Forgotten Weapons - A Virtual Tour Of The Renovated Cody Firearms Museum

When my family took our great Western trip during the Bicentennial, one place we visited was Cody, Wyoming. We took in the nightly rodeo and other sights. However, the highlight was the visit to what was then called the Winchester Museum and the Buffalo Bill Museum. They have since been renamed to the Cody Firearms Museum within the Buffalo Bill Center of the West.

The Cody Firearms Museum has just undergone an extensive (and expensive) renovation. Ian McCollum of Forgotten Weapons visits and gives us a virtual tour. He notes in his description of the video that it is now, in his opinion, the best firearms museum in the US.

Larry Vickers' Delta Force Colt 723 Carbine

Ian McCollum of Forgotten Weapons posted an interview with Larry Vickers. They discussed his Colt 723 carbine that he was issued when he was first with SOF-D aka Delta Force.

Ian says in the description for this episode:

Use of carbines like this one by Delta and other special forces groups set the stage for the adoption of the M4 Carbine and Aimpoint M68 optic by the US military at large, and it's very interesting to listen to Larry's first-hand experience of how and why it was put together.

By the way, if you want to duplex magazines like that, Matt Bracken (Enemies Foreign and Domestic) has an excellent "how-to" article on it here. I've done it with black duct tape and a thin dowel.

Video - Open Versus Closed Bolt Systems

Ian McCollum of Forgotten Weapons has produced this nice short video explaining the differences in operation between open and closed bolt actions. While we tend to think that open bolt is for machine guns and closed bolt is for semi-automatic is the rule that isn't always the case. Ian has examples of both closed bolt full auto submachine guns and open bolt semi-automatic rifles. The confusion may stem from a ruling by BATFE back in the 1980s which said no new open bolt semi-autos could be manufactured as they thought these would be easier to convert to full auto.

"Book Review: Collector's Guide To The Savage 99 Rifle"

Ian McCollum of Forgotten Weapons has a fine review of David Royal's A Collector's Guide to the Savage 99 Rifle. I know some people think that Winchester or even Marlin lever actions are the be all and end all of lever guns but my heart belongs to the Savage of which I have two. Both of mine are in .300 Savage.




Royal's book was published in 2016 and is available on Amazon in the $40-43 range. There are 52 reviews of the book there and 92% of them are 5 star! I plan to get a copy and suggest other Savage 99 lovers may want to as well.

Forgotten Weapons: Garand Primer-Activated 1924 Trials Rifle

In this video, Ian McCollum of Forgotten Weapons looks at one of John Garand's early rifles. The Model of 1924 Trials Rifle was primer-activated. That is, the primer would come out of the pocket in the brass and push a small piston back. This would serve to unlock the bolt and the autoloading process would go on from there.

This is the first that I've ever heard about such a system and I find it both intriguing and horrifying. Intriguing because it simplifies the barrel of the rifle - no gas ports needed - and horrifying because of the potential for failure or worse.

A Relatively Unknown Battle Of WWII

Ian McCollum of Forgotten Weapons discusses a rather unknown (in the greater scheme of things) battle between the Germans and the French Resistance during WWII. The battle for Vercors was the climatic battle between the Resistance and the Germans which took place in 1944. The battle took place in southeastern France in a region that is had a mix of mountains, high cliffs, and high plateau also known as the Prealps or foothills of the Alps.

Roughly a month after the battle, the American armored forces arrived in Grenoble and the Germans were gone. While the Allies provided some supplies to the Resistance, it really wasn't enough to fight over a combined arms force of glider troops, armor, grenadiers, SS, and turncoat Ukranian anti-partisan forces.

Ian does for the Battle of Vercors what he is known for doing for rare and little known firearms. He explains it in detail and leaves you knowing more than you did before.

Ian Of Forgotten Weapons Responds To The New YouTube Policy

Ian McCollum of Forgotten Weapons posted a video on Full30 this afternoon. In it, he discusses the implications of the new YouTube policy regarding firearms and firearms-related videos. As he notes, YouTube is somewhat of a black hole and no clarification is forthcoming.

He addresses the publicity that he's gotten for his InRange TV videos going up on PornHub. Ian has no intention of putting Forgotten Weapons videos up on PornHub but hinted he has other plans in the works. The PornHub gambit was to bring attention to YouTube's change in policy and hopefully force them to reconsider it.

Rhodesian FAL

I've read a number of books on the Bush War in Rhodesia over the years and have seen (online) a number of parts kits built FALs. However, the FAL that Larry Vickers and Ian McCollum examine in the video below is an actual Rhodesian Army FAL right down to the ground-off South African markings.





In another video just released by Larry himself, you can see him shooting this Rhodesian FAL in both semi-auto and full-auto mode.





Not to get all political but one wonders what the former Rhodesia or Zimbabwe as it is called today would be like if it had not been caught up in both post-Colonialism and the Cold War. If Harold Wilson and the Labour Party had not been in power in the UK in 1965, would Ian Smith and the Rhodesians have felt compelled to declare independence unilaterally? Ah, the what-ifs abound.

A Video Overview Of Canadian Gun Laws

The second-largest country in the world by area, aka the Great White North or Canada, has gun laws that would alternately have Americans cheering and jeering. For example, a Norinco M-14 clone which is banned from import in the US sells for approximately $650 Canadian or about $520 US. It is a semi-auto with an 18.5" barrel and is non-restricted. However, if you would rather have a FN-FAL or G-3 clone, they are prohibited. Another example would be short barrel pump shotguns which would be classified as NFA items in the US. In Canada, they are non-restricted so long as the overall length is 26" or greater.

Ian McCollum of Forgotten Weapons discusses the various categories - non-restricted, restricted, and prohibited - with John from Marstar Canada Classic Collectibles in the video below. Non-restricted allows gun owners to shoot anywhere it is legal to shoot, restricted firearms are only allowed to be shot at approved ranges, and prohibited firearms, in general, are not allowed to be shot anywhere. As with all laws, there are exceptions and the RCMP has a firearms page with both FAQs and more detailed information.

Shades Of Henry Bowman

If you have read the novel Unintended Consequences by John Ross, you are familiar with his protagonist Henry Bowman. The book is something of a cult classic in the gun culture. Indeed, the very term gun culture has many of its origins in this book. I believe you can still obtain copies from the Accurate Press.

One of the firearms that Henry and his father bought before the onset of the Gun Control Act of 1968 was a 20mm Solothurn S18-1000. While it is now considered a destructive device, back then you could get it through the mail. Imagine that!

Ian from Forgotten Weapons recently had the change to fire one of these anti-tank rifles at the James Julia auction house in Maine. I'll let him continue the story of the Solothurn.





If anyone knows what has become of John Ross, I'd love to know. His old website is long gone. I do know that he left the securities industry in the late 2000s.

Well, It's Not A Sten But It Would Work

When some of the politicians in California were railing on about 80% lowers and "ghost guns" (sic), if I remember correctly Tam said in response that you could get a 90% Sten at your local Lowe's. That comment stuck with me. Thus, when I saw Ian McCullom's video on the homemade full auto firearms made by Philip A. Luty which were in the Royal Armouries' National Firearms Centre collection, I was reminded of it.

Mr. Luty was a man of conscience who objected to the British firearms laws. He designed a 9mm submachine gun from scratch and published the plans to it in his book "Expedient Homemade Firearms" (which is available on Amazon). With a quick Google search you will find PDFs of many of his plans and blueprints around the Internet. I might even suggest that you download these to a thumb drive just because you can. I'm not saying to build one of them but in a TEOTWAWKI situation it might prove useful.

Unlike the US where the receiver is the restricted part, in much of the rest of the world it is the parts like a barrel which must take pressure that is the restricted part. By restricted, I mean subject to government regulation. As Ian notes, Mr. Luty wanted to show the foolishness of British firearms laws and paid for it with his freedom. The British police eventually caught him test-firing one of his submachine guns for which he was convicted and imprisoned.

Mr. Luty passed away in 2011 from cancer while he was facing charges related to his gun rights activism. May he rest in peace.

Wouldn't You Like To Be Ian?

Ian McCollum of Forgotten Weapons got the chance to visit and to film at the British National Firearms Centre. Their collection includes the original Pattern Room collection. He released a teaser yesterday of some of the firearms he had a chance to examine.

He was able to visit the collection due to his work with ARES Armament Research Services.

M134 - The Modern Gatling Gun

Ian of Forgotten Weapons really does get to play with all the cool toys. In the first video he reviews the General Election M134 minigun in 7.62x51. He gives an in-depth explanation of how they work and especially how they feed the ammunition.





Ian has produced a second, shorter, follow-on video showing the M134 minigun firing in slow motion at both 2,500 and 5,000 frames per second. It is amazing how hypnotic watching a minigun can be. That is, so long as you aren't the target of it!

An Interesting Latin American Mauser

From the late 1800s until well into the 20th century, the bolt action Mauser was the rifle of choice of many of Latin America's armies. Countries like Columbia, Brazil, Peru, and Mexico among others went with the 7x57 Mauser while the Argentines adopted the Mauser in their own distinctive 7.65x53 caliber. Indeed, my own collection includes a Columbian Mauser made by Steyr and a Brazilian Mauser made by DWM Berlin. Both of these are in 7x57. I just need to add an 1891 Argentine Engineer Mauser and I'll have covered the Southern Cone.

In the video below Ian McCollum of Forgotten Weapons talks about a single shot Mauser that was adopted by Uruguay. It is referred to as the Doviitis and is a conversion of the blackpower 1871 Mauser to a smokeless 6.5 caliber.

Wauser! Let's Talk Guns

So we don't end up talking politics all day long, Ian McCollum examines Chinese copies of the C96 Mauser broomhandle pistol. The one he examines is marked a "Wauser" which helps explain my headline. It shows you what someone can do even if he or she doesn't have modern machine tools. I'm just not sure if I'd try firing it.

US Sniper Rifles From WWI And WWII

Ian McCollum of Forgotten Weapons has recently published a series of videos on the sniper rifles used by the US Army and US Marine Corps in World Wars One and Two. One of the more interesting observations was that the Army had to start from scratch in WWII while the Marine Corps, who supposedly never throws anything away, pulled stuff out of storage.

From his WWI description:

The United States had two primary types of sniper rifles during World War One, although both were based on the M1903 Springfield rifle.

The most common optic used was the Warner & Swasey "Telescopic Musket Sight", a rather clumsy prismatic optic mounted on the left side of the rifle, on a detachable rail. The model 1908 W&S offered 6 power magnification, which was reduced to 5.2x in the 1913 model in an effort to increase field of view. These optics were also used on the M1909 Benet-Mercie light machine gun.

The second type is the Winchester A5 scope, an excellent commercial scope available at the time. Although usually associated with the US Marine Corps, several hundred of these were also issued by the Army. The A5 was a much more tradition type of optic, mounted centrally above the bore and preferred by competitive marksmen.

The third rifle we are looking at in this video is a very interesting example of a competitive rifle from the pre-WWI period. It is a 1903 Springfield fitted with a commercial A5 scope and Mann bases. This is the sort of rifle that would have been used by the career military shooters for competition, and would likely have accompanied many such men overseas in the American Expeditionary Force. Woe to the German who found himself in the sights of such a man with a rifle like this!

From the bolt-action sniper rifles of WWII:

The primary sniper rifle used by the United States in World War II was the M1903A4 Springfield, a version of the exisiting 1903A3 with the iron sights removed and replaced with a Weaver 330C scope (adopted by the military as the M73B1). This was a low-power optic, but was centrally mounted on the rifle to avoid and of the windage issues caused by prismatic scopes.

The 1903A4 was the US' first truly mass-produced sniper rifle, with more than 28,000 being manufactured during just two years of the war (1943-44). The rifle was taken out of production when the M1C sniper adaptation of the Garand was formally adopted, although production of the M1C would be delayed until the end of the war. The 1903A4 would remain in service after WWII, with later scopes being approved as replacements for the M73B1 (in this video, we will take a look at one equipped with an M84, the optic adopted for the later M1D).

The US Marine Corps, of course, had to be a bit different, and adopted their own sniper rifle variant in 1941, a 1903A1 fitted with an 8 power Unertl scope. These scopes were a tradeoff, being significantly more fragile than the M73B1, but also being much better for long range precision shooting. The USMC, taking much pride in their culture of marksmanship, was happy to make that trade, and the rifles served well throughout the war.

While the Army did adopt the M1C Garand semi-automatic rifle for sniping in 1944, according to Ian it never saw action during the war. It would make its debut in action during the Korean War.

Thanks to Ian for doing these histories of US sniping rifles as used during the world wars. If you want to help support the work he does, he has set up a Patreon account which can be found here.

Going Old School

Ian from Forgotten Weapons blog goes old school at this run and gun steel match in Arizona. Who am I kidding. Ian always goes old school!

In this video, Ian uses a Roth Steyr 1907 made in 1910 to run the match. He said this about the pistol:

The 1907 was used by the Austro-Hungarian cavalry, and is in my opinion one of the best pistols of World War I. It is a solid and durable design firing a reasonably powerful cartridge (for the time, at least - 8mm Steyr is a 113gr projectile at about 1070fps) and with reasonable sights and good handling. It is mechanically innovative, with a firing mechanism functionally identical to today's "safe-action" systems. The striker is halfway cocked by the action of the gun cycling, and the remaining half is done by the trigger press. The 1907 uses a proprietary stripper clip holding 10 rounds, with a movable follower built in. Pressing down on the clip's follower puts an even pressure on the cartridges, helping to make it a very smooth design to use - I would rate it as equal or better than any other type of stripper clip I have used.

Even with an antique gun using an antique cartridge Ian still comes in 17th out of 21. Considering he was using stripper clips to reload and not magazines, that is pretty damn good.

Spanish FR-8 "Cetmeton"

Ian at Forgotten Weapons has released another of his excellent videos on older firearms. This one is on the Spanish FR-8 Mauser. I remember seeing this for the first time in the early 1980s at a local gun store for about $150. Of course, I should have bought it then because by the time I bought my own FR-8 the price was $350 which I thought reasonable.

To me the best feature of the FR-8 is the sights. Unlike your typical Mauser notch and post sights, the FR-8 has a protected front post with an adjustable ghost ring sight.

Q&A On Flamethrowers With Charlie Hobson

Following up on his interview with noted flamethrower historian and technical expert Charles Hobson, Ian of Forgotten Weapons now has a question and answer session with him.

The questions by timestamp are:

• 0:40 - Still in use today?
• 1:15 - Hollywood realism
• 3:02 - Effective historical use
• 3:55 - Pressure and nozzle diameter
• 4:57 - Use of fins to create laminar flow
• 6:18 - Do they blow up if shot?
• 7:28 - Maintenance and repair
• 9:44 - Realism in "Saving Private Ryan”
• 10:52 - Reproductions
• 12:10 - Accidents
• 14:07 - Field resupply of fuel in combat
• 19:35 - Oxygen problems for the user
• 20:32 - Modern improvements
• 24:10 - Is there still a role for flamethrowers in modern war?
• 26:35 - Lighting cigars from flamethrowers
• 27:43 - Cost

And Now For Something Entirely Different

Flamethrowers are one of the few weapons that were used by the US military in WWII that are not only legal to own but not regulated in any way by the Federal government. Currently, only two US states ban their possession.

Ian McCullom of Forgotten Weapons interviews Charlie Hobson in this video. Mr. Hobson is one of the leading authorities on flamethrowers, their development, and their history. He has worked extensively with military museums as well as the entertainment industry on their restoration and preservation.

Mr. Hobson is the author of The Illustrated Manual of U. S. Portable Flamethrowers.

The interview with Mr. Hobson dispels many of the myths concerning flamethrowers. For example, they didn't explode when hit by a bullet unlike what is usually shown in old WWII movies. Moreover, they killed, for the most part, not by fire but with carbon monoxide.