Handgun - Forgotten Weapons

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 […]

The Original Pasadena Auto Mag 180

September 5, 2018 Ian McCollum 19

RIA’s catalog page for this pistol The Auto Mag 180 was basically the result of two guys noticing that nobody made a semiauto .44 Magnum pistol…and that they could probably do it. The men were […]

Rock Island Arsenal M15 General Officer’s Model

September 4, 2018 Ian McCollum 19

RIA’s catalog page for this pistol The M15 General Officer’s pistol was the replacement for the Colt Model M, which had long been the military issue sidearm for General-level officers. By the late 1960s, however, […]

WW Marston Breechloading Pistol and Leather-Base Cartridge

September 3, 2018 Ian McCollum 3

RIA’s catalog page for this pistol William Walker Marston was born in 1822, and would spend his career as a gunsmith and gunmaker in New York City. He produced a wide variety of firearms, including […]

Competition with an SAA: The Colt Bisley and Bisley Target

August 30, 2018 Ian McCollum 9

Bisley in .45 Colt Bisley Target in .32 WCF Named for the famous British shooting competition range, the Colt Bisley was the target version of the 1873 Single Action Army revolver. Colt first offered a […]