Semiauto pistol - Forgotten Weapons

La Lira: A Spanish Copy of the Mannlicher 1901

January 14, 2019 Ian McCollum 16

The Spanish firm of Garate Anitua y Cia manufactured this copy of the Mannlicher 1901/1905 pistol for just a brief period around 1910. It is not a straight copy, as the Mannlicher was chambered for […]

H&K P8A1: The Bundeswehr’s USP

January 7, 2019 Ian McCollum 57

Thanks to my friends at Bear Arms in Scottsdale, we have an H&K P8A1 to take a look at today – the current Bundeswehr issue version of the USP. Chambered for 9x19mm and adopted in […]

H&K VP-70M: Polymer Framed Cutting Edge Machine Pistol from 1973

November 30, 2018 Ian McCollum 47

The VP-70 was designed by Heckler & Koch cofounder Alex Seidel, and introduced in 1973. It was made with the idea of being a gun easily mass produced for arming a civilian resistance in case […]

A .50 Caliber 1911: Guncrafter Industries Model 1

November 29, 2018 Ian McCollum 35

This pistol sold for $2,300 at Rock Island on November 30, 2018. Guncrafter Industries is a custom handgun company formed by one Alex Zimmerman in 2002 after many years working for Wilson Combat. Among other […]

4mm Zimmerstutzen Parlor Conversion for a Mauser 1914

November 27, 2018 Ian McCollum 17

This Mauser pistol and 4mm conversion kit failed to sell at Rock Island on November 30, 2018. This 4mm “Zimmerstutzen” conversion kit was patented by one Karl Weiss in 1921, and produced by the RWS […]

Colt Checks out the Spanish Wondernine: the Star 30PK

November 25, 2018 Ian McCollum 29

This pistol sold for $3,163 at Rock Island in December 2, 2018. Star entered the Wondernine era in 1978 with their Model 28 pistol, a double action 9mm offering with 15-round magazines. It was one […]

North China Type 19: The Improved Nambu Pistol

November 15, 2018 Ian McCollum 13

This pistol sold for $8,625 at Rock Island on December 2, 2018. The North China Type 19 pistol (not to be confused with the North China Type 19 rifle) is an improvement on the Type […]

Varan PMX90: Ambidexterity in South Africa

October 3, 2018 Ian McCollum 11

The Varan pistol was developed by two Rhodesian designers, Tony Blackshaw and Stewart Beecham, and was originally designated the PMX-80. Development would take nearly a full decade, however, and mostly took place in South Africa. […]

The Rhodesia Mamba: Big Hype and a Big Flop

September 28, 2018 Ian McCollum 2

The Mamba was originally conceived in a 1970s Salisbury, Rhodesia barroom bull session about the best elements of semiauto pistols. The project would wind up being pushed by an American expat named Joe Hale, and […]

Prototype Clement 9x20mm Military Pistol

September 26, 2018 Ian McCollum 1

Charles Clement is best known for a series of civilian pocket pistol made in the years before World War One, but today we are looking at a prototype Clement military pistol from 1914. This gun […]