United States - Forgotten Weapons

Ballistic Nylon as Armor (Video)

January 4, 2016 Ian McCollum 31

You have probably heard of “ballistic” nylon, but everyone knows that soft armor is made of Kevlar, right? Well, it is today (and other similar fibers). But a few decades back, before Kevlar had been […]

Maxim "Prototype" at the Royal Armouries in Leeds. Note the absence of the rate-of-fire control arm in this version...

The First Maxim Machine Gun

December 30, 2015 Ian McCollum 31

I am going to start an intermittent series of posts on the various different types of Maxim machine guns over the next few months – there are a whole slew of them, and I have […]

Military Thought (USSR): Some Points on the Status and Development of Small Arms (1965, English translation)

A Soviet Look at Cold War Small Arms Development

December 29, 2015 Ian McCollum 77

I have covered various elements of small arms development during the Cold War more than a few times – usually involving the contentious process that led to the 7.62mm NATO cartridge being adopted, and the […]

Savage .45 ACP Pistols – History & Disassembly (Video)

December 28, 2015 Ian McCollum 24

In the US pistol trials of 1907 that eventually led to the adoption of the Colt/Browning Model 1911, the two strongest competitors to the Browning design were the Luger and the Savage. Luger declined the […]

Vintage Saturday: On Guard

December 26, 2015 Ian McCollum 56

Armed with a Trapdoor Springfield – with fixed spike bayonet – and a long-barreled Colt Single Action Army. Dated 1890s – back when “labor dispute” meant more guns and fewer negotiators than it does today. […]

Sidewinder SMG Photos

December 23, 2015 Ian McCollum 44

The Sidewinder is a rather unusual submachine gun designer by Sidney McQueen in the mid 1960s. His objective was to create a weapon which could be fired one-handed with the firepower of a submachine gun […]

Knoble Automatic Pistol, Cal .30 (Video)

December 17, 2015 Ian McCollum 35

The Knoble in .45 caliber was one of the pistols in the US pistol trials of 1907. Unfortunately for Mr. Knoble, his pistol was deemed to crude for the Ordnance Board to consider even test […]

Savage Automatic Pistols: Overview (Video)

December 14, 2015 Ian McCollum 30

Today I am taking a look at Savage automatic pistols as a general group. Savage produced about a quarter million pistols in both .32 and .380 caliber, divided between the models 1907, 1915, and 1917. […]

Dakota tribal policeman with a Remington-Keene rifle

Vintage Saturday: Policeman with a Rifle

December 12, 2015 Ian McCollum 28

The Remington-Keene was one of the many repeating rifles manufactured with hopes of US military contracts, which failed to get any. In total about 5,000 were made and sold commercially. It is a tube-magazine, bolt […]

XM-248 LMG Manual

December 11, 2015 Ian McCollum 12

Rather than explain the background of the XM-248, I will put you in the very capable hands of Weaponsman.com, who has posted an excellent 3-part series on the development leading up to the XM-248, entitled […]