Prototype - Forgotten Weapons

Terni M91 Carcano Semiauto conversion (Video)

October 19, 2016 Ian McCollum 14

This rifle started out its life an a normal M91 Carcano long rifle, before being converted into an experimental self-loader by the Terni Arsenal. Rather than adding a gas piston to the barrel, Terni engineered […]

Thompson SMG in 30 Carbine (Video)

October 17, 2016 Ian McCollum 65

When the US military released a request for what would become the M1 Carbine in 1940, the Auto-Ordnance Corporation offered up a Thompson submachine gun simply rechambered for the new .30 Carbine cartridge. This entailed […]

Spanish 8×33 Mosqueton CB-51 Prototype (Video)

October 14, 2016 Ian McCollum 40

The Spanish military, like many others, was quite interested in developing a new semiautomatic or selective fire combat rifle after World War II. Franco’s political ties to Germany (combined with Spanish neutrality in the war) […]

Detailed Photos: Mannlicher 1901/04 Carbine

October 13, 2016 Ian McCollum 25

One of Ferdinand von Mannlicher’s very last firearms was an experimental 1901/04 carbine, scaled up from its original pistol cartridge to a new 7.63x32mm intermediate-sized cartridge. I had a video on one of these very […]

Great Article on the Dror LMG

October 11, 2016 Ian McCollum 10

Terry Edwards has graciously offered to let me repost the excellent article he wrote for Small Arms Defense Journal. It’s a two part PDF, and I have posted both parts below. If you are interested […]

Hagen Prototype Semiauto Rifle (Video)

October 8, 2016 Ian McCollum 33

The Hagen (more information here) is an early semiauto rifle designed by a Norwegian, manufactured in the UK, and tested by several different militaries – but adopted by none. It uses a long stroke gas […]

Benke-Thiemann Folding Luger Holster

September 21, 2016 Ian McCollum 24

While most major pistols made before the 1930s had some type of shoulder stock available as an option, the Luger had much more variety of stocks than most others. In addition to the several types […]

RIA: Odd Iver Johnson Prototype .32s (Video)

September 8, 2016 Ian McCollum 22

These unique and unmarked prototype .32 ACP pistols are apparently Iver Johnson prototypes – and I can’t find any information on them beyond that description from their consignor. One is a simpler example in the […]

RIA: Experimental Semiauto Springfield 1903 Primer-Actuated Rifle (Video)

September 3, 2016 Ian McCollum 74

During the 1920s, a lot of experimental rifle development work was being done in the US. The military was interested in finding a semiautomatic rifle, and plenty of inventors were eager to get that valuable […]

RIA: Müller 1895 Curved Recoil Pistol (Video)

August 31, 2016 Ian McCollum 13

The model 1895 Müller automatic pistol is an interesting and unusual design, despite being a simple blowback action. Where most pistols have a bolt or slide that moved directly rearward, the Müller pushes the bolt […]