Prototype - Forgotten Weapons

Schwarzlose 1898 Pistol (Video)

May 4, 2015 Ian McCollum 37

The model 1898 Schwarzlose was a self loading pistol definitely ahead of its time. It was simple, powerful (for the period; it was chambered for 7.63mm Mauser), and remarkably ergonomic. It used a short recoil, […]

Gustloff Prototype Pistol at RIA

April 22, 2015 Ian McCollum 9

Gustloff was a large industrial concern in Germany which made many different weapons for the military. In addition to these, its attempted to market a small-caliber pistol for police or SS use. This pistol used […]

Japanese Pedersen Rifle at RIA

April 19, 2015 Ian McCollum 10

After he failed to win US military adoption of his toggle-locked rifle design, John Pedersen went looking for other countries that might be interested in the gun. One of these was Japan, which experimented with […]

Very Early Mars Pistol #4 at RIA

April 18, 2015 Ian McCollum 30

Until the midle of the 20th century, the most powerful automatic pistol made was Sir Hugh Gabbett-Fairfax’s Mars pistol. With the .45 caliber version approaching the energy of a .45 Winchester Magnum, it was quite […]

Prototype Optic on an M1 at RIA

April 10, 2015 Ian McCollum 6

In the years after WWII, several countries experimented with general-use optical sights on service rifles. The Germans had pioneered the concept with the ZF-41 long eye relief optic during the war (and the ZF-4, to […]

Grant Hammond .32ACP Prototype at RIA

April 7, 2015 Ian McCollum 33

Grant Hammond is best known (to the extent he is known at all) for a .45 caliber pistol submitted to US military trials in 1917 and 1918. This pistol is a proof of concept prototype […]

Prototype Pieper .45ACP Pistol at James D Julia

March 14, 2015 Ian McCollum 51

Nicholas Pieper designed a blowback pocket pistol which was manufactured under license by Steyr in 1908. It was a reasonably successful pistol, and can be found today in .25ACP and .32ACP calibers. This particular one […]

Walther Volkspistole at James D Julia

March 12, 2015 Ian McCollum 17

As the Second World War started to really take a toll on German industrial production, several companies started to work on alternatives to the P38 handgun in an effort to reduce production cost and time. […]

Nickl Prototype M1916/22 Pistol at James D Julia

March 11, 2015 Ian McCollum 9

Josef Nickl was one of the chief R&D designers at Mauser after the Federle brothers, and one of his pet projects was a rotating barrel military pistol developed from the Steyr-Hahn M1912 pistol. He built […]

Experimental “Joint Safety” C96 Mauser at James D Julia

March 9, 2015 Ian McCollum 5

This particular 1902-made example of the C96 Mauser incorporates several experimental features of the design that would never go into mass production. It was an effort to make a version of the C96 that would […]