Prototype
Walther KPK Pistol at RIA
The Walther KPK was a modified version of the PPK automatic pistol made in very small numbers by Walther in hopes of winning a new military contract. Mechanically identical to the PPK, the KPK has […]
Prototype
Prototype
Pedersen Selfloading Rifle at RIA
When the US military decided to seriously look at replacing the 1903 Springfield with a semiautomatic service rifle, two designers showed themselves to have the potential to design an effective and practical rifle. One was […]
Prototype
Colt Offensive Pistol at RIA
I had the opportunity to visit Rock Island Auction again to check out the guns they have up for sale in their December 2014 Premier Auction, and put together a big batch of videos, which […]
Prototype
Swanström 1882 Automatic Pistol
Today’s post was written by a Swedish reader named Arne Bergkvist, about a very early Swedish automatic pistol I had not been aware of. It is particularly interesting as one of relatively few examples of […]
Prototype
Prototype Dieckmann P66 Pistol at RIA
The P66 was a prototype .22LR semiauto pistol designed by a German immigrant to the United States by the name of Rolf Dieckmann. It never went into production, but had a number of interesting features, […]
Gunsmithing
Handmade Auto-Revolver at RIA
This very odd one-off pistol first appeared in a 1958 Golden State Arms catalog, with no description of its history or mechanical design. I have often seen it referred to as an automatic revolver, but […]
Prototype
Krnka 1895 Semiauto Pistol at RIA
This prototype 1895 Krnka automatic pistol is another of the items up for sale at the upcoming Rock Island Premier Auction. This pistol, serial number 7, was the first in the developmental line that led […]
Prototype
Mauser 1912/14 Automatic Pistol (Video)
The Mauser 1912/14 automatic pistol was the final stage of a dead-end development track for a military sidearm in 9mm Parabellum made by Mauser. The program began as a plain blowback pistol in 1909, which […]
Patent drawings
Smith-Condit Rifle
In the years prior to World War I, the US Army Ordnance Department was already investigating the possibility of adopting a self-loading service rifle, even as the 1903 Springfield rifle was being adopted. In 1904 […]
Prototype
Ole Krag’s Experimental Pistol: Made By Norinco
In 1908, Ole Krag (the same man associated with the Krag-Jorgensen rifle) applied for a US patent on an automatic pistol design. This design, along with many others, would be submitted to the Norwegian military […]