Rifles - Forgotten Weapons

Lee Metford and Lee Enfield Carbines for the Cavalry

September 28, 2020 Ian McCollum 13

When the Lee magazine rifle was adopted for British military service, it was initially produced as a long rifle for the infantry. To accommodate the cavalry on horseback, a much more compact carbine version was […]

Big-Bore Simplicity: the Serbu BFG-50A

September 25, 2020 Ian McCollum 35

The Serbu BFG-50A is one of only a couple self-loading .50 caliber rifles manufactured in the US. Work on its design began in 2008, and the first finished examples were produced in 2011. A total […]

Origins of the Lee Enfield Rifle: Lee Metford Updates

September 21, 2020 Ian McCollum 16

The Lee Metford MkI had scarcely been introduced when it was modified into the MkI* pattern, This was quickly followed by the MkII and MkII*, the Lee Enfield MkI, and Lee Enfield MkI*. In essence, […]

The CETME-L and the CETME-LC at the Range

September 19, 2020 Ian McCollum 2

Today I am out at the range to do some side-by-side shooting with the CETME-L and the CETME-LC. These are both MarColMar examples, in the original Spanish military configuration (ie, iron sights only). The LC […]

CETME LC: Last of the Roller-Delayed Carbines

September 18, 2020 Ian McCollum 2

The Spanish adopted the 5.56mm CETME-L rifle in the mid 1980s, although they only used it until the late 1990s, when it was replaced by the G36. One of the sub variants made was the […]

Ethiopian M90/95 Hybrid Mannlicher Carbine

September 15, 2020 Ian McCollum 8

Today we are looking at a uniquely Ethiopian carbine, a hybrid M90/95 Mannlicher. It began life as an Austrian-issue M90 carbine proofed in 1892. It served through World War One, and was probably given to […]

Lee Metford MkI: Great Britain’s First Magazine Rifle

September 14, 2020 Ian McCollum 10

The British went into the 1880s with plans to adopt the Enfield-Martini as its new rifle, a single shot Martini-action rifle with essentially a sidesaddle of ready-access cartridges on the side of the receiver. It […]

Elbonian Prototype Hakim LMG

September 12, 2020 Ian McCollum 42

Pre-order your Elbonian shirt or poster here! Pre-orders will be open for two weeks before the shirts are printed and ship. Orders after that are subject to availability. Elbonia had a brief partnership with Egypt […]

Merrill Breechloading Conversion of the 1841 Mississippi Rifle

September 9, 2020 Ian McCollum 11

Lot 1171 in the September 2020 RIA Premier auction. James Merrill of Baltimore had his hands in several Civil War era firearms – rifles built from scratch, conversions of the Jenks carbines, and also conversions […]

Hall Model 1819: A Rifle to Change the Industrial World

September 7, 2020 Ian McCollum 25

Lot 1193 in the September 2020 RIA Premier auction. John Hall designed the first breechloading rifle to be used by the United States military, and the first breechloader issued in substantial numbers by any military […]