Gunsmithing
CETME-LC (the short one): Safety PSA
As you may or may not be aware, I recently built a semiauto CETME-LV rifle using a parts kit imported by Apex Gun Parts and an 80% flat from Hill & Mac Gunworks. Now, the […]
Semiauto Rifles
Semiauto Rifles
RIA: H&K SL8, The Civilian G36 (Video)
The SL-8 was Heckler & Koch’s civilianized version of the G36 military rifle. There was, unsurprisingly, a major interest in semiautomatic civilian copies of the G36, but H&K was in a difficult position to meet […]
Prototype
RIA: Experimental Semiauto Springfield 1903 Primer-Actuated Rifle (Video)
During the 1920s, a lot of experimental rifle development work was being done in the US. The military was interested in finding a semiautomatic rifle, and plenty of inventors were eager to get that valuable […]
Semiauto Rifles
RIA: Mauser 1913 Selbstladegewehr Sporter (Video)
Paul Mauser spent nearly 20 years attempting to perfect a self-loading rifle for military service. He came closest with this, his 1913 patent model, which was used by German balloon and aircraft fliers as the […]
Prototype
RIA: Prototype CZ-38 Trials Rifle (Video)
Like most other nations with modern military forces. Czechoslovakia was interested in developing a semiautomatic infantry rifle in the 1920s and 1930s. The most successful such rifle to come out of Czech factory during this […]
Prototype
RIA: Ethiopian ZH29 and Czech Experimental Z37
The ZH-29 was an influential early semiautomatic military rifle, although not one that saw any significant adoption. As best I can tell, only two countries purchased them in any quantity: China and Ethiopia. This ZH-29 […]
Prototype
RIA: Prototype W+F Bern AK44 Copy of the SVT
The Swiss factories of SIG and W+F Bern both produced a remarkable number and variety of experimental self-loading rifles in the 1920s, 30s, 40s, and 50s. Nothing would be adopted by the Swiss military until […]
Prototype
GX vs GY: What Are the Differences in Pedersen’s Garands?
In a last hopeful attempt to get a rifle adopted and produced for the US military, John Pedersen designed his own copy of the M1 Garand rifle in the late 1930s (approximately 1939). His toggle-locked […]
Prototype
RIA: Prototype Gustloff 206 Rifle
German arms development during World War II was quite the chaotic mess, in many ways. While it is not uncommon for different service branches to have independent procurement systems, in fascist-era Germany this was coupled […]
Prototype
RIA: Japanese ZH-29 Copy by Tokyo Gas & Electric
The Japanese military experimented with self-loading rifle designs through the 1930s, and had 4 major rifles in testing during that period. One was a new design by Kijiro Nambu, one was a Pedersen copy made […]