John Moses Browning was known to have stated his High Power designs and the technological upgrade and successor to the venerable 1911 handgun. Using a double-stack 9mm magazine and the first handgun to feature the now ubiquitous Browning tilting block operation, the [Read More…]
What happens when you are Beretta, one of the most storied gun makers in the world, when you are rejected by Colt? Why, you go off and make a competing rifle, partially co-developed by Sig! In all seriousness, realizing that the M16 was a true revolutionary leap forward [Read More…]
One of the more captivating and fascinating designs to come out of Russia in the past several decades, the 5.45x39mm AN-94 has recently been covered in great detail by Ian of Forgotten Weapons, in conjunction with Armament Research Services on The Hoplite Blog. If you have a chance, go over to The [Read More…]
Gun Jesus, AKA Ian from Forgotten Weapons, recently rolled out a video about a gun display wall from Matrix Armory and decided to spice it up a bit by taking us on a brief tour through some of his collection. So what does Gun Jesus hold dear? He goes into detail in the [Read More…]
I love it when Ian over at Forgotten Weapons falls off the actual “forgotten” weapons and delves into well-known and respected designs. His brain housing group is replete with an encyclopedia of facts and history on weapons and when applied to even [Read More…]
As weapons technology has progressed through generational leaps, it has bee historically common for notoriously frugal militaries to look to adapting their current standard issue to the new development. Generally speaking, these attempts are disasters as the [Read More…]
After the first two World Wars, Lugers were plentiful. Highly sought after by troops, the weapons made it back in droves to the United States where they were a commodity for some time before gaining the status us an uber-collectors item today. Given this, a poor (or [Read More…]
A few weeks back Ian McCollum of Forgotten Weapons released a teaser photo of him shooting the Walther WA2000 semi-auto sniper rifle. When we posted about it many of you were upset because the WA2000 video wasn’t done quite yet, and if I admit, I was [Read More…]
In the last few years, we have seen tumultous times for Colt. The prancing pony company has been in and out of bakrupty twice in as many decades, driven there by a variety of factors including no new products, lack of internal manufacturing (much is outsourced and only [Read More…]
What do you get when you combine German inspiration with Swiss design and machining? An arguably overcomplicated, yet completely brilliant design. Designed after the Second World War, the Sturmgewher 57 is a roller-delayed blowback design with some rather interesting [Read More…]
Almost all of our modern weapons can trace some part of their lineage to World War II. The STG 44 was (and still is) a major influence on modern weapons design. However, there are many weapons from the war that do not share the same influence. One may certainly claim [Read More…]
Ever lusted after the obscure and ultra-scarce Walther WA 2000 semi-auto sniper rifle? You aren’t alone, I have often wondered how they shoot, what the trigger feels like and so on. Well, my friend Ian over at Forgotten Weapons had a chance to get behind one of [Read More…]
I think its safe to say that many of our readers view the AR-15 as a thoroughly modern weapon system. Admittedly, it’s hard not to with various companies and innovations popping up all the time. Various improvements to the base design, newer materials, and modern [Read More…]
The AR-15-style combined safety/selector thumb lever has become a hallmark of modern assault rifle and carbine design, proving to be an ergonomic and simple design for fire control management. However, it wasn’t always that way. The AR-15’s selector lever [Read More…]
Color me just slightly jealous of Ian and crew over at Forgotten Weapons. In their latest hands-on, they go fully neck-deep into one of the most revered modern full-power shooters, the M134 Minigun. While yes, I have gotten the chance to see and shoot one, Ian is able [Read More…]
I know I grew up in the late 80’s and 90’s when as soon as I see or hear the word “Crossfire” the little BB game theme song immediately pops into mind (and then never leaves). All nostalgia aside, the Crossfire MkI combination rifle/shotgun is a [Read More…]
Despite 1,000’s being made and attempting effective employment, Liberator handguns from the Second World War tend to be looked down upon. The diminutive .45 gun was simply difficult to use and near impossible to employ accurately (as demonstrated by Forgotten [Read More…]
With millions of weapons available post World War I, there was a significant push from various militaries to convert their bolt-action weapon systems to semi automatic. Few of these attempted upgrades were ultimately successful, but with the significant reduction in [Read More…]
I like to think of myself as one learned in many things guns. In my “day job” role I get to interact with many designs, both new and old. Occasionally, one drops a knowledge bomb on a platform I know little about, but rarely does one drop the equivalent of a [Read More…]
Around the same time that Small Caliber High Velocity was starting to percolate through the US Military, so was another set of programs designed to increase the hit probability of the individual soldier. Considering that 5.56 was ultimately adopted as the standard [Read More…]
One of the more interesting plans to provide weapons to the irregulars and resistance fighters during World War II involved airdropping around a million crudely made single shot pistols over occupied territory. Most shooters and history buffs are rather familiar with [Read More…]
One of these days, when I have enough money, I’m going to start investing in old firearms (but the new ones are just so darn cool, too…). Tempting us poor commoners again is Ian at Forgotten Weapons, this time with a German compact handgun commonly known as [Read More…]
General Thompson will certainly be remembered for his famous “Tommy Gun” or formally adopted as the M1928 or in its later blow-back only form the M1 Thompson. But what about Thompson’s other designs? Due to the prohibitive costs of the Thompson M1928 [Read More…]
While I’ve been showing some love to the up and coming C&Rsenal channel, Ian at Forgotten Weapons is not one to be forgotten. Latest in his video series comes from another Auction house, this time Rock Island Auction company where Ian was able to get his hands [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…]
Ian is at it again over at Forgotten Weapons. This time, he’s hitting us with knowledge and history of lever-action Winchester 1895 bolt-action rifles manufactured for the Russians in World War I. At the onset of World War I, the Russians were, per Ian, [Read More…]
Revolvers got their start in 1835 thanks to Samuel Colt, and in the years to follow there were quite a few designs and innovations – and, yes, failures – in the gun world. It was 1856 when Smith and Wesson began manufacturing cartridge revolvers, and others [Read More…]
A little more historical firearm information courtesy of Forgotten Weapons. Next up is the Plus Ultra, a larger version of the earlier Ruby manufactured by Llama. Llama was a Spanish company the full name of which was Llama-Gabilondo y Cia SA (originally Gabilondo y [Read More…]
When Edward Bulwer-Lytton coined the adage “the pen is mightier than the sword” back in 1839 for the purpose of a play, it seems a bit unlikely he was thinking there might one day be a pen gun. Over the years guns have been made in all manner of design with [Read More…]