Courtesy of CZ and their reference library, we are looking at a prototype model of the vz.70 pistol intended to use a suppressor. It has an extended and threaded (with interrupted threads for quick attach/detach) barrel, and a mechanism to allow for locking the slide. This will prevent the slide ...

In the late 1940s the French developed a new suite of small arms, including a competition to replace the 7.65mm MAS-38 submachine gun with a new 9x19mm SMG. The eventual winner of this program was the MAT-49, which became an iconic part of French Army weaponry in Algeria and elsewhere. The St Eti...

When France was developing it's new suite of small arms in the late 1940s, there was a debate over whether to adopt an intermediate-power cartridge or retain the full-power 7.5x54mm round for the infantry rifle. Initially, a French 7.65x35mm cartridge was developed and used for several years of d...

When the US adopted the Beretta Model 92 as the new M9 standard issue handgun in 1985, it was not without controversy. In particular, there was a scandal of cracked and broken M9 slides shortly after procurement began. The military did not budge on awarding the M9 contract to Beretta, but in 1987...

EDIT: Shoot, I managed to get the gear ratio backwards. Sorry! The recoil action provides the necessary delay, and then the gear ratio provides acceleration to ensure the bolt can open reliably, akin to the accelerator in a Browning M1917 or 1919 machine gun, or a Lahti L35 pistol. Please excuse ...

"EROP" was a small company based in Paris, which produced about 18 submachine gun prototypes between 1954 and 1956. These were submitted to French military trials in several different configurations first in 1954 and later in 1956, and none of them were given any further consideration after that....

A quick look at a Browning pistol prototype that I've been fascinated by for years. During the development of what would become the M1911, John Browning designed a 'hammerless' .45 calibre pistol for the US Army's pistol trials.

Be sure to check out our accompanying article for this video here ...

The Zastava M51 is a prototype Yugoslav submachine gun developed before the adoption of the M56. It uses elements of the Beretta M38 (namely the captive recoil spring system) and PPSh-41 (the selector switch and magazine well) along with a collapsing stock reminiscent of the Polish PM63 machine p...

In this video Vic takes a look at a fascinating footnote in British machine gun design. The X11 was developed by the Royal Small Arms Factory at Enfield in the mid-1950s. The X11 went up against a number of other GPMG and eventually lost out to the FN MAG which was adopted as the L7. Check out ou...

Vic kicks off his series looking at the US Army's ACR trials rifles with a look at not one but two versions of Heckler & Koch's advanced caseless ammunition assault rifle - the G11. We'll be delving into the G11's insanely intricate and wonderfully complex action in later videos! Check out our we...

In this episode Matt takes a look at an interesting hybrid Sten gun that takes parts from both the MkII and MkIII. It's origins are uncertain but it seems to have been an interesting project gun. This gun may be related to the T42 Sten prototype, part of the Sten MkIV development program. Check o...

**Technical Note** Sadly, while filming Vic's radio mic suffered some interference and the auto for the video was lost. Murphy's law in action. In its place Vic has done his best with an overdub. This week we bring you the last in our series on the US Army's Advanced Combat Rifle Program. Vic tak...

In this episode Vic takes a look at Steyr's entry into the US Army's Advanced Combat Rifle Program. This is part of our series on the ACR rifles, be sure to check out the videos on the others. The Steyr ACR was one of four entries that took part in US military trials during the late 1980s to find...

In this episode Vic takes a look at the AAI Corporation's entry into the US Army's Advanced Combat Rifle Program. This is part of our series on the ACR rifles, be sure to check out the videos on the others. The AAI ACR was one of four entries that took part in US military trials during the late 1...

In this episode Vic examines an interesting Browning Automatic Rifle, chambered in .303 and built off a Colt M1925 receiver, of a similar pattern to those tested by the British Army during the 1920s.

Check out our website https://armourersbench.com/2018/03/17/british-trials-browning-automati...

In this episode Matt takes a look at a Volkssturm Carbine designed by Rheinmetall. Developed at the very end of the war, the carbine was part of the Primitive Waffen program which was intended to arm the Volkssturm (a militia unit). Matt discusses the history of the Volkssturm and explains how th...

When we think of Winchester we think of lever actions and timeless John Browning designs, we don’t usually think about submachine guns. In this episode Matt brings us the very first look at Winchester’s Experimental Submachine Guns developed during the mid-1950s. Very little is known or written a...

In 1855 Frederic Prince patented an interesting breechloading action which used a forward sliding barrel that allowed it to be loaded from the breech. In this episode Matt takes a look at a beautiful example of Prince's rifle. The British Army tested the rifle in 1855 and performed well and was r...

The British Army tested the Sterling SMG all over the world, one of the most hostile environments it was tested in was the Malayan jungle. Troops there fitted several trials guns with a shotgun-style rib sight. It was hoped this would improve fast snap shooting during jungle patrols when contact ...

In this very special episode Matt examines what is probably the first repeating bullpup rifle - the Curtis. Designed by a British inventor, William Joseph Curtis, in 1866 it predates all other known bullpups. The design never left prototype stage but gain notoriety in 1895 when it was used by the...

Celebrating our 40th episode with a live fire video featuring a replica Gerat 06(H), the rifle that began the roller-delayed blowback dynasty which has included Spanish CETMEs and German HK's like the G3 and MP5. Developed by Mauser engineers from the gas operated Gerat 06, it produced a much lig...

The 1860s saw much of Europe move to adopt breechloading rifles. Britain held extensive trials with over 20 designs tested, one of the most interesting was submitted by Johann von der Poppenburg. In this video Matt examines the engineering and history of Poppenburg's rifle and explains why it los...

In 1891, John Browning designed a new rifle that fed not from a tube magazine but from a box magazine. Box magazines were a relatively new concept with James Paris Lee leading the field. This one-of-a-kind Browning prototype uses the same locking mechanism as the Winchester 1886 and is in 'musket...

In this episode Matt takes a look at an M1 Garand select-fire conversion developed by Winchester in the late 1940s. Likely chambered in an early version of 7.62x51mm NATO, the rifle is believed to be the work of Winchester (and later Ruger) lead engineer Harry H. Sefried. Be sure to check out Mat...