Handgun - Forgotten Weapons

Development of the SIG P220, aka the Swiss P75 Army Pistol

May 16, 2018 Ian McCollum 7

The SIG 210, aka the P49, was a magnificent pistol, but really too expensive for a modern military sidearm. In the 1960s, the Swiss military began looking for a new service sidearm that would be […]

Testing 7.65mm French Long Ammo (Reed’s and Buffalo Arms)

April 26, 2018 Ian McCollum 36

I am on the search for suitable ammunition for the Mle 1935A and Mle 1935S French pistols, as well as my MAS-38 submachine gun. They are chambered for the 7.65mm French Long cartridge, aka […]

Polish and German Police Silenced CZ-27 Pistols

April 25, 2018 Ian McCollum 19

Today we are looking at two suppressed CZ-27 pistols, one Polish and one German. The Polish one was issued by the Ministry of Public Security, an agency which only existed from 1945 until 1954. It […]

Lahti L-35: Finland’s First Domestic Service Automatic Pistol

April 23, 2018 Ian McCollum 21

When Finland decided to replace the Luger as its service handgun, they turned to Finland’s most famous arms designer, Aimo Lahti. After a few iterations, Lahti devised a short recoil semiautomatic pistol with a vertically […]

LugerMan Reproduction of the 1907 .45 Test Trials Luger

April 14, 2018 Ian McCollum 19

Eugene Golubtsov, aka LugerMan, is manufacturing reproduction .45ACP caliber Luger pistols, based on the original blueprints of the 1907 pattern US Army trials guns. When he offered to send me one to try out, how […]

Colt Tries To Make a Service Pistol: The Model 1971

April 10, 2018 Ian McCollum 22

In the early 1970s, Colt wanted to develop a new military pistol so that it could offer a modern replacement for the venerable 1911. Colt Engineer Robert Roy designed the new gun in 1971, and […]

The Schulhof 1884, Type IIa Manual Repeating Pistol

April 9, 2018 Ian McCollum 12

Josef Schulhof was an Austrian who decided to leave his farm and work in firearms design. He moved to Vienna and received his first firearms patent in 1882. He would go on to design and […]

OSS Flying Dragon: A Silent Poisoned Dart Gun

April 7, 2018 Ian McCollum 21

The OSS experimented with a lot of…unorthodox weapons during World War Two, and one of their overarching goals was a weapon with a 100 yard lethal range but without flash or noise. To this end […]

McCarty’s Peculiar Revolver

April 6, 2018 Ian McCollum 54

William McCarty patented this turret revolver design in 1909 (submitted in 1908, approved in 1909), with the idea of making a high capacity revolver. His gun held 18 rounds of .22 rimfire ammunition – double […]

Colt’s Prototype Post-War Pocket Hammerless Model M

April 3, 2018 Ian McCollum 12

Production of the Colt Pocket Hammerless (aka the Model M) pretty much died at the end of World War Two. Military contracts ended, and the civilian market was quite weak – Colt shipped just 132 […]