Rifles - Forgotten Weapons

Bren 2: CZ Refines Every Aspect of the 805

February 14, 2022 Ian McCollum 18

Launched in 2016, the Bren 2 was a significant upgrade program over the original Bren 805 rifle. In addition to being offered in both 5.56mm and 7.62x39mm with user-changeable barrels, the Bren 2 was […]

Bren 805: A Rifle for the Post-Communist Czech Army

February 7, 2022 Ian McCollum 34

With the Velvet Revolution and the fall of communism in Czechoslovakia, a new Czech Republic immediately looked to NATO membership. This would require rearming the Czech Army with a rifle in 5.56mm NATO. After some […]

Amsterdam Police Carbine: 8mm Mauser for the Carbine/SMG Squad

February 2, 2022 Ian McCollum 27

In the wake of World War Two, much of Europe was awash in small arms – but there were still organizations looking to purchase new arms rather than use the available surplus. The Gemeentepolitie Amsterdam […]

2-Gun: An Old-School “Ring Sight” Optic

January 29, 2022 Ian McCollum 8

This month at the 2G-ACM match, I thought it would be interesting to try out a “Ring Sight”. This is the same style of optics used on the FN P90 – the manufacturer marketed it […]

LPC16: An AR With a Huge Helium-Neon Laser Built In

January 28, 2022 Ian McCollum 16

Laser Products Corporation got its start in 1979, with a laser sight mounted atop a Colt Trooper .357 Magnum revolver. Shortly thereafter they introduced a range of other small arms with lasers fitted, including the […]

L119A2: The New British SOF Rifle

January 24, 2022 Ian McCollum 51

Around 2013, the UK MoD began looking for a new rifle to replace the Special Forces’ L119A1. Those A1 rifles were getting old, and something new was needed – and there was some thought that […]

UK Special Forces’ M16 Variant: the L119A1

January 21, 2022 Ian McCollum 32

In 1999, the UK Ministry of Defense put out a tender for a new rifle for UK Special Forces (UKSOF). The elite units of the British military were definitely not going to be using the […]

Springfield Hellion at the Range: The Most Modern Bullpup

January 15, 2022 Ian McCollum 17

My previous experience shooting a VHS-2 was limited to a small indoor range, so I’ve been really looking forward to getting this Springfield Hellion out to a proper range. First up, we have a 2-Gun […]

Springfield Hellion: The VHS-2 Bullpup Comes to the US

January 14, 2022 Ian McCollum 47

Today we are taking a look at the Springfield Hellion, the semiautomatic US version of HS Produkt’s VHS-2 bullpup rifle. The VHS-2 development goes back almost 20 years, with a first VHS rifle and then […]

Krieghoff 8mm Mauser Carcano for the Volkssturm

January 10, 2022 Ian McCollum 24

When Italy surrendered in late 1943, German troops disarmed the Italian forces in areas under German control, and came away with nearly 400,000 Carcano rifles. These would form the core armaments of the Volkssturm forces […]