Rifles - Forgotten Weapons

Zastava M93 Black Arrow: Serbia’s .50 Cal Anti-Materiel Rifle

August 20, 2021 Ian McCollum 47

The M93 Black Arrow is a .50 caliber anti-materiel rifle developed by Zastava to replace some applications of the RPG with better accuracy. It was originally produced in 12.7x108mm, the same as used in the […]

Throwback Thursday: Cei Rigotti Rifle Disassembly

August 19, 2021 Ian McCollum 15

The Cei Rigotti is a fascinating early Italian self-loading rifle design that was tested in several countries, but never adopted or put into production. I had a chance to disassemble one at the British REME […]

Ians Customs: Tanker M1 Scout

August 17, 2021 Ian McCollum 39

Today we are looking at the Tanker M1 rig I put together about 15 years ago. This is an original WW2 production receiver rebuilt with an 18″ 7.62mm NATO barrel in the 1980s by Arlington […]

Winchester Model D: The WW1 Origin of the Famous Model 70

August 11, 2021 Ian McCollum 13

Just as World War One broke out in Europe, TC Johnson was working on a new Mauser-based sporting rifle design for the Winchester company. With the war, Johnson added options for military configurations (handguard, bayonet […]

The Three Types of Chassepot Cavalry Carbines

August 9, 2021 Ian McCollum 8

There are few records I have been able to find on production of the original Mle 1866 Chassepot cavalry carbines. However, Royal Tiger / InterOrdnance just recently brought in a crate of 200 Gras and […]

“Jungle Carbine” – the Lee Enfield No5 MkI Rifle

August 4, 2021 Ian McCollum 7

Today I am concluding our series on the standard-issue Lee Enfield system with the No5 MkI – the “jungle carbine”. Developed in 1943 as a shorter and handier pattenr of rifle than the No4, the […]

How to Swap FAMAS Ejection Left to Right

July 29, 2021 Ian McCollum 12

One of the very nice features of the FAMAS is that it can be swapped between left-hand and right-hand ejection in just a few moments without needing any tools or spare parts. I had this […]

Mini-Beryl: The Carbine Version of the Polish wz.96

July 27, 2021 Ian McCollum 11

Yesterday we looked at the standard Polish service rifle, the wz.96 Beryl. Today we have the carbine version, the Mini-Beryl. Specifically, we have an early example, predating several of the mid-life improvements that were made […]

wz.96 Beryl: Poland’s 5.56mm Military AK

July 26, 2021 Ian McCollum 23

With Poland’s entry into NATO in the 1990s, a new service rifles was needed, chambered for the 5.56mm NATO cartridge. Initial development work had been done in 1990/91 to adapt the wz.88 Tantal to 5.56mm, […]

Bayonet Development for the Lee Enfield No4 Rifle

July 22, 2021 Ian McCollum 32

Having wrapped up our series on the major development of the Lee Enfield rifle in British service, I figured it would be a nice addendum to talk about the bayonets developed for the No4 rifle. […]