Video - Forgotten Weapons

Captain Carl Pelo’s Model 1954 Prototype Semiauto Rifle

June 21, 2021 Ian McCollum 37

Carl Pelo was a an engineer with Sako in the 1930s, and developed a series of self-loading rifles. He used a short recoil mechanism with a pair of locking flaps on the bolt, much like […]

Roth Steyr 1907 3D Printed Stripper Clips

June 19, 2021 Ian McCollum 34

Thanks to Thomas for sending me a couple of these clips to try out, and sharing his STL files for them! Here are the files for anyone who wants to make themselves a few: Clip […]

Chinese Warlord Pistols: The Huge Shanxi .45 ACP Broomhandle

June 17, 2021 Ian McCollum 12

The “Pistols of the Warlords Kickstarter ends Friday night; don’t miss out! The best known and most highly valued of the Warlord Era Chinese pistols is undoubtedly the .45 ACP copy of the C96 Mauser. […]

How Does It Work: Clips! (Not Magazines)

June 16, 2021 Ian McCollum 30

Today we are looking at clips and how they work. There are two different types; Mannlicher-style and Mauser-style. Mannlicher clips were introduced circa 1885, and are also known as en bloc or packet loading clips. […]

Prototype Johnson Model R Military Rifle

June 15, 2021 Ian McCollum 21

When Melvin Johnson’s rifle design was first going through US military testing in 1938, it was set up to use box magazines. These magazines were a problem – they were not quite fully perfected, and […]

Finland’s First Domestic Handgun: the Ahlberg

June 14, 2021 Ian McCollum 24

In the wake of Finland gaining its independence, small arms were much in demand for the armed forces. Many rifles had been taken from Russian stockpiles in Finland, but not many handguns. Hugo Ahlberg ran […]

Back-Up Gun Match Teaser with an MR-73

June 12, 2021 Ian McCollum 17

It came out recently that the Beretta Group has purchased Chapuis, the French manufacturer of the legendary MR73 revolvers. A bunch of people have asked me if I’m getting one of the Beretta-imported guns, and […]

Chinese Warlord Pistols: Massive FN 1900 Copies in .30 Mauser

June 11, 2021 Ian McCollum 31

It’s not too late to join the “Pistols of the Warlords” Kickstarter! The armies of Warlord Era China had quite a fondness for the FN 1900 pistol, but they also made extensive use of the […]

The Crazy Guns of the Winchester-Bannerman Pump Action Lawsuit

June 9, 2021 Ian McCollum 16

Today I’m at the Cody Firearms Museum, taking a look at two of the guns that were used in the court case between Francis Bannerman and the Winchester company – a prototype Magot pump-action rifle […]

Tank Driving in Finland: Piglet and the T55

June 8, 2021 Ian McCollum 43

We were going to have a couple serious military vehicles as range props for Finnish Brutality back in February, but with the match postponed because of covid restrictions that didn’t come to pass. However, Jari […]