Video
WWI Trench Hand Weapons
Karl and I recently did some work with a wide selection of hand weapons from WWI (some original, some reproductions) for a video in collaboration with the excellent YouTube channel The Great War. Have a […]
France
Revolver
RIA: An Overview of the Pinfire Revolver System
The pinfire system was an early cartridge type which saw widespread use in Europe, but was not widely adopted in the United States. First invented by a French designer named Pauly, it was made commercially […]
Gunsmithing
Spoils of War: A 1907 St Etienne Full of Bullet Holes
The 1907 St Etienne heavy machine gun is a really neat gun mechanically, but I can’t shot you that today because this one is jammed together from the 7 bullet impacts that rendered it unusable […]
Semiauto pistol
Le Français .32ACP Pistol (Video)
The Le Français was a staple of Manufrance production, being first designed in 1912 and produced until the late 1960s. This example is in .32ACP caliber, which was only made for the commercial market in […]
Single Shot Rifles
French Remington Rolling Block in 8mm Lebel (Video)
The Remington Rolling Block, introduced in 1866, was one of the most prolific single shot military rifles in the world. The combination of aggressive marketing, low cost, and an excellent design led to Remington selling […]
Single Shot Rifles
How to Get More Rifles Fast: France, WWI
One of the universal misconceptions about World War One on the parts of its combatants was how long it was expected to last. When war broke out, the prevailing assumption on all sides was that […]
Bolt Action Rifles
Perspectives on French Rifle Sight Design
Holy moley, is that the most dense and snooty post title ever? I think it might be. However, I think it’s a much more interesting subject than most folks might anticipate, and it’s something that […]
Light MGs
A Soviet Look at Cold War Small Arms Development
I have covered various elements of small arms development during the Cold War more than a few times – usually involving the contentious process that led to the 7.62mm NATO cartridge being adopted, and the […]
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 […]
Needlefire
Q&A Video, November 2015
Thanks to the awesome people supporting Forgotten Weapons through Patreon for sending in more questions that I could get to for another month! This month the subjects include: Browning lock vs others in handguns Best […]