United States - Forgotten Weapons

LugerMan Reproduction of the 1907 .45 Test Trials Luger

April 14, 2018 Ian McCollum 19

Eugene Golubtsov, aka LugerMan, is manufacturing reproduction .45ACP caliber Luger pistols, based on the original blueprints of the 1907 pattern US Army trials guns. When he offered to send me one to try out, how […]

The Original Retro AR-10: Armalite’s AR10B

April 11, 2018 Ian McCollum 13

In 1994, a man named Mark Westrom, owner of Eagle Arms, purchased the husk of the Armalite corporation, and acquired its trademarks. Westrom wanted to create a new commercial .308 AR pattern rifle, and did […]

Colt Tries To Make a Service Pistol: The Model 1971

April 10, 2018 Ian McCollum 22

In the early 1970s, Colt wanted to develop a new military pistol so that it could offer a modern replacement for the venerable 1911. Colt Engineer Robert Roy designed the new gun in 1971, and […]

OSS Flying Dragon: A Silent Poisoned Dart Gun

April 7, 2018 Ian McCollum 21

The OSS experimented with a lot of…unorthodox weapons during World War Two, and one of their overarching goals was a weapon with a 100 yard lethal range but without flash or noise. To this end […]

McCarty’s Peculiar Revolver

April 6, 2018 Ian McCollum 54

William McCarty patented this turret revolver design in 1909 (submitted in 1908, approved in 1909), with the idea of making a high capacity revolver. His gun held 18 rounds of .22 rimfire ammunition – double […]

Incompetence, Corruption, and a Rioting Mob: The Gibbs Carbine

April 5, 2018 Ian McCollum 16

The Gibbs carbine is fantastic illustration of just how difficult it can be to actually manufacture a new firearm. The gun itself is a breechloading, percussion fired cavalry carbine designed to use paper cartridges. It […]

Danish Gevaer m/50 – An American Gun Made in Italy

April 4, 2018 Ian McCollum 23

Dozens of countries around the world received M1 Garand rifles from the United States in the decades after World War Two, and Denmark was one of those that not only got some rifle but went […]

Colt’s Prototype Post-War Pocket Hammerless Model M

April 3, 2018 Ian McCollum 12

Production of the Colt Pocket Hammerless (aka the Model M) pretty much died at the end of World War Two. Military contracts ended, and the civilian market was quite weak – Colt shipped just 132 […]

Remington Split Breech – Before It Was Famous

April 1, 2018 Ian McCollum 13

The Remington Rolling Block was one of the most widely successful and popular military rifles of the late 1800s, and its development began with the Remington Split Breech carbine during the American Civil War. The […]

Detroit’s Short-Lived Kimball .30 Carbine Pistol

March 29, 2018 Ian McCollum 57

Target Model Combat Model The J. Kimball Arms Company of Detroit introduced a semiauto pistol in 1955, chambered for the .30 Carbine cartridge – what better companion for the tactical uber weapon of the day, […]