Submachine Guns - Forgotten Weapons

The Star Z-63 Submachine Gun: Better Than You Think

April 28, 2017 Ian McCollum 32

The Star Z-63 is a 9x19mm version of the Star Z-62, which was made in both 9×19 and 9×23. Together, these represent the company’s effort to produce a more modern submachine gun than their Z-45, […]

The Brazilian Uru SMG: A Study in Simplicity

April 26, 2017 Ian McCollum 39

The Uru, named for a tropical bird, is a Brazilian 9mm submachine gun made from 1977 until 1985 and used by Brazilian military and police forces. What makes it interesting is the designer’s focus on […]

The Beretta PM-12S Submachine Gun

April 22, 2017 Ian McCollum 43

For several decades, the Beretta company’s handguns and submachine guns were nearly all designed by the very talented Tulio Marengoni…but nothing can last forever. After World War 2, Beretta engineer Domenico Salza began working on […]

M3 and M3A1 Grease Guns

April 14, 2017 Ian McCollum 67

The US began looking for a cost-effective replacement for the Thompson submachine gun in 1942, and the “Grease Gun” was the result. Designed by George Hyde (a noted firearms designer at the time) and Frederick […]

A Swarm of Angry Bees: The American 180 at James D Julia

March 25, 2017 Ian McCollum 37

The American 180 is a .22 rimfire submachine gun that fires at 1200-1500 rounds per minute or more, and feeds from drums of 177 to 275 rounds capacity. While it makes a great recreational machine […]

British Submachine Gun Overview: Lanchester, Sten, Sterling, and More!

March 12, 2017 Ian McCollum 62

Armament Research Services (ARES) is a specialist technical intelligence consultancy, offering expertise and analysis to a range of government and non-government entities in the arms and munitions field. For detailed photos of the guns in […]

Shooting an MP-40 (Video)

February 21, 2017 Ian McCollum 22

Just a bit of shooting with an MP40 at an indoor range, courtesy of Hill & Mac Gunworks.

German soldiers with captured American arms

Vintage Saturday: More Spoils

December 10, 2016 Ian McCollum 62

German soldiers with captured American small arms, circa 1944. The other guy’s stuff is always better than yours, right? Well, I would rather have an M1 than a K98k, but the Thompsons? No thanks. Interesting […]

Vietnamese soldier in French service working on his MAT-49 SMG.

Vietnamese Guns for Algeria

October 18, 2016 Ian McCollum 42

I was pointed to this interesting snippet of a document about one particular shipment of arms to the Algerian rebels fighting French colonial occupation in the 1950s – from Vietnam. Can’t say I would have […]

Thompson SMG in 30 Carbine (Video)

October 17, 2016 Ian McCollum 65

When the US military released a request for what would become the M1 Carbine in 1940, the Auto-Ordnance Corporation offered up a Thompson submachine gun simply rechambered for the new .30 Carbine cartridge. This entailed […]