United States - Forgotten Weapons

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 […]

Action Arms Semiauto Uzi Carbines (Model A and Model B)

November 18, 2017 Ian McCollum 34

Guns in this video: Folding stock Model A Folding stock Model B Wood stock Model B Although it was adopted by the Israeli military in the 1950s, the Uzi submachien gun did not generate much […]

“Fat Mac” – SSK Industries’ .950 JDJ Rifle

November 17, 2017 Ian McCollum 13

JD Jones’ .950 JDJ cartridge is a generally described as the largest sporting rifle cartridge ever produced, producing more energy than even the 4-bore cartridges that match it in bore diameter. Only three of these […]

America’s First Metallic Cartridge: The Burnside Carbine

November 16, 2017 Ian McCollum 22

The Burnside carbine was originally invented by Ambrose Burnside – the man who would later command the Army of the Potomac and after whom sideburns would be named. Burnside came up with the idea while […]

John Martz Custom P38s: Babies, .45s, and .38 Supers

November 15, 2017 Ian McCollum 7

Guns in this video: Baby P38 .38 Super P38 .45ACP P38 John Martz was a WWII US Navy veteran who spent a career in metalworking before turning his gunsmithing hobby into a full time occupation […]

The Good Idea Fairy Strikes: American Trowel Bayonets

November 13, 2017 Ian McCollum 27

The United States first experimented with a combination trowel and bayonet in 1868, producing 200 experimental examples made from standard socket bayonets. This was immediately followed by an additional 500 Model 1869 trowel bayonets made […]

Lindsay’s “Young American” Martial Two-Shot Pistol

November 12, 2017 Ian McCollum 14

J.P. Lindsay was a former Springfield Armory employee when he designed and patented an idea for a two-shot, single-barrel pistol. The apocryphal story is that Lindsay’s brother was killed in a firefight against two Indians, […]

“Double Deuce” 2-Bore Rifle: A Gunsmithing Spectacle

November 11, 2017 Ian McCollum 20

Double Deuce rifle Lil’ Deuce pistol The largest sporting rifles ever actually used in the field as more than an exhibition were 4-bore stopping rifles, firing roughly 1″ in diameter (25mm) projectiles. These were intended […]