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.

South African R2 With Updated Furniture

Ian McCollum of Forgotten Weapons just released a video of the South African Defence Forces R2 rifle with its modified furniture. The R2 was originally a Portuguese made G-3 rifle purchased by the SADF for use by second-line troops and the South West Africa Territorial Force.

South West Africa is the former name for the modern country of Namibia. The country was a South African "protectorate" under a League of Nations mandate after World War One. This mandate was abolished in 1966 by the United Nations but the South Africans held on in whole or in part until 1990.

Getting back to the R2, there were problems with the handguards due to the climate of the region. Ian writes this about it.

The Portuguese hand guards and buttstocks were found to be unsatisfactory, however. In the heat and harsh ultraviolet radiation of South West Africa (now Namibia) in particular, the plastic would shrink and lose its fit, leading to the guns being called "rattlers" by the SADF troops. The fix this, the American firm of Choate Machine & Tool was contracted to make new hand guards based on the H&K export pattern - wider and longer and with fittings for a bipod. New stocks were also made, duplicating the shape of the R1/FAL stock.

Given the similarities of the G-3 and R2 with the currently produced PTR-91, it would be very interesting to see if you could find some of these Choate Machine handguards and stocks to use on a PTR-91. I like the looks of the Choate handguards and stocks better than the originals. While I don't own a PTR-91, I do own a boatload of magazines for it because they were a dollar or less at the time. One of these days I'll finally get around to obtaining a rifle to use with those magazines!

As always, Ian has produced an informative and interesting short video.

Government Profile Vs. Pencil Barrel

The other day, Herschel at The Captain's Journal had a blog post regarding the government profile barrel for the AR-15 and the M16A2. He made the point that the government profile barrel was adopted based upon erroneous assumptions and without proper engineering failure tests. He also said that top end AR makers continuing to put out rifles with government profile barrels was dumb.

First, I question their testing of the resistance to bending of a “government profile” barrel. They obviously never got real engineers involved in this problem. The highest bending moment in a cantilever beam will be where it is pinned, which in this case will be at the receiver. As best as I can tell, not only didn’t they solve a real problem, they didn’t even solve the pretend problem.

Second, engineering resources would have performed a failure mode and effects analysis of the problem. A failure investigation team of engineers should have been commissioned, not a military team.

Third, if you believe the problem is that Soldiers or Marines are using their rifles to pry open boxes or crates, then teach them not to do that. That’s stupid. I remain unimpressed with folks who try to mistreat, abuse and beat up their guns only to complain when they don’t work.

It was an interesting post with good comments. You should read the whole thing.

That led to me finding this video from last year by Ian and Karl from InRangeTV and their WWSD (What Would Stoner Do) series. In it, they test stress relieved pencil barrels from Faxon and then compare that to an original pencil-barreled Colt SP-1 doing the same test. Given I have one of those Faxon pencil barrels, I need to get my act together and finish my lightweight build using it!





PS: Lest you think I've gone all "what has Wayne done now" all the time, being able to have a day without significant charges of malfeasance and self-dealing is a relief. However, the day is still young.

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.

Ken Hackathorn On The M1 Carbine

Ian McCollum of Forgotten Weapons just published an interview with the legendary Ken Hackathorn. It is a quite interesting interview dealing with the myth versus the reality of the firearm. Ken said the WWII and Korean War veterans who actually used the M1 Carbine in combat generally liked it. They did acknowledge that the magazines were flimsy and they made a conscious effort to replace them on a regular basis.

I have an IBM-made M1 Carbine and love it. It is light and accurate. However, Hackathorn notes that many of the manufacturers had quality control problems in making these firearms. While the most common, the Inland Division of GM made carbines tended to be the most reliable. That somewhat surprised me.

The interview runs about 19 minutes and is really interesting especially if you like old US military firearms like I do. Now if I could only find a RockOla-made M1 Carbine with an Elmer Keith inspected cartouche like the one Hackathorn has, I'd be set.

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.

WWSD: The Charging Handle

The charging handle seems, on the surface, to be one of those parts of an AR15 that doesn't matter that much. You can spend a lot more on a charging handle but the $12 aluminum mil-spec charging handle will work just fine most of the time. By comparison, a gritty mil-spec trigger has the potential - and some would say the probability - to impact your accuracy with the rifle.

I will admit to not having given it too much thought. I have a couple of blem BCM charging handles and just ordered a Radians Raptor charging handle because I got a good deal on it. Then this morning I watched the video below by Ian McCollum and Karl Kasarda of InRange TV about their What Would Stoner Do project.

They have given it much more thought than I had and brought up points I hadn't considered about charging handles. I very well may consider the Geissele the next time I find them on sale. Given I use their triggers perhaps I should also be using their charging handle on some of my ARs.

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.

One Of My Grail Guns

We all have them. It may have been a gun that our dads' had and let us shoot when we were younger that somehow got lost over the years. Or, it might have been a rifle in a cartridge that we read about in an old gun magazine that the grizzled gun writer told us was the be-all and end-all of rifle cartridges. Then again, it could be the one model of an old military rifle that completes our collection.

Two rifles that come to mind for me as grail guns would be a bolt action chambered in .257 Roberts (Ackley Improved versions would be OK, too) and the M94 which was the first Swedish Mauser. I remember writing Jim Carmichel of Outdoor Life asking about the .257 Roberts and he was nice enough to send a short letter back. I wish I knew what became of that letter. As to the M94, I have the M96, the M38 (my first C&R), and even the AG-42 Ljungman in my collection of Swedish rifles but no M94.

Ian McCollum of Forgotten Weapons just released an excellent video on the M94 and the later M94-14. He goes over their history and then points out the difference between the two.





Ian goes on to provide this thumbnail about the Swedish M94:

When Sweden decided to replace its Remington Rolling Block rifles with a more modern repeating rifle design, they tested models from Mauser, Mannlicher, Lee, and Krag. The Mauser 1893 was chosen as the winner of the competition, with a few modifications (most notably a change to allow the safety to be engaged whether the striker was cocked or not). A carbine was adopted first - the infantry rifle would follow a few years later. An initial batch of m/1894 carbines was purchased from Mauser Oberndorf, to start the military transition while the Carl Gustav factory tooled up to begin licensed production.

The original m/94 Swedish carbines used a heavy nosecap to protect the front sight, but did not have a fitting for a bayonet. This was changed in 1914, with new production guns being fitted with a Lee-Enfield style bayonet lug below the muzzle (and many existing carbines were updated to this new configuration) and designated the model m/94-14. Production continued sporadically until 1932, with most of the guns being made in the first decade of the 20th century and during World War One.

Interestingly, Sweden did not adopt a spitzer version of the 6.5x55mm cartridge until 1941 - much later than most other nations. When this was done, the sights on the existing carbines were not modified. Instead, a range conversion table was affixed to the right side of the stock, indicating proper sight settings and holdovers for using the new ammunition.

A Reading From The Gospel Of Browning

Lo, though the Gospel of Matthew spoke of a star in the East, the Gospel of Browning looks to a young prophet from the West. This young prophet called Ian wanders in the desert of the West seeking the wisdom of the earlier prophets of the Lords of the Gun.

And so it was revealed unto Ian during the time of the long nights how vain men had taken it upon themselves to desecrate the Apostle John Browning's 1911. Thus, these vain men through their vanity gave the Lord of the Underworld an opening with which to seduce the weak into throwing away the work of the Apostle John Browning.

The Lord of the Underworld, who was called by many names including Gaston Glock, used plastic and simplicity as the tools of his seduction. Just as the Israelites of an earlier age were seduced into worshiping a golden calf, so too the latter day weak who began worshiping the likes of the Glock 19, the M&P Shield, and the Springfield XD. This was an abomination before the Lords of the Gun.

The prophet Ian speaketh below and delivers a Christmas message on this abomination.

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.