United States - Forgotten Weapons

Merrill Breechloading Conversion of the 1841 Mississippi Rifle

September 9, 2020 Ian McCollum 11

Lot 1171 in the September 2020 RIA Premier auction. James Merrill of Baltimore had his hands in several Civil War era firearms – rifles built from scratch, conversions of the Jenks carbines, and also conversions […]

Hall Model 1819: A Rifle to Change the Industrial World

September 7, 2020 Ian McCollum 25

Lot 1193 in the September 2020 RIA Premier auction. John Hall designed the first breechloading rifle to be used by the United States military, and the first breechloader issued in substantial numbers by any military […]

Hopkins & Allen XL-6 Revolver with a Surprising Swing-Out Cylinder

September 3, 2020 Ian McCollum 5

Lot 1104 in the September 2020 RIA Premier auction. “XL” was a brand name used by Hopkins & Allen to cover several different styles of revolver, but the first were a series of rimfire, spur-hammer […]

Bowie Knife Bayonet and Bolo Bayonet for the US Krag

September 2, 2020 Ian McCollum 47

Lot 164 (Bolo bayonet) and Lot 165 (Bowie bayonet) in the September 2020 RIA Premier auction. When the US adopted the Krag rifle in 1892, a remarkably efficient and simple decision was made regarding its […]

Peabody Sidehammer: The Best Martini Action You’ve Never Heard Of

August 31, 2020 Ian McCollum 23

Lot 152 (long rifle) and lot 1164 (carbine) in the RIA September 2020 Premier auction. Henry Peabody was one of the less-recognized American firearms designers. A machinist from the age of 17, he worked at […]

Toolroom Prototype Smith & Wesson No.3 Revolver

August 29, 2020 Ian McCollum 7

Lot 3197 in the September 2020 RIA Premier auction. Good inventors are always trying out new solutions to problems. Those solutions may or may not work (hence Thomas Edison’s 10,000 ways not to make a […]

The First S&W .38: The “Baby Russian”

August 27, 2020 Ian McCollum 19

Lot 1249 in the September 2020 RIA Premier auction. Taking what they had learned in developing their series of large-frame .44 caliber revolvers, Smith & Wesson introduced the “Baby Russian” in 1876 as their first […]

Not Always Bubba: A Factory Sporter Winchester-Lee Navy Rifle

August 26, 2020 Ian McCollum 12

Lot 3106 in the September 2020 RIA Premier auction. I am happy that the practice of sporterizing military rifles has fallen out of favor, but sometimes one can throw the baby out with the bathwater. […]

The Coolest Volcanic Ever: A Vintage Scoped Pistol-Carbine

August 25, 2020 Ian McCollum 13

Lot 1011 in the RIA September 2020 Premier auction. The “Pistol-Carbine” was a pattern offered by the Volcanic Arms Company combining a 16 inch rifle-length barrel with a pistol grip and detachable shoulder stock (it […]

Original Volcanic “Rocket Ball” Cartridges

August 24, 2020 Ian McCollum 40

Lot 11 in the September 2020 RIA Premier auction. Ammunition for the Volcanic Repeaters is extremely rare today, and this opportunity to take a look at a complete original box of it was something I […]