Commentary - Forgotten Weapons

.50 BMG and the Geneva Convention

July 22, 2025 Ian McCollum 19

Adorable Penguin Brutality shirt available from Varusteleka: https://www.varusteleka.com/en/product/forgotten-weapons-penguin-brutality-t-shirt/81986?option=81709 I’m sure you’ve heard the one about how targeting an enemy soldier with a .50 BMG is a war crime, but targeting his belt buckle is okay […]

ATF Hates This One Trick to Get a Short Barreled Shotgun!

July 20, 2025 Ian McCollum 15

How can you have a 12ga with a 14″ barrel but not have it be an NFA-regulated Short Barreled Shotgun? And how can you have a .410 shotgun-firing pistol that isn’t an NFA-regulated Any Other […]

Valmet M78 vs FN-D (w/ John Keene)

July 12, 2025 Ian McCollum 46

If you had to pick one, would you take a Valmet M78 (in 7.62mm NATO) or an FN-D (in .30-06)? Both are reliable and well-made machine guns and they use essentially the same caliber. The […]

Jonathan Ferguson: British Military AR15s & Flintlock Revolvers

June 29, 2025 Ian McCollum 0

Jonathan’s book, “Thorneycroft to SA80”: https://www.headstamppublishing.com/bullpup-rifle-book “Clockwork Basilisk: The Early Revolvers of Elisha Collier”: https://www.headstamppublishing.com/collier-book “Who Invented the Wheelgun?”: https://www.headstamppublishing.com/purchase/p/wheelgun Armax Journal: https://www.armaxjournal.org Jonathan’s flintlock revolver article:

Red Dots: How Cheap is too Cheap? (featuring Mike Branson)

February 7, 2025 Ian McCollum 2

I met up with Mike Branson of Gideon Optics at SHOT Show 2025. Today, we are talking about red dot price and quality. It’s easy to get a good red dot if you are willing […]

Rate of Fire: What Determines it and How to Change It

January 17, 2025 Ian McCollum 48

What determines the rate of fire of a machine gun, and how can that rate of fire be determined or changed from a design perspective? Let’s talk about pressure, mass, and distance…

Sten MkII vs Ingram M10/9 (w/ John Keene)

December 11, 2024 Ian McCollum 20

If you had to pick one, would you take a Sten MkII or an Ingram M10/9? This applies specifically to the guns in their original factory configurations; no Lage products allowed! It’s hard to come […]

The Unique Challenges of Self-Loading Shotgun Design

November 22, 2024 Ian McCollum 45

This is your last chance to win this iconic SPAS-12! https://www.fanathem.com/forgottenweapons DEADLINE to ENTER is TONIGHT 11/22/24 @11:59 PM PST I think a lot of people under appreciate the difficulty of making a reliable self-loading […]

Beretta M38A vs Suomi kp/31 (w/ John Keene)

November 4, 2024 Ian McCollum 64

If you had to pick one, would you take an early Beretta 38A (with bayonet), or a Finnish kp/31 Suomi? Both have semiauto selectors, although the Beretta’s its easier to use. The Suomi has a […]

The Infamous Klobb: Guns of GoldenEye N64

October 8, 2024 Ian McCollum 6

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/headstamp/licensed-troubleshooter?ref=e0y2xl We are really close to hitting the stretch goal to add a section on the Guns of GoldenEye N64 to Licensed Troubleshooter! For a lot of people, James Bond was introduced not by Sean […]