The S-11 was Sterling's Chief Weapons Designer, Frank Waters attempt at competing with the huge commerical successes of the MP-5 and the Uzi.

A quintessential What is this Weapon, the Turret Pistol is a dead end of firearms design, developed under the misapprehension that conventional revolvers were all doing it wrong. Join Jonathan as he investigates why you would want to revolve on a whole other plane of movement.

While most nations opt for a modular grenade launcher on the underside of a rifle barrel, Russia is one of a select few nations that opted for a standalone design. The GM-94 used both in a civil and military context has seen extensive use over the last 30 years, including most recently during the...

Britain entered the Second World War with the Lee Enfield as its core sniper rifle. While it was an effective, accurate weapon, its very nature as a bolt-action rifle meant that users had to readjust their aim after reloading. The SREM-1 originated from a 1944 requirement from the War Office to t...

Jonathan finds himself at home with a pair of Victorian British pistols, one percussion and the other converted to fire cartridges. The Daw, who was in fact only the marketer and vendor of the weapons, is a superb example of period craftmanship but failed to capture enough traction to make it a m...

An Antipodean entry with some extremely extremely rare features, but like so many weapons of this series, this week's entry was destined to be a footnote in the annals of firearms history. Created by Australian, Russell Robinson, inventor of other extremely odd looking firearms, the SR-11 had an ...

For hundreds of years, pairs of boxed pistols have been described as 'duelling' weapons. But, how much truth is there to this label? Jonathan examines a recent article which puts into doubt the fact that such a label has ever been accurate.

This week's obscure firearm stems from the French city of Marseille in the mid-19th century. Made by the Viallon family, these weapons catch the eye as a result of their modern looking grip. Jonathan Ferguson explains why they look so different compared to other percussion pistols at the time.

Another link up with our friends at Real Time History with this curious Bavarian gun with a backwards trigger on the Centrefire breech-loading military carbine - Werder Model 1869.

This week, Jonathan is joined by a quintessential What is this Weapon firearm. Designed early in the 20th-century, this self defense pistol still incorporates a hammer ignition system, while being locked in place by something resembling a bolt-action system.

The AR-18, seen as a cheaper alternative to the more commercially successful the AR-15 (M16), was the inspiration behind the Sterling LAR. However, with several patents preventing a more direct copy, Sterling had to find some inventive ways to do things a little differently, leading to this somew...

Jonathan strips the Accuracy International AS50 to see how this lesser-known anti-materiel rifle sought to find it's niche with the British armed forces and beyond

Revolutionary France faced a problem: How could it mass produce cheap firearms with a shortage of heavy machinery and skilled gunsmiths? The answer: this thing.

This cheap and easy to produce pistol, designed to be made with stamped sheet steel was a last-gasp attempt by Nazi Germany to mass-produce a sidearm in the dying months of the Second World War.

Two pistols. Eight shots. It's an awful lot of firepower for just one individual, but that's what Thomas B van Horn, high ranking officer of the US militia and later Army ordered from British gunmaker, Robert Wheeler. There's a lot to unpack from these so strap yourselves in and let Jonathan guid...

As with the shells, 1915 saw another shortage for Britain's burgeoning army: revolvers. To plug this gap, procurement went in search for off the shelf alternatives, as close to the Army's existing inventory of Webleys. Two solutions were sort from the USA, as was this one from the Basque region o...

Design by the somewhat unfortunately named Adolf Furer, this early example of a submachine gun sought to re-use the venerable Luger toggle-lock mechanism, but on its side.

As with many of the weapons we've featured in this series, this week's firearm is a conversion of vast stocks of obsoleted percussion cap Adams Revolvers in order to give them a new lease of life into the second half of the 19th century.

The Barrett M82 is the quintessential anti-materiel rifle in service with 60 militaries around the world. Here, Jonathan investigates its compact cousins used by the British army, famously fell into dangerous hands during the troubles in Northern Ireland.

Catch Jonathan in his element as he discusses one of his much favourite and most researched weapons, the EM-2. These are no ordinary variants however, with both weapons being shipped out for 'in-country' testing in the 1950s.

The 'AK-47' is the ubiquitous label for the most recognisable group of firearms on the planet, but would you be correct in calling all AK-type rifles AK-47s? Is there indeed any such thing as an 'AK-47'? Join Jonathan Ferguson as he examines the lineage of the most produced firearm family of all ...

This week Jonathan examines two rifles instrumental in the early development of the concept which would eventually become the famous Lee Enfield. Despite both weapons not progressing past the experimental stage, their early adoption of a bolt-action firing mechanism coupled with a fixed magazine ...

The ultimate in hidden, personal defence weaponry, the 'Zerfallkoffer' was developed in a time when the briefcase was a common accoutrement to the discerning businessman.

The Nazis pioneered the development of the assault rifle and the intermediate cartridge in the latter half of the Second World War. It led to a host of weapons under different designations with seemingly little (to nothing) to separate individual models. Jonathan Ferguson explains the difference ...