Machine Guns - Forgotten Weapons

Doughboy Bringback MP-18,I on the Range

October 21, 2020 Ian McCollum 25

The MP-18,I was most likely the first true submachine gun to see combat use, issued in the final months of World War One to German Sturmtruppen. These guns were originally fitted with 32-round drum magazines […]

Evolution of the Submachine Gun: Three Distinct Generations

October 20, 2020 Ian McCollum 98

Submachine guns have gone through a distinct evolution over the past one hundred years. Today we will look at these changes, specifically identifying: – 1st Generation guns from World War One and through the 1930s […]

Shooting an Original Hotchkiss Revolving Cannon

October 18, 2020 Ian McCollum 6

Several years ago, my friend Joe Lozen had an opportunity to fire an original Hotchkiss Revolving Cannon. He kindly sent me this clip – it is the only footage of one of these actually firing […]

11mm Vickers “Balloon Buster” Machine Gun

October 5, 2020 Ian McCollum 42

The United States adopted the Vickers gun as the Model 1915, but one of its uses was as an aircraft machine gun. Since it fired from a closed bolt, the design was easily fitted with […]

MAS 38 at the Range – Finally!

October 3, 2020 Ian McCollum 25

My MAS 38 submachine gun is *finally* running properly and with the 7.65mm French Long ammunition now being made by Steinel Ammo, I can finally take this out to the range! What to shoot at? […]

FN Model D: The Last and Best BAR

August 21, 2020 Ian McCollum 18

Lot 1485 in the September 2020 RIA Premier auction. The FN Model D (“demontage”, or detachable) was the last and best evolution of the Browning Automatic Rifle. FN acquired a license to make the BAR […]

Hotchkiss Universal: The Most Folding Gun Made

July 31, 2020 Ian McCollum 15

The Hotchkiss Universal was a closed-bolt submachine gun submitted to French military trials in the late 1940s to replace the MAS-38. The French were looking for a compact SMG in 9mm Parabellum, and tested guns […]

Hotchkiss 1914 Cow-Catcher Muzzle Device

May 21, 2020 Ian McCollum 20

I’m working on getting a Hotchkiss 1914 heavy machine gun up and running for some long range accuracy testing. It’s not quite ready yet, but I saw a very interesting effect of the WW1 muzzle […]

Chinese 7.62mm Sten Gun

May 13, 2020 Ian McCollum 18

During World War Two, Canada supplied some 73,000 Sten guns (made by the Long Branch arsenal) to Chinese Nationalist forces in an effort to help them fight the Japanese. These Stens were standard MkII pattern […]

North Vietnamese K-50M Submachine Gun

March 27, 2020 Ian McCollum 44

This is lot #545 in the upcoming RIA Premier Auction. It was scheduled for April, but has been postponed – check their web site for upcoming Online Only auctions every month, though! The K-50M was […]