Handgun - Forgotten Weapons

Prototype Czech Silencer-Ready vz70

February 12, 2024 Ian McCollum 1

Courtesy of CZ and their reference library, we are looking at a prototype model of the vz.70 pistol intended to use a suppressor. It has an extended and threaded (with interrupted threads for quick attach/detach) […]

Ultra-Premium S&W Performance Center Model 3566

February 9, 2024 Ian McCollum 14

When Smith & Wesson introduced their Model 3566 pistol for USPSA use, the company shooting team needed six of them for use at the 1994 USPSA Nationals. The Performance Center made these six guns, and […]

PT83: The Sneaky Silenced Version of Poland’s P83 Pistol

February 5, 2024 Ian McCollum 26

When the P-83 pistol went into production, the Polish military decided that it wanted a dedicated suppressed version of the gun, and the result was the PT-83. Thw P-83 was a 9x18mm pistol with a […]

Romeo M17 Red Dot: Worth It?

January 28, 2024 Ian McCollum 3

In my opinion, the SIG Romeo-M17 red dot is a really good piece of gear, but substantially overpriced. This is a red dot that SIG has developed specifically for the M17 and M18 military pistols, […]

Guns for the Pope’s Police: Mazzocchi Pinfire Revolver

January 22, 2024 Ian McCollum 14

The revolver we are looking at today is a 9mm pinfire revolver adopted for the Papal Gendarmerie in 1868. At that time, the Papal States controlled roughly the same amount of territory as Switzerland today, […]

The 1950 Marketing Contest to Name the S&W Chiefs Special

January 19, 2024 Ian McCollum 2

Today we’re taking a look at a Smith & Wesson Chiefs Special, but not just any Chiefs Special. This is serial number 29, factory engraved and gifted to Chief Edward Book of Passaic New Jersey […]

Hi-Point YC-9 Yeet Cannon at the BUG Match

January 13, 2024 Ian McCollum 10

Hi-Point finally released their double-stack YC-9 Yeet Cannon a few months ago, and they sent me one to try out so I figured I’d take it to the monthly BackUp Gun Match. The new YC-9 […]

Hogue Avenger vs M1911 at the Range

January 6, 2024 Ian McCollum 7

Yesterday we looked at where the Hogue Avenger came from and how it works; today I’m out at the range to test it out against a nicely customized M1911…

Hogue Avenger: Precision Accuracy Via Delayed Blowback

January 5, 2024 Ian McCollum 14

The Avenger is a flapper-delayed blowback, fixed barrel conversion upper assembly for the Model 1911 pistol. It was designed by Austrian Peter Spielberger, and manufactured by Hogue in the US and PowerSpeed in Austria. It […]

Replacing Beretta: the S&W XM10 Trials Pistol

December 29, 2023 Ian McCollum 38

When the US adopted the Beretta Model 92 as the new M9 standard issue handgun in 1985, it was not without controversy. In particular, there was a scandal of cracked and broken M9 slides shortly […]