Gunsmithing
P. Percy’s Prototype Patent Model Rifle
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
Prototype
Barnekov Greene Prototype 1870 Open-Bolt Army Rifle
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 […]
Light MGs
Hiram’s Extra Light Maxim Gun
Designed in an effort to compete with the then-new Colt/Browning air cooled 1895 machine gun, the Extra-Light Maxim weighted in at just 27 (maybe 28) pounds for the gun, and 44 pounds with tripod. This […]
Prototype
P7A13: H&K’s Entry into the US XM9 Pistol Trials
The US held three series of pistol trials beginning in the late 1970s to find a replacement for the venerable M1911 handgun. H&K was a participant in all three – in the first the entered […]
Prototype
1885 Dimancea: A Revolver With Sprockets
Patented in 1885 by Romanian military officer Haralamb Dimancea, this revolver is actually a true hammerless design. Instead of simply shrouding a hammer inside the frame, Dimancea used a pair of rotating sprockets to cock […]
Heavy MGs
Maxim “Prototype”: The First Practical Machine Gun
Hiram Maxim was the first person to create a truly practical and functional machine gun, based on a patent he filed in 1883. He pioneered the recoil operating system – the concept of harnessing the […]
Prototype
Walther Experimental Hybrid Olympia/Woodsman
In the early 1930s, Walther began to experiment with changes to its Olympia target pistol in hopes of beating the Colt Woodsman out of its place as the most popular pistol of the type. The […]
Prototype
P7M7: The Mythical Lost .45 ACP H&K
The P7 was one of the most interesting and original handgun designs of the last few decades. Originally created for West German police trials, it was chambered in 9x19mm. As it became popular beyond Germany, […]
Prototype
Toolroom Prototype .32 ACP Walther Olympia
In the late 1930s, Walther experimented with the idea of an Olympia target pistol in .32 ACP. They used the frame from a 1936 pattern standard (.22LR) Olympia with a .32 caliber barrel, increased mass […]
Prototype
H&K Prototype Sniper: the SL7 Match
Built in the 1990s, this rifle is part of an experimental series of precision rifles made by H&K. It is marked “SL7 Match”, and uses the same action as the standard SL7 sporting rifle (the […]