Commentary - Forgotten Weapons

Great Celebrity Breakups: Winchester and John Browning

August 26, 2021 Ian McCollum 24

In August 1903, Thomas Bennett (head of the Winchester company) wrote a letter to his many distributors and agents explaining how Winchester had decided to part ways with the Browning Brothers, and how the company […]

Why The Most Expensive US Martial Pistol Exploded A Lot

August 12, 2021 Ian McCollum 35

The Colt Model 1847 Walker is one of the most valuable of all US military handguns in the collecting community, with examples sometimes breaking seven figures. However, the Walker was in many ways a remarkable […]

The Great Sportsman’s Guide AK Magazine Lottery of 2006

August 10, 2021 Ian McCollum 18

Someone left a comment about my casual use of a stamped Chinese AK magazine in my little Krink build, and it prompted me to consider where that magazine came from. I got that magazine as […]

CatalogIt Firearms Inventory Software for Museums and Collectors

July 13, 2021 Ian McCollum 14

Check out CatalogIt for firearms here: https://www.catalogit.app/classifications/firearms When I went looking for a piece of good modern software to use for maintaining a collection inventory, I came up almost completely empty. Talking to Ashley Hlebinsky, […]

L96A1 Behind the Scenes: Manufacturing Catastrophes and Exploding Rifles

July 1, 2021 Ian McCollum 58

Accuracy International’s L96A1 was a stunning success in British military trials, and became the basis for one of the most respected line of precision rifles in the world. However, it very nearly was abandoned almost […]

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 […]