Prototype
Grant Hammond .45ACP Trials Pistol
The Grant Hammond .45 pistol is a gun which was too late to take part in the major 1907 US military pistol trials, and which was instead presented proactively to the military in hopes of […]
Video
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 […]
Bolt Action Rifles
Mondragon 1894 Bolt Action Rifle (Video)
Manuel Mondragon was a talented lifelong gun designer born in Mexico. He worked extensively at the Swiss SIG factory, and was the man behind the first military-issue semiautomatic rifle. Before that, though, he designed this […]
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 […]
Gunsmithing
Knoble Automatic Pistol, Cal .30 (Video)
The Knoble in .45 caliber was one of the pistols in the US pistol trials of 1907. Unfortunately for Mr. Knoble, his pistol was deemed to crude for the Ordnance Board to consider even test […]
Commentary
Should Guns be in Museums or Private Collections? (Video)
Guns in museums get condemned to a purgatory behind glass. Guns in private collections get shot and broken. What are we to do? As it happens, I have spent the last two days in museum […]
Semiauto pistol
Savage Automatic Pistols: Overview (Video)
Today I am taking a look at Savage automatic pistols as a general group. Savage produced about a quarter million pistols in both .32 and .380 caliber, divided between the models 1907, 1915, and 1917. […]
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 […]
Bolt Action Rifles
M1903 Sniper Rifle with Warner & Swasey M1913 Musket Sight at RIA
When the United States entered World War One, there was no formal sniper school or training in place. However, the US Army had adopted a sniper optic for the M1903 Springfield rifle. It was the […]