United States - Forgotten Weapons

James D. Julia: Confederate Spiller & Burr Revolver (Presentation!)

March 7, 2016 Ian McCollum 13

The Spiller & Burr was a Confederate copy of the 1854 Whitney revolver, made in .36 caliber under contract to the CSA. As with so many Confederate arms projects, many thousands were promised and only […]

James D. Julia: The Very First H&K G3 Import (3/62)

March 6, 2016 Ian McCollum 29

We have all seen plenty of sporter CETME rifles and civilian HK-91s, but when the G3 was new to the Germany military, there was already na interest in bringing semiauto versions into the US. The […]

James D. Julia: Orvill Robinson’s Innovative Rifles

March 4, 2016 Ian McCollum 28

Orvill Robinson was a gunsmith and gun designer in upstate New York who developed two rather interesting rifle designs in the 1870s. They are both pistol-caliber actions, with tubular magazines. The first (the 1870 model) […]

James D. Julia: Tucker & Sherrard Texas Confederate Revolver

March 3, 2016 Ian McCollum 17

The Tucker & Sherrard (and later Sherrard & Clark) is one of the more interesting Texas Confederate revolvers. The company initially was granted a contract with the Texas state government to provide 100 revolvers per […]

James D. Julia: LeMat Grapeshot Revolver Design Evolution

March 2, 2016 Ian McCollum 32

The LeMat grapeshot revolver is one of the most distinctive and powerful sidearms of the US Civil War, sporting both a 9-round .42 caliber cylinder of pistol bullets and a shotgun barrel as cylinder axis. […]

James D. Julia: Johnson LMG History & Disassembly

February 29, 2016 Ian McCollum 31

The Johnson light machine gun is one of the lesser-known US military machine guns of WWII, although it seems to have been very popular with all those who used it in combat. Melvin Johnson made […]

James D. Julia: Sisterdale Texas Confederate Revolver

February 28, 2016 Ian McCollum 40

The Sisterdale revolver is one of the most original designs of the Confederate revolvers. It was devised by a group of Texans led by one Alfred Kapp, son of a German immigrant in Sisterdale, Texas. […]

2-Gun Match: New Inland M1 Carbine

February 25, 2016 Ian McCollum 51

I had a chance to get my hands on one of the new-production M1 Carbines being sold by MKS Supply under the Inland trademark. These guns have gotten a lot of press recently, and I […]

WWI Trench Hand Weapons

February 24, 2016 Ian McCollum 98

Karl and I recently did some work with a wide selection of hand weapons from WWI (some original, some reproductions) for a video in collaboration with the excellent YouTube channel The Great War. Have a […]

RIA: Marlin 1897 Bicycle Rifle

February 23, 2016 Ian McCollum 33

Marlin’s 1892 lever action rifle in .22 rimfire caliber proved to be a very popular firearm, and so the company released an improved version in 1897, offered only as a rimfire takedown model. The 1897 […]