France - Forgotten Weapons

Shooting the Berthier Cuirassier Carbine

June 23, 2018 Ian McCollum 6

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 […]

Gevarm A6: An Open Bolt Semiauto .22 Sporting Rifle

May 26, 2018 Ian McCollum 58

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 […]

Ribeyrolles 1918 – France’s First Assault Rifle or a Failed Prototype?

May 22, 2018 Ian McCollum 12

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 […]

A Book and a Rifle: The Vercors Resistance in WWII

May 20, 2018 Ian McCollum 13

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 […]

M1918 Chauchat: First Shots (Will It Work?)

May 19, 2018 Ian McCollum 33

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 […]

French Rifle Markings Tutorial with Patrick Hernandez

May 10, 2018 Ian McCollum 8

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 […]

Testing 7.65mm French Long Ammo (Reed’s and Buffalo Arms)

April 26, 2018 Ian McCollum 36

I am on the search for suitable ammunition for the Mle 1935A and Mle 1935S French pistols, as well as my MAS-38 submachine gun. They are chambered for the 7.65mm French Long cartridge, aka […]

Remington Split Breech – Before It Was Famous

April 1, 2018 Ian McCollum 13

The Remington Rolling Block was one of the most widely successful and popular military rifles of the late 1800s, and its development began with the Remington Split Breech carbine during the American Civil War. The […]

Darne “Canardière Portatif” Shoulder-Fired Punt Gun

March 10, 2018 Ian McCollum 19

In the days when market hunting was a normal practice, hunters would use pretty huge shotguns to harvest large numbers of waterfowl. These were called punt guns, named after the small shallow-draft boats which they […]

A Rare World War One Sniper’s Rifle: Model 1916 Lebel

February 28, 2018 Ian McCollum 9

Unlike Great Britain and Germany, the French military never developed a formal sniper doctrine during World War One – they had no dedicated schools or instruction manuals for that specialty. The three major arsenals did […]