Bolt Action Rifles - Forgotten Weapons

Modele 1890 Berthier Cuirassier Carbine

July 17, 2017 Ian McCollum 14

When the Modele 1890 Berthier carbine was adopted for the French cavalry, the decision was made to produce a special version for the Cuirassier troops. These were the elite heavy cavalry, equipped with steel breastplates […]

Modele 1890 Berthier Cavalry Carbine

July 14, 2017 Ian McCollum 16

The Berthier was adopted in 1890 as a new repeating rifle for the French cavalry, who were at that time still using single shot Gras carbines. The Lebel rifle had been adopted in 1886 for […]

1895 Daudeteau Series S Indochina Trials Carbine

July 10, 2017 Ian McCollum 24

Louis Marie Daudeteau was a persistent and prolific arms designer in France in the late 19th century. Born in 1845, he gained substantial military experience in the Franco-Prussian War, and afterwards turned to weapons design. […]

WW1 Rifle Mud Covers: Lebel & Gewehr 98

July 8, 2017 Ian McCollum 20

Given the prevalence of muddy horrible trenches in World War 1, why didn’t anybody design dust covers to protect the actions of their combat rifles? Well, they actually did… and today we are looking at […]

InterArms G33/50: Not a Real Carbine

June 21, 2017 Ian McCollum 15

Among the many Swedish Mauser carbines imported into the United States is an interesting batch of guns marked “InterArms G33/50“. What are these actually? They are rifles imported by InterArms, of course, and they began […]

Swedish Mauser Carbines, m/94 and m/94-14

June 20, 2017 Ian McCollum 20

When Sweden decided to replace its Remington Rolling Block rifles with a more modern repeating rifle design, they tested models from Mauser, Mannlicher, Lee, and Krag. The Mauser 1893 was chosen as the winner of […]

The Steyr Scout: Jeff Cooper’s Modern Day Frontier Rifle

June 18, 2017 Ian McCollum 60

Jeff Cooper was an icon of the American firearms community, best known for his work with the Southwest Pistol League and father of modern practical handgun competition. Cooper was a Marine Corps veteran and avid […]

Mossberg 44US: A Cheaper Training Rifle for World War Two

June 12, 2017 Ian McCollum 38

As World War Two expanded to encompass the whole US economy, it became clear to the Army that some cost cutting measures would be required. One place that was a clear choice was in rimfire […]

Norwegian K98kF1 Repurposed Mauser

June 4, 2017 Ian McCollum 28

At the end of When Germany capitulated in 1945, there were nearly 400,000 German soldiers in Norway (largely thanks to the efforts of the Norwegian Resistance to prevent them from being transferred south). This provided […]

What is the German 1920 Double Date Stamp?

June 3, 2017 Ian McCollum 18

One will sometimes encounter German WW1 arms – mostly Lugers and Kar98 carbines – that have two date stamps, one of them being 1920. What is the significance of this? The crux of the matter […]