Prototype - Forgotten Weapons

System Luger 1892/6 Bolt Action

October 20, 2015 Ian McCollum 21

Georg Luger is known today for just one firearm: the Luger pistol. However, he actually spent significantly more time during his career working on rifles than he did on that iconic handgun. One project in […]

Vintage Saturday: Maxim’s First Maxim

October 10, 2015 Ian McCollum 19

Not actually a photo, but a good likeness of both Maxim and his first working machine gun. That lever on the side is to set the rate of fire, and one of these is still […]

Howard Francis 7.63mm SMLE

October 9, 2015 Ian McCollum 43

The Howard Francis carbine was a design submitted to the British Ordnance Board for consideration in 1943 – one of many weapons proposed to help meet wartime requirements. Specifically, the Howard Francis carbine was a […]

Mauser 06/08 Semiauto Pistol at James D Julia

October 2, 2015 Ian McCollum 21

Throughout the pre-WWI period, Paul Mauser was working continuously to develop a reliable self-loaiding rifle. Among his many experimental designs was a flapper-locked rifle. The flapper-locking system was first patented by a Swede named Kjellman, […]

Mannlicher 1901/04 Carbine at James D Julia

September 29, 2015 Ian McCollum 13

Ferdinand von Mannlicher was a brilliant and prolific European gun designer with more than a few widely-adopted military arms to his name. One of his very last guns was this carbine, which was also one […]

Mauser 1902 Prototype Long Recoil Rifle at James D Julia

September 27, 2015 Ian McCollum 14

Paul Mauser was very persistent – if ultimately unsuccessful – in his long-tim goal to create a practical semiautomatic rifle using a full-power cartridge. In total he tried some 17 different designs, including one in […]

BSA’s Experimental .34 Caliber Pistols at James D Julia

September 18, 2015 Ian McCollum 20

During World War One, Birmingham Small Arms (aka BSA) grew into a massive arms manufacturing facility to supply the previously inconceivable military appetite for rifles. When the war ended, they were left with a bit […]

Pancor Jackhammer

September 11, 2015 Ian McCollum 78

The Pancor Jackhammer was a select-fire combat shotgun designed by John Andersen in the 1980s. He was a Korean War veteran who had used a pump shotgun in combat, and while he liked the shotgun […]

RIA: Liegeoise 1888 Trials Rifle

August 19, 2015 Ian McCollum 69

The Belgian Army held rifle trials in the late 1880s to choose a new infantry rifle, and the winner was the Model 1889 Belgian Mauser. Quite a few different guns were involved in the competition […]

American WWI Experimental SMG (Video)

August 7, 2015 Ian McCollum 54

Reader Larry sent me this video, which was produced by the US Army Ordnance Corp just recently. It’s a one-off experimental submachine gun built in 1918, and is definitely not something like you have seen […]