Select-fire Rifles - Forgotten Weapons

The Bosnian Full-Auto SKS with AK Mags

March 6, 2024 Ian McCollum 10

During the Balkan Wars, a great many oddball guns were built and used. One of them was a Bosnian conversion of the Yugoslav M59/66 SKS to have a select-fire trigger and to use modified detachable […]

MAS-49 Carabine Mitrailleuse: A French Prototype Lever-Delayed Assault Rifle

January 17, 2024 Ian McCollum 35

When France was developing it’s new suite of small arms in the late 1940s, there was a debate over whether to adopt an intermediate-power cartridge or retain the full-power 7.5x54mm round for the infantry rifle. […]

Angstadt Vanquish: An Inexpensive Integrally-Silenced 9mm AR Barrel

December 24, 2023 Ian McCollum 6

Angstadt Arms has released an interesting integrally silenced (suppressed, if you prefer) barrel for 9mm AR carbines. It uses a full-length barrel with venting ports (similar to the MP5SD system), combined with a tubular shroud […]

Gear-Ratio-Accelerated? Yep, It’s a Thing: French MAT 1955 Prototype

December 20, 2023 Ian McCollum 21

EDIT: Shoot, I managed to get the gear ratio backwards. Sorry! The recoil action provides the necessary delay, and then the gear ratio provides acceleration to ensure the bolt can open reliably, akin to the […]

AFN-49: The Forgotten Full-Auto Brother of the FN-49

October 20, 2023 Ian McCollum 6

0:00 Introduction and Overview of the AFN 49 1:23 Detailed Insight into the AFN 49’s Global Presence 3:01 Demonstration and Explanation of the AFN’s Unique Features 5:05 Auto Trip Feature: A Deep Dive 7:27 Unique […]

Colt 607: The First AR Carbine

September 18, 2023 Ian McCollum 56

The Model 607 was Colt’s first attempt at a carbine version of the AR-15 rifle, shortening both the barrel and stock. The action is identical to a standard AR, but the barrel is only 10 […]

South Africa’s Sci-Fi Bullpup: Vektor CR-21 at the Range

September 16, 2023 Ian McCollum 22

Courtesy of DSA, I’m out at the range today with a Vektor CR-21 to see just how it handles compared to a regular Galil…

Original FG42: A Detailed Comparison of the 1st and 2nd Patterns

August 16, 2023 Ian McCollum 52

Today we are looking at examples of the 1st pattern (Type E) and second pattern (Type G) FG42, comparing their construction and disassembling both to get a close look at the internal differences. Despite sharing […]

Yugo-Albanian “Marksman’s” Mystery AK

August 2, 2023 Ian McCollum 10

This rifle was brought back to France from the Balkans (probably Kosovo) by a French military team in the late 1990s. It’s a neat example of a mix-master build (what is “bubba” in Albanian?), with […]

Rearming West Germany: The G1 FAL

June 19, 2023 Ian McCollum 33

Today we are taking a look at a German G1 pattern FAL. The initial purchased of the G1 were actual made by the German Border Guard (the Bundesgrenschutz). In the aftermath of World War Two, […]