Light MGs - Forgotten Weapons

M1918 BAR: America’s Walking Fire Assault Rifle

October 14, 2017 Ian McCollum 25

John Browning developed the Browning Automatic Rifle for use by American troops in World War One, taking inspiration from the other light automatic weapons in service including the Chauchat, Lewis, and MG08/15. Rather than being […]

Shooting the Ishapore MkIII Vickers-Berthier LMG

September 20, 2017 Ian McCollum 14

The Vickers-Berthier MkIII was adopted by the Indian army in 1933, and served through World War Two and into the 1970s (at least). It is chambered for the standard .303 British cartridge, fires from […]

History and Disassembly of the Vickers-Berthier MkIII LMG

September 19, 2017 Ian McCollum 30

The Vickers-Berthier was initially designed by Andre Berthier in France prior to World War One. It went through a number of substantial design changes before the war, and was actually ordered in quantity by the […]

Chatellerault M24/29: France’s New Wave of Post-WWI Small Arms

August 26, 2017 Ian McCollum 28

France fought the Great War with an array of weapons which were all sub-par in one way or another – the Lebel rifle was obsolescent by 1914, the Berthier was a cavalry carbine forced into […]

BESAL: Britain’s Emergency Simplified Light Machine Gun

August 8, 2017 Ian McCollum 43

Armament Research Services (ARES) is a specialist technical intelligence consultancy, offering expertise and analysis to a range of government and non-government entities in the arms and munitions field. For detailed photos of the guns in […]

Italy’s Worst Machine Gun: The Breda Modello 30

July 28, 2017 Ian McCollum 112

The Breda Model 30 was the standard Italian light machine gun of World War II, and is a serious contender for “worst machine gun ever”. Yes, given the choice we would prefer to have a […]

Finland Shooting Montage: Maxims and Mosins and Suomis, Oh My!

July 25, 2017 Ian McCollum 15

A montage of a bunch of shooting from my trip to Finland in June 2017! Including: m/31 Suomi KP-44 KvKK-62 LS-26 DP-28 (Emma) M91/24, M27, and M28/30 Mosins M32/33 Maxim Rk-95 Sako TRG in 7.62mm […]

Light Machine Gun Comparison: Finnish LS26 vs Russian DP28

July 20, 2017 Ian McCollum 27

Before the Winter War, the standard light machine gun adopted by the Finnish military was the Lahti-Saloranta LS-26. This was a complex and finely built weapon, using a short recoil action and tilting bolt, chambered […]

KvKK 62: The Ugly Duckling of Light Machine Guns

July 11, 2017 Ian McCollum 38

The KvKK 62 was a squad automatic counterpart to the Rk 62, Finland’s domestic Kalashnikov rifle. It is an open bolt light machine gun chambered for 7.62x39mm, feeding from push-through RPD-style belts and firing at […]

The Korsac EM1 – a British/Polish Bullpup FG-42

June 26, 2017 Ian McCollum 22

Armament Research Services (ARES) is a specialist technical intelligence consultancy, offering expertise and analysis to a range of government and non-government entities in the arms and munitions field. For detailed photos of the guns in […]