#SteamPunk

Remember the old ALOFS system? It was made in 1924 by Herman Alofs. It was a magazine tube autoloader that you can bolt onto a single-shot break action shotgun. Well a company in Turkey, Sulun Arms, is making modern versions called Auslof, and Canada is importing them. Sometimes Canada gets cool stuff like this.

Looking like the bizarre lovechild of a bolt-action rifle, a boat oar, and those weird prop rifles from the original Planet of the Apes movie, the Thorneycroft Carbine is one of the unsung “firsts” of the 20th Century. Specifically, this British repeater is the world’s first military bullpup rifle. Ian McCollum of Forgotten Weapons gives us a real-time look at one of the Thorneycroft prototypes, located at the Royal Armouries museum:

UPDATE: Just to be clear, Hi-Point Customs, a group of enthusiasts on Facebook, is in no way related to Hi-Point the firearm brand (manufactured by Beemiller in Ohio and distributed by MKS Supply). This post and the pistol in question are satire. It seems not everyone can tell the difference between satire and reality. Also, mixing blackpowder and smokeless powder is stupid, but you already know that because you are not eight years old, right?

Sometimes, it seems like few gun designers are willing to throw caution to the wind and try something truly new, and that even fewer financiers are willing to help those few designers achieve their vision. The Gyrojet family of weapons is perhaps an excellent example of why. Innovative, clever, and truly unique, the Gyrojets were a total flop in the marketplace, not the least of which because their practicality as weapons was decidedly limited. Ian of Forgotten Weapons takes a look at one of the rarer Gyrojets, the Mark 1 Model B carbine in a video embedded below:

The NRA museum has a variety of exhibits that give gun aficionados a glimpse into the lengthy history of firearms. New for 2015 is a steampunk exhibit, which the NRA says will give visitors a chance to see both the creative results of artists’ designs along with a few of the more unique real guns out there. Steampunk is a sci-fi subgenre meant to give fans the fun of sci-fi effects and gadgets with a Victorian-era twist. It’s gained in popularity in recent years and the NRA exhibit will probably draw quite a few visitors.

I am not typically a fan of steampunk, but will gladly make and exception for this little wonder. YouTube user Alex Smyth has created a steam punk gatling based off of a 10/22. The a steam only powers the rotary barrels (for ATF compliance reasons), but it reaches an impressive ROF with the hand crank wheels.