Select-fire Rifles - Forgotten Weapons

Transferable FG-42 at RIA

August 25, 2014 Ian McCollum 18

The undisputed star of the upcoming Rock Island Premier auction is this transferable full-auto German FG-42 paratrooper’s rifle. Only a few dozen of these are in private hands in the US, and they are an […]

US Model 45A

July 16, 2014 Ian McCollum 60

by Tom Laemlein A couple of years ago, I wrote a short article for Small Arms Review magazine on the strangely futuristic “Model 45A”, which was the subject of a group of photos by a […]

Ohio Ordnance M1918A3 Semiauto BAR (Video)

July 14, 2014 Ian McCollum 20

I’ve written a fair amount about the BAR, so I won’t belabor the point here – if you would like more to read, check out my general history of the BAR and comparison between the […]

Vintage Saturday: Testing

July 12, 2014 Ian McCollum 30

West German soldier test firing a Dutch-made Armalite AR-10 (designated G4) during trial at Meppen in 1957. It lost out to the G1 FAL, which in turn was replaced by the H&K G3 when licensing […]

Vietnam’s Overburdened M16

July 1, 2014 Ian McCollum 81

by Tom Laemlein I’ve been working with Dale Dye of Warriors Inc. to put together a photo study on the infantry weapons of the Vietnam War. The conflict in Vietnam is particularly interesting for students […]

AVT-40 Testing Report

June 12, 2014 Ian McCollum 23

While poking around at Soviet Gun Archives (a very cool site which I wish was updated more often), I noticed this two-page memo reporting the results of an experiment modifying SVT-40 rifles to full-auto capability. […]

Galil SAR

May 6, 2014 Ian McCollum 21

Today we have the third and final part of Seth Cane’s guest post series on Galil rifles. You can find the first two parts here: Galil AR and Galil ARM. by Seth Cane Tanks and […]

Calzada Bayo CB-51

May 1, 2014 Ian McCollum 20

Thanks to reader Barton and some connections in Spain, we have some outstanding photos of a couple experimental rifles from the post-WWII era before Spain adopted the CETME rifle. After the war, virtually every major […]

Reader Questions #3: StG Bolt Markings, FG-42 Chamber, Importing Surplus Arms

April 1, 2014 Ian McCollum 24

I only have two questions this week – if you have something you’re curious about, don’t be shy! Email me at admin@forgottenweapons.com and ask away, so we have enough question to keep this going as […]

Larry Vickers Shoots an Original FG42

March 20, 2014 Ian McCollum 64

I’ve gotten to take apart an original second model FG-42, and play with an SMG reproduction second model (and shoot against one in a 2-gun match), but I’ve never gotten my hands on an original […]