Semiauto pistol
RIA: Walther Model 6 (Video)
Wather introduced its first pistol in 1908, creatively named the Model 1. With the outbreak of World War One, the company was offering the Model 4 pistol for military use. This was a .32 ACP […]
Handgun
Prototype
RIA: Müller 1895 Curved Recoil Pistol (Video)
The model 1895 Müller automatic pistol is an interesting and unusual design, despite being a simple blowback action. Where most pistols have a bolt or slide that moved directly rearward, the Müller pushes the bolt […]
Semiauto pistol
RIA: Beretta Model 1923
Beretta offered its first semiautomatic pistols during World War One, with the Model 1915 chambered in 9mm Glisenti. This was quickly supplemented by the 1915/17 scaled down to the .32ACP cartridge, which was both handier […]
Flintlock
RIA: London-Made Lorenzonis Repeating Flintlocks
A 7-shot repeating handgun before cartridges had been invented? Yep, long before. These two pistols are London-made examples of the Lorenzoni system, in which a gun was made with internal magazines of powder and projectiles […]
Revolver
RIA: Mauser Model 1878 “Zig-Zag” Revolvers (Video)
After making their big break with the adoption of the Model 1871 Mauser rifle by the newly unified German government, the Mauser brothers, took a shot at getting the handgun contract for the military as […]
Prototype
RIA: Prototype Mauser HSv Pistols (Video)
When the German military finally could no longer tolerate the expense of the P.08 Luger in the late 1930s, they held a trial of possible replacements. The three main entrants were BSW with a gas-operated […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]