Video - Forgotten Weapons

Chatting About Cannons & Tanks with Glenn Fleming

January 2, 2020 Ian McCollum 42

When I arrived at DriveTanks.com down in Texas, I was happily surprised to find my old acquaintance Glenn Fleming working there as lead gunsmith. Glenn and I first met on the set of a certain […]

SIG 550-1 Sniper: Answering a Question Nobody Asked

December 31, 2019 Ian McCollum 15

Today at the Kessler auction house in Kreuzlingen Switzerland, we are taking a look at a SIG 550-1 Sniper model. This is mechanically a SIG 550, aka Sturmgewehr 90, but made to a very high […]

Book Review: Weapons Mounts for Secondary Armament

December 29, 2019 Ian McCollum 12

Weapon Mounts for Secondary Armament is a nearly 1200-page reference on all manner of machine gun mounting systems for tanks, aircraft,t light vehicles, and ground mounts. The book was commissioned in 1957 by the Detroit […]

Erquiaga EM-62: Castro’s Ex-Armorer Makes an M14

December 28, 2019 Ian McCollum 28

Juan Erquiaga was a Peruvian Army officer who was introduced to Gordon Ingram and the Police Ordnance Company, probably during Ingram’s time working on sales of the Model 6 submachine gun to Peru. Erquiaga first […]

EOKA Cut-Down Beretta 38 SMG

December 27, 2019 Ian McCollum 24

This cut-down Beretta Model 38/44 submachine gun was made by the EOKA (Ethniki Organosis Kyprion Agoniston) terrorist group, which fought in the late 1950s for Cyprus to be reunified with Greece, instead of being a […]

Q&A 36: All About Tanks, with Nicolas Moran (the Chieftain)

December 26, 2019 Ian McCollum 20

I recently had the chance to do some collaborative filming with Nicolas Moran, and figured it would be a good chance to do a Q&A specifically on issues related to tanks. Nicolas is a Major […]

Colt 601: The AR-15 Becomes a Military Rifle

December 25, 2019 Ian McCollum 21

The AR-15 rifle was originally developed by Armalite as an offshoot of the AR-10 rifle designed by Eugene Stoner. How that second-thought rifle became the US standard military rifle – and the longest-serving infantry rifle […]

Italian Sci-Fi Blaster: The Franchi LF-57

December 23, 2019 Ian McCollum 28

Introduced in 1957, Franchi’s LF-57 submachine gun has a very distinctive sci-fi look to it, but was never able to become a major player in the Cold War arms market. It is in all ways […]

Comparison: French 1935A vs 1935S Pistols

December 22, 2019 Ian McCollum 33

I finally have a source for top quality reliable 7.65mm French Long, thanks to Steinel! I can’t link to them, but I’m sure anyone who wants some themselves can find them online. Anyway, with ammo […]

French Mle 1892 Revolver in Competition

December 21, 2019 Ian McCollum 23

Today at the Backup Gun Match, I’m shooting a French Modèle 1892 service revolver. It’s a 6-shot revolver with a swing-out cylinder, chambered for the 8x27mm cartridge (often called 8mm Lebel, although it really shouldn’t […]