Machine Guns - Forgotten Weapons

Ukrainian or Russian Partisan Modified MP40

September 17, 2018 Ian McCollum 21

Some collectors hunt for firearms which look perfectly new form the factory, and others prefer arms that show lots of evidence of use and history. Well, this is definitely one of the latter type – […]

Swiss Reibel M31 Tank & Fortress Machine Gun

September 10, 2018 Ian McCollum 7

The Reibel Modele M31 was the variation of the French Chatellerault M24/29 light machine gun made for use in vehicles and fortifications. In accordance with that role, it lacked a buttstock or sights (these were […]

8mm M1915 Chauchat Fixing and Range Testing

September 8, 2018 Ian McCollum 26

Well, my 8mm French Chauchat finally cleared transfer, as did my application to reactivate it. This was a “dewat”, or “Deactivated War Trophy” – a machine gun put on the NFA registry but modified to […]

Suomi m/31 – Finland’s Excellent Submachine Gun

August 17, 2018 Ian McCollum 15

RIA’s catalog page for this SMG (transferrable) Designed by Aimo Lahti, the Suomi m/31 submachine gun is in my opinion one of the standout submachine guns of the World War Two era. Despite its hefty […]

Book Review: The Suomi M/31 by Michael Heidler

August 5, 2018 Ian McCollum 9

Michael Heidler’s bi-lingual (German and English) book on the Finnish Suomi m/31 submachine gun is a small but dense history of one of the best submachine guns of World War Two. It covers Aimo Lahti’s […]

Star Z-70B: Spain’s Improved SMG

August 4, 2018 Ian McCollum 24

The Star Z-70B was an incremental improvement on the earlier Z-62 and Z-63 submachine guns adopted by the Spanish military and security services. It remains an open bolt, selective fire design, with an underfolding stock. […]

Mythbusting with the .30-06 American Chauchat: Reliability Test

July 28, 2018 Ian McCollum 46

Everyone knows, of course, that the Chauchat is the worst gun ever, and can’t normally get through an entire magazine without malfunctioning. Well, let’s try that out…and with an ever worse culprit; an M1918 Chauchat […]

Ken Hackathorn on the Thompson and the MP5

July 19, 2018 Ian McCollum 44

Today I am speaking with Ken Hackathorn about submachine guns – specifically the Thompson and the MP5. Mr Hackathorn has an extensive resume that he is quite humble about, but I will point out that […]

OVP 1918: Italy’s first WW1 Submachine Gun

July 7, 2018 Ian McCollum 34

The original Villar Perosa machine gun was a rather odd combination of features; a double-barreled gun in 9mm Glisenti with spade grips and a blistering rate of fire. This proved to be of limited practical […]

RP46 Variations: Russian, North Korean, and US Reproduction

July 4, 2018 Ian McCollum 12

FYI, the Russian RP46 parts kit shown in this video is currently selling on GunBroker, with no reserve and a penny start: https://www.gunbroker.com/item/778500561 The RP-46 was the final iteration of the Degtyarev DP27/DPM light machine gun, […]