Rifles - Forgotten Weapons

Berthier Carbine with Chauchat Magazine

August 9, 2019 Ian McCollum 18

Early in World War One, a small number (less than 200) Berthier rifle and cavalry carbines were adapted to use Chauchat magazines for aerial use. They were employed as defensive arms in observation balloons and […]

FAL in the North: The Canadian C1A1

July 19, 2019 Ian McCollum 53

Canada was the first country to adopt the FAL rifle, purchasing trials rifles from FN within weeks of the formal standardization of the 7.62mm NATO cartridge. Canada acquired production rights to the rifle along with […]

Larry Vickers’ Delta Force Colt 723 Carbine

July 15, 2019 Ian McCollum 18

Today I’m with Larry Vickers, taking a look at the recreation of his Delta Force Colt 723 carbine – the rifle he used at Modelo Prison in Panama and in Desert Storm hunting for SCUD […]

Book Review: History of the Mauser Rifle in Chile, by David Nielsen

July 14, 2019 Ian McCollum 3

David Nielsen’s newly released book on Chilean Mauser rifles is a tremendous piece of academic work – which is both good and bad. It is 192 pages dedicated to the testing and procurement of the […]

Some Brief Shooting with a SIG 553R

July 13, 2019 Ian McCollum 23

Some of my last footage from my trip to Switzerland last year; a bit of shooting with a SIG 553R. This is the model in 7.62x39mm, and the guns here are set up with 3-round […]

H&K Prototype Sniper: the SL7 Match

July 3, 2019 Ian McCollum 15

Built in the 1990s, this rifle is part of an experimental series of precision rifles made by H&K. It is marked “SL7 Match”, and uses the same action as the standard SL7 sporting rifle (the […]

History of the SVD Dragunov with Max Popenker

June 27, 2019 Ian McCollum 22

Russian small arms researcher Max Popenker joins us again today, and this time he is discussing the history and development of the Dragunov rifle. We start from the desire to match longer-ranged NATO forces and […]

AAI 2nd Gen SPIW Flechette Rifles

June 24, 2019 Ian McCollum 36

The SPIW program began in 1962 with entries from Colt, Springfield, AAI, and Winchester. The first set of trials were a complete failure, and both Colt and Winchester abandoned the project at that point. AAI […]

Sanna 77: A Czech SMG Turned South African Carbine

June 19, 2019 Ian McCollum 8

The Sanna 77 was a semiauto copy of the Czech Sa 25 submachine gun. It was first produced in Rhodesia by the GM Steel company for the Rhodesian military. In this form, it was the […]

Egyptian FN49 Sniper (Late Pattern)

June 10, 2019 Ian McCollum 11

Egypt was the first country to adopt the FN-49 rifle, and its purchases actually predated FN’s development of a method for mounting a telescopic sight to the rifles. So Egypt came up with its own […]