Rifles - Forgotten Weapons

Spanish M43: The Worst Sniper Rifle Ever Made

August 3, 2022 Ian McCollum 13

The standard Spanish infantry rifle from 1943 until the adoption of the CETME was the M43, an 8mm Mauser short rifle made at the La Coruña arsenal. As is fairly common, a sniper rifle variant […]

Balanced Recoil AK-107 / Kalashnikov SR-1: Is It Any Good?

August 1, 2022 Ian McCollum 50

One of the really interesting variations on the AK to come out of Russian military development and testing is the balanced-recoil system, as exemplified on the military AK-107 and the commercial Kalashnikov SR-1 rifles. Contrary […]

Ask Ian: Did the Finns Hate the Carcano?

July 14, 2022 Ian McCollum 31

Asked by Prmetime on Utreon: In WW2, Finland was given approximately 100,000 Carcano M38 rifles in 7.35 Carcano. I have heard it stated that the Finns didn’t like the rifles. Can you comment on the […]

Surplus Delta Force SR25: A Sniper-Grade Carbine

July 11, 2022 Ian McCollum 13

Delta Force was an early adopter of a lot of civilian competition gear into military service, and the modern AR-10 is a great example. Delta worked with Knights Armament to fine-tune the SR-25 rifle, with […]

SIG 550 / Stgw 90: The Swiss Kalashnikov

July 4, 2022 Ian McCollum 17

Make sure to check out the new video on 9 Hole Reviews, with the SIG 550 on their 500yd course of fire, plus discussion with a Swiss infantry officer: https://youtu.be/FL_zcqOFrbI

CEAM 1950B: A Roller-Delayed Missing Link in .30 Carbine

June 27, 2022 Ian McCollum 27

At the end of World War Two, the Mauser factory complex was in the French occupation zone, and more than a few Mauser engineers went to work for the French. Among them were Ludwig Vorgimmler […]

A .22LR Berthier for the French National Police (CRS)

June 15, 2022 Ian McCollum 17

In 1954, the Unique company (MAPF) in Hendaye France rebuilt a batch of 800 Berthier carbines into .22LR caliber for use by the Sûreté Nationale (later renamed the Police Nationale). These were to be used […]

2-Gun With New US Army Weapons: SIG Spear and M17

June 4, 2022 Ian McCollum 28

Yesterday we looked at the new SIG Spear/M5 in detail, and today I’m taking it out to a 2-Gun match to try on the clock. The most suitable pistol pairing would naturally be the other […]

SIG M5 Spear Deep Dive: Is This a Good US Army Rifle?

June 3, 2022 Ian McCollum 217

The NGSW (Next Generation Squad Weapon) program began in 2017 to find a replacement for the M4, M249, and 5.56mm cartridge. It came to a conclusion in April 2022 with the formula acceptance of the […]

Beautiful Perrin Revolving Carbine

May 23, 2022 Ian McCollum 21

The Perrin was an 1859 revolver design originating in France, which was initially an open-frame, double-action-only system. It went through some significant improvements in 1865, including a single action mechanism and a fully enclosed frame […]