Video - Forgotten Weapons

The History of Drop-In Auto Sears

December 17, 2022 Ian McCollum 19

When Colt decided to sell a semiauto-only civilian version of its AR-15 rifle, it had to make a number of changes to the design of the lower receiver to prevent full-auto fire control parts from […]

Ask Ian: What is Headspace? (And Why It Matters)

December 16, 2022 Ian McCollum 16

From LongBeef on Patreon: “What exactly is headspace? And how important is headspace in old milsurp guns vs. more modern guns?” Headspace is basically the amount of play a cartridge has in a chamber. There […]

Collier Reproductions and Fakes – Who and Why?

December 15, 2022 Ian McCollum 9

“Clockwork Basilisk: The Early Revolvers of Elisha Collier and Artemas Wheeler” is available right now for preorder on Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/headstamp/clockwork-basilisk?ref=4gzkeh Today I’m again joined by Professor Ben Nicholson, author of the newest Headstamp Publishing book, […]

PTRS 41: The Soviet Semiauto Antitank Rifle (aka an SKS on Steroids)

December 14, 2022 Ian McCollum 25

Prior to World War Two, the Soviet Union had a rather lackluster interest in antitank rifles – a series of guns were developed, but slowly and without all that much success. The Barbarossa invasion gave […]

RWGL-1: A Hybrid PM63/Mosin Gas Launcher

December 13, 2022 Ian McCollum 4

When Polish workers held massive protests in Poznań against the communist Polish government in 1956, the Army was sent in to quell the unrest. In the aftermath of these events, the government decided to create […]

Art and Engineering: Field Stripping a Second Model Collier

December 12, 2022 Ian McCollum 9

“Clockwork Basilisk: The Early Revolvers of Elisha Collier and Artemas Wheeler” is available right now for preorder on Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/headstamp/clockwork-basilisk?ref=1n89n0 Courtesy of esteemed collector Frank Graves, Professor Ben Nicholson and I are disassembling a gorgeous […]

Japan’s Weaponized WW2 Opium Cigarettes

December 11, 2022 Ian McCollum 39

Pre-order your copy of Tobacco of the Emperor today! Patrick Phillips is back with me today to discuss the very real Japanese tactic of smuggling opium-laced cigarettes into China in an effort to undermine Chinese […]

CZ Bren 2 “PDW” at the Range

December 10, 2022 Ian McCollum 8

After a lot of requests from law enforcement and military organizations, CZ developed a collapsing buttstock for the Bren 2 rifle. It requires a different upper receiver than the standard Bren 2, although that upper […]

Vektor Mini-SS: South Africa’s Answer to the FN Minimi

December 9, 2022 Ian McCollum 37

While under international embargo and at war in the late 1970s, South Africa needed a new 7.62mm GPMG. The answer was Vektor’s SS77, a design which would replace the FN MAG in South African service […]

Colt vs Collier: Patents Lawsuits and Lawyers Oh My!

December 8, 2022 Ian McCollum 13

“Clockwork Basilisk: The Early Revolvers of Elisha Collier and Artemas Wheeler” is available right now for preorder on Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/headstamp/clockwork-basilisk?ref=7zdbzu Most of the historical recognition of Elisha Collier comes from the 1851 and 1852 patent […]