Video - Forgotten Weapons

America’s Forgotten SMG: The Hyde/Marlin M2

October 4, 2019 Ian McCollum 21

This is Lot 1037 in the upcoming October 2019 Morphy Extraordinary auction. The United States went into World War Two with the Thompsons submachine gun – a weapon far too heavy and too expensive for […]

Turkish Vickers: A Gun With All the Widgets!

October 1, 2019 Ian McCollum 15

This is Lot 1127 in the upcoming October 2019 Morphys Extraordinary auction. During World War One, the Ottoman Empire would join the war on the side of the Central Powers, in part because of a […]

CETME C2, aka CB-64: Spain’s Version of the Sterling SMG

September 30, 2019 Ian McCollum 6

This is Lot 2068 in the upcoming October 2019 Morphy’s Extraordinary auction. Developed by CETME in the 1960s, the C2 (aka CB64) submachine gun was clearly inspired b y the Sterling, but includes several clever […]

Model 1808 US Navy Pistol by Simeon North

September 29, 2019 Ian McCollum 6

This is Lot 2137 in the upcoming October 2019 Morphy Extraordinary auction. The US Congress passed a Militia Act in 1808 to provide funding for military supplies, and one of the immediate resulting contracts was […]

WW1 Villar Perosa SMG at the Range

September 28, 2019 Ian McCollum 51

This is lot 1042 in the Morphy Extraordinary Auction on October 22, 2019. Courtesy of the Morphy Auction Company, I am out at the range today with a very rare Italian Villar Perosa machine gun from […]

Experimental Triple-Magazine Henry Rifle

September 27, 2019 Ian McCollum 12

This rifle is an experimental twist on the Henry, built with three magazine tubes in a fixture pivoting around the axis of the barrel. While only half the length of the barrel itself, the three […]

John Browning vs Hiram Maxim: Patent Fight!

September 25, 2019 Ian McCollum 19

When John Browning designed his Model 1895 machine gun with it’s rotary-lever gas operation system, Hiram Maxim filed suit claiming patent infringement. Maxim had filed quite broad patents covering gas pistons operation, but specifically in […]

Forgotten History: Violent Jewish Resistance to the Holocaust

September 24, 2019 Ian McCollum 38

I wrote this paper back in 2003 or 2004 for a college class I was taking (HIST 595 – The Holocaust And Genocide). Today, it sounds a bit amateurish – but I suppose that is […]

Steyr Model 1911 Semiautomatic Trials Rifles

September 23, 2019 Ian McCollum 24

In 1909, the Austro-Hungarian Empire announced a desire to find a new semiautomatic military rifle, and requested proposals from arms manufacturers. Six rifles were submitted to the resulting trials in 1911, including this model from […]

Book Review: Flayderman’s Guide to Antique American Firearms

September 22, 2019 Ian McCollum 5

Norm Flayderman opened an antique gun shop in 1952, and a few years later expanded his marketing to a mail-order catalog. He would ultimately print 119 such catalogs by 1998, researching and documenting a tremendous […]