Japan - Forgotten Weapons

Type 97: Kijiro Nambu Adapts the ZB-30 for Japanese Tanks

April 22, 2021 Ian McCollum 35

Introduced in 1937, the Type 97 was basically a copy of the ZB 26/30 pattern light machine gun adapted to use in Japanese tanks and armored cars. The adaptations included mounting an optical sight to […]

First Range Trip with a Type 96 Nambu LMG (I Think I’m in Love)

January 9, 2021 Ian McCollum 36

What goes into preparing a gun for filming? Function checking, zeroing, and generally building some familiarity. Today we will go through that process with a Japanese Type 96 Nambu LMG. Rather like some French guns, […]

High Speed Low Drag in the 30s: Arisaka QD Sling

June 16, 2020 Ian McCollum 6

People tend to think of quick-detach slings as the stuff of nylon and fast-ex buckles, but these things have actually been around for a long time. One example is this Japanese Arisaka sling. Using two […]

Japan’s Interim Handgun: The “Papa” Nambu

April 1, 2020 Ian McCollum 20

This is lot #646 in the upcoming RIA Premier Auction. It was scheduled for April, but has been postponed – check their web site for upcoming Online Only auctions every month, though! The pistol colloquially […]

The Truth About the Type 94 Nambu “Surrender Pistol”

February 25, 2020 Ian McCollum 23

If there is a historical military firearm out there as badly misunderstood as the Chauchat, it is probably the Type 94 Nambu pistol. Nambu designed this pistol with an exposed sear bar, which was not […]

Type 94 Nambu at the Backup Gun Match

February 22, 2020 Ian McCollum 18

The Type 94 Nambu pistol is best known for the exposed sear that allows it to be fired by pressing on the side of the gun. This is actually not really the safety issue it’s […]

AR-18 and AR-180: Can Lightning Strike Twice for Armalite?

November 13, 2019 Ian McCollum 45

The AR-18 has its genesis in the AR-10. I n an effort to develop a less expensive version of that rifle, Armalite created the AR-12, an experimental rifle which used a stamped or bent sheet […]

Japanese WW2 Training Machine Gun

October 25, 2019 Ian McCollum 15

This is Lot 2086 in the upcoming October 2019 Morphy Extraordinary auction. Before and during World War Two, the Japanese used a variety of training rifles and machine guns in both formal military instruction and […]

Shooting a Type 99 Nambu in 7.62mm NATO

February 2, 2019 Ian McCollum 49

Some older footage from the vault – this was a gun I bid on, but did not win. Didn’t want to have the whole audience thinking about bidding against me…but now that it’s been sold […]

North China Type 19: The Improved Nambu Pistol

November 15, 2018 Ian McCollum 13

This pistol sold for $8,625 at Rock Island on December 2, 2018. The North China Type 19 pistol (not to be confused with the North China Type 19 rifle) is an improvement on the Type […]