Bolt Action Rifles - Forgotten Weapons

MAS-36 LG48: A Grenade Launcher for the Bolt Action Infantry

September 28, 2017 Ian McCollum 16

Once it became apparent that the MAS-36 was going to be used in a substantial amount of frontline combat (to the contrary of its intended role as a reserve or secondary rifle), it became important […]

Prarie Gun Works Timberwolf: British Trials Sniper Rifle

September 26, 2017 Ian McCollum 17

Armament Research Services (ARES) is a specialist technical intelligence consultancy, offering expertise and analysis to a range of government and non-government entities in the arms and munitions field. For detailed photos of the guns in […]

MAS-36: The Backup Rifle is Called to Action

September 25, 2017 Ian McCollum 44

There is a common assumption that the MAS-36 was a fool’s errand from the outset – why would a country develop a brand new bolt action rifle in the mid 1930s, when obviously semiautomatic combat […]

The DeLisle: Britain’s Silenced .45 ACP Commando Carbine

September 16, 2017 Ian McCollum 30

Armament Research Services (ARES) is a specialist technical intelligence consultancy, offering expertise and analysis to a range of government and non-government entities in the arms and munitions field. For detailed photos of the guns in […]

Chaffee Reece Model 1882: A Good Idea on Paper…

August 29, 2017 Ian McCollum 8

Patented in 1879 by Reuben Chaffee and General James Reece, the Chaffee-Reece rifle is an excellent example of how an idea that seems good on paper can easily become untenable in a fielded rifle. The […]

The 1878 Remington-Keene: Tube Fed .45-70 Bolt Action Rifle

August 23, 2017 Ian McCollum 25

John W. Keene was an independent gun designer who developed this rifle (and took out 9 patents on its various features) in the 1870s. He did not have a factory at his disposal to produce […]

M34: The Berthier Converted to the 7.5mm Rimless Cartridge

August 3, 2017 Ian McCollum 15

With the end of World War One, it was finally possible for the French military to replace the 8mm Lebel cartridge with a modern rimless cartridge, and they wasted no time in doing so. By […]

Finnish militiamen being issued 7.35mm Carcano rifles

M38 TS Carcano Carbine: Brilliant or Rubbish?

August 1, 2017 Ian McCollum 76

I would like to propose that the M38 TS Carcano carbine was, despite the poor reputation of the Carcano series of rifles, one of the best thought out bolt action weapons of World War 2. […]

The Berthier After World War One

July 31, 2017 Ian McCollum 36

In the aftermath of World War One, France would face the need to replace virtually all of its small arms, because nearly everything it had been using was either a wartime stopgap (like the Ruby, […]

The Berthier Gets an Upgrade: The Model 1916

July 26, 2017 Ian McCollum 26

The “Modifié 1916” update to the Berthier system of rifles and carbines marked a major improvement in the guns combat effectiveness – really the first substantial overhaul to the design since it was developed in […]