Semiauto pistol - Forgotten Weapons

Q&A #5: Rollin White and Other (Better) Designers

June 28, 2016 Ian McCollum 51

Questions in part I of today’s Q&A: 1:04 – What was Rollin White’s revolver like? 7:09 – Why did pan magazines disappear? 10:14 – Why no pointed pistol bullets? 13:24 – Funky rounds like Trounds […]

RIA: Praga 1921 One-Handed Pocket Pistol

June 23, 2016 Ian McCollum 25

This cute little pocket pistol was an early project of Vaclav Holek, who would become much better known for his work with the ZB-26 light machine gun and ZH-29 rifle. It is a very small […]

RIA: Beretta 1915 – the First of the Beretta Pistols

June 22, 2016 Ian McCollum 32

The Italian military went into WWI having already adopted a semiautomatic sidearm – the Model 1910 Glisenti (and its somewhat simplified Brixia cousin). However, the 1910 Glisenti was a very complex design, and much too […]

RIA: Ortgies Pistols

June 16, 2016 Ian McCollum 25

The Ortgies is a pistol whose interested aspects are often overlooked on the assumption that it is just another identical .32 ACP blowback pistol. Well, it is that – but it is also more. Mechanically, […]

RIA: The Jager Pistol and its Complex Reassembly

June 15, 2016 Ian McCollum 14

The German military used a lot of different small-caliber pistols during World War One, and the Jäger is one of the most interesting of them. Its unique design was the result of needing to build […]

RIA: Alkar Cartridge-Counting Pistol

June 13, 2016 Ian McCollum 23

Alkartasuna SA was a company formed in 1914 by a handful of disgruntled Astra (well, Astra was still called Esperanza y Unceta at that time) employees. This was a difficult time for the Eibar gun […]

RIA: Webley 1905 Pocket Automatic

June 12, 2016 Ian McCollum 25

William Whiting was an engineer who spent his entire adult career with the Webley company, and was responsible for all of their in-house self-loading pistol designs. This work initially focused on a behemoth of a […]

RIA: Smith & Wesson Model 1913 Automatic Pistols (Video)

June 9, 2016 Ian McCollum 30

Smith & Wesson’s first venture into the autoloading pistol market was done under the leadership of Joe Wesson, Daniel Wesson’s son. He was quite the automatic pistol enthusiast, and made an agreement to license patents […]

RIA: Little Tom – the World’s First DAO Automatic

June 8, 2016 Ian McCollum 36

The Little Tom pistols designed by Alois Tomiška are notable for two particular features: their unusual reloading system and for being the first commercial DAO automatic pistols. Made in both .25ACP and .32 ACP in […]

RIA: Star Model 1920

June 7, 2016 Ian McCollum 13

The Model 1920 was Star’s first locked-breech pistol, basically a combination of features from the Colt 1911 and their traditional Eiber blowback .32 pistols. It was tested by the Spanish Army in 1920, with inconclusive […]