piece from Michael Heidler, author of several very useful books for the collector. This time, he is taking a look at the Italian TZ-45 submachine gun, and it’s unusual implementation […]

Book Review: The Grand Old Lady of No Man’s Land

March 21, 2013 Ian McCollum 17

I got an email from a fellow a few days ago asking if there is a good book out there on the Vickers gun, so I figured it would be a good time to do […]

Romanian Orita SMG

March 20, 2013 Ian McCollum 39

When most folks think of the Axis powers in World War II, they think of Germany, Italy, and Japan. While these were certainly the dominant countries, we shouldn’t let them completely overshadow the smaller countries […]