United States - Forgotten Weapons

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 […]

True Crime Collector Skulduggery: R.L. Wilson and the “Trade of the Century”

January 5, 2021 Ian McCollum 49

RL Wilson Case R.L. Wilson was a pillar of the firearms collecting community, and especially the Colt collecting community, in the 1970s and 80s. He wrote a slew of books on Colt, and was a […]

Headspace-Operated Prototype Rifle – Yeah, it’s as Weird as it Sounds

December 28, 2020 Ian McCollum 80

Today we are taking a look at a very unusual prototype rifle, courtesy of Legacy Collectibles. I suspect – but have no direct evidence – that this was designed by one Francis K. Young, […]

Browning M2HB .50 BMG at the Range

December 26, 2020 Ian McCollum 34

The Browning M2 heavy machine gun is one of the longest serving firearms in US military service, and still going strong. Let’s take this one out to the range and find out why!

Ma Deuce: The Venerable Browning M2 .50 Caliber HMG

December 25, 2020 Ian McCollum 26

The M2 Browning machine gun was first conceived in 1918, as a request by General John Pershing of the AEF for a large-caliber antiaircraft and antitank machine gun. John Browning scaled his M1917 water-cooled .30 […]

Colt 1855 Revolving Rifle at the Range

December 20, 2020 Ian McCollum 26

I recently had a chance to take a .36 caliber Colt Model 1855 revolving rifle our to the range. It was pretty interesting to shoot, but unfortunately the video ended up rather sub-par and I […]

Airtronic’s Modernized 40mm China Lake Grenade Launcher

December 18, 2020 Ian McCollum 32

In 2004, a trio of small arms enthusiasts began an effort to reproduce the Vietnam-era China Lake 40mm pump action grenade launcher. They displayed their first prototype at SHOT Show, and (not surprisingly) got quite […]

Brownells Retro AR-15 Family: What Was, Is and Yet to Come

December 17, 2020 Ian McCollum 4

Brownells has produced a substantial line of retro AR-15 pattern rifles, from the “Proto” with the trigger-shaped charging handle to the M16A1 and XM-177 rifles and carbines. Today I am joined by Paul Levy from […]