Rifles - Forgotten Weapons

Prototype Optic on an M1 at RIA

April 10, 2015 Ian McCollum 6

In the years after WWII, several countries experimented with general-use optical sights on service rifles. The Germans had pioneered the concept with the ZF-41 long eye relief optic during the war (and the ZF-4, to […]

PzB-39 German Anti-Tank Rifle at RIA

April 8, 2015 Ian McCollum 35

Most countries still had anti-tank rifles in their military inventory at the beginning of WWII – the Solothurn S18-100, the Lahti L39, the Boys AT Rifle, the PTRD and PTRS, and so on. For Germany, […]

Mondragon 1894 Straight-Pull at RIA

April 5, 2015 Ian McCollum 29

Most people who recognize the name Mondragon know it from Manuel Mondragon’s model 1908 semiauto rifle, the first such rifle to be adopted on a large scale by a military (the Mexican Army, in this […]

Duplex .22-06 M1 Garand at RIA

April 3, 2015 Ian McCollum 31

During the 1950s, the US Army ran a series of programs trying to find a better solution for infantry rifles than firing single semiauto bullets. These projects (including SALVO, SALVO II, and SPIW) would include […]

Pedersen GY at RIA: A Copy of the M1 Garand

March 31, 2015 Ian McCollum 27

Two of the scarcest and least known of John Pedersen’s designs are the Model GY and GX rifles, which are basically copies of the production model of the M1 Garand. After losing out in the […]

2-Gun Action Match: Gewehr 41

March 23, 2015 Ian McCollum 13

I recently picked up a Walther G41 rifle (1943 production) and have been excited to have a chance to put it through a 2-Gun match. This particular rifle has clearly led an interesting life – […]

Vintage Saturday: More Anti-Aircraft

March 21, 2015 Ian McCollum 37

Soviet snipers train at ranging aircraft with 91/30 PU rifles.

M1895 Lee Navy Salvaged from the USS Maine at James D Julia

February 28, 2015 Ian McCollum 21

The M1895 Lee Navy was a rifle well ahead of it’s time – a smallbore (6mm) straight-pull bolt action adopted by the US Navy at the same time that the US Army was adopting the […]

Winchester 94 with Maxim Silencer at James D Julia

February 23, 2015 Ian McCollum 13

The Winchester Model 94 is one of the most iconic American sporting rifles ever made, and this particular one is chambered in the equally iconic .30-30 cartridge. It is a takedown version, made in 1907, […]