Shotgun - Forgotten Weapons

Pinfire LeMat Grapeshot Revolver at RIA

April 20, 2015 Ian McCollum 10

Colonel Jean Alexandre LeMat was a native Frenchman who emigrated to the United States and in 1856 secured a patent for a “grapeshot revolver”, which had both a 9-shot .42 caliber cylinder and a 20-gauge […]

Burgess Folding Shotgun at RIA

April 16, 2015 Ian McCollum 15

Andrew Burgess was an extremely prolific gun designer who gets very little recognition today. One of has particularly interesting weapons was a pump-action, folding shotgun. Because Spencer already had a patent on the use of […]

Collected Works of John Pedersen

April 11, 2015 Ian McCollum 8

John Pedersen was one of the more prolific and successful gun designers in American history, having even been described by John Moses Browning as “the greatest gun designer in the world”. And yet, many people […]

Biography: Henri & Nicolas Pieper

March 24, 2015 Ian McCollum 15

Today’s biography is a guest post by our friend Robert White – thanks, Robert! Henri Pieper was born and raised in modest German home in Soest (Westphalia) Germany on Oct 30, 1840. He received his […]

Winchester 1893 & 1897 Shotguns at RIA (Video)

February 13, 2015 Ian McCollum 11

The Winchester 1897 was the gun that really set the standard for the now-ubiquitous pump action shotgun. It was designed by John Browning, but was not the first pump action designed and sold. That credit […]

Roper Repeating Shotgun at RIA (Video)

February 7, 2015 Ian McCollum 12

Sylvester Roper was a great example of the classic American inventor – he had a wide range of interests, and impacted technological development in more than one industry. This shotgun is a design he patented […]

Cobray Terminator Shotgun at RIA (Video)

February 4, 2015 Ian McCollum 56

The Cobray Terminator is an unusual – and unusually impractical – single-shot 12 gauge shotgun. It uses a sort of open bolt system in which the barrel is under spring pressure, and slams backwards into […]

Slow Motion: Remington Model 11 Shotgun

January 8, 2015 Ian McCollum 29

Sporting shotguns are not normally something to catch my eye, but the Remington Model 11 is a bit different. It’s the first mass-produced semiauto shotgun in the world, it’s a John Browning design, and it’s […]

Fosbery’s Pump Shotgun

September 19, 2014 Ian McCollum 24

Today’s post and photos were provided by guest author Miles Vining – thanks, Miles! Lieutenant Colonel George Vincent Fosbery VC is primarily known for his most famous contribution to military small arms in the Webley-Fosbery […]

Ithaca Auto & Burglar – 12ga

June 27, 2014 Ian McCollum 39

The Ithaca Gun Company introduced their “Auto & Burglar” model of side-by-side shotgun in 1922. This was not the only gun of its type made for the commercial market, but it was one of the […]