Video - Forgotten Weapons

Klienen Waffenwerkzeugatz – A German Armorer’s Tool Kit

October 10, 2017 Ian McCollum 11

This is a “Klienen Waffenwerkzeugatz” – a small armorer’s tool kit used by a German Waffenmeister. It is a really neat little set of handy and essential tools for working on small arms, which folds […]

The Keen-Walker Carbine – A Simple Confederate Breechloader

October 9, 2017 Ian McCollum 12

Little is known about the Keen-Walker Gun Company, except for a few Confederate arsenal records that have survived. From those we know that the company delivered a total of 282 of these single-shot .54 caliber […]

Astra 902: Because More Rounds Are Better

October 8, 2017 Ian McCollum 8

The Spanish Astra firm introduced its C96 Mauser lookalike, the Model 900, in 1927 to take advantage of the strong Chinese demand for that type of handgun. When Bestigui Hermanos introduced a select-fire machine pistol […]

MG-34: The Universal Machine Gun Concept

October 7, 2017 Ian McCollum 59

The MG34 was the first German implementation of the universal machine gun concept – and really the first such fielded by any army. The idea was to have a single weapon which could be used […]

Colt Monitor: The First Official FBI Fighting Rifle

October 5, 2017 Ian McCollum 33

The Colt Monitor was Colt’s improved version os the Browning Automatic Rifle intended for the law enforcement market. Colt had the sales rights to the BAR in North and South American (as well as a […]

Kurdish Zagros and Şer Anti-Materiel Rifles

October 4, 2017 Ian McCollum 27

Thanks to correspondent Ed Nash (he gave me permission to use his name after I had recorded the video), I have a number of really interesting photos and video clips of YPG (Kurdish) locally-produced anti-materiel […]

British “Life Buoy” WWII Flamethrower

October 3, 2017 Ian McCollum 11

One of the the flamethrower design styles to come out of experimentation late in World War One was the toroid type, with a donut-shaped fuel tank and a central spherical pressure bottle. The British continued […]

Phillips & Rodgers M47 Medusa: Multicaliber Revolver for a Nonexistent Apocalypse

October 2, 2017 Ian McCollum 29

The Phillips & Rodgers M47 Medusa is a mechanically very interesting firearm; a revolver that can chamber basically any cartridge with a 9mm bullet diameter and an overall length no longer than a .357 Magnum. […]

Book Review: Pistolas y Subfusiles de la República Producción de Guerra

October 1, 2017 Ian McCollum 13

“Pistolas y Subfusiles de la República Producción de Guerra” is a new 580-page reference book about the pistols and submachine guns made in the Republican zone during the Spanish Civil War. It is written by […]

Shooting the Yugoslav M84 PKM: Arguably the Best GPMG

September 30, 2017 Ian McCollum 33

If I could have any one machine gun (but only one), it would be a PKM – in my experience thus far, this is the best universal machine gun that has been designed. Kalashnikov’s […]