Video - Forgotten Weapons

Ballester Molina: The Underrated Argentine .45

November 27, 2019 Ian McCollum 27

The Ballester-Molina was designed to be a more economical pistol to produce than the 1911A1, which had been adopted by Argentina as the Pistola Sistema Colt Modelo 1927. It was produced by a company called […]

Ludicrously Huge .45-70 and .50-70 Revolvers

November 26, 2019 Ian McCollum 17

Created in 1973 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the adoption of the .45-70 cartridge by the US military, the Model 100 revolver is a behemoth of a six-shooter. It was made by Earl Keller […]

A Mystifying 3-Barrel Percussion Shotgun

November 25, 2019 Ian McCollum 38

This is a three-barreled muzzleloading shotgun, with two pretty normal hammers on the top barrels and a rather unusual and simple under hammer for the bottom barrel. It has no markings at all, a hinged […]

Czechoslovakia’s First Pistol: Praga Model 1919

November 24, 2019 Ian McCollum 35

Having gained independence after World War One, Czechoslovakia looked to standardize and improve its armaments. Václav Holek went to work for the Zbrojovka Praga factory in Prague in 1918, and they introduced the Model 1919 […]

Pieper’s 7-Barrel Mitrailleuse: Like a Shotgun But Accurate

November 23, 2019 Ian McCollum 26

Manufactured in the 1880s and 1890s to serve the professional hunter market, Pieper’s 7-barrel Mitrailleuse was essentially a rimfire volley gun. It was offer in both .22 rimfire and .32 rimfire calibers, both models having […]

Civil War Smith Carbine and its Rubber Cartridges

November 22, 2019 Ian McCollum 13

The US military experimented with a wide variety of breechloading carbines during the Civil War. One of these that got a bit of a head start on the others was the Smith carbine, patented in […]

Noël’s 10-Shot Pocket Turret Revolver

November 21, 2019 Ian McCollum 6

Designed by A. Noël in 1865 and manufactured by Gouery, Canat et Cie in Paris, this is a .28 caliber, 10-shot turret revolver. It has a folding double-action trigger, and is actually a remarkably svelte […]

Springfield’s SAR-4800 FAL…in 5.56mm

November 20, 2019 Ian McCollum 11

In the early 1990s, the Brazilian Imbel factory made a small run of FAL rifles converted to 5.56mm using AR magazines. They used standard FAL receivers and bolt carriers, with a boltface cut for 5.56x45mm […]

The Best SMLE: The No1 MkV Trials Rifle

November 18, 2019 Ian McCollum 11

After World War One, the British looked at how to apply the lessons of the war to development of a new infantry rifle. Even before the war, a decision had been made to move to […]

Kommer Models 3 and 4: German Browning Copies

November 17, 2019 Ian McCollum 12

Theodore Emil Kommer was born in 1866, son of a German gunsmith. He took the same profession, and at the age of 23 in 1889 opened his own business making guns. He initially focused on […]