• Contact Ian
  • Full30
  • YouTube
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
Forgotten Weapons

Support Forgotten Weapons

Enjoy what you read on Forgotten Weapons? Please consider supporting me on Patreon or checking out our new Merchandise Shop! Thanks!
  • Home
  • Special Collections
    • M1 Carbine Development
    • M1 Garand Development
    • Bergmann Automatic Pistols
    • Carbine Williams and Winchester
  • Handguns
    • Machine Pistols
    • Revolvers
    • Semi-Auto Pistols
  • Shotguns
  • Rifles
    • Anti-Tank Rifles
    • Bolt-Action Rifles
    • Lever-Action Rifles
    • Revolving Rifle
    • Select Fire Rifles
    • Semi-Auto Rifles
    • Single Shot Rifles
    • Sniper Rifles
  • Machine Guns
    • Aircraft MGs
    • GPMGs
    • HMGs
    • LMGs
    • Manual Machine Guns
    • SMGs
  • Other
    • Accessories
    • Ammunition
    • Artillery
    • Biographies
    • Book Reviews
    • Cannon
    • Flamethrowers
    • Flare Guns
    • Interviews
    • Q & A
    • Rocket Launchers
    • Tours
  • Shop
HomeRiflesBolt Action Rifles

Bolt Action Rifles

Bolt Action Rifles

MAS-45: The French .22 Trainer Designed by Mauser

April 14, 2021 Ian McCollum 15

When the French occupied the Mauser factory in April 1945, they found all the tooling to produce .22 caliber rifles still in place and in good order (among other things). The French military did not […]

Bolt Action Rifles

Miniature Guns for the Fascist Youth: Italian Balilla Carbines

April 6, 2021 Ian McCollum 11

As part of his effort to imbue Italy with a fascist culture, Mussolini formed the ONB, or National Balilla Organization as a replacement for all other youth organizations in Italy in 1926. It was intended […]

Bolt Action Rifles

Finnish Brutality 2021: Winter War 2-Gun with a Finnish M39 Mosin

March 6, 2021 Ian McCollum 10

Brought to you by Varusteleka and Sako, Finnish Brutality 2021 was run as a much-reduced private event to meet Finnish Covid-19 event size regulations. We only had three stages and 7 shooters, but the full […]

Bolt Action Rifles

Prototype Ross “H5” from 1909

February 22, 2021 Ian McCollum 3

The Ross MkII (aka Ross 1905) was a reasonably successful rifle design, but it lacked a few elements that the Canadian military would have preferred. Most significantly, it was not compatible with the charger clip […]

Bolt Action Rifles

Prototype Jungle Carbine: A No1 MkV Becomes a No5 MkI

February 17, 2021 Ian McCollum 15

When the British began developing a shortened version of the No4 Lee Enfield in 1943 (which would become the No5 MkI “Jungle Carbine”), the development process included work with some rather older rifles. What we […]

Bolt Action Rifles

Wait, Go Back! The SMLE MkIII* Wartime Simplification

February 10, 2021 Ian McCollum 20

The British entered World War One with a technically excellent rifle, with lots of bells and whistles. By 1916, the war was taking a previously unimaginable toll on the industrial capacity of the Empire and […]

Bolt Action Rifles

SMLE MkI***: The Updated Early Lee Enfields (and Irish Examples!)

February 3, 2021 Ian McCollum 4

When the British adopted a new high-velocity spitzer bullet for the .303 cartridge, they had to update their rifles to use it. Specifically, the sights had to be recalibrated for the flatter trajectory of the […]

Antiques

Experimental Gras-Vetterli Repeating Rifle

February 1, 2021 Ian McCollum 4

In the 1870s and 1880s, France experimented with a huge variety of repeating rifle designs, including tube magazines hopper magazines, box magazines, and all sorts of other unique systems (more than 40 different types in […]

Bolt Action Rifles

New Rifles for Old Ammo: The Royal Navy’s Unique SMLE MkI**

January 27, 2021 Ian McCollum 12

When the SMLE was adopted by the British, it was to be the new universal rifle for all branches of service, including the Royal Navy. This suited the Navy just fine; they like the features […]

Bolt Action Rifles

SMLE MkIII: The Iconic Smelly of World War One

January 20, 2021 Ian McCollum 28

In 1907, the British adopted the final major pattern in the evolution of the Short, Magazine, Lee Enfield. Designated the ShtLE MkIII (Short Lee Enfield) at the time, it would be retroactively renamed Rifle No1 […]

Posts navigation

1 2 … 37 »

Forgotten Weapons Merch!

Shirts, jackets, hats, and much more!
Sites we enjoy reading
  • British Royal Armouries
  • GunLab
  • Historical Firearms (Tumblr)
  • Joel's Gulch
  • MicroBalrog’s Soviet Outpost
  • View From the Porch
  • VolkStudio Blog
  • Vuurwapen Blog
  • WeaponsMan
Research Sites
  • American Society of Arms Collectors
  • Artillery Luger
  • C&Rsenal
  • Carbines for Collectors
  • Gothia Arms Historical Society
  • GunPictures.net
  • James Julia auction archive
  • Manowar's Hungarian Weapons & History
  • Milsurps.com
  • Modern Firearms
  • Municion.org
  • Old Colts
  • Pistols of the German Wehrmacht
  • The Paul Mauser Archive
  • The Spanish Civil War Mosin Nagant
  • Unblinking Eye
What I’m Currently Reading
Subscribe to Forgotten Weapons via Email

Enter your email address to receive notifications of new posts by email.

Contact Us

Forgotten Weapons

6281 N. Oracle #36270
Tucson, AZ 85704

© 2020 Forgotten Weapons.
Site developed by Cardinal Acres Web Development.