Commentary - Forgotten Weapons

The M1 Garand’s Mysterious 7th Round Stoppage

June 10, 2021 Ian McCollum 54

The M1 Garand ran great in testing, but as soon as Springfield began to crank out production-line guns a mysterious problem appeared. If the top round in the clip was on the right-hand side, the […]

Thunder-Studded Battle Pits: Nuances of Chinese Translation w/ Henry Chan

June 6, 2021 Ian McCollum 19

Interested in Chinese Warlord Era pistols? Check out my new book, Pistols of the Warlords! Henry Chan of 9 Hole Reviews was a big help to me throughout the writing of Pistols of the Warlords, […]

How William Fairbairn Created the Modern SWAT Team in Warlord Era Shanghai

June 1, 2021 Ian McCollum 12

The Kickstarter for my new book, “Pistols of the Warlords” is live here! William E. Fairbairn is best know for his work with Eric Sykes and their “”Commando” knife design during World War Two. However, […]

Why Guns Take Years to Get Into Production

May 27, 2021 Ian McCollum 34

Today, let’s take a few minutes to discuss why it’s hard to actually put guns into production. Making a functional prototype is one thing, but the truly hard part is often translating that one prototype […]

The Mauser Train: High Adventure in the Last Days of WWII

May 18, 2021 Ian McCollum 19

Only days ahead of the French Army in April 1945, Ott-Helmuth von Lossnitzer and about 250 Mauser engineers and technicians fled Oberndorf with the core of Mauser’s new projects. They had the drawings, components, and […]

Earth-Shattering ka-Boom! How (and Why) Guns Explode

April 30, 2021 Ian McCollum 107

Just yesterday Scott at Kentucky Ballistics posted a very sobering video detailing his Serbu RN-50 quite literally exploding in his face. A lot of people have asked if I have seen it, and I figured […]

Ian Rants About Dumb Ammo Purchasing Decisions

March 30, 2021 Ian McCollum 35

Seriously guys, buying trash surplus ammo is false economy. Do the research, don’t get tempted by a 2c/round savings, and get ammunition that will actually run. You will have a way better time shooting, and […]

An Interesting Possibility: The FG-42 in 8x33mm Kurz?

March 9, 2021 Ian McCollum 115

Here’s an interesting thought – what if they made the FG-42 in 8x33mm Kurz? Well, they actually did, in very small numbers. The rifle’s designer, Louis Stange, actually thought it was a really good idea, […]

How Did I Get My Guns to Finnish Brutality? Polaris Logistics.

March 2, 2021 Ian McCollum 6

I took my own Finnish M39 Mosin and TT-33 Tokarev to Finland for Finnish Brutality, along with a WWSD-2020 carbine. I’ve gotten a lot of questions from people wondering how I did that, and the […]

The FG-42 as a Sniper Rifle?

February 23, 2021 Ian McCollum 24

The FG-42 was specifically made with a scope attachment on every rifle, and intended to serve as a marksman’s or sniper’s rifle. But how much of that actually happened during World War Two? And was […]