Optics
Ian Ruins the Elbonian Sniper Corps
Today’s Q&A is from Tim on Patreon: “The great nation of Elbonia is looking to spin up a sniper program. But they know better than to adopt ZF41 scopes. What rifles do you attempt to […]
Rifles
Semiauto Rifles
Tsingtao Ironworks C96 Carbine – A Fancy Carbine for a Wealthy Client
Today we are looking at a high-end C96 Mauser pattern sporting carbine made by the Tsingtao Ironworks. Only a few dozen of these were made, and this one survives in excellent condition. It is a […]
Select-fire Rifles
Bonus: MSBS Grot at the Range (Standard, Bullpup, & 7.62mm)
After touring the Fabryka Broni factory in Radom and filming the history of the MSBS “Grot” development, I had the chance to try out the rifle in several different configurations. We didn’t have time to […]
Accessories
The History of Drop-In Auto Sears
When Colt decided to sell a semiauto-only civilian version of its AR-15 rifle, it had to make a number of changes to the design of the lower receiver to prevent full-auto fire control parts from […]
Anti-Tank Rifles
PTRS 41: The Soviet Semiauto Antitank Rifle (aka an SKS on Steroids)
Prior to World War Two, the Soviet Union had a rather lackluster interest in antitank rifles – a series of guns were developed, but slowly and without all that much success. The Barbarossa invasion gave […]
Select-fire Rifles
CZ Bren 2 “PDW” at the Range
After a lot of requests from law enforcement and military organizations, CZ developed a collapsing buttstock for the Bren 2 rifle. It requires a different upper receiver than the standard Bren 2, although that upper […]
Prototype
MSBS Grot: The Complete History of Poland’s New Army Rifle
The MSBS Grot is Poland’s current military service rifle, and has gone through several iterations in the many years of its development that led to its current 2nd generation form. It is best known in […]
Bolt Action Rifles
Operation CARPETBAGGER: French Resistance No4 Enfield
During 1944, the US and UK cooperatively ran a major effort to drop arms and equipment to French Resistance forces in preparation for the Allied landings in France. It began as Operation Carpetbagger with night […]
Antiques
A Very Rare Confederate Columbus Armory Carbine
Carbines made by the Columbus Armory are particularly scarce, and their history is not really well understood. They were manufactured by John Gray of Columbus SC, whose brother William Gray was a partner in another […]
Semiauto Rifles
German Troop Trials “Push-Button” Gewehr 41(W)
When the German Army wanted a new semiauto service rifle in 1941, it received submissions from two companies; Walther and Mauser. Walther’s design didn’t strictly meet the criteria set forth, but it was clearly the […]