Handgun - Forgotten Weapons

Finland’s First Domestic Handgun: the Ahlberg

June 14, 2021 Ian McCollum 24

In the wake of Finland gaining its independence, small arms were much in demand for the armed forces. Many rifles had been taken from Russian stockpiles in Finland, but not many handguns. Hugo Ahlberg ran […]

Back-Up Gun Match Teaser with an MR-73

June 12, 2021 Ian McCollum 17

It came out recently that the Beretta Group has purchased Chapuis, the French manufacturer of the legendary MR73 revolvers. A bunch of people have asked me if I’m getting one of the Beretta-imported guns, and […]

Chinese Warlord Pistols: Massive FN 1900 Copies in .30 Mauser

June 11, 2021 Ian McCollum 31

It’s not too late to join the “Pistols of the Warlords” Kickstarter! The armies of Warlord Era China had quite a fondness for the FN 1900 pistol, but they also made extensive use of the […]

Shanghai 1900 Pistol-Carbine at the Backup Gun Match

June 5, 2021 Ian McCollum 11

Don’t miss the Kickstarter-exclusive version of “Pistols of the Warlords”! Today I am going to actually do some shooting with a Chinese Warlord Era pistol – a Shanghai Model 1900 Pistol-Carbine. As I described in […]

Chinese Warlord Pistols: Shanghai Model 1900 Pistol-Carbine

June 4, 2021 Ian McCollum 17

Get in on the “Pistols of the Warlords” Kickstarter today! Not all of the handguns made in China during the Warlord Era were made one at a time by individual artisan gunsmiths. A few models […]

Portugal’s Model 1886 Trooper’s Model Abadie Revolver

June 2, 2021 Ian McCollum 9

Isaac Abadie’s gate-loading system was a significant improvement in revolver technology in the 19th century, and Portugal was one of the first to adopt it. The initial Portuguese model was adopted in 1878 specifically for […]

Mauser 1912/14 Development in .45ACP

May 31, 2021 Ian McCollum 21

Mauser did not limit their Model 1912 and 1912/14 pistols to just being chambered in 9mm – they also developed a number of prototypes in .45ACP. Today we have a series of three such prototypes […]

Chinese Warlord Pistols: the “Horn Grip Type”

May 28, 2021 Ian McCollum 8

Interested in these guns? Check out the Kickstarter for my new book on the subject, “Pistols of the Warlords”! In the course of researching Chinese domestic pistols of the Warlord Era, I sorted through several […]

Tipo Alleggerito Beretta: Because Italian Gun Laws are Wacky

May 24, 2021 Ian McCollum 19

Today we are looking at two examples of prewar/wartime Beretta compact pistols. The first is a Tipo Alleggerito Model 34 in .380. This was developed because of a quirk in Italian law which prohibited the […]

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 […]