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...

In this episode we take a look at an extremely rare rifle. A M1903 Springfield chambered in British .303 and adapted to mimic the Lee-Enfield Rifle No.4. Developed in late 1940 to provide the British with desperately needed rifles the project was eventually abandoned and only a handful of prototy...

The mid-1860s found the Winchester Arms Company looking to improve the Henry Repeating Rifle. A series of design improvements by the company's chief engineer, Nelson King, led to one of Winchester's most important rifles - the Model 1866. In this video Matt examines a prototype 'musket' with an e...

Matt examines another one of a kind John Browning prototype. Patented in 1895, this slide action rifle design was purchased by Winchester but never manufactured. Instead Winchester went with the iconic lever-action Model 1895. Be sure to check out our accompanying article for this video here - ht...

Matt examines an unmarked screw-breech percussion rifle, believed to be a prototype dating from the 1860s. Building on earlier screw-breech designs like the Ferguson, this rifle is believed to have been designed by Lewis Wells Broadwell, who patented a similar action in the mid-1860s. Be sure to ...

In the 1890s John Browning developed a whole host of firearms designs which never saw production. Many, like this one, were purchased by Winchester. This fascinating rare prototype, currently on display at the wonderful Cody Firearms Museum, feeds from a 5-round en bloc clip rather than a tube ma...

A wild MCEM-2 appears! Recently, while looking though British Army Cold War training films, I stumbled upon something I never expected to see: a clip of an MCEM-2 firing. The MCEM-2 (Machine Carbine Experimental Model No.2) was a small, compact, innovative submachine gun developed towards the end...

At SHOT Show 2023 we got our first look at the Individual Weapon System, chambered in .264 Lightweight Intermediate Caliber Cartridge (LICC) - a round developed from .264 USA. Developed by FN America in response to a requirement from the Irregular Warfare Technology Support Directorate the new ri...

This week Russian company Android Technology unveiled their version of the Switchblade 300 loitering munition. The BAS-80 is a small kamikaze drone with a 500g warhead. It is reportedly now being tested in Ukraine in small numbers.

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

When France decided to adopt a new 9x19mm submachine gun after World War Two, all three of the main French arsenals (St Etienne/MAS, Chatellerault/MAC, and Tulle/MAT) developed designs to compete for adoption. Tulle would eventually win and their design became the MAT-49, but the other lines of d...