Bolt Action Rifles
The Short-Lived No1 Mk6 SMLE at James D Julia
The SMLE No1 Mk3 was the iconic British infantry rifle of World War 1, but not the final evolution of the Lee Enfield design. By World War 2 it had been replaced by the new […]
Video
Prototype
US Test Trials White-Merrill .45 Caliber Pistol at James D Julia
One of the domestic US made pistols entered in the US military pistol trials of 1907 was this White-Merrill design. It is particularly interesting because White and Merrill submitted a manual along with the gun, […]
Conversion
The Very Steampunk M1915 Howell Automatic Rifle at James D Julia
The M1915 Howell Automatic Rifle is a conversion of a standard No1 MkIII Lee Enfield rifle into a semiautomatic, through the addition of a gas piston onto the right side of the barrel. Despite its […]
Prototype
Knoble .22 Rimfire Prototype Pistol at James D Julia
W.E. Knoble of Tacoma, Washington is not a well-known gun designer, and was in fact not a successful gun designer. But he did enter a .45 caliber pistol in the 1907 US pistol trials, and […]
Single Shot Rifles
Hans Larsen’s Unique Falling Block Rifles at James D Julia
Hans Larsen was a very successful competitive marksman (World Champion, in fact) and gunsmith in Norway in the late 1800s. He, and later his company, made a wide variety of guns, from revolving rifles and […]
Submachine Guns
A Swarm of Angry Bees: The American 180 at James D Julia
The American 180 is a .22 rimfire submachine gun that fires at 1200-1500 rounds per minute or more, and feeds from drums of 177 to 275 rounds capacity. While it makes a great recreational machine […]
Bolt Action Rifles
Australian Experimental Jungle Carbines at James D Julia
In 1943, experimentation began in Great Britain, Canada, and Australia into developing a shortened and lightened version of the Lee Enfield rifle. In Australia, the work was done on the No1 Mk3* rifle, as the […]
Select-fire Rifles
The M2 Carbine: Assault Rifle or Submachine Gun?
The M2 Carbine was a mechanically simple modification of the M1 Carbine to allow fully automatic fire. The fire prototypes of the M1 Carbine had actually been selective-fire guns, but that requirement had been dropped […]
Conversion
Axel Peterson’s Complicated .22 Luger Conversion at James D Julia
Axel Peterson was a Swedish immigrant who became a very respected gunsmith in the Denver area in the late 1800s, and whose shop remained in business until World War 2. Peterson was best known for […]
Bolt Action Rifles
Canadian Experimental Lightweight No4 Enfield at James D Julia
In 1943 the need for a lighter and handier version of the Lee Enfield rifle became clear throughout the British Commonwealth, and experimentation began in Canada, Britain, and Australia. The work in Britain would culminate […]