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HomePrototype

Prototype

bullpup

Experimental Bullpup Over/Under Shotgun with a Secret

November 19, 2019 Ian McCollum 27

This is a prototype or one-off over/under sporting shotgun, made in a bullpup configuration. It is basically two long slabs of wood clamshell around a pair of barrels, with the action at the very end […]

Light MGs

Bill Ruger’s Prototype WW2 Light Machine Gun

October 23, 2019 Ian McCollum 20

In April 1940, the US Ordnance Department circulated a request for a new light machine gun to replace the Browning M1919A4. It was to be shorter and lighter than the Browning, and was not to […]

Light MGs

Before the Lewis Gun was the McClean Automatic Rifle

October 18, 2019 Ian McCollum 22

This is Lot 1158 in the upcoming October Morphy Extraordinary auction. Samuel McClean was a medical doctor from Iowa who began tinkering with firearms designs in 1889, and formed the McClean Arms Company in 1896. […]

Gunsmithing

Osorio Selectiva: A Nicaraguan .22 Rimfire Machine Pistol

October 10, 2019 Ian McCollum 21

This is Lot 1067 in the upcoming October 2019 Morphys Extraordinary auction. Made by Señor Osorio in Nicaragua, this is a .22 rimfire caliber machine pistol with several clever design elements. It fires from an […]

Lever Action Rifles

Experimental Triple-Magazine Henry Rifle

September 27, 2019 Ian McCollum 12

This rifle is an experimental twist on the Henry, built with three magazine tubes in a fixture pivoting around the axis of the barrel. While only half the length of the barrel itself, the three […]

Heavy MGs

John Browning vs Hiram Maxim: Patent Fight!

September 25, 2019 Ian McCollum 13

When John Browning designed his Model 1895 machine gun with it’s rotary-lever gas operation system, Hiram Maxim filed suit claiming patent infringement. Maxim had filed quite broad patents covering gas pistons operation, but specifically in […]

Prototype

Steyr Model 1911 Semiautomatic Trials Rifles

September 23, 2019 Ian McCollum 23

In 1909, the Austro-Hungarian Empire announced a desire to find a new semiautomatic military rifle, and requested proposals from arms manufacturers. Six rifles were submitted to the resulting trials in 1911, including this model from […]

Prototype

Too Late and Not Much Better: the Austen Mk II SMG

September 12, 2019 Ian McCollum 14

The story of the Austen submachine gun did not end when the Mk I guns were pulled from combat service in 1944. The manufacturer continued to work on an improved version, which would be ready […]

Gunsmithing

P. Percy’s Prototype Patent Model Rifle

August 25, 2019 Ian McCollum 12

Lot 3074 in the September 2019 RIA auction. This appears to be a handmade prototype form one P. (or J. P.) Percy of Albany, NY, although I don’t have any information about who he was […]

Prototype

Barnekov Greene Prototype 1870 Open-Bolt Army Rifle

August 21, 2019 Ian McCollum 12

Lot 3293 in the September RIA auction. Patented by Kiel V. Barnekov of New York in 1870, this is a toggle-locked, single shot, open bolt rifle. It was entered into the US 1872 rifle trials […]

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