We met up with Greg - who runs Allegheny Arsenal - at a gun show a couple weeks ago, and this is the first of a couple interviews we did with him on the MG34 and its mount. Greg can do anything that needs to be done to a Lafette mount, and stocks all the parts you'll need to get your 34 running and keep it running (plus a wide selection of other machine gun parts). His support of Forgotten Weapons helps me keep good content coming your way, and I hope you'll keep him in mind when you need some of the cool stuff he sells.

James Hughes' Mexican Military Arms is a pretty good book on a subject not often written about. It covers all the rifles used by the Mexican Army (both locally designed and purchased elsewhere) from the Spencer repeater up to the adoption of the M1 Garand. It is a bit limited in coverage, though, with a single page for most of the guns it includes. The photos also range from good to almost unusable. Overall, it's definitely worth having as long as you have an interest in this particular topic. You can find it for sale in the link below, though the prices being asked on eBay and Amazon are pretty outrageous. I would be pretty hesitant to pay more than $20 for it unless I was really dedicated to the subject. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000GRAPO8/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=forgoweapo-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B000GRAPO8

We had the opportunity to take a look at a PTR-44 semiauto reproduction of a German Sturmgewehr today, and it's a gorgeous rifle. There were some issues reported by early owners (including miscut chambers due, actually, to incorrect dimensions on the original German blueprints) so we're eager to take this one out to the range and see how it performs.

How could a gun nerd like me possibly resist a chance to dig through a warehouse full of surplus? When Jeff at Apex Gun Parts offered us the chance to come visit his operation, we jumped at the chance (duh!). Jeff is a sponsor of the site here because we've been buying cool things from him for years, and had uniformly excellent service - and because he's a genuinely nice guy with an impressive knowledge of military arms and equipment. All of us here at Forgotten Weapons continue to patronize Apex (in fact, the DT kit in the video came home with me for a fair price) and we are happy to recommend them to you as well.

If you need a resource on the incremental changes to the major Japanese rifles over the course of WWII, Japanese Rifles of World War II is just the thing for you. Focusing on the Type 99, Type 38, Type 44, Type 2 (paratrooper) and sniper Arisakas, this book is ideal for beginning and intermediate collectors. Everything you need to identify date and location of manufacturer of 98% of the Japanese rifles you will find out there. This is also enough information to point out the holes in your Arisaka collection, so be careful! :) http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1880677113/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=forgoweapo-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1880677113

Dolf Goldsmith is a renowned author and machine gun expert, having written landmark books on the Maxim, Vickers, and Browning machine guns, and having been an avid shooter and gun collector for more than 60 years. We had the pleasure of speaking with him at the SAR West gun show last month, and did an interview on tape. I haven't published this until now because I've been working on the sound - there was a lot of background noise, and we were using a poor microphone. I've cleaned the audio up (couldn't do anything about the train whistle, though), and transcribed subtitles for the dialogue. Mr. Goldsmith is one of those rare elderly collectors who is both extremely knowlegable about historic firearms and also in touch with current trends and excited about what the future will bring. Among other things, we talk about: Where the future of machine gun collecting lies What the next big area of interest might be for shooters and collectors How machine gun collecting was different forty or fifty years ago What the best machine gun design of all time is

At the SHOT Show last weekend, we has the opportunity to interview Charles St. George, designed of the Leader T2 rifle we have previously discussed. We ended up having to run this interview twice, as background noise made the first take unfortunately inaudible - but our second take came out quite well. We very much enjoyed speak with Mr. St. George both on and off camera, and quite impressed with his new bullpup Leader 50 rifle. It may not be a Forgotten Weapon, but we're definitely looking forward to a chance to try one out at the range once they go into production this summer. www.forgottenweapons.com/interview-with-charles-st-george

Today we take a look at Bruce Canfield's Collector's Guide to the M1 Garand and M1 Carbine. This is one of Canfield's earlier books, and is now out of print. It is still available, though, and a less expensive alternative to his revised and expanded "Complete Guide". www.amazon.com/gp/product/0917218329/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=forgoweapo-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0917218329

Today, we take a look at a reproduction FP45 Liberator pistol. These pistols were originally designed to be scattered across occupied Europe in huge numbers, and literally a million of them were made during WWII. The plans fell through, though, and almost all of them were simply scrapped. http://www.forgottenweapons.com/the-fp45-liberator-pistol

Today we're looking at a new book by Maxim Popenker and Anthony G. Williams, Sub-Machine Gun. It should come as no surprise that a collaboration between these two folks results in an excellent reference book (we previously reviewed their work on WWI aircraft guns). This book includes both a detailed section on submachine gun cartridges, and the guns themselves - organized by nationality and focusing largely on experimental and developmental models. It's an excellent reference work, and a valuable addition to a good gun library. You can pick up a copy now while it's still discounted on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1847972934/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=forgoweapo-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1847972934

Today we're looking at two books on the subject of Nepalese firearms. The video goes a bit longer than usual, but the story behind these books is a really cool one -- a lost time capsule of thousands of firearms showcasing 150 years of arms development. http://www.forgottenweapons.com/book-review-guns-of-the-ghurkas-treasure-is-where-you-find-it

This is an excellent book to start a firearms library with. It has a lot of great information for a very affordable cost - I found my copy for $3 at a gun show, but it can be bought on Amazon for not much more. http://www.forgottenweapons.com/book-review-the-book-of-rifles-by-w-h-b-and-joseph-e-smith

We spoke to Timney Triggers at the SHOT Show last month, and they offered us one of their Mosin-Nagant triggers to try out, and a second one to give away. As you can see in our video review, we're very pleased with the unit. Thanks to everyone who entered! The contest is closed, and our winner was Cyrus.

Today we're looking at three different books on the 1903 Springfield rifle. Which one is best for you? That depends on what you're looking for... http://www.forgottenweapons.com/book-review-the-1903-sprinfield-rifle

The Hino-Komuro pistol (sometimes spelled Komura) was developed by a young Japanese inventor named Kumazo Hino, and financed by Tomijiro Komuro in the first decade of the 20th century. The gun uses a virtually unique blow-forward mechanism, which makes it very interesting to study. The rear of the receiver houses a fixed firing pin, and the barrel is pushed forward upon firing. To cock the gun, the barrel is manually pulled for ward about one inch (using serrations on the exposed front section of the barrel). As the barrel is pulled forward, it pulls with it a follower that pulls a cartridge forward out of the magazine and lifts it up into the axis of the bore. When the grip safety and trigger are depressed, the barrel is snapped backwards into the action by a spring. The ready cartridge is chambered and driver backwards with the barrel onto the fixed firing pin. For more info, check out the Forgotten Weapons Vault: http://www.forgottenweapons.com/early-automatic-pistols/hino-komuro-1908

Swiss rifles offer a great place for a new collector to put together a set of rifles with mechanical and historical interest, that are in great condition and still available for reasonable prices. The Swiss used three main variations of the Schmidt-Rubin type rifle, and all can still be found today without too much trouble. Joe Poyer's book is a good guide to starting a representative collection of Swiss rifles http://www.forgottenweapons.com/video-book-review-swiss-magazine-loading-rifles

We have been able to find very little information on the Vitali 1910 automatic pistol, but we did have the opportunity to take a look at one recently. It is very clearly marked Vitali 1910 Terni, but bears no other markings whatsoever. The gun is much more typical of its era than the Hino-Komuro, with a C96 Mauser-type recoil operated mechanism. The slide and barrel recoil together for a short distance before the slide unlocks and continues backwards from inertia to eject the empty case and load a new cartridge. The design uses a large external hammer, which is hidden between the sides of the slide, probably to prevent it from snagging on holsters or clothing. You can find more information and photos of this gun at: http://www.forgottenweapons.com/italian-vitali-1910-pistol

The Glock isn't a forgotten weapon by any stretch, but Paul Barrett has written a very interesting book on how the company got into gun manufacturing and how it grew so quickly. http://www.forgottenweapons.com/book-review-glock

This weekend we took a look at a Beretta 1918/30 carbine, as well as a couple later Beretta SMG bolts. The 1918/30 is rather unusual in that is was designed specifically as a semiauto firearm, and uses a hammer mechanism instead of the much more common fixed firing pin setup generally found on pistol-caliber military carbines and SMGs. You can find a gallery of photos of the 1918/30 on the Beretta 1918/30 page in the Forgotten Weapons Vault: http://www.forgottenweapons.com/submachine-guns/beretta-191830

Most folks are not familiar with the variety of Japanese handguns available beyond the basic Type 94 and Type 14 Nambus. James Brown's guide to these guns is an excellent source of information, covering the rarer handguns used by Japan as well as the variants and manufacturing changes of the main types. Like Japanese rifles, the deterioration of production through the course of the war makes the pistols pretty interesting for collectors. http://www.forgottenweapons.com/book-review-collectors-guide-to-imperial-japanes

Anyone who hasn't read Stephen Hunter's work is really missing out on some great gunnie fiction. Most of his books are based on the characters of Earl Swagger (WWII Medal of Honor winner) or his son Bob Lee Swagger (Vietnam War sniper). Pale Horse Coming is an Earl Swagger novel written specifically for the shooting crowd. Picture The Magnificent Seven rewritten to star real people - seven of the most notable firearms personalities of the 1940s and 50s. That is what Hunter does here - Earl Swagger assembles a team including Audie Murphy, Ed McGivern, Elmer Keith, Bill Jordan, and others to bring justice to a corrupt Mississippi prison camp. He does an excellent job researching these historic personalities and writing their interactions, which makes great reading for someone familiar with who they are. http://www.forgottenweapons.com/book-review-pale-horse-coming-by-stephen-hunter

The "Bigot" was a modification of an M1911 .45 caliber pistol developed by the Office of Strategic Services during WW2. The OSS was a clandestine operations service, the predecessor of the CIA. The Bigot was intended as a way for commandos to quietly eliminate sentries - although we are not sure what advantage it might have had over a silenced pistol. Questionable utility doesn't prevent it from being a pretty interesting piece of equipment, though, and we had the opportunity to take a look at one up close recently. http://www.forgottenweapons.com/oss-bigot ‎

Herbert McBride was a American who grew up learning to shoot from Civil War veterans and some of the big names of the American West, like Bat Masterson. He had a taste for adventure, and spent time scouting for railroads and searching for gold in Alaska. He had tried to ship out to South Africa to join the British forces in the Boer War, but was disappointed to find that only British subjects could do so. When World War I broke out, he was determined not to miss another opportunity to get into a scrap, as he would say. McBride resigned his Captain's commission in the Indian Legion (National Guard), and joined the Canadian army as a buck private. He was assigned to a machine gun crew, and shipped over to France, where he spent most of the war in hard combat - and thoroughly enjoyed it. After returning, he wrote (at the behest of friends and acquaintances) A Rifleman Went to War, which remains to this day one of the best descriptive and practical accounts of combat from the front-line infantryman. McBride was an expert marksman, and did his share of sniping as well as machine gun fighting, trench raiding with bayonet and hand grenade, and scouting. The book is a discussion of mindset and tools in war, and is an excellent read for anyone interested in an unapologetic and enthusiastic discussion of firsthand warfare.

Today we're look at the two main French military centerfire revolvers - the model 1873 and model 1892. These both served for many decades with French troop around the world, and they're interesting designs.

It may look like we're only interested in military arms, but that's not the case. We're mostly interested in military guns, but there are plenty of other interesting corners of the firearms world to explore too. While we were visiting one particular collector, we ended up having a great time talking about smallbore and single-shot arms with his wife, who is an accomplished collector in her own right. So today, we give you parlor guns. Specifically, a Flobert pistol, a Flobert rifle, and a trainer schutzen air rifle. http://www.forgottenweapons.com/neat-parlor-guns

After World War II, Egypt experimented with several types of new rifle as a series of leaders bought arms from both Western and Communist nations. They included FN49 rifles from Belgium and vz52 and vz52/57 rifles from Czechoslovakia before a deal was made to license production of a copy of the Swedish AG-42B Ljungman rifle in 8x57. This licensed copy had a few changes from the Swedish model, and was designated the Hakim. Later a smaller variant in 7.62x39 was made, under the name Rasheed (or Rashid), and finally the country adopted the AKM with tooling provided by the Soviet Union. We have examples of all of these rifles, and we're taking a look at them today. http://www.forgottenweapons.com/egyptian-rifle-overview Contact: Forgotten Weapons 6281 N Oracle #36270 Tucson, AZ 85704

Despite numerous experiments, most notably the Heckler & Koch G11, the advantages of caseless ammunition have never been able to outweigh the disadvantages. But that doesn't stop the idea from being pretty intriguing. We had the opportunity to take a look at a demonstration mockup of a caseless ammo rifle made by the Hughes company. Hughes is best known as an aircraft manufacturer, but also did a lot of weapons work, including designs like the Heligun (lots of aircraft-to-guns spillover used to happen - like Fairchild and the AR15). Anyway, this caseless demonstrator is pretty neat, so we put together this video. http://www.forgottenweapons.com/caseless-ammunition-demo-action Contact: Forgotten Weapons 6281 N Oracle #36270 Tucson, AZ 85704

Today we're looking at one of the earlier books printed by Collector Grade, Thomas Dugelby's Modern Military Bullpup Rifles. It's a good resource on the EM-2 rifle (and others), but unfortunately is very much out of print. You can find a couple exorbitantly priced copies on Amazon, but beyond that you'll have to watch eBay and gun shows if you want to find it. http://www.forgottenweapons.com/book-review-modern-military-bullpup-rifles

Today we're looking at VIS Radom: A Study and Photographic Album of Poland's Finest Pistol, by William J. York. The Radom is not a as well known as other pistols of the era (like the 1911, Browning High-Power, or Walther P38), but is an excellent gun and has a devoted following. It is also one of those pistols that would up being used on all sides of a conflict - in this case by the Polish Army, the German Wehrmacht, and the Polish underground resistance. William York's recently published book is a wealth of information on the Radom, and a must for anyone seriously interested in the history and evolution of this pistol. Despite its quality, we are pretty sure this book will fall out of print relatively quickly, simply because the audience for such a specialized book is small. So if this is something that interests you, we recommend picking up a copy now while it's still available new. Once the printing is sold out, the price will take a nice jump up. http://www.forgottenweapons.com/book-review-vis-radom

Since we looked at a couple French revolvers yesterday, it seems only appropriate to have a resource on them (and later French automatic pistols) today. Specifically, Military Handguns of France by Eugene Medlin and Jean Huon. You might recognize Jean Huon's name from a previous review we did on his excellent work on French autoloading rifles, Proud Promise. But I digress - today is about pistols: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=873HtG9hFVo Medlin and Huon's book is an excellent primer on an under-appreciated subject (I, for one, have a bit of a crush on the MAS 1935A and it's Sig 210 look and feel). Unfortunately, it appears to be out of print and is only available used on Amazon for crazy prices. I believe it was basically replaced by a later expanded edition covering 1858 to 2004 (instead of ending at 1958 like this one). I haven't read through a copy of the newer version, but I expect it will also be excellent judging from the original work. That new edition is actually available for sale, which is certainly an advantage. http://www.forgottenweapons.com/book-review-military-handguns-of-france

The AG-42 was the first semiauto rifle adopted by the Swedish army, as well as the first production rifle to use a direct gas impingement operating system. Today we're taking a closer look at the Ljungman - how it operates and how to disassemble it. Enjoy! http://www.forgottenweapons.com/ljungman-ag-42b

James Paris Lee began designing and patenting firearms in 1862, but it was not until 1875 that any of his designs were put into limited manufacture. He would ultimately see four of his rifles adopted by the US military (M1879, M1883, M1885, M1895), plus a large royalty from the British government for use of his patents in the Lee-Enfield family of rifles. The book we are looking at today is specifically on the M1895 Lee Navy rifle, an interesting straight-pull design in 6mm. http://www.forgottenweapons.com/book-review-the-winchester-lee-rifle

Monster Hunter International is the story of an accountant and 3-gun competitor changing careers and becoming a mercenary hunter of supernatural evil - and who hasn't had that daydream during a long day in the office? Larry Correia does a great job balancing legit storytelling and detailed realism with tongue-in-cheek humor, creating a book that stylishly cavorts from gunfight to gunfight without reading like typical zombie fiction. It doesn't hurt that Correia includes some scenes we can all relate to: It was like a normal group of people having breakfast, but everyone was armed and there was a flamethrower in the corner. I dunno about you, but I've been in rooms like that. Never had to take on a gargoyle with a tire iron, though. http://www.forgottenweapons.com/book-review-monster-hunter-inter

Today we're looking at John Potocki's excellent reference work, The Colt 1905 Automatic Pistol. Not much doubt what the subject is, right? The development of John Browning's iconic 1911 pistol is generally not much discussed, and Potocki's book is a good way to learn all the ins and outs of the pistol's evolution and early trials. Want a teaser on the sort of information you'll find in it? Ed Buffaloe at the Unblinking Eye has a very good article on the 1905 Colt, which draws many of its references from Potocki's book. http://unblinkingeye.com/Guns/1905ACP/1905acp.html http://www.forgottenweapons.com/book-review-the-colt-model-1905

The Volksturmgewehr Gustloff (commonly and incorrectly called the VG1-5) was a last-ditch rifle developed by Germany at the end of World War II. Only a few thousand were made, and they did not make a significant impact on the war. The rifle was intended to are the Volksturm, the German equivalent of the Home Guard - basically old men and children. It was semiauto only and chambered for the 7.92x33 Kurz cartridge used in the MP44/StG44 (it also used the MP44/StG44 magazine). Mechanically, the Gustloff is somewhere between a direct blowback and delayed blowback design. It has a delaying feature which we will discuss in the video, but the gun works equally well without it. We were fortunate to have the opportunity to shoot and disassemble a Gustloff VG1-5 recently and debunk one of the common internet beliefs about the gun. Enjoy the video! http://www.forgottenweapons.com/shooting-the-gustloff-vg1-5

We're going to jump back a hundred years, and take a look at a design from 1854 today - although it was a design well ahead of its time. The Treeby chain gun was a percussion rifle that could fire 14 rounds in rapid succession, unlike anything else available at the time. We took a look at one in person: http://www.forgottenweapons.com/treeby-chain-gun Contact: Forgotten Weapons 6281 N Oracle #36270 Tucson, AZ 85704

In the 1880s, the Dutch decided that their single-shot Beaumont rifles were obsolete and needed replacement. They started a program to modify them with 4-round magazines, and simultaneously set about finding a more modern rifle to adopt. After trying with some difficulty to test out new designs (access to internet reviews would have really helped them out) they finally decided on a combination of parts that they liked. The resulting rifle was adopted in 1895, along with a new 6.5mm cartridge based on the 6.5 Carcano round. The Dutch stayed neutral through World War I, but built a lot of guns during the war just in case. Like many countries, they adopted a whole bunch of slightly different variants of rifle and carbine for different troops, resulting in something of a production nightmare. Most countries consolidated designs during the war, but the Dutch managed to add four more designs as a result of trying to reduce complexity (whoops). The Dutch Mannlicher M.95 and the 6.5x53.5R Cartridge is a thorough-if-small guide to all of these different variants plus the 72 different types of cartridge used by the Dutch. It was published by the NVBMB (Dutch Association for the Study of Ammunition and Ballistics) on the 100th anniversary of the M95's adoption. Unfortunately, we are not aware of any source for the book other than used book dealers. If anyone knows of a source that has copies in stock, please let us know! http://www.forgottenweapons.com/book-review-the-dutch-mannlicher-m-95 Contact: Forgotten Weapons 6281 N Oracle #36270 Tucson, AZ 85704

We took part of our recent European excursion in England, and part of that time was spent at the National Firearms Centre in Leeds, formerly known as the Pattern Room. The gun collection there was started in 1631 as a repository for reference examples of British military equipment, in an effort to standardize manufacturing. The collection was housed in the Tower of London until a fire led to its relocation to the Royal Small Arms Factory at Enfield, at which time it became known as the Enfield Pattern Room and became a national firearms reference collection. The collection moved again in 1989 and finally in 2005 it came to rest in Leeds as a part of the Royal Armouries collection. It comprises several thousand military firearms up to 40mm in bore size, designed in England and around the world. It includes both standard production weapons as well as an extraordinary number of prototypes, trials guns, and rare variants. It is the best publicly-accessible collection in the world. We asked Jonathan Ferguson, the Curator of Firearms, to pick out an item to show you, and his choice was a very interesting early (very early!) self-indexing revolver. As I mention in the video, we had a great time with the collection and its staff. The collection is a resource and an experience not to be overlooked if you should ever find yourself in England. http://www.forgottenweapons.com/pattern-room/

Today we have a book with a wider appeal than most, as it covers a broad range of different gun designs and has lots of good information for both the very technical collector and the casual pistol enthusiast. It's Gordon Bruce's new book, The Evolution of Military Automatic Pistols: Self-loading Pistol Designs of Two World Wars and the Men who Invented Them. What Bruce has put together are short biographies of twenty five automatic pistol inventors/designers - the individuals behind the automatic pistols that shaped the industry from the very early (Borchardt, Mannlicher, Browning, etc) to some that are still widely available today (Tokarev, Barthelmes, and Marengoni, to name a few). Most authors and resources focus on the guns and leave out any discussion of the the inventors behind them, and it's interesting to find out about the lives of these men, and their other paths through life. This is a perfect book for someone who is interested in different gun designs on a wider scale, not looking for the minute details of variants on a single design. Father's Day is coming up, and this book is a perfect gift for the father in your life -something he will really enjoy instead of a tie or just a card. :) You can grab a copy from Amazon right here, just in time: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1931464537/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=forgoweapo-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1931464537

The Sterling submachine gun is one of the better submachine guns ever built - a lot of throught and engineering work went into its design. It is light, compact, ergonomic, very durable and reliable, and uses one of the best magazines ever made for submachine guns. It may be a gun overlooked by a lot of people, but it is a great piece - and whether you have never heard of it before or own one yourself, James Edmiston's book "The Sterling Years" will entertain and educate you. Edmiston was a British entrepreneur who purchased the Sterling company and factory in 1971 and owned it until the early 80s. During that time it produced standard and suppressed Sterling SMGs, AR-180 rifles in partnership with Armalite, and a number of other smaller product lines. Edmiston's account of the time offers an interesting perspective on arms manufacture from a point of view not often heard. Among pother things you'll find within its pages are: * How H&K turned the British SAS into an active sales force * Why you can privately own a jet fighter company in France but not a gun factory * An Englishman's experience staying with a Wyoming LDS family * Why you shouldn't underestimate the arms industry in Singapore * Seedy details of the SA-80 development program More a memoir than a formal history of the company, The Sterling Years provides great anecdotes from farflung sales expeditions (and right at home in the UK), and deserves a place on the bookshelf of anyone who wants a more complete understanding of where their firearms come from. The 2011 paperback edition is in print and just a click away at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1848844379/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=forgoweapo-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1848844379

Amerigo Cei-Rigotti was a major in the Italian Bersaglieri (light infantry) in 1900, wen his innovative self-loading rifle design was first introduced. Unlike many or the very early semiauto rifle designs, the Cei-Rigotti is a light, handy, and pretty compact rifle: The rifle was select-fire, and chambered for the 6.5x52 Carcano cartridge. It shared the size and style of the Carcano as well as a few small parts, but was built from the ground up and was not a conversion of a bolt action rifle. It operated via gas pressure on a short-stroke piston under the barrel. This example has a small magazine, but several different sizes were used in various tests, reportedly up to 50 rounds in capacity. The magazines are not detachable, though, and must be reloaded with stripped clips through the receiver. Ultimately, the Cei Rigotti was not adopted by any military force despite being tested by several countries over the decade after its introduction. Most folks today say this was due to erratic and unreliable functioning, but we have not seen any test reports from the period substantiating this (and the mechanism seems quite sound to us). http://www.forgottenweapons.com/cei-rigotti/ Contact: Forgotten Weapons 6281 N Oracle #36270 Tucson, AZ 85704

I recently picked up a very nice looking Gewehr 88 from an online classified ad, and when it arrived I really didn't know what I had (I'm not an expert on older German bolt actions by any stretch of the imagination). So, I poked through our reference library for a suitable looking work to explain where this rifle had been for the last 122 years (it is an 1890 dated Loewe receiver). Paul Scarlata's book really did the trick - other than being able to read the Turkish rear sight gradations, I now know what pretty much every stamp on the gun means.Plus a good knowledge of the development and manufacturing history of the piece! Do you have a Gewehr 88 that you need to learn more about? Or do you want to educate yourself so you can tell exactly what you're looking at next time you find one at a gun show? You should get a copy of the book yourself: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1931464308/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=forgoweapo-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1931464308

The German military establishment during WWII has a reputation for innovation and excellence, which is pretty well deserved. But even they produced some real goose eggs, and the Gewehr 41 is one of them. That the G41 was even remotely successful is a tribute to the creativity of the Walther and Mauser engineering staffs, as the gun was fatally flawed from the start by the conditions put on the design. Primarily at fault was the military insistence that the barrel not have a gas port drilled in it. I'm sure there was some theoretical rationale for this requirement, but it was not a reasonable one. Some of the other restrictions were similarly silly, like the requirement that the gun must be able to operate like a bolt action using the same manual of arms as the K98k, and that there be no moving parts on the top surface of the gun (it is revealing that both Walther and Mauser flat out ignored one or more of these written requirements, despite being German companies). The root of the G41 procurement conditions can only really be a suspicious distrust of self-loading rifles that cropped up in many pre-WWII ordnance departments worldwide. It's the same stubborn lack of foresight that produced repeating rifles with magazine cutoffs. Anyway, Walther and Mauser both provided sample designs for the G41, and after trialling both, the Walther design was accepted for mass production (the Mauser design was rather more complex and intricate). The designs flaws were quickly realized, and production moved to the G43, which used essentially the same receiver but with a standard gas port system. Our focus today is the Walther G41, though, and we have put together a video explaining its inner workings: http://www.forgottenweapons.com/gewehr-41-walther-video/ Contact: Forgotten Weapons 6281 N Oracle #36270 Tucson, AZ 85704

By request from a reader on the Forgotten Weapons Facebook page (where we post upcoming teasers, among other things), we are looking at W. Darren Weaver's book on the G41 and G43/K43 rifles, entitled Hitler's Garands: German Self-Loading Rifles of WWII. It was published by Collector Grade, so you really don't need to know much more to make a decision. If you are looking for information on the G41 or G43/K43, this is the best single book you could choose. Among other topics, it includes chapters on: * Pre-WWII semiauto rifle development * G41(M) development * How to tell fakes from genuine articles * Production dates and maker codes * Details on Jewish sabotage of G43s made at Buchenwald (if I could pick a single G43 to own, I would choose one rendered non-functional by such sabotage because I see tremendous symbolism in an artifact like that) You can get your copy of Hitler's Garands from Amazon right here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0889352755/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=forgoweapo-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0889352755 Contact: Forgotten Weapons 6281 N Oracle #36270 Tucson, AZ 85704

The Sturmgewehr 45 (aka Gerat 06H) was the first functional roller-delayed blowback rifle developed, and it was slated to replace the StG44 as Germany's primary combat rifle when WWII ended. We have a reproduction of one made exactly to original spec, and we wanted to see how it would have fared as a combat rifle. As much as we like doing this sort of thing, we don't want to actually go into a combat zone for a review video, so we did the next best (and available) thing: we took it to an IPSC 3-Gun match. For those who aren't familiar with ISPC, it is a style of shooting competition using full-power ammunition and firing at multiple paper and steel targets from different positions. Fair warning, I'm not the world's greatest shooter. In fact, compared to the other folks competing, I'm pretty damn terrible. But I sure had a good time, and I think that my conclusions remain valid without having to win the match. Also, I had testing our magazines with 10 rounds each, and they worked fine. But when I loaded them up to 25 each for the match, I had a bunch of failures to feed. Not the fault of the rifle, but my fault for not proofing the magazines more carefully (they are all original MP44 mags dating form 1943 and 1944). Like I said at the end of the video, my conclusion is that the StG45 would have been a fantastic combat rifle. It has wonderfully light recoil and minimal muzzle climb, combined with good ergonomics. The stock and sights are set up just perfectly. The safety is in a good place (for a righty), and only the mag release really needs to be closer to the firing hand for faster magazine changes. Somehow when the guys responsible for this rifle moved to Spain and built the CETME and then came back to work for H&K, they lost all the ergonomic qualities that had been in this first design. The 8x33mm Kurz cartridge strikes an excellent balance between power and shootability, and it's an excellent round for a roller-locked (actually roller-delayed blowback,

We have a brief video from a friend of the Forgotten Weapons site showing a standard M1915 Chauchat in use. Although short, the video does a good job of showing the gun's rate of fire and general operation. You can see the open magazine design that caused so much trouble, and see how the heavy reciprocating bolt and carrier cause the gun to bounce as it fires. http://www.forgottenweapons.com/chauchat-followup/

Today we have a copy of John Remling's work, a "Collector's Guide to Tokarev Pistols". It's a thin volume, but a good introduction and basic reference to the development of the TT33 Tokarev pistol and the different nations that adopted it. Unfortunately, it does appear to be out of print, and I was not able to find a reliable source where you could buy a copy. So keep your eyes open at gun shows, because it is a good value for the money when you find it used.

I was looking through our reference library yesterday, and realized that we hadn't mentioned at Hatcher's Notebook before - which is a glaring oversight. Julian S. Hatcher (Captain Hatcher during WWI, and Major General Hatcher by WWII) was a presence in the US Ordnance Department for nearly 30 years, and was actually interested in firearms technology enough to record much of what was going on. He was involved in the US procurement of light machine guns, and development of early semiauto service rifles. In addition to all this, he had a curious mind and engaged in a number of interesting firearms experiments, the results of which are recorded in Hatcher's Notebook. Hatcher's Notebook is an indispensable reference for anyone interested in early 20th century firearms development, and I really can't recommend is highly enough. Both hardback and paperback editions are still in print, and easily available, so pick up your copy today: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0811703509/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=forgoweapo-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0811703509

I offer our Facebook fans the choice of which video they would like to see today, and the result was overwhelmingly the British EM2 rifle. These were made in both .280/30 and 7.62 NATO calibers, and the one we had the chance to play with was in 7.62. I apologize in advance for the brief amount of shooting in the video - I thought we had gotten more on film. In full auto, the rifle was really a handful - it would have been a much more effective design with its original .280/30 cartridge. You can find more information and photos of the EM2 on the EM2 page in the Forgotten Weapons Vault: http://www.forgottenweapons.com/rifles/british-em-2/ Contact: Forgotten Weapons 6281 N Oracle #36270 Tucson, AZ 85704

Today we're taking a look at William Easterly's booklet "A Comprehensive Study [of] Japanese Submachine Guns: 1920 - 1945". Talk about a subject with very little written coverage - Easterly has photos, data, and descriptions of at least a half dozen really unusual experimental Japanese SMGs form the 1920s and 1930s, as well as both models of the Type 100 that was finally adopted officially. It's expensive for the size and production quality, but I don't know of a better source of info on these guns. The booklet is 65 pages plus an appendix of original documents in Japanese, and can be purchased directly from the author. To get yourself copy (dated, serial numbered, and autographed by the author), send $36 (check MO, or PayPal) to: william m.p. EASTERLY P.O. Box 2814 San Juan Tx 78589-2814 website@dragonsoffire.com You can find Mr. Easterly's website at www.dragonsoffire.com - he has a bunch of neat information there pertaining to unusual Japanese weapons. Contact: Forgotten Weapons 6281 N Oracle #36270 Tucson, AZ 85704

This week, we will be featuring all Swiss weapons here at Forgotten Weapons. Kind of like Shark Week, but more land-locked. We'll kick off today with a video showing you around a Swiss LMG-25 light machine gun we found for sale at Cornet & Company in Brussels (a better gun shop than any I've found here in the US, I must say). Like pretty much all Swiss arms, it's a gorgeous example of precision machining - and like pretty much all Swiss arms it was too expensive for anyone else to adopt. On this, as with other Swiss weapons I've handled, you can just feel the quality in how smoothly the moving parts operate. In case you're wondering, this LMG25 is live and fully functional, and priced at 1950 Euros (about $2800) - mere pocket change compared to machine gun prices here. It's not too difficult to get the permit to own it in Belgium, but sadly there is no legal way to bring it into the US. http://www.forgottenweapons.com/light-machine-guns/swiss-lmg25/

It's a bit of a different book review today - since we've been looking at Swiss arms all week (and there's a really unique one coming up tomorrow), we needed to find a book on the Swiss. What we have is one of 9 or 10 volumes on Swiss military arms, both issued and experimental. This volume (the only one of the bunch we have in our reference library) focuses on machine guns and mortars, and it has a tremendous number of photos of really unusual firearms. It was printed in either Germany or Switzerland, and the text is all German unfortunately - but the illustrations alone are worth the price. We picked it up overseas several years ago, and have not been able to find any of its companion volumes - if you know of a source for them, please let us know! The full title is Bewaffnung und Ausrustung der Schweizer Armee seit 1817, by Christian Reinhart and Michael am Rhyn. For a more practically useful book dealing with Swiss rifles, I would suggest Joe Poyer's Swiss Magazine Loading Rifles, which is inexpensive, readily available, and does a very good job covering the rifles which are generally found on the market today. http://www.forgottenweapons.com/video-book-review-swiss-magazine-loading-rifles/

We had the privilege of spending a couple days last week in Florida, attending the first of many seminars to be held by the Institute of Military Technology on firearms history and design. This particular seminar focused on two topics; Dutch trials rifles from 1800-1900 (presented by Mathieu Willemsen, curator of the Dutch Army Museum in Delft) and development of the AR-10 (presented by Reed Knight, who had firsthand experience with that subject). Both classes were informative and very enjoyable - we learned a lot and got to meet some other great people as well. The Institute of Military Technology is an organization created by Mr Knight and his family with the mission of preserving important pieces of firearms development history and educating people about them (pretty much the same as our mission here at Forgotten Weapons). The Institute is based on Reed Knight's personal gun collection, which includes a great number of experimental, trials, and unusual designs. After the seminar, the IMT's Director, Joe McClain, took a moment to speak with us about the mission and future of the Institute.

Gary Paul Johnston and Thomas Nelson's The World's Assault Rifles is always one of the first books we turn to for information on automatic rifles. At 1200+ pages, it's a huge tome and a massive amount of research went into it. Mr Nelson previously published two volumes on submachine guns and a book on assault rifles many years ago, but this current edition was heavily updated and republished just two years ago. The book is available in hardcover for us reference types and also as a Kindle edition for the tech-savvy on-the-go gun nut. Take your pick from Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0935554009/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=forgoweapo-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0935554009 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006YG6ZR6/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=forgoweapo-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B006YG6ZR6

The German FG-42 paratroop rifle was a very impressive design, managing to meet a very strict set of performance criteria. The first production model in particular was exceptionally light and compact, while still offering semi and full-auto 8mm Mauser fire with surprisingly light recoil. The gun went through a continuous evolution through its production, becoming heavier and less expensive to manufacture. The first major design was made from a milled billet of steel at great cost, and the second major model was done with a stamped steel receiver instead. We had the opportunity to disassemble one of the second model FG42s, and put together a video showing how it operates. You can read more on the development of the gun over on the FG-42 page in the Vault, where we also have a gallery of detailed photos: http://www.forgottenweapons.com/german-ww2-rifles/german-fg-42/

And now, for our regular book review. We had a lot of interest in the FG-42 video we posted a couple days ago, and decided to check out the sole really good book on the gun. Many books make passing reference to the FG-42, but only one will give you an in-depth look at its design and history: Death From Above: The German FG42 Paratroop Rifle by Thomas Dugelby and Blake Stevens. As always, you can't go wrong with a book from Collector Grade. You can pick up a copy for your own library here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0889354294/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0889354294&linkCode=as2&tag=forgoweapo-20 http://www.forgottenweapons.com/book-review-and-a-refinishing-discount

Today we have one of the oldest guns we've looked at, a Lorenzoni repeating flintlock pistol. The system was designed by an Italian gunmaker in Florence name Michele Lorenzoni. They were made in very small numbers, and the workmanship is stunning, especially considering that they were first manufactured in the 1680s. Instead of using a revolving cylinder pre-loaded with multiple shots, the Lorenzoni system utilizes powder and ball magazines in the frame of the gun and a rotating breechblock much like a powder throw tool used today for reloading ammunition. http://www.forgottenweapons.com/lorenzoni/

We really liked the last book we reviewed by Paul Scarlata (German Gewehr 88 "Commission" Rifle), and so we decided to grab another one off the shelf. Today, it'sMannlicher Military Rifles, and Scarlata does another excellent job. Mannlichers have been very cheaply available here in the US in the form of M95 and M95/34 carbines for $100 or less, atlhough they have been underappreciated because of their chambering in the mostly unavailable 8x56R cartridge. However, as the most prolific straight-pull action ever made, they are worthy of a closer look -- I certainly don't regret buying mine, or the book to go with it! http://www.forgottenweapons.com/mannlicher-rifles-review/

We have another experimental German WWII piece for you today, Mauser's last-ditch "Volkspistole". It was developed at the end of the war as an extremely inexpensive home guard weapon, although how much use a pistol would have been in fighting off the Red Army and US Army is pretty questionable. The program was also undertaken by Walther and Gustloffwerke, but this particular gun was designed and built by Mauser. Like the VG1-5 rifle, it was designed to use gas ports in the barrel to delay opening of the breech, although it was later reworked as a simple direct blowback action. The design never went past the prototype stage because of the end of the war, but the theory can be seen turning up later in the H&K P7 and Steyr GB handguns.

he Hotchkiss Universal is a pretty interesting submachine gun, despite its rather clumsy appearance. The overriding design intent was to make a very compact folding carbine, and Hotchiss certainly met that objective. However, the gun ended up being too expensive and complex to achieve any real commercial success. Some wound up in Indochina, and some sales were made to Venezuela and Morocco, but that was about the extent of the Universal's production. There are a few of these guns that were imported into the US as live semi-auto carbines, interestingly. http://www.forgottenweapons.com/submachine-guns/hotchkiss-universal-smg/

Unfortunately, when we visit great gun collections there is never enough time to do everything we would like to. We always have to leave great stuff undone, as much as we don't like to. Well, we got to visit one particular collection with a bunch of great stuff, and amongst the other items found a fantastic handful of early breechloading rifles mostly built as converted muzzleloaders for British army trials (not the wheellock, of course). We just didn't have the time to give them the attention they really deserved, but we were able to whip off a quick video of them. So we apologize for teasing you with just a glimpse, and we promise to show them in much more depth when we are able to get back to this collection. http://www.forgottenweapons.com/british-breechloader-teaser-video

We just got in a copy of Russ Arendell and Steve Woodrum's new book on the Carcano, Italy's Battle Rifle: Story of the Mannlicher-Carcano Series of Rifles. It's the most useful reference book on the Carcano series that we know of, although it does have some shortcomings: If you'd like to pick up your copy before they've stopped printing them, you'll need to contact Action Printing (ask for Stephanie) at either 806-745-5500 or (toll free) 800-226-5533. http://www.forgottenweapons.com/book-review-italys-battle-rifle/

While we were visiting the Institute of Military Technology, we took a few minutes to check out their two 5-barrel Nordenfelt guns and chat with Joe from GardnerGuns.com about them. The Nordenfelt was one of the early manually-operated "machine guns" not seen much in the United States (the Gattling being much more common), but it was a popular and successful design in the rest of the world. We think the Nordenfelt (and its contemporaries like the Gardner, Gattling, Lowell, and others) are fantastically cool machines - they are the pinnacle of what can be done with a strictly manually-operated repeating firearm. Really, who wouldn't want one in their living room? http://www.forgottenweapons.com/five-barrel-nordenfelt-video/

The Jatimatic was a Finnish submachine gun intended for bodyguards and private security forces. It was designed in the 1980s, and never achieved much success despite having some interesting and clever features. The bolt is designed like and Uzi or CZ-23/24 bolt, wrapping around the barrel to allow a heavy enough bolt for direct blowback operation while maintaining a short overall length of the gun. The bolt also travels along an axis not quite parallel to the barrel, which helps reduce muzzle climb. However, the Jatimatic did not have any provision for using a shoulder stock, relying instead of firing from the hip or with a carry sling. This significantly hampered its practical utility. In addition, the sling attachment on the rear of the gun is also the takedown catch, so putting tension on the sling in the wrong way can result in the gun disassembling (not a good design feature).

The Volcanic repeating pistol was the first direct step along the development path of the lever-action rifle that became an icon of the American West. Introduced before the advent of modern brass-cased cartridges, the Volcanic was notable for both its repeating action and the self-contained ammunition that made it practical. Volcanic pistols (and rifles) are quite rare today, but they are a pretty cool corner of firearms history. Well, Edmund Lewis and Stephen Rutter wrote a gorgeous book on the history of the Volcanic, with more than 340 glossy color photos of some really impressive specimens: http://www.forgottenweapons.com/book-review-volcanic-firearms/

During the 1960s, the Colt company was looking to help market the M-16 rifle to military forces by pairing it with a light machine gun. They were going after the exact same market segment as the Stoner 63 system. The first attempt at this was the Colt CMG-1, which had some limited parts commonality with the M16, but this was quickly replaced with the CMG-2. The CMG-2 has a number of pretty interesting features, including a double-sided reversible firing pin (also seen on the Mendoza LMG) and an extractor designed as a permanent fixed feature of the bolt face. It is belt fed, and uses the same links as the Stoner 63, with a 150-round belt held in a drum fixed to the receiver of the gun. Another unusual attribute of the CMG-2 is its use of the rear pistol grip as a charging handle. To charge the gun, the pistol grip is pushed forward until the firing sear catches on the gas piston/bolt carrier. The grip is then pulled back, bringing the bolt carrier back with it into the cocked position. At that point the grip locks back into place and the gun is ready to fire. Only a handful of CMG-2s were made by Colt before the project was dropped. The largest number went to the Navy SEALs for evaluation against the Stoner, in which they came in second place and were not adopted. Very few of these machine guns still exist, and we were fortunate to have the chance to disassemble one at the Institute of Military Technology to take a look at how they work. Our understanding is that the long bolt travel and recoil buffer make the CMG-2 a very soft-shooting and controllable gun, although the drum that holds the belt is pretty awkward to reload. With more development, it could have been a pretty good weapon. We do also have a copy of an original Colt manual for it, which you can download here (this manual is also included on our Manual Archive DVD): http://www.forgottenweapons.com/light-machine-guns/colt-cmg-2/

During WWII, the Turkish government wound up in possession of several thousand (between 5k and 10k) French Berthier rifles, mostly 1907/15 models, but also some Mle 1916s. There is some question as to exactly how, but the most likely explanation appears to be a shipment of arms from Syria to Iraq sent by the Vichy French at the request of Germany. After the war, Turkey found itself having problems with illegal logging of its rather valuable Circassian walnut forests, and decided that it was necessary to arm its forest ranger service. Again, details are a bit sketchy, but it appears that a decision was made to deliberately use a non-standard caliber of ammunition for these rangers, so that if their rifles were stolen they would be of limited value (like the British Enfields converted to riot police shotguns in India). Since a big pile of Berthier rifles in 8x50R Lebel were available, they were chosen for the purpose. The rifles were cut down to a medium length, and the front band and nosecap were replaced with leftover spares from 1905 Mauser carbines (with no provision for bayonets). They were restamped with new 4-digit serial numbers, and the receivers marked "TC Orman" ("Turkish Republic Forestry") with a 1948 date. Somewhere around 10,000 guns were converted this way. They are still pretty inexpensive ($250-$300), because there is not much demand for Turkish arms in general. I like the story behind them, and I think the rifle handles very well (although it does kick fairly hard). http://www.forgottenweapons.com/turkish-orman-carbine-video/

Anyone who has looked at German arms and militaria from WWII and the years prior will be familiar with the 3-letter (or number) code system used to obscure where production was taking place. The more common codes are well known, but there are hundreds of smaller manufacturing companies or job shops that are much more difficult to identify. Well, not anymore. Michael Heidler of Germany has a book listing every one of these codes with its associated company and location (hundreds of pages worth). Herr Heidler's email address is ggbuch@web.de, and if you drop him a line he will be happy to get a copy of his book on its way to you. It's written in both English and German, and if you focus on collecting German arms and equipment it's a great resource! http://www.forgottenweapons.com/forgotten-weapons-library/

Today we have a video for you on a German "Jager" pistol, so named because it was made by the Jager company. Jager was a well-respected maker of high quality sporting arms, having been established in 1901 in Suhl, Germany. With the onset of World War One, Kaiser Wilhelm decreed that all arms manufacture would be directed to military needs, and Jager responded by designing this pistol for use by the officers' corps. It was not formally adopted by the German army, but several thousand were purchased privately and used by German officers. The pistol is very interesting mechanically, because it uses two stamped sideplates and separate milled front and rear straps instead of a single solid frame. As far as we can tell, it was the first pistol made using stampings for major components, is its construction method remains unique to this day. So let's take a closer look! If you're interested in seeing more details than we could address in the video, we have a link to a whole slew of great photos taken by the pistol's owner: http://www.forgottenweapons.com/german-jager-pistol-video/

To go along with the week's focus on self-loading Enfield conversions, we have a copy of Ian Skennerton's Small Arms Identification volume #13, Special Service Lee-Enfields: Commando and Auto Models. It's only about 47 pages long and predominantly on the silenced de Lisle carbine, but also includes information and some photos on all the different Lee Enfield semiauto and full auto conversions - the New Zealand Charlton, the Australian Electrolux Charlton, the South African Reider, the British Howell, and the Howard Francis blowback carbine.It's not a whole lot of info, but more than you'll find on these guns in any other print reference. And hey, the information on the de Lisle is very cool too. http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=forgoweapo-20&o=1&p=8&l=as4&m=amazon&f=ifr&ref=ss_til&asins=0949749370

Cool Forgotten Weapons Merch! http://shop.bbtv.com/collections/forgotten-weapons The M60 light machine gun is something of a contentious subject. Many veterans who used it in combat in Vietnam remember it very fondly despite its design defects, while many more recent users detest it. I think I know why - because many of the M60s flaws were related to its long-term durability, so that newly made guns in the 1960s performed well, and the problems didn't start to crop up until the guns had seen years or decades of hard service. With that in mind, today we're taking a look at a modern updated M60E3 at the range, courtesy of Scott at Hydro Print Services. He also shows us how to properly shoot it, after I demonstrate my impressive inability to hit the targets. :)

See the full written review at: http://www.forgottenweapons.com/book-review-book-review-borchardt-luger-automatic-pistols

The book (pair of books, actually) we're looking at today is a bit less rigorous than our usual material, and more humanistic. It's a pair of books entitled Veteran Bring Backs and Veteran Bring Backs Volume II, by Edward Tinker. Both volumes are compilations of firearms (and a few other related items) brought back from various wars by vets. Each one includes photos of the gun and the story of its capture, history, and other interesting anecdotes, plus often current or vintage photos of the men who brought them back. The guns featured run the gamut from Lugers to AK-47s to handmade Vietnamese weapons and engraved SS sidearms, each with its own unique tale. These two books aren't really intended for the dedicated researcher, but instead to the folks who enjoy reading about the stories of individuals coming home from conflict abroad, and the paths their trophies take over the decades since their return. I find Volume II a bit more interesting for its greater variety of items, but both have plenty of microcosms of war history to capture your imagination. Both volumes can be purchased directly from the publisher, Simpson Ltd. For folk who prefer to shop on Amazon, volume I is available from a couple different sellers there. http://www.forgottenweapons.com/book-review-veteran-bring-backs

Charles Manville developed this weapon in the 1930s as a riot control tool, and they were built in 12ga, 25mm, and 37mm. We should point out that the 12ga version was for tear gas rounds only (like today's 12ga flare launchers) and not safe to use with high-pressure ammunition. Anyway, it was intended for use by prison guards and riot police, offering a much greater ammunition capacity than any other contemporary launcher. During World War II, Manville tried to sell the military on a high-pressure version to fire 37mm explosive rounds, but was unsuccessful. Instead, the Manville company spent the was making parts for the Oerlikon 20mm AA guns, and the tooling for the gas launcher was all destroyed. http://www.forgottenweapons.com/other-handguns/manville-gas-gun/

We have probably out most specialized book yet for you today, entitled History Writ in Steel: German Police Markings 1900-1936. As the title suggests, it is about firearms (and to a lesser extent bayonets. rifles, and holsters) with German police property markings. The structure of German police units was pretty complex during this time, and there are dozens and dozens of heavily abbreviated markings used by them.Donald Maus has done a very good job with this book of explaining what the markings mean, and providing a resource to allow you to identify where a particular piece came from. History Writ in Steel is available directly from Simpson Ltd.

We're not ALWAYS doing gun stuff at ForgottenWeapons - we took a break this weekend to take a tandem hang glider flight with Mark at Sonora Wings. We had a great time, and Mark's an excellent pilot and instructor - give him a call if you're in Phoenix and looking for a great new experience! http://www.sonorawings.com/index.html Music by Wired Ant: "Enter and survive This Cage - Instrumental (feat.Alex)" by Wired Ant (feat. Alex) http://ccmixter.org/files/Wired_Ant/35979 is licensed under a Creative Commons license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ Video taken on a Midland Radio XTC HD camera: https://midlandusa.com/xtc-cameras/

The Webley-Fosbery was an early automatic handgun based on a revolver design. The top half of the frame was able to slide back under recoil, recocking the hammer and indexing the next round in the cylinder. They were made commercially in both .38 and .455 calibers, with the .455 version attracting interest from British Army officers. Sorry for the rather dark footage; we were limited by our location when we had the chance to handle this pistol.

I'm very happy today to present a video we did in cooperation with Oleg Volk, which I've titled "Last Ditch Innovation". It is a look at two late-WW2 German prototype rifles which are the evolutionary grandparents of the CETME and the H&K series of roller-delayed firearms (91, 93, MP5, etc). Thanks to some very generous friends, we have examples of both guns to disassemble and shoot...so sit back, relax, and enjoy the show.

One of the areas of rifle collecting that is easy (and cheap) to get into and very difficult (and expensive) to master is that of Mausers. Literally dozens of countries used Mausers in scores of variations. A great many of them are still available for very affordable prices, including commonly seen Turks and Yugos and more esoteric examples such as Siamese Mausers (like this one closing today on GunBroker with no reserve and a $275 opening bid). On the other hand, the very rare examples like early Serbian 11mm carbines are scarce as hens' teeth. Robert Ball has recently published the 5th edition of his excellent reference book on Mausers, covering all the major variants that saw service worldwide. It makes a great reference for anyone interested in Mausers or looking to expand a collection of them: The book is currently on sale for $30 and change on Amazon, marked down from a normal $50 - an excellent deal for the holidays. There is also a Kindle edition for those interested in it, although it's just a few dollars less than the hardback print copy. http://www.forgottenweapons.com/book-review-mauser-military-rifles-of-the-world

We've been on a bit of a Luger kick recently, and it continues today. A few weeks ago we looked at Geoffrey Sturgess' three-volume tome on Luger and Borchardt development, which takes the story of the Luger through the end of World War I. Today, we have ​Simson Lugers​ by Edward Tinker and Graham Johnson, which addresses the Luger during the Weimar period between the wars.

Our friend Joe had the opportunity not too long ago to take out a French Mle 1924/29 Chatellerault light machine gun for test firing. The 24/29 is a quite nice LMG that is definitely under-appreciated. As with several other very good guns, it gets an automatic poor reputation simply for being French. In truth, the French led small arms development for a long time, and produced many excellent designs. You can see more on the Chatellerault, including photos of this gun, at: http://www.forgottenweapons.com/light-machine-guns/chatellerault-fm-mle-1924-29/

The final chapter in our continuing Luger series is today's book, The Parabellum is Back! While Sturgess' three-volume encyclopedia covers the pistol through 1918 and Simson Lugers takes us through Weimar, that leaves a lot still to learn. Luger production continued in World War II, and afterwards under French occupation. After the demolition of the Mauser plant, things dried up until the late 1960s when a plan to put the Luger back into production took hold, and that is a story definitively covered by Baudino and van Vlimmeren in The Parabellum is Back! You can pick up a copy today from: http://www.simpsonltd.com

While we were at SAR West this past weekend, we of course took some time to check in with Jeff from Apex Gun Parts. We've been buying goodies from Jeff long before we started up the blog, and his customer service is second to none.

While we were at the SAR West show this year, we had the chance to chat with Teri, who runs NambuWorld.com. Teri is a Canadian collector who took a longtime interest in Japan and built a very impressive collection of Japanese firearms and militaria, and her web site is a great source of information on Japanese pistols in particular.

Dolf Goldsmith is one of the coolest old-timer gun folks we've ever had the pleasure of meeting. Not only is he a bona fide expert on a wide range of firearms and a prolific author (having written the definitive books on the Maxim and Vickers guns and now five volumes on the Browning machine gun), but he is also a joyful and outgoing gentleman who is always willing to share his knowledge and some great stories. We had the opportunity to catch Dolf on tape not long ago sharing some of his experiences. In this case, buying and shooting a couple 37mm Bofors antitank guns way back in the day. We've all seen the ads from the 60s selling ordnance like this - don't we all wish we'd been able to buy and enjoy those things? Well, Dolf did.

By request, today we're going to look at one of the less common locking systems used in firearms design: flapper locking. The idea was first patented by a Swede named Friberg in 1870, but a practical gun was not built on the design until the 1907 Kjellman. The most extensive use of the system was for the Degtyarev series of machine guns (DP, RPD, DShK), although the Germans also used it in the G41 and G43 rifles. Finally, the Mauser company made a small number of early guns using the system - the 1905/06 pistol and 1916 rifle. The later roller-locked system is very similar to flapper locking, but we won't delve into that today.

The Whitney Wolverine (aka Whitney, Lightning, or Hillson Imperial) was a very space-age looking .22 automatic pistol designed by Robert Hillberg in the 1950s. It made novel use of materials (aluminum castings) and many clever design subtleties, and was a remarkably good pistol. However, the company set up to manufacture it made some critical marketing and financial decisions, which led to only 13,371 of the pistols being made before closing down. In this book on the Whitney (named in honor of landmark American gunmaker Eli Whitney, incidentally), Antonio Taglienti does a great job of illuminating all aspects of the pistol. From its design and conception to the prototypes and manufacturing processes to the production history and the company's financial tribulations, this is both an informative and interesting look at a forgotten pistol. The book also includes a plethora of original Whitney advertising and a full listing of the serial numbers produced over the pistol's lifespan. http://www.forgottenweapons.com/book-review-the-whitney-wolverine

The FS2000 is the semiauto civilian version of FN's F2000 bullpup rifle. It was designed for military use, but contracts have been well below FN's hopes - only Slovenia has decided to adopt it as a standard service weapon (several other nations have bought small quantities for specialized uses). Being a swoopy-looking black polymer rife, it isn't the sort of thing I'm normally drawn to. But...attitudes can change. It's a very comfortable rifle to shoot, and internally it borrows heavily from the AR-18, which is a long-time favorite of ours.

Shooting an FG-42 - stay tuned for more!

We have another piece of our chat with Dolf for you today, on what brought Destructive Devices to the attention of the general American public - and why the New York police came looking for his Lahti... For more details on the bazooka incident, you can read a copy of the front-page New York Times story from December 12, 1964: "Bazooka Fired at U.N. as Cuban Speaks" http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/belligerence/bazooka.htm The bank robbery became the inspiration for the 1974 film "Thunderbolt and Lightfoot", starring Clint Eastwood and Jeff Bridges. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072288/

One of the more interesting (and rare!) variations on John Browning's iconic 1911 automatic pistol is the Obregon. Developed in Mexico in the mid 1930s, this pistol uses a frame nearly identical to the stock 1911, but has a completely different locking system. It uses a rotating barrel, like a Steyr 1912, instead of Browning's tilting barrel system. The Obregon has several other changes from the basic 1911, including a magazine safety and a combined single-piece slide stop and manual safety. Somewhere between 800 and 1000 Obregon pistols were manufactured in the 30s. They were intended to compete for a Mexican military contract, which they failed to garner. We are much obliged to Eric for letting us take his beautiful example of the piece out to the range. While this particular Obregon gave us some trouble (ironically, it didn't like Aguila ammo made in Mexico), we think the design elements are overall pretty clever. In fact, the Obregon may be one of the safest pistols ever designed, at least on paper. I can't think of any other designs that incorporate a manual thumb safety, a magazine safety, AND a grip safety.