United States - Forgotten Weapons

America’s WW1 Trench Rifle: The Cameron-Yaggi 1903

November 6, 2017 Ian McCollum 11

Virtually all nations in World War One had a periscope trench rifle of some sort, and the United States was no exception – although it was not formally adopted. The Cameron-Yaggi conversion was developed by […]

Shooting the .950 JDJ: The Largest Sporting Rifle Made

November 3, 2017 Ian McCollum 45

Made by SSK Industries on a McMillan action, the .950 JDJ is the largest sporting rifle made. The cartridge began as a 20mm Vulcan round, cut down to 70mm case length and necked up to […]

The Butterfield Army Revolver and its Automatic Priming

October 30, 2017 Ian McCollum 17

Patented in 1855 by James Butterfield, this revolver is a 5-shot, .41 caliber percussion revolver with a brass frame and 7.5 inch barrel. Aside from its somewhat unorthodox grip configuration, what makes it interesting and […]

M20A1B1 Super Bazooka – It’s a Super Bazooka. Need I Say More?

October 28, 2017 Ian McCollum 47

The US was one of the few major military powers that went into World War II without a substantial infantry antitank weapon. Most countries had an antitank rifle of some sort, but the US just […]

Shawk & McLanahan – A Would-Be St Louis Revolver Company

October 24, 2017 Ian McCollum 18

Revolver: https://jamesdjulia.com/item/52428-2-397/ Holster: https://jamesdjulia.com/item/52458-1-397/ The Shawk & McLanahan revolvers are a lesser-known example of a very low production Civil War era revolver not made in the Confederacy. Abel Shawk was manufacturing entrepreneur in St Louis […]

M1918 BAR: America’s Walking Fire Assault Rifle

October 14, 2017 Ian McCollum 25

John Browning developed the Browning Automatic Rifle for use by American troops in World War One, taking inspiration from the other light automatic weapons in service including the Chauchat, Lewis, and MG08/15. Rather than being […]

What You Didn’t Know About the 1968 Machine Gun Amnesty

October 11, 2017 Ian McCollum 20

When the 1968 machine gun amnesty was announced in the US, it was treated with widespread suspicion among gun collectors. Some thought it would merely a pretense to find and arrest owners of unregistered machine […]

Really Not an M16 at All: Colt’s M231 Port Firing Weapon

October 6, 2017 Ian McCollum 47

The M231 Port Firing Weapon was developed in the 1970s as a part of the M2 Bradley Fighting Vehicle Project. A modern relative of the WW2 Krummlauf, the weapon was intended to provide close-in firepower […]

Colt Monitor: The First Official FBI Fighting Rifle

October 5, 2017 Ian McCollum 33

The Colt Monitor was Colt’s improved version os the Browning Automatic Rifle intended for the law enforcement market. Colt had the sales rights to the BAR in North and South American (as well as a […]

Phillips & Rodgers M47 Medusa: Multicaliber Revolver for a Nonexistent Apocalypse

October 2, 2017 Ian McCollum 29

The Phillips & Rodgers M47 Medusa is a mechanically very interesting firearm; a revolver that can chamber basically any cartridge with a 9mm bullet diameter and an overall length no longer than a .357 Magnum. […]