Rifles - Forgotten Weapons

No4 MkII: The Lee Enfield’s Final Standard Upgrade

July 21, 2021 Ian McCollum 10

The final standard pattern of the venerable Lee Enfield as a standard-issue service rifle was the No4 MkII, introduced after the end of World War Two. The new pattern was adopted to resolve problems that […]

Authentic Polish wz.88 Tantal at the Range

July 17, 2021 Ian McCollum 18

Yesterday we took a look at the history and the design of the Polish wz.88 Tantal, and today we are taking it out to the range. Let’s see how that unique Polish 3-round-burst works!

wz.88 Tantal: Poland’s Alternative to the AK-74

July 16, 2021 Ian McCollum 19

As part of the Warsaw Pact, Poland anticipated adopting the AK-74 after it was developed by the Soviet Union. However, the eventual Soviet terms for license fees and export restrictions were too severe for Polish […]

Britain’s Last Ditch: Wartime Changes to No4 Lee Enfield

July 14, 2021 Ian McCollum 37

When we think of “last-ditch” rifles, we normally think of 1945 and the very end of World War Two. For the British, however, the lowest ebb of the war was in 1941 and 42, and […]

Qatari Royal Guard m/71-76 Valmet

July 12, 2021 Ian McCollum 7

The Valmet company in Finland made excellent AK-type rifles for the Finnish Defense Forces, but also offered a variety of designs on the international commercial market. The Valmet was a very expensive rifle for a […]

VHS-2 Bullpup at the Range

July 10, 2021 Ian McCollum 12

Yesterday we took a look at the inner workings of the VHS-2, and today we are going to put some rounds through it. I am trying out both a short-barreled VHS-K2 that was limited to […]

French Trials VHS-F2 Croatian Bullpup

July 9, 2021 Ian McCollum 37

HS Produkt of Croatia makes an interesting modern bullpup rifle, the VHS. The rifle has gone through several major design iterations in the past two decades or so, and the most recent version (the VHS-2) […]

A New Enfield for a New War: The No4 MkI

July 7, 2021 Ian McCollum 66

The stalwart No1 MkIII “Smelly” served the United Kingdom well during the First World War, but by the 1920s it was growing obsolescent. The war had revealed a number of shortcomings of the design, and […]

L96A1 Behind the Scenes: Manufacturing Catastrophes and Exploding Rifles

July 1, 2021 Ian McCollum 58

Accuracy International’s L96A1 was a stunning success in British military trials, and became the basis for one of the most respected line of precision rifles in the world. However, it very nearly was abandoned almost […]

Ian Finally Takes a Full Auto FAMAS F1 to the Range

June 26, 2021 Ian McCollum 46

Huzzah! I finally have a chance to take a proper full-auto FAMAS F1 out to the range. My conclusions? It’s very nice, just like the semiauto civilian model. It has a limited 3-round-burst option for […]