Reproduction
A Note from Rick Smith of SMG Guns
Just wanted to pass along a cool photo and note I got from Rick Smith (the guy making reproduction FG-42 rifles) this morning: Hi All, Can’t say how this came about past it was almost […]
Semiauto Rifles
Semiauto Rifles
Scotti Model X – Shooting, History, & Disassembly (Video)
The Scotti Model X (the X standing for the 10th year of the Italian Fascist era, or 1932) was one of several semiauto rifles tested by the Italian military during the late 1920s and early […]
Semiauto Rifles
Mondragon 1908 Semiauto Rifles – 4 Different Examples (Video)
Best known as the first semiautomatic service rifle adopted by a mainstream military force, the 1908 Mondragon was designed by Mexican native Manuel Mondragon, manufactured by SIG in Switzerland, and adopted by the Mexican Army […]
Prototype
Swiss Prototype: N33 (Video)
The N33 is one of a series of Swiss prototype semiautomatic rifles developed between WWI and WWII (the “33” refers to 1933). This particular design is interesting because it fires from an open bolt, a […]
Light MGs
Israeli Dror LMG: Shooting & Disassembly (Video)
The Dror was an Israeli copy of the Johnson LMG, which was made domestically in Israel as part of Israel’s war of independence in the late 1940s. The design was developed through a combination of […]
Prototype
Mystery Japanese Semiauto
While in the Smithsonian gun room, I noticed a semi auto Japanese rifle of a type I have not seen reference to before. It is definitely Japanese, judging from elements like the split buttstock and […]
Prototype
SIG Prototype 1924/1925 Semiauto Rifles (Video)
The Swiss SIG factory was one of the earliest producers of semiautomatic military rifles, having produced the M1908 Mondragon rifles for Mexico. They continued to experiment with self-loading rifle designs, and in the mid 1920s […]
Semiauto Rifles
H&K SL-6 and SL-7 Rifles at RIA
The German firm Heckler & Koch spent several decades building firearms all based on the same basic operating system: roller-delayed blowback (often called roller-locked, although they are not technically locked breech actions). The two best […]
Semiauto Rifles
Two VG1-5 Gustloff Last Ditch Rifles at RIA
The Volksstrumgewehr Gustloff, more commonly (albeit incorrectly) known as the VG1-5, was one of the few semiautomatic Volkssturm weapons produced at the end of WWII. I have discussed these rifles before, but wanted to take […]
Semiauto Rifles
RSC 1917: France’s WW1 Semiauto Rifle at RIA
Did you know that the French Army issued more than 80,000 semiautomatic rifles during WWI? They had been experimenting with a great many semiauto designs before the war, and in 1916 finalized a design for […]