Semiauto Rifles - Forgotten Weapons

Polytech AKS – The First Wave of Semiauto Chinese AK Rifles

October 14, 2020 Ian McCollum 14

The first semiauto commercial AK rifles to enter the US were Finnish Valmets. These established a US collector interested but while excellent in quality, they did not quite fit the visual pattern of the classic […]

The Last Swiss Battle Rifle: SIG-Manurhin 542 (in .243)

October 12, 2020 Ian McCollum 12

After the failure of the SIG 530 rifle (a gas operated, roller locked design), SIG looked for a much simpler rifle design, in both operation and manufacture. Wheat they came up with was fundamentally AK-like, […]

North Vietnamese SKS

October 2, 2020 Ian McCollum 3

North Vietnam set up a small arms factory north of Hanoi (12km north of Yên Bái, to be specific) with the assistance of Chinese factory #296, starting in 1959. The goal was for this to […]

AZ PCC Championship: 10 Stages of Hotchkiss Universal!

October 1, 2020 Ian McCollum 16

Every year, the Rio Salado Sportsman’s Club host’s the Arizona PCC (Pistol-Caliber Carbine) Championships. I signed up initially planning to use my Calico carbine, but my travel schedule kept me form getting the gun in […]

Big-Bore Simplicity: the Serbu BFG-50A

September 25, 2020 Ian McCollum 35

The Serbu BFG-50A is one of only a couple self-loading .50 caliber rifles manufactured in the US. Work on its design began in 2008, and the first finished examples were produced in 2011. A total […]

The CETME-L and the CETME-LC at the Range

September 19, 2020 Ian McCollum 2

Today I am out at the range to do some side-by-side shooting with the CETME-L and the CETME-LC. These are both MarColMar examples, in the original Spanish military configuration (ie, iron sights only). The LC […]

CETME LC: Last of the Roller-Delayed Carbines

September 18, 2020 Ian McCollum 2

The Spanish adopted the 5.56mm CETME-L rifle in the mid 1980s, although they only used it until the late 1990s, when it was replaced by the G36. One of the sub variants made was the […]

Elbonian Prototype Hakim LMG

September 12, 2020 Ian McCollum 42

Pre-order your Elbonian shirt or poster here! Pre-orders will be open for two weeks before the shirts are printed and ship. Orders after that are subject to availability. Elbonia had a brief partnership with Egypt […]

Norinco 84S: China Makes a 5.56mm AK Specifically for the US

September 4, 2020 Ian McCollum 17

Lot 1685 in the RIA September 2020 Premier auction. With the commercial success of the semiauto Type 56S AK rifles in the US, Norinco looked for other options for export rifles to sell. Given the […]

CETME-L Comparison: HMG and MarColMar

August 12, 2020 Ian McCollum 6

Today, a comparison between a semiauto CETME-L rifle from MarColMar Firearms and one from HMG (albeit an example I built myself).