Prototype - Forgotten Weapons

Mauser 1912/14 Development in .45ACP

May 31, 2021 Ian McCollum 21

Mauser did not limit their Model 1912 and 1912/14 pistols to just being chambered in 9mm – they also developed a number of prototypes in .45ACP. Today we have a series of three such prototypes […]

1893 Lee-Metford Trials Carbine (One of Only 100 Made)

May 17, 2021 Ian McCollum 8

Once Lee-Metford rifle production was in place, the British began working on a carbine version of the same action for their cavalry. In 1893 a trial run of 100 carbines were made, and today we […]

The Long Road to the DP-27

May 9, 2021 Ian McCollum 28

This guest article written by Andrey Ulanov. The Russian military first got acquainted with light machine guns in 1904, on the brink of the Russian-Japanese War. After having tested a few Madsen LMGs, the Army […]

Roth Steyr Developmental Models 1904 and 1906

April 30, 2021 Ian McCollum 10

Before the Austro-Hungarian Empire adopted the Roth Steyr Model 1907 as its official cavalry pistol, they of course went through a series of pistol trials. The winners of two sets of trials were the Roth […]

Hill SMG/Pistol: Inspiration for the FN P90

April 28, 2021 Ian McCollum 49

John L. Hill was a World War One fighter pilot who went into the oil and gas industry, and enjoyed tinkering with guns in his free time. In 1949 he got an idea for a […]

Pancor Jackhammer Mk3

April 26, 2021 Ian McCollum 23

John Anderson was a Korean War veteran who became interested in developing a high capacity, selective-fire combat shotgun for military use. He designed what became known as the Pancor Jackhammer, a fully automatic, gas operated, […]

LAD: The Soviet Pistol-Caliber SAW that Could Have Been

April 11, 2021 Ian McCollum 39

This guest article written by Andrey Ulanov. In 1942, the Red Army was experiencing big problems with machine guns. Before the war, great hopes were pinned on Dyagterev’s brand new DS-39 heavy machine gun. But […]

Mauser 1912/14: Flapper-Delayed Blowback

March 31, 2021 Ian McCollum 19

Starting in 1909, Mauser had a plan to introduce a family of automatic pistols, with a picket gun in 6.35mm (.25 ACP) and a military/police service pistol in 9mm Parabellum that shared the same basic […]

Ian Fangirls Over Some Weird Bergmann (Prototype M1910)

March 26, 2021 Ian McCollum 14

This unique Bergmann Model 1910 was made by Anciens Etablissements Pieper with a grip angled slightly back compared to the standard model. It was also fitted with a square front sight and square rear notch […]

Maxim-Silverman .455 Caliber Behemoth of a Pistol

March 20, 2021 Ian McCollum 28

Hiram Maxim’s hired shop supervisor was a man named Louis Silverman. He was a skilled engineer, who was treated rather poorly by Maxim, and whose contributions were systematically understated. One of the most interesting projects […]