United States - Forgotten Weapons

2-Gun with SMG’s 1st Pattern Semiauto FG-42

February 13, 2021 Ian McCollum 62

Today I am taking the SMG first pattern semiauto FG-42 out to a 2-gun match to give it a try on the clock. This particular match has two rifle-only stage and one pistol-only stage, so […]

Fallschirmjäger Style: SMG’s Semiauto 1st Pattern FG-42

February 12, 2021 Ian McCollum 51

The early pattern (Type E, specifically) FG-42 is one of the most eye-catching military rifles ever made. Designed to be a universal paratrooper’s rifle capable of acting as sniper’s rifle, light machine gun, hand-to-hand weapon, […]

Richardson Guerrilla Gun in Congressional Testimony

January 31, 2021 Ian McCollum 91

A reader/viewer named John sent me this letter after seeing the Richardson Guerrilla Gun video. It was written by Richardson himself in 1965, as part of the formal record on Congressional debate of HR6628, which […]

PCC Course: Lage Max31A Mk2 Submachine Gun

January 30, 2021 Ian McCollum 28

How does full automatic effect a gun’s time on the PCC Cours of Fire? Well, let’s find out with a Lage Max31A Mk2 on a M-11A1. I’ve got a red dot optic on the gun […]

A Vet Returns to Civilian Life: Richardson Industries Slamfire Guerrilla Shotguns

January 29, 2021 Ian McCollum 54

Iliff Richardson was a US Navy Lieutenant assigned to PT 34 during the campaign in the Philippines. His boat was sunk in April 1942, and he ended up spending more than two years fighting with […]

Yes, the AR-14 is a Real Gun…Sort Of

January 28, 2021 Ian McCollum 33

The AR-14 was the subject of a widely-seen political gaffe a while back – but what was the real AR-14? Because yes, there was one! It was one of many firearms planned by Armalite, but […]

The 80s Strike Back! Linda and Qwik-Point at the BUG Match

January 23, 2021 Ian McCollum 15

Yesterday we took a look at the history and operation of the Wilkinson Arms Linda, and today I have it out at the BackUp Gun Match. Since I don’t have iron sights on mine, I […]

Wilkinson Arms “Linda”

January 22, 2021 Ian McCollum 21

The Linda is a semiauto 9mm pistol that just exudes 1980s aesthetics. It was made along with a carbine version called the Terry, by Wilkinson Arms of California (later Idaho). Both were named after daughters […]

Modernizing a Classic: the Brownells BRN-180 Project

January 12, 2021 Ian McCollum 10

Today I am chatting with Paul Levy of Brownells about their BRN-180 upper; a modernization of the original Armalite AR-180. This particular project is an interesting combination of recreating an older design but simultaneously modernizing […]

“NATO Burp Guns” – Winchester’s 1950s Experimental SMGs

January 11, 2021 Ian McCollum 35

In the mid 1950s, the Winchester company designed a compact 9mm submachine gun for military use. It was internally called the. “NATO Burp Gun”, and according to Winchester historian Herbert House, was developed in part […]