ForgottenWeapons

MAC/Skorpion Hybrid at the Range: the Alka M93

The Alka M93 was a very simple SMG made by IM Metall (which later became HS Produkt) during the Croatian Homeland War. It is essentially a MAC M11A1 with a long barrel and a vz61 Skorpion stock, feeding 9mm ammunition form MP40 magazines. I did a video on this piece previously, but on a recent visit to Croatia the company was kind enough to let me try it out on their test range. We had a number of malfunctions, which really isn't surprising for serial number 3 of an essentially shed-built ope...

Prototype Hungarian 33M Bolt Action Rifle (ad-free)

When Hungary separated from the Austro-Hungarian Empire after World War One, it began to slowly rebuild its military equipment. The eventually led to carbine conversions of old M95 rifles using the new 8x56mm rimmed cartridge, which were designated the 31M. However, the Hungarians were not satisfied with the Mannlicher straight-pull system. In cold conditions during the war, these rifles had sometimes become very difficult to operate, as the grease in their bolts solidified at low temperature...

Yugo-Albanian "Marksman's" Mystery AK

his rifle was brought back to France from the Balkans (probably Kosovo) by a French military team in the late 1990s. It's a neat example of a mix-master build (what is "bubba" in Albanian?), with several cool elements. The base gun is an Albanian AKM, with its bayonet missing. The front sight block has been replaced by a Yugoslav M70 or M72 type, and a Yugo M72 bipod added. To allow the bipod to fit on the short barrel when folded, the handguard has been relieved to accommodate the bipod feet...

Llama M87

Scheduled for August 18.

"Made for the Republic of China": Shanghai Arsenal's FN 1900 Copy (ad-free)

"Pistols of the Warlords" available now from: http://www.headstamppublishing.com/purchase 

The Shanghai Arsenal was founded in 1865 as a joint venture between British and Chinese customs officers. They bought a defunct American ironworking company and rebuilt it as an arsenal. In 1884 they began production of a copy of the Remington Rolling Block, and by 1891 copies of Mannlicher 1888 straight-pull ...

Spectre SMG at the Range (ad-free)

The SITES Spectre was imported into the US primarily as a semiautomatic pistol - but it was really designed to be an SMG. It has an interesting closed-bolt fire control system, and in SMG for a metal top folding stock. Thanks to DSA, I have the opportunity to take one of these out to the range to try out!  

Here's my previous video on the pistol version: 

https://youtu.be/q1sbYHR0jxk

Stocked Pistols: Pros and Cons (ad-free)

Stocked pistols: they have been around as long as pistols have been around, but are they really all that useful?

Al Kadesih: Iraq's Exceptionally Rare Dragunov Copy (ad-free)

The Al Kadesih (also sometimes spelled Al Kadesiah or Al Qadisiyah) is an Iraqi copy of the SVD Dragunov DMR/sniper rifle. It is not an exact copy, though, as it uses an AK-style stamped receiver and trunnions in combination with the fire control system and short-stroke gas piston of the SVD. 

The rifles were made at the eponymous Al-Quadisiyah Establishment in Iraq, a small arms factory set up with Yugoslav assistance to make small arms. That factory produced a copy of the Yugosla...

Q&A Questions?

After a couple month hiatus, Q&A videos are coming back - what would you like to ask?

Croatian HS-91: A Mystery Hybrid of M56 and PPSh-41

The HS-91 is a Croatian-made submachine gun form the Homeland War period of the early 1990s. This is the only example known, and it was seized well after the war by the Croatian Police (and currently resides in the Police Museum in Zagreb). Nothing is known about the details of its origin or production.

Mechanically, the HS-91 is a hybrid of Yugoslav M56 and Soviet PPSh-41. The barrel, magazine, and magazine well are from the M56, while the bolt, safety, receiver construction, and firin...

USPSA with a 105-Year-Old Artillery Luger Rig (ad-free)

Today I'm taking an original (made in 1918) Artillery Luger rig out to a 6-stage USPSA match. I'm entered in PCC (pistol-caliber carbine) division using the detachable shoulder stock (note that this is exempted from the NFA, so it does not need to be registered) and the snail drum magazine. Happily, the ensemble ran virtually flawlessly through the whole match! Even better, I actually did reasonably well - certainly better than I had been expecting.

Otterup Model 69: From German Sword to Danish Plowshare (ad-free)

The Schultz & Larsen company in Otterup, Denmark was a venture formed by a gunsmithing shop and a very successful target shooter to make precision rifles. In 1919, they are able to purchase a bunch of German arsenal tooling for pennies because of the Treaty of Versailles. They made a number of rifles, both military and sporting, in the 1920s and 1930s. In the aftermath of World War Two, they turned to using surplus German K98k rifles as the basis for hunting and precision sporting rifles....

No Clip, No Problem! Ethiopian Gunsmithing Solutions (Berthier) (ad-free)

While helping to unpack a new shipment of French rifles at IO Inc / Royal Tiger Imports, I came across several examples of Berthiers that were modified to not use clips. There were a couple different ways the Ethiopian gunsmiths did this, so let's have a look...

Krešimir: Croatia's Truly Insane Grenade Launcher (ad-free)

The Kresimir is honestly the most bonkers weapon I have come across in a long while. Made by IM Metall in Croatia at the beginning of the Croatian Homeland War circa 1991, this is a semiautomatic grenade launcher. Most grenade launchers fire a big cartridge with an explosive warhead, but not this thing. Instead, it uses a 5-round magazine of M50 hand grenades with percussion fuses. A second magazine holds 7.62x39mm grenade-launching blank cartridges. Pulling the trigger drops two strikers in ...

Slovenian Modularity: Perun X16 "PDW" in .300 Blackout (ad-free)

I was first introduced to the Tinck Arms Perun X16 at Lynx Brutality 2022 in Slovenia, and it is an interesting system emphasizing modularity and simple disassembly. I opted to use one (a 5.56mm carbine) at Lynx Brutality 2023 this year, and it ran perfectly for me. So I figured we should take a look at the version that is available in the US.

The US distributor is AEA Arms. and they offer both complete guns and also upper assemblies. For the complete guns, they adapt Kaiser USA polymer...

The Rarest Chassepot: Rifle for the African Cavalry (ad-free)

"Chassepot to FAMAS: French Military Rifles 1866-2016" is in stock and shipping now:

https://www.headstamppublishing.com/purchase

The rarest pattern of factory-made Chassepot is the fusil modèle 1866 pour la cavalerie d'afrique - the Model 1866 rifle for African cavalry. Just 12,000 of these were made by St Etienne in the spring of 1869, as a way to equip the mounted French troops in Algeria with...

The First German Assault Weapon: The Lange Pistole 08 (ad-free)

The Lange Pistole 08 (long pistol), or Artillery Luger as it is commonly known today, has an interesting history. It was originally developed as a personal defense weapon for German field artillery and air crews. While the foot artillery had been issued carbines, the field artillery were mounted and highly mobile, and needed something smaller than a carbine. The LP08 was to replace remarkably old black powder 1879 and 1883 Reichsrevolvers for them. With its detachable shoulder stock, it could...

New Springfield Echelon: Croatia's Chassis System Pistol (ad-free)

The Springfield Echelon pistol was released today, and it's a significant step forward for Croatian manufacturer HS Produkt. In an effort to appeal to new military and police tenders as well as introduce a forward-looking new design, the company has brought out a pistol based on a serialized chassis like that of the SIG P365 and P320. HS Produkt recognized that their previous design (the XD and XD-M in the US and the HS2000 and HS9 in Europe) was falling behind. Its grip safety was getting it...

Crogar M91: MP40 Meets Yugo M56 in the Croatian Homeland War (ad-free)

SKM was a small industrial manufacturing company in Croatia that began making submachine guns in 1991 to equip Croatian fighters in the Homeland War. Their product was the M91 Crogar, which is a selective-fire, open bolt SMG chambered for 7.62mm Tokarev. It uses the magazine from the Yugoslav M56 SMG, along with its rotating bolt handle feature as a safety mechanism. The bolt and recoil spring are based on the MP40, and a folding stock inspired by the side-folding AKs made in Poland, Romania,...

Hipster 2-Gun: Beretta AR-70/90 & Bernardelli P018S (ad-free)

We took a look at both of these guns individually this past week, and now it's time to try them both out on the clock...

While I like the Bernardelli quite a lot, it had a couple malfunctions and my pistol shooting was just not up to the challenge of this month's stages (particularly Stage 1). The rifle ran perfectly for me, and I was very happy at my ability make the longer-ranged hits offhand with iron sights. I still ended up clobbered in the scores, but it was a fun match!

Italian GWOT Steel: the Beretta AR-70/90

While the Italian military did adopt the AR-70, it did not actually issue them to all troops. Most continued to use the 7.62mm BM-59 until 1990 when the Beretta AR-70/90 was adopted. This rifle was a substantial rework and improvement of the AR-70, using AR-pattern magazines and a 1:7" twist barrel to run the SS109 62gr ammunition chosen as the new NATO standard in 1981. The 70/90 also added a 2-position gas regulator to the design, while carrying over the folding bipod and grenade launching ...

Bernardelli P018S: A Hipster's Service Pistol (ad-free)

Bernardelli is (was) an Italian firearms manufacturer in the Val Tromp dating back to the 1600s...but whom few people have ever heard of. They produced 1889 Bodeo revolvers between the World Wars, and after World War Two they had a line of pocket pistols that were never particular popular or respectable in the US.  

In 1982, the company released the P018, its effort to create a military and police service pistol. On paper, it was basically completely average for the time. It used a...

Interview with Neil Vermillion: Being a Volunteer Fighter & Trainer

Note: Some explicit language in this video.

I am honored today to have a chance to interview Neil Vermillion about his experiences in Iraq, Kurdistan, and Ukraine. Neil is a US Army veteran (2002-2006) who served contracts in Kurdistan (2016) and Ukraine (2022) for the nonprofit PMC Sons of Liberty International. In Kurdistan he was a volunteer training and fighting with a group of Kurds around Erbil and Mosul. In Ukraine, he trained Ukrainian snipers and other troops. Today we are goin...

Interview with Neil Vermillion: Being a Volunteer Fighter & Trainer (Audio Only)

Note: Some explicit language in this video.

I am honored today to have a chance to interview Neil Vermillion about his experiences in Iraq, Kurdistan, and Ukraine. Neil is a US Army veteran (2002-2006) who served contracts in Kurdistan (2016) and Ukraine (2022) for the nonprofit PMC Sons of Liberty International. In Kurdistan he was a volunteer training and fighting with a group of Kurds around Erbil and Mosul. In Ukraine, he trained Ukrainian snipers and other troops. Today we are goin...

Experimental Romanian Paratrooper PKM (ad-free)

Romania adopted the PKM in 1966, and began manufacturing their own direct copy at Cugir. In the 1990s, the plant designed a model intended for paratroopers, with a shortened barrel and unique side folding stock. Romanian special operations and paratroop units tested them, but declined to purchase any - funding was tight and the breakup of the eastern bloc meant offensive troops like paratroopers were less of priority. A total of only 400 of these guns were made, and all of them sold to export...

What's Wrong with Private Jackson's Sniper Rifle? (Saving Private Ryan) (ad-free)

Today we are going to take a look at how Private Jackson's sniper rifle is portrayed in Saving Private Ryan. It's a great movie, and I enjoyed it a lot - but this sniper rifle is incorrect in every scene...

At the beginning of the film, the rifle is shown as an M1903A4 (which is appropriate) but with a Lyman Alaskan scope (which is wrong). Next, it is shown with interchangeable scopes, the seconds one being an 8x Unertl. While the Unertl was used by Marine Corps snipers, it is not inter...

Pacific Theater USMC-Modified Johnson M1941 Rifle (ad-free)

Johnson M1941 rifles were used in limited numbers by the US Marine Corps in the Pacific theater of World War Two, but they were used - and generally well liked. Interestingly, there was a fairly common field modification done by the Marines, and that was to cut off the front sight wings, and sometimes cut the rear aperture into a deep V-notch or a flat U-notch style. This particular ex-Marine rifle shows both of these modifications.

Japanese Type 92 105mm Field Gun (Guadalcanal) (ad-free)

In 1927, the Imperial Japanese Army purchased a 105mm field gun from the French company Schneider as a potential replacement for their rather underwhelming Type 14 105mm field gun. The Schneider design was quite good, and the Japanese put it into service in 1932 as the Type 92. It was manufactured in small numbers at the Osaka Arsenal until 1945, with only a few hundred made. Fundamentally, the Japanese realized that a 150mm howitzer had about the same size and weight as a 105mm gun like this...

The Interesting and Unusual Small Arms of Kurdistan and Ukraine w/ Neil Vermillion (Audio Only)

I'm excited today to speak with Neal Vermillion, a US Army veteran (2002-2006) who served contracts in Kurdistan (2016) and Ukraine (2022) for the nonprofit PMC Sons of Liberty International. In Kurdistan he was a volunteer training and fighting with a group of Kurds around Erbil and Mosul. In Ukraine, he trained Ukrainian snipers and other troops. Today we are specifically talking about the different small arms that were (and are) being used in Kurdistan and Ukraine. From Turkish starter pis...

The Interesting and Unusual Small Arms of Kurdistan and Ukraine w/ Neil Vermillion (ad-free)

I'm excited today to speak with Neal Vermillion, a US Army veteran (2002-2006) who served contracts in Kurdistan (2016) and Ukraine (2022) for the nonprofit PMC Sons of Liberty International. In Kurdistan he was a volunteer training and fighting with a group of Kurds around Erbil and Mosul. In Ukraine, he trained Ukrainian snipers and other troops. Today we are specifically talking about the different small arms that were (and are) being used in Kurdistan and Ukraine. From Turkish starter pis...