Light MGs - Forgotten Weapons

M1918 BAR – First Variant Photos

August 14, 2013 Ian McCollum 30

The Browning Automatic Rifle, or BAR, was a staple of American infantry forces through WWII and the Korean War, and has an outstanding reputation today. The gun was originally developed in 1917 and first fielded […]

Vintage Saturday: Desert Watch

August 10, 2013 Ian McCollum 52

British soldiers manning a post somewhere in Palestine. The Lewis gunner is adjusting his sights, while his A-gunner is ready with a new magazine. Three men in the background looking at something else, and using […]

John Inglis and Bren Production

August 2, 2013 Ian McCollum 42

If I say “John Inglis”, the first two things that probably come to mind for a gunnie are High Powers and Bren guns. Inglis was a Canadian company that made a huge proportion of the […]

Book Review: Honour Bound – The Chauchat Machine Rifle

July 25, 2013 Ian McCollum 17

I’ve discussed the much-maligned CSRG machine rifle (the Chauchat) previously – it was not the utter disaster that common knowledge would lead you to believe. You won’t find much literature on the Chauchat, but fortunately […]

The Huot Machine Rifle: A Ross Conversion

July 17, 2013 Ian McCollum 13

The first serious automatic weapon considered for military service in Canada was the brainchild of Joseph Alphonse Huot, a machinist and blacksmith from Quebec. Born in 1878, Huot was a large and strong man (not […]

Vintage Saturday: Femme Fatale

June 29, 2013 Ian McCollum 90

Leningrad, 1942, with a DP28 light machine gun. Women served the Red Army in substantial numbers as pilots, snipers, and machine gunners. In light of the controversy over US women moving into combat roles, this […]

Semiauto Madsen LMG Video

June 24, 2013 Ian McCollum 50

The Madsen light machine gun is note-worthy for several reasons – it was the first military-issue light machine gun developed and it was successful enough to remain in production into the 1950s (long after every […]

Monthly 2-Gun Action Challenge Match

June 18, 2013 Ian McCollum 27

In addition to studying and researching unusual firearms, I enjoy shooting, and like to take any opportunity I can get to get trigger time with the more obscure designs out there. The local 2-Gun Action […]

Quote of the Week: Vladimir Peniakoff

June 2, 2013 Ian McCollum 10

Speaking about his time leading a group of Arab soldiers in Libya prior to his involvement in the LRDG: We also obtained captured Italian machine guns: these weapons of a new design of extreme ingenuity, […]

Hotchkiss M1922 LMG

May 24, 2013 Ian McCollum 47

Many people are unaware of just how many different firearms were produced by the Hotchkiss company over the decades – not many of them received the worldwide acclaim of the more well known arms companies. […]