Bolt Action Rifles - Forgotten Weapons

Union carpenter Joe Olson assists the coal miners during the UMW labor strike against CF&I, in Ludlow, Colorado.

Vintage Saturday: Average Joe

January 16, 2016 Ian McCollum 39

Interestingly, Joe here appears to be armed with a sporting version of the Gewehr 88 – which means those cartridges in his belt will do little good without some en bloc clips. Good thing he’s also […]

Video Q&A #3: What-Ifs and How-Comes

January 13, 2016 Ian McCollum 46

I initially figured these Q&A video would be a fun little side note, and I have been a bit taken aback by how popular they became…and so they keep getting longer. This one clocks in […]

Perspectives on French Rifle Sight Design

January 5, 2016 Ian McCollum 28

Holy moley, is that the most dense and snooty post title ever? I think it might be. However, I think it’s a much more interesting subject than most folks might anticipate, and it’s something that […]

Vintage Saturday: Harried

January 2, 2016 Ian McCollum 27

This guy has clearly been through a lot. Note the G41(W) or G43 in the background.

Mondragon 1894 Bolt Action Rifle (Video)

December 31, 2015 Ian McCollum 22

Manuel Mondragon was a talented lifelong gun designer born in Mexico. He worked extensively at the Swiss SIG factory, and was the man behind the first military-issue semiautomatic rifle. Before that, though, he designed this […]

2nd Lieutenant L. J. Barley of the 1st Battalion, Cameronians (Scottish Rifles), watching as a rifle grenade is prepared for firing from trenches at Grande Flamengrie Farm on the Bois Grenier sector of the line during February 1915.

Vintage Saturday: Rifle Grenade

December 19, 2015 Ian McCollum 62

2nd Lieutenant L. J. Barley of the 1st Battalion, Cameronians (Scottish Rifles), watching as a rifle grenade is prepared for firing from trenches at Grande Flamengrie Farm on the Bois Grenier sector of the line […]

Dakota tribal policeman with a Remington-Keene rifle

Vintage Saturday: Policeman with a Rifle

December 12, 2015 Ian McCollum 28

The Remington-Keene was one of the many repeating rifles manufactured with hopes of US military contracts, which failed to get any. In total about 5,000 were made and sold commercially. It is a tube-magazine, bolt […]

Springfield 1903 sniper w/ Warner & Swasey M1913 scope

Vintage Saturday: Sniper

December 5, 2015 Ian McCollum 56

Springfield 1903 sniper w/ Warner & Swasey M1913 scope, photo taken in 1918. Note the camouflage pain on the stock, and the distinctive cruciform grasping knob on the range adjustment of the scope.

M1903 Sniper Rifle with Warner & Swasey M1913 Musket Sight at RIA

December 2, 2015 Ian McCollum 25

When the United States entered World War One, there was no formal sniper school or training in place. However, the US Army had adopted a sniper optic for the M1903 Springfield rifle. It was the […]

Swiss ZfK-55 Sniper at RIA

November 26, 2015 Ian McCollum 40

The Swiss military began experimenting with scoped sniper rifle during WWII, with the K31/42 and K31/43. These use periscopic optics permanently mounted to the side of the receiver, and were both found less than ideal. […]