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. […]

Late-Production Degtyarev PPD 34/38 at the Range

October 22, 2022 Ian McCollum 12

A crash program to produce the PPD 34/38 after the initial battles of the Winter War, even as the improved PPD 40 was being rapidly developed. These are very rare gun today, and we have […]

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 […]

Colt Model 621: An Attempt at an AR-Style Export SAW

October 20, 2022 Ian McCollum 50

During the 1970s and 1980s, Colt wanted to sell not just standard M16 rifle and CAR-15 carbines to foreign military customers, but also wanted to supply support weapons. They put together the Model 621, aka […]

Older Gun With Newer Ammo: A Centerfire Winchester 1866

October 19, 2022 Ian McCollum 11

The Winchester 1866 was chambered for the .44 Henry rimfire cartridge, like the Henry rifle before it. Before too long, however, centerfire ammunition began to take over as the best and most common type of […]

Valmet M76: Finland’s Stamped Receiver AK

October 18, 2022 Ian McCollum 14

Finland adopted the AK in 1962, as the m/62 – a milled receiver pattern. By the late 1960s the Valmet factory was experimenting with stamped receiver design to reduce costs. The first stamped Valmet rifle […]

Evolving the Cheek Pistol Concept: Calico M950

October 15, 2022 Ian McCollum 35

I have found the “cheek pistol” concept form Rhett Neumayer at Demonstrated Concepts to be pretty interesting. When I was thinking about what pistol designs might be suitable for this sort of use, the Calico […]