Rifles - Forgotten Weapons

The Rare Chinese Stamped Receiver SKS

May 1, 2023 Ian McCollum 13

In 1970 and 1971, China experimented with a stamped-receiver version of the SKS. About 6,000 of these rifles were made each of the two years, and a number of them have come into the US […]

Near-Complete Failure: Delta CAR-15 at Midnight Brutality 2023

April 22, 2023 Ian McCollum 12

Thanks to the 1 Shepherd cadre for making Midnight Brutality possible! And thanks to our excellent match sponsors: Tactical Night Vision Company (TNVC) B.E. Meyers Advanced Photonics Live Q or Die Varusteleka Midnight Brutality was […]

Hi-Point Leading the People: The New 3095 Carbine

April 16, 2023 Ian McCollum 46

Hi-Point has chosen to release a new carbine, the Model 3095 – in 7.65mm French Long! Well, not quite…it’s actually in .30 Super Carry. But it will run 7.65mm French Long, so I clearly need […]

Successor to the Scout: Q’s 8.6mm Fix

April 14, 2023 Ian McCollum 24

0:00 – Purpose of the Fix 6:03 – The 8.6mm Blackout Cartridge 12:33 – Rifle Features 21:13 – Disassembly 29:35 – My Complaints 31:49 – At the Range There is a ton to go over […]

Tallassee Carbine: The Confederacy’s Last-Ditch Effort

April 10, 2023 Ian McCollum 5

In 1863, the Confederate military decided to design a new standard pattern of cavalry carbine. The designs was put together rather quickly at the Richmond Arsenal; a 25 inch barrel, brass furniture, and Enfield type […]

Kongsberg M52: A Line-Throwing Rifle (or Harpoon Gun)

April 5, 2023 Ian McCollum 28

The Norwegian Kongsberg factory has a history of making firearms-based tools for maritime use, and one of the more recent is the M52 line-throwing gun, introduced in the 1950s and sold through the 1970s. It […]

Italy’s M14: The BM-59 at the Range

April 3, 2023 Ian McCollum 29

Beretta in Italy developed the BM-59 after World War Two as an improvement on the M1 Garand – lightened, shortened, and given a box magazine, bipod, and selector switch. And the did this in a […]

Musket to Big-Bore Rimfire: the Roberts Short-Frame Conversion

March 29, 2023 Ian McCollum 13

Brigadier General Benjamin Stone Roberts designed and patented a fall-block style of breech loading conversion to .58 Rimfire. Over the course of the decade after the Civil War, he was able to sell approximately 23,000 […]

From the American Revolution: Short Land Pattern Brown Bess

March 22, 2023 Ian McCollum 33

The standard weapon of the British Army in the American War of Independence was the “Brown Bess”, and today we are looking at a 1769 Short Land Pattern example of the Brown Bess. This was […]

The Very Rare FN CAL at the Range

March 20, 2023 Ian McCollum 31

The FN CAL (Carabine Automatique Legere) was Fabrique Nationale’s first attempt at a 5.56mm rifle, and it was not successful. They replaced it with the FNC, which saw much wider success. The CAL is quite […]