United States - Forgotten Weapons

“Carbine” Williams’ Battle Rifle: The Winchester G30R

January 8, 2018 Ian McCollum 26

The Winchester G30R is the final iteration of David Marshall Williams’ work on a full power .30 caliber military rifle. The project began with a design by Ed Browning (John Browning’s half brother) using […]

Hudson H9 Prototypes & Development (with Cy Hudson)

December 28, 2017 Ian McCollum 17

I am joined today by Cy Hudson, to take a look at the early prototypes of the Hudson H9 pistol – nicknamed the Brick and the Boat Anchor – and to discuss the development […]

Vietnam Mk18 Mod0 Hand-Crank Grenade Launcher

December 20, 2017 Ian McCollum 32

The Mk18 Mod0 grenade launchers was developed by the Honeywell corporation in 1962, and was the first weapon in what would became a category of high volume grenade launchers used by the US military. The […]

Q&A with Larry Vickers: German WW2 Gun and Modern Small Arms

December 11, 2017 Ian McCollum 15

Larry Vickers has published the newest book in the Vickers Guide series, and it looks at German small arms of World War II – the first of two volumes to do so. I had a hand […]

M1903 Springfield – Stripped for Air Service

November 28, 2017 Ian McCollum 32

Edit: For additional information on these, including some unpublished documentation, see the C&Rsenal video on the 1903 Springfield One of the more interesting and unusual – and rare – variations of the M1903 Springfield is […]

US M1915 Bolo Bayonet – Dual Purpose Gear That Worked!

November 27, 2017 Ian McCollum 17

The M1915 bolo bayonet was originally the brainchild of US Army Captain Hugh D. Wise, Quartermaster with the 9th Infantry in the Philippines. In 1902, he recommended the implement in a letter to his superior […]

American Viven-Bessières WW1 Grenade Launcher

November 26, 2017 Ian McCollum 22

The standard American grenade launching system in World War One was the Viven-Bessières, borrowed directly form the French. It had been adopted by France in 1916, replacing copies of the British Martin-Hale rod grenades. The […]

The Most Ornate Knife-Gun You Will Ever See: CM-1 “Dragon”

November 24, 2017 Ian McCollum 6

Combination knife-gun devices have been popular for hundreds of years, spurred initially by the single-shot nature of early firearms. The designs evolved to incorporate revolver cylinders when the revolver was invented, and remain interesting to […]

Navy 7.62mm NATO Conversion M1 Garand – Mk2 Mod1

November 22, 2017 Ian McCollum 25

When the M14 rifle was developed to replace the M1 Garand, is was met with some uncertainty by the US Navy. The Navy had a lot of things to spend money on, and not a […]

A Beautiful Alsop Pocket Revolver

November 21, 2017 Ian McCollum 5

Charles Alsop patented the Alsop revolver design in 1861 and 1862, and produced it in two varieties – a .36 caliber Navy and a .31 caliber Pocket. The two were made in a single serial […]