I think its safe to say that many in our readership have enjoyed our myriad of posts on various historical firearms. Ian at Forgotten Weapons has been an instrumental asset to the community (and as an occasional contributor to our humble blog). Adding to Ian’s [Read More…]
Well, sort-of-not-really, although it makes for a pretty great title. The Bendix-Hyde Carbine was in fact one of the nine prototypes initially submitted to the Light Rifle program (not to be confused with the Lightweight Rifle program that is the subject of my [Read More…]
The Type 4 (sometimes also called the Type 5) was a clone of the US M1 Garand rifle developed by the Japanese Navy towards the very end of World War II. It’s a fascinating rifle for its combination of American engineering and Japanese style. Forgotten Weapons [Read More…]
The world of early semiautomatic rifles is a wild, untamed one. The conventions that are virtually set in stone today as best practices didn’t exist, and a seemingly endless combination of requirements and ideas came together to produce some truly weird and [Read More…]
Sometimes militaries move backwards in tactics and training. The handgun is a classic example. When I was in the Corps, we trained with live weapons only on static ranges at fixed distances and only in my last year did we finally get a “combat” type Table II [Read More…]
Some people have some remarkable collections in their basements. This guy had a WWII Panzer tank among an Anti-Aircraft gun, a torpedo and other weaponry. According to the Mayor, the 78 year old owner has been seen “chugging around in that thing during the snow [Read More…]
In true Forgotten Weapons form, Ian visited the James D. Julia Inc. auction house to found a weapon that no one but a few historical enthusiasts would be familiar with, the Czech ZK-383. The weapon was used by Bulgaria and the German SS during World War II. As Ian goes [Read More…]
I swear, Ian gets to play with all the fun (and obscure) firearms the world has created. While I enjoy my modern doo-dads, sometimes the old designs just look fun to work with. Latest up in Ian from Forgotten Weapon’s ever expanding catalog of old guns is the [Read More…]
The M3 Grease Gun is one of my favorite firearms from WWII, it was ugly but it was simple, cheap to produce and they worked. In fact they worked so well that the US Army used them with select units such as radio operators, engineers and vehicle and tank crews well [Read More…]
If you read the previous two installments on how to order from the CMP, then you have a good idea about how to get eligible, fill out your paperwork, and send in your packet for a Field- or Service-Grade M1 Garand rifle. Now what? Once the waiting is done, and your [Read More…]
The Fedorov Avtomat is an important milestone in the history of modern small arms. With the Federov, for the first time, an individual soldier could possess automatic firepower in a package small enough to move and fight with, while at the same time [Read More…]
The M1 Carbine is a weapon that, although popular with shooters and soldiers alike, has been unfairly dismissed in the broader context of the development of the modern assault rifle. Although initially fielded without select-fire capability, the lightweight and handy M1 [Read More…]
This is the fourth part of a series of posts seeking to describe and analyze the 7.62mm Lightweight Rifle concept promoted by the Americans, and subsequently adopted by NATO in various forms. This series will cover development from before World War II to the present [Read More…]
While it’s well known that the Germans were the first to field select-fire assault rifles in large numbers during World War II, the Soviets, thoroughly impressed by the idea of an intermediate-power infantry cartridge and intrigued by the idea of the assault [Read More…]
No you read that right, the popular Glock accessory makers Lone Wolf Distributors is now selling Browning 1919A4s. Maybe making barrels, Glock trigger kits and custom machined slides got boring and they just wanted to change things up. Their new belt fed M1919A4 [Read More…]
Nearly two weeks ago, I published an article that caused a great deal of consternation among my readership, even resulting in a prompt rebuttal video from Ian and Karl with InRange TV. That highly negative article was entitled 7 Reasons I Don’t Like The [Read More…]
In the early summer of this year, a car-full of gun nerds set out to capture the rare Pedersen rifle on camera for the first time. The passenger with the van Dyke mustache and ponytail had just mentioned how if he could own any machine gun, it would be an StG.44, the [Read More…]
Attention history and antique gun buffs, this group may be one for you. The Ghosts of the Eastern Front is a Facebook group dedicated to the Russo-German conflict within the Second World War. The group features, photos, videos, and stories from the deadliest front. [Read More…]
A Redditor posted recently about an M3 Grease Gun that someone found in their attic that was turned into the local police department. Don’t worry though, the department is trying to find a museum to take it so it doesn’t end up melted down. somebody found [Read More…]
In November of last year, we blogged about an early Soviet encounter with the MKb.42(H), the open bolt machine carbine that would become the famous closed bolt MP/StG.44 assault rifle. Ensign Expendable, author of the Soviet Gun Archives blog that provided the material [Read More…]
The Simonov PTRS 14.5mm anti-tank rifle was a very innovative rifle, that seemingly offered the Soviet AT gunner of the early part of World War II a frightening amount of firepower. Its semiautomatic action, and en-bloc clip loading gave the infantry five rounds of [Read More…]
The Mauser 1914 is not a well-known firearm today, but during the First World War, it became one of the most important small semiautomatic handguns of the early 20th Century. The Mauser pocket pistol family’s story begins with Josef Nickl of Austria. He envisioned [Read More…]
A week ago, Alex C. and Miles Vining pitted the Russian Mosin-Nagant against the German Mauser Gewehr 98 in a battle royale shootout to see which was the best rifle. Unsurprising to some, and outrageous to others, Paul Mauser’s masterpiece took home the gold and [Read More…]
Remember our past post about the P-51 Mustang test firing it’s six 50 caliber M2 Browning machine guns? I stumbled upon a few pretty cool videos showing some Curtiss P-40 Warhawks test firing their .50 caliber machine guns as well, this time with blanks. The P-40 [Read More…]
War History Online has posted an incredible set of of photographs of old rifles and their sight pictures. The gallery includes classics like the Thompson SMG and BAR with a few notable firearms including the British Lancaster and even the M2 Carbine with a paratrooper [Read More…]
The National Firearms Museum in Fairfax Virginia is one of the most important collections of small arms in the world, but their representatives also leave the museum and travel to places where they can find firearms that they don’t have in their collection. As [Read More…]
The use of antiques in combat is something that often is overlooked, as many find greater interest in more modern weapons. However, though these older weapons are as obsolete as they are antique, they are still relevant articles of war, and still certainly lethal. [Read More…]
I was blessed to have never been in a firefight while in the Corps (although I did have the oxymoronic itch to be in one), and now having seen this documentary, happy to have not been in one (and simultaneously disappointed). History Channel put together a fantastic [Read More…]
While the vast majority of us use guns for defense, fun, and hunting; I believe it necessary to ensure that we never forget the toll by which our freedom comes. Neil Halloran, an animator has come up with an utterly mesmerizing (and sobering) graphic representation of [Read More…]
This is the second part of a series of posts seeking to describe and analyze the 7.62mm Light Rifle concept promoted by the Americans, and subsequently adopted by NATO in various forms. This series will cover development from before World War II to the present day, [Read More…]
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