Commentary - Forgotten Weapons

Scotch, Crackling Fire, and the Story of the Chassepot

March 19, 2020 Ian McCollum 11

One of the stretch goals in the presale Kickstarter for Chassepot to FAMAS was for me to do some reading from the book, on video. So, I present the story of the Chassepot! Copies of […]

How the 1911 Got Its Safeties – and Why Its Ancestors Had None

March 3, 2020 Ian McCollum 36

Some people put a lot of weight on the fact that the 1911 has a grip safety and a thumb safety…but I don’t think many folk understand how it ended up that way. John Browning’s […]

How to Import Guns into the US (Legally!)

February 27, 2020 Ian McCollum 11

I have had a bunch of people ask me what the process is for legally importing firearms into the US. I have gone through this process now a couple times over the past few years, […]

The Truth About the Type 94 Nambu “Surrender Pistol”

February 25, 2020 Ian McCollum 23

If there is a historical military firearm out there as badly misunderstood as the Chauchat, it is probably the Type 94 Nambu pistol. Nambu designed this pistol with an exposed sear bar, which was not […]

How to Become a Professional Gun Designer

February 4, 2020 Ian McCollum 24

The introductory clip was from my interview with Tony Neophytou, a talented and successful South African firearms designer (his work includes the Neostead 2000, Inkunzi PAW, and NTW-20 rifle). He doesn’t mince words; it’s a […]

The Truth Behind the Great G36 Controversy

January 28, 2020 Ian McCollum 70

Is the G36 a great rifle unfairly maligned? Or is it mealy and inaccurate? Let’s look at the question, and find out what was really going on with the Great G36 Controversy.

Why Antitank Rifles Were Not Sniper Rifles

January 23, 2020 Ian McCollum 42

When talking about antitank rifles, I often hear people ask why such things were not fitted with telescopic sights and used as snipers’ rifles. So today, I figured I’d take a few minutes to explain […]

Why Drum Magazines are a Bad Idea

January 9, 2020 Ian McCollum 67

I often see questions form people asking why drum magazines are not more widely used – the BAR and the MP40/I in particular. People often view the box vs drum magazine question simply in terms […]

An American .30-06 MG-42, and GPMGs after WWII

October 31, 2019 Ian McCollum 60

The perk for $100 Patrons is choosing a gun they would like me to find and film, and one such Patron (Mark) expressed a curiosity about US testing and lack of adoption of an MG-42 […]

Transferrable? Pre-May? Post-86? Dewat? John Keene Explains…

October 20, 2019 Ian McCollum 3

Today I am speaking with retired Master Sergeant John Keene, who is the NFA specialist for the Morphy Auction Company. Specifically, we are discussing the terminology and categories of legal machine guns in the United […]