Ian McCollum - Forgotten Weapons

Maxims in the Skies: the German LMG 08/15

April 24, 2024 Ian McCollum 9

As soon as the MG08/15 “light” machine gun was adopted by Germany, it was recognized as an ideal basis for an aircraft gun. Weight was of the essence for WW1 aircraft, and a lightened Maxim […]

The Rarest 1911: North American Arms Co

April 22, 2024 Ian McCollum 0

In the summer of 1918, the US government wanted to increase production of M1911 pistols, but all current manufacturers were working at capacity. So they looked to issue new contracts, and someone realized that the […]

What is the Best Maxim Gun? (with John Keene)

April 21, 2024 Ian McCollum 12

Today, Ian is talking to John Keene, NFA specialist for Morphy Auctions. The question is, what is the best model of Maxim gun? Whether it’s for a recreation shooter or a historical enthusiast, there are […]

‘Murican 2-Gun: M1918A3 BAR and M1911A1

April 20, 2024 Ian McCollum 3

Today I’m taking a brand new Ohio Ordnance M1918A3 semiauto BAR to the 2-gun match, along with a Tisas M1911A1 clone. The BAR is the WW2 configuration, but I followed the footsteps of many a […]

MG11: The Magnificent Swiss Maxim Gun

April 19, 2024 Ian McCollum 7

The Swiss were one of the first countries to test Hiram Maxim’s new automatic machine gun in 1887, and they found it far superior to their just-recently-purchased Gardner guns. The first Swiss maxims were delivered […]

Type 100 / 44 (Late Pattern) Japanese SMG

April 17, 2024 Ian McCollum 41

The Japanese never really embraced submachine guns during and before World War Two. A series of development programs in the 1920s and 30s led nowhere, and there never really seems to have been much motivation […]

M14: America’s Worst Service Rifle – What Went Wrong?

April 15, 2024 Ian McCollum 141

While the US never adopted a significant variation of the M1 Garand (excluding sniper models), testing continued on new iterations and features throughout the war. By the time the war ended, the US military had […]

A Guns to Save Lives: Winchester 1886 Line Thrower

April 14, 2024 Ian McCollum 5

Line-throwing devices have long been an important part of maritime safety, and many different have been guns adapted to launch ropes from shore to ship or ship to ship. Usually they are inexpensive obsolete surplus […]

Lugers in Thailand: The Siamese Artillery Luger

April 13, 2024 Ian McCollum 2

In 1936 and 1937, Siam purchased a batch of several hundred new Luger pistols for the Bangkok Police, including 100 long-barreled lP08 Artillery Lugers. These were new production gun, but made with surplus WW1-era barrels, […]

Chinese Type 50 PPSh: Founding “Gun City” in Manchuria

April 12, 2024 Ian McCollum 1

One of the first new weapons adapted and used by the Chinese Peoples’ Liberation Army after the Communist victory in the Chinese civil war was the Type 50, a copy of the Soviet PPSh-41. The […]