Select-fire Rifles - Forgotten Weapons

Evolution of the Dutch-Made AR10

January 5, 2019 Ian McCollum 25

The AR-10 rifle was developed in the United States (Hollywood California, specifically) by Eugene Stoner, but the Armalite company did not have a suitable large scale manufacturing facility to produce the number of guns they […]

FN CAL: Short-Lived Predecessor to the FNC

January 4, 2019 Ian McCollum 23

The CAL (Carabine Automatique Leger; Light Automatic Carbine) was FN’s first attempt to produce a 5.56mm rifle as a counterpart to the 7.62mm FAL. While light and handy, the CAL was a relatively complex and […]

H&K G36: Germany Adopts the 5.56mm Cartridge

December 28, 2018 Ian McCollum 36

When the G11 program was cancelled and German reunified, the West German military was still using the 7.62mm G3 rifle, while the East German forces had AK-74 variants. Neither of these were suitable for a […]

Kraut Space Magic: the H&K G11

December 25, 2018 Ian McCollum 114

I have been waiting for a long time to have a chance to make this video – the Heckler & Koch G11! Specifically, a G11K2, the final version approved for use by the West German […]

WF Bern C42 & E22: Swiss Stgw90 Trials Rifles

December 24, 2018 Ian McCollum 41

Today at the Kessler auction house in Kreuzlingen Switzerland we are taking a look at the W+F Bern C42 and E22 rifles. These are the guns supplied by Bern to compete for the Swiss military […]

M1916 Fedorov: Russia’s First Assault Rifle?

December 21, 2018 Ian McCollum 77

I have been trying to get my hands on Fedorov M1916 rifle for a while, and I finally had the opportunity at the NFC, part of the British Royal Armouries. The Fedorov was designed in […]

Winchester 1964 SPIW: Flechettes and a Blow-Forward Grenade Launcher

December 19, 2018 Ian McCollum 76

Today we are looking at the Winchester company’s entry into the 1964 SPIW (Special Purpose Infantry Weapon) trials. The SPIW program was an attempt to increase small arms lethality by increasing hit probability with ideas […]

Shooting the Full Auto XM-8 Carbine

December 15, 2018 Ian McCollum 53

Thanks to H&K and to Trijicon for range access, we are out today shooting an original and authentic XM-8 carbine! The XM-8 family are relatively bulky guns; moreso than one would expect from seeing photos […]

Almost Adopted: The H&K XM8 Family

December 14, 2018 Ian McCollum 46

Today we are in H&K’s Grey Room in Virginia, taking a look at the XM-8 program. The rifle evolved form the kinetic energy carbine portion of the doomed XM29/OICW program, and eventually became the G36 […]

XM29 OICW Mockup

December 12, 2018 Ian McCollum 39

The OICW – Objective Individual Combat Weapon – was part of a program in the 1980s and 1990s to replace the whole lineup of uS small arms with a consolidated group of new high-tech ones. […]