Book review - Forgotten Weapons

The Scout Rifle Study: A Book Review and Critique of the Scout Rifle Concept

May 14, 2020 Ian McCollum 50

Let me preface this by saying that I remain a big fan of the Scout Rifle concept and the Steyr Scout in particular. When I ordered a copy of Richard Mann’s “The Scout Rifle Study”, […]

Announcing: Thorneycroft to SA80: British Bullpup Firearms 1901-2020

April 12, 2020 Ian McCollum 42

Sorry for the poor audio quality – today I am back at the Cody Firearms Museum talking to Jonathan Ferguson, Keeper of Firearms & Artillery at the Royal Armouries in the UK. Jonathan has written […]

Book Review: Chassepot to FAMAS – French Military Rifles 1866-2016

March 12, 2020 Ian McCollum 27

I am very excited to finally be able to formally present to you Chassepot to FAMAS: French Military Rifles 1866-2016! After about 3 years of work, it’s finally here and shipping. My goal with this […]

Book Review: Browning Auto-5 Shotguns

January 14, 2020 Ian McCollum 11

I am normally more interested in military small arms than sporting ones, but the Browning Auto-5 is such an important firearm that it deserves the recognition of and proper small arms enthusiast. It was not […]

Book Review: Weapons Mounts for Secondary Armament

December 29, 2019 Ian McCollum 12

Weapon Mounts for Secondary Armament is a nearly 1200-page reference on all manner of machine gun mounting systems for tanks, aircraft,t light vehicles, and ground mounts. The book was commissioned in 1957 by the Detroit […]

Book Review: Walther Pistols – Models 1 to PPX

December 15, 2019 Ian McCollum 12

Dieter Marschall originally published his book on Walther Pistols in German, but it was translated into English to meet demand form the collector market here in the US. This is the third English edition, expanded […]

Book Review: The Martini Henry, For Queen and Empire

December 8, 2019 Ian McCollum 14

One of the perennial challenges facing authors of firearms reference books is balancing the very technical nit-pickery with the broad historical view of a gun and its context in world events. The emphasis is usually […]

Book Review: Vickers Guide to the Kalashnikov, Volume II

November 9, 2019 Ian McCollum 3

Fair disclaimer: I may be biased, as I am a co-author of this work… Vickers Guide is back with the second volume on the AK, specifically on 5.45mm and 5.56mm Kalashnikovs. If you like […]

Book Review: FN49 – The Last Elegant Old World Military Rifle

November 2, 2019 Ian McCollum 4

I have been impatiently awaiting the expanded second edition of Wayne Johnson’s “The FN-49: The Last Elegant Old-World Military Rifle” ever since I heard a rumor that it was in the works. The first edition […]

Book Review: French Tanks of the Great War

October 27, 2019 Ian McCollum 13

Having recently finished guiding a WW1 battlefield tour in France and Belgium, I found myself curious to learn more about the details of French tank development and service. We are used to seeing and hearing […]