Video - Forgotten Weapons

North Korean Type 73: A PK That Uses Both Mags and Belts

February 18, 2022 Ian McCollum 28

Many of the small arms developed in North Korea show substantial Czechoslovakian influence, and the Type 73 machine gun is no exception. Based on the concept of the Czech 52/57 light machine gun, the Type […]

Nordic Cooperation: The Swedish M96 in Finnish Service

February 16, 2022 Ian McCollum 19

One of the significant foreign rifles in Finnish service during the Winter War and Continuation War was the Swedish M96 Mauser. These rifles began arriving in Finland even before Finland’s independence, and in 1919 the […]

Bren 2: CZ Refines Every Aspect of the 805

February 14, 2022 Ian McCollum 18

Launched in 2016, the Bren 2 was a significant upgrade program over the original Bren 805 rifle. In addition to being offered in both 5.56mm and 7.62x39mm with user-changeable barrels, the Bren 2 was […]

I Tried to Use the GR-1 Anvil at the BUG Match…

February 12, 2022 Ian McCollum 29

So, I took the GR-1 to this month’s Backup Gun Match…but all did not go as I’d hoped. We blew a fuse in the gun (it is still an alpha prototype, remember), and were not […]

The Reality of Gauss Rifles and Coil Guns w/ David Wirth of Arcflash Labs

February 9, 2022 Ian McCollum 34

David Wirth is one of the founders of Arcflash Labs, a small company developing “ultra-high energy pulsed power supplies”, which have applications in a variety of fields – but today we are talking about electromagnetic […]

Bren 805: A Rifle for the Post-Communist Czech Army

February 7, 2022 Ian McCollum 34

With the Velvet Revolution and the fall of communism in Czechoslovakia, a new Czech Republic immediately looked to NATO membership. This would require rearming the Czech Army with a rifle in 5.56mm NATO. After some […]

Alien vs Spinner: Round 2 (Now With Less Fail!)

February 5, 2022 Ian McCollum 11

Time for another practice session on the spinner…I am improving! This time, I stopped trying to make double taps, and focused instead on getting a single properly timed hit at each presentation. Hitting twice is […]

Le Redoutable: A Double-Barrel 20-Shot Revolver

February 3, 2022 Ian McCollum 40

“Manufrance” was the common abbreviated name for Manufacture d’Armes et Cycles de Saint Etienne, a massive mail-order catalog company in France for many decades. Like Sears Roebuck in the United States, one could get pretty […]

Amsterdam Police Carbine: 8mm Mauser for the Carbine/SMG Squad

February 2, 2022 Ian McCollum 27

In the wake of World War Two, much of Europe was awash in small arms – but there were still organizations looking to purchase new arms rather than use the available surplus. The Gemeentepolitie Amsterdam […]

The Short-Lived Suomi SMG for Armored Vehicle Mounts

January 31, 2022 Ian McCollum 14

Prior to the Winter War, Finland had just a few armored vehicles; mostly armored cars. These needed some armament, and one idea put forth was to fit an m/31 Suomi to a ball mount inside […]