Semiauto pistol - Forgotten Weapons

Star Megastar: Spain’s Massive 10mm Autopistol

September 19, 2022 Ian McCollum 30

In the late 1980s, the Spanish gunmaker Star decided to join the new hot trend of 10mm semiauto pistols. The cartridge was getting a lot of press, and Star saw this as an opportunity too […]

Origins of the vz.82: A Western Pistol for Communist Czechoslovakia

September 2, 2022 Ian McCollum 19

The vz.82 and its cousin the CZ 83 are pistols that originated when the Czech state export company during the Cold War began looking for arms it could export to bring in hard currency. The […]

East Meets West at the BUG Match: CZ’s vz.82

September 2, 2022 Ian McCollum 9

Yesterday we looked at the history and development of the vz.82 pistol; today I am taking it out to the BackUp Gun Match. this should be a pretty competitive pistol in this environment, and it […]

From Service Sidearm to Match Gun: the Astra 400 Target Model

August 26, 2022 Ian McCollum 4

A very small batch of special target model pistols was made at the very end of Astra 400 production in 1945. They were fitted with Patridge front sights and adjustable revolver-style square-notch rear sights, much […]

Ask Ian: Analyzing the Savage Rotating Barrel (at 7500 frames/sec)

August 23, 2022 Ian McCollum 24

A question I have been asked by several different people in several Q&A threads is: “Does the Savage rotating-barrel system actually do anything?” In his 1905 patent, Elbert Searle specifically claims that his design creates […]

Belgian GP-35: Pre-War Browning High Power Complete Rig

August 17, 2022 Ian McCollum 8

The Browning High Power (“Grande Puissance”, aka GP-35) was developed by Fabrique National in Belgium, designed primarily by John Browning’s apprentice Dieudonné Saive. It began in the very early 1920s as a pistol designed for […]

Before the High Power was the FN Grand Rendement

August 8, 2022 Ian McCollum 34

The Browning High Power story begins with a French 1921 request for a new military pistol. FN engineer Dieudonné Saive developed a double stack, single feed magazine and John Browning adapted a Browning 1903 pistol […]

Coonan .357 Magnum at the BUG Match

July 23, 2022 Ian McCollum 4

Yesterday we took a look at the history and the mechanics of Dan Conan’s .357 Magnum 1911; today we are going to take it out to the range. Specifically, a BackUp Gun Match, plus a […]

When Revolver Meets 1911: The Coonan .357 Magnum Automatic

July 22, 2022 Ian McCollum 26

Dan Coonan first designed his pistol in graduate school as a drafting project: a 1911 pistol chambered for the .357 Magnum cartridge. No easy feat, designing a self-loading pistol magazine to cycle a big rimmed […]

AutoMag 160 in .357AMP: For When the Regular AutoMag is too Common

July 20, 2022 Ian McCollum 25

The AutoMag was originally designed to use a rimless version of the .44 Magnum cartridge; the .44 AMP. Shortly after it was introduced, though, the company Brough out a second cartridge, the .357 AMP. This […]