Video - Forgotten Weapons

Guns for the Pope’s Police: Mazzocchi Pinfire Revolver

January 22, 2024 Ian McCollum 14

The revolver we are looking at today is a 9mm pinfire revolver adopted for the Papal Gendarmerie in 1868. At that time, the Papal States controlled roughly the same amount of territory as Switzerland today, […]

Heckfire by ShootingSight: The Best Trigger for H&K & Clone Rifles (9mm / 5.56 / 7.62)

January 21, 2024 Ian McCollum 8

Available direct from the manufacturer: HECKFIRE 2-STAGE TRIGGER FOR MP-5, MP-5K, PDW, HK 91/93/94, G3, CLONES One of the shortcomings of H&K roller-delayed long guns has always been their triggers. As they come form the […]

The 1950 Marketing Contest to Name the S&W Chiefs Special

January 19, 2024 Ian McCollum 2

Today we’re taking a look at a Smith & Wesson Chiefs Special, but not just any Chiefs Special. This is serial number 29, factory engraved and gifted to Chief Edward Book of Passaic New Jersey […]

MAS-49 Carabine Mitrailleuse: A French Prototype Lever-Delayed Assault Rifle

January 17, 2024 Ian McCollum 35

When France was developing it’s new suite of small arms in the late 1940s, there was a debate over whether to adopt an intermediate-power cartridge or retain the full-power 7.5x54mm round for the infantry rifle. […]

Hammerli FK-31: Diopter Competition Rifles for the Haganah

January 15, 2024 Ian McCollum 2

In 1949, Israel was still fighting its war of independence, and purchasing arms internationally was difficult to do. The recently-formalized IDF wanted sniper rifles, and looked to Hammerli in Switzerland for a variant of the […]

Historical What-If: The CAR-15 SD

January 14, 2024 Ian McCollum 4

What is the MP5 was never adopted, and instead the vented barrel and telescoping silencer used by the SD model was instead developed for the AR-15? Broad River Tactical thought it would be fun to […]

Hi-Point YC-9 Yeet Cannon at the BUG Match

January 13, 2024 Ian McCollum 10

Hi-Point finally released their double-stack YC-9 Yeet Cannon a few months ago, and they sent me one to try out so I figured I’d take it to the monthly BackUp Gun Match. The new YC-9 […]

Cape Esperance and the Japanese Evacuation of Guadalcanal

January 12, 2024 Ian McCollum 0

Today we return to Guadalcanal, to the site of the last actuals of the campaign. For the Japanese, the defeat at Edson’s Ridge (aka Bloody Ridge) forced a disastrous and uncoordinated retreat into the jungle. […]

SVT-40: The Soviet Standard Semiauto from WW2

January 10, 2024 Ian McCollum 10

The Red Army was interested in developing a semiautomatic rifle clear back to the mid 1920s, and they spent about 15 years running trials and development programs to find one. First in 1930 a Degtyarev […]

Beecher’s Bible: A Sharps 1853 from John Brown’s Raid on Harpers Ferry

January 8, 2024 Ian McCollum 63

On October 16, 1859 John Brown and 19 men left the Kennedy farmhouse and made their way a few miles south to the Harpers Ferry Arsenal. They planned to seize the Arsenal and use its […]