Prototype - Forgotten Weapons

PDW on Steroids: the vz68 and the Skorpion 9×19

July 15, 2022 Ian McCollum 20

The original Scorpion was adopted in .32 ACP caliber as the vz.61 by the Czechoslovakian military – but development of the Scorpion did not end there. Prototypes were also developed in .380, 9×18 Makarov, and […]

Ladislav Findorak’s Prototype Lever-Delayed PDW

July 6, 2022 Ian McCollum 29

This really neat compact PDW prototype was developed by Ladislav Findorak in the 1990s for a Czech military program, although nothing was adopted as a result. The lever-delayed system allows it to have a much […]

CEAM 1950B: A Roller-Delayed Missing Link in .30 Carbine

June 27, 2022 Ian McCollum 27

At the end of World War Two, the Mauser factory complex was in the French occupation zone, and more than a few Mauser engineers went to work for the French. Among them were Ludwig Vorgimmler […]

Walther Prototype MP – A Missing Link From PP to P38

May 9, 2022 Ian McCollum 34

During the late 1920 and early 1930s, the Walther company worked on developing a military pistol in 9x19mm. They began from the basis of the PP/PPK design, and produced three separate designs, the first two […]

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 […]

In Search of Hard Currency: Prototype 9x19mm vz52 Pistol

March 17, 2022 Ian McCollum 14

The vz.52 pistol was originally adopted by Czechoslovakia as a short-term option, with an intention to quickly replace it with something better. The problem was that without a viable domestic pistol, the Soviet Union would […]

L8(T) Enfield: The British Army Fails to Make a Sniper

December 14, 2021 Ian McCollum 9

We looked at the 7.62mm conversion of the No4 Enfield into Rifle L8 yesterday. Part of that program was an attempt to develop a new sniper rifle on the L8 platform. To this end, six […]

Lindner’s Improbable Tube-Fed Striker-Fired Caseless Ammo Revolver

December 6, 2021 Ian McCollum 23

Edward Lindner was a Bavarian-born gunsmith who spent much of his professional life in the United States. He was granted no less than 13 firearms patents, and was involved in some very forward-thinking designs. Among […]

Throwback Thursday: A .22 Rifle for John Wayne

November 18, 2021 Ian McCollum 18

Today I’m reposting part of an interview I did with L James “Jim” Sullivan back in 2014. Aside from being one of the two men who did the conversion of the AR-10 into the AR-15, […]

Dodge Patent Prototype Rolling Block Rifle

November 11, 2021 Ian McCollum 28

William Dodge and his brother were inventors in Washington DC who in the 1870s patented a bunch of different improvements to the Remington Rolling Block, among other guns. This particular one I cannot identify with […]