Rifles - Forgotten Weapons

MAS-36: The Backup Rifle is Called to Action

September 25, 2017 Ian McCollum 44

There is a common assumption that the MAS-36 was a fool’s errand from the outset – why would a country develop a brand new bolt action rifle in the mid 1930s, when obviously semiautomatic combat […]

Communist Heresy: Norinco’s M305A M14 in 7.62x39mm

September 22, 2017 Ian McCollum 43

Norinco is a huge consortium of manufacturing plants in China that make all manner of goods for export, including military hardware. One of Norinco’s factories has been making copies of the American M14 rifle for […]

The DeLisle: Britain’s Silenced .45 ACP Commando Carbine

September 16, 2017 Ian McCollum 30

Armament Research Services (ARES) is a specialist technical intelligence consultancy, offering expertise and analysis to a range of government and non-government entities in the arms and munitions field. For detailed photos of the guns in […]

Shooting the RSC-1918 and RSC-1917 French Autoloaders

September 15, 2017 Ian McCollum 25

The day has come to do some shooting with an RSC-1918 – and an RSC-1917 as well! The 1917 was the first selfloading rifle to see substantial combat use, with just over 85,000 manufactured in […]

France’s Ultimate WW1 Selfloading Rifle: The RSC-1918

September 14, 2017 Ian McCollum 23

The French RSC-1917 semiauto rifle was a major step forward in arms technology during World War One, offering a reliable and effective self-loading rifle for issue to squad leaders, expert marksmen, and other particularly […]

Shooting the Norinco QBZ/Type 97 NSR

September 9, 2017 Ian McCollum 27

Today it’s time to take the Norinco QBZ-97 – aka Type 97 NSR – out to the range for some shooting! This is the Canadian semiautomatic-only legal version of China’s new military rifle, and it […]

Mechanics and Disassembly of the Norinco QBZ-97 / Type 97 NSR

September 8, 2017 Ian McCollum 22

The Chinese military introduced a new 5.8x42mm cartridge in 1987, and then developed a new bullpup rifle to use it. The rifle was the QBZ Type 95, and it was a bullpup rifle with a […]

Stendebach Model 1936: Rotary Mag Toggle Delayed Experiment

September 7, 2017 Ian McCollum 12

There is very little documentation existing to explain the history of this rifle – all we really know is that per the receiver markings it is a Model 1936 Stendebach, and that it was brought […]

Reising Model 60 – A Wartime Semiauto Carbine

September 3, 2017 Ian McCollum 23

The Reising Model 60 was the semiautomatic-only variant of the Reising Model 50 submachine gun. Offered side by side with the submachine guns, the Model 60 was also chambered for .45ACP and used the same […]

Professional Ordnance Carbon-15: A Super-Light AWB AR-15

September 1, 2017 Ian McCollum 16

The Professional Ordnance Carbon-15 was developed during the assault weapons ban in the United States as a way to market a pistol version of an AR15 action without exceeding the weight limit imposed by legislation. […]