In this highly entertaining clip from a BBC documentary, Sean Connery and Geoffrey Boothroyd, a English firearms expert, explain (and demonstrate) why the .25 Beretta was a poor choice of weapon for James Bond. Kids, please don’t try what you see in the video [Read More…]
Back in the 70s it was rumored that the KGB possessed a three-barred disposable all-plastic pistol, called the Troika, that could pass though airport scanners undetected. So when the polymer-framed Glock pistol first came to market in the early 80s, it really excited [Read More…]
If you’re a fan of Barrett rifles, you might be interested in a current auction on Gunbroker – The Outpost Armory has listed a prototype Barrett rifle, the M99A1, in .50BMG. From the auction description: This AWESOME, ONE OF A KIND M99A1, direct from Barrett [Read More…]
The first Beatles concerts in the United States was so loud policemen had to plug their ears with bullets. To see the full size photo click through to CNN and look at photo #5. [ Many thanks to Mik for emailing me the photo. ]
Earlier this year American Handgunner ran a story about Walter Perrine’s interesting Pirahha Pistol. The pistol’s operating mechanism (Patent #3861274. Issued Jan 2, 1975) bears a striking resemblance to the KRISS Vector submachine gun/carbine. The [Read More…]
The July 1934 issue of Modern Mechanix featured Mr. Clyde Farrell’s Rocket Machine Gun invention, more than 30 years before the first commercially available rocket gun, the GyroJet pistol, went to market. From Modern Mechanix … A MACHINE gun hardly heavier [Read More…]
I have seen many types of weird and wacky guns, but these key guns take the cake. From at least the 17th century untill the mid 1800s, some lock makers integrated guns into lock keys for use by jailers. The idea was that if the prisoner tried any funny stuff, the jailer [Read More…]
Last month I blogged a photo of a mystery submachine gun. Pierangelo Tendas (aka. The Italian Commie) posted a comment suggesting it was an Armaguerra OG-42 prototype. He was very close, it has been revealed to be the ultra-rare Armaguerra OG-43. Guns.ru writes … [Read More…]
Last month Christie’s auctioned off a matching pair of “mirror-image gold, enamel, agate, pearl and diamond-set singing bird pistols”. The “pistols” are incredible. They were made by the Frères Rochat in the 1820s for the Chinese market [Read More…]
Michael Bane blogged this photo of the original Barrett M82 Prototype. I think I prefer this design to the later production models. It has a mean badass look to it with the oversized charging handle and chunky stock.
The Revised Edition of The Modern American Pistols and Revolvers by A. C. Gould was published in 1896. It contains a thorough a description of the state of the art of pistol shooting before the turn of the century. I have uploaded the PDF to Scribd where it can be read [Read More…]
Okki, a reader of TFB, discovered a primitive blackpowder shotgun in use by locals at the Uros floating islands on Lake Titicaca, Peru. Okki said … I was on vacation in Peru this month and while visiting the Uros floating islands on Lake Titicaca I noticed one of [Read More…]
The below video is Part 1 of a WWII German sniper training film with an English voiceover. Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 / Part 6 / Part 7
Gun archaeologists Max Popenker and Anthony Williams uncovered a previously unknown prototype machine gun that dates back to WWII. Max blogged the below photos, but is tight lipped about the details. The gun will be featured in their upcoming book Sub-Machine Gun. This [Read More…]
Degtyaryov’s infantry machine gun, aka. DP / DP-27 / DPM (modernized), with its large pan magazine, is one of the most distinctive weapons of WWII. The pan magazine proved not to be the best idea and after the war the Soviets developed the RP-46, an ingenious [Read More…]
[ This guest post was written by Michael. ] The Pedersen Automatic, or Remington model 51, found little favor in its life between the Great War and the following depression, though not for its lack of mechanical merit. John Pedersen, also known for the Pedersen device [Read More…]
[ This post was written by Wayne Watson ] Some years ago, I was passing by my favorite gunshop and the inevitable happen= there was something in the safe that I MIGHT be interested in. A Mk. IV Webley, complete with Lee dies and the original holster. Being broke, I [Read More…]
[ This guest post was written by Matt Groom. ] Writer’s note: All views and opinions expressed or implied in this article are purely the crackpot theories of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Firearm Blog or any related parties. I’m a big [Read More…]
In their online archives, Modern Mechanix has an article, originally published in 1930, about the ‘modern’ gun forensic techniques of the day. [ Many thanks to Sven (Defense and Freedom) for emailing me the the info. ]
This monster punt gun, dating back to the 1870s, weighs about 100 pounds and is 6ft. and 4 inches long. It has a bore size of 1.5″, which puts it somewhere between 1.5 Bore (1.459″) and 1 Bore (1.669″) in size. More information about it at The [Read More…]
Zach @ The Next Chapter writes about a Stevens .22 / .410 combo gun, with Tenite (plastic) stock, that he found at a gun store recently … When I saw this old gun on the store rack, a somewhat silly sentiment told me that I had to have it in order to complete a [Read More…]
The National Firearms Museum has created a new exhibit celebrating the 1911. NRA Blog reports … Gunsite’s display not only features the finest pieces from the Museum’s collection, but also guns from the Military Pistol Trials of 1901 through 1911 as well [Read More…]
I did not realize that the dual magazine bullpup shotgun concept goes as far back as the 1970s. John W. Winter produced a bullpup shotgun called the Winter SWATriplex-18 back in the late 70s. It could feed from either one, or both, of its 9 round magazines. PT-The [Read More…]
Shorpy has a very high resolution photo showing the Smith & Wesson factory in Springfield, Massachusetts circa 1908. The below photos is just a thumbnail. Click through to see the full size photo. [ Many thanks to Hudson for emailing me the link. ]
James D. Julia is auctioning off Ernest Hemingway’s Westley Richards Droplock .577 Nitro Express double rifle. It is the gun he used on his 1953 African safari. According to Phil Bourjaily, this gun, which took a lion and a rhino, is expected to sell for between [Read More…]
When at Gunsite, Dudley Storey had the chance to visit the home of Jeff Cooper, where his wife still lives. I am very jealous. I would love to visit his home. More info and photos at Dudley’s blog.
Andre’, a reader of this blog, spotted the below revolver at a gunshow. Can anyone identify it? I know I have seen a similar gun before, but I cannot remember its name.
Wally has written a very interesting guest post at MArooned blog about the 57mm M18A1 recoilless rifle. Note the interesting cartridge design. The cartridge is intentionally covered with holes to vent gas into the gun.
An article, author unknown, has been circulating on Danish internet forums. It claims that the AK-47 design should be attributed to Danes, rather than Russians. Personally I do not buy this theory. Guns have evolved over hundreds of years since the cannon was invented. [Read More…]
A reader email in a scan of McDonnell Douglas advertising material that promoted the McDonnell Douglas Scorpion. The scorpion was one of the entries in the US Army’s Multi-Purpose Individual Munition (MPIM) competition in the 80s. This (in my opinion) ridiculous [Read More…]
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