Prototype - Forgotten Weapons

VG45K: Rheinmetall’s 8mm Kurz Volksgewehr

October 8, 2022 Ian McCollum 95

As the end of World War Two loomed close, the German arms industry turned to a number of Volkssturm rifle designs. These were the crudest and simplest rifles that could be made to work with […]

Prototype 7.7mm Arisaka Type 99 Carbine

October 5, 2022 Ian McCollum 19

The Japanese military made the decision to move from a 6.5mm infantry rifle to a more powerful 7.7mm cartridge in the 1930s, with specifications for the new rifle proposed in 1938. In response, the Nagoya […]

A Path Less Traveled: IM Metal’s Tavor-Based Prototype for the VHS-1

September 21, 2022 Ian McCollum 3

Today we are continuing to trace the development of the IM Metal / HS Produkt VHS rifles. During this period, Croatia briefly considered adopting the Israeli Tavor rifle. Part of the adoption would have included […]

Genesis of the VHS: IM Metal Gets a FAMAS

September 14, 2022 Ian McCollum 26

After their abortive effort at designing a bullpup AK conversion, IM Metal (later to become HS Produkt) decided to make another try at developing a rifle for the Croatian Army. This time, they decided to […]

The CZ-2000 as a 9mm SMG Prototype

September 10, 2022 Ian McCollum 14

There have been several examples of the AK being used as the basis for a pistol-caliber SMG or PDW. The Russians made the Vityaz, the Hungarians made the KGPF-9…and the Czechs actually made a version […]

Croatia’s Prototype Bullpup AK Conversion

September 7, 2022 Ian McCollum 21

The HS Produkt company, best known for making the XD pistols sold in the US by Springfield, was originally called IM Metal, and was a general fabrication company in Croatia. When the Croatian Homeland War […]

East Meets West at the BUG Match: CZ’s vz.82

September 2, 2022 Ian McCollum 9

Yesterday we looked at the history and development of the vz.82 pistol; today I am taking it out to the BackUp Gun Match. this should be a pretty competitive pistol in this environment, and it […]

Poland’s Problematic First SMG: The wz.39 Mors

August 10, 2022 Ian McCollum 9

Designed by Piotr Wilniewczyca and Jan Skrzypinski starting in 1936, the Mors was Poland’s first domestic SMG. Polish police forces had purchased Thompsons and Suomi in the 1920s and 1930s, but the military still had […]

Before the High Power was the FN Grand Rendement

August 8, 2022 Ian McCollum 34

The Browning High Power story begins with a French 1921 request for a new military pistol. FN engineer Dieudonné Saive developed a double stack, single feed magazine and John Browning adapted a Browning 1903 pistol […]

Development of the CZ Skorpion from Laugo Prototype to Evo3A1

July 29, 2022 Ian McCollum 3

https://www.instagram.com/czguns/ https://www.facebook.com/CZfirearms The CZ Skorpion grew out of a Czech Army request for a new 9x19mm SMG as the newly formed Czech Republic pivoted to a Western orientation in the 1990s. The CZ factory took […]