The Editor Writes: This week’s Friday Field Strip Video/Article combo is on the fascinating 1907 Roth-Steyr. Watch Alex’s video above then read Nathaniel’s article below … Austrian cavalrymen in World War I each went into battle with three handguns, all identical Steyr-made [Read More…]
There are odd guns out there, and then there is this. A listing on Gunbroker that just ended consisted of six SKS rifles with 75 round drums arranged in some sort of odd Gatling mechanism. The listing was started at $3,500 and I don’t think anyone bid on it at all [Read More…]
Thomas Kivlehan Jr is a retired Marine 2112. In other words, he knows a thing or two about how to manufacture and maintain firearms of all types. The majority of his accomplishments come from being in the Precision Weapons Section in Marine Corps Base Quanitco, [Read More…]
Like many shooters of my generation I tend to favor the polymer “tactical” type of pistols, not giving modern classics like the CZ 75, Hi-power, PPK, or the P38 the time of day. Phil learned of my shortcoming and contacted CZ in an effort to expand the mind [Read More…]
This is the third 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, but [Read More…]
To someone not versed in fine shotguns, it can be a little overwhelming when confronted with the variety of special terminology, from English damascus boxlocks, to the subject of a recent Shooting Sportman article, the “skeletal” or [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…]
If Rock Island Auction Company claims this area of Illinois to be the ‘gun mecca’ of the United States (with 5 firearm companies within the immediate vicinity), then Rock Island Arsenal is certainly the beginning of that influx of that concentration of [Read More…]
Its a sad day when a collection goes up for sale, especially when it is not because of an owner’s death. In this case, some poor soul is getting divorced and its obvious that someone is getting half (or more!). While we get these tips from readers on a fairly [Read More…]
Now that all the guns of Ian’s educational videos have been auctioned off, it is time for a more traditional Forgotten Weapons post, of the kind he’s been doing for several years now. The subject of his latest is the Mannlicher 1885 self-loading rifle, [Read More…]
What rifle influenced Kalashnikov’s famous carbine design more, the Garand M1, or the Haenel MP 43? This question was broached by blogger Jeff of TwistRate in a video posted to the Full30 gun video hosting website recently. Readers can follow the link to watch [Read More…]
Project SALVO’s experiments with multiple projectile ammunition did, surprisingly, result in the production of service ammunition. The 7.62mm M198 Duplex round was an attempt to improve the short-range combat effectiveness of the M14 rifle (so far as this author [Read More…]
Aftermath Gun Club has posted images of the Leader T2-derived AAA SAP pistol on its firearms identification site ID.Gun.FM. The Leader T2 was not a commercial success, resulting in the dissolution of Charles St. George’s company Armtech Pty Ltd in 1983. [Read More…]
Some rifles regardless of features, price, or quality just never pan out or find a home in too many safes across the globe. We take a look at five long guns and try to figure out why a few of these never took off. These are not all necessarily bad rifles, but for one reason or another flopped and [Read More…]
CZ has updated the 527 carbine, its smallest Mauser bolt-action gun. Featureing a cold-hammer forged barrel, walnut stock, and integrated sights. Its available in only .223 Remington and 7.62×39. CZ’s MSRP for the rifle is $733, with auction and other prices [Read More…]
One of the neat things about taking the plunge into the archives, documents, videos, and even blog posts concerning firearms history, is that it really shatters the perception of a “complete” picture of firearms history created by tabletop books that attempt [Read More…]
It was 1982, President Reagan was in the White House, and the Soviets weren't having it. The whole world was nervous. We were at the height of the Cold War, and a nuclear exchange seemed like a real possibility. There was a survivalist craze upon the land, and I was not [Read More…]
The M-1 rifle is the most deadly rifle in the world. – General George S. Patton, April 3rd, 1944 Hindsight is different when applied to the distant past of someone else than when applied to the recent past of oneself. Patterns jump out that might not have actually [Read More…]
We have previously covered the pump-action AR-15 (both the Troy PAR and the novel Bentwood Gunsmithing), but this is definitely something new. Roll Call Custom Armory has produced a custom Romaninan AK-47 under-folder pump-action rifle. Description from Roll Call [Read More…]
Before you, dear readers, bemoan the fact that we are reviewing air rifles, please allow me to mention that this air rifle (yes, “rifle”) can output over 85% of the energy compared to 22LR and the ammo costs less than 5 cents a shot. Got your attention? So, [Read More…]
Taurus has released a new 9mm carbine onto the US market, which prompts the question: why do people buy 9mm carbines? As I see it, the interest in this type of gun comes from two main groups: folks with tactical reasoning in mind, and purely recreational shooters. For [Read More…]
The Trapdoor rifle design is not one you hear about often. It was a breach-loading stopgap between the end of the muzzleloading era and the emergence of bolt actions. Most of the world went straight to the bolt action. Prussia adopted the bolt action Needle gun [Read More…]
About two weeks ago I read an interesting article on the Rock Island Auction Company blog and published a blog post on TFB linking to it. A competing auction house, James D. Julia, then sent out a email newsletter accusing RIA of orchestrating an internet wide [Read More…]
The CIA gave one of its retiring officers’ Saddam Hussein’s .243 Ruger M77 Mannlicher Rifle as a honorarium. The famous rifle, which Saddam liked to wave around in public, is being auctioned off by RIA. It is expected to sell for only $7000 [Read More…]
It is no secret that H&K makes great firearms. They have been in business since 1949 and have produced a number of small arms that have been adopted by countless armies and police agencies across the globe. Perhaps the most famous however has been their MP5 series [Read More…]
One of the most interesting firearms to come out of World War II is the Fallschirmjaegergewehr 42 – the FG-42. There are so few of them still in existence that they often don’t get the attention they should, but that will all change now. SMG Guns of Decatur, [Read More…]
This beautiful “Coffin” cased pinfire revolver/dagger was made for Jose Balta, the 19th President of Peru, by the French firm Lefauchaux Casimer & Eugene in 1870 is being auctioned off by RIA. Jose Balta is notable for among other things being deposed [Read More…]
[ Written By Timothy Yan ] This is the part 1 of multipart preview on interesting optics that I saw at SHOT Show 2012. Noted that the featuring optic is a prototype and the final product could be different. My through the lens images should only be use for checking out [Read More…]
To commemorate the 75th anniversary of the .357 Magnum cartridge S&W have produced a beautiful limited-edition Model 27 revolver. It features a 6.5″ barrel, a bright blue finish, engraving and a walnut grip. From the press release … Commemorating the [Read More…]
S&W are selling a limited edition “First Edition” set of the Bodyguard pistol and revolver. I really like the presentation of this set. The First Edition Bodyguard set will have matching serial numbers, the prefix for the revolvers will begin with RBG [Read More…]