United States - Forgotten Weapons

1911 vs M1 Carbine in a Practical Match

June 27, 2020 Ian McCollum 61

The M1 Carbine was developed to be a personal defense weapon to replace the 1911 pistol for groups of soldiers like drivers, artillery crews, and others who did not need a full-size M1 Garand but […]

PCC Showdown: H&K SP5 vs Kalashnikov USA KP9 vs CMMG Banshee

June 20, 2020 Ian McCollum 10

Since SHOT Show this year, I have gotten three different 9mm carbines that are all interesting in their own ways. The Kalashnikov USA KP-9 is a virtual copy of the Russian Vityaz submachine gun, much […]

S&W Chemical Company 37mm Gas Gun

June 17, 2020 Ian McCollum 19

The Smith & Wesson company was purchased by the Bangor Punta conglomerate in 1964, and BP also owned one of the early pioneers in police tear gas products, the Lake Erie Chemical Company. Once it […]

CMMG Banshee at the Range

May 16, 2020 Ian McCollum 51

Yesterday we looked at the novel Radial Delayed Blowback system invented by CMMG for their 9mm AR carbines; today we are taking it out to the range to try. It does indeed do exactly as […]

CMMG Banshee: The Unique Radial Delayed Blowback System

May 15, 2020 Ian McCollum 11

In 2015, the CMMG company decided to develop a pistol-caliber AR carbine firing .45 ACP. Such things were becoming common in 9mm, but .45 was a more open market opportunity. They spent substantial time trying […]

Kalashnikov USA KP-9 (Semiauto Vityaz) at the Range

May 2, 2020 Ian McCollum 6

Today I have Kalashnikov USA’s KP-9 (which is a virtually exact semiauto copy of the Vityaz SMG) out at the range. I chose the most suitable ammo to try it out with; slightly rusty steel-case […]

Kalashnikov USA KP-9: A Perfect Copy of the Russian Vityaz SMG

May 1, 2020 Ian McCollum 31

The PP-19-01 Vityaz is a development of the PP-19 Bizon, a submachine gun developed by Izhmash at the request of the Russian Interior Ministry in the early 1990s. The Bizon design team included the sons […]

The S&W No.3 Russian Model Made at Tula in Russia

April 28, 2020 Ian McCollum 11

This is lot #3124 in the upcoming RIA Premier Auction. It was scheduled for April, but has been postponed – check their web site for upcoming Online Only auctions every month, though! The Russian government […]

Hopkins & Allen XL No.8: A Failed Competitor to the Colt SAA

April 27, 2020 Ian McCollum 18

This is lot #210 in the upcoming RIA Premier Auction. It was scheduled for April, but has been postponed – check their web site for upcoming Online Only auctions every month, though! Hopkins & Allen […]

Ward Burton Model 1871: The US Tries a Bolt Action

April 25, 2020 Ian McCollum 10

This is lot #3220 in the upcoming RIA Premier Auction. It was scheduled for April, but has been postponed – check their web site for upcoming Online Only auctions every month, though! The Model 1871 […]