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Tom Whiteman (of Legacy Collectibles) has just recently published "Third Reich Lugers: An Illustrated Collector's Guide to German Military Lugers from World War II". The full title pretty much says it all here; this is not a history of the Luger or...

The story of the Czechoslovak resistance to German annexation and occupation during World War Two is a pretty bleak one - the Gestapo did a very effective job of rooting out almost the entire organization. One of the most notable actions taken was the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich by two SOE...

The Blyskawica ("LIghtning") is an SMG developed in occupied Poland to be issued out to Home Army units during Operation Tempest; the liberation uprisings planned for the advance of the Red Army into Poland.

The gun was developed starting in September 1942 by two engineers, Wacław Zawrotny and...

It was no secret in the international arms market that Mauser was doing a tremendous business selling C96 pistols into Warlord-era China in the 1920s. The C96 was an imposing and powerful handgun that was highly regarded in China. Spanish companies including Bestigui Hermanos took note, and start...

Someone digging through the warehouses an FN in Herstal found 400 FAL rifles turned in by the Belgian Gendarmerie when they upgraded to newer arms...and they decided to send them to the US as parts kits. So FN America has these 400 kits now, and they are selling them off via lottery (free entry f...

One of the rarest versions of the FN49 rifle is the Belgian Congo contract, made to equip the Force Publique there - the military force in the territory when it was a Belgian colony. A total of 2,795 of them were delivered (all actually AFN-49s, chambered for .30-06); 1,500 rifles in 1951, 1,100 ...

The Browning High Power (“Grande Puissance”, aka GP-35) was developed by Fabrique National in Belgium, designed primarily by John Browning’s apprentice Dieudonné Saive. It began in the very early 1920s as a pistol designed for a new French Army requirement, but eventually split into two separate ...

The Bechowiec (or Beha) is a fascinating SMG produced in small numbers in southern Poland under German occupation during World War Two. It was made for use by the Bataliony Chłopskie (Peasant Battalions) by a young man named Henryk Strąpoć.

Henryk built his first (quite illegal) gun at the age...

I recently had a chance to visit the Austrian Museum of Military History, and figured it would be nice to film a tour for the channel. The museum is in Vienna (the address is actually "Arsenal 1") and is one of the oldest continuously-operating military museums in Europe. There are four main gall...

A very small batch of special target model pistols was made at the very end of Astra 400 production in 1945. They were fitted with Patridge front sights and adjustable revolver-style square-notch rear sights, much improved over the stock Astra 400 sights. In addition, they were fitted with a spec...

From Richard on Patreon:
"Why didn't the M3 and M3A1 (grease gun) have a double stack/double feed mag and use the Thompson mag? It would have certainly simplified logistics."

The answer to the first part is that the M3 used a single-feed magazine because it was largely copied from the Sten. A...

From Michal on Patreon:
"Can you talk about difference between .223 Remington and 5.56 NATO? Or in more general terms about possibility of using military grade ammo in civilian rifles. I heard everything from 'it will explode' to 'it will work normally'."

The short answer is that the differen...

Asked by Charles on Patreon:
"I'd love to hear you do a deep dive on the commissioning and procurement process of the Chauchat compared to the FAMAS or the HK416F (or the STEN and the L85, PPSh41 and the AK-12 etc). The specific question to answer would be: 'why does defense procurement take so ...

From Jack on Patreon:
"Why did the US go on to develop the M1 Garand instead of continuing development of the BAR? With the BAR you already have a self-loading rifle with as much firepower as later battle rifles of the Cold War (such as the M-14), including detachable 20 round magazines. Why n...

A question I have been asked by several different people in several Q&A threads is:

"Does the Savage rotating-barrel system actually do anything?"

In his 1905 patent, Elbert Searle specifically claims that his design creates a positively locked breech. He did this, in theory, by having a sy...

From Jamie on Utreon:
"I know naval gatling guns like the 20mm CIWS uses gain twist rifling, but are or were there any commercial or military small arms that used gain twist rifling?"

Yes, there have been some significant uses of progressive (gain) twist rifling on military and civilian small...

From Nintendoeats on Utreon:
"Modern centerfire and rimfire cartridges seem (to the casual observer) like they would always have been the simplest cartridge types to make. Why was pinfire ever used, and how was it economically manufactured?"

Essentially, pinfire represents a cartridge develop...

From Brian on Patreon:
"Would you give your thoughts and comments on non-gun companies making guns? For example Baldwin Locomotive/Eddystone 1917s, IH Garands, GM M-16s, most M-1 carbines, maybe even TRW M-14s. How did the experiment work out?"

I would say that the experiment worked very wel...

From Brian on Patreon:
"What’s the dumbest or most unsafe thing you’ve ever witnessed while out shooting in the desert or at a range / match?"

That would definitely be when a pair of totally movie shooters out at my desert shooting range spot decided to violate Rule 4 (Know your target and wh...

From Nick on Patreon:
"What small arm of the 20th century do you think got the most updates and changes from first production model to last? Was the effort worth it? Or should this country/company have adopted an entirely new design at some point before that last production?"

After initially ...

From Dennis on Patreon:
"What rifles were between the M1 Garand and the M14? I went through Basic with an M14 and I know the M15 was supposed to be a BAR relacement. Google doesn't really find anything on the M2 - M13 rifles."

The Army had rifle for much more than just standard infantry use. ...

From LongBeef on Patreon:
"What exactly is headspace? And how important is headspace in old milsurp guns vs. more modern guns?"

Headspace is basically the amount of play a cartridge has in a chamber. There has to be some to account for manufacturing variations in guns and ammunition, but too ...

From Nathaniel on Patreon:
"Why didn't Germany or Axis powers have a machine gun similar to the American M2?"

Basically, because everyone faced the choice of a .50 caliber machine gun or 20mm (or larger) cannons for anti-aircraft use, and most people chose the cannons - including Germany. The...

Asked by Prmetime on Utreon: In WW2, Finland was given approximately 100,000 Carcano M38 rifles in 7.35 Carcano. I have heard it stated that the Finns didn’t like the rifles. Can you comment on the veracity of that statement, and if true, do you know why they weren’t liked?

The Finnish governm...