Rifles - Forgotten Weapons

UVF Gewehr 88: Gun Running Into Ireland in 1914

May 4, 2020 Ian McCollum 37

The Ulster Volunteer Force was a Loyalist organization dedicated to keeping Ireland in the United Kingdom, in reaction to the Home Rule bills being considered by the UK parliament. In 1914 they purchased nearly 25,000 […]

Kalashnikov USA KP-9 (Semiauto Vityaz) at the Range

May 2, 2020 Ian McCollum 6

Today I have Kalashnikov USA’s KP-9 (which is a virtually exact semiauto copy of the Vityaz SMG) out at the range. I chose the most suitable ammo to try it out with; slightly rusty steel-case […]

Kalashnikov USA KP-9: A Perfect Copy of the Russian Vityaz SMG

May 1, 2020 Ian McCollum 31

The PP-19-01 Vityaz is a development of the PP-19 Bizon, a submachine gun developed by Izhmash at the request of the Russian Interior Ministry in the early 1990s. The Bizon design team included the sons […]

The EM2 in NATO Trials, with Jonathan Ferguson

April 29, 2020 Ian McCollum 14

Join the Kickstarter campaign and preorder your copy of Jonathan’s “Thorneycroft to SA80: British Bullpup Firearms 1901 – 2020”! Sorry for the poor audio quality – I am back at the Cody Firearms Museum talking […]

Archival E.M.2 Footage: Slow Motion and Janson Doing Mag Dumps

April 26, 2020 Ian McCollum 9

Thanks to Jonathan Ferguson and Royal Armouries Archivist Philip Abbott, we have a compilation of some archival video of the E.M. 2 testing circa 1951/1952. This is mostly high speed video clips showing reliability testing, […]

Ward Burton Model 1871: The US Tries a Bolt Action

April 25, 2020 Ian McCollum 10

This is lot #3220 in the upcoming RIA Premier Auction. It was scheduled for April, but has been postponed – check their web site for upcoming Online Only auctions every month, though! The Model 1871 […]

Brown/van Choate Trials Rifle: Internal Hammer in 1871

April 24, 2020 Ian McCollum 10

This is lot #3221 in the upcoming RIA Premier Auction. It was scheduled for April, but has been postponed – check their web site for upcoming Online Only auctions every month, though! Designed by Silvanus […]

The REAL Heroes of the M1 Carbine – not “Carbine” Williams

April 21, 2020 Ian McCollum 30

The Hollywood-spawned mythos of the M1 Carbine is that it was created by David Marshall “Carbine” Williams. The reality is far different. In real life, Williams was talented, but short-tempered, stubborn, and unable to work […]

Colt Franklin: Detachable 9-Round Magazine of .45-70 in 1884

April 11, 2020 Ian McCollum 15

This is lot #3213 in the upcoming RIA Premier Auction. It was scheduled for April, but has been postponed – check their web site for upcoming Online Only auctions every month, though! Patented in 1884 […]

Brazil’s .30-06 Copy of the G43: The Mosquetão Semi-Automático M954

April 10, 2020 Ian McCollum 16

Sold for $5,750 with four other rifles at the February 2020 RIA Sporting & Collectors auction. In the aftermath of World War Two, Brazil decided to adopt a semiautomatic rifle for its military, in .30-06 […]