Submachine Guns - Forgotten Weapons

Economy SIG: The MP48 at the Range

April 16, 2022 Ian McCollum 10

The SIG MP48 was the result of a series of successively cheaper and simpler iterations of the MKPS design. They kept the basic receiver geometry, but lost much of the finesse. The MP48 in particular […]

MP48: When SIG Cheaps Out

April 15, 2022 Ian McCollum 32

Following the adoption of the WF Bern MP41/44 by the Swiss military, SIG continued to develop its own submachine gun design in hopes of outside commercial and military sales. This is the MP48 pattern, which […]

SIG MKPS at the Range

April 9, 2022 Ian McCollum 30

Today we have the SIG MKPS out at the range – and WOW! I did not anticipate just how fast-firing of a submachine gun this is. Calculating from the high speed footage, it is running […]

SIG MKPS: Possibly the Most Beautiful SMG Ever Made

April 8, 2022 Ian McCollum 18

SIG began making SMGs in the 1920s with a licensed copy of the Bergmann. In 1927 the license expired, and they began working on their own designs, the first of which was introduced as the […]

m/26 Suomi: Aimo Lahti’s First Production Design

March 23, 2022 Ian McCollum 8

Aimo Lahti was the premier firearms designer, and the m/26 was his first significant design. Lahti was a Civil Guard armorer, and upon seeing the Lindelof copy of the Bergmann SMG in 1921 he thought […]

UC-9 at the Range

March 5, 2022 Ian McCollum 5

Yesterday we looked at the development and mechanics of the UC-9 folding sneaky submachine gun. Today we are out at the range with it – how does this thing actually handle? Well, actually better than […]

The UC-9: Like a Sneaky, Extra-Boxy Uzi

March 4, 2022 Ian McCollum 9

The UC-9 is a really interesting example of the market distortion caused by the 1986 Hughes Amendment. This is essentially an Uzi converted into a form factor than doesn’t look like a gun when folded […]

Suomi Compensator Comparison – Does It Work?

February 19, 2022 Ian McCollum 11

In February of 1943, new production Suomi submachine guns began to include a 10-point compensator built into the barrel shroud. This pattern, really the only substantial variation in Finnish military m/31 production, was identified as […]

The Short-Lived Suomi SMG for Armored Vehicle Mounts

January 31, 2022 Ian McCollum 14

Prior to the Winter War, Finland had just a few armored vehicles; mostly armored cars. These needed some armament, and one idea put forth was to fit an m/31 Suomi to a ball mount inside […]

Stemple STG-34k at the Range

January 8, 2022 Ian McCollum 24

Today’s video is the Stemple STG-34k at the range…but if I’m going to be honest, it was mostly just an excuse for me to try it out for fun. 🙂 It’s definitely the least practical […]