Semiauto pistol - Forgotten Weapons

Ian Fangirls Over Some Weird Bergmann (Prototype M1910)

March 26, 2021 Ian McCollum 14

This unique Bergmann Model 1910 was made by Anciens Etablissements Pieper with a grip angled slightly back compared to the standard model. It was also fitted with a square front sight and square rear notch […]

Maxim-Silverman .455 Caliber Behemoth of a Pistol

March 20, 2021 Ian McCollum 28

Hiram Maxim’s hired shop supervisor was a man named Louis Silverman. He was a skilled engineer, who was treated rather poorly by Maxim, and whose contributions were systematically understated. One of the most interesting projects […]

Colt’s Prototype Scaled-Down Model 1910 in .38/9.8mm

March 19, 2021 Ian McCollum 45

With the impending success of Colt’s program to develop new .45 caliber pistol for the US military (the 1911), the company began to look for ways to exploit the work that had gone into it. […]

Schouboe Model 1916: The Final Attempt

March 15, 2021 Ian McCollum 9

The final iteration of the Danish Schouboe pistol is this, the model 1916. Produced in prototype quantities only, it took the features of the 1910 pattern (safety and external barrel pivot) and made a few […]

Göring’s Platinum Lugers

March 5, 2021 Ian McCollum 28

There are a lot of guns out there attributed to German leaders and politicians of the Second World War. Many of these are completely specious, and many more are true simply because these men had […]

Uruguayan Celmi Hermanos .32 ACP Pistol

March 1, 2021 Ian McCollum 15

The Celmi brothers were Italians who moved to Uruguay and opened an arms factory. They are best known for sporting shotguns, but in 1943 they introduced an automatic pistol, much like the Walther PP but […]

Max Popenker on Russian Pistols and Ammunition: 7N21, 9x21mm, 9x18mm, and more

February 16, 2021 Ian McCollum 32

Today I am again joined by Max Popenker, Russian small arms historian and researcher. Max is explaining the basic history of Russian handguns and ammunition, starting with the adoption of the 7.62x25mm Tokarev cartridge to […]

Broomhandle Mauser “Red Nine” – the C96 in World War One

February 5, 2021 Ian McCollum 7

The German military did not actually adopt the Mauser C96 “broom handle” before World War One. It was the first really successful semiauto pistol, but the German military chose the Luger instead, in 1908. However, […]

The 80s Strike Back! Linda and Qwik-Point at the BUG Match

January 23, 2021 Ian McCollum 15

Yesterday we took a look at the history and operation of the Wilkinson Arms Linda, and today I have it out at the BackUp Gun Match. Since I don’t have iron sights on mine, I […]

Wilkinson Arms “Linda”

January 22, 2021 Ian McCollum 21

The Linda is a semiauto 9mm pistol that just exudes 1980s aesthetics. It was made along with a carbine version called the Terry, by Wilkinson Arms of California (later Idaho). Both were named after daughters […]