Bolt Action Rifles
What is a Duffel Cut?
American service members in World War One and World War Two brought a tremendous number of firearms back to the US as trophies and souvenirs. While some mailed guns home, most brought them back in […]
Bolt Action Rifles
Bolt Action Rifles
Steyr Dragoon Scout and African Big Game Cartridges: .376 Steyr, .375 Ruger, .375 H&H
Jeff Cooper envisioned a few variation on the Scout Rifle, most notably a heavier-caliber type suited more for African dangerous (or large) game hunting, for which the .308 Winchester cartridge was not really suitable. Cooper […]
Bolt Action Rifles
The Gras in Ethiopia: Carbines of Emperor Menelik II and Empress Taytu
Ethiopia is a fascinating and unique example of an African nation that was able to uphold its sovereignty through force of arms, and resist become a possession of any of the European powers during the […]
Bolt Action Rifles
Elmech EM-992: Croatia’s First Domestic Sniper Rifle
There was a fair amount of small arms production in Croatia during the breakup of Yugoslavia, but most of it was not particularly high quality. After the government of Croatia had become established, it looked […]
Bolt Action Rifles
Berthier with a Chauchat Magazine at the Range
Today I am out at the range to put the first shots through a completed replica of the French Chauchat-magazine Berthier conversion. The real versions of these guns were made on Mle 1890 cavalry carbines […]
Bayonet
M44L: The Experimental Midlength Folding-Bayonet Mosin Nagant
Courtesy of The Mosin Crate, we have a Soviet “M44L” today. This was an intermediate length (24 inch barrel) pattern of the Mosin Nagant rifle with an M44-style permanently attached folding spike bayonet. Developed in […]
Bolt Action Rifles
M91/41: A Step Back From the M38 and the Last Carcano
In my opinion, the M38 Carcano as a very insightfully designed infantry rifle for World War Two, acknowledging the real-world use conditions of such weapons. With the M91/41 (aka M41), Italy took a step back […]
Bolt Action Rifles
Adventures in Surplus: Yugoslav M48 Mauser
Today is a look at a Yugoslav M48 Mauser. This was the standardized model that Yugoslavia adopted to replace its assortment of repaired and rebuild older Mauser rifles in the aftermath of World War Two. […]
Bolt Action Rifles
Adventures in Surplus: Mid-war “CE44” German Kar 98k
Today’s rifle is a German Karabiner 98k, made by JP Sauer in 1944 and marked with the appropriate receiver code, “ce”. This is from the final year of JP Sauer production of the K98k, before […]
Bolt Action Rifles
French FR-F1 Sniper Rifle at the Range
The FR-F1 was adopted in 1967 as the French Army’s marksman or sniper’s rifle. It was based roughly on the MAS-36 bolt action system, but with a heavier receiver and 10-round detachable box magazine. It […]