Bolt Action Rifles - Forgotten Weapons

Spoils of War: French Occupation-Production Mauser K98k svwMB

November 11, 2024 Ian McCollum 9

Allied troops occupied the Mauser factory complex in Oberndorf in April of 1945, right at the end of the war. The factory was put under French administration and by May that same year production lines […]

G33/40: Special Carbine for the Gebirgsjager

November 8, 2024 Ian McCollum 4

When the Germans took over control of the Czechoslovakian arms industry, they took some time to work out what out to be mass produced at the Brno factory. In the interim, they decided to restart […]

New Imports: French MAS 49/56 and MAS 36/51 Rifles

October 30, 2024 Ian McCollum 35

Yeah, I’m a sucker for nice French rifles. So when Old Western Scrounger brought in another batch of them, I offered to do a video. These are rifles taken out of French long-term storage, having […]

Enjoying Black Powder Episode 4: The Mauser Gewehr 1871

October 26, 2024 Ian McCollum 11

The full version with hand loading information (not permitted on YouTube) is available here: https://forgottenweapons.vhx.tv/videos/black-powder-ep-4-app Black powder military rifles of the 1860s-1880s are a really enjoyable group of guns. A lot of them are relatively […]

Romanian 1930s Mosin Carbine Conversion

October 4, 2024 Ian McCollum 2

Romania had more than a million rifles in its inventory after World War One, but they were mused between Mannlicher 88/90, Mannlicher 95, Mosin Nagant, and Berthier patterns – and they were almost all rifles […]

Hunting in Communist Romania: Nicolae Ceaușescu’s Finnbear 61

August 9, 2024 Ian McCollum 5

Nicolae Ceaușescu ruled România through much of its communist period, from 1967 until 1989. Ceaușescu was a passionate hunter, and owned more than 100 firearms, mostly for hunting. These included some gifts from foreign dignitaries, […]

Custom DeLisle: A .45ACP Mini-Mauser in Classic Sporting Lines

July 13, 2024 Ian McCollum 20

Today we are checking out a bespoke gunsmith’s project; a DeLisle-inspired .45ACP Mauser built by Lars Rannstad Slang of Oslo. Using a commercial small-ring Mauser action, he fabricated a new bolt head, trigger guard, follower, […]

Cugir Model 92 “Dragana” Mauser: Hunting Rifles From MG34s

July 12, 2024 Ian McCollum 12

With the fall of communism in Romania, the Cugir Arsenal complex lost its government financial support. Looking for commercial products to sell to keeps its workers employed, the factory turned to producing hunting rifles for […]

MACS M2: Croatian Anti-Material .50 Cal

June 7, 2024 Ian McCollum 7

Among the many firearms designed and built in Croatia under the duress of the Homeland War was the MACS M2, a single-shot anti-material rifle chambered for .50 BMG. Designed by an engineer named Jankovic, these […]

Blk Lbl Integrated Handguard/Bipod for the Q Fix

May 12, 2024 Ian McCollum 1

Ever since I first saw Blk Lbl at SHOT Show many years ago I’ve really liked their handguard-integrated bipods. They are completely slick and unobtrusive when folded up, but offer a good range of motion, […]