United States - Forgotten Weapons

North & Skinner Wedge-Lock Revolving Rifle

March 25, 2019 Ian McCollum 5

This rifle is lot #1237 in the upcoming May 2019 Rock Island auction. Patented in 1852 by Henry North and Chaucey Skinner, about 700 of these revolving rifles were made by 1856. The design used […]

Swing and a Miss: The Joslyn Army Revolver

March 19, 2019 Ian McCollum 8

Benjamin Joslyn patented this .44 caliber, 5 shot, side-hammer revolver in 1858. He initially contracted with one W.C. Freeman to act as manufacturer and sales agent, but Freeman was unable to actually fulfill the first […]

Whitney Wolverine: Atomic Age Design in a .22 Rimfire

March 16, 2019 Ian McCollum 40

The Whitney Wolverine was a .22LR semiauto pistol designed by Robert Hillberg in 1954. It is a very distinctive looking gun, with the nickeled versions in particular being the epitome of Atomic Age styling. Unfortunately, […]

Model 1927 Thompson Semi Automatic Carbine

March 13, 2019 Ian McCollum 11

One of the rarest versions of the Thompsons Submachine Gun is the Model of 1927 Thompson Semi Automatic Carbine. These were regular 1921 machine guns that had their fire control groups slightly modified to only […]

Forehand & Wadsworth Old Army Revolver

March 12, 2019 Ian McCollum 6

The Forehand & Wadsworth company was a better firearms manufacturer than most people tend to give them credit for. It evolved from Allen & Wheelock, with Sullivan Forehand and Henry Wadsworth both having married daughters […]

M37: The Ultimate Improved Browning 1919

March 8, 2019 Ian McCollum 8

In November of 1950, the US Ordnance Department requested an improved version of the Browning 1919 air cooled machine gun for use in tanks. The new version was to be able to feed from either […]

Project Lightening Episode 07: Conclusions

March 7, 2019 Ian McCollum 12

Project Lightening is a collaborative series with Othais and Mae of C&Rsenal in which we test all seven light machine guns and automatic rifles of World War One and put them through a series of […]

Springfield Arms Double Trigger Navy Revolver

March 6, 2019 Ian McCollum 7

The Springfield Arms Company existed only for a brief period in 1850 and 1851, making revolvers designed by its chief engineer, James Warner, before being driven out of business by Colt patent lawyers. During that […]

Colt M13 Aircrewman Revolver: So Light it was Unsafe

March 5, 2019 Ian McCollum 48

In 1951 and 1952, Colt supplied a small number of extremely lightweight revolvers to the US Air Force, designated the M13 Aircrewman. These guns were very similar to the commercial Colt Cobra; .38 special 6-shot […]

Project Lightening Episode 05: Reload

February 28, 2019 Ian McCollum 25

Project Lightening is a collaborative series with Othais and Mae of C&Rsenal in which we test all seven light machine guns and automatic rifles of World War One and put them through a series of […]