General Purpose MGs - Forgotten Weapons

History of the PK, PKM, and Pecheneg w/ Max Popenker

July 9, 2019 Ian McCollum 25

I’m happy to be joined once again by Russian small arms historian Max Popenker, for a discussion of the development of the Kalashnikov PK machine gun. This is universally regarded as one of the best […]

Shooting the HK21 Modular Machine Gun

May 25, 2019 Ian McCollum 21

The HK21 is a the belt-fed iteration of the H&K roller-delayed blowback mechanism. H&K built a wide range of firearms around that system, including submachine guns (MP5), rifles (HK33, HK91), precision rifles (PSG-1), and machine […]

A Brief Introduction to the M240 Golf

May 4, 2019 Ian McCollum 56

The FN MAG was adopted by the United States military to replace its aging inventory of M60 machine guns. It was designated the M240 in US parlance, and first used as a vehicle-mounted machine gun. […]

Original Vietnam-Era M60 at the Range

April 27, 2019 Ian McCollum 112

The M60 was the first modern American military machine gun, developed from the operating system of the German FG-42 and the feed system of the German MG-42 in the years after World War Two. It […]

RP46 Variations: Russian, North Korean, and US Reproduction

July 4, 2018 Ian McCollum 12

FYI, the Russian RP46 parts kit shown in this video is currently selling on GunBroker, with no reserve and a penny start: https://www.gunbroker.com/item/778500561 The RP-46 was the final iteration of the Degtyarev DP27/DPM light machine gun, […]

GPMG Firing Comparison: PKM vs UK vz.59

May 12, 2018 Ian McCollum 43

Since I had the opportunity to do some shooting with both a Yugoslav PKM and a Czech vz.59 general-purpose machine gun, I thought it would be interesting to compare them side by side. Which is […]

Reproduction RP-46 Belt-Feed Conversion from SMG Guns

May 7, 2018 Ian McCollum 10

InRange TV Operator’s Guide to the RP-46: You can order your own by contacting SMG Guns at smgguns@yahoo.com or placing an order online at SMGGunsStore.com. It’s very exciting to have these available, as they are […]

UK vz.59 Czech Universal Machine Gun: Shooting

March 22, 2018 Ian McCollum 31

Yesterday we looked at the history and the mechanics of the Czech UK vz.59 universal machine gun – so today we are taking it out to the range for some shooting! The UK 59 is […]

UK vz.59 Czech Universal Machine Gun: History and Mechanics

March 21, 2018 Ian McCollum 30

In 1952, Czechoslovakia adopted a whole new family of small arms, including the vz.52 pistol, vz.52 rifle, and vz.52 light machine gun. The rifle and LMG were both chambered in the Czech 7.62x45mm cartridge, […]

MG-34: The Universal Machine Gun Concept

October 7, 2017 Ian McCollum 59

The MG34 was the first German implementation of the universal machine gun concept – and really the first such fielded by any army. The idea was to have a single weapon which could be used […]