Handgun - Forgotten Weapons

Benke-Thiemann Folding Luger Holster

September 21, 2016 Ian McCollum 24

While most major pistols made before the 1930s had some type of shoulder stock available as an option, the Luger had much more variety of stocks than most others. In addition to the several types […]

Frankenau Purse Gun

September 15, 2016 Ian McCollum 15

Patented in 1876 in both the US and UK as well as Germany, the Frankenau purse gun was a very small 5-shot, 5mm pinfire revolver hidden inside what appeared to be a normal small coin […]

RIA: Odd Iver Johnson Prototype .32s (Video)

September 8, 2016 Ian McCollum 22

These unique and unmarked prototype .32 ACP pistols are apparently Iver Johnson prototypes – and I can’t find any information on them beyond that description from their consignor. One is a simpler example in the […]

RIA: Danish 1865/97 Pinfire Conversion Revolver (Video)

September 6, 2016 Ian McCollum 34

The Danish artillery was an early adopter of metallic-case handguns, taking on this pinfire 6-shot solid-frame revolver in 1865 – when most of the world was still using percussion firearms. The thousand guns made served […]

RIA: Russian M1870 Galand Revolver (Video)

September 5, 2016 Ian McCollum 40

The Galand was an innovative revolver design created by Frenchman Charles Francois Galand and patented in 1868. It is most notable for using a long lever system to eject cartridges by throwing the cylinder and […]

RIA: Beretta Model 1931 (Video)

September 4, 2016 Ian McCollum 12

With the development of the Model 1931, Beretta had nearly arrived at the first really popular pistol (the 1934/5). The 1931 was the result of taking the exposed-hammer 1923 design, shrinking the frame down to […]

RIA: Luger 1902 Carbine (Video)

September 2, 2016 Ian McCollum 26

With the advent of successful self-loading pistols, one of the additional markets that many companies tried to appeal to was the compact carbine. Self-loading rifles in proper rifle cartridges would not be developed as quickly […]

RIA: Walther Model 6 (Video)

September 1, 2016 Ian McCollum 53

Wather introduced its first pistol in 1908, creatively named the Model 1. With the outbreak of World War One, the company was offering the Model 4 pistol for military use. This was a .32 ACP […]

RIA: Müller 1895 Curved Recoil Pistol (Video)

August 31, 2016 Ian McCollum 13

The model 1895 Müller automatic pistol is an interesting and unusual design, despite being a simple blowback action. Where most pistols have a bolt or slide that moved directly rearward, the Müller pushes the bolt […]

RIA: Beretta Model 1923

August 28, 2016 Ian McCollum 33

Beretta offered its first semiautomatic pistols during World War One, with the Model 1915 chambered in 9mm Glisenti. This was quickly supplemented by the 1915/17 scaled down to the .32ACP cartridge, which was both handier […]