Video - Forgotten Weapons

1895 Daudeteau Series S Indochina Trials Carbine

July 10, 2017 Ian McCollum 24

Louis Marie Daudeteau was a persistent and prolific arms designer in France in the late 19th century. Born in 1845, he gained substantial military experience in the Franco-Prussian War, and afterwards turned to weapons design. […]

Book Review: Weapon of Choice by Dr. Matthew Ford

July 9, 2017 Ian McCollum 11

It may look like an airport bookshop thriller, but don’t let the cover fool you – Dr. Matthew Ford’s “Weapon of Choice” is a seriously rigorous academic study of the military small arms adoption process. […]

WW1 Rifle Mud Covers: Lebel & Gewehr 98

July 8, 2017 Ian McCollum 20

Given the prevalence of muddy horrible trenches in World War 1, why didn’t anybody design dust covers to protect the actions of their combat rifles? Well, they actually did… and today we are looking at […]

Final Prices: Rock Island June 2017

July 7, 2017 Ian McCollum 3

Final prices from the last RIA regional auction (June 2017).

Thorpe EM-1: A Bullpup Take on the Roller Locked Gerat 06

July 6, 2017 Ian McCollum 51

Armament Research Services (ARES) is a specialist technical intelligence consultancy, offering expertise and analysis to a range of government and non-government entities in the arms and munitions field. For detailed photos of the guns in […]

French Winchester 94: A Backup Arm for Fliers and Drivers

July 4, 2017 Ian McCollum 38

The French military during World War One used a number of American-made small arms, including both the Winchester Self-Loader and the Winchester Model 1894. A total of 15,100 Model 94s were purchased by France in […]

Book Review: Paul Mauser – His Life, Company, and Handgun Development 1838 – 1914

July 2, 2017 Ian McCollum 9

The new book on Paul Mauser from Mauro Baudino and Gerben van Vlimmeren is an excellent exploration through the labyrinthine corners of the Mauser Archives. Written with an assumption that the audience will already have […]

PSM Shooting: 5.45x18mm vs 7.62x25mm on Soft Armor

July 1, 2017 Ian McCollum 32

Following up on yesterday’s history and disassembly of the PSM, today we are taking it out to the range for some shooting. In addition, wehave some generic Level IIIA soft body armor to test. We […]

Soviet PSM Pistol History: Really a KGB Assassination Gun?

June 30, 2017 Ian McCollum 37

The PSM is a Soviet pistol from the late 1970s which has gotten itself quite the fanciful reputation here in the US, thanks to extreme rarity and some imaginative magazine articles. Common lore would have […]

Lewis Short Recoil .45ACP Prototype Pistol

June 28, 2017 Ian McCollum 15

Isaac Newton Lewis is best known for the Lewis light machine gun, but that was not his only foray into firearms design. He also patented two different types of handguns – one gas operated and […]