Uncategorized
Overview of French Gun Laws
Today I am joined by my friend Edouard for a discussion of French gun laws, as part of our continuing series on how firearms laws vary across the world. The French system is, shall we […]
France
Uncategorized
Forgotten History: Vercors – the Climactic Battle of the French Resistance
The imposing heights of the Vercors Massif form a very impressive natural defensive position in the southeastern corner of France. It was here that the French Resistance had its largest set piece battle against German […]
Light MGs
Mythbusting with the .30-06 American Chauchat: Reliability Test
Everyone knows, of course, that the Chauchat is the worst gun ever, and can’t normally get through an entire magazine without malfunctioning. Well, let’s try that out…and with an ever worse culprit; an M1918 Chauchat […]
Uncategorized
Forgotten History: The Underground Hell of Fort Vaux
With the surprise capture of Fort Douaumont in February 1916, the French reinforced all the remaining forts around the city of Verdun, and would hold them all successfully for many months. In fact, the only […]
Bolt Action Rifles
Shooting the Berthier Cuirassier Carbine
The Cuirassier carbine is one of the very scarcest versions of the Berthier in the world, yet Patrick here is going to let me shoot a few rounds through his. My target is a steel […]
Semiauto Rifles
Gevarm A6: An Open Bolt Semiauto .22 Sporting Rifle
Gevarm, a gunmaking offshoot of the Gevelot cartridge company, produced a line of open-bolt semiautomatic rimfire sporting rifles from the early 1960s until 1995. This is an A6 model, the base type. It is chambered […]
Prototype
Ribeyrolles 1918 – France’s First Assault Rifle or a Failed Prototype?
Paul Ribeyrolles was the manager of the Gladiator bicycle factory, and by 1918 he had significant experience in small arms design, having been a core member of the team that designed and built the 1915 […]
Bolt Action Rifles
A Book and a Rifle: The Vercors Resistance in WWII
One of the single largest actions of the French Resistance during World War Two was Operation Montagnards – the plan to drop about 4,000 Allied paratroops onto the Vercors Massif when the resistance was activated […]
Light MGs
M1918 Chauchat: First Shots (Will It Work?)
This M1918 Chauchat is still awaiting NFA transfer, but my dealer was able to bring it out to a public range where I could do some initial testing on it. I was expecting to get […]
Video
French Rifle Markings Tutorial with Patrick Hernandez
Patrick Hernandez is a noted collector of French rifles here in the US, and a moderator of several French firearm discussion channels – so when it comes to deciphering the markings on a French […]