Handgun - Forgotten Weapons

Toolroom Prototype .32 ACP Walther Olympia

July 10, 2019 Ian McCollum 6

In the late 1930s, Walther experimented with the idea of an Olympia target pistol in .32 ACP. They used the frame from a 1936 pattern standard (.22LR) Olympia with a .32 caliber barrel, increased mass […]

Milkor M32 and M32A1 40mm Grenade Launchers

July 5, 2019 Ian McCollum 18

The USMC adopted the Milkor USA M32A1 rotary multiple grenade launcher (MGL) in 2012. The history of this weapon goes back to South Africa, where designer Andries Piek was inspired to create it after building […]

Does the Boberg/Bullpup9 Design Reduce Recoil?

June 29, 2019 Ian McCollum 25

If you ask Bond Arms, they will tell you that their Bullpup9 (previously the Boberg XR9S) gets multiple benefits from its unique operating mechanism. Most everyone familiar with the gun knows about the idea that […]

H&K Mk23 SOCOM Development

June 28, 2019 Ian McCollum 27

The H&K Mk 23 pistol was developed in the 1990s for the US Special Operations Command and US Navy. The goal was to produce an “offensive handgun” that could serve as a primary armament for […]

Book Review Double Feature: Webley Solid Frame Revolvers

June 23, 2019 Ian McCollum 4

Joel Black partnered with several coauthors (Joseph L. Davis and Roger G. Michaud for the first and Homer Ficken and Frank Michaels for the second) to produce two volumes cataloging an immense variety of Webley […]

Armaguerra Last-Ditch M35 Pistol

June 17, 2019 Ian McCollum 24

When Italy signed an armistice with the Allied powers in 1944, the German military took over control of several Italian arms factories still in their geographic control. These included Beretta and Armaguerra, in Cremona. The […]

Nagant Model 1877 Gendarmerie Double Barrel Rolling Block Pistol

June 13, 2019 Ian McCollum 14

This pistol is for sale as part of Lot 280 at Rock Island’s Regional auction on June 20th. Emile and Leon Nagant set up their manufacturing company in Liege, Belgium in 1859, and it would […]

Smith & Beecham Prototype Polymer High Power

June 12, 2019 Ian McCollum 32

The South African company Smith and Beecham was not a large operation, and their most notable product was a .380 caliber compact pistol, of which not more than 2000 were ever made (it was not […]

Book Review: P38 Pistol – Spreewerk Production

June 9, 2019 Ian McCollum 8

I initially put off getting a copy of Jan Balcar and Ron Clarin’s book on the Spreewerk P38 because, well, I assumed it was just about Spreewerk. Upon finally reading it, I discovered that it […]

Polish PM63 Rak at the Range

June 8, 2019 Ian McCollum 18

Whether it is described as a machine pistol, a submachine gun, or a personal defense weapon, the PM63 Rak is really not the best examples of this sort of thing to actually shoot. The open-bolt/slide […]