Handgun - Forgotten Weapons

Moore’s Patent Revolver at RIA (Video)

February 14, 2015 Ian McCollum 14

Manufactured in Brooklyn from 1861 until 1863, Moore’s revolver was a 7-shot single-action piece firing .32 rimfire cartridges. What makes it unique is its swing-out cylinder design – the first commercial revolver in the US […]

Shansei .45ACP Broomhandle Mauser at RIA (Video)

February 12, 2015 Ian McCollum 21

During the Chinese civil war in the 1920s and 30s, international arms embargoes made rifles difficult to acquire – which led to a lot of popularity for pistols with shoulder stocks. The C96 “broomhandle” Mauser […]

Fiala Model 1920 Combination Gun at RIA (Video)

February 11, 2015 Ian McCollum 23

The Fiala Model 1920 was a manually-operated repeating pistol in .22LR caliber that was marketed with the backing of famed polar explorer Anthony Fiala. The guns came as a set of one frame, three barrels […]

Lady’s (Ladies?) Home Companion at RIA (Video)

February 10, 2015 Ian McCollum 43

The Ladies Home Companion was a pistol (technically) made by the Cobray company on the same frame as their 12ga “Street Sweeper” shotgun. It had no stock or front grip, and was chambered for the […]

Khyber Pass Martini Pistol at RIA (Video)

February 6, 2015 Ian McCollum 13

The Khyber Pass is a well known center of arms production, with gunmaking there going back at least 100 years. The quality of craftsmanship varies greatly, from excellent and safe weapons to thoroughly unsafe guns […]

Starr DA & SA Revolvers at RIA (Video)

February 5, 2015 Ian McCollum 4

Starr revolvers are one of the less recognized designs used in the US Civil War, although tens of thousands of them were made and issued. Indeed, in many ways they were superior to the much […]

Apache Knuckleduster Revolver at RIA (Video)

February 3, 2015 Ian McCollum 16

The “Apache” was a combination knife, brass knuckles, and revolver made by several companies in Belgium and France, which became associated with a group of street thugs in Paris around the turn of the century. […]

Colombo Ricci Automatic Revolver

January 30, 2015 Ian McCollum 21

The Colombo-Ricci is (was) an automatic revolver reportedly designed in Italy around 1910, and chambered for the standard 10.4mm Italian revolver cartridge. Very little information is available on the gun, but it seems reasonable to […]

Slow Motion: Steyr-Mannlicher M1905

January 29, 2015 Ian McCollum 32

The 1905 Steyr-Mannlicher was developed by Ferdinand Mannlicher, one of Europe’s most prolific gun designers. It uses the 7.65mm Mannlicher cartridge, which is roughly equivalent to .32 ACP, with a 10-round fixed internal magazine. The […]

Chinese Pistols Coming Soon!

January 23, 2015 Ian McCollum 16

I just recently spent some time at RIA doing video for their upcoming Regional auction, and happened to notice a batch of guns they were in the process of sorting and writing descriptions of for […]