Rifles - Forgotten Weapons

The Original AR-15: Serial Number 6 in Original Configuration

November 1, 2025 Ian McCollum 16

The very first AR15 rifles submitted to US government trials were extremely light rights, with an assortment of interesting features that did not last long. They had top-mounted charging handles, one-piece hand guards, very thin […]

Colt LE-901 Modular Multi-Caliber AR: A Well-Designed Failure

October 29, 2025 Ian McCollum 26

Colt originally developed the 901 as part of the US Army SCAR program, with the intention being to create a 7.62x51mm rifle that could also use unmodified 5.56x45mm upper assemblies. This would allow special operations […]

Albania’s Rather Odd Grenade Launching AK

October 27, 2025 Ian McCollum 8

https://youtu.be/g-VS_ZwXxF0 In addition to its regular ASh-78 (fixed stock) and ASh-82 (under folder) Kalashnikovs, Albania also made a model specifically for launching rifle grenades and it has some odd features. The rear sight block was […]

M1E10 Garand-Ljungman Prototype

October 22, 2025 Ian McCollum 17

Springfield Armory was involved in experimenting with he M1 Garand throughout its production, looking at various different elements that could be improved. A series of experimental models were made, with M1E[x] designations. Some of these […]

Gerat 06: Germany’s Incremental Steps Towards Roller Delay

October 15, 2025 Ian McCollum 26

The Gerät 06 is one of the steps in the development of the roller delay system that became H&K. The initial experiments involved replacing the flaps in a G43 rifle bolt with simpler rollers. In […]

GIGN’s Unique Bren 2 in 7.62×39: Counterterrorism and Hostage Rescue

October 13, 2025 Ian McCollum 21

GIGN – the “Group d’Intervention de la Gendarmerie Nationale” (Intervention Group of the National Gendarmerie) is the tip of the spear for French counterterrorism and major crime response. They are a relatively small (a few […]

ASh-78: Albania Makes the Worst AK

October 11, 2025 Ian McCollum 29

Check out Headstamp Publishing’s extensive catalog of excellent books: https://www.headstamppublishing.com/home-forgotten Albanian AKs are both pretty scarce to find outside Albania, and also a bit unusual in the AK field. Where most countries followed Russian AK […]

Bommarito: America’s First Toggle-Locked Battle Rifle

October 1, 2025 Ian McCollum 20

Designed by Giuseppe Bommarito, this was one of the many independent rifle designs submitted to the US War Department in the 1910s hoping for military adoption. It is a short recoil operated, toggle-locked system chambered […]

M1918A2 MOR: How to Make a Non-NFA BAR

September 24, 2025 Ian McCollum 18

Check out Headstamp Publishing’s extensive catalog of excellent firearms books: https://www.headstamppublishing.com/home-forgotten Prior to 1986, Group Industries imported BAR parts kits and then manufactured and registered full-auto receivers for them. This produced transferrable guns which were […]

FAMAS G1: Simplified for Export

September 17, 2025 Ian McCollum 22

The FAMAS G1 was developed as a lower-cost option for FAMAS export sales. The original F1 model had been offered for international sale, but it attracted little interest largely because of its high price. In […]