Prototype - Forgotten Weapons

L-34 Sampo: Aimo Lahti’s Rejected Masterpiece

June 30, 2021 Ian McCollum 39

Finland’s standard light machine gun going into the Winter War was the LS-26, a gun which did not succeed in field use. It was complex and cumbersome, and Finnish troops quickly replaced it with captured […]

Winchester’s Prototype Model 1911 Was Actually a Browning Auto-5

June 28, 2021 Ian McCollum 14

When John Browning developed the self-loading shotgun that would become the Auto-5, he decided to depart from his existing standard business relationship with the Winchester company. Browning had historically sold his patents to Winchester for […]

Colt Prototype Double Action 1911

June 23, 2021 Ian McCollum 16

Thanks to Legacy Collectibles, today we have a unique Colt prototype pistol to look at today – a double-action variation of the 1911. Judging by the grips and markings, this was made in the late […]

Captain Carl Pelo’s Model 1954 Prototype Semiauto Rifle

June 21, 2021 Ian McCollum 37

Carl Pelo was a an engineer with Sako in the 1930s, and developed a series of self-loading rifles. He used a short recoil mechanism with a pair of locking flaps on the bolt, much like […]

Prototype Johnson Model R Military Rifle

June 15, 2021 Ian McCollum 21

When Melvin Johnson’s rifle design was first going through US military testing in 1938, it was set up to use box magazines. These magazines were a problem – they were not quite fully perfected, and […]

The Crazy Guns of the Winchester-Bannerman Pump Action Lawsuit

June 9, 2021 Ian McCollum 16

Today I’m at the Cody Firearms Museum, taking a look at two of the guns that were used in the court case between Francis Bannerman and the Winchester company – a prototype Magot pump-action rifle […]

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 […]