Prototype
Throwback Thursday: A .22 Rifle for John Wayne
Today I’m reposting part of an interview I did with L James “Jim” Sullivan back in 2014. Aside from being one of the two men who did the conversion of the AR-10 into the AR-15, […]
Prototype
Antiques
Dodge Patent Prototype Rolling Block Rifle
William Dodge and his brother were inventors in Washington DC who in the 1870s patented a bunch of different improvements to the Remington Rolling Block, among other guns. This particular one I cannot identify with […]
Bolt Action Rifles
What Would Ross Do? The .280 Military Match M10 Rifle
There were many different versions of the Ross straight-pull bolt action rifle made and adopted by the Canadian military. However, the version that Sir Charles Ross thought would be best was only ever made as […]
Bolt Action Rifles
Odd BSA Prototype Charger Bridge Long Lee
Today we have a very odd BSA prototype Long Lee rifle. The details of its production are unknown, but it has good provenance; the Charnwood Ordnance collection. What makes the rifle unusual is a unique […]
Conversion
But Does it Take 1911 Mags? Prototype Winchester 1905SL in .45 ACP
One of the really cool aspects of the Cody Firearms Museum is that their collection is built largely on the original Winchester factory collection. Thus they have a significant number of prototype Winchester designs that […]
Prototype
Throwback Thursday: Cei Rigotti Rifle Disassembly
The Cei Rigotti is a fascinating early Italian self-loading rifle design that was tested in several countries, but never adopted or put into production. I had a chance to disassemble one at the British REME […]
Bolt Action Rifles
Winchester Model D: The WW1 Origin of the Famous Model 70
Just as World War One broke out in Europe, TC Johnson was working on a new Mauser-based sporting rifle design for the Winchester company. With the war, Johnson added options for military configurations (handguard, bayonet […]
Light MGs
L-34 Sampo: Aimo Lahti’s Rejected Masterpiece
Finland’s standard light machine gun going into the Winter War was the LS-26, a gun which did not succeed in field use. It was complex and cumbersome, and Finnish troops quickly replaced it with captured […]
Prototype
Winchester’s Prototype Model 1911 Was Actually a Browning Auto-5
When John Browning developed the self-loading shotgun that would become the Auto-5, he decided to depart from his existing standard business relationship with the Winchester company. Browning had historically sold his patents to Winchester for […]
Prototype
Colt Prototype Double Action 1911
Thanks to Legacy Collectibles, today we have a unique Colt prototype pistol to look at today – a double-action variation of the 1911. Judging by the grips and markings, this was made in the late […]