United States - Forgotten Weapons

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. […]

Reising Model 60 – A Wartime Semiauto Carbine

September 3, 2017 Ian McCollum 23

The Reising Model 60 was the semiautomatic-only variant of the Reising Model 50 submachine gun. Offered side by side with the submachine guns, the Model 60 was also chambered for .45ACP and used the same […]

Professional Ordnance Carbon-15: A Super-Light AWB AR-15

September 1, 2017 Ian McCollum 16

The Professional Ordnance Carbon-15 was developed during the assault weapons ban in the United States as a way to market a pistol version of an AR15 action without exceeding the weight limit imposed by legislation. […]

Chaffee Reece Model 1882: A Good Idea on Paper…

August 29, 2017 Ian McCollum 8

Patented in 1879 by Reuben Chaffee and General James Reece, the Chaffee-Reece rifle is an excellent example of how an idea that seems good on paper can easily become untenable in a fielded rifle. The […]

Roper Repeating Rifle – An Early Type of Cartridge

August 27, 2017 Ian McCollum 47

While the design for the Roper rifle and shotgun originally came form Sylvester Roper, Christopher Spencer played a very significant role in its production. When sales of the Spencer lever action rifle dissolved at the […]

LAR Grizzly: A 1911 on .45 Winchester Magnum Steroids

August 24, 2017 Ian McCollum 43

Developed in the early 1980s by Perry Arnett, the LAR Grizzly was manufactured from 1983 until 1998. It was an expensive gun (base price was $675 in 1985), a huge gun (48oz / 1.36kg), and […]

The 1878 Remington-Keene: Tube Fed .45-70 Bolt Action Rifle

August 23, 2017 Ian McCollum 25

John W. Keene was an independent gun designer who developed this rifle (and took out 9 patents on its various features) in the 1870s. He did not have a factory at his disposal to produce […]

The Volcanic: Smith & Wesson’s First Pistol

August 18, 2017 Ian McCollum 18

Guns in this video: S&W Navy model S&W Pocket Model Volcanic Navy model New Haven Pocket model The deep beginnings of the Volcanic go back to Walter Hunt’s Volitional Repeater, which became the Jennings repeating […]