Italy - Forgotten Weapons

Danish Gevaer m/50 – An American Gun Made in Italy

April 4, 2018 Ian McCollum 23

Dozens of countries around the world received M1 Garand rifles from the United States in the decades after World War Two, and Denmark was one of those that not only got some rifle but went […]

Italy’s Sleeper Submachine Gun: The Beretta 38A

March 16, 2018 Ian McCollum 27

The Beretta 38A is not a gun that comes to mind for many people today when discussing World War Two submachine guns, but at the time it was one of the most desirable guns of […]

SITES Spectre: Think of it as an SMG, not a pistol

February 8, 2018 Ian McCollum 30

The SITES Spectre was originally developed by the SITES company (Societa Italiana a Technologie Speciali SPA) of Torino to be the best police and counterterrorist submachine gun on the market. To this end, they studied […]

Pietta’s PPS/50 – A Popular PPSh Plinker

January 29, 2018 Ian McCollum 21

Introduced by the Italian Pietta company in the 1970s (yes, the same Pietta that makes all those reproduction Old West revolvers and lever action rifles), the PPS/50 has been a continuously popular firearm for more […]

The Jet Li Maneuver: Beretta Disassembly at Gunpoint

January 23, 2018 Ian McCollum 48

In Lethal Wespon IV, Jet Li’s character is caught at gunpoint by Mel Gibson’s character…until he turns the tables by stripping the slide right off Gibson’s Beretta 92FS. I wonder how feasible that really is? […]

Italian Trials Czech ZK-391 Semiauto Rifle

December 30, 2017 Ian McCollum 31

The ZK-391 is one in a series of Czech developmental semiautomatic rifles designed by Josef Koucký. It was developed initially in 1939 (hence the “39” in the designation), and was tested by the Italian military […]

BM59: The Italian M14

October 25, 2017 Ian McCollum 27

After World War Two, both the Beretta and Breda companies in Italy began manufacturing M1 Garand rifles. When Italy decided that they wanted a more modern selective-fire, magazine-fed rifle, they chose to adapt the M1 […]

Arsenal AF2011: A Double Barreled 1911 Monster Pistol

September 4, 2017 Ian McCollum 15

The Arsenal AF2011 began as a manufacturing proof of concept, to showcase the technical ability of the company making it (their prior experience was largely in exquisite miniature firearms). It was introduced to the public […]

The Italian Last-Ditch TZ-45 Submachine Gun

August 25, 2017 Ian McCollum 27

The TZ-45 is a late-war (some might say last ditch) Italian submachine gun made in small numbers and notable primarily for being the first SMG to use a grip safety on the magazine well. The […]

Costa Rican Breda PG: The First Burst-Fire Rifle

August 11, 2017 Ian McCollum 37

The Breda PG (“Presa Gas” – Gas Operated) was developed by Sestilio Fiorini in 1931 and put into production at Breda’s factory in Rome. It was offered as a weapon for commercial sale and export, […]