In 2008, Taser release the X12, a Mossberg 500 shotgun modified to use a miniaturized Taser cartridge called the XREP (eXtended Range Electronic Projectile). The idea was to create a Taser system that could be effective in the intermediate range (30-100 feet) where a regular handheld Taser could ...

Ethiopia is a fascinating and unique example of an African nation that was able to uphold its sovereignty through force of arms, and resist become a possession of any of the European powers during the age of colonial expansion. The defining event in this history was the Battle of Adwa in 1896, wh...

Today we're looking at the mechanics of the Bergmann-Bayard M1910/21 self-loading pistol. This particular one is a very nice example of the Danish-made late variant of the design.

In a controlled feed rifle design, a cartridge slips under the extractor as soon as it is released from the magazine. This means than if the bolt is retracted before being locked into battery, it will pull the cartridge back out as it retracts. On a push feed action, the extractor does not captur...

American service members in World War One and World War Two brought a tremendous number of firearms back to the US as trophies and souvenirs. While some mailed guns home, most brought them back in person by way of naval transport back from Europe or the Pacific. Most captured rifles were too long...

When I ran my Calico carbine through the PCC course of fire last month, I was rather surprised to see it run through 150 rounds without any malfunctions. I plan to continue shooting it without any cleaning or lubrication, to see how long it will go before it stops working. Today was the second ra...

Today I headed to the monthly 2-Gun match (which is rifle-only for this month) with a semiauto Galil R5 clone outfitted with an Armson OEG (Occluded Eye Gunsight). This particular OEG has a base specifically made to fit the Galil gas tube, and should be a really interesting experience to use on t...

In the late 1990s Colt was looking for pistols it could license for sale in the United States, in the wake of the failures of both eh Double Eagle and All-American 2000. They approached CZ, and also Vektor in South Africa. Vektor was just at the end of its production of the SP1 and SP2 pistols, w...

The DeLisle carbine was a conversion of the Lee Enfield to .45 ACP made by the British during World War Two for SOE use. They used modified 1911 magazines to feed, and included a very large suppressor to make the carbine as close to actually silent as a firearm can be. Original DeLisles are very ...

I have been thinking about machine gun optics for a while, as I am on the waiting list for a Lage Max 11/15A1 5.56mm upper for my M11A1 (registered and legal) machine pistol. I am fitting the Lage upper with a BlkLbl bipod/handguard, and that leaves the question of what sighting system to put on ...

In an effort to appeal to American and British military testing commissions,
Georg Roth produced a handful of prototype Roth-Krnka pistols in .45 caliber. They used a proprietary cartridge; the 11.5mm Roth (approximately 200 grains at 660 fps, although more powerful versions of the cartridge wo...

In 1932, Walther made 10 custom long-barreled PP pistols for the Swiss target shooting community, sold through Glaser in Switzerland. These pistols had 127mm (5 inch) barrels chambered for .32 ACP, a fine satin "Verchromt" finish, extra checkering on the front and back straps, and a gold-plated t...

In 1977, Arcadia Machine & Tool introduced the Hardballer, the first commercial stainless steel 1911. Stainless steel was a hot commodity, although there were some initial teething issues with slide/frame galling. Eventually, AMT introduced a number of additional 1911 models, including the Javeli...

Today I am running a semiauto (SBR) Hotchkiss Universal through my standardized Pistol-Caliber Carbine course of fire. This consists of a selection of cool target systems from MOA Targets - an 8-plate dueling tree, a mini-Mozambique, and a Redneck Star. These will serve to test target transitions...

F.H. Audley was a saddler who ran a business in New York City starting in the 1870s. As his business in horse tackle declined with the spread of automobiles, he found himself looking for other product lines. In 1906 he moved to a location across the street form a New York police station, and foun...

Jeff Cooper envisioned a few variation on the Scout Rifle, most notably a heavier-caliber type suited more for African dangerous (or large) game hunting, for which the .308 Winchester cartridge was not really suitable. Cooper had a rifle he called his "Lion Scout", chambered for the .350 Remingto...

Q&A time again! This month we have:

00:17 - Favorite military uniform or camo pattern
01:12 - Stockpile of odd ammo?
02:15 - Bolts closing automatically when a new magazine is inserted
04:18 - Filming in French museum and arsenal collections
06:08 - Gas operated revolvers
06:55 - Videos a...

Peter Dallhammer is a mechanical engineer who works for the Walther company, and has written an excellent book on firearms manufacture. If you were going to design a university program around the design and production of small arms, his "Textbook of Pistol Technology and Design: Production, Princ...

During World War Two, the British government contracted for about 8,000 Ballester Molina pistols from HAFDASA in Argentina. They were produced between 1942 and 1944, and are easily identified by the application of a second serial number on the left side with a "B" prefix. The exact details of the...

The New Model Melior was patented just before World War One, but did not go into production until 1920. It was a visual lookalike of the FN Model 1910, where the (retroactively named) Old Model Melior had been a copy of the FN Model 1900. The New Model was actually a remarkably well designed and ...

The Hotchkiss Universal was a closed-bolt submachine gun submitted to French military trials in the late 1940s to replace the MAS-38. The French were looking for a compact SMG in 9mm Parabellum, and tested guns form the state arsenals as well as the Hotchkiss and Gevelot companies. The Universal ...

Historically, there are a variety of combination knife/gun/knuckles combination weapons, typically made in the late 19th century. This one is…rather larger than most of those. This is a combination knife/gun with a pair of percussion-fired 12mm smoothbore barrels, a roughly 5.25 inch folding knif...

Nicolaus-Noël Boutet is one of the most significant gunsmith artists in the world. He was the “directeur-artiste” of the Manufacture d’Armes de Versailles, set up in 1792 and would remain in charge of the factory until it closed in 1818. Originally set up to make a variety of small arms, under Na...

"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 pocket guns made in the 1870s and 1880. These were mostly very simple, chambered for a range of cartridges from .22 rimfire to .41 rimfire. Some example...