Prototype - Forgotten Weapons

RIA: Bendix-Hyde Second Model Prototype Carbine

March 31, 2016 Ian McCollum 19

In late 1940, the US military opened a competition for what would become the M1 Carbine – a rifle that needed to use the .30 Carbine cartridge and weigh no more than 5 pounds (2.27kg). […]

RIA: Japanese Type 4 Garand Copy

March 30, 2016 Ian McCollum 41

Partway through 1944, the Japanese Imperial Navy began a program to provide their infantry units with better firepower than was afforded by the bolt action Arisaka rifles. The initial experimentation was based on rechambering captured […]

Swiss SK-46 Prototype Semiauto Rifle (Video)

March 28, 2016 Ian McCollum 33

The SK-46 was one of several post-WWII experimental self-loading rifle designs developed for testing by the Swiss military, or for commercial export. It was manufactured by SIG at Neuhausen in both 7.5mm Swiss and 8mm […]

James D. Julia: Experimental Muzzle Cover 1893 Mauser

March 13, 2016 Ian McCollum 16

(Note: this rifle was removed from the auction, so I have no link to provide for it) I have been unable to find any history on this particular rifle, which is an experimental mixture of […]

Prototype Italian MBT 1925 Straight-Pull Rifle (Video)

January 28, 2016 Ian McCollum 34

Note: This video was filmed over a year ago, but I have been holding it in anticipation of the rifle going to auction. That doesn’t seem to be happening, so I’m posting the video now. […]

SIG KE-9 & M29A Prototype Rifles (Video)

January 25, 2016 Ian McCollum 18

The SIG KE-9 and M29A were several in a series of developmental rifles made by SIG in Switzerland and designed by Pal Kiraly. These ultimately found no commercial or military sales, although the related KE-7 […]

Swedish Hamilton Trials Pistol (Video)

January 21, 2016 Ian McCollum 23

The Hamilton was a handgun entered into the Swedish military pistol trials of 1903, where it competed against guns like the Luger and Colt/Browning 1903. The Hamilton was a simply blowback action chambered for 6.5mm […]

Grant Hammond .45ACP Trials Pistol

January 14, 2016 Ian McCollum 33

The Grant Hammond .45 pistol is a gun which was too late to take part in the major 1907 US military pistol trials, and which was instead presented proactively to the military in hopes of […]

Schlegelmilch Automatic Pistol

January 6, 2016 Ian McCollum 25

Aside from being one of the more unfortunately-named early repeating pistols, the Schlegelmilch is also one of the earliest and more unusual mechanically. It also the only example I am familiar with of a pistol […]

Maxim "Prototype" at the Royal Armouries in Leeds. Note the absence of the rate-of-fire control arm in this version...

The First Maxim Machine Gun

December 30, 2015 Ian McCollum 31

I am going to start an intermittent series of posts on the various different types of Maxim machine guns over the next few months – there are a whole slew of them, and I have […]