Handgun - Forgotten Weapons

California Arms Co 20ga “Defiance” Pistol-Shotgun

November 9, 2018 Ian McCollum 16

This registered NFA AOW sold for $3,738 at Rock Island on December 1, 2018. Made to compete with guns like the Ithaca Auto & Burglar, the “Defiance” form the California Arms Company is a side […]

Webley WG Single Shot Not-A-Revolver

October 22, 2018 Ian McCollum 18

This pistol is being sold by Morphys on October 31, 2018. This is a really interesting and probably unique Webley – a single shot, flat sided version of the WG Target revolver. It has a […]

Varan PMX90: Ambidexterity in South Africa

October 3, 2018 Ian McCollum 11

The Varan pistol was developed by two Rhodesian designers, Tony Blackshaw and Stewart Beecham, and was originally designated the PMX-80. Development would take nearly a full decade, however, and mostly took place in South Africa. […]

Webley Model 1911 Stocked .22 Single-Shot Target Pistol

September 29, 2018 Ian McCollum 3

The Webley Model 1911 is a single-shot, self-ejecting target pistol made only for a few years. It was fitted with a long barrel to increase sight radius and also a detachable shoulder stock for those […]

The Rhodesia Mamba: Big Hype and a Big Flop

September 28, 2018 Ian McCollum 2

The Mamba was originally conceived in a 1970s Salisbury, Rhodesia barroom bull session about the best elements of semiauto pistols. The project would wind up being pushed by an American expat named Joe Hale, and […]

Prototype Clement 9x20mm Military Pistol

September 26, 2018 Ian McCollum 1

Charles Clement is best known for a series of civilian pocket pistol made in the years before World War One, but today we are looking at a prototype Clement military pistol from 1914. This gun […]

Special Presentation: Semiauto Pistols of the 1800s

September 19, 2018 Ian McCollum 11

Today’s Special Presentation is an overview of all the semiautomatic pistols that were actually put into serial production before the year 1900. We have looked at these individually before, but I think it is worthwhile […]

Zip 22: Shooting the Worst Gun Ever

September 15, 2018 Ian McCollum 39

Today, may the good lord help me, I am taking the Zip 22 out to the range for some shooting. Note that while it actually worked remarkably well right up until it jammed solid, on […]

USFA Zip 22: How a Garbage Gun Destroyed A Good Company

September 14, 2018 Ian McCollum 36

USFA used to be the producers of probably the best Single Action Army reproductions on the market – but then the company owner decided to pursue a crazy whim and embarked on the Zip 22 […]

Catalonia’s Attempt at a Pistol: the Blowback Isard

September 12, 2018 Ian McCollum 20

The Republican factions in the Spanish Civil War had much more trouble obtaining arms than the Nationalist elements, and this led to several attempts to build pistols in small-scale workshops. The best known of these […]