Machine Guns - Forgotten Weapons

Experimental Pre-WWI Ross .30-06 Automatic Rifle

December 14, 2020 Ian McCollum 16

In August 1913, the British War Office wrote to Sir Charles Ross requesting a sample automatic rifle for trials in the UK. Ross was able to submit a prototype on May 1914, which was tested […]

Italy’s WW1 Heavy Machine Gun: FIAT-Revelli Modello 1914

December 9, 2020 Ian McCollum 81

Italy was the first major adopter of the Maxim heavy machine gun and had several hundred by 1914 – but wanted to have a domestic design in production as well. The Italian government and military […]

North Korean M49 PPSh Submachine Gun

November 23, 2020 Ian McCollum 7

In 1949, North Korea began production of a domestic copy of the Soviet PPSh-41 submachine gun. Designated the M49, it used a blend of Russian and Chinese characteristics, but was mechanically identical to the standard […]

Fun With OOBs: An Austen MkII at the Range

November 19, 2020 Ian McCollum 13

A little while back I had a chance to take an Austen MkII out to the range. There were only a couple hundred of these ever made, at the end of World War Two in […]

The Best BAR: Luxembourg .30-06 FN-D at the Range

November 17, 2020 Ian McCollum 9

I normally want to have something specific to demonstrate what I take a gun to the range, but today I don’t. What I have today is and FN-D, the very best iteration of the Browning […]

MP5SD at the Range: Subsonic vs Supersonic

November 14, 2020 Ian McCollum 23

While the MP5SD is made with a barrel ported right at the chamber to reduce bullet velocity, I am curious to see if it will actually work. Can I tell the difference between 115gr supersonic […]

Marlin 7MG aka Model 1917 Aircraft Machine Gun

November 9, 2020 Ian McCollum 24

John Browning’s original Model 1895 gas-lever machine gun was still in production by Colt when World War One broke out. It was not the most modern gun around by then, but it was available – […]

Hitler’s Zipper: The MG-42 Universal Machine Gun

November 4, 2020 Ian McCollum 79

The MG42 was developed to be a more reliable and easier to manufacture replacement for the MG34, although both would serve side by side until the end of World War Two. Designed by Grossfuss company […]

Valmet M78: Finland’s Hypothetical Squad Automatic Weapon

November 2, 2020 Ian McCollum 11

The M78 was Valmet’s RPK-style heavy barreled squad support weapon pattern of the Finnish AK. It was initially developed as the M74 cavalry machine gun for Finnish military service, but never adopted. Instead, that experimental […]

Steyr-Solothurn MP-34 in .45 ACP at the Range

October 31, 2020 Ian McCollum 9

Today we are out at the range with the .45 ACP Steyr-Solothurn MP-34. I was curious to see how this submachine gun, much more commonly found in 9mm, would handle with the big .45 caliber […]