Semiauto pistol - Forgotten Weapons

Unique L-35 Lahti Target Pistol with Stock & Bipod

November 29, 2021 Ian McCollum 16

The Lahti L-35 pistol was adopted by the Finnish military with the intention of it replacing the Luger, although production was never great enough to accomplish that goal. Early in its production, a couple of […]

Portuguese Army Lugers: From Manuel II to World War Two

November 10, 2021 Ian McCollum 12

Portugal first tested the Luger pistol in 1901, and its commission on self-loading pistols recommended the design for adoption in 1904. No money was available at the time, but a second commission again recommended the […]

Lugers for the Dutch East Indies Army

November 3, 2021 Ian McCollum 11

Note: When I say the double magazine pouch is unique for this model, I was not thinking about those issued with LP-08 Artillery Lugers. While the Dutch Army dithered over new pistol adoption, the Dutch […]

Politicians Ruin Everything: Dutch Luger Trials

October 27, 2021 Ian McCollum 26

The Dutch military started looking for semiauto pistols to replace its aging revolvers around 1899. They tested all the early models; the Roth, Borchardt, Mauser and Mannlicher – and then they obtained a Borchardt-Luger (aka, […]

Krieghoff: Lugers for the Luftwaffe

October 20, 2021 Ian McCollum 26

One of the scarce, small-production manufacturers of the Luger is Krieghoff – Heinrich Krieghoff to be exact. Kreighoff Waffenfabrik was a smallish arms company that wanted to get into major contracts with the rearming German […]

BUG Match with a 98-Year-Old 6.35mm Le Français

October 16, 2021 Ian McCollum 39

Today I’m at the BackUp Gun Match in Tucson with a first model Le Français made in 1923. This is an early French semiauto pistol design intended for pocket carry. It has a 7-round magazine […]

Personalized 1911s from the WW1 American Expedition to Siberia

September 13, 2021 Ian McCollum 23

At the end of the Great War, the United States sent several thousand soldiers to eastern Siberia, to protect war supplies from the Red Russian forces and to help rescue the Czechoslovak Legion. Also known […]

Cheek Pistol Concept: Unorthodox But Effective

September 7, 2021 Ian McCollum 49

My friend Rhett Neumayer has been experimenting with an unorthodox but very interesting way to use handguns that don’t have reciprocating slides. He fits a red dot optic on a relatively tall mount, then presses […]

Stopping the action of pistol bullets. Soviet view.

July 11, 2021 Ian McCollum 38

This guest post authored by Andrey Ulanov. In the USSR, the issue of choosing the main pistol cartridge was dealt with twice. For the first time, this was done by a commission in the early […]

Colt Prototype Double Action 1911

June 23, 2021 Ian McCollum 16

Thanks to Legacy Collectibles, today we have a unique Colt prototype pistol to look at today – a double-action variation of the 1911. Judging by the grips and markings, this was made in the late […]