Russia - Forgotten Weapons

Everything Wrong with the Sniper Rifles in “Enemy at the Gates”

February 7, 2024 Ian McCollum 17

One of the very few blockbuster American movies about the Eastern Front in World War Two is Enemy at the Gates, a film about the Soviet sniper Vasily Zaitsev. The movie is based around a […]

Battle Rifles of World War Two: Overview

January 26, 2024 Ian McCollum 63

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 […]

2-Gun on the Elbe: SVT40 vs M1 Garand

January 20, 2024 Ian McCollum 11

Today I’m taking an SVT-40 to the monthly 2-Gun Action Challenge Match, and I’m joined by my friend Tom shooting an M1 Garand. We’re both using moderately accurate gear, and so naturally I have a […]

SVT-40: The Soviet Standard Semiauto from WW2

January 10, 2024 Ian McCollum 10

The Red Army was interested in developing a semiautomatic rifle clear back to the mid 1920s, and they spent about 15 years running trials and development programs to find one. First in 1930 a Degtyarev […]

Overview of Soviet Military Handguns: Nagant, Tokarev, Makarov

December 22, 2023 Ian McCollum 16

Today we are looking at an overview of Soviet military service sidearms. This begins with the Model 1895 Nagant revolver, inherited from the Czarist Russian Army. The Nagant was adopted as the standard Red Army […]

PMM: Russia’s Modernized Makarov (Now With 50% More Mag Capacity!)

December 16, 2023 Ian McCollum 4

Having served as the standard Soviet military sidearm for several decades, the PM Makarov was getting a bit obsolescent by the late 1980s. More of the world was using locked breech, 9x19mm service pistols but […]

The Pointless (and Dangerous) “Spetznaz” Makarov Holster

December 12, 2023 Ian McCollum 12

Today we have a look at the EFA-2k Makarov holster that was “made for Spetznaz”. I am extremely skeptical that any Spetznaz operator ever actually deployed with one of these things, though. It’s a holster […]

VSS Vintorez: Russia’s Silent Sniper Rifle

December 11, 2023 Ian McCollum 13

The VSS (Special Sniper Rifle) Vintorez was one of two dedicated silenced rifles developed in Russia in the 1980s. The Vintorez was given a very good barrel and intended for precision shooting, while the AS […]

Makarov: The Soviets Adopt Some Weird Proprietary Caliber

December 6, 2023 Ian McCollum 36

The Makarov, designed by Nikolay Makarov, was the Soviet Union’s new post-WW2 handgun. The whole Soviet small arms suite was changed in the late 1940s and early 1950s, and the Makarov was intended to address […]

Soviet World War Two Swords? The Cossack M1927 Shashka

November 10, 2023 Ian McCollum 1

Cossack forces have long been a key cavalry element of the Russian military, and this did not change during the Soviet era. The Cossacks had their own rather distinctive style of sword, the shashka, and […]