Rifles - Forgotten Weapons

PTRS 41: The Soviet Semiauto Antitank Rifle (aka an SKS on Steroids)

December 14, 2022 Ian McCollum 25

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 […]

CZ Bren 2 “PDW” at the Range

December 10, 2022 Ian McCollum 8

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 […]

MSBS Grot: The Complete History of Poland’s New Army Rifle

December 7, 2022 Ian McCollum 9

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 […]

Operation CARPETBAGGER: French Resistance No4 Enfield

November 18, 2022 Ian McCollum 8

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 […]

A Very Rare Confederate Columbus Armory Carbine

November 14, 2022 Ian McCollum 2

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 […]

German Troop Trials “Push-Button” Gewehr 41(W)

November 8, 2022 Ian McCollum 25

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 […]

Mauser WW1 Flyer’s Rifle: the Flieger Selbstlader Karabiner 1916

November 1, 2022 Ian McCollum 26

Paul Mauser dedicated much of his life to the development of a practical semiauto military rifle, and did manage to have a design that was used in combat by Germany in World War One. It […]

Futurama’s Lee Lemon Runs the MDP-9 (feat. John McClane)

October 31, 2022 Ian McCollum 5

It’s time for the annual Halloween PCC/shotgun match! By popular demand, I went as Futurama’s Lee Lemon this year, with the Angstadt Arms MDP-9 PCC. Since the last time I was shooting it, I’ve gotten […]

Older Gun With Newer Ammo: A Centerfire Winchester 1866

October 19, 2022 Ian McCollum 11

The Winchester 1866 was chambered for the .44 Henry rimfire cartridge, like the Henry rifle before it. Before too long, however, centerfire ammunition began to take over as the best and most common type of […]

Valmet M76: Finland’s Stamped Receiver AK

October 18, 2022 Ian McCollum 14

Finland adopted the AK in 1962, as the m/62 – a milled receiver pattern. By the late 1960s the Valmet factory was experimenting with stamped receiver design to reduce costs. The first stamped Valmet rifle […]