United States - Forgotten Weapons

Engineer’s Delight: Stemple 76/45 Becomes the Stemple Takedown Gun

September 17, 2021 Ian McCollum 41

The saga of how the original Stemple 76/45 became the Stemple Takedown Gun is a fantastic story of engineering design choices. Essentially, John Stemple began by building a rather crude copy of the Swedish K […]

Throwback Thursday: The Nifty Hybrid-Design HAC-7 Battle Rifle

September 16, 2021 Ian McCollum 15

The Halloway Arms Company HAC-7 was a very interesting hybrid design that incorporated elements of the FAL, AR10, and AK designs. It needed a bit more development to really work out the kinks, though, and […]

Personalized 1911s from the WW1 American Expedition to Siberia

September 13, 2021 Ian McCollum 23

At the end of the Great War, the United States sent several thousand soldiers to eastern Siberia, to protect war supplies from the Red Russian forces and to help rescue the Czechoslovak Legion. Also known […]

NAA .22 Magnum Mini-Revolver at the BUG Match

September 4, 2021 Ian McCollum 34

I’ve been taking a lot of big pistols to the (alleged) BackUp Gun Match, and I figured it was time to try out something that actually would quality as a back-up gun. So, I got […]

Ian’s Customs: WWSD Commando

August 31, 2021 Ian McCollum 23

Having worked with the KP-15 for the WWSD2020 project, I got a hankering to know how a tiny SBR carbine would work using a KP-15 lower. There is no option for using a pistol brace, […]

The Army’s Labor Union: Winchester 94s for the Loyal Legion of Loggers & Lumbermen

August 30, 2021 Ian McCollum 31

Today we have a rifle from a really neat forgotten corner of American military history. During World War One, the Pacific Northwest was the source of prime lumber, in particular Sitka Spruce that was ideal […]

But Does it Take 1911 Mags? Prototype Winchester 1905SL in .45 ACP

August 25, 2021 Ian McCollum 0

One of the really cool aspects of the Cody Firearms Museum is that their collection is built largely on the original Winchester factory collection. Thus they have a significant number of prototype Winchester designs that […]

Ians Customs: Tanker M1 Scout

August 17, 2021 Ian McCollum 39

Today we are looking at the Tanker M1 rig I put together about 15 years ago. This is an original WW2 production receiver rebuilt with an 18″ 7.62mm NATO barrel in the 1980s by Arlington […]

Deliberately Obsolete: Ottoman S&W New Model No.3 in .44 Henry Rimfire

August 16, 2021 Ian McCollum 29

The S&W No.3 revolver was originally designed for the .44 Henry Rimfire cartridge, but initial US military testing caused it to be changed to a centerfire cartridge, and all serial production would use centerfire ammunition. […]

Why The Most Expensive US Martial Pistol Exploded A Lot

August 12, 2021 Ian McCollum 35

The Colt Model 1847 Walker is one of the most valuable of all US military handguns in the collecting community, with examples sometimes breaking seven figures. However, the Walker was in many ways a remarkable […]