Semiauto pistol - Forgotten Weapons

Colt Prototype Double Action 1911

June 23, 2021 Ian McCollum 16

Thanks to Legacy Collectibles, today we have a unique Colt prototype pistol to look at today – a double-action variation of the 1911. Judging by the grips and markings, this was made in the late […]

Roth Steyr 1907 3D Printed Stripper Clips

June 19, 2021 Ian McCollum 34

Thanks to Thomas for sending me a couple of these clips to try out, and sharing his STL files for them! Here are the files for anyone who wants to make themselves a few: Clip […]

Chinese Warlord Pistols: The Huge Shanxi .45 ACP Broomhandle

June 17, 2021 Ian McCollum 12

The “Pistols of the Warlords Kickstarter ends Friday night; don’t miss out! The best known and most highly valued of the Warlord Era Chinese pistols is undoubtedly the .45 ACP copy of the C96 Mauser. […]

Finland’s First Domestic Handgun: the Ahlberg

June 14, 2021 Ian McCollum 24

In the wake of Finland gaining its independence, small arms were much in demand for the armed forces. Many rifles had been taken from Russian stockpiles in Finland, but not many handguns. Hugo Ahlberg ran […]

Chinese Warlord Pistols: Massive FN 1900 Copies in .30 Mauser

June 11, 2021 Ian McCollum 31

It’s not too late to join the “Pistols of the Warlords” Kickstarter! The armies of Warlord Era China had quite a fondness for the FN 1900 pistol, but they also made extensive use of the […]

Shanghai 1900 Pistol-Carbine at the Backup Gun Match

June 5, 2021 Ian McCollum 11

Don’t miss the Kickstarter-exclusive version of “Pistols of the Warlords”! Today I am going to actually do some shooting with a Chinese Warlord Era pistol – a Shanghai Model 1900 Pistol-Carbine. As I described in […]

Chinese Warlord Pistols: Shanghai Model 1900 Pistol-Carbine

June 4, 2021 Ian McCollum 17

Get in on the “Pistols of the Warlords” Kickstarter today! Not all of the handguns made in China during the Warlord Era were made one at a time by individual artisan gunsmiths. A few models […]

Mauser 1912/14 Development in .45ACP

May 31, 2021 Ian McCollum 21

Mauser did not limit their Model 1912 and 1912/14 pistols to just being chambered in 9mm – they also developed a number of prototypes in .45ACP. Today we have a series of three such prototypes […]

Chinese Warlord Pistols: the “Horn Grip Type”

May 28, 2021 Ian McCollum 8

Interested in these guns? Check out the Kickstarter for my new book on the subject, “Pistols of the Warlords”! In the course of researching Chinese domestic pistols of the Warlord Era, I sorted through several […]

Tipo Alleggerito Beretta: Because Italian Gun Laws are Wacky

May 24, 2021 Ian McCollum 19

Today we are looking at two examples of prewar/wartime Beretta compact pistols. The first is a Tipo Alleggerito Model 34 in .380. This was developed because of a quirk in Italian law which prohibited the […]