Bolt Action Rifles - Forgotten Weapons

Father (Grandfather?) and Son in Afghanistan with a Martini and an SMLE

Vintage Saturday: Father and Son

July 18, 2015 Ian McCollum 29

One day the boy will inherit the SMLE, and probably go on fighting whichever country has decided to occupy Afghanistan by that time. Maybe it will be China? They haven’t taken a turn yet. Having […]

The Lee Enfield Finally Leaves Canadian Ranger Service

July 1, 2015 Ian McCollum 52

As far as I have been able to tell, the Canadian Rangers are the last formal, first-world military organization still using a WWII-era bolt action rifle as a standard-issue weapon (correction – the Danish Slædepatruljen […]

Vintage Saturday: Fusil d’Assaut

June 27, 2015 Ian McCollum 72

A Chasseur à pied of the 19e Battalion on the road between Breteuil and Flers, Somme. 10th of April 1918. This Battalion had been on foot after heavy fighting in order to occupy the village […]

Japanese Type 30 “Hook Safety” Arisaka at RIA

June 23, 2015 Ian McCollum 21

Most people are familiar with the Type 38 Arisaka, which was one of the two very distinctive Japanese rifles of World War II (along with the Type 99). The Type 38 was an outstanding rifle […]

Palmer Carbine at RIA

June 21, 2015 Ian McCollum 11

The Palmer carbine was the first bolt action firearm adopted by the US military – it was a single shot rimfire carbine patented in 1863 and sold to the US cavalry in 1865. The guns […]

Nazi-Occupation “Stomperud” Krag Rifle at RIA

June 20, 2015 Ian McCollum 33

When the Germans occupied Norway, they took advantage of the arms production facilities at the Kongsberg Arsenal to make a number of Krag rifles to their own specifications. They were made with a mixture of […]

(A Few of) The Many Faces of the Dutch M95 Carbine

June 17, 2015 Ian McCollum 23

When the Dutch military adopted the M95 Mannlicher rifle, they made a rifle for standard infantry, and a variety of carbines for specialist troops. these included artillery, cavalry, bicycle, engineers, and colonial service carbines. During […]

Japanese Type 18 Murata at RIA

June 14, 2015 Ian McCollum 19

The Murata was Japan’s first domestic manufactured military rifle. In its first iteration, it was an 11mm, single shot, black powder weapon and was adopted in 1880 (the Type 13). Before long, some problems in […]

Hungarian WWII Rifles at RIA (35M, 43M, G98/40)

June 12, 2015 Ian McCollum 37

After the breakup of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Hungarian army was armed primarily with Steyr M95 straight-pull rifles and carbines, chambered in the 8x56mm rimmed cartridge. In 1935 they adopted a new Mannlicher turnbolt rifle, […]

Chassepot Needle Rifle at RIA (Video)

June 3, 2015 Ian McCollum 30

The Chassepot was the French answer to the Dreyse needle rifle, and also the only other needlefire rifle to see major military service. It was adopted in 1866 and served as a primary French infantry […]