United States - Forgotten Weapons

Ye Olde Tactical: A Vintage Riot Shotgun w/ Nydar 47 Optic

July 27, 2022 Ian McCollum 13

All that is tactical is not necessarily new…and this shotgun is a perfect example. It was put together by a Tucson police officer in the late 1940s or early 1950s, and has all the elements […]

Coonan .357 Magnum at the BUG Match

July 23, 2022 Ian McCollum 4

Yesterday we took a look at the history and the mechanics of Dan Conan’s .357 Magnum 1911; today we are going to take it out to the range. Specifically, a BackUp Gun Match, plus a […]

When Revolver Meets 1911: The Coonan .357 Magnum Automatic

July 22, 2022 Ian McCollum 26

Dan Coonan first designed his pistol in graduate school as a drafting project: a 1911 pistol chambered for the .357 Magnum cartridge. No easy feat, designing a self-loading pistol magazine to cycle a big rimmed […]

AutoMag 160 in .357AMP: For When the Regular AutoMag is too Common

July 20, 2022 Ian McCollum 25

The AutoMag was originally designed to use a rimless version of the .44 Magnum cartridge; the .44 AMP. Shortly after it was introduced, though, the company Brough out a second cartridge, the .357 AMP. This […]

Surplus Delta Force SR25: A Sniper-Grade Carbine

July 11, 2022 Ian McCollum 13

Delta Force was an early adopter of a lot of civilian competition gear into military service, and the modern AR-10 is a great example. Delta worked with Knights Armament to fine-tune the SR-25 rifle, with […]

New .44 AutoMag Behemoth at the BackUp Gun Match

July 2, 2022 Ian McCollum 24

Yesterday we were looking at the new resurrection of the AutoMag pistol, and today I have it out at the monthly BackUp Gun match. Is it appropriate to bring this behemoth of a pistol to […]

Is the AutoMag Curse Over? The New Auto Mag 180-D

July 1, 2022 Ian McCollum 37

Historically speaking, the AutoMag 180 pistol has been a reaper of investors. Between 1971 and 1982, no fewer than six different companies went bankrupt trying to make a profit building Auto Mags. However, we may […]

.30 Super Carry at the BUG Match!

June 18, 2022 Ian McCollum 15

I don’t normally take actual backup guns to the backup gun match; it’s usually some oddball old pistol. But today, I decided to bring out the new S&W Shield Plus in .30 Super Carry. It’s […]

China Lake 40mm Grenade Launcher at the Range

June 11, 2022 Ian McCollum 24

Today we have a chance to take one of the reproduction China Lake 40mm grenade launchers out to the range! We are using practice chalk rounds…let’s see how it goes! Only a handful of these […]

2-Gun With New US Army Weapons: SIG Spear and M17

June 4, 2022 Ian McCollum 28

Yesterday we looked at the new SIG Spear/M5 in detail, and today I’m taking it out to a 2-Gun match to try on the clock. The most suitable pistol pairing would naturally be the other […]