Video - Forgotten Weapons

Knoble .22 Rimfire Prototype Pistol at James D Julia

March 27, 2017 Ian McCollum 16

W.E. Knoble of Tacoma, Washington is not a well-known gun designer, and was in fact not a successful gun designer. But he did enter a .45 caliber pistol in the 1907 US pistol trials, and […]

Hans Larsen’s Unique Falling Block Rifles at James D Julia

March 26, 2017 Ian McCollum 6

Hans Larsen was a very successful competitive marksman (World Champion, in fact) and gunsmith in Norway in the late 1800s. He, and later his company, made a wide variety of guns, from revolving rifles and […]

A Swarm of Angry Bees: The American 180 at James D Julia

March 25, 2017 Ian McCollum 37

The American 180 is a .22 rimfire submachine gun that fires at 1200-1500 rounds per minute or more, and feeds from drums of 177 to 275 rounds capacity. While it makes a great recreational machine […]

Australian Experimental Jungle Carbines at James D Julia

March 24, 2017 Ian McCollum 9

In 1943, experimentation began in Great Britain, Canada, and Australia into developing a shortened and lightened version of the Lee Enfield rifle. In Australia, the work was done on the No1 Mk3* rifle, as the […]

The M2 Carbine: Assault Rifle or Submachine Gun?

March 23, 2017 Ian McCollum 46

The M2 Carbine was a mechanically simple modification of the M1 Carbine to allow fully automatic fire. The fire prototypes of the M1 Carbine had actually been selective-fire guns, but that requirement had been dropped […]

Axel Peterson’s Complicated .22 Luger Conversion at James D Julia

March 21, 2017 Ian McCollum 17

Axel Peterson was a Swedish immigrant who became a very respected gunsmith in the Denver area in the late 1800s, and whose shop remained in business until World War 2. Peterson was best known for […]

Canadian Experimental Lightweight No4 Enfield at James D Julia

March 20, 2017 Ian McCollum 7

In 1943 the need for a lighter and handier version of the Lee Enfield rifle became clear throughout the British Commonwealth, and experimentation began in Canada, Britain, and Australia. The work in Britain would culminate […]

Shooting the Czech ZH-29 at James D Julia

March 19, 2017 Ian McCollum 12

The Czech ZH-29 is one of the first well developed semiauto military rifles – it was light, mechanically simple, reliable, and handled well, unlike many of its ungainly or excessively complicated predecessors. It only found […]

The Ultimate German Sniper Rifle: the H&K PSG-1 at James D Julia

March 18, 2017 Ian McCollum 22

Developed in the 1980s, the H&K PSG-1 is one of the most iconic sniper rifles in popular culture, with a reputation for unmatched accuracy. It is, in fact, an excellent rifle, and today we will […]

Poland’s Battle Rifle: the wz.38M at James D Julia

March 17, 2017 Ian McCollum 39

Had it not been for the German and Russian invasions in 1939, Poland might have entered the 1940s with a very modern semiauto infantry battle rifle – the wz.38M. Designed by Josef Maroszek (notably also […]