Machine Guns - Forgotten Weapons

France in the Cold War: AA52 Replaces the Hotchkiss

May 27, 2022 Ian McCollum 24

For another perspective on the AA52 – and some live fire footage – check out Bloke on the Range’s video on the gun today: With the end of World War Two, it was finally time […]

Nicer Than It Looks: Yugoslav M56 at the Range

May 18, 2022 Ian McCollum 33

The Yugoslav M56 is a hybrid of the MP40 general design with the Soviet 7.62x25mm Tokarev cartridge, and a gun whose practical shootability is surprisingly better than its looks would lead one to expect. This […]

Steyr’s Take on the Uzi: MPi-69 at the Range

May 14, 2022 Ian McCollum 18

I expected the MPi-69 to be a rather difficult gun to shoot well, with its very simple construction and wire stock, but I was pleasantly surprised on the range. The rate of fire is quite […]

Austria’s Take on the Uzi: Steyr MPi-69

May 13, 2022 Ian McCollum 11

Designed in the 1960s by Steyr and adopted by the Austrian Army in 1969 to replace it aging MP40s, the MPi-69 is an economical and simple 9x19mm SMG. It uses many features seen in the […]

Denmark’s Post-WW2 SMG: the Hovea m/49

May 11, 2022 Ian McCollum 21

The Hovea m/49 was adopted by Denmark, but was originally designed by Huqvarna for Swedish military trials. The first 10 prototype were made in 1944 and competed against the Carl Gustav Stads design – which […]

The Finnish RPK: Valmet 78 at the Range

May 5, 2022 Ian McCollum 15

Valmet designed the M78 hoping to sell it to the Finnish military as an equivalent to the RPK, but it was not adopted. Instead, they were old a semiautos on the commercial market. Because this […]

Rheinmetall MG42/59: The Slow-Fire Commercial MG42

May 4, 2022 Ian McCollum 66

After World War Two, when West Germany was allowed to reconstitute its army and join NATO, it needed small arms. The new Bundeswehr chose the MG42 as it’s standard GPMG, and the Rheinmetall firm undertook […]

A Belgian Sten Replacement: Vigneron M2 at the Range

April 30, 2022 Ian McCollum 14

The Vigneron was adopted to replace the Sten in Belgian service – so is it actually better than the Sten? In my opinion, yes. The sights and overall handling are better. The pistol grip is […]

Vigneron M2: Belgium’s Little-Known Post-War SMG

April 29, 2022 Ian McCollum 26

After World War Two, the Belgian military wanted to replace its many Sten guns with a better standard SMG. The solution was designed by Colonel Georges Vigneron in 1953, and adopted by all branches of […]

Swedish K Comparison: Model m/45 v m/45B

April 25, 2022 Ian McCollum 15

Since I have the rather unusual opportunity to examine both the early Swedish m/45 and the improved m/45B at the same time, I figured this would be a good opportunity for a video. There were […]