Single Shot Rifles - Forgotten Weapons

Bolt Action Cartridge Conversion of a French M1822 Rifle

March 10, 2019 Ian McCollum 11

This is a conversion of a French 1822 rifle to a single shot bolt action, using a newly manufactured receiver. It is unfortunately not marked with a patent name or date, and I have been […]

Merckelbagh Needlefire Conversion Rifle

March 3, 2019 Ian McCollum 9

This is an example of a needle fire conversion of a French 1822 rifle based on the patent of L. Merckelbagh. The conversion was done in Paris, probably in the early 1870s. Other base rifles […]

Stopper 37mm: A Simple South African Riot Control Gun

December 29, 2018 Ian McCollum 7

The Stopper is a simple 37mm single shot riot control gun designed by Andries Piek in 1980. The South African police services were at that time using 37mm guns made by Federal Labs in the […]

Confiscated Homemade Poachers’ Guns from Zimbabwe

December 17, 2018 Ian McCollum 36

I had a chance to visit Hire Arms in Johannesburg – a movie arms supply company. Among many other things in their collection, they had an assortment of extremely crude handmade firearms confiscated from poachers […]

Wehrmannsgewehr – German Shooting Competition After WW1

November 19, 2018 Ian McCollum 16

This rifle failed to sell at Rock Island on December 1, 2018. Introduced by a Dutchman in 1897, the Wehrmannsgewehr was a type of 3-position shooting competition using military pattern rifles in a sporting caliber […]

Durs Egg Ferguson – A Trials Breechloader From 1776

October 27, 2018 Ian McCollum 8

This Ferguson rifle sold for $96,000. Captain Patrick Ferguson was a British officer who designed and patented a breechloading rifle in 1776, which would actually see service in the American Revolution at the Battle of […]

German U-Boat Line-Thrower Rifle Conversions

October 21, 2018 Ian McCollum 19

These two line throwing conversion are being sold by Morphys on October 31, 2018 (first one and second one) These two Gewehr 98 rifles were converted by the Mauser factory to be used as naval […]

Strange History: A Remington Rolling Block From the USS Niagara

October 16, 2018 Ian McCollum 35

This rifle is being sold at Morphys on October 31, 2018. The story of the USS Niagara is quite an odd little corner of history. It was a ship built in 1877 and acquired by […]

William Soper’s Direct Action Breech Loader

June 25, 2018 Ian McCollum 22

William Soper of Reading, England designed this “Direct Action Breech Loader” and attempted to have it tested for British military adoption – but he was one day too late to have his rifle included in […]

Britain Goes From Trainer to Competition: the No 8 Mk I

June 18, 2018 Ian McCollum 25

This rifle is coming up for sale at RIA on June 21. Initially intended to be used only by the British Army (the Land Service), in 1950 the No8 rifle’s role was expanded to cover […]