The below gun is a pretty cool looking modern recreation of an axe gun. The short gun barrel and short axe shaft make both weapons a lot less effective than they could be. I suspect that the original axe guns were made more for decoration than for war. The armory at [Read More…]
The Enfield EM-2 rifle, otherwise known Rifle No. 9, remains the rifle I most want to fire, but know I am never going to have the chance. If it had been adopted who knows how modern rifle cartridges would have evolved. This video shows the EM-2 being fired … At [Read More…]
Backyard Safari has blogged about the pistol shooting technique used by Russian officers in the early 20th century. It does not look like a steady shooting stance, nor does it look like it would be fast to get back on target. UPDATE: Apparently this was an April fools [Read More…]
Note the kid standing behind JFK. [ Many thanks to Mik for emailing me the link. ]
A member of the Vintage Semi-Automatic Sporting Rifles Forum posted photos of his replica Lebman 1907. Well it’s been darn-near 8 months since I thought of it and decided that I wanted one but it’s done. My replica of the Winchester 1907s prepared by Hyman [Read More…]
In their latest episode, the Mythbusters replicate a mechanical autoloading crossbow built by the Ancient Greeks. The Chinese also developed a repeating crossbow that were used in war as late as the First Sino-Japanese War (1894 – 1895). Not quite as cool as a [Read More…]
Accurate Shooter reports … On October 10th, John Amos Nosler, founder of Nosler Inc., passed away from natural causes at his Oregon home. Considered a true pioneer in bullet and ammunition design, Nosler developed the famous Partition bullet in the 1940s. Born on [Read More…]
Hell in a Handbasket discusses the Krag-Jorgenson rifle.
The Last Samurai remains one of my favorite movies, although Tom Cruise’s antics in recent years make me cringe every time I see him on tv or in a firm. AIM Surplus is selling the 11mm Mauser M1871/84 rifles used in the movie. After being used on location in New [Read More…]
It is officially Guns-In-Castles week at The Firearm Blog. YamaLink emailed in a photo he took last week of some very old pistols that are on display at the Palazzo Ducale di Venezia (the Palace of the Doge) in Venice, Italy. Beautiful pieces. [ Many thanks to YamaLink. [Read More…]
Emiliano Zapata is a Mexican national hero. He was a general in the Mexican revolution until being ambushed and killed by an opposing general who had claimed that he wished to surrender. Paul, a reader of the blog, emailed me photos of a revolver in his collection that [Read More…]
In the upcoming November issue of Esquire, there will be an article entitled “How They Were Betrayed”. It is an adaption of a chapter from C.J. Chivers new book “THE GUN” … The unnecessary bloodshed and lives lost were tied to an American [Read More…]
This old Iver Johnson advertisement gave me such a good laugh 🙂 [ Many thanks to Dave for emailing me the link. ]
Beautiful photos of a revolver at A Perfect Time To Get … [ Many thanks to A Memphis Traveler for emailing me the link. ]
Nancy’s blog has an interesting article about the Remington Rider Parlor pistol. The Remington-Rider Parlor is among the rarest and sought of all Remington handguns. This little single-shot percussion pistol has always been a bit of a conundrum. Little is known as [Read More…]
The NRA Blog writes … One of the most unusual repeating firearms ever to be manufactured in the United States was Isaiah Jennings’ repeating flintlock rifle of 1821. Built with a detachable skeleton-type shoulder stock as well as a removable 21-inch octagonal [Read More…]
I would have given my right arm to have one of those when I was a kid. [ Many thanks to Dave for emailing me the link. ]
Defense and Freedom has a very interesting post about the Tank und Flieger (TuF, tank and aircraft) machine gun. The first prototypes were introduced just before the end of WWI … One of the few German development programs against this new problem was the [Read More…]
This beautiful rifle is being auctioned off by RIA … The analysis of this unique wheelock style air gun can be best described in the book “Smith’s Standard Encyclopedia of Gas, Air and Spring Guns of the World” by W.H.B. Smith. On top of page 17, [Read More…]
While interned in a POW camp during WWI Louis Marquis designed a .22 belt buckle gun. He later received a patent the design and during WWII was commissioned by Himmler to produce prototypes. It is thought that about 12 were made. During the 50s and 60s many copies were [Read More…]
I don’t think I have previously blogged this famous short film showing Annie Oakly doing tricks. The film was shot in Edison’s studio for the Edison Kinetoscope. In the film her husband is throwing glass balls. When doing her shows the glass balls would be [Read More…]
The Daily Mail reports on this nifty Ancient Roman gadget … The world’s first Swiss Army knife’ has been revealed – made 1,800 years before its modern counterpart. An intricately designed Roman implement, which dates back to 200AD, it is made [Read More…]
The The Ghosts of World War II’s Past photos were created by Russian photographer Sergey Larenkov. He photoshopped WWII photos over modern photos taken at the same location and the results really make history come alive. The City of Ruins is a short film showing [Read More…]
Justin Taylan, founder of PacificWrecks.com (a site well worth visiting), recently visited the South Carolina Military Museum and took these photos of the displays dedicated to David Marshall Williams aka. Carbine Williams. The information below was kindly provided by [Read More…]
Back in the 1800s (or maybe early 1900s) an enterprising gunsmith created this French Mod. 1873/74 revolver. The trigger has been turned into a sear which is manipulated by squeezing a steel rod. It i Very clever. Note the other details such as the de-spured hammer. [Read More…]
The Vollmer Maschinenkarabiner M35 was developed in Germany sometime pre-WWII. Fortunately they never adopted it! There is practically no information on the internet about this gun, so please share your knowledge in the comments below. [ Hat Tip: (Defense and Freedom) ]
One of my readers purchased an antique rifle which turned out to be a rare Spanish needle gun. Needle guns are so named because the firing pin it literally a very long needle. The needle is needed because the primer sits at the base of the bullet. The needle must [Read More…]
The New York Metropolitan Museum of Art has this incredibly beautifully engraved Colt Third Model Dragoon revolver. The gun was part of three pairs created for Samuel Colt to exhibit in Europe during the Crimean war. [ Many thanks to Jonathan for taking the photos. ]
Mechanix Illustrated has an article online, first published in 1957, about “revolutionary” The Dardick revolver and its triangular rounds (Trounds). I wonder how reliable those guns were. I imagine that the design would have combined and amplified the [Read More…]
I have always been fascinated with the pinfire cartridge design. The concept of having a separate firing pin in each cartridge may have made sense at the time, but seems ludicrous in hindsight. I was surprised to learn than a French firm, H&R, manufacture pinfire [Read More…]
Your Privacy Choices