United States - Forgotten Weapons

US Army 1871 Rolling Block Pistol – Obsolete When New

October 19, 2026 Ian McCollum 24

In the wake of the Civil War, the US Army recognized that many of its small arms were obsolete, and needed replacement. For handguns, the main user was the cavalry, for whom a handgun was […]

US Navy MkVI Lewis Gun in .30-06 for the Marines

October 14, 2026 Ian McCollum 13

During World War One, the US Army basically got in a personality spat with Isaac Newton Lewis, and refused to adopt the Lewis gun. The British and Belgians happily made use of it though, and […]

M1E4: Origins of the M14 Gas Expansion/Cutoff System

October 12, 2026 Ian McCollum 19

The E-series Garands were a series of prototypes made at Springfield Armory to test all sorts of different changes to the basic rifle design, from flash hiders to folding stocks. The M1E4 is a design […]

The First EOTech: Series 400 aka Bushnell Holosight

October 7, 2026 Ian McCollum 1

EOTech as a company was formed in 1995 as a spinoff of the University of Michigan Ann Arbor’s Environmental Research Lab, specifically to commercialize holographic weapon sights. Their first product was the Model 400, released […]

Remington Model 10: The Rarest American Trench Shotgun

October 5, 2026 Ian McCollum 9

The US military purchased a small number of Remington Model 10 shotguns during World War One to supplement its Winchester 1897s. They were made in both “riot” and “trench” configuration, with the trench guns using […]

America’s Do-It-All Naval Gun: The 5 Inch Mk12 on the USS New Jersey

September 18, 2026 Ian McCollum 8

The Mk12 5 inch, 38 caliber gun was one of the triumphs of American naval weaponry from World War Two. First used in 1934, it remained a standard weapon on new vessels until 1948. It […]

Intro to EOTech: How Holographic Sights Actually Work

September 16, 2026 Ian McCollum 8

Holograms are pretty close to space magic, but today I will try to explain how they work in an understandable way. They have also proven surprisingly difficult to find commercial use for, but one program […]

Saco Defense M683: A Super-Simple SMG for the US Army

September 2, 2026 Ian McCollum 12

During the 1980s, the US ran the Joint Service Small Arms Program to reduce the number of different small arms in US inventory. The most significant outcome of this program was the M9 pistol, but […]

Colt’s Vietnam Prototype AK/M16 Hybrid: the Model 703

August 17, 2026 Ian McCollum 16

“From Hartford to Vietnam” is available here for preorder: Or you can find it bundled with “Tiger Stripe: The Vietnam Camouflage Story” on Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/headstamp/tiger-stripe?ref=3b3v8y The Model 703 was an experimental project at Colt which […]

US Type 1 Fencing Bayonet Made From Whale Tooth (Baleen)

August 14, 2026 Ian McCollum 10

In 1852-53, the Watervliet Arsenal in New York produced 1,500 fencing bayonets for the West Point Academy. These were made for practicing bayonet fencing with live opponents without risk of injury. They were comprised of […]