Video - Forgotten Weapons

How Does it Work: Gas-Delayed Blowback

June 11, 2019 Ian McCollum 21

Gas-delayed blowback is a relatively uncommon operating system used in handguns. It is not an efficient mechanism for high-pressure rifle power cartridges, but works well with something like 9mm Parabellum. It tends to provide benefits […]

Egyptian FN49 Sniper (Late Pattern)

June 10, 2019 Ian McCollum 11

Egypt was the first country to adopt the FN-49 rifle, and its purchases actually predated FN’s development of a method for mounting a telescopic sight to the rifles. So Egypt came up with its own […]

Book Review: P38 Pistol – Spreewerk Production

June 9, 2019 Ian McCollum 8

I initially put off getting a copy of Jan Balcar and Ron Clarin’s book on the Spreewerk P38 because, well, I assumed it was just about Spreewerk. Upon finally reading it, I discovered that it […]

Polish PM63 Rak at the Range

June 8, 2019 Ian McCollum 18

Whether it is described as a machine pistol, a submachine gun, or a personal defense weapon, the PM63 Rak is really not the best examples of this sort of thing to actually shoot. The open-bolt/slide […]

PM63 Rak: An Interesting Polish SMG/PDW Hybrid

June 7, 2019 Ian McCollum 29

The PM-63 Rak is a pretty interesting Polish Cold War machine pistol or personal defense weapon. It fires from an open bolt, but uses a slide like a pistol rather than a bolt in an […]

South African R2 and its Special Furniture

June 5, 2019 Ian McCollum 12

In South African military service, the R1 was the FN FAL and was the preferred infantry combat rifle until the adoption of the Galil as the R4 rifle. So what were the guns in between? […]

Charola Y Anitua: Tiny Spanish Broomhandles

June 3, 2019 Ian McCollum 15

Manufactured from 1899 until 1905, the Charola y Anitua pistols (later becoming just the Charola pistols) were basically scaled down C96 Mauser designs chambered for the 5mm Clement and 7mm Charola cartridges. They were briefly […]

Book Review: Machine Gun Accessories & Support Equipment

June 2, 2019 Ian McCollum 2

Robert G. Segel, long-time editor of Small Arms Review magazine, has just published a book on machine gun accessories and equipment, and it’s a very valuable new piece of reference material for the community. Mr. […]

Shooting the Sjogren Inertial Shotgun

June 1, 2019 Ian McCollum 30

When I filmed this, I had limited time and figured I would do the shooting first and then film the history and disassembly of the gun afterwards. Alas, I ran out of time and never […]

Russian Gun Laws w/ Max Popenker

May 30, 2019 Ian McCollum 21

Only two days left to get in on the preorder for my book, Chassepot to FAMAS! Get your copy today! Today Max Popenker joins me again, this time to explain the state of guns laws today […]