Gunsmithing - Forgotten Weapons

Chinese FN 1900s: From Wauser to Browningsbrowningsbrownings

May 21, 2021 Ian McCollum 18

Check out the Kickstarter-exclusive options for my new book, “Pistols of the Warlords”! One of the most popular pistols in Warlord Era China was the FN 1900, a compact and reliable officer’s pistol in .32 […]

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 […]

Semiauto ZK-383 on the Range

April 17, 2021 Ian McCollum 18

The Czech ZK-383 is a magnificent submachine gun, but sadly very scarce in the United States. So when I saw the semiauto example, I wanted to take it out to the range for some plinking. […]

Richardson Guerrilla Gun in Congressional Testimony

January 31, 2021 Ian McCollum 91

A reader/viewer named John sent me this letter after seeing the Richardson Guerrilla Gun video. It was written by Richardson himself in 1965, as part of the formal record on Congressional debate of HR6628, which […]

Elbonian M52/57/61 Paratrooper Carbine

November 29, 2020 Ian McCollum 41

In 1960, Elbonia set out an RFP for a new carbine for a fledgling paratroop brigade. They wanted a rifle to provide a higher volume of firepower for these troops, rather like the intention of […]

Elbonian Prototype Hakim LMG

September 12, 2020 Ian McCollum 42

Pre-order your Elbonian shirt or poster here! Pre-orders will be open for two weeks before the shirts are printed and ship. Orders after that are subject to availability. Elbonia had a brief partnership with Egypt […]

Prototype Tube-Magazine Trapdoor Springfield

August 19, 2020 Ian McCollum 15

Lot 1078 in the September 2020 RIA Premier auction. This experimental repeating conversion of a Trapdoor Springfield was most likely made by Augustine Sheridan Jones, of the Dakota Territory in the 1880s. We know he […]

The Worst AK Build I Have Ever Seen, Bar None

June 18, 2020 Ian McCollum 48

This AK was purchased by someone I know, and it is so utterly awful that I just had to put it on camera. I’m obscured the name of the shop that did the build because […]

Restoring Sporterized Military Rifles for Fun and…Probably not Profit

June 11, 2020 Ian McCollum 13

I get a fair number of questions about restoring sporterized rifles, so I figured I should address them in a stand-alone video…

The REAL Heroes of the M1 Carbine – not “Carbine” Williams

April 21, 2020 Ian McCollum 30

The Hollywood-spawned mythos of the M1 Carbine is that it was created by David Marshall “Carbine” Williams. The reality is far different. In real life, Williams was talented, but short-tempered, stubborn, and unable to work […]