Prototype
Colt Model 1909 Automatic at RIA
A while back I put together a video on the development of the Colt/Browning 1911 pistol, and one of the missing links in that video was the Model 1909. Well, one of the 23 Model […]
Prototype
Prototype
Sunngård 1909 Pistol
Just a photo – of probably the nicest Sunngård pistol in existence today, along with its holster. Thanks to Lars for sending it!
Prototype
Landstad 1900 Autorevolver Disassembly
You may recall seeing my post about the Landstad model 1900 semiauto revolver a while back… Well, the gun (only one was ever made) was in a British collections for a hundred years, but recently […]
Bolt Action Rifles
System Luger 1892/6 Bolt Action
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 […]
Heavy MGs
Vintage Saturday: Maxim’s First Maxim
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 […]
Prototype
Howard Francis 7.63mm SMLE
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 […]
Prototype
Mauser 06/08 Semiauto Pistol at James D Julia
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, […]
Prototype
Mannlicher 1901/04 Carbine at James D Julia
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 […]
Gunsmithing
Mauser 1902 Prototype Long Recoil Rifle at James D Julia
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 […]
Gunsmithing
BSA’s Experimental .34 Caliber Pistols at James D Julia
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 […]