Semiauto pistol - Forgotten Weapons

Korriphila HSP-701: A Masterful Bespoke German Pistol

November 27, 2020 Ian McCollum 23

The Korriphila HSP-701 is a boutique luxury pistols designed by Edgar Budischowsky in the late 1970s, which entered production in 1984. It uses a fixed barrel and roller-delayed blowback action with a single roller below […]

British L66A1: A Pistol for Northern Ireland

November 18, 2020 Ian McCollum 40

In 1974, the British Royal Army Ordnance Corps purchased about 3,000 .22lr caliber Walther PP pistols to issue as Personal Defense Weapons to service members of the Ulster Defense Regiment. These were to be issued […]

Russian World War 1 Contract Colt 1911

November 10, 2020 Ian McCollum 22

During World War One, the Russian Government purchased some 51,000 Colt 1911 pistols. These were standard commercial production guns, chambered for .45 ACP, and were shipped in 1916 and 1917, with JP Morgan acting as […]

Vickers Ltd Luger Pistols for the Dutch East Indies

November 3, 2020 Ian McCollum 17

The Dutch government adopted the Luger for the KNIL (Dutch East Indies colonial forces) in 1910, and placed an initial order for 4,182 pistols from DWM in Germany. These were standard 9mm New Model Lugers, […]

WW1 British Contract M1911 in .455 Webley Self-Loading

October 27, 2020 Ian McCollum 12

On the eve of World War One, the Royal Horse Artillery and Royal Flying Corps had both adopted the Webley Self-Loading Pistol, chambered for a special .455 caliber semi-rimmed cartridge. With the needs of wartime, […]

1926 Tula-Korovin: The First Soviet Semiauto Pistol

October 8, 2020 Ian McCollum 18

Sergei Korovin was a Russian designer who was kicked out of the Kharkov Technical Institute in 1905 for his revolutionary political activities. He emigrated to Liege in Belgium, where he worked in the arms industry […]

Custom 1932 Longslide Walther PP For Swiss Target Shooting

September 30, 2020 Ian McCollum 23

In 1932, Walther made 10 custom long-barreled PP pistols for the Swiss target shooting community, sold through Glaser in Switzerland. These pistols had 127mm (5 inch) barrels chambered for .32 ACP, a fine satin “Verchromt” […]

Taurus Curve: My Worst Backup Gun Match Yet!

September 26, 2020 Ian McCollum 45

A little while back during the summer I went to our monthly Backup Gun Match with, of all things, a Taurus Curve. Why do I even own one of those? Well, I found one new […]

Neither Fish nor Fowl: the Colt 1903 Pocket Hammer

August 17, 2020 Ian McCollum 21

Lots 102 (round hammer) and 1416 (spur hammer) in the September 2020 RIA Premier auction. The 1903 Pocket Hammer was an effort by Colt to adapt the Model 1902 pistol for better civilian sales. They […]

The Coolest Gun You Will See All Day: China’s Type 64 Silenced Pistol

August 14, 2020 Ian McCollum 19

Lot 1487 in the September 2020 RIA Premier auction. The Type 64 is a dedicated suppressed pistol first introduced in 1965 and used in the Vietnam War. It uses a rimless version of the .32 […]