Forgotten Weapons

Forgotten Weapons

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Forgotten Weapons
  • McCann Industries MAS 49/56 in the Elbonian Royal Air Service

    Elbonian Royal Air Service merch:
    https://www.varusteleka.com/en/product/forgotten-weapons-royal-air-service-elbonia-t-shirt-cotton/78756

    In the early 2000s, the Elbonian Royal Air Service was looking for an aerial interdiction rifle - something to arm snipers in dirigibles, for shooting down li...

  • Last Day: Rifles of the Danube Discount & Special KS Edition!

    https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/headstamp/rifles-on-the-danube?ref=64v2l6
    Today is your last chance to join the preorder for Rifles on the Danube!

    Until the end of today, you can still join the Kickstarter for "Rifles on the Danube: Hungarian Kalashnikov Firearms 1959-2002". This is the las...

  • Enjoying Black Powder Episode 1: The Trapdoor Springfield

    Black powder military rifles of the 1860s-1880s are a really enjoyable group of guns. A lot of them are relatively reasonably priced, and they are actually pretty easy to reload for. The unavailability of factory ammunition (for most, although not so much for the Trapdoor) makes them seem like a ...

  • Can I Shoot 1 MOA All Day? (Bloke/Polenar Challenge Accepted!)

    Bloke on the Range Challenge Video:
    https://youtu.be/BM3SHvYosSs

    Bloke and Žiga have challenged us - and you! - to shoot a 1 MOA group on demand, with a non-benchrest sort of rifle. The idea is that a whole lot of people will happily insist that their regular hunting rifle will quite easily shoo...

  • ATF Update: More Transferrable MGs and One-Week NFA Transfers

    Two pieces of surprisingly good news regarding the NFA :

    First, ATF has recognized that about 4,000 machine guns imported prior to 1986 for police agencies were mis-classified as dealer samples when they should have been fully transferrable. Those guns are being reclassified as transferrable now...

  • Belton Repeating Flintlock: A Semiautomatic Rifle in 1785

    In 1785, Joseph Belton (an American inventor) and William Jover (an English gunmaker) sold 560 repeating flintlock rifles to the British East India Company. The guns were a very remarkable design which used a detachable magazine tube of 7 rounds stacked in series with a seven sequential touch hol...

  • Arsenal Strike One: Russian Police Pistol Comes to the West

    The Strike One pistol originated around 2011 as a collaboration between Nicola Bandini and Dimitry Streshinskiy as a pistol to replace the Makarov in Russian police use. By 2014 is was progressing very successfully through testing and trials, and had gained some international interest, and that's...

  • Shooting Shaved Webley Revolvers (w/ Steinel Ammo)

    Steinel Ammunition has started making a rather niche new product, but one that I think is quite convenient: .45 ACP downloaded to .455 Webley pressure. This is for use in Webley revolvers that were shaved to use moon clips and .45 ACP when they were imported. This is a common modification done by...

  • Hungarian Blast Machine: AMD-65 at the Range

    "Rifles on the Danube" Kickstarter is live!
    https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/headstamp/rifles-on-the-danube?ref=ewy77i

    Today I took my AMD-65 out to the range. I've shot regular AKMs with AMD muzzle brakes, but never had the chance to try the AMD-65 in its original proper configuration. And ...

  • Researching Hungarian Kalashnikovs: Interview with László Becz

    Rifles on the Danube: Hungarian Kalashnikov Firearms 1959-2002 is available now on Kickstarter:
    https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/headstamp/rifles-on-the-danube?ref=ezuyuv

    Nic Jenzen-Jones, Director of Research for Headstamp Publishing, spent some time in Budapest speaking with László Becz, a...

  • M1911A1: America's Definitive World War Two Pistol

    The United States adopted the M1911 pistol just in time for the First World War, and between Colt and Springfield Arsenal some 643,000 of these pistols were made by the end of 1918. During that production and the gun's field service in France, a number of potential improvements were recognized. T...

  • Sten Mk5: The Cadillac of the Sten Family

    The Sten Mk5 (sometimes written Sten MkV) was really the Cadillac of the Sten series. It was designed in 1943, and featured a full wooden buttstock patterned after the No4 Enfield rifle, as well as a front sight abductor bayonet lugs for the Enfield. It has a wooden pistol grip as well (and earl...

  • Makarov PB: Silenced KGB "Wet Work" Pistol

    In 1967, the Tula arsenal introduced a specialized silenced version of the Makarov for covert use. This was a very effective pistol, and its design was also very heavily changed from that of the regular pistol. With a two-part silencer surrounding the barrel, the recoil spring had to be moved to ...

  • PAM-2: Argentina's Improved 9mm Grease Gun

    The Argentine factory FMAP-DGFM was first set up to produce a copy of the Colt 1911, and in 1954 they began production of the PAM-1 (after demonstration of the first prototype in 1950). The PAM-1 was a copy of the American M3A1 "Grease Gun" chambered for 9x19mm Parabellum. Production ran until 19...

  • AK-63F: Hungary's Last Military Kalashnikov

    Join our Kickstarter for "Rifles On The Danube" today and get your copy of the best book on Hungarian AKs!
    https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/headstamp/rifles-on-the-danube?ref=dioegq

    In 1978, as AMD-65 rifles in service were starting to get worn out, FÉG launched a program to refurbish the ol...

  • SA-85S: FEG Adapts the Hungarian AK for American Import

    Get your copy of "Rifles On The Danube" today - only 2 days left!
    https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/headstamp/rifles-on-the-danube?ref=9yoa00

    Hungary began importing semiautomatic civilian versions of FÉG's AK-63D into the United States in the 1980s. As more restrictions were put on importati...

  • AMD-65: The Specialist's AK Turns Standard-Issue

    Get your copy of "Rifles On The Danube" today!
    https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/headstamp/rifles-on-the-danube?ref=6vfjwg

    The Hungarian AMD-65 (Automata Módosított Deszantfegyver - "Modified Paratrooper Automatic Rifle") was requested first in 1964 because the standard AKM-63 rifles in Hunga...

  • MAGAL: A Galil in .30 Carbine for the Israeli Police

    In the early 1990s, Israeli Military Industries (IMI) developed the Galil MAR (Micro Assault Rifle) and the MAGAL at the same time. Both were intended to be very compact rifles, with the MAR in 5.56mm and the MAGAL specifically for police in .30 Carbine. The MAGAL offered the same handling and er...

  • Cartridge History: The .451 Detonics Magnum is a Supercharged .45 ACP

    Detonics was founded as a company in the 1970s, making high-end 1911 pistols. Their first product that really put them on the map was their 3" micro-compact 1911; something that just wasn't available on a production basis at the time. After the .45 Winchester Magnum cartridge was introduced in 19...

  • So You Want to Design Guns? You Need This Book.

    "Firearm Anatomy Book III: The Remington Double Derringer" by David S. Findlay
    Available through Amazon:
    https://amzn.to/4daGdYy

    David S. Findlay is a firearms designer with extensive experience - a decades-long career in the field working for Remington, Marlin, S&W, and Kimber and two dozen pat...

  • Glock 46: A Revolutionary Design Change

    Except for the .22 rimfire Glock 44, all the pistols from the Austrian powerhouse Glock have shared the same fundamental mechanical system. They use the Browning tilting-barrel action, which has been long proven by many companies. With the Glock 46, however, they completely changed, and opted for...

  • Kord: Russia's New .50 Cal Heavy Machine Gun

    The Kord was developed to replace the Soviet NSV heavy machine gun. The NSV was developed in 1969 to replace the DShK, and it was a pretty good gun - but it was manufactured in only one factory and that factory was located in Kazakhstan. When the Soviet Union crumbled, that left the new Russian F...

  • Sten MkIII: A Children's Toy Company Makes SMGs

    Lines Brothers was a company in the UK that made sheet metal childrens' toys prior to the war. When production of the Sten guns began, Lines Bros was a parts subcontractor. Their engineers analyzed the design alongside the machinery the company had available and redesigned a version of the Sten t...

  • S&W M1917: A US Army revolver in .45 ACP

    When the United States entered World War One, it had a significant shortfall in military handguns. The M1911 pistol production was expanded as much as possible, but more guns were needed. Both Colt and Smith & Wesson adapted revolver designs to Army standard .45 ACP ammunition, and both were acce...