Submachine Guns
The Schmeisser MP41: A Hybrid Submachine Gun
Most people think that the MP41 is simply an MP40 in a wooden stock, but this is actually not the case – and unlike the MP40, the MP41 can be accurately called a Schmeisser – […]
Year: 2017
Semiauto Rifles
Professional Ordnance Carbon-15: A Super-Light AWB AR-15
The Professional Ordnance Carbon-15 was developed during the assault weapons ban in the United States as a way to market a pistol version of an AR15 action without exceeding the weight limit imposed by legislation. […]
Submachine Guns
Sudayev’s PPS-43: Submachine Gun Simplicity Perfected
The PPS-43, designed by Alexei Sudayev based on a previous submachine gun design by I.K. Bezruchko-Vysotsky, was the Soviet replacement for the PPSh-41. The Shpagin submachine gun was a very effective combat weapon, but was […]
Sniper Rifles
Pattern 14 MKI W (T) – The Best Sniper Rifle of World War One
When World War One began, the British did not have a formal sniping program, and by 1915 the British found themselves thoroughly outclassed by the Germans in this area. They responded by developing tactics and […]
Bolt Action Rifles
Chaffee Reece Model 1882: A Good Idea on Paper…
Patented in 1879 by Reuben Chaffee and General James Reece, the Chaffee-Reece rifle is an excellent example of how an idea that seems good on paper can easily become untenable in a fielded rifle. The […]
Submachine Guns
Soviet PPD-40: Degtyarev’s Submachine Gun
Degtyarev’s PPD-40 was the first submachine gun adopted in a large scale by the Soviet Union. Its development began in 1929 with a locked breech gun modeled after Degtyarev’s DP light machine gun, but evolved […]
Lever Action Rifles
Roper Repeating Rifle – An Early Type of Cartridge
While the design for the Roper rifle and shotgun originally came form Sylvester Roper, Christopher Spencer played a very significant role in its production. When sales of the Spencer lever action rifle dissolved at the […]
Light MGs
Chatellerault M24/29: France’s New Wave of Post-WWI Small Arms
France fought the Great War with an array of weapons which were all sub-par in one way or another – the Lebel rifle was obsolescent by 1914, the Berthier was a cavalry carbine forced into […]
Submachine Guns
The Italian Last-Ditch TZ-45 Submachine Gun
The TZ-45 is a late-war (some might say last ditch) Italian submachine gun made in small numbers and notable primarily for being the first SMG to use a grip safety on the magazine well. The […]
Semiauto pistol
LAR Grizzly: A 1911 on .45 Winchester Magnum Steroids
Developed in the early 1980s by Perry Arnett, the LAR Grizzly was manufactured from 1983 until 1998. It was an expensive gun (base price was $675 in 1985), a huge gun (48oz / 1.36kg), and […]