Single Shot Rifles - Forgotten Weapons

“Fat Mac” – SSK Industries’ .950 JDJ Rifle

November 17, 2017 Ian McCollum 13

JD Jones’ .950 JDJ cartridge is a generally described as the largest sporting rifle cartridge ever produced, producing more energy than even the 4-bore cartridges that match it in bore diameter. Only three of these […]

America’s First Metallic Cartridge: The Burnside Carbine

November 16, 2017 Ian McCollum 22

The Burnside carbine was originally invented by Ambrose Burnside – the man who would later command the Army of the Potomac and after whom sideburns would be named. Burnside came up with the idea while […]

“Double Deuce” 2-Bore Rifle: A Gunsmithing Spectacle

November 11, 2017 Ian McCollum 20

Double Deuce rifle Lil’ Deuce pistol The largest sporting rifles ever actually used in the field as more than an exhibition were 4-bore stopping rifles, firing roughly 1″ in diameter (25mm) projectiles. These were intended […]

The Greene Carbine: Too Tricky for the Cavalry

November 8, 2017 Ian McCollum 18

James Greene patented this unusual breechloading carbine design in 1854, and arranged to have it manufactured by the Massachusetts Arms Company of Chicopee Falls. He managed to sell 300 of them to the US military, […]

Shooting the .950 JDJ: The Largest Sporting Rifle Made

November 3, 2017 Ian McCollum 44

Made by SSK Industries on a McMillan action, the .950 JDJ is the largest sporting rifle made. The cartridge began as a 20mm Vulcan round, cut down to 70mm case length and necked up to […]

Correction: Whitworth Accuracy and Figure of Merit vs MOA

November 2, 2017 Ian McCollum 23

In my recent video on the Whitworth rifle, I made a rather embarrassing mistake, interpreting “figure of merit” accuracy measurements as complete group sizes. This was incorrect, and caused me to seriously overestimate the accuracy […]

Confederate Morse Carbine: Centerfire Cartridges Ahead of Their Time

October 23, 2017 Ian McCollum 20

George Morse of Baton Rouge patented a design for a remarkably modern centerfire cartridge and breechloading rifle action in 1856 and 1858, using a standard percussion cap as a primer. This was coupled with a […]

Confederate Whitworth Sniper: Hexagonal Bullets in 1860

October 12, 2017 Ian McCollum 55

Sir Joseph Whitworth is quite the famous name in engineering circles, credited with the development of such things as Whitworth threading (the first standardized thread pattern) and engineer’s blue. When he decided to make a […]

The Keen-Walker Carbine – A Simple Confederate Breechloader

October 9, 2017 Ian McCollum 12

Little is known about the Keen-Walker Gun Company, except for a few Confederate arsenal records that have survived. From those we know that the company delivered a total of 282 of these single-shot .54 caliber […]

Kurdish Zagros and Şer Anti-Materiel Rifles

October 4, 2017 Ian McCollum 27

Thanks to correspondent Ed Nash (he gave me permission to use his name after I had recorded the video), I have a number of really interesting photos and video clips of YPG (Kurdish) locally-produced anti-materiel […]