Competition
Taurus Curve: My Worst Backup Gun Match Yet!
A little while back during the summer I went to our monthly Backup Gun Match with, of all things, a Taurus Curve. Why do I even own one of those? Well, I found one new […]
United States
Anti-Tank Rifles
Big-Bore Simplicity: the Serbu BFG-50A
The Serbu BFG-50A is one of only a couple self-loading .50 caliber rifles manufactured in the US. Work on its design began in 2008, and the first finished examples were produced in 2011. A total […]
Book review
Book Review: U.S. Small Arms of World War II by Bruce Canfield
Bruce Canfield’s newly released book, “U.S. Small Arms of World War II”, is a book that attempts to cover a huge amount of material from bayonets to mortars and recoilless rifles. Where most books of […]
Semiauto Rifles
The CETME-L and the CETME-LC at the Range
Today I am out at the range to do some side-by-side shooting with the CETME-L and the CETME-LC. These are both MarColMar examples, in the original Spanish military configuration (ie, iron sights only). The LC […]
Accessories
Testing the Duckbill Choke with Matt Haught
Today I am out at the range with Matt Haught of Symtac Consulting to test out a duckbill choke. Also known as a spreader, this was a muzzle device used briefly by SEALs in Vietnam […]
Conversion
Merrill Breechloading Conversion of the 1841 Mississippi Rifle
Lot 1171 in the September 2020 RIA Premier auction. James Merrill of Baltimore had his hands in several Civil War era firearms – rifles built from scratch, conversions of the Jenks carbines, and also conversions […]
Antiques
Hall Model 1819: A Rifle to Change the Industrial World
Lot 1193 in the September 2020 RIA Premier auction. John Hall designed the first breechloading rifle to be used by the United States military, and the first breechloader issued in substantial numbers by any military […]
Antiques
Hopkins & Allen XL-6 Revolver with a Surprising Swing-Out Cylinder
Lot 1104 in the September 2020 RIA Premier auction. “XL” was a brand name used by Hopkins & Allen to cover several different styles of revolver, but the first were a series of rimfire, spur-hammer […]
Bayonet
Bowie Knife Bayonet and Bolo Bayonet for the US Krag
Lot 164 (Bolo bayonet) and Lot 165 (Bowie bayonet) in the September 2020 RIA Premier auction. When the US adopted the Krag rifle in 1892, a remarkably efficient and simple decision was made regarding its […]
Antiques
Peabody Sidehammer: The Best Martini Action You’ve Never Heard Of
Lot 152 (long rifle) and lot 1164 (carbine) in the RIA September 2020 Premier auction. Henry Peabody was one of the less-recognized American firearms designers. A machinist from the age of 17, he worked at […]