Rifles - Forgotten Weapons

S.R.E.M.: Britain’s Experimental WW2 Bullpup Sniper

September 15, 2025 Ian McCollum 30

Want to know more about the S.R.E.M. and other British bullpup rifles? Check out Jonathan Ferguson’s book on this subject, “Thorneycroft to SA80”: https://www.headstamppublishing.com/bullpup-rifle-book The Sniper Rifle Experimental Model (S.R.E.M.) was designed by the “Czech […]

French Trials FN CAL: Adding Rifle Grenade Capability

September 10, 2025 Ian McCollum 10

Check out Headstamp Publishing’s extensive catalog of excellent books! In the 1970s when the French Army was looking for a new rifle 5.56mm, they tested a number of foreign rifles alongside development the FAMAS at […]

M2 Carbine vs MP44 Sturmgewehr (w/ John Keene)

August 30, 2025 Ian McCollum 47

Today we are considering two late World War Two rifles: the American M2 Carbine and the German MP-44 Sturmgewehr. Which would you take into combat? The Sturmgewehr is certainly iconic, with a more powerful cartridge, […]

The Official American Boy Scout Rifle: Remington 4-S

August 15, 2025 Ian McCollum 10

The scouting concept exploded into the American culture after 1907, with a multitude of local, regional, and national organizations setting up in the years before World War One. Among these was the American Boy Scouts, […]

Baker Pattern 1800 Rifle for Napoleonic Wars Sharpshooters

August 11, 2025 Ian McCollum 10

The British military decided to organize their disparate small units of riflemen into a single standardized group in 1800. The 95th Regiment – the British Rifle Corps – was founded and it was equipped with […]

East Germany’s Nice .22 AK Trainer: KK-Mpi-69

August 6, 2025 Ian McCollum 4

Check out Headstamp Publishing’s extensive catalog of excellent books! The KK-Mpi-69 (Klein Kaliber Maschinenpistole 1969) was a .22 rimfire training model of the standard East German stamped AKM. It used a simple blowback replacement bolt […]

Pick One: G1 (FAL) vs G3 (H&K) w/ John Keene

August 2, 2025 Ian McCollum 49

If you had to pick one, would you take a G1 (FAL) or a G3 (H&K)? Both are 7.62mm NATO rifles adopted by Germany. The G1 has more features and capabilities, like the carry handle, […]

Swedish Paratrooper Prototype: AK Fm/57

July 30, 2025 Ian McCollum 2

Check out Headstamp Publishing’s extensive catalog of excellent books: https://www.headstamppublishing.com/home-forgotten As Sweden was looking to adopt a new self-loading infantry rifle in the 1950s, one of the contenders was a modernized version of the Ljungman. […]

ZK 381: Czech Pre-War Prototype Battle Rifle

July 28, 2025 Ian McCollum 7

The ZK-381 was designed by Josef Koucký, his first design of 1938 (hence 381). This is one of the last of the Czech pre-war self-loading rifle projects, of which there were quite a lot. It […]

Krieghoff’s Bizarre Prototype FG42 Proposal

July 23, 2025 Ian McCollum 36

Check out Headstamp Publishing’s extensive catalog of excellent books: https://www.headstamppublishing.com/home-forgotten When the Luftwaffe was looking for its new universal paratrooper rifle, six different German arms companies were asked to submit proposals. Only two actually did; […]