Handgun - Forgotten Weapons

Prototype Dieckmann P66 Pistol at RIA

September 7, 2014 Ian McCollum 36

The P66 was a prototype .22LR semiauto pistol designed by a German immigrant to the United States by the name of Rolf Dieckmann. It never went into production, but had a number of interesting features, […]

Chinese Mystery Pistol at RIA

September 4, 2014 Ian McCollum 16

Many unique and interesting pistols were made in China in the 1920s and 1930s, and this pistol is a good example of them. It is not a copy of any specific Western handgun, although mechanically […]

Two Pinfire Harmonica Pistols at RIA

September 3, 2014 Ian McCollum 14

Harmonica guns were a short-lived type of firearm that was developed in an effort to have reliable repeating weapons prior to the the modern centerfire cartridge. They were made in both muzzleloading and cartridge varieties, […]

2.7mm Kolibri Semiauto at RIA

August 29, 2014 Ian McCollum 26

Today’s item at the September Rock Island auction is an example of the smallest centerfire pistol ever made – a 2.7mm Kolibri semiauto. About a thousand of these were made between 1910 and 1914, firing […]

Handmade Auto-Revolver at RIA

August 27, 2014 Ian McCollum 22

This very odd one-off pistol first appeared in a 1958 Golden State Arms catalog, with no description of its history or mechanical design. I have often seen it referred to as an automatic revolver, but […]

Krnka 1895 Semiauto Pistol at RIA

August 26, 2014 Ian McCollum 14

This prototype 1895 Krnka automatic pistol is another of the items up for sale at the upcoming Rock Island Premier Auction. This pistol, serial number 7, was the first in the developmental line that led […]

Four-Shot Superposed Ratchet Pistol at RIA

August 24, 2014 Ian McCollum 19

Today’s item in the upcoming Rock Island Premier Auction is a rather unusual percussion pistol. It began life as an underhammer gun, and was rebuilt by an unknown gunsmith as a percussion gun that fired […]

Colt 1911 with unusual folding wire shoulder stock

Folding 1911 Shoulder Stock

August 20, 2014 Ian McCollum 35

From Tom Laemlein: A few years back I found these photos of a Marine Corps modification of the standard M1911 .45 caliber pistol. Unfortunately there was no accompanying documentation. A unique folding extension stock—it would […]

Thumb-Safety Glock

August 19, 2014 Ian McCollum 66

(photo and text by Miles Vining) One of the more revolutionary and innovative features of the Glock series of handguns is in their signature slogan “GLOCK Safe Action”. This is based on the fact that […]

Slow Motion: Frommer Stop

August 14, 2014 Ian McCollum 35

This week’s slow motion gun is the Frommer Stop, put into production in 1912. The Hungarian designer Rudolf Frommer was responsible for a series of long-recoil pistols, of which the Stop was the last and […]