Handgun - Forgotten Weapons

British Pistol Use During WWI

July 28, 2016 Ian McCollum 43

Here’s an interesting piece of research, done in 2010 by one David Thomas as part of a degree in British First World War Studies: The Pistol in British Military Service During the Great War (pdf) This […]

Roth Steyr 1907 at a Run-n-Gun Steel Match (Video)

July 20, 2016 Ian McCollum 49

We have a monthly pistol competition here called Steelworkers – a bunch of stages of all steel targets. I finally accumulated enough stripper clips (3) for my 1907 Roth-Steyr to be able to compete, so […]

Bernardon-Martin 1909 Pistol in a Chinese Museum

July 12, 2016 Ian McCollum 38

Note: I’m slipping! I initially identified this as one of the mystery Chinese pistols, having not recognized it as a Bernardon-Martin. A bunch of folks in the comments did, though, and I have corrected the […]

Q&A #5: Rollin White and Other (Better) Designers

June 28, 2016 Ian McCollum 51

Questions in part I of today’s Q&A: 1:04 – What was Rollin White’s revolver like? 7:09 – Why did pan magazines disappear? 10:14 – Why no pointed pistol bullets? 13:24 – Funky rounds like Trounds […]

RIA: Praga 1921 One-Handed Pocket Pistol

June 23, 2016 Ian McCollum 25

This cute little pocket pistol was an early project of Vaclav Holek, who would become much better known for his work with the ZB-26 light machine gun and ZH-29 rifle. It is a very small […]

RIA: Beretta 1915 – the First of the Beretta Pistols

June 22, 2016 Ian McCollum 32

The Italian military went into WWI having already adopted a semiautomatic sidearm – the Model 1910 Glisenti (and its somewhat simplified Brixia cousin). However, the 1910 Glisenti was a very complex design, and much too […]

RIA: A Pair of Arresting Montenegrin Gasser Revolvers

June 20, 2016 Ian McCollum 26

This is quite the eye-catching pair of revolvers… The Model 1870 Gasser was a behemoth of a pistol designed by Leopold Gasser for the Austro-Hungarian cavalry – it was built around the 11x36mm cartridge used […]

RIA: Savage Navy Revolver: Almost Double Action!

June 18, 2016 Ian McCollum 37

The .36 caliber Savage Navy is one of the many revolvers that saw purchase and martial use during the US Civil War – and in this case, martial use on both sides. About 13,000 Savages […]

RIA: Ortgies Pistols

June 16, 2016 Ian McCollum 25

The Ortgies is a pistol whose interested aspects are often overlooked on the assumption that it is just another identical .32 ACP blowback pistol. Well, it is that – but it is also more. Mechanically, […]

RIA: The Jager Pistol and its Complex Reassembly

June 15, 2016 Ian McCollum 14

The German military used a lot of different small-caliber pistols during World War One, and the Jäger is one of the most interesting of them. Its unique design was the result of needing to build […]