United States - Forgotten Weapons

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 […]

Jennings Muzzleloader Conversion: The Perils of Early Adoption

August 16, 2017 Ian McCollum 24

Early adoption of new technology is a sword which cuts both ways – you might be getting the first of a fantastic new system, or you might be paying for a flop – and in […]

Experimental Reising 7.62mm Full-Auto Battle Rifle

August 15, 2017 Ian McCollum 68

In the late 1950s or early 1960s, Eugene Reising experimented with adapting the mechanism of his submachine guns to a locked-breech 7.62mm NATO military pattern rifle. The resulting rifle used an M14 gas piston and […]

Book Review: Ott-Helmuth von Lossnitzer, Technical Director of the Mauser Company 1933-1945

July 16, 2017 Ian McCollum 14

Ott-Helmuth (Otto, after he emigrated to the US) von Lossnitzer was a remarkable firearms engineer. He served through World War One as a machine gunner, gaining extensive experience with a variety of different machine guns […]