Semiauto pistol - Forgotten Weapons

Evolution of the Military Mauser HSc Pistol

February 3, 2020 Ian McCollum 28

Mauser had been at the forefront of military self-loading pistol design with its C96 pistol, but by the 1930s it had lost major market share to Sauer and Walther in police and commercial guns. The […]

Real, Reworked, or Faked? Authenticating a C96 Mauser

January 20, 2020 Ian McCollum 17

When you get into expensive historical firearms, values begin to diverge significantly for guns in particularly good condition. This, naturally, leads some people to take poor quality guns and make them better. Sometimes this is […]

Overview of Danish Schouboe .45 & .32 Caliber Pistols

January 13, 2020 Ian McCollum 35

In 1903, Danish engineer Jens Schouboe began developing an automatic pistol for the Dansk Rekylriffel Syndikat in Copenhagen (later to become the Madsen company). He made the guns in both .32ACP and also in a […]

H&K’s Hydrocephalic P7M10 in .40 S&W

January 8, 2020 Ian McCollum 45

Everyone has an off day eventually, and for H&K one of those off days took the form of the P7M10. Introduced in 1991, the M10 was based on the frame and magazine body of the […]

SS-Contract Walther PP and PPK Pistols

January 6, 2020 Ian McCollum 35

Today, courtesy of Tom from Legacy Collectibles, we are taking a look at Walther PP and PPK pistols made specifically for the SS and RSHA. These guns comprised several special contracts, distinct from general military […]

Comparison: French 1935A vs 1935S Pistols

December 22, 2019 Ian McCollum 33

I finally have a source for top quality reliable 7.65mm French Long, thanks to Steinel! I can’t link to them, but I’m sure anyone who wants some themselves can find them online. Anyway, with ammo […]

Ballester-Molina Pistols from German Pocket Battleship Armor?

December 17, 2019 Ian McCollum 33

There is an old gun shop tale that Argentine Ballester-Molina pistols were made form the salvaged armor plate of the pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee. The Graf Spee was scuttled in the Rio de la […]

Bulgarian M1911 Luger

December 6, 2019 Ian McCollum 8

Bulgaria bought its first Lugers in 1903; 1000 Old Model guns in 7.65mm. It bought another 1300 New Model Lugers in 1908 (again in 7.65mm), but both of these orders were intended for private purchase […]

H&K’s New SP5 – A Civilian Semiauto MP5 Pistol

December 2, 2019 Ian McCollum 25

The MP5 is widely regarded as the best submachine gun ever made, and it has been widely copied. But only now has H&K released a semiauto civilian version of it in pistol form. Prior to […]

Pillars of Gediminas: The Lithuanian High Power

November 30, 2019 Ian McCollum 15

Between 1935 and 1937, the recently independent nation of Lithuania purchased 5,000 Browning High Power pistols from FN. These were early pattern guns, with 500m tangent rear sights and stock slots, although Lithuania did not […]