Prototype - Forgotten Weapons

Colt’s Prototype Post-War Pocket Hammerless Model M

April 3, 2018 Ian McCollum 12

Production of the Colt Pocket Hammerless (aka the Model M) pretty much died at the end of World War Two. Military contracts ended, and the civilian market was quite weak – Colt shipped just 132 […]

Norton DP-75: Titanium Plus German Police Pistol

March 1, 2018 Ian McCollum 43

This pistol is something of a mystery – its design comes from the experimental Mauser HsP of the mid 1970s. It uses a short recoil system with a pivoting locking block vaguely like a P38, […]

Swiss Prototype von Steiger Auto-Ejecting Revolvers

February 19, 2018 Ian McCollum 34

In the 1870s, Switzerland was looking for a new military revolver, and they were particularly interested in finding a system which would allow faster reloading than the standard loading gate and manual ejection rod. A […]

Slow Motion: Gerät 06 (German WWII Prototype)

February 15, 2018 Ian McCollum 27

Before the invention of the roller-delayed system which would become the H&K G3, Mauser engineers in late World War Two built a small number of prototype roller-locked, gas piston operated rifles in 8x33mm, designated the […]

Snabb Semiauto Conversion of a Dutch Mannlicher

January 18, 2018 Ian McCollum 17

Snabb was a Swedish company created to market a system for converting bolt action rifles into semiautomatic rifles. The system was patented in the US in 1938, making this one of the very last attempts […]

“Carbine” Williams’ Battle Rifle: The Winchester G30R

January 8, 2018 Ian McCollum 26

The Winchester G30R is the final iteration of David Marshall Williams’ work on a full power .30 caliber military rifle. The project began with a design by Ed Browning (John Browning’s half brother) using […]

Italian Trials Czech ZK-391 Semiauto Rifle

December 30, 2017 Ian McCollum 31

The ZK-391 is one in a series of Czech developmental semiautomatic rifles designed by Josef Koucký. It was developed initially in 1939 (hence the “39” in the designation), and was tested by the Italian military […]

Hudson H9 Prototypes & Development (with Cy Hudson)

December 28, 2017 Ian McCollum 17

I am joined today by Cy Hudson, to take a look at the early prototypes of the Hudson H9 pistol – nicknamed the Brick and the Boat Anchor – and to discuss the development […]

Prototype Friberg/Kjellman Flapper-Locking Semiauto Rifle

December 22, 2017 Ian McCollum 11

The origins of flap-locking (as used in the G41(W), G43, DShK, DP, and RPD, among others) goes back to a Swedish Lieutenant Friberg in 1870, who patented the system. At that time, however, the fouling […]

Madsen LAR: An AK for NATO!

December 8, 2017 Ian McCollum 18

The Madsen LAR (light automatic rifle) was an attempt by the main Danish arms manufacturer to get into the military rifle market after World War Two (they also released a bolt action rifle around the […]