South Africa

The Rhodesia Mamba: Big Hype and a Big Flop

September 28, 2018 Ian McCollum 2

The Mamba was originally conceived in a 1970s Salisbury, Rhodesia barroom bull session about the best elements of semiauto pistols. The project would wind up being pushed by an American expat named Joe Hale, and […]

Denel NTW 20: A Multi-Caliber Anti-Material Rifle

September 7, 2018 Ian McCollum 23

Created by noted South African gun designer Tony Neophytou, the NTW-20 is a bolt action anti-material rifle made in 20x82mm, 20x110mm, and 14.5x115mm. The weapon began as idea to use the large quantities of surplus […]

Musgrave Ambidex: Straight Pull Rimfire Rifle for Lefties or Righties

August 6, 2018 Ian McCollum 16

The Ambidex was a rifle developed by the Musgrave company in South Africa in the late 1980s. It was a straight-pull bolt action rifle inspired by the Browning T-Bolt, but with the ability to have […]

South African Galils: The R4, R5, R6, and LM Series

July 25, 2018 Ian McCollum 17

When South Africa decided to replace the R1 rifle (a metric FAL), they chose to adopt the Israeli Galil. Both nations had similar environmental issues with blowing sand (in northwestern South Africa particularly), and Israel […]

Overview of South African Gun Laws

July 12, 2018 Ian McCollum 14

Basic gun ownership in South Africa – what does it involve and how does it work? Dedicated collectors, sportsmen, and hunters? Self-dense and concealed carry? Well, when I was in South Africa I figured I’d […]

Dutch Farmers Against the Empire: ZAR Mausers of the Boer War

July 11, 2018 Ian McCollum 21

When the intercepted Jameson Raid made it clear to the governments of the ZAR (Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek; South African Republic) and the Orange Free State that war with Britain was imminent, a hasty armaments program was […]

Interview: Tony Neophytou (Neostead, Inkunzi PAW, NTW-20, NeoStrike)

July 5, 2018 Ian McCollum 36

Tony Neophytou is the South African designer of several very interesting and innovative firearms: the Neostead 2000 pump shotgun, the NTW-20 anti-material rifle, the NeoPup/Inkunzi PAW, and most recently the NeoStrike/Inkunzi Strike machine gun. He […]