Australia - Forgotten Weapons

Too Late and Not Much Better: the Austen Mk II SMG

September 12, 2019 Ian McCollum 14

The story of the Austen submachine gun did not end when the Mk I guns were pulled from combat service in 1944. The manufacturer continued to work on an improved version, which would be ready […]

The Diggers’ Dismay: Austen Mk I SMG

September 11, 2019 Ian McCollum 20

When World War Two began, Australia saw little threat of invasion from Germany (obviously), and sent a substantial number of firearms to Britain to help arm the Home Guard there, which was seriously concerned about […]

Local Boy Saves Nation: The Australian Owen SMG

May 8, 2019 Ian McCollum 46

The One submachine gun is one of the ugliest SMGs ever designed, and yet also one of the most beloved by its users. The original basis for the gun was a .22 rimfire submachine gun […]

Australian Experimental Jungle Carbines at James D Julia

March 24, 2017 Ian McCollum 9

In 1943, experimentation began in Great Britain, Canada, and Australia into developing a shortened and lightened version of the Lee Enfield rifle. In Australia, the work was done on the No1 Mk3* rifle, as the […]

Vektor H5 Pump Action Galil

November 3, 2016 Ian McCollum 22

This Vektor H5 is one of a handful or semiauto rifles converted to pump action for sale in countries where self-loading rifles are or were restricted (another example is the PAR-3 Romanian pump action AKs […]

Q&A Video #1: H&K G11, Owen, F1, Worst Gun Ever, and More!

October 8, 2015 Ian McCollum 32

As part of my new fundraising system on Patreon, I am starting a monthly Q&A video series, answering questions from Patreon contributors. The support from you folks is a tremendous help to me in running […]

Andrews Machine Carbine

January 24, 2014 Ian McCollum 77

I’m flattered to say that we received another research question from the Pattern Room, and a bit dejected to say that once again it was something I couldn’t provide a good answer to. However, the […]

Vintage Saturday: The Owen Gun Dance

March 30, 2013 Ian McCollum 37

Thanks to Mike S. for the photo!

The Australian Owen SMG

March 25, 2013 Ian McCollum 43

We shot this video a while back, and it’s not as complete as I would like – but it’s still a good intro to a post on the Australian Owen SMG… (and yes, I misspoke […]

Action Match Video: Leader T2 and Ballester Molina

February 18, 2013 Ian McCollum 11

I’m always up for the chance to put unusual guns through practical trials, so I jumped at the chance to try out the 2-Gun Action Challenge Match north of Tucson AZ this past weekend. For […]