Handgun - Forgotten Weapons

Königliche Marine (Prussian Navy) Colt 1851 Rig

October 28, 2020 Ian McCollum 25

In 1855, Prussian customs officials discovered a shipment of 3,000 Colt 1851 Navy model revolvers (and their accouterments) hidden in bales of cotton being shipped from New York to Russia. Prussia was a neutral power […]

WW1 British Contract M1911 in .455 Webley Self-Loading

October 27, 2020 Ian McCollum 12

On the eve of World War One, the Royal Horse Artillery and Royal Flying Corps had both adopted the Webley Self-Loading Pistol, chambered for a special .455 caliber semi-rimmed cartridge. With the needs of wartime, […]

Rollin White’s Single Shot .38 Rimfire Pistol

October 19, 2020 Ian McCollum 14

Rollin White was the inventor who patented the bored-through cylinder in the US, and sold an exclusive right to this patent to Smith & Wesson. They would use it as the basis for their own […]

The Most Popular Percussion Colts: 1848 Baby Dragoon and 1849 Pocket

October 17, 2020 Ian McCollum 16

The most-produced Colt percussion revolver was not one of the big sexy Army models, but rather the humble 1849 Pocket. It was first introduced as the Model 1848 Baby Dragoon, in .31 caliber. By 1850, […]

1926 Tula-Korovin: The First Soviet Semiauto Pistol

October 8, 2020 Ian McCollum 17

Sergei Korovin was a Russian designer who was kicked out of the Kharkov Technical Institute in 1905 for his revolutionary political activities. He emigrated to Liege in Belgium, where he worked in the arms industry […]

Custom 1932 Longslide Walther PP For Swiss Target Shooting

September 30, 2020 Ian McCollum 23

In 1932, Walther made 10 custom long-barreled PP pistols for the Swiss target shooting community, sold through Glaser in Switzerland. These pistols had 127mm (5 inch) barrels chambered for .32 ACP, a fine satin “Verchromt” […]

Taurus Curve: My Worst Backup Gun Match Yet!

September 26, 2020 Ian McCollum 45

A little while back during the summer I went to our monthly Backup Gun Match with, of all things, a Taurus Curve. Why do I even own one of those? Well, I found one new […]

Brazilian 1883 Nagant Revolver: The .44 Henry Rides Again!

September 23, 2020 Ian McCollum 10

In 1883, the Brazilian government decided to purchase 3,000 new revolvers, and they chose the Mauser Model 1878 “Zigzag” to procure. The officer charged with making the purchase in Europe, however, appears to have done […]

Mauser “Zigzag” Revolver Patent Model and its Unique Cartridge

September 16, 2020 Ian McCollum 16

The Mauser brothers’ first handgun was the single shot C77, which they quickly followed with the C78 “zig zag” revolver, so named for the cam grooves on the circumference of its cylinder. What we are […]

Napoleonic Sphinxes: A Magnificent Boutet Carved Pistol Set

September 10, 2020 Ian McCollum 5

Lot 252 in the September 2020 Premier RIA auction. Nicolaus-Noël Boutet is one of the most significant gunsmith artists in the world. He was the “directeur-artiste” of the Manufacture d’Armes de Versailles, set up in […]