Light MGs
Beardmore-Farquhar manual
Sometimes you can have a good idea, well executed, and well promoted – but just be in the wrong place at the wrong time. The Beardmore-Farquhar machine gun is an example of just this unlucky […]
Articles by Ian McCollum
Uncategorized
SGM in Afghanistan
We received an email from a trooper in Afghanistan whose unit found a buried IED stash that included an SGM machine gun. There are a lot of interesting old weapons floating around Afghanistan, and we’re […]
Light MGs
Benet-Mercie 1909 manual
The Benet-Mercie 1909 was the first light machine gun adopted by the American military. Although named for two designers, the Benet-Mercie was basically a Hotchkiss Portative machine gun chambered for the .30-06 cartridge. The guns […]
Semiauto Rifles
Swedish Ljungman rifle
Some successful weapons have taken a decade or more to get into production, and some – like the Swedish AG42 – have gone from schematic to general issue in barely a year. The Swedes started […]
Light MGs
MG13 manual (in Spanish)
German machine gun designations are pretty easy to understand – the two digit number is the year of adoption. MG34? 1934. MG08/15? 1908, and modified in 1915. Easy, until you stumble over the MG13, adopted […]
Video
Bergmann-Bayard M1910/21 video
Today we have some video from a range trip earlier this summer, with a Bergmann-Bayard M1910/21 pistol. There’s a bunch of wind noise (sorry), but I hope the video is still worth watching. As I […]
Uncategorized
SGM photos from Aberdeen
The SG43 was a medium machine gun developed in Russia during World War II (1943, as you might have gathered from the designation). The initial development was done by Degtyarev, who was responsible for the […]
Manuals
Lewis info, and some site changes
Okay, I promised I’d be posting some Lewis gun documentation – and I’ve got it ready for you today. There’s a very nice selection – some in English, some in Russian, brief handbooks, detailed manuals, […]
Semiauto Rifles
General Liu rifle assessment
Thanks to a friend of the site in the Far East (who would prefer to remain anonymous), we have a good English translation of the Hanyang Arsenal testing report on the General Liu rifle. There […]
Video
Lewis Gun at the Range
We’re back at the range again today, this time with a 1914 Lewis Gun. The Lewis is a fairly distinctive gun, with a its large radiator shroud for air cooling. These guns were used primarily […]