Prototype - Forgotten Weapons

French C6 Long-Recoil Prototype Semiauto Rifle (Video)

November 18, 2016 Ian McCollum 21

France began working on developing military self-loading rifles virtually as soon as the 1886 Lebel was adopted, and they would pursue a pretty elaborate series of trials right up to World War I. One series […]

Colt Sidehammer “Root” Dragoon Prototype (Video)

November 17, 2016 Ian McCollum 22

During the development of the 1860 Army revolver, Colt did consider mechanical options other than simply scaling up the 1851 Navy pattern. One of these, as evidenced by this Colt prototype, was an enlarged version […]

Frommer Prototype Semiauto Rifle (Video)

November 14, 2016 Ian McCollum 37

Rudolf Frommer was a self-taught engineer and firearms designer who worked his way up through the FEG concern in Budapest to eventually hold the position of CEO. During this time he developed a series of […]

Turner Semiauto SMLE Conversion (Video)

November 12, 2016 Ian McCollum 33

Russell Turner was a Pennsylvania gunsmith and inventor who developed this semiautomatic conversion of an SMLE bolt action rifle circa 1940. It was intended for trial and potential sale to the Canadian military, as it […]

Turner Light Rifle Prototype (2nd Model)

November 8, 2016 Ian McCollum 22

Russell turner was a gunsmith and inventor in Pennsylvania who submitted a rifle design to the US Light Rifle trials (which would culminate in the adoption of Winchester’s design as the M1 Carbine). Turner’s entry […]

Steyr M95 Semiauto Conversion (Video)

October 28, 2016 Ian McCollum 31

This rifle is a Steyr M95 straight-pull carbine that has been converted into a semiauto by adding a gas piston under the barrel connected to the bolt carrier, and an extension to the stock and […]

Müller 1902 Prototype Pistol (Video)

October 26, 2016 Ian McCollum 25

Bernhard Müller designed this locked-breech pistol in 1902, seemingly a hybrid of the Luger and P38 (of course, the P38 did not exist at that time). It appears to use a modified Luger magazine and […]

Hudson .30 Cal Machine Gun Toolroom Model (Video)

October 24, 2016 Ian McCollum 52

Robert F Hudson developed a series of machine guns for the US Navy during the 1920s and 1930s, including this .30 caliber example as well as .50 caliber and 1.1 inch versions. What makes these […]

Bjorgum 1905 Norwegian Prototype Pistol (Video)

October 21, 2016 Ian McCollum 35

Niels Bjorgum was a Norwegian artist-turned-gun-designer who decided to try his hand at handguns for the Norwegian military. His design work ran from 1894 until 1921 or so, starting with long guns but later turning […]

Magazine for an XM19 SPIW Flechette Rifle

October 20, 2016 Ian McCollum 26

The XM-19 was one of a series of Special Purpose Infantry Weapon (SPIW) prototype designs in the 1960s and 70s – a project which was attempting to increase the hit probability of infantry weapons. Several […]