Semiauto Rifles - Forgotten Weapons

Daewoo K1A1: A Hybrid AR-15 and AR-18

February 14, 2018 Ian McCollum 20

During and after the Korean War, the South Korean military was armed with American weapons – M1 Garands, M1 Carbines, M3/M3A1 Grease Guns, and so on. In the 1970s they wanted to modernize their equipment, […]

How to Identify a Real M1A1 Carbine vs a Fake

February 10, 2018 Ian McCollum 42

Looking for a light and compact weapon to equip its new Airborne units, the US military adopted the M1A1 Carbine in May of 1942. This was mechanically identical to the existing M1 Carbine but with […]

The Albanian SKS: A Few Different Details

February 2, 2018 Ian McCollum 30

The Albanian SKS is the rarest of the major adoptees of the SKS rifle (Russia, China, Romania, Yugoslavia, Albania), and has a handful of interested details that differ from all other examples of the SKS […]

Pietta’s PPS/50 – A Popular PPSh Plinker

January 29, 2018 Ian McCollum 21

Introduced by the Italian Pietta company in the 1970s (yes, the same Pietta that makes all those reproduction Old West revolvers and lever action rifles), the PPS/50 has been a continuously popular firearm for more […]

Snabb Semiauto Conversion of a Dutch Mannlicher

January 18, 2018 Ian McCollum 17

Snabb was a Swedish company created to market a system for converting bolt action rifles into semiautomatic rifles. The system was patented in the US in 1938, making this one of the very last attempts […]

“Carbine” Williams’ Battle Rifle: The Winchester G30R

January 8, 2018 Ian McCollum 26

The Winchester G30R is the final iteration of David Marshall Williams’ work on a full power .30 caliber military rifle. The project began with a design by Ed Browning (John Browning’s half brother) using […]

Meunier A6: France’s First Semiauto Battle Rifle

January 6, 2018 Ian McCollum 59

France began experimenting with self-loading rifle designs in the late 1890s, although most of this work is mostly unknown today. The work was done by the State arsenals, and kept as military secrets, without […]

Italian Trials Czech ZK-391 Semiauto Rifle

December 30, 2017 Ian McCollum 31

The ZK-391 is one in a series of Czech developmental semiautomatic rifles designed by Josef Koucký. It was developed initially in 1939 (hence the “39” in the designation), and was tested by the Italian military […]

Prototype Friberg/Kjellman Flapper-Locking Semiauto Rifle

December 22, 2017 Ian McCollum 11

The origins of flap-locking (as used in the G41(W), G43, DShK, DP, and RPD, among others) goes back to a Swedish Lieutenant Friberg in 1870, who patented the system. At that time, however, the fouling […]

The .32ACP Dreyse Light Carbine

December 2, 2017 Ian McCollum 41

Manufactured by Rheinmetall and designed by Louis Stange, this light .32ACP (7.65mm Browning) carbine is a bit of a mysterious item. Very little written information exists about it, but we know it was sold on […]