Ian McCollum - Forgotten Weapons

Can the Honey Badger a Replace the MP5SD?

January 27, 2024 Ian McCollum 8

The .300 Blackout cartridge and the rifle we now know as the Honey Badger were originally developed by AAC by request of a US special forces military unit. They wanted to replace their MP5SD submachine […]

Battle Rifles of World War Two: Overview

January 26, 2024 Ian McCollum 63

Today we are going to take a look at the three main battle rifles of World War Two – the M1 Garand, the SVT-40, and the Gewehr 43. We will also consider the SVT-38, Gewehr […]

Vila Velabita: Croatian Submachine Gun Made in a Shed

January 24, 2024 Ian McCollum 13

At the beginning of Croatia’s Homeland War, a severe need for small arms led to a whole plethora of simple submachine gun designs. Some were made in proper factories with professional tooling, and some were […]

Guns for the Pope’s Police: Mazzocchi Pinfire Revolver

January 22, 2024 Ian McCollum 14

The revolver we are looking at today is a 9mm pinfire revolver adopted for the Papal Gendarmerie in 1868. At that time, the Papal States controlled roughly the same amount of territory as Switzerland today, […]

Heckfire by ShootingSight: The Best Trigger for H&K & Clone Rifles (9mm / 5.56 / 7.62)

January 21, 2024 Ian McCollum 8

Available direct from the manufacturer: HECKFIRE 2-STAGE TRIGGER FOR MP-5, MP-5K, PDW, HK 91/93/94, G3, CLONES One of the shortcomings of H&K roller-delayed long guns has always been their triggers. As they come form the […]

2-Gun on the Elbe: SVT40 vs M1 Garand

January 20, 2024 Ian McCollum 11

Today I’m taking an SVT-40 to the monthly 2-Gun Action Challenge Match, and I’m joined by my friend Tom shooting an M1 Garand. We’re both using moderately accurate gear, and so naturally I have a […]

The 1950 Marketing Contest to Name the S&W Chiefs Special

January 19, 2024 Ian McCollum 2

Today we’re taking a look at a Smith & Wesson Chiefs Special, but not just any Chiefs Special. This is serial number 29, factory engraved and gifted to Chief Edward Book of Passaic New Jersey […]

MAS-49 Carabine Mitrailleuse: A French Prototype Lever-Delayed Assault Rifle

January 17, 2024 Ian McCollum 35

When France was developing it’s new suite of small arms in the late 1940s, there was a debate over whether to adopt an intermediate-power cartridge or retain the full-power 7.5x54mm round for the infantry rifle. […]

Hammerli FK-31: Diopter Competition Rifles for the Haganah

January 15, 2024 Ian McCollum 2

In 1949, Israel was still fighting its war of independence, and purchasing arms internationally was difficult to do. The recently-formalized IDF wanted sniper rifles, and looked to Hammerli in Switzerland for a variant of the […]

Historical What-If: The CAR-15 SD

January 14, 2024 Ian McCollum 4

What is the MP5 was never adopted, and instead the vented barrel and telescoping silencer used by the SD model was instead developed for the AR-15? Broad River Tactical thought it would be fun to […]