Rifles - Forgotten Weapons

SIG Prototype 1924/1925 Semiauto Rifles (Video)

December 10, 2015 Ian McCollum 15

The Swiss SIG factory was one of the earliest producers of semiautomatic military rifles, having produced the M1908 Mondragon rifles for Mexico. They continued to experiment with self-loading rifle designs, and in the mid 1920s […]

StG-45 Horn Prototypes

December 9, 2015 Ian McCollum 137

Herr Horn (I have seen his name given as both N.V. Horn and V.G. Horn; not sure which is correct) was an engineer working in the R&D department of Mauser at the end of WWII, and […]

Sturmgewehrs: The Original and the HMG Reproduction

December 8, 2015 Ian McCollum 22

While I was busy posting RIA videos last month, my friend Karl and I traveled down to Atlanta to visit Hill & Mac Gunworks. They are making a reproduction StG-44 rifle with a number of […]

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.

H&K SL-6 and SL-7 Rifles at RIA

December 3, 2015 Ian McCollum 29

The German firm Heckler & Koch spent several decades building firearms all based on the same basic operating system: roller-delayed blowback (often called roller-locked, although they are not technically locked breech actions). The two best […]

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 […]

First Pattern 1865 Allin Conversion – Trapdoor Springfield at RIA

November 30, 2015 Ian McCollum 35

As the US Civil War drew to a close, it was quite apparent to everyone that muzzleloading rifles were obsolete, and any military force wishing to remain relevant would need to adopt cartridge-firing weapons. However, […]

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. […]

Two VG1-5 Gustloff Last Ditch Rifles at RIA

November 20, 2015 Ian McCollum 137

The Volksstrumgewehr Gustloff, more commonly (albeit incorrectly) known as the VG1-5, was one of the few semiautomatic Volkssturm weapons produced at the end of WWII. I have discussed these rifles before, but wanted to take […]

Gewehr 71 with Experimental Magazine at RIA

November 19, 2015 Ian McCollum 9

The Model 1871 Mauser was adopted as the newly united Germany’s first standard rifle, and it was a good design. However, it was a single shot rifle and soon it became apparent that the additional […]