Rifles - Forgotten Weapons

Civil War Smith Carbine and its Rubber Cartridges

November 22, 2019 Ian McCollum 13

The US military experimented with a wide variety of breechloading carbines during the Civil War. One of these that got a bit of a head start on the others was the Smith carbine, patented in […]

Springfield’s SAR-4800 FAL…in 5.56mm

November 20, 2019 Ian McCollum 11

In the early 1990s, the Brazilian Imbel factory made a small run of FAL rifles converted to 5.56mm using AR magazines. They used standard FAL receivers and bolt carriers, with a boltface cut for 5.56x45mm […]

The Best SMLE: The No1 MkV Trials Rifle

November 18, 2019 Ian McCollum 11

After World War One, the British looked at how to apply the lessons of the war to development of a new infantry rifle. Even before the war, a decision had been made to move to […]

Holloway HAC-7L: A Specifically Left-Handed Battle Rifle

November 14, 2019 Ian McCollum 6

Bob Holloway designed the HAC-7 rifle to be the ultimate combat infantry rifle in 1984, drawing on his experiences in Vietnam and Rhodesia. It is a very interesting hybrid of AK, FAL, and other design […]

AR-18 and AR-180: Can Lightning Strike Twice for Armalite?

November 13, 2019 Ian McCollum 45

The AR-18 has its genesis in the AR-10. I n an effort to develop a less expensive version of that rifle, Armalite created the AR-12, an experimental rifle which used a stamped or bent sheet […]

Cooey: The Unassuming Canadian Workhorse

November 6, 2019 Ian McCollum 24

Cooey is a brand name that will be immediately recognized by Canadians, but pretty much unknown everywhere else. Founded in 1903 by Herbert Cooey, the company would produce a series of simple and practical firearms […]

The Ross in the Great War: The Mk III (and MkIIIB)

November 1, 2019 Ian McCollum 15

While the MkII (1905) iteration of the Ross rifle had resolved most of the major mechanical problems form the MkI, it retained a number of characteristics that the Canadian (and British) military was not fond […]

Ross MkII: Sorry, We’ll Get it Right This Time

October 30, 2019 Ian McCollum 21

The many significant problems with the Model 1903 / MkI Ross rifle had quickly led to the development of the improved MkII design. This strengthened many parts, including the sights, nosecap, bolt latch, and more. […]

Ross MkI: Canada’s First Battle Rifle

October 28, 2019 Ian McCollum 22

Sir Charles Ross was heir to a very wealthy Scottish family, and was a talented if temperamental engineer. He took an interest in firearms and their design, and worked with American and English connections to […]

Experimental Triple-Magazine Henry Rifle

September 27, 2019 Ian McCollum 12

This rifle is an experimental twist on the Henry, built with three magazine tubes in a fixture pivoting around the axis of the barrel. While only half the length of the barrel itself, the three […]