Germany - Forgotten Weapons

Ralf Dieckmann Interview

March 14, 2017 Ian McCollum 46

Ralf Dieckmann is a German-born firearms designer who grew up as a small child in Berlin during World War II. His interest in firearms developed in the post-war years with war detritus literally lying about […]

Wheellock 101: History and Shooting (Video)

March 11, 2017 Ian McCollum 24

The wheel lock was one of the first types of early gun or firearm, developed as an alternative to the simple but problematic matchlock musket. The wheellock uses an iron pyrite set against a spinning […]

Schwarzlose 1901 Toggle-Delayed Prototype (Video)

March 10, 2017 Ian McCollum 42

https://youtu.be/ddNsrxe4ddY Andreas Schwarzlose was a German designer who created several very interesting and unusual handgun designs (in addition to his 1907 heavy machine gun, which was adopted as a standard arm of the Austro-Hungarian military). […]

Walther WA-2000 (Video)

March 8, 2017 Ian McCollum 29

The Walther WA-2000 has a reputation of being the ultimate German sniper rifle, with no expense spared in its design and construction. Designed in the aftermath of the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre, the WA2000 was […]

Shooting an MP-40 (Video)

February 21, 2017 Ian McCollum 22

Just a bit of shooting with an MP40 at an indoor range, courtesy of Hill & Mac Gunworks.

Book Review: The Schmeisser Myth by Martin Helebrant

February 17, 2017 Ian McCollum 20

“The Schmeisser Myth: German Submachine Guns Through Two World Wars” is a newly published history of SMG development from the Villar Perosa and MP18 through the MP38 and MP40, written by Martin Helebrant. Given that […]

Bergman 1920s Trials Prototype Pistol

January 20, 2017 Ian McCollum 28

This was, as far as I can tell, the final iteration of the Bergmann pistols, developed by AEP in Liege for potential military contracts. It retains the locking system of the 1910 pattern pistol, but […]

Carl Ehbet’s Gas Operated Bergmann?

January 19, 2017 Ian McCollum 43

I got a really interesting patent in my mail recently, from Othais at C&Rsenal. It’s and idea clearly based on a Bergmann 1894 or 1896 pattern pistol, but instead of being blowback it uses a […]

Bergmann 1908, 1910, and 1910/21 Pistols

January 18, 2017 Ian McCollum 20

By the time Bergmann found a production subcontractor in AEP for the Spanish order of 1903 Bergmann pistol, the Spanish had added a few new changes to their order, which became known as the Model […]

Magnificent Engraved Bergmann Pistols

January 16, 2017 Ian McCollum 9

Today we are taking a brief side trip in Bergmann development to look at a couple of magnificent engraved Bergmann pistols – specifically, a pair of model 1896 No.3s, a Bergmann Mars 1903, and a […]