Semiauto pistol - Forgotten Weapons

Powell’s Cartridge Counter Luger: The First Military 9mm

November 10, 2019 Ian McCollum 3

The US first tested the Luger in 1901, and it seemed potentially good enough that the government spent $15,000 to buy 1,000 of the pistols (in 7.65mm Luger; the only cartridge available at the time) […]

Pistols Taken From the Walther Factory in April 1945

November 4, 2019 Ian McCollum 19

Courtesy of Legacy Collectibles, we have a variety of pistols to look at today which were taken as souvenirs by American GIs when the Walther factory was captured in April of 1945. Walther was making […]

Shanghai Municipal Police Colt 1908 in Competition

November 3, 2019 Ian McCollum 12

Today I am shooting a Colt 1908 originally issued to the Shanghai Municipal Police in 1925. The gun was chosen for issue by William Fairbairn, who is best known for training OSS and SOE operatives […]

Star Model 1914 at a Backup Gun Match

October 26, 2019 Ian McCollum 16

This didn’t come out as well as I was hoping (one of the stage videos got corrupted and the others don’t show the shooting stages as well as I’d anticipated), but I will do better […]

Three Variations of Party Leader PPK Pistols

October 25, 2019 Ian McCollum 25

Today, courtesy of Tom from Legacy Collectibles, we are taking a look at “party leader” PPK pistols. There are three different versions of these, and we will look at all of them in sequence. They […]

Papers Behind the Pistol: Mauser’s Archives on the Model 1910

October 21, 2019 Ian McCollum 11

Courtesy of the Paul Mauser Archive, we have a very cool opportunity to look at the documentation and paperwork behind a production pistol design, from beginning to commercial sales. This sort of documentation is rare […]

Systema OBREGON: The Mexican Rotating-Barrel 1911

October 14, 2019 Ian McCollum 48

This is Lot 1500 in the upcoming October Morphy Extraordinary auction. Patented by Alejandro Obregon in Mexico in 1934 and in the US in 1938, this pistol is an adaptation of the classic Browning 1911 […]

Turkish Conehammer “Broomhandle” C96 Mauser

October 13, 2019 Ian McCollum 17

This is Lot 2493 in the upcoming October Morphy Extraordinary auction. The “cone hammer” was the first commercial version of the Mauser C96, so named for the stepped conical sides of its hammer. The C96 […]

Ecia Model 1930 Family: Competitors to the Astra

September 16, 2019 Ian McCollum 10

Juan Esperanza was one of the two partners who formed the Astra company (with Pedro Unceta). When the two had a falling-out in 1925 and parted ways, Esperanza formed his own company and went on […]

Star Pistol-Carbines: Model MMS and Model MB

September 9, 2019 Ian McCollum 8

Star produced 1911-style pistols in a wide variety of calibers and configurations for more than 50 years, including several models with shoulder stocks. Two of the later such models were the MMS and MB. These […]