Video - Forgotten Weapons

Belgian Gendarmerie FAL Parts Kits from FN America

November 2, 2022 Ian McCollum 8

Someone digging through the warehouses an FN in Herstal found 400 FAL rifles turned in by the Belgian Gendarmerie when they upgraded to newer arms…and they decided to send them to the US as parts […]

Mauser WW1 Flyer’s Rifle: the Flieger Selbstlader Karabiner 1916

November 1, 2022 Ian McCollum 26

Paul Mauser dedicated much of his life to the development of a practical semiauto military rifle, and did manage to have a design that was used in combat by Germany in World War One. It […]

Futurama’s Lee Lemon Runs the MDP-9 (feat. John McClane)

October 31, 2022 Ian McCollum 5

It’s time for the annual Halloween PCC/shotgun match! By popular demand, I went as Futurama’s Lee Lemon this year, with the Angstadt Arms MDP-9 PCC. Since the last time I was shooting it, I’ve gotten […]

Beretta 38/42 at the Range

October 29, 2022 Ian McCollum 28

The pre-war Beretta Model 38A was a magnificent SMG, but it included a fair number of fancy elements that would prove to costly to justify once wartime production needs grew. Beretta would simplify the design […]

Beretta 38/42: Simplified But Still Excellent

October 28, 2022 Ian McCollum 5

The Beretta Model 38A was an outstanding SMG at the beginning of World War Two, loaded with features and very easy to shoot. However, it was expensive and complex to produce, and pressures of war […]

Water-Cooled .50s: The US Navy Mk22 Pedestal Mount

October 27, 2022 Ian McCollum 16

In 1942, the US Navy adopted the Mk22 Pedestal mount, which fitted a pair of water-cooled Browning M2 machine guns (one left-hand feed and one right-hand). It was used for antiaircraft use primarily, and was […]

Rogers & Spencer .44 Army: Possibly the Best Civil War Revolver

October 26, 2022 Ian McCollum 15

Amos Rogers and Julius Spencer ran a company making mostly farm equipment in the 1840s and 1850s. In 1859, they took on a firearms manufacturing contract (as mechanical fabrication companies often do) to make Pettengill […]

USMC Johnson LMG at the Range

October 25, 2022 Ian McCollum 11

The Johnson LMG was adopted by the US Marine Corps for specialist units like Paramarines and Raiders, and saw use in some of the fiercest island campaign of the Pacific (in addition to use in […]

Forgotten Web Gear: Johnson LMG Magazine Backpack

October 24, 2022 Ian McCollum 8

While the Johnson LMG was issued in limited quantities throughout World War Two, notably to Marine Raiders, Paramarines, and the 1st Special Service Force, the US never issued web gear made for its uniquely-sized magazines. […]

The Soviet Union Adopts an SMG: Degtyarev’s PPD-34/38

October 21, 2022 Ian McCollum 28

The Soviet Union adopted its first submachine gun in 1935 after trials of some 14 different design in 1932/33. The winner of the trials was Vasily Degtyarev, once of the Soviet Union’s most prolific firearms […]