Prototype
Yes, the AR-14 is a Real Gun…Sort Of
The AR-14 was the subject of a widely-seen political gaffe a while back – but what was the real AR-14? Because yes, there was one! It was one of many firearms planned by Armalite, but […]
Rifles
Bolt Action Rifles
New Rifles for Old Ammo: The Royal Navy’s Unique SMLE MkI**
When the SMLE was adopted by the British, it was to be the new universal rifle for all branches of service, including the Royal Navy. This suited the Navy just fine; they like the features […]
Bolt Action Rifles
SMLE MkIII: The Iconic Smelly of World War One
In 1907, the British adopted the final major pattern in the evolution of the Short, Magazine, Lee Enfield. Designated the ShtLE MkIII (Short Lee Enfield) at the time, it would be retroactively renamed Rifle No1 […]
Bolt Action Rifles
Terrible 2-Gun: Lebel, 1892 Revolver, and a WW1 Gas Mask
Today, I thought it would be fun (or at least interesting) to shoot a 2-gun match in a reproduction World War One gas mask and helmet. Specifically, a French M2 pattern, which was used extensively […]
Antiques
Indian 4-Shot Repeating Matchlock Toradar
Today, courtesy of Mike Carrick from Arms Heritage magazine, we are taking a look at a quite old Indian matchlock “toradar”. Not just any matchlock, but one with a 4-shot revolving cylinder. Matchlocks appeared in […]
Bolt Action Rifles
Rifles of Simo Häyhä: The World’s Greatest Sniper (w/ 9 Hole Reviews)
In light of the approaching Finnish Brutality: The Winter War match, I though we could take a look at the two rifles associated with the world’s most successful sniper: Simo Häyhä. Häyhä was born in […]
Bolt Action Rifles
The First SMLE Trials Rifles: Lessons From the Boer War
In the aftermath of the Boer War, the British military needed to address critical issues of practical marksmanship with its troops. The Long Lee rifles it had deployed to South Africa suffered significant problems in […]
Reproduction
Modernizing a Classic: the Brownells BRN-180 Project
Today I am chatting with Paul Levy of Brownells about their BRN-180 upper; a modernization of the original Armalite AR-180. This particular project is an interesting combination of recreating an older design but simultaneously modernizing […]
Bolt Action Rifles
Mannlicher 88/95 – A Rare World War One Update
The Austro-Hungarian Empire went into World War One with the Steyr M95 straight-pull rifle as its standard infantry arm. Heavy losses in just the first few months of the war made it clear that the […]
Bolt Action Rifles
Charger-Loading Lee Enfields: The CLLE MkI* and MkII
In our continuing series on the development of the British Lee Enfield rifles, we are looking at the CLLE conversions today. In 1907 the British adopted a new universal short rifle (the SMLE) that used […]