Semiauto pistol - Forgotten Weapons

ZKP-524: A Prototype Czech 7.62x25mm 1911 Copy

February 18, 2026 Ian McCollum 67

The Czechoslovak military knew when they adopted it that the vz.52 pistol was not very good, and they initiated a replacement program as the same time as its adoption. Two pistols were developed to be […]

Cordova Estandar: Colombia’s Domestic Service Pistol

February 2, 2026 Ian McCollum 18

Javier Traba Pistolas: https://www.youtube.com/@TrabaPistolas/videos When the Colombian government wanted a locally produced service pistol for its military and security services, it turned to Indumil – the government-owned small arms factory. Indumil already had a license […]

Roller Locked Czechnology: the CZ 482 Pistol (Which Eventually Became the vz.52)

January 26, 2026 Ian McCollum 9

The Czech vz.52 service pistol actually began as a commercial export program at CZ. It was developed by two brothers, Jan and Jaroslav Kratochvíl. They actually designed two pistols with similar shape and controls, one […]

Mauser M80SA: Actually a High Power and Actually Hungarian

January 21, 2026 Ian McCollum 29

Our book on Hungarian AKs, “Rifles on the Danube”, is available here: https://www.headstamppublishing.com/danube-book In the 1980s, the Mauser company was completely adrift, without any real plans or goals or good leadership. They had been trying […]

Tomiska’s Czech Army Pistol: Empty Magazine Auto-Ejection

January 2, 2026 Ian McCollum 10

Alois Tomiška is best known for designing the first commercially successful double-action semiautomatic pistol, the “Little Tom”. But he also designed this pistol for very early Czechoslovakian military pistol. The first trial in the program […]

SAP M10: RPB Makes a Semiauto MAC-10

December 26, 2025 Ian McCollum 6

When Wayne Daniels took over control of RPB in 1978, he introduced a semiautomatic pistol version of the iconic MAC submachine gun. Called the “SAP” (Semi Automatic Pistol), there were three versions; .380, 9mm, and […]

PSS: Russia’s Silent Captive-Piston Handgun

December 13, 2025 Ian McCollum 25

The PSS is a semiautomatic pistol using captive piston ammunition to achieve a comparable level of sound suppression to a .22 pistol with a good normal suppressor. It was developed to replace a couple multi-barrel […]

Origins of the Legendary CZ-75: Short Rail and Pre-B Models

November 28, 2025 Ian McCollum 4

Find something cool for Black Friday at Headstamp Publishing! https://www.headstamppublishing.com The CZ-75 began development in the late 1960s as a commercial project. It was not intended for Czechoslovak military use, but instead for export sales […]

Rideout Arsenal Dragon: A New Low-Bore-Axis Lever-Delayed Pistol

November 12, 2025 Ian McCollum 37

Wauser t-shirt available from Varusteleka: https://varusteleka.com/en/products/forgotten-weapons-wauser-cotton-t-shirt The Rideout Arsenal Dragon is a very interesting new pistol from an independent entrepreneurial designer, Travis Rideout. It is a lever-delayed action with a very low bore axis and […]

Project PRAK: Converting the CZ50 Pistol to 9x18mm Makarov

October 31, 2025 Ian McCollum 7

In 1966, CZ undertook Project PRAK (“Slingshot”) to investigate the possibility of converting the CZ50 pocket pistol to 9x18mm Makarov. The PM Makarov was adopted in the 1950s and used throughout the eastern bloc, but […]