Gunsmithing
RIA: Strange Unique European Revolver
With no markings or provenance at all, the origins of this revolver are a mystery. Its features all point to the 1880s or 1890s, and someone clearly spent a lot of time working on it […]
Month: August 2016
Prototype
GX vs GY: What Are the Differences in Pedersen’s Garands?
In a last hopeful attempt to get a rifle adopted and produced for the US military, John Pedersen designed his own copy of the M1 Garand rifle in the late 1930s (approximately 1939). His toggle-locked […]
Prototype
RIA: Colt 1907 Trials Pistol
The Colt 1907 was one of the significant developmental iterations of the design that would eventually be adopted as the Model 1911 by the US military. This pistol began as John Browning’s Model 1900 in […]
Bolt Action Rifles
RIA: CheyTec M200 Intervention
The CheyTac M200 Intervention is a massive precision rifle chambered for the .408 CheyTac cartridge (although it can also be had in .375 CheyTac). It uses an action made by EDM Arms, and is capable […]
Prototype
RIA: Prototype Gustloff 206 Rifle
German arms development during World War II was quite the chaotic mess, in many ways. While it is not uncommon for different service branches to have independent procurement systems, in fascist-era Germany this was coupled […]
Handgun
RIA: Real vs “Fake” Wheellocks – What is “Fake”, Anyway?
When someone makes a “fake” historical gun, they can do so with the intent to deceive or be up-front with the gun’s new manufacture. Those acknowledged reproductions are a great option to have – guns […]
Prototype
RIA: Japanese ZH-29 Copy by Tokyo Gas & Electric
The Japanese military experimented with self-loading rifle designs through the 1930s, and had 4 major rifles in testing during that period. One was a new design by Kijiro Nambu, one was a Pedersen copy made […]
Revolver
RIA: Little All Right
Aren’t these 19th century little pocket pistols cute? This is another palm-type hideout gun, named the “Little All Right” and patented in 1876. It’s actually a pretty basic revolver mechanism, just put into an unusual […]
Lever Action Rifles
RIA: 2nd Model Smith-Jennings Rifle
The Smith-Jennings rifles are one of the evolutionary steps towards the revolutionary Henry and Winchester lever-action rifles. Here is the rifle that brought together the ideas of Hunt (who invented the rocket ball cartridge) and […]
Semiauto pistol
RIA: Himmler Presentation Sauer 38H for Snipers
Note: I debated whether or not to use the Nazi flag in the thumbnail image, and opted to put it in there because it was in fact the German flag when this pistol was made. […]