Reproduction
A Semiauto FG-42 up on Gunbroker
Rick from SMG Guns dropped me a line to let me know that he has put one of his 8mm semiauto FG-42 rifles up for sale on Gunbroker. In fact, it’s actually the exact demo […]
United States
Prototype
Japanese Pedersen Rifle at RIA
After he failed to win US military adoption of his toggle-locked rifle design, John Pedersen went looking for other countries that might be interested in the gun. One of these was Japan, which experimented with […]
Shotgun
Burgess Folding Shotgun at RIA
Andrew Burgess was an extremely prolific gun designer who gets very little recognition today. One of has particularly interesting weapons was a pump-action, folding shotgun. Because Spencer already had a patent on the use of […]
Revolver
Allen & Wheelock Lipfire Navy Revolver at RIA
Not all companies responded in the same way to the development of cartridge revolvers and the Rollin White patent. Allen & Wheelock, for example, decided to simply ignore the patent and make revolvers for their […]
Semiauto pistol
Collected Works of John Pedersen
John Pedersen was one of the more prolific and successful gun designers in American history, having even been described by John Moses Browning as “the greatest gun designer in the world”. And yet, many people […]
Prototype
Prototype Optic on an M1 at RIA
In the years after WWII, several countries experimented with general-use optical sights on service rifles. The Germans had pioneered the concept with the ZF-41 long eye relief optic during the war (and the ZF-4, to […]
Prototype
Grant Hammond .32ACP Prototype at RIA
Grant Hammond is best known (to the extent he is known at all) for a .45 caliber pistol submitted to US military trials in 1917 and 1918. This pistol is a proof of concept prototype […]
Revolver
Merwin & Bray .42 Caliber Cupfire Revolver at RIA
One of the many revolver systems designed to work around the Rollin White patent was the Pant’s Patent cupfire revolver, made by Merwin & Bray in several calibers (.28, .30, and .42). This particular example […]
Semiauto Rifles
Duplex .22-06 M1 Garand at RIA
During the 1950s, the US Army ran a series of programs trying to find a better solution for infantry rifles than firing single semiauto bullets. These projects (including SALVO, SALVO II, and SPIW) would include […]
Revolver
Colt “Cloverleaf” House Revolver at RIA
The Colt House revolver, better known as the Cloverleaf (and sometimes as the Jim Fisk Model) was the first revolver Colt designed from the ground up for rimfire ammunition. It entered the market in 1871, […]