• Contact Ian
  • YouTube
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
Forgotten Weapons

Support Forgotten Weapons

Enjoy what you read on Forgotten Weapons? Please consider supporting me on Utreon or checking out our new Merchandise Shop! Thanks!
  • Home
  • Special Collections
    • M1 Carbine Development
    • M1 Garand Development
    • Bergmann Automatic Pistols
    • Carbine Williams and Winchester
  • Handguns
    • Machine Pistols
    • Revolvers
    • Semi-Auto Pistols
  • Shotguns
  • Rifles
    • Anti-Tank Rifles
    • Bolt-Action Rifles
    • Lever-Action Rifles
    • Revolving Rifle
    • Select Fire Rifles
    • Semi-Auto Rifles
    • Single Shot Rifles
    • Sniper Rifles
  • Machine Guns
    • Aircraft MGs
    • GPMGs
    • HMGs
    • LMGs
    • Manual Machine Guns
    • SMGs
  • Other
    • Accessories
    • Ammunition
    • Artillery
    • Biographies
    • Book Reviews
    • Cannon
    • Flamethrowers
    • Flare Guns
    • Interviews
    • Q & A
    • Rocket Launchers
    • Tours
  • Shop
HomeFrance

France

Revolver

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 […]

Antiques

Delhaxhe “Apache”: The Other French Knife-Knuckle-Gun

January 17, 2022 Ian McCollum 21

Long associated with Parisian street gangs called “Apaches” (after the American Indian tribe), there were two main patterns of combination knife/knuckle/firearm made in the mid/late 1800s in France. This one was designed by J. Delhaxhe, […]

Interview

Christian Prouteau on the FR-F1 Rifle

January 5, 2022 Ian McCollum 20

My interview with Christian Prouteau focused on the MR-73 revolver and how his men in GIGN trained with it. However, I did also ask him about the FR-F1 rifles, and figured I would separate that […]

Shotgun

Mystery Shotgun With a Very Unusual Action

December 20, 2021 Ian McCollum 19

This is a commercial pump-action shotgun manufactured in France and proofed at the St Etienne proof house. I know basically nothing else of its provenance, including who designed it, who sold it (although I would […]

Interview

Rigor, Discipline, and Excellence: Christian Prouteau on GIGN Training and the MR-73

December 16, 2021 Ian McCollum 25

https://youtu.be/klK_tHy_PdA I am honored today to be able to bring you an interview with Christian Prouteau, the founder and original leader of GIGN. This is France’s premier elite counter-terrorism force, who have been at the […]

Competition

Desert Brutality 2021 Day 2: Catastrophe and Redemption

December 4, 2021 Ian McCollum 10

When we left off yesterday, I had a perfect streak going with my FR-F2, but the choice of a .357 revolver for a Brutality match was looking pretty questionable. Well, we’ve got our more stages […]

Competition

Desert Brutality 2021 Day 1: Glory and Heartbreak

December 3, 2021 Ian McCollum 10

It’s time for Desert Brutality 2021! This match is a bit different from previous Brutality matches; it required three guns: pistol, rifle, and precision rifle. I chose to enter the Cold War division (all guns […]

Bolt Action Rifles

ASAC Presentation: Development of French Military Repeating Rifles

December 2, 2021 Ian McCollum 11

At the Fall 2021 meeting of the American Society of Arms Collectors, I had the opportunity to make a presentation on the development of French military repeating rifles. The story begins with the Mle 1874 […]

Bolt Action Rifles

FR-F2 French Sniper Rifle at the Range

November 27, 2021 Ian McCollum 9

Today I’ve taken the FR-F2 to the range to try it out. I’m using the early French Army scope, an APX L806-04. This is a 3.85x optic basically modeled on the German WW2 ZF-4. It […]

Bolt Action Rifles

The French FR-F2: Best of the Cold War Sniper Rifles

November 26, 2021 Ian McCollum 24

In 1986, the French Army adopted the FR-F2 (Fusil à Répétition F2) as its standard sniper rifle. The F2 was never manufactured new; it was an improvement made on existing FR-F1 rifle by giving them […]

Posts navigation

« 1 2 3 … 29 »

Our Awesome Sponsors!

Forgotten Weapons Merch!

Shirts, jackets, hats, and much more!
Sites we enjoy reading
  • British Royal Armouries
  • GunLab
  • Historical Firearms (Tumblr)
  • Joel's Gulch
  • MicroBalrog’s Soviet Outpost
  • View From the Porch
  • VolkStudio Blog
  • Vuurwapen Blog
Research Sites
  • American Society of Arms Collectors
  • Artillery Luger
  • C&Rsenal
  • Carbines for Collectors
  • Gothia Arms Historical Society
  • GunPictures.net
  • James Julia auction archive
  • Manowar's Hungarian Weapons & History
  • Milsurps.com
  • Modern Firearms
  • Municion.org
  • Old Colts
  • Pistols of the German Wehrmacht
  • The Paul Mauser Archive
  • The Spanish Civil War Mosin Nagant
  • Unblinking Eye
What I’m Currently Reading
Subscribe to Forgotten Weapons via Email

Enter your email address to receive notifications of new posts by email.

Contact Us

Forgotten Weapons

6281 N. Oracle #36270
Tucson, AZ 85704

© 2023 Forgotten Weapons.
Site developed by Cardinal Acres Web Development.