Rifles - Forgotten Weapons

St Petersburg Cavalry School Mosin Carbine

July 9, 2018 Ian McCollum 15

This is a rather mysterious – or at least poorly documented – Mosin Nagant carbine variation. Made from an assortment of rifles dated from 1896 through 1920, these carbines were designed to fit Gulkevich folding […]

MKb-42(W) – The Sturmgewehr That Never Was

July 6, 2018 Ian McCollum 26

When the German military first requested rifles in the new 8x33mm Kurz cartridge, there were two companies that provided designs. One was Haenel, who would eventually win the competition. The other was Walther, who submitted […]

Rhodesia’s First Production: Northwood Developments R76 & M77

June 27, 2018 Ian McCollum 16

In the mid to late 1970s, several different Rhodesian arms designers were basically racing to be the first to come to market with a domestically produced civilian carbine type weapon. Northwood Developments would be the […]

William Soper’s Direct Action Breech Loader

June 25, 2018 Ian McCollum 22

William Soper of Reading, England designed this “Direct Action Breech Loader” and attempted to have it tested for British military adoption – but he was one day too late to have his rifle included in […]

Shooting the Berthier Cuirassier Carbine

June 23, 2018 Ian McCollum 6

The Cuirassier carbine is one of the very scarcest versions of the Berthier in the world, yet Patrick here is going to let me shoot a few rounds through his. My target is a steel […]

The Dominican Republic Gets Mausers, 50 Years Too Late

June 20, 2018 Ian McCollum 16

This Dominican Mauser is coming up for sale here. The Dominican Republic is one of the few Central and South American nations which did not buy Mauser rifles when they were the top of the […]

Britain Goes From Trainer to Competition: the No 8 Mk I

June 18, 2018 Ian McCollum 25

This rifle is coming up for sale at RIA on June 21. Initially intended to be used only by the British Army (the Land Service), in 1950 the No8 rifle’s role was expanded to cover […]

Swedish m/41B – Best Sniper Rifle of World War Two

June 16, 2018 Ian McCollum 30

The rifle in this video is coming up for auction here. Everything was going great in Sweden until 1940, when they looked up and realized that on one side they were next to a bunch […]

Mystery Mauser – Haitian? Czechoslovakian? Or Not?

June 13, 2018 Ian McCollum 26

This rifle is selling at the RIA auction on June 21. This Mauser is one that I simply have not been able to definitively identify. It is marked “Haiti 1957” and “CZ 29 – 53”, […]

Britain’s Only Repeating Trainer: the No7 Mk I

June 12, 2018 Ian McCollum 9

This rifle is coming up for sale at Rock Island on June 23. Developed by BSA immediately after World War Two, the No7 MkI training rifle was the only one of the British Enfield trainers […]