Handgun - Forgotten Weapons

Knoble Automatic Pistol, Cal .30 (Video)

December 17, 2015 Ian McCollum 35

The Knoble in .45 caliber was one of the pistols in the US pistol trials of 1907. Unfortunately for Mr. Knoble, his pistol was deemed to crude for the Ordnance Board to consider even test […]

Savage Automatic Pistols: Overview (Video)

December 14, 2015 Ian McCollum 30

Today I am taking a look at Savage automatic pistols as a general group. Savage produced about a quarter million pistols in both .32 and .380 caliber, divided between the models 1907, 1915, and 1917. […]

Sturmgewehrs: The Original and the HMG Reproduction

December 8, 2015 Ian McCollum 22

While I was busy posting RIA videos last month, my friend Karl and I traveled down to Atlanta to visit Hill & Mac Gunworks. They are making a reproduction StG-44 rifle with a number of […]

German Naval P04 Luger at RIA

December 1, 2015 Ian McCollum 24

Most everyone is familiar with the Luger pistol – it is one of the most iconic handgun designs ever made. Folks who have a passing interest in the guns will probably know about both the […]

C93 Borchardt: the First Successful Self-Loading Pistol at RIA

November 29, 2015 Ian McCollum 39

Hugo Borchardt was a brilliant and well-traveled firearms designer. He was born in Germany but emigrated to the United States at a fairly young age, where he became engaged in the gun trade. He spent […]

Union/Reifgraber .32 S&W Autopistol at RIA

November 28, 2015 Ian McCollum 36

The Reifgraber, aka Union Automatic Pistol, is an interesting mechanical design from an inventor with an interesting personal background. Joseph Joachim Reifgraber was born in Austria in 1856, and emigrated to the United States at […]

Allen & Thurber Pepperbox at RIA

November 27, 2015 Ian McCollum 40

If the Colt Paterson was the high-end classy choice for a sidearm in the mid-1800s, the Allen & Thurber pepperbox would have been the simple working man’s alternative. While Colt was working for military contracts, […]

Erika 4.25mm Pistol at RIA

November 25, 2015 Ian McCollum 37

Today we’re looking an another early European micro-pistol. This is the Erika, developed by Franz Pfannl and chambered for the 4.25mm Liliput cartridge (which develops approximately 1/4 the energy of the .25 ACP). These pistols […]

Walch Double-Shot Revolver at RIA

November 24, 2015 Ian McCollum 16

Consider the problem of the pocket revolver of the 1860s. In order to be small enough to be reasonably concealable and comfortable to carry, it would typically be made in .31 caliber. That’s not a […]

Detonics MkI at RIA: The Original Sub-Compact 1911

November 23, 2015 Ian McCollum 40

Today we are accustomed to seeing sub-compact 3.5″ 1911 pistols for sale from a whole bunch of manufacturers – but this was not always the case. Making a really small 1911 actually run reliably is […]