Video - Forgotten Weapons

Prototype Jungle Carbine: A No1 MkV Becomes a No5 MkI

February 17, 2021 Ian McCollum 15

When the British began developing a shortened version of the No4 Lee Enfield in 1943 (which would become the No5 MkI “Jungle Carbine”), the development process included work with some rather older rifles. What we […]

Britain’s Experimental Viper No.3 SMG/PDW

February 15, 2021 Ian McCollum 27

A series of very compact submachine guns – possibly better described as personal defense weapons – was made in Britain at the end of World War Two under the name Viper (as an interesting aside, […]

2-Gun with SMG’s 1st Pattern Semiauto FG-42

February 13, 2021 Ian McCollum 62

Today I am taking the SMG first pattern semiauto FG-42 out to a 2-gun match to give it a try on the clock. This particular match has two rifle-only stage and one pistol-only stage, so […]

Interested in Gun Law Issues? Check out FuddBusters

February 11, 2021 Ian McCollum 0

I don’t cover politics here, but I know many of you folks are interested or invested in gun law current events. I recently found the FuddBusters channel, and it was a real breath of fresh […]

Wait, Go Back! The SMLE MkIII* Wartime Simplification

February 10, 2021 Ian McCollum 20

The British entered World War One with a technically excellent rifle, with lots of bells and whistles. By 1916, the war was taking a previously unimaginable toll on the industrial capacity of the Empire and […]

ZF-41: Germany’s Worst WW2 Sniper Scope

February 9, 2021 Ian McCollum 8

One of the pieces of feedback the German military got form he invasion of Poland in 1939 was a desire for a squad-level designated marksman in each unit. This would be a man with the […]

Finnish Brutality 2-Gun Practice: M39 Mosin & TT33 (Again!)

February 6, 2021 Ian McCollum 18

I’m getting in some more practice for Finnish Brutality this week, once again running a match with the M39 Mosin and TT33 Tokarev that I am planning to take with me to Finland. This time, […]

Broomhandle Mauser “Red Nine” – the C96 in World War One

February 5, 2021 Ian McCollum 7

The German military did not actually adopt the Mauser C96 “broom handle” before World War One. It was the first really successful semiauto pistol, but the German military chose the Luger instead, in 1908. However, […]

What’s Up With Norway and Military Scout Scopes?

February 4, 2021 Ian McCollum 18

Aside from the German widespread issue of the ZF-41 type scope, I have only come across three other military uses of long eye relief optics – and they are all Norwegian! One is simply Norwegian […]

SMLE MkI***: The Updated Early Lee Enfields (and Irish Examples!)

February 3, 2021 Ian McCollum 4

When the British adopted a new high-velocity spitzer bullet for the .303 cartridge, they had to update their rifles to use it. Specifically, the sights had to be recalibrated for the flatter trajectory of the […]