Q&A - Forgotten Weapons

Ask Ian – What Was the Best WW2 Rifle Cartridge?

August 4, 2022 Ian McCollum 97

From crablegs21 on Utreon: “In your opinion and in hindsight, which country had the most optimized cartridge for the their primary infantry rifle for WWII? Additionally, which country would have benefited most by switching to […]

Ask Ian: Why Didn’t The M3 Grease Gun use Thompson Mags?

July 28, 2022 Ian McCollum 21

From Richard on Patreon: “Why didn’t the M3 and M3A1 (grease gun) have a double stack/double feed mag and use the Thompson mag? It would have certainly simplified logistics.” The answer to the first part […]

Ask Ian: Why Not a Semiauto BAR Instead of the Garand?

July 26, 2022 Ian McCollum 46

From Jack on Patreon: “Why did the US go on to develop the M1 Garand instead of continuing development of the BAR? With the BAR you already have a self-loading rifle with as much firepower […]

Ask Ian: Progressive Twist (Gain Twist) in Small Arms?

July 21, 2022 Ian McCollum 25

From Jamie on Utreon: “I know naval gatling guns like the 20mm CIWS uses gain twist rifling, but are or were there any commercial or military small arms that used gain twist rifling?” Yes, there […]

Ask Ian: History and Development of Pinfire Cartridges

July 19, 2022 Ian McCollum 29

From Nintendoeats on Utreon: “Modern centerfire and rimfire cartridges seem (to the casual observer) like they would always have been the simplest cartridge types to make. Why was pinfire ever used, and how was it […]

Ask Ian: Did the Finns Hate the Carcano?

July 14, 2022 Ian McCollum 31

Asked by Prmetime on Utreon: In WW2, Finland was given approximately 100,000 Carcano M38 rifles in 7.35 Carcano. I have heard it stated that the Finns didn’t like the rifles. Can you comment on the […]

Ask Ian: Why Don’t More Rifles Have Captive Pins?

July 12, 2022 Ian McCollum 27

From Ryan on Patreon: “Why do more rifles not have captive takedown pins? It seems that if someone is developing a rifle from the ground up there are almost no drawbacks to having them, especially […]

Ask Ian: Procurement Then & Now (and Wartime vs Peacetime)

July 7, 2022 Ian McCollum 54

Asked by Charles on Patreon: “I’d love to hear you do a deep dive on the commissioning and procurement process of the Chauchat compared to the FAMAS or the HK416F (or the STEN and the […]

Ask Ian: Single Feed vs Double Feed Pistols

July 5, 2022 Ian McCollum 41

Asked by Tyler on Patreon: “Why are there so few double stack/double feed handguns? I can only think of a couple off the top of my head. It makes the worst part of handgun shooting […]

Q&A 61: Talking Guns with Polenar Tactical

June 29, 2022 Ian McCollum 20

Get 10% off anything in Polenar’s web store with code “NOTEASTERNEUROPE” https://polenartactical.com/shop/ 00:00:32 – What is the “elevator pitch” for Polenar Tactical? 00:02:26 – How did you get your channel name? 00:04:49 – What are […]