Commentary
Battle Rifles of World War Two: Overview
Today we are going to take a look at the three main battle rifles of World War Two – the M1 Garand, the SVT-40, and the Gewehr 43. We will also consider the SVT-38, Gewehr […]
Germany
Semiauto pistol
Adventures in Surplus: From German Imperial Navy to Ethiopia
I really enjoy finding guns that can be positively traced through multiple different parts of history, and Lugers can be a great source for that sort of story. Today I have a Luger from Royal […]
Machine pistol
Mauser Schnellfeuer: The Official Full Auto C96 Broomhandle
Contrary to what you might expect, Mauser was actually the last company to produce a fully automatic model of the C96 “broomhandle” pistol. The C96 was very popular in China (Mauser sent hundreds of thousands […]
Handgun
HK P11: NATO’s Secret Underwater Pistol
0:00 Introduction and History of Underwater Firearms 0:55 Engineering Challenges and Russian Underwater Firearms 2:07 Development, Adoption, and Global Usage of the H&K P11 3:36 Examination of H&K P11: Fired Barrel Cluster and Firing Mechanics […]
Reproduction
Introducing the BD-38: A New Production Copy of the German MP-38
There has never been a proper semiauto version of the MP40 available in the US, until now. SSD (Sport-Systeme Dittrich) is a German company that has been making semiauto copies of German WW2 small arms […]
Commentary
The Post-War Legacy of the FG42
If the FG-42 was such a great gun, then why didn’t it get used after the war? Well, two answers… 1) It was crazy expensive to make and there weren’t very many lying around for […]
Select-fire Rifles
Original FG42: A Detailed Comparison of the 1st and 2nd Patterns
Today we are looking at examples of the 1st pattern (Type E) and second pattern (Type G) FG42, comparing their construction and disassembling both to get a close look at the internal differences. Despite sharing […]
Semiauto pistol
USPSA with a 105-Year-Old Artillery Luger Rig
Get Entered to WIN this legendary Artillery Luger rig! DEADLINE to ENTER is 07/28/23 @ 11:59pm (PST). Today I’m taking an original (made in 1918) Artillery Luger rig out to a 6-stage USPSA match. I’m […]
Select-fire Rifles
Rearming West Germany: The G1 FAL
Today we are taking a look at a German G1 pattern FAL. The initial purchased of the G1 were actual made by the German Border Guard (the Bundesgrenschutz). In the aftermath of World War Two, […]
Light MGs
Last Gasp of the German Maxim: the Air-Cooled MG 08/18
The MG 08/18 was developed at the very end of World War One as a lighter alternative to the MG 08/15. It used an air-cooled barrel, and between not needing water and having lighter parts […]