Semiauto Rifles - Forgotten Weapons

Stenzel SAK-21: “American-Made AK” Does Not Do It Justice

October 28, 2026 Ian McCollum 7

Varusteleka L3 Softshell Jacket “Rifles on the Danube” at Headstamp Publishing Calling the Stenzel SAK-21 an “American-made AK” really does it an injustice. It conveys an image of the typical mediocre parts-kit-build AKM, when really […]

Too Good for Elbonia: ARS Custom HK 630 for Viking Brutality

October 21, 2026 Ian McCollum 11

Chassepot to FAMAS at Headstamp Publishing Light wool check shirt at Varusteleka Anton Wallin at Action Reaction Sports built this very remarkable rifle from an HK 630 for use in competitions. He has taken it […]

M1E4: Origins of the M14 Gas Expansion/Cutoff System

October 12, 2026 Ian McCollum 19

The E-series Garands were a series of prototypes made at Springfield Armory to test all sorts of different changes to the basic rifle design, from flash hiders to folding stocks. The M1E4 is a design […]

The FAMASenning: All the FAMAS from Airsoft to Centerfire

August 12, 2026 Ian McCollum 5

The military FAMAS has spawned several clones, and we are taking a look at each one of them today. First up is the Cybergun AEG airsoft FAMAS – a normal commercial production piece, but this […]

MAT 54 SB: A Semiautomatic SMG for Banks and Cash Trucks

July 3, 2026 Ian McCollum 4

The MAT 54 SB is a variation of the MAT 49/54, which was in turn the police model of the French MAT 49 submachine gun. Chambered for 9x19mm Parabellum, it uses MAT 49 magazines and […]

Pauza P50: A Failed Barrett .50BMG Competitor

June 29, 2026 Ian McCollum 39

Developed in the late 1980s by machinist Robert Pauza, the P50 is a .50 BMG semiauto rifle that was introduced in 1990. It uses a short-stroke gas piston and tilting bolt closely copied (and scaled […]

Sako M92S: Finland’s Last Civilian AK (now being imported to the US)

June 5, 2026 Ian McCollum 19

My book on Finnish small arms is available for preorder: https://www.headstamppublishing.com/forged-in-snow The M92S is the semiautomatic civilian version of the Finnish military rk95 rifle. The rk95 was intended to be a modernization of the Finnish […]

Explaining the Yugoslav / Zastava M70 Series of Rifles

May 30, 2026 Ian McCollum 21

Yugoslavia never received a technical data package or license for the AK; they reverse engineered the system themselves in the 1960s. In the process, they created a version of the AK noted for its ruggedness. […]

North Korean Type 68-1 Export “Asian Contract” Underfolder (Semiauto Build)

May 16, 2026 Ian McCollum 2

North Korea is too poor to finance social credit points, but if they did have them, you’d get loads for wearing our Best Korea propaganda shirt: https://varusteleka.com/en-us/products/forgotten-weapons-best-korea-propaganda-t-shirt North Korea began making a version of the […]

Masterpiece Arms MPA-971: Frankengun of the Assault Weapons Ban

May 15, 2026 Ian McCollum 11

The Masterpiece Arms MPA-971 was designed in 2003, at the tail end of the US Federal Assault Weapons Ban. Among other things, the ban prohibited the manufacture or import of magazines holding more than 10 […]