United Kingdom - Forgotten Weapons

Heavy Machine Guns of the Western Front, WWI

August 14, 2015 Ian McCollum 60

I have been really enjoying The Great War series on YouTube (a rolling weekly account of what happened in WWI this week 100 years ago), so I figured I ought to take advantage of an opportunity […]

2-Gun Action Challenge Match: SMLE vs Kar 98AZ (Video)

July 29, 2015 Ian McCollum 45

In this month’s 2-Gun Action Challenge Match, we decided to both run World War I rifles – Karl with a 1914/1920 Kar 98AZ and I had a 1918 no1 MkIII* SMLE. In the previous enfield/Mauser matchup the […]

Slow Motion Video from the Pattern Room

July 28, 2015 Ian McCollum 25

As someone who is very interested in the practical handling of old firearms, the idea of gun museums leaves me a bit conflicted. On the one hand, I am absolutely in favor of guns being […]

Irish troops unpacking a new Boys Anti-Tank Rifle

Vintage Saturday: Big Boys Toy

July 25, 2015 Ian McCollum 37

The Republic of Ireland opted to copy the German WWI Stahlhelm design rather than use British Brodie-style helmets. Until 1940, anyway, and I think it’s pretty clear why they changed. The rifle here, of course, […]

British trials Bang Rifle, caliber .303 (photo courtesy National Firearms Centre, Leeds, UK)

Danish Bang Rifle for British Trials

July 24, 2015 Ian McCollum 26

One of the first semiautomatic rifles tested by the US military was a design by a Dane named Søren Hansen Bang, which was first presented to the government in 1911. The rifles used a […]

Father (Grandfather?) and Son in Afghanistan with a Martini and an SMLE

Vintage Saturday: Father and Son

July 18, 2015 Ian McCollum 29

One day the boy will inherit the SMLE, and probably go on fighting whichever country has decided to occupy Afghanistan by that time. Maybe it will be China? They haven’t taken a turn yet. Having […]

Polish soldier on the line near Gazala, Libya - February 1942

Vintage Saturday: The Mustache is Mightier than the Machine Gun

July 4, 2015 Ian McCollum 39

Polish soldier on the line near Gazala, Libya – February 1942. Armed with a Browning M1919A4 and a Boys AT rifle in the truck as well.

British Army patrol in Northern Ireland, circa 1971

Vintage Saturday: Roller Skates

May 23, 2015 Ian McCollum 80

Ferguson Breechloading Flintlock (Video)

May 11, 2015 Ian McCollum 27

Patrick Ferguson was a British inventor and Army officer who developed a breechloading flintlock rifle in the 1770s (his patent was granted in 1776). He impressed British Army ordnance officials with a remarkable demonstration of […]

Vintage Saturday: Commando, Eh?

May 2, 2015 Ian McCollum 42

Canadian Commando with a Lanchester SMG. It wasn’t only the Japanese who put huge bayonets on subguns! I do wonder how awkward it would get to use Lanchester mags, with their 50-round capacity. Notice the […]