Video - Forgotten Weapons

James D. Julia: Orvill Robinson’s Innovative Rifles

March 4, 2016 Ian McCollum 28

Orvill Robinson was a gunsmith and gun designer in upstate New York who developed two rather interesting rifle designs in the 1870s. They are both pistol-caliber actions, with tubular magazines. The first (the 1870 model) […]

James D. Julia: LeMat Grapeshot Revolver Design Evolution

March 2, 2016 Ian McCollum 32

The LeMat grapeshot revolver is one of the most distinctive and powerful sidearms of the US Civil War, sporting both a 9-round .42 caliber cylinder of pistol bullets and a shotgun barrel as cylinder axis. […]

James D. Julia: WWI German Gewehr 98 Sniper

March 1, 2016 Ian McCollum 15

Germany was one of the first nations to really get into the sniping business during World War I, and this is an example of their sniper rifle of the period. The base rifle is a […]

James D. Julia: Johnson LMG History & Disassembly

February 29, 2016 Ian McCollum 31

The Johnson light machine gun is one of the lesser-known US military machine guns of WWII, although it seems to have been very popular with all those who used it in combat. Melvin Johnson made […]

James D. Julia: Sisterdale Texas Confederate Revolver

February 28, 2016 Ian McCollum 40

The Sisterdale revolver is one of the most original designs of the Confederate revolvers. It was devised by a group of Texans led by one Alfred Kapp, son of a German immigrant in Sisterdale, Texas. […]

James D. Julia: An Overview of 4-Bore Stopping Rifles

February 27, 2016 Ian McCollum 61

The 4-bore (approximately 1″/25mm bore diameter) is the largest shoulder-fired rifle actually used for hunting. Developed in the days of black powder muzzleloaders, it was intended to be the ultimate rifle of last resort, to […]

2-Gun Match: New Inland M1 Carbine

February 25, 2016 Ian McCollum 51

I had a chance to get my hands on one of the new-production M1 Carbines being sold by MKS Supply under the Inland trademark. These guns have gotten a lot of press recently, and I […]

WWI Trench Hand Weapons

February 24, 2016 Ian McCollum 98

Karl and I recently did some work with a wide selection of hand weapons from WWI (some original, some reproductions) for a video in collaboration with the excellent YouTube channel The Great War. Have a […]

RIA: Marlin 1897 Bicycle Rifle

February 23, 2016 Ian McCollum 33

Marlin’s 1892 lever action rifle in .22 rimfire caliber proved to be a very popular firearm, and so the company released an improved version in 1897, offered only as a rimfire takedown model. The 1897 […]

RIA: An Overview of the Pinfire Revolver System

February 22, 2016 Ian McCollum 21

The pinfire system was an early cartridge type which saw widespread use in Europe, but was not widely adopted in the United States. First invented by a French designer named Pauly, it was made commercially […]